Content of the article:
It is difficult to believe, but there are decorative leafy plants, the brightness of greenery that can overshadow the most spectacular flowers. He will accept this - geykher, planting and care in the open field for which the cottagers in many regions of Russia are quite simple and accessible to summer residents.
Description of geykher for open ground
All species of geyher in nature are natives of the Americas. Here, plants from the Kamenelomkov family, justifying their origin, settled in the rocky wastelands of the center and south of the United States and some parts of Mexico. Most of the plants tamed by man are perennial decorative leafy crops. According to the description, in the open ground of the geyher, forming a magnificent rosette of the split palmate leaves, depending on the season, changes their color, miraculously transforming the corner of the garden allotted to it.
The appearance of foliage depends not only on the season, but also on the geyher variety. Thanks to two- or three-colored leaves with jagged, smooth or corrugated edges, the most inconspicuous area can be transformed.
The decorative effect complements the bloom that lasts all summer. The brightest inflorescences on erect peduncles of blood geahera are red with small coral-colored corollas. In other species, flowers are predominantly white or pinkish, collected in sparse paniculate inflorescences.
When planting geyher in open ground? What you need to know about the nature of the plant and its preferences?
Conditions for growing geyhers in open ground
Usually for decorative foliage plants choose well-lit places where bright colors on the leaves will look most advantageous. However, geykhera can be easily settled under the canopy of trees, and in the open area it can wilt and will require frequent abundant watering. Therefore, it is better for her to find a site with light protection from the scorching midday sun, but not in the thick shadow, which will “wash out” unusual patterns from the leaves, leaving only the green background.
The requirement for sufficient illumination is especially important to fulfill when landing in open ground and caring for the geyher of variegated forms.
Despite its bright appearance, this perennial is unpretentious and with proper care it grows well in summer cottages. In plantings, geyhera often coexists with hosts, coniferous crops, grassy ground cover plants and shrubs, as well as tall flowering species.
When planting and caring in open ground, perennial geyher do not pretend to the composition and nutritional value of the soil, but do not tolerate:
- excessive acidity of the soil;
- high density land at the landing site;
- stagnant groundwater, snowmelt and rainwater.
On a loose substrate that holds well a moderate amount of moisture, the plants are especially lush.
Planting time geykher in open ground
In nature, geyhery propagated by seed and vegetatively due to the growth of leaf rosettes. In the garden is better to use the second method.
Unfortunately, the seeds collected from the garden varieties do not preserve the varietal characteristics of the plants, and plants close to wild plants grow from them.
It is much easier to get the geyher of the desired variety - using seedlings grown and seeds from a reputable manufacturer or dividing an adult outlet.
Seeds are sown in early spring in containers. In greenhouse conditions, the first shoots appear after 4-6 weeks. When real leaves unfold on sprouts, the seedlings are transferred to the open ground. Given the future growth of the outlet is planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other.
In May or early autumn, large, often 3-4 year old geyher sockets are planted, which lose their compactness and fall apart. This means that daughter plants have appeared near the main plant, and it is time to separate them.
Planting perennial geyher in open ground and caring for plants
For new plants to be more “fluffy”, 2-3 rosettes with their own rhizomes are left on each division. If the planting material for some reason has no roots, you should not throw it away. Cuttings with several leaves and a piece of the stem can be rooted by treating with a stimulant and having landed in a sand-peat mixture. In a shaded greenhouse, roots are formed in 3-4 weeks.
If cuttings are received in May or June, the time for planting geyher in open ground falls on the middle or second half of summer. The soil under such plants necessarily mulch, and the seedlings themselves provide protection from the bright sun.
On cuttings and large delenki, the slices are powdered with crushed charcoal. Landing holes for geyher should have a depth of at least 30 cm and the same diameter. When this crop is used as a border, the distance between the bushes is usually 25–35 cm.
After planting, the plants are watered and sprinkled with peat, rotten sawdust orchopped grass.
Geykhora care after planting in open ground
These plants are moisture-loving. Therefore, the main care for geykhera after planting in open ground includes:
- regular watering, preventing drying out of the ground;
- loosening the soil surface under bushes and near them;
- weeding;
- feeding, which start from the second year of life and is carried out with the help of complex means for decorative leafy crops.
In the warm season, geyher is watered 3-5 times a week. In the heat and in the absence of rain, it is better to moisten the soil daily in the morning or after sunset.
So that there are no bleached burn marks on the leaves of the geyher, the watering can should be kept as close to the ground as possible.
All plants of this genus bloom, but not always the geyher flowers are too attractive. If they interfere with the perception of the flower garden, or after withering, the flower stalks are removed by cutting off the base. In the winter the bushes go with leaves. So that by the spring of the base of the sockets are not affected by the rotted, it is better to cover them with loose spruce branches, oak branches, non-woven material and mulch.
