A gentian flower can adorn the garden all season. With planting and caring for it can be handled very easily. Despite this, gentian is a rarity in the gardens, and only a few know about the existence of this plant.
More than 500 species belong to the genus of this flower. Plants can be annual and perennial, different in height: from 5 cm to 2 m. The color range of gentians is also diverse: most of them are blue, but there may also be violet, white, pink, yellow flowers. Different types of gentian flowers bloom at different times: in spring, in summer and in autumn.
Varieties and types of gentian
Gentians can be conditionally divided into groups depending on the growing conditions:
- Makino, flinty, pazushvotsvetkovaya. They prefer to grow in the penumbra. Love the soil, which retains moisture.
- Three-color, Lagodekhian, pulmonary, seven-parted, rough, spring, without stems, special. Grow in the sun, in a land containing moisture.
- Tibetan, cross-shaped, Dahurian, yellow. Prefer to grow in sunny open spaces. For them, the excess of moisture in the soil is disastrous.
How to plant gentian?
The planting of flowers is carried out depending on their types: at the end of April or at the end of September. Plants are planted in separate holes, even if they want to plant more than one flower, and a group of gentians. It is necessary to maintain a distance of 15-30 cm between individual bushes. The fovea for planting should be three times larger than the gentian in diameter, the roots should be buried deep.
Before planting plants, the ground needs to be dug twice. If the ground contains insufficient moisture, we must take care of the drainage. The gentian propagates by seeds, by dividing the bush and by cuttings.
The condition for seed germination is high humidity and a temperature of 5 to 20 ° C heat. Some species of this plant arise only at an air temperature of 0 to 5 ° C after cold stratification.
Reproduction by bush dividing is carried out in autumn or spring. Since the gentian reacts poorly to the transplant, it is planted together with a clod of earth.
Cuttings are cut in the usual way.
Cultivation of gentian
The plant tolerates the winter well, therefore, as a rule, it is not necessary to cover it. In snowless winter, you can cover a layer of leaves or lapnika. Gentian does not need pruning, practically does not require top dressing, is not susceptible to diseases and pest attacks. If it appears snails or slugs , they are removed manually.
Basically, the care of flowers is reduced to timely watering. It should be noted that different types of gentian use a different amount of water.
Thus, observing the necessary rules of care, you can decorate your garden with this rare plant in our region.