Dicentra: planting and care in the open field, transplanting, growing from seeds, reproduction

Many cultivated plants, such as gladiolus and marigolds, look great in early spring in garden plots, but are quite ordinary. Often there are times when the desire to diversify your backyard plantings does not leave for a long time. In this case, it is worth looking for new instances. The ideal solution would be a dicentra. With a careful study of the rules for planting and caring for this beautiful culture, you can decorate the garden in early spring with numerous inflorescences of delicate and amazing flowers in the form of a heart of a beautiful shade.

Description and features

The birthplace of dicentra is Japan, although according to many sources it is considered a European plant. In 1816, high society in Europe immediately became interested in the brightness of shades and the unusual shape of the dicentra. The second name of culture is a broken heart. According to legend, the girl Jeanette fell in love with a handsome young man and was looking for all sorts of ways to meet. One day she saw him with another woman who was his bride. Her heart burst from pain, the girl fell, and a flower grew in that place.

There are many varieties of dicentra, among which there are low-growing varieties that do not exceed 15 cm in height, and tall ones, up to 1 m in length. Dicentra is characterized by a fleshy long rhizome that goes deep into the soil. The plant is decorated with beautiful pinnately dissected foliage, painted green with a bluish tint.

Interest in dicenter among many gardeners arose because of the unusual shape of the bud in the form of small open hearts twisting down on a thin pedicel. Even the slightest gust of wind makes the flowers sway.

Views

There are about 20 types of dicentra, of which only 10 are cultivated by people for decorative purposes. The most popular varieties include these.

Gorgeous

Perennial, reaching only 20 cm in height. It has fleshy, leafless shoots and leaves consisting of small lobes with a serrated edge. The flowers are collected 7-15 in racemose inflorescences with pink outer petals. Dicentra blooms in May, it lasts less than a month. The buds are collected in small racemose inflorescences. Leaves of different shades of green depending on their location on the stem.

Beautiful

Dicentra blooms throughout the summer, from the first days of June to early September. An undersized species that reaches no more than 40 cm in height. The length of the inflorescence ranges from 10 to 15 cm. They contain small pinkish-purple flowers with a diameter of 20 mm.The leaves have a palmate shape, a bright green tint and a slightly bluish surface.

Exceptional

A notable feature of dicentra is that the leaves have a gray-blue tint and in their shape resemble a fern leaf plate. The flowers, collected in long inflorescences, have various shades, ranging from white to dark purple. Pleases dicentra with flowering from mid-May, which lasts 85-90 days.

Climbing

A variety of dicentra with a liana-like shape, flexible branches up to 2 m in size. The mechanical tissue of the stem is poorly developed, so it stretches along the ground or climbs on various supports. The leaves are trifoliate, the inflorescences are white or yellow. Dicentra blooms in June until the first frosts.

Klouchnosaya

A low-growing dicentra that grows to a maximum of only 15 cm.The flowers, collected in racemose inflorescences with a minimum height of 8 cm, have delicate shades of white and pink. This type of dicentra has found wide application in the pharmaceutical industry due to the content of a significant amount of alkaloids in the leaves.

Canadian

Relates to undersized species, because it grows no more than 25 cm. The leaves are near the root and have a bluish color, kept on long petioles. Attract the attention of flowers collected in inflorescences, painted white with a pink tint. The dicentra begins flowering in April, its duration is short, only a month. Used as a decoration not only for the garden, but also for the balcony.

Stray

A small plant only 10-20 cm high with a short rhizome. The inflorescences are large, more than 15 peduncles develop on one representative. The color of the buds is pink. Dicentra blooms from the first decade of July until the end of September.

Popular varieties

Dicentra boasts the following varieties, which are preferred by most gardeners.

Alba

Perennial has gained popularity due to the abundance and duration of flowering and undemanding care. Decorative dicentra can grow over 1 m in height. Flowering occurs at the end of spring and lasts for a month.

Gold Hart

Dicentry variety is distinguished by the presence of a golden hue of leaves and flowers of delicate pink color, located along the entire length of tall stems. The bush itself is sprawling due to the strong branching of massive thick leaves. The inflorescence brush is one-sided. Flowering occurs at the end of May and lasts no more than 20 days.

Aurora

Short cultivated plant reaches a height of only 25-35 cm. The buds are large in the shape of a heart, collected in inflorescences. Flowering period: last decade of May - first week of July. Leaves of a gray shade decorate the dicenter, the bush itself looks magnificent.

Bacchanal

Attractive undersized perennial, not exceeding 40 cm in length. The culture is endowed with light green leaves and bright cherry flowers, collected in a racemose inflorescence. Flowering period: June to September.

Burning Hearts

A low-growing dicentra variety with delicate red buds framed by a white border, which gather in inflorescences up to 2 cm in diameter. The plant has pinnately dissected leaves with a silvery coating. Blooms throughout the season.

Reproduction

You can propagate the dicenter in such ways as dividing the bush or rhizome, cuttings, seeds.

Dividing the bush

To propagate dicentra in this way, you need to dig up the plant, clean the root system from the ground. Using a knife, carefully divide the whole bush into 3-4 parts, transplant to the same depth as before.

Cutting

During the summer period, select young high-quality stems or parts of dicentric roots. Plant cuttings in moist soil for germination, and send to a permanent place only next year.

Seeds

This method of dicentra breeding is rarely used. Seeds are difficult to get because they do not have time to mature, and also have poor germination. For their germination, a temperature of 20 degrees is required. Sow them in the ground in September.

Rhizome division

One of the easiest and fastest ways, which is carried out at the end of the summer. A strong and he althy dicentra bush immediately after flowering, when its top begins to die off, dig it up, clear the root system from the ground, dry it a little in the sun. With a sharp knife, cut the root into pieces so that each copy has at least 3 buds.Cover the cuts with ashes and plant the material in the soil.

Growing seedlings

Growing dicentra seedling method has its own characteristics.

Timing

In mid-January, start breeding dicenters using seedlings.

Soil preparation

Get special soil at any flower shop.

How to prepare

Pour soil into the container and moisten a little. Seed material pre-fill with water and dry.

How to plant

Press the seeds a little into the soil, spray the soil with mineral water using a spray bottle. Close the containers with a lid and send for 3 weeks to a room where the temperature is 4 degrees above zero. Make ventilation holes in the lid.

Temperature and light conditions

In early February, place the container in a bright room with a temperature of 20 degrees and place it under a phytolamp. At this stage, proper care should be organized, including regular ventilation of the soil and its moistening using a spray gun. In the last days of February, shoots are formed, they are watered through the pan and continue to be kept under the phytolamp.

Dive

In April, the sprouts will grow and form 3 real leaves. At this time, it is required to carry out a pick, seating each instance in separate pots.

Hardening

In early May, seedlings are recommended to be taken outside, gradually increasing the duration of the session, to get used to the conditions of its further growth. It is forbidden to put plants in the sun, it is better to place them in the shade.

Landing in open ground

Plant plants in a flower bed in August, choosing a shaded place in the garden with light soil without stagnant water. In the presence of clay soils, add sand and peat, and organize drainage at the bottom of the hole.

When planting in the hole, plant 2-3 plants to form a lush bush. The distance between the planting units should be at least 50 cm. Carefully cover the seedlings with soil substrate, fertilized compost and wood ash. After planting, water the plants and protect them from the sun for several days.

Care

Caring for a dicentra in an open-air flower bed will not take much effort and time, as the plant is unpretentious.

Irrigation

Water dicentra as needed. If the summer is rainy, then irrigation can be abandoned. Just keep in mind that with a lack of moisture, the foliage becomes smaller and the buds fall.

It is recommended to spill the soil to the entire depth of the roots - at least 60 cm.

Feeding

Feed dicentra three times a year before and after flowering and before wintering with long-acting fertilizers, as they can minimize the need for nutrients.

AVA Station wagon 2-3 years

Granules are poured into the soil in the amount of 1 tbsp. l. under the bush This fertilizer provides the perennial with a complex of elements for several years.

Osmocote Release Form

Produced in the form of large peas coated with biodegradable resin. Apply once a year in the spring.

"Bazakot Plus"

Complex controlled release granular fertilizer with 3, 6, 9 or 12 month validity.

Bona Forte Universal

Regulates the amount of nutrient solution in the root system. The composition of the fertilizer includes silicon, which, along with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, is an essential element for the full development of dicentra.

Plantacote

Biosoluble membrane-coated granules provide controlled release of nutrients. Increase decorativeness and presentability of culture.

Cutting

Pruning dicentra to carry out at the end of the growing season, cutting off all the shoots to the very root.

Mulching

For mulching, apply humus, cut grass, sawdust. With this mulch, you can avoid drying out the soil, as well as enrich it with nutrients such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide.

Preparing for winter

After pruning, cover the plant with spruce branches, and in winter, using a thick plastic film.

To ensure a proper climate inside the shelter, it is better to use only non-woven fabric.

Questions for beginner gardeners

Answers to frequently asked questions of beginner growers:

1. Can dicentra be grown in flowerpots and pots? Yes, but choose a flowerpot overall depending on the size of the root system of the bush.
2. With what plants to plant dicentra? Tall varieties get along well with coniferous plantations, and low species with saxifrage and primroses.
3. What pests affect the dicentra? Most often it is aphids, ants and bears.

Dicentra is especially popular all over the world, because the perennial is everywhere considered a symbol of love and devotion, as it is associated with many romantic legends. And its delicate colors, graceful shape and easy cultivation have made the plant one of the garden's favorite flowers.

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