Kupena: planting and care in the open field, preparing for winter and pruning with a photo

Kupena is an attractive garden plant that looks like a lily of the valley. It is unpretentious, planting and caring for a bought in the open field is within the power of even a novice gardener. In addition to being decorative, it also has healing properties, and it is used by herbalists to prepare medicinal tinctures and decoctions. Thanks to these qualities, the plant has become a favorite of many gardeners.

Description and features

Kupena distribution area - the Far East, Siberia, the Caucasus. In the Moscow region, on meadows and slopes, the plant is also found, but to a much lesser extent. Outwardly, the kupena is very similar to the lily of the valley, which is not surprising - these are related plants.

The leaves of the bushes are oblong, with clearly visible longitudinal veins. Small flowers of white or cream color are bell-shaped. The edges of the buds are painted in a pale green color. Flowering begins in late spring, continues for a month. The people gave the plant several names: garden lily of the valley, Solomon's seal, wolf grass, crow berries.

Growing

To grow a kupen at home, you need to know and fulfill its requirements.

Choosing a seat

Kupena will develop best in shade or partial shade. The bright rays of the sun negatively affect the plant. The flower does not tolerate stagnant water, so it is not planted on wet soils.

Soil Requirements

Kupena is undemanding to the composition of the soil, but still it will be better to grow on a fertile one. Before planting bushes, drainage should be laid in the planting pits to protect the rhizomes from flooding in rainy summers.Kupena develops well under the canopy of trees, forming large curtains.

Timing

Planting period bought in open ground - spring or autumn. But it is easier for a garden lily of the valley to transfer a transplant in late August or early September. The plant will have time to take root before the onset of cold weather, and will not freeze out in a frosty winter.

Plant pattern

Kupena multiplies quickly with the help of rhizomes, so it is not necessary to plant it densely. Boarding is as follows:

digging up a plot to a depth of 20-25 centimeters;
holes are formed at a distance of 20 centimeters from one another;
drainage is laid at the bottom of the planting holes;
bushes are planted to a depth of 8 centimeters.

Pay attention! Kupena is a poisonous plant, so wash your hands thoroughly after handling it.

Reproduction

You can grow a garden lily of the valley on the site in 2 ways: by seeds and by dividing rhizomes. The first method is laborious and is not usually used by gardeners.

Division of rhizomes

With the vegetative method, the bushes selected for transplantation are previously dug. In this case, the rhizomes are separated from the mother plant. Plants are dug up and transplanted to a new place. Kupena will begin to bloom in 2 years.

Seeds

This method is not very common among gardeners, since the flowering of the garden lily of the valley will have to wait 5 years. In addition, long-proboscis bumblebees are needed for pollination of flowers (the exception is broad-leaved kupena). If, nevertheless, this method of reproduction is chosen, then the seeds must first be kept for 2 months in the refrigerator, then planted in a planting box.

Care

Kupena is an unpretentious plant, so caring for it is easy. In a dry summer, you need to moisten the soil, mulch it to retain moisture, fight weeds in the first years of plant life, and sometimes feed it.

Irrigation

Water should be carefully watered, because she does not like excessive moisture: in these conditions, she is attacked by slugs, snails, and rot forms on the roots. If the summer is rainy, the precipitation will be enough for her. Irrigate the garden lily of the valley only in dry summers.

Mulching

Usually, after watering, the plants are loosened to prevent crusting. But in the case of a purchased one, this does not need to be done: it has rhizomes close to the surface of the soil, and they can be damaged by loosening. Instead, bushes are purchased and mulched with tree bark, sawdust or peat.

Weed control

In the first 2 years of life, the kupen needs to be rid of the weeds growing around it. Young bushes are not able to resist tall weeds. In the future, the garden lily of the valley forms a dense curtain, and is able to kill other plants.

Feeding

Kupena does not make great demands on soil fertility, but if it is planted in depleted soil, top dressing will be required. For this, a complex mineral composition is used, which is applied in the spring, when the plants hatch, and again when they bloom.

Diseases and pests

Garden lily of the valley is rarely exposed to diseases and pests. However, due to waterlogging of the soil, slugs can attack the kupene, due to the activity of which the plant loses its decorative appearance. To rid the site of pests, they are collected by hand, and the soil is also sprinkled with ash and eggshells.

Preparing for winter

For the winter, the ground part of the kupena dies off, and the underground part safely waits out the frost. To prevent the leaves from serving as carriers of diseases, they can be cut in the fall.

If plantings are grown in the northern regions, they will need additional shelter.

To do this, the earth is sprinkled with peat, sawdust, dry leaves.

Transfer

Kupena grows strongly, forming a dense curtain. Bushes begin to lack space for nutrition and development. In this case, the plants need to be replanted. To do this, a bush is dug up with the presence of at least one bud on the rhizome, transplanted to another place, watered.

Cutting

After flowering, kupene does not require pruning of leaves: further development of the root system passes through them. If the gardener does not need seeds for propagation, then the flower stalks must be removed. This must be done for the reason that setting the seed takes a lot of strength from the plant.

Additional information. Because of the rounded, depressed scars on the rhizome, the plant is called Solomon's seal.

Views

In nature, there are about 50 species of kupena. More about the most popular of them.

Pharmacy

It is also called medicinal or fragrant. Pharmacy kupena releases a stem slightly bent to one side. Its height is 30-40 centimeters, oblong leaves are located along the entire length. The buds are painted white or light pink. All parts of the plant are considered medicinal and are actively used in traditional medicine.

Whorled

The whorled kupena reaches a height of 30-60 centimeters. The plant got its name for the leaves, which are collected in whorls of 4-8 pieces. Narrow elongated leaves are painted with a green palette, buds are white.

Multicolor

This is a tall species of garden lily of the valley: it reaches a height of 1 meter. The buds are collected in bundles of 3-4 pieces. Snow-white flowers hanging from the leaf axils are attached to thin legs.

Broadleaf

The bushes of this type of garden lily of the valley are medium-sized: their height reaches 50 centimeters. The leaves are oval, the buds are painted white. The plantation blooms in late spring.

Squat

Unlike other species, the stem is squat and straight. The bush grows no higher than 35 centimeters. Its leaves are green ovoid, the flowers are white.

Hooker

This is a dwarf plant species. Its height barely reaches 10 centimeters. The leaf plates are oblong, the buds acquire a purple-lilac hue in the process of growth.

Pratty

One of the decorative types of garden lily of the valley. Its stems are colored purple, the leaves - in a green palette with a touch of silver. Lilac flowers are collected in a brush.

Landscape use

Kupena suitable for use in shady areas of the garden. It can cover the base of trees and shrubs. This will be a mutually beneficial symbiosis: the crown of plantations will protect the garden lily of the valley from the scorching sun, and it, in turn, will cover unsightly tree trunks.

In addition, kupena can be used in rockeries, planting it behind undersized plants: daisies, tenacious, pansies. It will serve as a backdrop for irises, daylilies, garden geraniums. It will go well with the same shade-loving plantings as itself: hosta, ferns, dicentra, primroses, geykhera.

Florists use garden lily of the valley for bouquets and flower arrangements. It can also be used for forcing. To do this, pieces of rhizomes are planted in pots and kept in a warm room.

Like a medicinal plant

In folk medicine, all parts of the plant are used to prepare infusions, decoctions, compresses. It can relieve pain, stop bleeding, heal inflammation. Below are a few recipes recommended by herbalists for the treatment of diseases.

Alcohol tincture

For its preparation you will need:

70 grams of plant leaves;
100 grams of 70% alcohol.

Chop the grass, pour it with alcohol, keep it for 10 days in a dark room, then strain. The medicine is taken three times a day, 10 drops. Helps with bleeding, ulcers, impotence.

Decoction for wound healing

The remedy is being prepared as follows:

grind 2-3 tablespoons of roots;
fill them with 0.5 liter of water;
cook for 20 minutes over low heat.

Decoction is used only for lotions and compresses. The tool heals bleeding wounds, removes bruises and bruises.

Painkiller decoction

You will need the following ingredients for cooking:

5 grams of garden lily of the valley root;
1 cup boiling water.

The ingredients are mixed in a saucepan, which is put on a slow fire for 20 minutes. It is used to relieve the condition in the form of a compress.

Important! Bought as a medicine before use, you should consult your doctor.

Decorative cupena is indispensable for decorating shady places. It is unpretentious, easily propagated by rhizomes, drowns out weeds. In addition, its healing properties are actively used in traditional medicine.