Montbrecia

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Montbrecia also known as crocosmia. This culture is one of the perennial plants; in total, about fifty-five species are read in the genus. This flower is surprisingly graceful, it is especially valuable for its decorative and rather long flowering period. Montbrecia flowers are endowed with a very pleasant aroma, which will very much resemble the smell of saffron.

Description of the features of the care and cultivation of montbrecia

To grow this plant, it is recommended to pick up loose, fertile, alkaline soils, which, among other things, will also be quite well-drained. To plant this plant, the place should be prepared even in the autumn period of time: this will require digging up the soil, as well as adding organic fertilizers and lime in the case when the soils are not particularly alkaline. Among other things, you will also need to provide good drainage. For planting montbrecia, you should choose a sunny place, because if the plant is grown in the shade, then flowering may not come. It is recommended to water the plant very abundantly: about once a week. However, it is important to avoid the slightest stagnation of water. After watering has been completed, you will need to carefully loosen the soil.

It is noteworthy that top dressing should be applied throughout the summer period. Even during planting, it is important to apply complex mineral fertilizers. When the plant begins to grow, it will require top dressing in the form of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. During the budding period, it is required to apply mineral fertilizers, in which the potassium content is noted. After flowering ends, the peduncle of the montbrecia needs to be cut off. This is done for the reason that it allows the corms to ripen very well.

In the second half of October, this plant should be dug up, and its stems and leaves should be cut off. After that, it is required to dry the corms in a room in which good ventilation will be regularly provided. After drying is over, the corms should be placed in boxes, and also sprinkled with dry peat. Then such boxes are removed to a rather dark room, in which the temperature will be maintained in the range between five and ten degrees Celsius. In regions where the climate is quite warm, this plant will be able to winter outdoors. In order to prevent plantings from freezing, they need to be covered with dry foliage. It is noteworthy that some types of montbrecia are able to favorably survive the winter period of time in the ground even in central Russia.

In the spring period, around the beginning of May, corms should be planted in open ground. About a couple of days before planting, it is necessary to ensure that the corms are kept at room temperature. The roots of the plant should be cut off, and the remainder of the leaves and stems should also be removed. Among other things, it is also necessary to separate the babies of montbrecia. Some time before planting, the planting material should be soaked for about a couple of hours in a rather weak solution of potassium permanganate.

When this plant spends the winter time in the open field, then it will be necessary to dig up the montbrecia every three years, divide the plant, and then transplant it to a new place.

Reproduction of montbrecia

Reproduction of this plant can occur both through seeds and with the help of children. The separation of children should be carried out in the spring time, in fact, this does not depend on the method of wintering the plant: either indoors or in the open field. Corms are recommended to be planted to a depth of about five to ten centimeters. The distance between plantings should be approximately ten centimeters.