2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Huttinia (lat. Huttuynia) - light-loving winter-hardy perennial from the Savrurovye family. The second name is hauttuyniya.
Description
Huttinia is a frost-resistant and relatively unpretentious rhizome perennial with surprisingly beautiful decorative leaves. The height of this plant usually ranges from twenty centimeters to half a meter, and its green leaves sitting on reddish stems are invariably characterized by a bizarre heart-shaped shape.
The medium-sized white flowers of the Khuttinia reach a diameter of only three to four centimeters, and each flower is equipped with four petals, which are bracts imitating leaves. And the high center of each flower is in reality a whole spike-inflorescence, and its height can even reach three centimeters! This inflorescence-spike is formed by tiny flowers devoid of perianths, sitting on the very axis of the inflorescences. And you can admire the bloom of the huttinia at the beginning of the summer season.
By the way, huttinia tends to grow very actively to the sides - this growth is carried out thanks to its rhizomes, which can easily "crawl" even under a solid concrete path. This is usually not typical of other rhizome perennials.
The genus of huttinia is represented by only one single plant - the heart-shaped huttinia, and this genus got its name in honor of Martin Houttein, a famous Dutch botanist.
Where grows
This plant came to us from the southern part of the Far East, from the coastal meadows located there.
Usage
Huttinia is quite actively used in ornamental gardening - this creeping and easily rooting beauty is ideal for filling the voids formed between taller plants in shallow waters, in addition, it can safely be used to decorate the coastal zones of a small swamp or any other water bodies. It is quite permissible to plant huttinia in rock gardens. And its variegated varieties will look great in the foreground in flower beds near low bridges thrown over nearby reservoirs. This huttinia looks especially impressive against the background of sedges and all kinds of decorative grains.
Huttinia is also edible, and you can eat it both raw and boiled. In her homeland, that is, in China, she is completely harvested and sold like vegetables!
Growing and caring
Huttinia will grow best in sunny areas, since in case of shading, the variegated leaves will gradually turn green. On the whole, this beauty is undemanding to soils, however, the most preferable options for it will be good garden soils, as well as the banks of reservoirs, characterized by the presence of clay soils. It is also very important to ensure that there is no excess nitrogen either in the soil or in the fertilizing - this element has a negative effect on the plant's ability to winter.
This plant needs moderate humidification, and in the conditions of central Russia it is able to winter very well (this does not apply to snowless cold winters). At the same time, it is important not to forget that the flowers and leaves of the huttinia are still afraid of frost.
Reproduction of huttinia is carried out by means of segments of rhizomes equipped with renewal buds. At the same time, no more than sixteen plants can be planted on one square meter of area.
Wild forms of huttinias can be sown in spring and with seeds, however, due to the too high sensitivity of the seed, they should never be planted too deeply into the soil.
If, with the onset of spring, the huttinia has not sprouted, you should not rush to dig it up and throw it away right away - it is better to wait at least until June, because over time it can still appear!
