2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Eucomis (lat. Eucomis) - light-loving beautifully flowering and decorative leafy perennial, which is a representative of the Hyacinth family.
Description
Eukomis is a surprisingly beautiful bulbous perennial, equipped with rosettes of long narrow leaves, from which graceful flower arrows rush upward, on which rather high decorative inflorescences flaunt, consisting of a great variety of star-shaped flowers, which in turn are surrounded by bizarre bracts, that is, bracts. And at the top of each inflorescence there are several green bracts at once, giving the plant a special showiness!
The fruits of eukomis have the form of three-ribbed bolls opening at once along three seams. And the ovoid or rounded seeds of the plant are characterized by a dark brown or black color.
In total, the genus Eukomis includes fourteen species. And the scientific name of this plant was given in 1788 by Charles Louis Lhéritier de Brütel, and in translation from Greek it is translated as "beautiful-haired".
Where grows
The homeland of eukomis is considered to be the subtropical and tropical zones of South Africa, and it is there that it can most often be found in the wild.
Usage
Eukomis is cultivated by analogy with the well-known gladioli and is quite actively used in ornamental gardening.
Growing and caring
Eukomis will feel best on good garden soils, in open or at least well-lit areas.
Despite the fact that the Eukomis bulbs are endowed with the ability to withstand not too severe frosts quite well, they still do not hurt to dig them up and transfer them to the premises.
In the summer, the eukomis bushes should be watered abundantly, after which the intervals between watering should be gradually increased, and in the winter the plant is watered a little. At the same time, it is important not to forget that in waterlogged soil, Eukomis bulbs often rot, so you should not be too zealous with the amount of watering. And with excessively high air humidity, gray rot may appear on flowers, peduncles and leaves of eukomis.
Also regularly, about once a week, eukomis should be pampered with high-quality complex mineral fertilizers. And at the very beginning of the summer season, systemic fertilizers will not be superfluous.
In the southern regions, eukomises, covered for the winter with spruce branches or leaves, are quite capable of overwintering in open ground conditions. If this handsome man is grown in containers or pots, eukomis bulbs are planted in February, after which they are left in a fairly cool, but at the same time bright place. And approximately in mid-May, you can try to take out eukomises in the garden. Also, this plant is quite acceptable to grow in impressive tubs or containers, which in most cases are taken out into the open air around the second half of May.
In order for the plant not to lose its decorative effect, from time to time it is necessary to remove faded flower-bearing stems and all damaged parts of the green pet.
As for the reproduction of eukomis, it is almost always carried out by baby bulbs. Also, with the onset of autumn, it is quite permissible to carry out cuttings. Initially, the cuttings are placed in a mixture of agroperlite and sand, after which they are kept indoors at a temperature of at least ten to twelve degrees, and only then can the cuttings be planted in a permanent place. And this handsome man is usually transplanted every two or three years, doing it exclusively in the spring and moving the plants into pots of slightly larger sizes than the previous ones.
