Eukomis

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

Eukomis (lat. Eucomis) - a light-loving perennial from the Hyacinth family. The second name is eukomis.

Description

Eukomis is a bulbous perennial, equipped with rosettes of long narrow leaves. And right from these rosettes, tall flower arrows rise, on which spectacular decorative inflorescences have firmly settled, consisting of a huge number of star-shaped flowers surrounded by pretty bracts (they are also called bracts). The six-petaled flowers of this plant are in most cases greenish-white in color. Eukomis blooms only in the summer, and its height usually ranges from ten centimeters to half a meter.

In total, the genus eukomis has fourteen species.

Where grows

The homeland of eukomis is considered to be the South African subtropics and tropics.

Usage

Eukomis is rather successfully grown not only in open-field flower beds, but also in pots located on terraces with balconies.

Growing and caring

Eukomis is cultivated by analogy with gladioli. However, despite the fact that the bulbs of this plant are endowed with the ability to tolerate not too severe frosts, ideally it is still recommended to dig them up and transfer them to wintering indoors. True, in the southern regions, eukomis is easily able to overwinter in the open field, but only if there is an appropriate shelter from spruce branches or leaves. If this plant is grown in containers or pots, the bulbs are usually planted in February and the containers are left in bright, cool places. And closer to mid-May, eukomis can be safely taken out into the garden.

Eukomis thrives best in well-lit areas - it grows well even in the open sun! This plant is more than resistant to high air temperatures, but it does not tolerate temperatures below four to six degrees.

Soils for growing eukomis, ideally, should be well-drained, loamy or sandy loamy, generously flavored with organic or complex fertilizers, while the former are applied in the amount of three to four kilograms per square meter of area, and the latter - at the rate of twenty to thirty grams per square meter. meter. In waterlogged soils, eukomis bulbs often rot - to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the soil.

In the summer, eukomis bushes must be watered abundantly and systematically (approximately once a week) fed with complex mineral fertilizers. In addition, at the beginning of the summer period, you can safely use systemic fertilizers. Closer to autumn, the intervals between watering begin to gradually increase, and in winter, eukomis is watered only occasionally and little by little. If the air humidity is too high, then gray rot may appear on flowers, peduncles and eukomis leaves. So watering must also be carefully monitored.

And the reproduction of eukomis occurs exclusively by baby bulbs. You can propagate it by seeds - they are planted in boxes filled with soil consisting of one-third of sand and two-thirds of peat, after which these boxes are transferred to a room with a temperature of sixteen to eighteen degrees. In addition, with the onset of autumn, it is quite permissible to carry out cuttings - the cuttings are planted in a mixture of agroperlite and sand and kept until spring in closed rooms, where the temperature does not drop below ten to twelve degrees. This plant is transplanted approximately every two to three years, while for each transplant, a larger volume should be taken.