Gelenium Gupesa

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

Gelenium Gupesa (lat. Helenium hoopesii) - one of the many representatives of the genus Gelenium of the large family Astrovye, or Compositae. Native of North America. Under natural conditions, it grows in mountain meadows and along the banks of the Missouri River. A large number of wild specimens can be captured in the states of North Dakota, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho.

Characteristics of culture

Gelenium Gupesa is represented by perennial rhizome plants, reaching 80-90 cm during growth. They are characterized by straight, not too branched stems, crowned with oblong, lanceolate, rather dense, solid green foliage with a grayish tint.

The inflorescences in the species under consideration are typical baskets, consisting of marginal and disc flowers that have a yellow color. They reach 7-9 cm in diameter. The flowering is abundant and colorful, of course, subject to the rules of care, a favorable climate and a good location. As a rule, it occurs in mid-June - early July, lasts a month or a week longer.

Location

Gelenium Gupesa, like other representatives of the genus, belongs to the category of light-loving plants, therefore it is recommended to plant them in well-lit areas, plenty of sunshine. You can also plant a culture in partial shade, but with the condition of rarefied lighting. In a dense shade, plants feel defective, develop slowly, bloom poorly.

Gelenium Gupesa makes no less demands on soils. It is preferable for the plant to allocate areas with fertile, moderately moist, neutral, well-processed and loose soils. The culture will not tolerate commonwealth with heavy, saline, dry, poor, waterlogged and highly acidic soils, although in the latter case, preliminary liming will save.

The subtleties of growing

The culture is propagated by seed or vegetatively, in particular, by leaf rosettes or by the classical division of the bush. Sowing seeds is carried out before winter or in spring (in the third decade of February - the first decade of March) for seedlings. In the second case, the seeds are subjected to preliminary cold stratification, the duration of which is 4-5 weeks. Containers with crops are placed in a warm place, the optimum temperature of which is 22C.

With the appearance of 2-3 true leaves on the shoots, a dive is carried out into separate containers. Seedlings are planted in the first decade of June, in the southern regions - in the third decade of May. If the seedlings are planted too early, young plants can be killed by night frosts. Before planting, the soil is thoroughly processed and fertilized, if necessary, high-quality drainage is done.

The size of the planting holes for seedlings should be twice as large as the root ball. Water is poured into the pit, then the seedling is lowered, the voids are filled with fertilized soil. The distance between the plants should be at least 30 cm, since helenium does not like tightness. Immediately after planting, mulching is carried out with natural material. Such manipulation will protect the roots of the culture from overheating and rapid evaporation of moisture. In addition, mulching will eliminate the weeding procedure.

Culture care

Caring for Gupes' helenium consists of simple procedures. Particular attention should be paid to watering. It should be regular and abundant, especially in dry periods, because the culture does not tolerate dry soil. Weeding (if a layer of mulch is not applied), light loosening and, of course, top dressing are also mandatory care procedures.

Organic matter and mineral fertilizers are applied three times per season: the first top dressing before planting or in May, the second - during flowering, the third - after flowering, but no later than September. To activate the bud formation process, experienced gardeners recommend treating the plants with a special regulator solution. Typically, treated plants boast lush blooms. The same is facilitated by the timely removal of faded inflorescences.