Prince Of Okhotsk

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

Prince of Okhotsk (lat. Atragene ochotensis) - a representative of the Knyazhik clan of the Buttercup family. Natural range - Japan, China, Korea, the Far East and Eastern Siberia. Typical habitats are rocks, talus and forests.

Characteristics of culture

The prince of Okhotsk is a woody shrub vine with dvadtrychatye leaves, consisting of ovate-lanceolate, whole leaves serrate-serrate along the edge. The flowers are large, solitary, blue or blue-violet, and sit on long stalks. Sepals are broadly lanceolate. Petals are numerous, spatulate, white in color. Fruits are small, equipped with long feathery columns. The prince of Okhotsk blooms in June, the fruits ripen in August-September. The species is decorative, easily propagated by cuttings. Relatively frost-resistant. When propagated by seeds, it blooms in the third year after sowing. It is widely used in folk medicine.

Growing conditions

Like all representatives of the Knyazhik clan, this species prefers shady areas. Growing in the open sun is not forbidden, but in this case, rather small and faded flowers are formed on the plants. Soils for the prince of Okhotsk are desirable moist, drained, fertile, neutral. The culture of acidic, waterlogged and waterlogged soils does not accept. Otherwise, the prince of Okhotsk is unpretentious. Plants grow well under the crowns of trees, near fences, walls of houses and other buildings. The establishment of a support for the princes is a prerequisite, especially for young, still immature specimens.

Care

The princes are moisture-loving, but they have a negative attitude to waterlogging. In hot summer watering is carried out at least 2 times a week. Adult princes are tolerant of dryness, but abundant flowering without watering should not be expected. In one place the princes live up to 15-20 years, therefore they cannot do without fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers. Young plants are fed 3-4 times per season, adults - 2 times. This procedure activates the growth of vines and allows you to get a larger number of bright flowers, and subsequently ripe fruit. The prince of Okhotsk cannot boast of resistance to pests and diseases, he needs regular preventive treatments with natural infusions.

Landing

Planting of the prince of Okhotsk can be carried out both in spring (April-May) and in autumn (September-early October). Planting pits are prepared in advance, their sizes depend on the development of the seedling, usually 50 * 50 cm. At the bottom of the pit, a small hill is necessarily formed, the mixture for which is made up of nutritious soil, compost or humus and coarse sand. Also, the mixture is filled with superphosphate and wood ash. If the soils are heavy, drainage is laid at the bottom of the pit, which can be: pebbles, expanded clay or broken brick. Acidic soils are preliminarily limed.

The distance between the plants should also be taken into account, it should be at least 1-1, 5 m. The seedlings of the prince of Okhotsk are planted together with a lump of earth. After planting, the soil in the near-trunk zone is compacted, watered and mulch is applied (crushed bark, coniferous litter or wood chips). Mulching is optional, but this procedure will protect the plant roots from overheating on hot days and retain moisture for a longer period.

Usage

The prince of Okhotsk is a flowering ornamental plant, it is perfect for vertical gardening. His allies can be periwinkles, tiarkas, large-leaved brunners, hosts, heucheras, arabis and other plants. Combining several varieties of princes is welcome, together they will create interesting compositions of the same appearance, but with flowers of different colors and different flowering periods.

You can cultivate culture not only near fences and walls of houses, but also near decorative wooden trellises, pergolas, stretch marks, arches and even boulders. The prince of Okhotsk is also used as a medicine. Infusions from green parts of plants are useful for headaches, heart weakness, pulmonary tuberculosis, flu, colds, dysbiosis, gynecological diseases, etc.