Mexican Hat On A Flower Bed

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

Ratibid flowers are very similar to rudbeckia - its immediate relative. However, the first of them, due to its rather high core, resembles a bright, spectacular sombrero, which is why it is popularly called a Mexican hat. Walking past a flower bed with such an original plant is quite difficult …

Ratibidu Mexican hat began to be called the indigenous people of North America, where she comes from. In nature, the plant is most often found on dry plains, prairies, roadsides and wastelands from Canada to Mexico. In total, there are about 6 types of ratibids, among them the most famous are columnar and feathery.

Excellent pollinator

Radibida looks delightful on garden beds, on balconies and in ridges. From the middle of summer, bright yellow flowers, like numerous suns, attract bees, butterflies and handsome goldfinches. The plant looks good in bouquets and will easily stand in a vase for at least 10 days. In a garden bed, they will serve as an ornament from early summer to mid-autumn. In compositions, the flower is often combined with ground cover plants.

The aroma is difficult to catch

The Mexican cap is distinguished by a large number of tap-branched roots and several erect stems with a characteristic tree-like base. Their height can reach up to 130cm. Leaves of a grayish-green color up to 15 cm in length with rather deep dividing lines are covered with a slightly noticeable hairline. Long petals of bright yellow color gracefully bend and join the stem. A dark cone rises from the center of the plant up to 1.5 cm in width and up to 3 cm in length.

The shape of the flower is very reminiscent of a graceful ballerina in a tutu. The flower disc - pale green - changes its color over time and becomes deep brown. In autumn, the fruits of Mexican caps ripen - small achenes with wings up to 4 cm. The plant itself does not have any strongly pronounced odor, but at the same time, its damaged stems emit a subtle anise aroma.

Fewer flowers on fertilized soil

Ratibida is an absolutely unpretentious plant that tolerates both frost and heat well, both heavy rains and drought. In the middle lane, it is most often not even covered for the winter. Mexican hats are absolutely unpretentious to the soil composition. This plant thrives best on limestone with excellent drainage. But, despite this, it will grow on alkaline, slightly acidic or clay soils. Only very salty soils are not suitable for her.

On well-fertilized, fertile soil, the leaves bloom rapidly, but flowering is likely to be rather scarce. We expect the same result if we plant the ratibida in a shady place. This prairie visitor needs enough sunshine. After planting, the plant does not need any care, it will take good care of itself on its own. Periodically, Mexican hats need weeding and loosening. No obvious diseases and pests were found in this plant.

Subtleties of reproduction

This perennial is easy enough to propagate by seeds and cuttings. In the springtime, it is divided into sockets. This process is very complicated by the fact that the plant has a rather long root system, with its stem going very deep into the soil. It is for this reason that many growers choose the seed propagation method. Seeds are sown in autumn or early spring when the ground is still frozen. If you want to admire the blooming Mexican hats already in the year of sowing, then do not be too lazy to prepare flower seedlings from February.

In order for the seedlings to be viable, it is advisable to stratify the small winged achenes for about a month and a half, after which they are placed in well-moistened soil in small separate cups. It is not recommended to deepen them strongly; it is only necessary to press lightly and leave them in the light, at a temperature of no more than + 30C. It is necessary not to miss the time of planting seedlings in a permanent place of growth. This is done most often with the help of a special scoop, which allows you to deeply enter the soil and at the same time cannot damage the branched root system.

In order to avoid the hassle of replanting, ratibida is often transplanted directly into open ground, frozen from snow. The seeds are scattered over the top of the soil and pressed to the ground. And the first shoots should appear in May. If we talk about dividing the bush, then this is a rather laborious process, as a result of which it is rather difficult to get new plants. The most successful way is self-seeding, which should be taken into account, giving the plant sufficient space in the flowerbed.