Graceful Aquilegia Bushes. Reproduction, Care

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

Every gardener has a desire to increase the amount of planting material for his favorite pets, spending minimal funds on the purchase. How to propagate aquilegia on your own?

Breeding types

Aquilegia reproduces in two ways:

• vegetative (dividing the bush, cuttings);

• seed.

In the first case, the new plants completely repeat the parental forms. This method is used on especially valuable, terry varieties. The latter variant gives a splitting according to the initial characteristics. Bees, bumblebees add a variety of colors through cross-pollination.

Let's consider each method in more detail.

Dividing the bush

The period of active growth of aquilegia is 5 years. Then the bushes grow old, the middle dies off, the plant breaks up into separate rosettes. Flowering weakens, the decorative appearance is lost. Every 4 years, a rejuvenating division of adult specimens is carried out.

In early spring, when the buds are extended, they dig up the bushes completely, trying to damage the fragile roots less. Shake off excess earth. Divide it into parts with a sharp knife, leaving 2-3 growth buds in each piece, a "beard" of small roots. I process the sections with ash. They are planted in a permanent place.

Cuttings

The grafting method is used on especially valuable varieties. Bushes are not dug up. In early spring, dormant buds with a maternal base are broken out. Slices are treated with a rooting stimulant.

Prepare a small bed with loose fertile soil. Fall asleep on top of 5 cm of sand. Rows are cut, spilled with potassium permanganate. Cuttings are placed every 10 cm in the furrow, deepening the maternal "body" to the base of the leaf. Put water bottles to increase humidity. Cover with foil through the arcs. Shade from above with non-woven material.

They monitor the condition of the soil. Water if necessary, air the plantings daily. After a month, real roots appear. The leaves open, the plants start to grow. These signs indicate successful propagation by cuttings.

Seed method

Gardeners practice two sowing options:

• podzimny;

• spring.

In the first case, freshly harvested seeds are sown without drying on prepared beds in the fall. Cover the top with a thin layer of fallen leaves. This method produces more friendly shoots.

Spring sowing requires preliminary seed stratification. The soaked grains are mixed with sand, stored for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator. Or they are sown in early spring directly on the beds, when night temperatures are kept within -2 … 0 degrees. There the seeds undergo natural stratification.

The garden bed is prepared in the fall. They dig up the earth on the bayonet of a shovel, having previously scattered compost with sand on heavy soils over the surface. Arcs are put.

In the spring, grooves are cut with a depth of 0.3 cm. Spill with a solution of potassium permanganate. The seeds are laid out at a distance of 2-3 cm in a row. Sprinkle with compost. Press down with your hand, compacting the earth. Cover the film. Sprinkle with water 1-2 times a week.

Shoots appear in 2-3 weeks. Once every 2 weeks, young animals are fed with a complex fertilizer "Zdraven", a table spoon without a slide on a bucket of liquid. After 1-1.5 months, when the return frosts pass, the plants are planted in a permanent place. Before transplanting, they gradually remove the shelters, accustoming the aquilegia to the conditions of the street.

Seedlings bloom for 2 years. By the age of 3 they form lush bushes.

Planting, leaving

On flower beds, the distance between plants of low-growing varieties is set to 25 cm, tall ones - 40 cm. Dig holes equal to the length of the root system. Sprinkle with water, set the plants vertically. Fall asleep with a mixture of humus and sand. Crushing the soil around the bushes with your hand.

At first, they shade aquilegia with non-woven material. After 2 weeks, the shelter is removed. Water as the substrate dries. Mulch the surface with sawdust, peat or straw cutting, retaining moisture.

Remove "competitors" in the phase of a thin thread. Loosens the soil between the rows. Once a month they are fed with Kemira Lux complex fertilizer or herbal infusions with the addition of ash, a superphosphate matchbox on a bucket of solution.

Undesirable self-seeding can be avoided by removing arrows with green bolls after flowering.

The above methods will help to obtain a sufficient amount of planting material. Will keep your beloved pets from aging. Agrotechnical practices will reduce the risk of plant death. Aquilegia will thank caring gardeners with long flowering, decorate the flower beds with openwork greenery.