Decorative grapes - a plant that is often and successfully used in landscape design. After all, a cozy gazebo, completely covered with green wicker foliage, is a true salvation on a hot summer afternoon from the scorching sun. And the stepped terraces entwined with grapes are an echo of the fashion for this plant, introduced by the rulers of past centuries.
In nature, decorative grapes became widespread in North America, and it was cultivated by the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland as early as 1622. Since that time, decorative liana has firmly occupied its niche in garden plots around the world.
In cultural gardening, 3 types of decorative grapes are distinguished:
- tripartite ivy;
- attached;
- five-leaf maiden (virgin).
Decorative grapes as part of landscape design
Lush rich greens, giving a refreshing coolness and practically requiring no care, with competent human intervention can create unique, bizarre shapes and unexpected original solutions. And all this with a minimum investment of labor and costs.
The second name of decorative grapes is “girlish” or “virgin ivy”. The explanation is very simple: the flowers of the plant do not require pollination to form seeds. Girl's grapes in landscape design - an effective tool to hide the unsightly facade of the house or to disguise the old barn. This is an excellent plant for the formation of "hedges": green, solid, original, perennial. However, there is a flip side to the coin: such a climbing plant, according to many experienced gardeners, can destroy the foundation, and the buildings themselves as well.
Decorative grapes (girlish): the benefits of growing
Decorative (or five-leafed) grapes has a lot of advantages:
- looks attractive and original;
- able to grow on any type of soil;
- actively growing (up to 2-3 meters per year), forms a green dense curtain;
- grows both in sunny areas and in the shade;
- content with even a small patch of land;
- easily propagated;
- resistant to diseases and pests;
- protects the walls of the building from wind, overheating, rain, dust.
The disadvantages of decorative grapes
The ability to quickly and actively grow can also be attributed to the disadvantages of this plant.
Girl's grapes (photo above), growing near the building, can easily run their powerful shoots under the slate on the roof or penetrate and clog the gutter. In any case, for the owners of the site, this means certain damage and material costs. Lush curly lianas, when overgrown, completely close the windows in the room, creating complete darkness. Such inconveniences can be easily dealt with if you control the growth of decorative grapes and promptly shorten excess shoots.
An equally important problem is the root system of the plant. Capturing the underground space, it easily spreads in all directions and causes great harm to the cultures encountered on the way. Even weeds under such a vine grow in small quantities or do not grow at all. It is also worth taking into account that decorative grapes in spring come to life somewhat later than the rest of the plants and for a long time is a dull sight from mixed, bare branches.
Location of decorative grapes
Decorative grapes planted on the south side of the house look very nice. In the autumn period, it turns into crimson, red, orange, purple tones and forms picturesque bluish-black berry clusters (unfortunately, inedible). The plant, planted on the north side, looks different and pleases the eye with dark green foliage until the onset of cold weather. In addition, in well-lit areas, the leaves of the plant are larger, and the color is more picturesque.
Decorative grapes: planting and care
Decorative grapes are unpretentious in care. It is enough to trim unnecessary whips in a timely manner and occasionally water the plant. Water consumption for each bush is about 10 liters. In dry, hot weather, the moisture supply needs to be increased. You can simultaneously fertilize the plant with nitroammophos or complex preparations, to which the liana will respond with active lush growth. Throughout the summer, it is recommended to remove weeds, loosen the soil and spud when exposing the roots. It is favorable for the plant to mulch the soil with peat or humus, which makes up a 6-centimeter layer.
With the advent of spring, decorative grapes need to remove the frozen tips of the branches, weakened and dried branches, as well as shoots grown outside the area allotted for the plant.
Stages of planting decorative grapes
To grow decorative grapes on your site is not particularly difficult. For planting, it is enough to stick the stem in the ground and water it. And then just have time to monitor the growth of the plant and control it. If you still have a desire to plant decorative grapes in accordance with all the rules, then you need:
- dig a hole under the stalk of the appropriate size;
- mix the soil with sand and compost;
- lay a drainage layer at the bottom of the pit;
- pour a part of the soil mixture on top;
- place the stalk in the pit;
- fill up with the remaining soil;
- form a watering hole;
- water the stalk well.
For a planted plant, you can make a support or tie up a wire, thus directing the growth of grapes in the right direction.
In the absence of support, the girl’s grapes (photo) with the help of suction cups at the ends of the antennae will grow, clinging to the slightest roughness on the walls.
Methods of propagation of decorative grapes
Cuttings (twigs with 4-5 healthy buds), intended for propagation of decorative grapes, can be cut at any time. Decorative grapes can also be propagated by seeds, provided the plant is fully ripened, or by lash layers by digging them horizontally into the soil, leaving the tops with buds above the ground. It turns out: one wave in the soil, another - above it, and so on. The scourge located in the ground can be attached with a straightened paper clip or a regular hairpin.
It is very convenient to propagate decorative grapes with root offspring. They are quite easily removed from the ground and landed in a new place for growing. Then the girl's grapes, whose seedlings are already well rooted, need to be planted at a constant place of growth in pre-prepared pits. The distance between the plants is at least 1 meter.
Ornamental grapes can be planted in spring and autumn: the plant survives equally well. For the winter, you can not hide it: it is quite frost-resistant. When freezing, it recovers very quickly due to sleeping kidneys.