Exotic plants of an unusual appearance, which many gardeners want to see on their site, are often capricious and too demanding on the conditions of detention to become a worthy decoration of a summer cottage. You can take the word to the seller from the garden center that any bush will please its owner with abundant flowering for many years, and purchase some kind of expensive plant. But it often happens that it is too capricious and does not bloom at all. If you want to plant something unusual on the site in order to surprise your neighbors, but do not take too much care of the plant, you can purchase a horse chestnut rogers. This plant, judging by the name, looks like a horse chestnut, but it is not a tree, but a shrub.
Horse chestnut rogers: plant description
Rogersia belongs to the family of Saxifragidae. It is decorative and is often used for landscaping European parks, but in Russia is not yet widespread. But it is quite possible that it will soon gain popularity due to its unusual and very decorative appearance. During the flowering period of Rogersia horse chestnut, the inflorescence of this plant is vaguely reminiscent of how the chestnut blossoms, but the buds themselves are smaller, white, collected in a panicle.
Perennial Features
The flower stalk height can reach 1.5 m. It appears in early July and continues to bloom for about a month. The leaves are pinnate, beautiful, saturated green. They are located on long petioles growing from the rhizome. In autumn, leaf blades acquire a juicy bronze hue, but can change color to purple or raspberry leaves of Rogersia. Planting and care in the open ground do not cause much difficulty. The main positive quality of this plant is its undemanding to the conditions of cultivation and care. Of course, it has its own characteristics, but it is convenient to grow it in moist and shady areas where the bush feels good and grows well. The soils of this perennial like light and nutritious. Loam is best.
Application of Rogers in landscape design
The plant is associated with Asian countries, moist forests along river valleys and mountain slopes, but it closely resembles horse chestnut familiar to everyone. It's all about dissected leaves, covered with deep veins. The horse chestnut Rogersia grows on the banks of reservoirs, therefore it prefers moist conditions. It is advisable to plant it on shady areas protected from cold winds.
Companions for Rogersia in landscape compositions and on alpine hills can be tall plants, then you get a single surface from foliage of various shapes and textures. A motley mixture of shrubs and other shade-tolerant perennials looks beautiful. The plant is used to decorate not only in single plantings, but also in group compositions. It goes well with hosts, frankincense, various flowers and ferns.
The height of the bush of the horse chestnut rogers can reach 1.5 m. This should be taken into account when creating compositions with other plants. In width, the bush grows by about half a meter, one leaf under favorable conditions can reach the same size. The plant looks good in stone gardens in the Japanese style, able to decorate a large alpine hill and rockery. Rogers can be planted as a single plant in the shade of trees or on a lawn near the house. Then this exotic plant will definitely not go unnoticed by its neighbors.
Rogersia: Outdoor Landing and Care
Shrub prefers nutritious soil. When planting in a pit, you need to add a mixture of compost, peat and humus. The soil should be loose, light and rich in minerals. Choosing a place and preparing a landing pit, you can proceed with the landing of a chestnut rosers. The root system is not buried too much. The depth should not exceed 5 cm. The plant is covered with soil and mulched immediately. Mulch helps retain moisture and prevents the rhizome from drying out. The bush is developing rapidly and in two years it will have a decorative look. If planting was carried out correctly, a plant can stay in one place for decades, and this only benefits him.
Growing Rogersia
When planting is completed and care for Rogersia in the open ground begins as an adult plant, you need to take time to regularly water the plant, especially in the summer. The bush will not need any more special care. In autumn, when the growing season is over, the plant is pruned under the root. Growing horse chestnut rogers in winter does not require much attention from the gardener. The bush is quite cold-resistant and does not need additional shelter for the winter. It tolerates frosts down to -25 ° C. You can mulch the earth around the plant with dry foliage, peat chips or other covering material. But the piece of the stem remaining after pruning the shoots must be left free.
Top dressing bush
The first top dressing of horse chestnut Rogersia is introduced in the spring. To do this, use nitrogen-containing organic fertilizer. The bush responds well to the introduction of nutrients, blooms more abundantly and actively grows foliage. In summer, he is fed under the root of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. It is important that copper, magnesium, zinc and sulfur are present in complex fertilizers for Rogersia. When the plant fades, the inflorescences are removed so as not to spoil the decorative look. If desired, it can be transplanted to another place, but, being constantly on one site, it becomes more attractive every year and more and more pleases the eye of its owners.
Breeding Rogersia
It is easiest to propagate the shrub vegetatively. Most often, bush division is used. This is a simple process without any particular problems. When dividing the bush, a full-fledged flowering plant is immediately obtained. The procedure is carried out in spring or autumn: the rhizome is dug up and divided into several parts. Then the dividers are planted in pre-prepared areas. You can plant Rogersia in a group of several plants, but then the distance between them should be at least 15 cm.
Another option is to use parts of the rhizome to multiply the bush, cutting it into pieces about 10 cm in size. It is better to harvest them in late autumn, when the green part of the plant has already died out. Pieces of rhizomes are placed in distribution boxes 5-7 cm deep and covered with soil or sand. Containers should be stored in a cool room for 4 months. You need to make sure that this place does not freeze. The optimum temperature for propagation by pieces of rhizomes: +5 ... +10 º. For this purpose, a cellar or basement is suitable. The soil must be moistened periodically so that the roots do not dry out. Sprouts will appear in the spring, then they can first be transplanted into peat pots, and when the blow is threatened by frost and the soil warms up, planted in a permanent place.
In the summer, Rogersia is propagated using leaf cuttings with a “heel”. This option is more time consuming than dividing the bush, and takes more time. Segments of stems are placed in a container with soil, covered with a film and put in a place protected from direct sunlight. Cuttings regularly moisturize and ventilate.
Features of seed propagation
Rogersia can be propagated by seeds, but this method is practically not used for a number of reasons:
- Seeds germinate poorly.
- Seedlings grow very slowly.
- If pollinated with different varieties, the seedling will not receive varietal signs of the mother plant.
- Varietal traits are practically not transmitted, even if the seeds are collected from plants that were pollinated by the same variety.
This option of plant propagation is useful only to very enthusiastic and patient gardeners for whom varieties do not matter. For others, dividing the bush is best.
Rogers Diseases and Pests
The plant is very unpretentious and practically not damaged by pests and diseases, if it grows in suitable conditions. The only thing she can get is fungal infections. They arise due to errors in care, during bogging of the soil or during heavy watering, after prolonged drying of the root system. It is very important to properly water Rogers during the entire growing season. Then she will not be sick. The substrate in which the bush grows also matters. If the soil is airy, loose and rich in nutrients, the bush grows strong, beautiful and has strong immunity. For the prevention of fungal diseases, it is advisable to periodically spray the crown with a fungicide solution.