Heather is an evergreen wild shrub up to 60-70 cm tall with small dark green needle-shaped leaves and brown bark. It blooms at different times (depending on the type) with elegant clusters of small bells. Coloring - mainly white, pale lilac or bluish. Heather is quite widespread in almost the whole world. In Russia, these flowers are often found in peatlands and pine forests of Siberia and the European part.
Heather is wild and cultivated, of which much fewer people know. These are mainly decorators and home growers. Breeding a decorative flower is a rather troublesome affair, as it is an extremely whimsical shrub. But, despite all the difficulties, this lesson is very exciting and quite useful. If someone has ever grown heather at home once in his life, he becomes his admirer for life.
Types of heather
At home, as a rule, three main types of plants are grown:
- Heather slender (Erica gracillis).
- Wintering heather (Erica huemalis).
- Mix
Despite the fact that these three species are united by the general concept of heather, they all have obvious differences.
Heather slim
This very beautiful low shrub (maximum 40 cm), pubescent with light green leaves. During flowering, garlands of pink-red or purple bells, similar to pomegranate seeds, hang heavily on it.
Wintering heather
This shrub is a little taller. The leaves are larger, flowering occurs with magnificent white flowers.
Heather Mix
Belongs to the most popular species in Russia. Its height reaches 40-50 cm. The plant is covered with small scaly leaves and extremely branched. During flowering, which takes place in July, heather overgrows with luxurious tassels of pink, white and purple flowers.
Heather at home
The lifespan of heather in nature can be more than one dozen years. A cultivated bush lives in gardens or on an alpine hill for up to 5 years. Heather at home grows much less - no more than 2 years, and then only with proper care and maintenance of the plant.
Care Features
At home, the principle of caring for any type of decorative heather is approximately the same, although some still require special conditions.
What should a gardener do and remember? How to care for heather at home?
- First of all, you need a well-ventilated room in which the temperature in winter does not exceed + 7-12 ° C (for the life of the plant and its flowering in the winter, this condition is mandatory).
- Heather does not tolerate heat very well.
- The plant should have enough light.
- Growing heather at home requires timely watering. The soil should always be moderately moist, and water can be used to irrigate and spray the plant only if it has been settled and contains a minimum amount of chlorine. Rain or melt is very suitable. When watering, you need to try not to get on the leaves of the bush, as otherwise it may begin to suffer from a disease such as gray rot.
- As a nutrient medium for growing plants, it is recommended to take a mixture of swamp and coniferous land, as well as sand and peat (ratio of parts 3: 1: ½: 1).
- Heather, care at home for which is troublesome, but fascinating, very sensitive to top dressing, therefore it should be fertilized very carefully so as not to overdo it. A full range of mineral fertilizers for heather is introduced in the spring immediately after pruning. The fertilizer calculation is as follows - from 20 to 30 milligrams per square meter of soil.
- To stimulate growth and shape, the bush must be trimmed, while avoiding stiff shoots, because it is from them that new branches begin to grow.
It is worth noting that the heather ordinary at home behaves unpretentiously - this is a completely unpretentious planting and care plant.
Disease
Like all plants, heather is susceptible to certain diseases. The bush can be affected by aphids, spider mites and fungal parasites. In any of the diseases, appropriate specialist consultations are necessary to cure the plant. But you should remember: if all the conditions for proper care of heather are met, the risk of the disease will be reduced to zero.
Breeding
Heather can be propagated:
- seeds (in a plant they are very small);
- cuttings;
- way to divide the bush.
Moreover, at home, it is preferable to propagate the plant with seeds, since the planting of this grass can be carried out practically at all seasons. The process of growing in this way is quite long and laborious, but the degree of germination of seeds is very high - about 90%. The soil should be shed with a small amount of heated water, then put seeds on it, slightly press down and slightly sprinkle with earth. After that, in order to avoid drying out of the soil and seeds, cover the pot tightly with a film. About 30 days after sowing, the seeds will sprout. With the onset of heat, seedlings are taken out to the street so that it grows. A permanent place is planted about 1.5-2 years later.
If you do not want to wait so long, reproduction can be done by cuttings. For this, shoots should be carefully selected, which must be flexible and have vegetative buds at the ends. It should be remembered that it is the annual seedlings that are best taken root. Landing is recommended to be performed in special decorative pots with a peat-sand mixture. Cuttings are cut in early autumn, and only from the upper parts of the plant. Branches of flowering bushes cut off for rooting is not recommended.
When the plant propagates by dividing the bush (after flowering), it is taken out of the pot, then the rhizomes are divided into several parts and then planted in new containers.
As for plant transplantation, it is most favorable to produce it in the spring, 1-2 years after the initial planting (but not during the flowering period). Old bushes do not need to be touched.
In any case, it must be remembered that heather, planting and care at home do not take long, it is cultivated for no more than one year, after which it must be transplanted into the garden. However, if there is no desire to part with the enchanting plant, delivering daily joy, you can continue to contain heather in the room and beyond, but after 6-10 days after flowering, you need to cut the shoots and take them out to fresh air. Do not forget to feed the bush immediately with mineral fertilizers.
Application
Heather at home will be a wonderful decoration of the loggia, attic or terrace. Harmoniously, he looks in the apartment. Due to the fact that the flowering time lasts throughout almost the whole year, the evergreen plant is a wonderful decoration for almost any interior.
Heather flower, home care of which is a rather entertaining affair, looks very impressive in an ensemble consisting of several different plants. For example, he especially favorably emphasizes his decorative-leafy neighbors. A beautiful combination is obtained when combined with juniper, broom, fern. ...
The use of heather in folk medicine
Heather, planting and care at home for which is quite simple, has healing properties.
In folk medicine, most often the plant is used as an infusion. It is used as an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent, especially for colds, gout, cystitis and many other ailments.
We offer some of the most common and effective recipes.
Heather bath
To prepare it, you should take 50 grams of heather grass and steam in 7 liters of boiling water. After half an hour, strain the infusion. When taking a bath, pour the resulting broth into it.
Such procedures are a good remedy for leg swelling, radiculitis and bone fracture.
Heather tincture
Pour 100 grams of the roots of this plant with 300 ml of alcohol. The resulting solution is insisted in a dark place for 2 weeks. Then strain - the tincture is ready! Take 30-40 drops 3 times a day daily before meals.
After passing 1-2 courses of treatment, many people completely forget about gout, cystitis, and even sometimes about pulmonary tuberculosis.
Decoction made from leaves and flowers
To prepare it, you need to take 100 grams of chopped leaves and flowers of the plant, pour 1 liter of boiling water together. Next, the resulting broth is insisted for 15 minutes in a water bath, cool, then strain. Take 70 ml 3 times a day before meals.
This is an excellent tool for dissolving kidney stones, as well as for diseases of the gallbladder and liver.
As you can see heather, planting and home care described above is not only an amazingly beautiful plant that pleases the heart, but also quite useful. Moreover, the article lists a far from complete list of its qualities.