Recently, the market for perennial garden crops has become noticeably more diverse. Already no one is surprised to find not only traditional cultures familiar to the Russian eye in garden plots, but also decorative overseas aliens that appeared not so long ago, but instantly won the love of Russian gardeners.
Such plants include swamp hibiscus - a representative of the Malvaceae family, attracting attention with its exotic elegant beauty of large bright flowers, its ability to adapt perfectly to the harsh conditions of a temperate climate and remarkably high unpretentiousness. The cultivation of this interesting crop, agricultural requirements and basic rules of care will be discussed in the article.
From the history of the plant
A native of comfortable subtropical and tropical latitudes, marsh hibiscus, or grassy, ββtook root well in domestic gardens. Fully consistent with its name, as in its homeland, this perennial shrub grows quickly, lushly and beautifully blossoms if it is provided with the necessary conditions - good moisture and a sunny area protected from the wind. A special attitude to generous watering in these crops caused the appearance of another, very popular name, often used by gardeners - mallow marsh.
Marsh hibiscus: photos and plant features
Hibiscus, revered as the national symbol of many East Asian countries, is famous for its exquisite flowers with bright graceful corollas, colored red-terracotta spots, blooming at the ends of stems and reaching 12-16 cm in diameter. Spectacular and large green, slightly incised leaves on short petioles retain their decorativeness until the onset of cold weather. The ripened fruit box, formed after flowering, breaks up into leaves, filled with many small glossy seeds.
Swamp hibiscus grows up to 2.5-3 m, the bush width reaches from 1 to 1.8 m in diameter. Several cultures planted around the perimeter quickly turn into a dense picturesque hedge, making the site uniquely beautiful. Despite its southern origin, the plant has high winter hardiness and successfully survives Siberian winters in snowy gardens. The presence of an impressive layer of snow is the key to a successful wintering culture, whose life expectancy in temperate latitudes reaches 18-23 years. Critical for hibiscus is considered to lower the thermometer to -30Λ. Exotic southerner blooms from early June to fall.
Growing
The exactingness of the plant extends only to the amount of vital moisture. The rest of the culture is surprisingly unpretentious, and anyone can grow it, because the marsh hibiscus can feel great in a pot on the balcony, loggia or in the apartment, although it was originally focused on cultivation in open ground.
An ideal place for hibiscus to be planted is a moist, swampy or located near a pond area well lit by the sun with slightly acidic or neutral soils. Partial shading of the plot is also possible. In this case, the foliage will be thicker and larger, and flowering a little poorer.
Hibiscus propagation: cuttings
Swamp hibiscus is propagated by cuttings and seeds. Both methods are almost equivalent, but cuttings are the simplest and most common among gardeners. Cuttings that are suitable for young shoots are cut with a sharp knife in the spring and, treated with special drugs that stimulate root formation (for example, Kornevin, Epin, Zircon), root them in a mixture of sand and peat, first placed in a mini-greenhouse and kept at home, one and a half to two months. The optimum temperature for better rooting is 23-28Λ. In June, they are planted in open ground.
In December, experienced gardeners recommend rooted seedlings to be covered with fir spruce branches, leaf compost or a special non-woven covering material - lutrasil. With the first snowfalls, you can pick up more snow to the trunk. It will protect the soil from freezing, and young roots - from death.
Cuttings can be carried out in the summer. In this case, rooted cuttings that have turned into seedlings are planted for the next year and the chances of successful survival in them are incomparably greater.
How to grow hibiscus from seeds
In the absence of high-quality planting material, marsh hibiscus is grown from seeds. Sown them in January, after selecting viable. Seeds are poured with water and sown to the bottom. Then each seed is punctured with a needle to facilitate punching and placed in a solution of the biostimulant for several hours. After that, the seeds are dried and planted in a mixture of peat and vermiculite (2: 1), evenly distributed on the surface of the substrate and slightly pressed. The container is covered with glass or film, creating an impromptu greenhouse with the necessary microclimate.
Seedling boxes are placed in a room with an air temperature of + 25 Β° C and provide it with heating from the bottom for several hours a day.
Features seedlings care
Every day, seedlings are aired and the substrate is sprayed with water from a spray bottle to maintain the desired humidity level. After seed germination, the film is removed from the container, leaving the containers in a convenient, warm and bright place. Seedlings do not tolerate drafts and bright direct sunlight, therefore, it is necessary to take care of providing comfortable conditions at this important stage.
Diving seedlings in separate pots is carried out when 3-5 real leaves appear on the seedlings. At the stage of growing seedlings, hibiscus is not fed, only when transplanting-picking humus is added to peat-sandy soil, which has enough nutrients for further development of seedlings. These are the rules of agricultural propagation of such a crop as marsh hibiscus. Growing from seeds or cuttings is not fraught with special difficulties, but the plant obtained by cuttings blooms earlier for 1-2 years.
Reinforced seedlings are planted in the garden only when the soil has warmed up well, and the threat of spring frost has completely passed. If you plan to grow in a potted version, then the volume of the container with each transplant should increase in diameter by 1.5-2 cm.
Marsh hibiscus: planting and care. A photo
Before planting hibiscus in open ground, you need to take care of the preparation of the site. Dig a planting hole corresponding to the size of the root system of the seedling.
The upper fertile soil layer is mixed with leaf compost or humus, which can be successfully replaced with 30-40 grams of complex mineral fertilizer. It is important to remember that overfeeding with nutrients is detrimental to a crop such as marsh hibiscus. Planting and caring for the plant require some restraint in top dressing: lack of fertilizer is not significant for him, while excessive fertilizer will immediately affect hibiscus with a noticeable loss of decorativeness. The best food option when planting is still high-quality organics.
A third pit is filled with the prepared earthen mixture, pouring it with a slide, a seedling is placed in it, the roots are spread over the mound and covered with earth, after which the soil is well compacted and generously watered with warm water. To avoid moisture loss, a small earthen roller, holding water, is arranged around the seedling. For a week, the seedling is watered daily. This minimizes the stress of planting and helps it take root faster. The first two winters the young plant is sheltered for the winter, using special materials, roofing felt or lapnik. A young shrub blooms for the first time in the 3-4th year.
Care: what the gardener needs to know
The shrub successfully tolerates forming clippings and maintains the given shape throughout the season, which is especially appreciated by garden designers. This procedure is carried out at the end of winter or early spring, before the onset of sap flow and swelling of the kidneys. Along with the formation of the crown, pruning is also of a sanitary nature: sprouted shoots that have dried up and thicken the crown, plants develop better and more confidently, delighting gardeners with generous flowering.
Like many garden plants, hibiscus requires traditional care, consisting of mandatory irrigation, loosening of the soil in near-stem circles, promoting aeration of the roots, and periodic weeding.
Top dressing: when and what to fertilize
Regular top dressing contributes to good crop growth. Swamp hibiscus, which is easy to care for, should receive nutrients twice a season: nitrogen fertilizers (for example, humus or infusion of rotted manure) in the spring and phosphorus-potash in the fall. Nitrogen stimulates crop growth, while phosphorus and potassium help plant tissues survive harsh winters.
What are the cuts for?
The first pruning of hibiscus is carried out when the bush reaches 0.6 m in height. It is shortened by half growth, thereby stimulating active branching and foliage formation. The main forming crop pruning is carried out by the end of winter, cutting dry peduncles, old stems and leaving the woody part of the bush. Note that pinching and pruning are mandatory procedures, which cannot be ignored, since the hibiscus will stretch upwards, will not gain the required amount of green mass, i.e., it will noticeably reduce decorativeness.
These are the main stages of caring for such an exotic plant as marsh hibiscus. Growing this beautiful culture is a simple procedure and is within the power of the most ignorant gardener.