Among the palette of bright colors in the autumn garden, chamomile gelenium is elegant, modest and beautiful ... Lost in the summer against the backdrop of the lush bloom of roses, gladioli, lilies and dahlias, autumn gelenium manifests itself in all its glory at the end of the hot season, when the main riot of colors in the garden gradually fades out. The plant blooms long enough and stays firmly in any weather.
For reference. Such an interesting botanical name, helenium flowers are obliged to the wife of Tsar Menelaus, abducted by Paris - Beautiful Elena, who became an involuntary cause of the long Trojan War.
External characteristics
Autumn gelenium is quite high (up to 160 cm); stems are strong, branching, lignified by the end of autumn. The leaves are small, light green, serrated at the edges. Baskets of chamomile shape, with a convex middle, are 3-6 cm in diameter. The edges of the petals are curly, as if cut with scissors. Coquettishly spread out to the side, they resemble a ballet tutu. The core of Gelenium is convex, during flowering it is covered with bright yellow anthers and takes a spherical shape. On each stalk of the plant in its upper part, 15-20 flowers bloom simultaneously. Their yellow-orange palette is fully consistent with the current season and fits perfectly into the landscape of autumn days.
How to prolong the flowering of Gelenium?
You can admire the flowering modest decoration of the garden, during which many varieties tend to change color, from July until the first frost. Abundance of flowering can be easily achieved by pinching the tops of the shoots, and the charming effect can be prolonged by removing wilted inflorescences and a small part of the stem on which they are located. Such a manipulation activates branching and the formation of new shoots that will bloom after a short time.
Plant in a garden landscape
Autumn gelenium is beautiful in cut. Torn off by a blooming one, it will bloom anyway and will stand for an amazingly long time in a vase without fading.
Perennial is often used to decorate unpresentable fences and revitalize the landscape in old areas. Gelenium can not be called an individual flower, such as, for example, a tulip or a rose. Most often, it is in addition to the overall composition. In the garden, undersized varieties look gorgeous in the foreground of the flower garden, they can be planted as a border plant. Tall geleniums are an excellent background for large flower beds, good neighbors for ornamental shrubs, excellent “partners” for perennial autumn-flowering asters, ornamental cereals , panicled phlox, rudbecki.
In one place, the plant can grow for 3-4 years, during which the development of a large number of basal rosettes, each year rising higher to the surface of the earth. In the future, this process can lead to freezing of the plant. Therefore, the location of Gelenium should be periodically changed.
Popular varieties of autumn gelenium
Autumn Gelenium (photos are presented in the article) has been known for cultivation since the 17th century, it is the most popular species among its brethren and fundamental for breeding a large number of varieties. Many of them are used by flower growers to decorate their plots and planting for the purpose of aesthetic enjoyment.
In July-September, the autumn Molenheim Beauty blooms profusely. The plant is undemanding to soils, the optimal location for it is sunny areas. Also, this variety can be planted in partial shade. The bush with a height of 90-150 cm has strong stems, does not require garter. It is steady in windy weather. Externally decorative. Flowers play a diverse palette: red, golden, orange, yellow, copper; when blooming, they take one shade - dark brown.
Description of the autumn Pip squeak gelenium causes an irresistible desire to acquire such a variety in the country. An unpretentious autumn-flowering plant is characterized by low growth, up to 60 cm. It has a large number of strong straight stems with bright yellow flower baskets with a brown center and a mass of narrow leaves. Flowering begins in July. The plant is beautiful in group plantings, unpretentious in care.
With velvety warm tones, Gelenium Autumn Jazz gives esthetic pleasure to gardeners. The flowers of this variety are characterized by a red-yellow palette, baskets-inflorescences in diameter are 3-5 cm.
The landscape of the autumn garden will perfectly adorn the autumn rubyzver gelenium (translated from German as “ruby gnome”). Against the background of other plants, a perennial culture is distinguished by ruby-red flowers with a convex dark middle. The variety is low, about 70 cm. The bush is spreading, with new shoots growing quickly.
Red-copper-yellow flowers in the garden will enrich the autumn Waltraut Gelenium. The bush is not high, up to 80 cm. Flowering occurs in July-August.
Gelenium Feature
Bushes of autumn gelenium can only be called such conditionally. In fact, this is a colony of independent plants, the flowering stems of which live only one season.
From the heading “This is interesting”: there is a belief that the petals of gelenium used to be used instead of tobacco. Inhaling them, a man sneezed, thus getting rid of the evil spirits present in the body.
Helenium autumnale (Helenium autumnale) has one specific feature: the absence of a wintering rhizome. At the end of flowering, the stems along with the roots die off, giving way to new rosettes formed from renewal buds at their base. These are independent young plants with their own root system. Each of them gives full-fledged flowering shoots, which, despite their defenseless appearance, are able to withstand quite severe frosts in snowless winters.
The subtleties of caring for Gelenium
Autumn gelenium in care is absolutely not whimsical. When you acquire such a plant in your own area, you should know that it does not tolerate drought. Therefore, on dry days, watering Gelenium is required abundantly and often. It is periodically recommended that weeding and shallow loosening of the soil. Weed control can be minimized by mulching the area with peat or rotted foliage.
To prepare for winter, the stems of gelenium need to be cut almost to the surface of the earth, leaving 10-15 cm. After this operation, the site should be mulched with sawdust or moss and covered with lutrasil (non-woven covering material) from above .
Feeding activities
To activate growth at the beginning of the growing season, autumn helenium will not be out of place to treat the “Bud" growth stimulator at the rate of 10 grams of the product per 10 liters of water.
In the summer season, it is recommended to top-dress three times with mineral preparations and organics.
- May. On a 10-liter bucket of water - potassium sulfate, urea and the organic drug Effekton (in a tablespoon). The consumption of the resulting solution per 1 square. meter - 3-4 liters.
- During flowering. In 10 liters of water, dilute a tablespoon of the drug "Agricola 7" and "Agricola fantasy." Add 1 liter of liquid manure here. Consumption per 1 square. square meter - 2-3 liters of the finished solution.
- The end of October. For 10 liters of water - a tablespoon of potassium sulfate and superphosphate. The consumption of the drug per 1 square. meter area - 5 liters.
Reproduction of autumn Gelenium vegetatively
Autumn gelenium, planting and caring for which is not particularly difficult, propagates in several ways, the easiest of which is dividing the bush. The optimal period for this operation is May-month, but if necessary, it can be carried out at any other time, even at the flowering stage.
The bush needs to be dug up and divided into parts, each of which is cut low before planting - up to 10-15 cm from the soil level. By dividing the bush, it is recommended to propagate varietal plants, in order to preserve the characteristic features.
Cherenkov method
Reproduction by cuttings is no less popular among gardeners. In the spring, you need to cut a few twigs you like and put in water. As soon as the roots appear, young shoots can be planted in the soil. For better rooting, young cuttings are recommended to be covered with jars or plastic bottles. You can remove the containers when the first leaves appear. A plant planted by cuttings will please flowering a year after planting.
Seed way
The seed method of reproduction is less popular due to the low percentage of germination and the complexity of the planting process. In open ground, seeds can be sown in late autumn or in May, in well-warmed soil. To protect against possible frosts, it is recommended to cover the area with plastic wrap.
To grow gelenium seedlings, sowing of seed material is carried out in spring (April-May) in planting tanks. First, seeds should be stratified by mixing them with wet sawdust and left for 3 weeks at a temperature of +3 ... +5 .
Germination of seeds is required at a temperature of +18 ... +22 ° C. The appearance of 2-3 full leaves will indicate the need for picking (planting) of young plants. In open ground, seedlings should be planted in May. Before dipping into the pit, plants should first be lowered with roots in water in order to saturate with moisture. The number of plants per square meter should be no more than 4-5 pieces due to the active growth of the bush.
After planting, the site should be mulched with peat or humus.
Seed harvesting
Seed collection should be done before prolonged rainfall, typical of the autumn season. Otherwise, they will rot on the plant itself. The maturity of the seed can be determined by the darkened reed flowers and the blackened tubular. However, the best option is to purchase seed in specialized stores.
Diseases and Pests
Autumn gelenium is resistant to diseases and pests. Occasionally, it can be affected by chrysanthemum nematodes. The latter parasitize on leaves and flower buds, causing them to dry out. Fighting the pest requires drastic measures: cut the affected areas, burn the bushes, and add ground sulfur or slaked lime to the soil.
Also, stagnation of moisture, which can form from a close occurrence of groundwater, negatively affects the growth of gelenium. Therefore, when planting plants, you should be responsible in choosing the place of planting in order to avoid negative consequences in the future.