Many gardeners prefer to decorate their personal plots with perennial plants. Their advantage is that there is no need to plant young seedlings annually, requiring a lot of attention. One of the wonderful perennials that can decorate your site can be an astilbe flower. The simple agricultural technology of the plant made him a welcome guest in the flower beds.
Plant description
Astilba is a flower from the Saxifrage family. Homeland ornamental herbaceous plant is East Asia, Japan and North America. In total, the genus is represented by 40 species and 400 varieties. The plant reaches a height of 15 cm to 2 m. Small flowers are collected in panicle-shaped inflorescences. Color can be very different, the most spectacular look purple, pink, white and red flowers. Astilbe bushes are formed from large openwork leaves painted in green bronze or burgundy color. After flowering, a box with tiny seeds forms. Astilbe flower is a bright decoration of the garden throughout the summer months. In winter, the ground part of the bush dies. And in the spring it releases shoots again.
Cultivars
Depending on the type of astilbe, the plants have completely different heights. Bushes can grow from 8 centimeters to 2 meters. As a result of selection from natural forms, many hybrid varieties were obtained. Currently, their number has reached 200. The most famous and popular groups of hybrids are Arends, Chinese Astilba, Japanese hybrids, Astilba leafy.
The Leasez plant is represented by a total of 40 varieties obtained by crossing. Powerful bushes reach a height of one meter. Its large inflorescences can have pink, lilac, red and white color. The plant blooms much longer than other varieties - about 30-40 days. The most popular varieties are: Weiss Gloria, Diamond, Glut, Ruby.
Chinese Astilba also reaches a height of a meter. Her small flowers are lilac. But sometimes there are varieties with white and pink color. This species is actively cultivated by gardeners. Now there are many undersized forms.
Japanese astilbe does not exceed 80 cm in height. Its paniculate inflorescences bloom much earlier than other species, they are painted in white and pink. Modern varieties are quite cold-resistant and perfectly take root in areas. Among them, the most famous are: Deutschland, Rhineland, Montgomery.
Astilba leafy is rather capricious. It is difficult to tolerate high temperatures and dry air. However, the inflorescences of the plant are very airy and beautiful.
The secret of popularity
The secret to the popularity of the astilbe flower is very simple. During flowering, the bushes give voluminous brushes of flowers. Modern landscape designers actively use this culture in their work. The plant has a modest size, but it blooms profusely. With it, you can create stunning floral arrangements. For this reason, astilba in landscape design is used very widely. During flowering, it perfectly sets off lawns and conifers. Parkland literally come to life with this beautiful plant.
Astilba: planting and care in the open ground
Culture is not difficult to care for. When planting a plant, the quality of the planting material itself is of great importance. Landing is carried out in May or June. In this case, it is worth choosing more shaded places. For example, you can select flower beds on the north side of the house or in the shade of plantings. Astilbe flower can be safely attributed to shade-loving plants. But at the same time, there are still varieties that are tolerant of bright sunlight. Loamy soils are suitable for planting. Astilba perfectly adjacent to the hosts.
Growing astilbe flowers is a simple matter. In the spring it is necessary to prepare a site for future plantings. To do this, the soil is pre-digged, removing weeds. Gardeners immediately recommend composting or rotted manure in the soil. You can also use peat (two buckets per square meter). Before landing, it is necessary to prepare the pits. They are placed at a distance of about thirty centimeters from each other. The depth and width of the holes can be 20-30 cm. It is recommended to fill a half glass of ash and one tablespoon of complex fertilizer into each hole. Further, the wells are well filled with water. Seedlings are placed in pits and sprinkled with earth so that the growth point is certainly above the ground. The soil is compacted with hands, watered again from above and mulched with peat or humus. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in planting an astilbe in your area. Planting and care in the open ground are not difficult, since the plant belongs to unpretentious crops.
Crop care after planting
Astilba is a perennial flower that will delight with beauty for many years with proper care. It is very important to ensure proper maintenance of the bushes after planting. The peculiarity of the culture is that the rhizomes of the plant gradually die from the bottom and grow up. Over time, the roots appear on top of the earth. For this reason, the basis of care is hilling. The soil should not dry out, then you will receive abundant flowering of astilbe. The root system can also be protected by mulching. This will save moisture and protect the roots from overheating. Astilba - garden flowers that love moisture. Depending on the variety, water consumption can be medium to high. But all species without exception need regular watering. In hot regions during dry periods, the plant can be watered up to two times a day.
Astilbe bushes can not be transplanted for 5-7 years. But at the same time, the plant must be carefully looked after - to fertilize, water and spud. In spring, the bushes should be fed with nitrogen fertilizer, in June, potash will become the best option, at the end of flowering it is worth adding phosphate fertilizers.
Astilba: reproduction
There are several ways to propagate an astilbe. Most often they use the vegetative method - dividing the bush. But to grow a plant from seeds is also quite simple. The seed method of reproduction is actively used by breeders to obtain new forms.
Seeds are recommended to be sown in March. To do this, you will need wide tanks, the height of which does not exceed 15 cm. Planting is carried out in a mixture of peat and sand. Soil moisten on top. And then the seeds are sown. Next, the box is placed in a transparent bag and sent to the refrigerator for about 20 days, since the seeds must go through the process of stratification. After the pot is transferred to a bright room with an air temperature of +18 ... + 22 degrees. At this stage, you need to water the seedlings very carefully, otherwise you can destroy it. A stream of water must be directed directly under the root. In general, watering can be done with a syringe.
After the appearance of two or three leaves in the seedlings, they must be dived into small pots, in order to later plant them in open ground.
If you decide to grow astilbe from seeds, then you should know that young plants will not have the properties of a mother plant: their color may be different, the shape of inflorescences and the timing of flowering change. In general, this method is more suitable for breeders.
Reproduction by dividing bushes
Dividing the bush is the surest and most reliable way of propagating the crop. It is he who is most often used by flower growers. Rhizomes are bought in stores or obtained from their own bushes. If there is already an astilbe on the site, then it must be carefully dug up, trying not to injure the roots. Then they are divided with a sharp knife into parts, and each should have three kidneys. Slices are recommended to be processed with crushed coal to prevent loss of moisture.
Then they are placed in the wells. The use of root stimulants gives good results. They need to process the slices, then they better and faster take root. Young plants require regular watering. Reproduction by dividing the bushes can be carried out at the beginning of spring. Using this method will allow you to get the first flowering of new plants in the fall.
Kidney division
Perennial can be propagated in another way - by dividing the kidneys. This option is considered the fastest. In early spring, with the beginning of the growing season, kidneys are cut with a sharp knife. The resulting cuttings are planted in special greenhouses in moist sandy soil. Places of cuts are pre-treated with crushed coal. This method, oddly enough, gives a high degree of survival. But this method has its drawback. A full-fledged plant can be obtained only after a year. And for ordinary gardeners, this is long enough. Therefore, this option is usually not used. After all, the flowering of a young plant can be obtained in the year of planting, if you use the method of dividing the bushes.
Pests and diseases
Culture attracts gardeners not only with its flowers. A description of astilbe would be incomplete, if not to recall its resistance to pests and other diseases. Of course, one cannot say that plants never get sick. But still this does not happen so often. Occasionally, astilbe roots can be affected by a nematode. But absolutely all plants are subject to this disease. An effective way to combat nematodes at the moment does not exist. Therefore, the affected bushes are dug up and destroyed. In this case, it is better to remove a part of the soil near the plant. At this point, you should not plant plants for the next couple of years.
In the open, astilbe is also threatened by slobbery pennies. The parasite causes inhibition of the plant, the development of flowers and greens slows down. Pennitsa settles in the axils of the leaves and secrete a salivary substance in which the larvae are located. Pests cause wrinkling of greens, especially when there are a lot of them. Gradually, the plant becomes covered with yellow spots and fades. You can get rid of pests by treating with solutions of actara, karbofos, confidor.
Care after flowering
Astilba has long been pleased with flowering. After this period, the flower stalks begin to gradually dry out. But do not rush to cut them. The fact is that even in this form, the flowers have a very spectacular appearance and are a decoration of the garden. However, in preparation for winter, all the stems of the plant still have to be cut flush with the soil. And the soil near the bushes will certainly mulch. This will help protect the roots of the plant. Very often, in the early autumn, bushes are rejuvenated by dividing. Plants planted for the winter have time to take root, and the next year the young plant is already blooming. This method of reproduction is actively used by flower growers.
In order for the sprouts to begin, the area on which they were planted is thoroughly mulched. Before the onset of cold weather, it is recommended to carefully cover the plants from above with ferns to protect them from freezing. Shelter also saves bushes from spring temperature changes that often happen in our area.
Decorative compositions
Astilba is not just so widely used in landscape design. The unpretentious plant combines very well with other crops. Decorative panicles look amazing against the backdrop of evergreen conifers. Monotonous greens become very bright in combination with bright colors of astilbe. Such a neighborhood is very beneficial for bushes, since conifers provide them with shelter from the sun. But astilbe loves partial shade.
The culture in the ensemble with the late varieties of tulips is no less spectacular. Also, landscape designers plant astilbe next to hosts, irises, periwinkles. Good and solitary plantings of culture on shady green lawns. In general, an astilbe can be planted completely anywhere on your site. It will look very impressive everywhere. The main condition is that the landing site should be in the shade. As a rule, every gardener has many such sites. After all, not every culture can grow in such conditions. Astilba is white, pink, blue - which breeders didn’t get any shades. Each plant is very beautiful in its own way, and a combination of different shades creates a unique effect.
Depending on where and for what purpose you plan to plant an astilbe, you can choose plants of different heights. In general, flower growers distinguish four types:
- Dwarf, grow up to 30 cm.
- Low-growing varieties, not more than 60 cm.
- Tall species, from 1.2 to 2 m.
- Srednerosly, reach 90 cm.
Such a variety of forms allows you to create stunning multilevel compositions. In general, an unpretentious plant can be used for experiments on its site. You do not need to be a landscape designer to create your own beautiful composition, knowing the characteristics of culture. We hope that our article will help you learn the basics of planting and caring for astilbe, which will please you with its long flowering.