Tradescantia garden is not only a wonderful decoration of any garden plot. It is also a plant with many useful properties. In order to grow a perennial garden tradescantia in your garden, you need to know some of the nuances of planting and care. They are not particularly difficult, but still require study. After all, any flower needs care and attention, and our plant is no exception.
general description
To begin with, we will present you the garden tradescantia in all its glory. It is a shrub of marvelous beauty, able to decorate any flower bed. The plant came to us from America, from its southern part. It is believed that this happened around the seventeenth century. By the way, the very name of the bush was given to him in honor of the people who brought it to us on the continent, the Transdescant brothers. It belongs to the Kammelinov family. Given all the features of care, we can safely say that this shrub is suitable for people who have just begun to engage in gardening. As the name implies, this is not an annual plant. By planting it, you get beauty for many years. Of course, if care is appropriate.
A feature of the tradescantia is its flowering. Although each bud individually does not bloom for very long, but they replace one another, and as a result it seems that the bush is blooming constantly.
Varieties
Tradescantia garden, the photo of which can be seen here, has many varieties, but only some of them are popular with gardeners. Basically, the bush blooms with blue and purple buds, but breeders have brought out other colors: white, pink, blue. There are three main types of plants:
- "Virgin";
- Anderson;
- "Blue."
The first species loves forests, meadows and roads. It grows well in loose nutrient soil with moderate humidity. The height of this type is up to eighty centimeters with bright green leaves. Such a bush does not grow in breadth, which is very convenient for growing in a flower bed. The varieties belong to this species:
- Korula
- "Rubra";
- "Atrorubra";
- "Rose flower".
They differ in the shape of the leaves and the color of the buds, from blue and white to pink, depending on the type.
The second type of shrub can also reach eighty centimeters in height, and was bred at the base of the first. Exactly this species includes all the main plant varieties that beauty lovers grow in the garden:
- "Vegulin";
- "Iris";
- Bilbury Ice;
- Blue & Gold:
- Blue Stone
- Concord Grape;
- Osprey
- Pink Chubbles;
- “Ash Professional”;
- "Annie."
In these varieties, the flowers also have a different shade, the plant has a different height, and the leaves have a different shape. But today we are primarily interested in planting and care, so we will not delve into the features of each variety. Each of them is beautiful in its own way.
As for the third species, this is an annual plant. The blue tradescantia does not grow very tall, no more than fifty centimeters, but blooms at the end of the summer season or at the beginning of autumn with beautiful blue inflorescences.
Landing
Planting a tradescantia garden is not particularly difficult. First you need to choose the place where you want to see this natural wonder. Here you need to remember that the bush does not like drafts and strong winds. Find a place where it will be light enough, but there is no direct sunlight. Also consider the fact that sometimes, in the case of a very cold winter period, the bush will need to be covered.
After choosing a place, we start preparing the soil. Like any plant, tradescantia needs nutritious soil, and for this it is recommended to remove the earth layer by several centimeters, mix it with fertilizers, and evenly distribute the finished soil on the selected flower bed. The ideal soil for the bush is a mixture of turf land, sand and humus. It passes water and air flows well. Do not choose to plant heavy soil. A plant in such a land will die.
Breeding
We can not help telling about the features of reproduction, describing the tradescantia garden, planting and care. Photos of plants that flaunt here can not convey all the beauty of this shrub. There are 3 ways to plant a bush:
The choice of method depends on the gardener. We will consider all the options.
The cuttings method boils down to using a young shoot with three kidneys. Planting is best in late spring, when the soil has already warmed up. Before the winter period, the shoots take root and will tolerate winter well. You need to plant cuttings in the prepared soil, creating the effect of a greenhouse. This will continue for about three weeks. During this time, the stalk releases its roots and strengthens. Keep the temperature at about 23 degrees Celsius. Water regularly, but do not pour heavily.
The root method is reduced to the division of the rhizome of an adult plant. This is the fastest and easiest way to reproduce. You need to do this in the spring. The shrub must be dug up and divided into parts. Do not damage the roots so that the plant does not die in the future. We dry the parts of the bush for several days, and plant it in the chosen place. Regular watering will help the plant quickly take root in a new flower bed.
The seed method is also used, but less often, due to the durability and low percentage of germination. Most often, breeders use this method. Seeds of the bush are planted in special boxes, where at the bottom there should be drainage soy, and on top of the soil. You need to plant, retreating two centimeters, skipping ten centimeters between rows. Sprinkling seeds with earth, you need to create a greenhouse effect. Regular watering and a warm climate will allow the seeds to germinate in about a couple of months. When the sprouts acquire three leaves, they need to be transplanted into the street, in pre-fertilized soil. Such a bush will begin to bloom only after three years.
Care Features
As already mentioned about the tradescantia garden, caring for it is not difficult. In terms of watering, you need to remember that the plant loves moisture. You need to water regularly and a lot, especially in the dry period. As the temperature drops, watering is reduced. In winter, you do not need to water the bush, except for places where the climate is warm and dry throughout the season. If you allow the plant to be long in dry land, it will certainly die. In addition to watering, the bush needs to irrigate the entire surface. This should be done after the sun has set. Using a sprayer, you need to moisten all the branches and leaves. To do this, the water must be either rainwater or purified from lime. Otherwise, the greens on the leaves will fade, and the beauty of the bush will fade.
Fertilizer
There is another item that the tradescantia garden needs. Planting and caring for it includes fertilizing the soil. Shrub prefers complex mixtures for this purpose. Those suitable for flowering shrubs are well suited. Every year at the beginning of the spring period you need to fertilize the soil. Once again, you must repeat the procedure at the very beginning of budding. In winter, the plant is better to rest and fertilize is not necessary.
Pests
A very important point is the fact that the garden tradescantia is very resistant to attacks of diseases and pests. As a rule, with proper care, there are no problems. If care is impaired, then insects or pathogenic bacteria may appear.
Beneficial features
Tradescantia garden has very useful properties that make it even more attractive for gardeners. It helps in the treatment of colds, pneumonia, bronchitis, disorders of the digestive tract. Also, the bush perfectly disinfects the air. There are many recipes using this plant, which are used in traditional medicine. Here is some of them:
- Problems with a runny nose. Prepare a decoction of two tablespoons of leaves of a bush and a liter of water. Boil the leaves and let stand for about half an hour. After straining, gargle three to four times daily.
- To treat periodontal disease, it is enough to chew the leaves for ten minutes each time before eating.
- With furunculosis, you need to make a porridge from fresh leaves of the bush, and place it on the affected area for the whole night, wrapping it with a bandage.
This is not the whole list of possibilities of tradescantia that will help you in the treatment of various diseases. Take good care of her, and you will grow beauty and medicine in your garden.