In the gardens of the northern latitudes, rather undemanding flowers grow. The catchment basin - this name was given to people by aquilegia. This is the perfect combination of simplicity and grace. Another advantage of aquilegia is its flowering at the very beginning of summer, when the rest of the plants are just starting to turn green.
Aquilegia - amazing flowers. This is a lovely perennial plant with a bushy green part and beautiful flowers of a bizarre shape. Now scientists have discovered more than 120 of its species growing in the Northern Hemisphere. The catchment reaches 1-1.2 m in height, has three-lobed complex leaves of dark green color and bluish veins on them. Flowers reach 10 cm in diameter, are located on a long peduncle. They can be simple or complex and always have spurs.
The structure of the flower is complex:
- Corolla is represented by 3-5 rows of petals of various structures.
- The inner row has underdeveloped petals that make up a single bundle.
- The middle row of 5-6 petals forms an asymmetrical corolla.
- The outer row of petals is similar to a five-pointed star.
- An important feature of aquilegia is the mandatory presence of Spurs on the reverse side.
Breeding
The catchment is a flower that in nature has a multi-color solution, and breeders are working on breeding monochromatic representatives of this species. Flowering occurs from early June to late July. In place of flowers, by the end of August, leaflets are formed.
Seeds are oval, they are shiny, black, small in size. How is the catchment breeding? The flower is often bred by cuttings and division of the bush. Much less often - by seeds.
Landing Aquilegia
The catchment is a flower that prefers autumn planting. This time favorably affects friendly shoots in the spring. The plant will bloom in the second year, and after a year it will reach its full development. Seeds are sown in September to a depth of 5-10 mm (no need to be watered), the planting site for the winter is covered with manure, and in the spring, in April, the shelter is removed and the crops are watered with warm water. Seedlings are cut after 7 days. When the flower collector reaches 5-7 cm in height, it is transplanted to a permanent place (60x60 pattern). After transplanting young flowers, they must be abundantly watered and protected from the scorching sun, in order to prevent the death of plants. Mostly it should be a sunny place, but the catchment is a flower that is quite put up with partial shade. Do not plant other varieties of plants next to aquilegia in order to avoid pollination.
Transplant Care
Soil conditions are not a critical indicator for aquilegia, however, it will respond to fertilized soil with abundant flowering and lush vegetation. Aquilegia does not tolerate even short-term drying of the earth. This can lead to falling flowers and buds. Therefore, do not forget about regular plentiful watering and top dressing 3-4 times a season. A catchment area is a flower that can grow without transplanting for 5-8 years or more. Then the bush needs to be divided or updated. The mesmerizing beauty of aquilegia will lead to the appearance on your site of many of its varieties of diverse colors.