Heichera is a rather rare flower in our gardens. As an ornamental plant, it is grown mainly because of its beautiful leaves. It belongs to the family of Saxifragae and was introduced to us from North America. In the wild, it grows mainly on mountain slopes, and therefore is not too demanding on soil.
Geichera, whose varieties are quite diverse, can have red, yellow, green or silver-gray leaves. They form a very attractive outlet. At the moment, most often grown on flower beds and lawns are the following varieties of heicher:
- cylindrical;
- small-flowered;
- blood red;
- American
- hairy.
The blood-red heichera, whose photo can be seen on the right, was deduced by selection of one of the first. It became the basis for other varieties and hybrids. Its leaves have denser tissues than other species. Every year more and more new varieties of this plant appear. Perhaps soon the blood-red geyhera will become one of the favorite decorations of a summer cottage at our gardeners. This is a fairly hardy variety with unusually beautiful red flowers.
Particularly effective is the small-flowered geichera. Varieties with colorful leaves are particularly attractive. This look is decorated with original silver-gray blotches. Homeland melkotsvetkovoy geyhera - Atlantic coast. The purple variety originates from this variety.
The birthplace of the American heicher is the shores of the Great Lakes. Here it is called mountain geraniums. Its leaves form a fairly high rosette (15–20 cm). Flowers are white and not too decorative. Leaves with a purple hue on the back are the main feature that distinguishes this heicher. Varieties of this kind are most often interesting only to breeders or collectors. They do not differ in too high decorative qualities.
In addition to varieties, hybrids of this plant are also bred. They are unusually beautiful and spectacular. A variety of colors and shapes of leaves make it possible to use them as decorative on absolutely any lawn and flowerbed. Color ranges from violet to purplish red. The surface of the leaves can be either wavy or even. The tips can be round and sharp.
A heicher flower can be successfully bred in central Russia. This plant loves slightly shaded places, so it is often planted on the periphery of the crown of fruit trees. The roots of the heichera are superficial, and therefore it does not tolerate drought at all. For this reason, it must be watered regularly. They plant it in mid-April for seedlings. Heichera seeds are somewhat similar to poppy seeds. For planting, they are mixed with sand, which must be added to the soil of the box, as well as to the soil of the bed before transferring seedlings in early June. During the summer, heichera are podkooky several times, as its surface roots are fairly quickly exposed.
Geicher, varieties and hybrids of which are distinguished by extraordinary leafy effect, can become a truly unique decoration of a summer cottage. In addition, it is not too difficult to grow it.