About thyroid peltiphyllum, or darmer, in our country have learned relatively recently. The overseas plant was immediately appreciated by landscape designers, since the thyroid darmer is unpretentious, tolerates winter frosts well. In addition, peltiphyllum is not only a flowering, but also a decorative and deciduous plant. What is a thyroid darmer (photos of leaves and flowers are presented below in the article)? How to grow this unusual plant in your area?
Description
The peculiarity of peltiphyllum is that during the spring and summer its appearance noticeably changes. The first flower appears: the thyroid darmer blooms quite early, around late April or early May. On high peduncles of a reddish-brown hue, lush spherical inflorescences consisting of small pinkish flowers bloom. Plants in this period reach a height of 50 cm to a meter. At the same time, leaves are almost invisible - they grow after the thyroid darmer begins to fade.
The leaves of the plant are rounded, with large finger-shaped veins, under favorable conditions, grow a high lush shrub. The diameter of each leaf can reach from 50 to 90 cm. The exception is the miniature cultivar Nanum, whose leaves do not grow more than 45 cm.
The color of the “summer” peltiphyllum is saturated green in shaded areas or pale green if the darmer grows in the open sun. In autumn, the leaves of the shrub change color, acquiring a red-raspberry shade with a splash of yellow or orange. In this form, a thyroid darmer adorns the garden plot until the first frost.
How to choose a suitable place in the garden?
Choosing a site on which the thyroid darmer will feel as comfortable as possible should be based on the natural habitat of the shrub. This delicate flower hails from the west coast of the USA, namely from mountain areas of California and Oregon. Most often, peltiphyllum is found on the banks of clean reservoirs, rivers and lakes. For this reason, it is considered an ideal plant for decoration of a pond in the garden.
If there is no open source of water on the site, Peltiphyllum will need regular plentiful watering. It is important at the same time that water stagnation does not occur, otherwise the root of the plant will quickly decay. Therefore, the place on which the peltiphyllum will be planted should be well ventilated and provide sufficient drainage of irrigation water.
In addition to a lot of moisture, the successful growth of the bush depends on sunlight. Thyroid Darmera can grow in the shade and in direct sunlight, but in the latter case, strong lighting leads to the fact that leaves and flowers grow smaller.
Peltiphyllum needs a lot of sunlight only in spring, when inflorescences are formed, so the proximity of broad-leaved shrubs or trees, whose leaves will be covered from the sun only in summer, will be a good neighborhood for Darmeri. In addition to shrubs and trees, peltiphyllum feels good in tandem with shade-loving perennials, such as hosta, rogers, anemones, and others.
Soil preparation
What other conditions should be created in order for the thyroid darmer to take root in the garden plot? Planting and care of this plant begins with soil preparation and fertilizer application. Under natural conditions, the plant grows luxuriantly on slightly acidic, loose soil. A similar environment can be created using a substrate with a PH level of 5 to 7. The plant will also take root well in a mixture of garden soil and soil from the forest. Before planting, organic fertilizers are applied to the soil.
Landing darmery
Darmer can be propagated by two simple methods: rhizome separation or seed. Before planting the seed material in the soil, it will be necessary to carry out preliminary stratification, that is, to withstand in a humid environment at a fairly cool temperature +4 ... + 6 ° C for three or four weeks.
Vegetative (root) reproduction is much simpler. Peltiphyllum has a rod rhizome that grows over several years and begins to produce additional viable roots. To propagate the darmera shrub, the plant should be dug up, the rhizome should be divided and kept in a solution of the fungicide preparation for two hours. Next, the plant is planted in prepared fertilized soil. The advantage of this method is that the planted plant in the fall next spring will fully bloom.
Watering, top dressing
Frequent and regular watering is an important condition for the normal growth of a moisture-loving darmer. When watering, as already mentioned, it is important to prevent stagnation of water in order to avoid rot or mold.
Fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers is required to carry out peltiphyllum regularly, from early spring to autumn. It is enough to water the plant with liquid mineral fertilizer at least once a month. If necessary, liquid organics can be added more often - once every two weeks. During the active development and growth, from the day of germination to the beginning of flowering, the darmer needs to be fed with dry organic fertilizers. For these purposes, both purchased mixtures and natural fertilizers are suitable: dry chicken droppings, leafy humus, dried manure.
Wintering plants, additional care
Darmera is able to winter well in the soil, if she is protected in time from frost. To do this, cut off the aerial part, mulch the root part with a layer of compost and carefully cover the plant with dry sawdust, straw or a layer of fallen leaves. At low temperatures, it is recommended to additionally cover the darmer with a layer of snow.
In spring, after removing the covering layer, the peltiphyllum should be watered with any fungicide preparation. Additionally, darmer is not required to be treated for pests or flora diseases.