One of the most interesting ornamental plants of all growing in the gardens of central Russia is the early flowering bulbous chionodox. Landing and caring for her are not particularly difficult events. However, in order to grow this wonderful bright flower, you need to know and follow some rules.
Plant description
Only six types of chionodox grow in nature. All of them are found only in Asia Minor and Cyprus. Hionodoxa is a stunted plant with two basal leaves and very bright flowers, similar to bells. The most common colors are white, blue, blue and pink. The buds most often have a diameter of about 4 cm and consist of six petals fused at the bottom. Chionodox bulbs are egg-shaped and light in color. In an adult plant, they can reach a length of 1.5-3 cm. The chionodoxes bloom in early spring and wither in the midst of summer.
Breeding
Chionodox propagates (photos clearly demonstrate its grace and beauty) most often with bulbs. In this case, the plant can bloom next year. However, if desired, you can try to grow chionodox from seeds. But with this method, it will bloom only after 3-4 years. In one place, this flower can grow for a long time without loss of decorative qualities. Transshipment and transplanting should be done approximately once every five years. Very often, these interesting flowers begin to spread throughout the site "on their own." The fact is that their seeds like to be pulled away by ants. However, the flowers in this case grow "wild."
Choosing a landing place
So, you have decided to plant a plant such as hionodoxa in your area. Planting and caring for her are procedures that require certain knowledge and skills. Firstly, you will need to choose the right place under the flowerbed. Hionodox loves windproof and well-lit areas. In the shade, they can also grow, but flowering will not be so plentiful. This beauty feels best in wet areas. Chionodoxes look very good on alpine hills, in flowerbeds, rose gardens and even on lawns. Sometimes they are planted under apple trees. The fact is that while the latter release the leaves that create the shadow, the chionodoxes have time to bloom.
Soil preparation
Thus, you now know where the chionodox will feel best. Landing and caring for it will be successful only if the soil is properly prepared. In this regard, chionodox is a rather whimsical plant. The soil must be very nutritious and loose. Under the bed you have to arrange a drainage. The fact is that if water lingers on the flowerbed, the bulbs can simply rot. Drainage can be made from ordinary gravel. Its layer is covered with a permeable mandrel and is covered with earth. In order to make the soil more loose, you can add a little sand to it. In terms of nutrition, soil quality is improved by adding humus. Of course, all stones and roots of weeds should be removed from the garden .
Planting material
Hionodoxa is a flower, giving about 2-4 bulbs in one season. Dig them up for seating in September - October. The leaves should already begin to turn yellow. Dug planting material is stored in a cellar or basement at a temperature of +17 ° C, in boxes under a layer of sand. Bulbs are planted in two weeks. You can plant them in early spring. However, they bloom in this case later.
How to plant
Before planting, the soil needs to be loosened. The depth of embedding depends on the size of the bulbs. Usually it is about 6-8 cm. The distance between the holes is about 5 cm. After planting, the garden bed must be carefully covered with polyethylene. And if mice live on the plot, it is recommended to lay a spruce over the film. This will prevent rodent spoilage of the bulbs. In early April, spruce branches and film will need to be removed.
Chionodox Care
Chionodox plant (photo of varieties of different colors you can see on this page) is not very whimsical. However, of course, a flower bed with flowers will need to be periodically weeded and loosened (once a week). As for watering, you need plenty of it. The soil under hionodox is moistened once every two days. The first top dressing is done immediately after the sprouts hatch. They increase the nutrient content of the soil under the plants by simply sprinkling some nitrogen fertilizer over the flowerbed with a thin layer. Sometimes top dressing is added even in the snow.
Chionodox Transplant
Chionodox is transplanted, as already mentioned, once in about 5 years. In this case, it is better to dig out the bulbs at the end of July. You need to store them in the cellar. The flowerbed is prepared in the same way as for planting. Bulbs are planted in the soil in mid-October.
Forcing flowers
To obtain beautiful flowers in the winter, distillation cultivation is used. Hionodoxa, like all bulbs, is very good for this purpose. In early spring, larger bulbs are taken from healthy plants. They are planted in pots, buried by 5-8 cm. The soil is prepared in the same way as when planted in the garden. Bulbs are added drop by 2-3 cm so that they are completely covered with soil. The soil on top is slightly crushed. Pots with planting material are instilled in the shady place of the site. In November, they need to be moved to the basement or cellar. After two months, the containers are removed and placed in a sunny place in a cool room. The first plants to begin to develop leaflets. After a while, they will release peduncles. After the hionodoxes have faded, watering is reduced. Next, the bulbs are dug up and transferred to the basement. They are stored in the same way as ordinary planting material before landing in the ground.
Plant diseases
Chionodox flowers are rarely ill and affected by insects. However, sometimes such troubles happen. They usually suffer from the same diseases as other bulbs. First of all, it is gray rot. Also, these flowers can become infected with bulb rot or Achelenchoid. The latter disease is especially dangerous. The bulbs of infected plants turn brown and begin to rot. At the same time, light brown spots can be seen on the bottom. In the section, ring rot is visible. Sick plants are significantly behind in development from healthy ones and practically do not bloom. Damaged bulbs must be destroyed. Healthy as a planting material can be used, however, only after disinfection. To do this, they are treated with ordinary hot water (45 about C).
Types of Chionodox
There are only five main varieties of this plant:
- Hionodox lucilia. This species comes from Asia Minor. She got her name by the name of Lucille Boissier. It grows up to 20 cm tall. Her leaflets are grooved linear. On one plant there can be either two or three. This variety blooms in April, less often in May. Flowering lasts about 20 days. Lucilli has been bred in gardens and kitchen gardens for quite some time - starting in 1764. Garden forms can be white or pink. White lucillas in inflorescence usually have 3-4 brushes and bloom for about two weeks. Pink are distinguished by a purple hue. They have much more bulbs than white ones (up to 3.5 cm in diameter). The most famous variety of pink lucilia is Pink Giant.
- Giant chionodox. This species grows in the alpine mountains. This is a small plant with an ovoid bulb. It differs by leaves narrowed up. Peduncle can reach 10 cm in height. One to five flowers grow in inflorescences. Petals of this variety are distinguished by a purple hue. This chionodox is called giant for the size of the bud - 3.5-4 cm in diameter. This variety blooms before lucilia for several days. As a cultivated plant, it began to be bred in 1878.
- Hionodox Madame Locke. This is a very beautiful plant with blue flowers. The buds are quite small - only 1-2 cm in diameter. In inflorescences, 2-4 flowers are most often collected.
- Hionodox Forbes. In nature, it is found mainly only in Turkey, and then high in the mountains. Compared with other varieties, it began to breed not so long ago - in 1976. Forbes hionodox petals are blue with a white area around the eye. In height, this variety can reach 25 cm. An inflorescence of 15 flowers forms on the peduncle. The sizes of the latter reach 1-3.5 cm. The inflorescence looks very interesting, since its height is greater than the width. Chionodoxes of this species are met with white and pink flowers. The main distinguishing features include the fact that it reproduces only onions. In appearance, this variety is very similar to lucilia.
- Hionodox is whitish. It differs in white-pink inflorescences with a slightly lilac hue. The flowers of this species are also small - they have about one centimeter in diameter. In inflorescence usually 1-3 buds, and in height it reaches 10-15 cm.
This is actually a very interesting plant - chionodox. Landing and caring for it - the procedures are not troublesome or even pleasant. In the event that you do everything right, you will certainly grow up healthy, plentifully flowering beautiful plants.