Plants fill the house and yard with special energy and decorate them. The dream of every grower is to have beautiful bushes in his garden, strewn with small incredibly delicate, eye-pleasing variety of shades and a riot of colorful flowers. Such an unusual, interesting and vibrant plant is called Lobelia. Care and cultivation of lobelia is a difficult and painstaking process, but adhering to certain rules, given the characteristics of the flower, is easier to handle.
Botanical certificate of the plant
Lobelia is a dicotyledonous, perennial plant from the Bellflower family. Small bushes are abundantly covered with small flowers. The color of the petals depends on the variety of lobelia, most often found in white, blue and blue. Some of them are grown in hanging pots, flowerpots, baskets and flowerpots.
In turn, varieties are divided into three main groups:
- Lobelia Erectus - erect bushes from 20 to 30 centimeters in height.
- Lobelia Compacta - species with round flowers reaching a diameter of fifteen centimeters.
- Lobelia Pendula - plants with climbing, twisting shoots up to thirty centimeters in length.
Lobelia is grown in different places, it all depends on the plant variety. The flower will perfectly decorate the borders of garden paths, it will look great near ponds, on alpine slides, in flowerpots. It looks impressive in tandem with cloves, pelargonium and verbena. With the advent of colds it is dug up and transplanted into containers. During the winter period, lobelia is stored on the balcony, in the greenhouse, and with the onset of spring it is planted back in the flowerbed.
Species diversity
The following varieties are most popular among flower growers:
- Regatta rose– dwarf lobelia. Flowering lasts all summer, looks great in hanging pots and containers. Small flowers are painted red with white eyes in the middle.
- Riviera Blue Sky is a low, unpretentious and compact variety. It blooms early, the petals are painted in a delicate blue color.
- Sapphire - a variety with a curly long stem (about 28 centimeters). Lobelia Sapphire is grown from seeds for decorating loggias, summer arbors, etc.
- Gerardii is a cold resistant, perennial variety. Blue and purple flowers delight with a bright color.
Everyone wants to have lobelia in his garden. Tender plants will decorate the house or homestead.
Lobelia white lady
A prominent representative of the genus is the White Lady, forming a snow-white bush of spherical shape. Small, delicate flowers densely cover the stems. White Lady’s lobelia is grown from seeds according to the standard scheme; it does not have specific requirements. In early spring, the seeds are planted in pots to a depth of 2 millimeters, spraying on top with warm water. Seedlings dive only after the appearance of the first young leaves. After two to three weeks, the flower is ready for planting in the ground. Planting soil should be moist with plenty of organic and nutrients.
Propagation by cuttings
Growing lobelia, many people dream of planting some sort of flower in their home. The plant you like is perfectly stored in a special container. Indoors, the lobelia will bloom until January, if you cut off the drying stems. After flowering, the lobelia smoothly passes into the period of winter dormancy, during which it rests and builds strength. This phase lasts approximately two months.
Closer to spring, young shoots sprout, they are suitable for cuttings. In order for the lower stems to acquire processes, fresh soil must be added to the pot, while pushing the shoots in different directions. Then, the rooted stems need to be transplanted into a container, laid on the soil and attached in several places with studs. It is near them that roots will appear. Then, daughter specimens are separated from the mother bush with a sharp knife and transplanted into a separate container.
Selection of planting material
The success of growing lobelia seedlings at home depends on the choice of seeds and their quality. If the package says "erinus", then this is a spray lobelia, and ampel manufacturers are sometimes called cascade ones. Plants have a spherical shape, magnificent and dense bloom. The flowering bush is so dense that the leaves are not always visible. Cascading lobelia is more finicky, it requires a special approach and experience, moreover, it blooms weaker and not so magnificent.
According to the color of the flowers, gardeners have learned to determine the level of resistance, vitality and how abundant the flowering of the plant will be. So, bushes with blue and blue flowers are resistant to temperature extremes and develop rapidly, Lady's lobelia with white petals takes longer and requires special care. But the most moody are purple and lilac varieties, which have poor germination rates and bloom weakly.
Growing such a whimsical and moody flower requires a lot of effort and time, but it's worth it.
Seed cultivation
The most common method for propagating varietal lobelia is seed. The best time for sowing seeds is early spring, since young plants develop very slowly, they will have time to grow stronger in 2-3 months (before planting in the ground). To grow seedlings you will need:
- Large capacity.
- Soil mixture.
- Polyethylene film or glass.
The soil mixture must be prepared at the end of autumn, let it stand and freeze on the balcony or on the street. For the substrate, use sand and sheet or turf soil with the addition of humus in a ratio of 2: 2: 1. The finished mixture should be loose, absorb water well and let air through.
The substrate is ready, proceed to growing and caring for the lobelia. Seedling cassettes with pallets, plastic packaging and cups, egg trays are used as a sowing capacity. Pour the prepared mixture into the tank, you do not need to tamp it, just crush it slightly. Evenly distribute the seeds on the surface, the frequency of planting affects the growth of the plant. Upon completion of sowing, the container must be wrapped with foil or covered with glass. The appearance of condensation indicates that the mini-greenhouse needs to be ventilated. This manipulation is best done once a day. An ordinary lamp is often used to illuminate seedlings. You need to set the backlight carefully and carefully so as not to burn young sprouts.
If everything is done correctly, adhere to norms and rules, after one and a half weeks the first shoots will break through. At this stage, special attention should be paid to watering, do not allow the soil to dry out and do not flood it. For humidification it is better to use a spray gun, this will distribute the liquid evenly over the entire surface. Water should be at room temperature and be sure to stand.
Landing and flowering
A month after sowing, the seedlings must be divided and planted in separate pots, as a rule, by this time they have 2-3 pairs of real leaves. Care requirements do not change even after transplantation. Watering frequently and carefully, you do not need to cover the container with foil. To plant plants in open ground, you must wait until the threat of spring return frosts has finally passed.
The best time to plant lobelia in the ground is May, because the cold has long passed, and the hot heat has not yet arrived. In order to safely grow lobelia, you should loosen the soil and fertilize it with mineral substances. Thanks to proper care, sowing and growing, lobelia will form the first inflorescences in early June and will delight the eye until the fall. However, in September, dry yellowish shoots will become noticeable. The dried-up branches must be cut, and the flower itself should be fed with fertilizer, water and do not forget about loosening.
Tricks of cultivation and plant care
The main secret of growing lobelia is the competent choice of a place for planting. This is a heat-loving flower, bright sunshine favorably affects its development, therefore, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture and prevent drying out. In a drought, the plant does not bloom and eventually dies.
It is important that the soil is loose, without fresh manure and other compost fertilizers. Due to humus-saturated soil, lobelia will cease to bloom densely. Plant nutrition is of particular importance when growing:
- Often and plentifully fertilize the flower is not necessary - it will only bring harm.
- The first top dressing must be done two weeks after planting seedlings in open ground.
- For top dressing, use special complex mineral preparations for flowering garden plants.
- Repeated feeding is carried out before flowering. Thanks to the additional nutrition, the flowers will be larger and the flowering more plentiful.
- To speed up the second flowering, fertilize the green friend again.
Adult Plant Care
The care and cultivation of lobelia is a complex matter, without additional knowledge one may encounter difficulties. When planting a plant in a pot, you need to make sure that there are drainage holes in it, since lobelia does not tolerate high humidity. But the worst thing for a flower is dry soil. The summer hot sun damages the stalks of lobelia, they gradually turn yellow and die, this leads to the death of the whole plant. To prevent the death of lobelia, the bush is cut off completely, and after fourteen days it grows with renewed vigor and even delights with flowers. See how healthy lobelia looks in the photo. Growing in an optimal microclimate and proper care is the key to a healthy plant.
If the lobelia blooms weakly, the reason is in the wrong soil. An urgent need to transplant a flower.
Pick and pinch
First of all, you need to find out what a pick is. The process involves the removal of the terminal part from the core root in order to stimulate branching of the root system. Along the way, seedlings are planted in individual pots. This technique allows you to get stronger plants that can easily survive planting in open ground. The total capacity does not allow the roots to develop normally. If lobelia seedlings are grown in one container, then when transplanting, the upper layer is divided into small pieces, grabbed with a small spatula and moved in this form into the ground.
Picking allows you to plant thickets and preserve the root system of the plant.
Pinching is not a mandatory process. But if you want to make the flower garden bright, dense and colorful, then this opportunity must be taken.
Lobelia in landscape design
The plant is widely used in landscape design:
- In the flowerbed. Before disembarking, it is necessary to determine the composition scheme. For the flower garden, lobelia erinus (bush) is grown. It covers the whole earth with an even carpet, forming spectacular bright spots on the flowerbed.
- In hanging baskets, ampel varieties look spectacular. A thick, green cover tightly covers the frame of the vine.
- In decorative flowerpots.
- When forming a flower tower of flowerpots.
Diseases and pests of lobelia
Growing lobelia, florists often encounter invasive processes that develop in plants and insects that damage the bushes. In order to prevent unpleasant consequences in time, you need to know the signs of the disease:
- Thinning and darkening of the basal part of the seedlings entails the death of the flower. Such a disease is called a black leg.
- Gray rot spreads on the leaves and stems, the affected areas are covered with plaque and become brown.
- Tracheomycotic wilting is scary for adult plants and young shoots. Dark vessels, yellowed leaves, lost their attractiveness, indicate infection.
In addition to diseases, parasites and pests are terrible for lobelia erinus when growing:
- Thrips that devour leaves. In places of mass congestion, the plate becomes covered with bright spots and eventually begins to change shape.
- Slug. Moving, leave slippery marks and holes on the sheets.
Both the first and second are dangerous for a representative of the flora of this genus, because timely preventive treatment of the plant helps to maintain its attractiveness. Remember that the disease is easier to prevent than to treat.
Lobelia is a cute, delicate and airy flower. Despite the fact that it is difficult to grow, the result is worth it. Wherever you grow a plant (in a house on a window, in a pot or flowerpot on a balcony, in the open ground), it will certainly decorate the surrounding space with its presence.