Ahimenez is a perennial flower belonging to the family of Gesnerian. Its closest relatives are violets and gloxinia . It can be both upright and ampel, but the variety of shapes and shades of its inflorescences is amazing! Cultivating and caring for achymenes is easy enough, but there are certain nuances.
Planting of achymenes and care
Rhizomes begin to plant rhizomes from March to April. For this, the following actions are performed:
- A soil consisting of sand and leaf earth is prepared, although some amateurs prefer to use peat-based soil with various disintegrants. At the bottom of not too deep a container, drainage is required, which can be sprinkled with pounded eggshell if desired. Fill the substrate with 2/3 of the pot and spread it on the surface of the rhizome - up to 10 pieces per 25 cm container. Top with about 3 cm of soil, moisten it, cover the pot with a film cap and set it in a bright and warm place.
- As soon as the shoots of achymenes appear, further care at home is associated with regular watering, spraying the air around the pot and loosening the soil. These flowers grow well on the eastern and western balconies and loggias.
- A month after planting, you can make complex mineral fertilizers.
- To increase the plant bushiness, the tips of the young shoots can be pinched. By the way, the tops should be removed and on the faded stems. Cultivation of achymenes provides for a pinch from the moment of formation of 2-3 pairs of leaves and as the following pairs grow, it can be repeated until the first buds appear.
Reproduction and care of achymenes
As the plant grows, it may require transshipment. To produce it is not difficult: it is enough to water the plant and turn the pot upside down, extracting the flower along with the clod of earth. Do not remove the old soil, put in a new pot and fill in the necessary amount of soil. The transplant should be carried out no later than mid-August, because at this time the plant is already beginning to rebuild for a period of rest. Reproduction is carried out as rhizomes, and cuttings, as well as individual leaves. As for cuttings, they are not later than August roots in the ground, or peat pills. Some prefer to wait for the appearance of roots in the water, but experts advise to still use the greenhouse.
In 2-3 months one or several rhizomes will form, which can give rise to new flowers in the next season. There is a chance to root a separate leaf, but this is a fairly long process. With the advent of autumn, the adult plant fades, and its aerial part begins to wither and die. At this time the watering is reduced, and in October it stops altogether. To introduce fertilizers cease in September. As soon as all the branches are withered, they are removed, and the rhizomes are removed for storage. There are two ways to keep tubers until the spring, here they are: As one of the options, the pot with roots is removed to a room in which the temperature is maintained at + 10-15 ° C. Each month the soil should be slightly moistened.
The second option is associated with the removal of the rhizomes from the soil, drying them and storing them in zip bags, where dry vermiculite or peat is added.
Those who are interested in digging out the Achimens should be told that this should be done before the first frost. They are stored at a temperature of + 12-18 ° C. They should not be watered, but from time to time the contents of the sachets should be checked for fungal diseases. At the end of February the Ahimsens awaken and then they need to provide the necessary temperature and humidity, transplant them into fresh soil and put them into the light.