Japanese hyacinth or the ordinary Crocosia (montbretia) - not very famous, but very beautiful and bright flower, possessing a unique smell of saffron. The crusts begin to blossom from July to the onset of the first colds. The flowers are small, but bright saturated shades of red, yellow and orange. In height, the Japanese hyacinth reaches from 0.5 to 1.5 meters - depending on the variety, and the bushes look very neat and exquisite. Interested? Then let's find out all about planting and caring for the flowers of the crocosmia.
How to grow a crocosmium?
Place and soil
When growing the Crocosmia, it is worth considering that it came to us from the south of Africa, so it is necessary to respect its preferences and choose a sunny place for landing on your site or, in case of emergency, penumbra.
Grodichku under the planting must begin to cook in the fall. To do this, we dig the earth, add humus and superphosphate together with potassium chloride. The soil for the crocosmium is suitable for almost any, except that it is poor and exhausted. But this is not a problem - in spring such soil can be improved by adding nitrogen to it. And one more nuance is water permeability. The higher it is, the better the Crocos. To improve this earthquake, use sand. He perfectly copes with the difficult water permeability.
Planting of the Crocosmia bulbs
When to plant a crocosmium? The optimal time for these actions will be the end of April - the beginning of May. The main thing is that the soil has already been heated to about +6 + 10 ° C.
Now let's move on to the question of how to plant the Crocos. Crocosmia bulbs planted in the ground to a depth of 7-11 cm, with the distance between them should be at least 10 cm, otherwise it will be too crowded. Krokosmiya very quickly begins to expand, but in the cramped abundant flowering will not work. If you plant the "children" of the crocosmia, then the depth should be slightly reduced, enough and 3-6 cm, with a distance of 5-6 cm. And one more tip. Before planting, place the bulbs in a poorly-prepared warm solution of potassium permanganate. This warms the bulbs, and disinfects them, and stimulates rapid growth.
Some gardeners have adapted to begin germination of the crocosmium in pots, so these flowers start to blossom a little earlier. If you want to try this method, keep in mind that then the transplanting of seedlings into open ground should be carried out in late May - early June.
Care of the crocosmia
The main rule for obtaining beautiful and strong colors is regular loosening, watering and feeding. Crocosmia flowers are very fond of moisture, but at the same time, in a cool weather, they should be watered once a week. Remember that no matter how much the bulb flowers loved water, they do not tolerate moisture stagnation.
When you notice the first leaves, you can start feeding your bushes. As an additional fertilizer, the infusion of mullein, diluted 1:10, or a solution of any complete mineral fertilizer, will work well. Any chosen solution will need to fertilize the crocosmium approximately 3 times a month, before the onset of the flowering period, after which the flowers require additional potassium.
Now a little about the formation of bushes.
- The Crocosmia does not need tie.
- After the flower blossoms, it must be cut off.
Wintering of the Crocosmia
In order to the next year the crocosmium rejoiced you with its appearance and smell, it is necessary to prepare it for the winter.
- For the winter, cover the flowers with a protective layer (about 20 cm) from the organic material collected on the site.
- To the spring, when the snow begins to melt, there was no excess of moisture, on top of the crocosmium, you can put a layer of film.
- It is not necessary to excavate the bulbs of the small-crowned crocosmium and put them in the basement for the winter. Without such manipulations, these flowers grow better and develop.