Platikodon - planting and care of the garden bell

If there is a desire to decorate your garden or window sill in the house, then it is worth choosing platikodon, planting and caring for which includes several important procedures. There are several varieties that will bring variety to the design.

Platycodone - description

Outwardly this plant looks like ordinary bells, but it has a number of special signs:

1. Platycodone is characterized by a fleshy rhizome, thin and straight roots, reaching a height of 20-80 cm and oppositely located leaves are ovate or elongate.
2. Platycodone at home or in the street has a bluish color of stems and leaves.
3. As for the flowers, they can be single or collected in panicles for several pieces. They are also large and reach a diameter of up to 8 cm. Depending on the variety, the color of the buds differs.
4. Flowering has been observed for two months, beginning in mid-July. After this, a fetus is formed - an ovate capsule, in which are flat and shiny seeds of ovoid form.

Plant platycodone - variety

Thanks to the nature and work of breeders, there are several types of these beautiful and unusual colors:

1. Platycodon «Large-flowered». Many will agree with the opinion that this is the most delicate variety, which is characterized by single buds of white or slightly lilac shade with veins of blue. The height reaches 80 cm. Blooms platycodone broadly bell from June to August.
2. Platycodone "Pink". To get this hybrid, I had to try, because it was not easy to bring a variety with beautiful pink bells. The distinctive features include miniature and flowering for a long time. The flower looks great both on small flower beds and in a pot on the windowsill.
3. Platycodone "Blue". This sort of platycodone perennial is popular due to the presence of large flowers of blue color. It perfectly fits into the original multi-component compositions and will become an excellent single decoration.
4. Platycodone "Astra". This variety was bred due to the combination of two types: semi-double and white. As a result, a compact plant was obtained, which reaches a height of not more than 25 cm. Distinctive features include abundant flowering for two months. As for the flowers themselves, they are large, star-shaped and reach a diameter of up to 7-8 cm.
5. Platycodone "White". Another compact version that grows above 20 cm blooms with white delicate flowers, and it occurs in the period from July to August or from August to October.

Platycodone - planting

To flower pleased the eye, well established and growing, it is necessary to plant it correctly, for which it is worth following a series of recommendations.

1. It is important to choose the right place for growing, since it refers to light-loving, it is better to give preference to well-lit or semi-shaded areas.
2. Choosing platikodone for your site, planting and care for which are simple, consider that the root system is tender and fragile, so transplants are strictly undesirable for him. Given this, it is important to immediately choose a permanent place, where the plant will rejoice for 7-10 years.
3. Pay attention to the quality of the soil, which must be fertile, loose and drained. It is best to select loams with a neutral reaction for planting platycodone. During the digging, it is recommended to add sand in addition, and directly during planting 0,5 st. wood ash and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of complex fertilizers.
4. Proper planting of platycodone should be done carefully, so as not to damage the roots of seedlings. It is necessary to make holes, the distance between which should be about 25-30 cm. Their volume should be slightly larger than the pot in which the seedlings were grown. The plant needs to be well watered and then removed from the tank along with a clod of earth, then the chance that it will take will be high.
5. At the end of the process, pour the bush. It is recommended to mulch , because the soil will not dry up, and will crack during heat. In addition, the number of weeds will decrease significantly.

When to plant platycodone?

It is necessary to select the time for planting, taking into account that seeds or seedlings are used. In the first case it is necessary to be guided by temperature indicators, so the earth should warm up more than + 5 ° С. If you are wondering how to plant a platycodone seedlings, it is better to plant at the end of May. Owing to observance of these conditions the chance that it will take, and will develop well, substantially increases.

Platycodone - growing from seeds

To obtain seedlings, planting of seeds should be carried out at the beginning or in the middle of March. There are a number of recommendations concerning how to sow platycodone, planting and caring for which has its own peculiarities:

1. Because the seeds are sensitive to light, they should be sown closer to the surface of the earth, which should be loose and light. You can simply press the seeds with your finger, without sprinkling them on top with anything.
2. After that, the container is covered with a film or glass, which will create a greenhouse effect. Place them is recommended in a place where there is a lot of light, but from direct rays the seedlings need to be saved.
3. The subsequent maintenance of platycodone ordinary means regular moderate watering and maintenance of the optimum temperature regime (20-23 ° C).
4. If everything is done according to the rules and the planting material was good, then shoots should appear after 2.5-3 weeks. After this, it is recommended to lower the temperature to 15-16 ° C and periodically ventilate the greenhouse, removing the film or glass. The condition for moderate watering is preserved.
5. It is worth pointing out that platycodone, planting and caring for which should be carried out according to the recommendations of gardeners, does not need stratification, that is, treatment with cold, but if the procedure is carried out, it is possible to accelerate the germination.
6. When buying seeds in the fall, you can land in the bed in the winter. They should be planted shallow, covering the top with a layer of compost or sifted earth (thickness 2-3 cm). Seedlings appear in late May or early June. Platycodone will develop slowly, and flowering can be observed only after 1-2 years.

Platycodone - propagation by cuttings

You can increase the number of such plants and vegetatively. For this it is necessary to take into account a number of recommendations:

1. In spring it is necessary to choose a stalk with a heel and separate the stalk. The incision is made at the root neck. It is important that there are 2-3 internodes on the stem. The slices are treated with a garden fume and sent to the water until the roots appear.
2. Using vegetative reproduction of platycodone it is possible to carry out and division of the bush. First it should be carefully excavated and examined. If the rhizome has processes with kidneys, then they can be separated using a sharp knife. Will only plant the bushes in the holes, observing the rules.

Platycodone - Growth and Care

For abundant flowering for many years, a number of recommendations must be followed.

1. In the first weeks watering should be carried out necessarily, and then, it is necessary to be guided by the weather and the condition of the earth. If there was no rain for a long time, then it is better to do irrigation.
2. For the cultivation of platycodone, it is important to loosen the soil after irrigation. Note that the surrounding weeds can degrade growth activity, so they should be removed in time.
3. For flowering platikodona planting and care means introducing complex fertilizers, and it is recommended to do this once a month. If you do not want platycodone to be high, inhibitors that reduce growth activity can be used.

How does platycodone come about?

Experts argue that the duration of the emergence period depends on many factors. More important is the variety and compliance with the rules for planting and care. The minimum period is 10 days, and in some cases the period increases to 21 days. While cultivating flowers of platycodones, it is worthwhile to know that when the shoots get stronger it is important to remove the film, and when forming four leaflets it is recommended to fertilize with nitrogenous fertilizers.

Platycodone - flowering

In most varieties in mid-June, axillary flowers are bloomed on the tips of the shoots, which are collected in a paniculate inflorescence of 2-5 pcs. The buds have a short and flexible flower stem, so they slightly bend downward. Corolla consists of five fused at the base of the petals, so it looks like a bell. There are semi-double varieties, in which the petals are placed in several tiers. It is important to note that flowering continues for two months. There are no special rules on how to take care of platycodone during the flowering period.

Pikikovka platikodona

To the plant began to grow faster, giving shoots, it is necessary to perform a simple procedure - picking . On young seedlings, the apex is cut off when a third pair of leaves is already formed. Caring for platycodone means using a container about 10 cm in diameter for picking. In the same containers it will be grown before it can be transplanted into the ground. Lower the pick is permitted if the seeds are sown in peat pills.

How does platycodone winter?

When growing flowers in the garden, it is important to properly prepare them for the winter period. For this, a number of recommendations should be taken into account:

1. Before the onset of cold weather, cut off the entire ground part so that only the roots remain.
2. For cultivation and maintenance in the open ground platycodone for winter is necessarily covered with fallen leaves, peat or other similar material. The height of the mulch depends on the terrain and the north of the territory, the thicker the protection should be.

Platycodone after winter

When the colds recede, it is necessary to clean the bush by removing the shelter. Please note that it's worth it when there are no night frosts. Experienced gardeners recommend in the spring to fertilize the bushes, using humus or peat. It is important to monitor the acidity of the soil. If platycodone grows at home, then it is better to transplant to a new pot.

Platycodone - growing in pots

It has already been said that it is possible to grow the plant even at home, and in this case it is necessary to use seeds as seedlings for open ground.

1. When growing a platycodone flower, like a houseplant, it is recommended to put a pot on a well-illuminated window sill, but note that direct sunlight can trigger a burn.
2. The optimum home temperature is 20 ° C.
3. When wilting buds appear, they should be removed, and the ground around periodically loosen.
4. If you want to plant platikodones, planting and care for them is very simple, it is important to consider that in the pot they do not tolerate waterlogging, so watering should be moderate, and in winter it should be reduced to a minimum. In addition, in the cold season, the pot must be moved to a cool place where the temperature is 13-15 ° C.
5. Spraying is not necessary, and before bells appear, it is recommended to feed the bush.