Content
For a tropical plant acidander, planting and care in the open field is quite possible, but it has its own characteristics. Due to the sensitivity to cold, the flower is planted in well-heated soil. In those regions where the heat comes late, preliminary germination of corms will be required. For the winter, planting material is dug out of the ground and stored in a relatively warm room, and in the spring it is planted again. The plant completely compensates for the troubles delivered to gardeners with its exotic beauty.
The culture belongs to the Iris family. Translated from Greek, the name acidantera means a sharp flower. It is a perennial bulbous plant native to Africa. Today, according to the botanical classification, acidander is referred to as gladioli, although more recently it was isolated as an independent plant. In total, there are about 40 species of this flower in nature.
Found in gardens:
Acidantera Muriel, also known under other names (beautiful-flowered gladiolus, Muriel's skewer, fragrant gladiolus, two-color acidantera), won the greatest popularity among summer residents. Acidantera is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant. It can be grown in different ways, but planting in open ground is more often practiced.
Characteristics of acidantera Muriel:
For a beautiful flowering, the acidander is planted in a group of several bulbs. The plant blooms towards the end of summer. Not all types of fragrant gladiolus are equally fragrant. Some of them have a subtle smell. The scent of the flowers vaguely resembles jasmine. The buds open in turn, starting from the bottom, so the flowering period lasts about 4 weeks. Fragrant gladiolus is considered a honey plant, as it attracts bees to the site.
For planting, it is better to purchase gladioli bulbs from local producers. Planting material from Holland may be too tender, especially for harsh climates.
The bulbs must be free from visible damage, signs of rot and disease. Suitable size - up to 5 cm in diameter. 2 weeks before planting, they are treated with one of the fungicides:
The solution is prepared strictly according to the instructions.Then the planting material is stored at room temperature (20-22 ° C). Before planting, it is advisable to carry out treatment with a growth stimulant ("Zircon", "Epin"). The bulbs are soaked in the solution for 3-4 hours.
In cold regions, planting in the ground can be delayed due to weather conditions. In this case, it is better to plant the bulbs for forcing at home so that their flowering does not linger in the future. Pre-germination of corms gives several advantages at once:
It is more convenient to germinate the bulbs in peat cups with a diameter of 15 cm, planting them to a depth of about 4 cm. Several bulbs can be placed in one such container. 1 copy is planted in pots of smaller diameter. The soil is chosen loose and nutritious, it is previously disinfected by steaming in the oven. Providing the bulbs with warmth and light is essential for successful germination. Until mid-March, additional lighting must be turned on for 2-3 hours in the morning and evening.
Watering should be regular, but not too abundant. The room is ventilated, while drafts should not be allowed. 3-4 weeks before planting in the ground, the acidander begins to harden in the fresh air, taking it out to the balcony for a few minutes. Every day, the time spent on the street is gradually increasing. In the middle lane, a transplant into the ground can be carried out in mid-May; in cold regions, you should wait another 2-3 weeks.
Fragrant gladiolus does not have any special requirements for the composition of the soil, the main thing is to put a drainage layer on the bottom of the pit during planting. In general, the soil should be sufficiently loose, fertile, with neutral acidity or slightly acidic. Acidantera is not planted in the ground where legumes, bulbous plants or root crops previously grew.
By the time of planting, the soil should warm up to a temperature above +10 ° C. It is better to place the flowerbed with acidantera in place with bright diffused lighting. The plant will not like shading or exposure to direct sunlight. In cool and damp summers, Muriel's skewer may refuse to bloom.
The bulbs are planted on a bed of coarse river sand, so that after planting they are at a depth of 10 cm. Large onions are planted at intervals of 20 cm, small ones can be planted closer to each other. After finishing planting, the flower bed is watered abundantly, and then mulched with humus, peat or mown grass.
The same care is suitable for acidantera as for gladioli. It is necessary to carry out weeding, loosening, mulching in a timely manner, regularly water and fertilize the plant, and remove faded buds.
The flower loves moisture, but waterlogging of the soil is unacceptable. The soil should always remain moderately moist. Drainage laid before planting will help drain excess water from the roots of the plant.
The regularity of watering depends on the weather conditions. In hot and dry periods, you will need to water the flower bed daily. In moderately warm weather, fragrant gladiolus is irrigated every 2-3 days. Watering is not carried out during the rainy season.
Water application rates are slightly reduced at the initial stage of flowering. This technique will allow you to achieve a brighter, more contrasting color of flowers. Watering is carried out directly under the root, drops of water falling on the leaves and petals can cause burns in sunny weather.
Loosening and weeding cannot be avoided if the Muriel skewer is grown without mulching. It is convenient to carry out procedures after watering or rain, when the ground becomes soft. Loosening promotes the penetration of oxygen to the roots of the plant, prevents the formation of a hard crust on the soil surface.
The soil is loosened to a depth of 5 cm. It is also necessary to remove weeds. Weeds compete with cultivated species, taking food and moisture from them. As a result, the growth of acidants will slow down and the quality of flowering will deteriorate. To keep the need for loosening and weeding to a minimum, it is best to mulch the surface of the flower bed.
If you use decorative types of mulch (colored chips, granite chips, crushed cones, small gravel), it will also become an additional decoration. When organic materials (bark, sawdust) are used as a mulching layer, they are periodically replaced, since organic matter decomposes over time.
When planting in a nutrient soil, the acidander does not need to be fed. However, if signs of nutritional deficiency appear, fertilization will be required. If the flower grows poorly or the leaves have lost their rich color, you can make a complex feeding for bulbous crops. The frequency of fertilization is once every 2–4 weeks.
When planting in poor soil, mineral mixtures are introduced:
When applying fertilizers, in no case exceed the indicated dosage. Overfeeding the plant is fraught with negative consequences, fragrant gladiolus will grow large succulent leaves, but will not bloom.
Acidantera can suffer from fungal and viral diseases. Most often, the plant is affected by:
If fragrant gladiolus is sick with mosaics, a motley pattern appears on the leaves. A diseased specimen must be immediately uprooted from the ground and burned along with the bulb, since the disease is of a viral nature and cannot be cured.
The other diseases listed are caused by a fungus. You can get rid of them by applying fungicides. For spraying in this case, use a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid or copper sulfate. Prevention of fungal diseases is the correct agricultural technology. Weed growth should not be allowed, excessive watering should not be carried out.
Of the pests, fragrant gladiolus affects:
It is better to spray the plants in the flowerbed with a solution of ammonia (1 tbsp. L. Per 10 l of water) or infusion of mustard (50 g per 10 l of water, leave for 2 days). If pests do appear, they use insecticidal preparations. Ticks are removed using acaricides. The slugs are collected by hand, having previously laid out nearby traps (trimming boards, pieces of slate), under which the mollusks will gather, hiding from the heat of the day.
Leaving fragrant gladiolus to winter in the ground is possible only in warm regions. In the middle lane and to the north, the bulbs are dug up, and planted again in the spring. It is necessary to extract the planting material from the soil before the first frost. After flowering, the acidantera must rest and accumulate nutrients in the bulbs.
The exact timing of excavation depends on the region and the current weather. The bulbs are pried up with a shovel from below and brought to the surface along with a clod of earth - this will preserve their integrity. The leaves must be cut off, leaving a small stump.
The earth is shaken off, the children are separated from the mother's bulb. Then the planting material must be dried for a month at a temperature of 20-22 ° C. After that, the bulbs are placed in a box of peat or wrapped in paper. Until spring, they are kept in a dry, warm room at a temperature of 15 ° C.
Acidantera is a bright, showy flower that stands out favorably against the background of more inconspicuous plants.It can be safely placed in the center of a flower arrangement, on an alpine slide, near a reservoir. Acidanters can be used to decorate unsightly fences or outbuildings. Agrotechnics of the plant is not particularly complex, which makes it a welcome guest at any summer cottage.
TOPIC ARTICLES
and will be published shortly.