On a flowering garden in spring, the emperor grouse stands out with particular greatness. Bright flowers begin to please the eyes of gardeners with one of the first flowering plants.
Grouse imperial or fritillaria (Fritillaria imperialis) - bulbous plants from the daylily family. The hazel grouse is home to the Himalayas, from where the plant came to Europe in the 16th century.
The grouse imperial is a peduncle up to 1.5 meters high, on top of which are large flowers in the form of bells. Crowns on top of the stem a lush bunch of green foliage. At the base of the peduncle, spiky leaves are arranged in several layers. Imperial hazel grouse flowers can be yellow, orange, terracotta or red.
It depends on the correct planting of the bulb whether the hazel grouse will bloom next year. To avoid mistakes during planting, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- The optimum landing time is the end of August and the beginning of September. A later planting negatively affects the development of the plant, it does not have time to take root and may die in winter.
- The flower should be located on sunny, well protected from drafts, areas.
- Before planting the bulbs, the area on which they will grow, it is necessary to dig and fertilize. To improve the drainage characteristics of the soil, you can add a small amount of river sand to it.
- Wells are best prepared in advance. At the bottom of the pit, it’s nice to pour some sand, humus or compost. The depth of the hole should be at least 30-40 cm.
- The general rule to use when planting bulbs is that the depth of the hole should be 3 times the height of the bulb. Thus, for large flowering bulbs with a diameter and height of about 10 cm, the planting fossa should be at least 30-40 cm deep, and smaller specimens can be planted to a depth of about 15-20 cm.
- Place the holes between each other at a distance of 35-45 cm.
- It is better to put the bulb in the hole slightly obliquely (so that moisture does not accumulate in the scales) and sprinkle the sand on top. Top hole can be mulched.
Watering the planted flower is necessary all autumn, until the first frost, so that the root system has enough time to develop.
How and when to plant fritillaria
Fritillaria Care in Autumn
Proper planting of the bulb is only half the success in the process of growing hazel grouse. The rest of the success is proper plant care.
Hazel grouse has a relatively short period of growth and flowering - from April to July. During this time, two fertilizing with mineral or organic fertilizers is carried out - before and after flowering of the plant.
All the rest of the time, caring for the hazel grouse consists in regular watering and mulching the plant. Loosen the earth around the flower with extreme caution, because Fritillaria roots often grow up to the surface of the earth, and you can accidentally damage them.
After flowering, the upper part of the flower begins to slowly die. At this time, you can cut the flower stalk, but in no case can you completely remove the foliage from the plant, otherwise the bulb will not receive beneficial substances and will stop growing.
In the second half of June, the bulbs are dug up. Then they are given such care: they are cleaned of the earth and dry parts, disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and put to dry. Bulbs should be kept dry and well ventilated. And in August-September, the bulbs again planted in the ground.
How imperial grouse breeds
You can get new young plants in a vegetative way, by dividing the bulbs or growing them from seeds.
When an adult bulb is dug up, the children are carefully separated from it. Care for them is the same as for adult tubers. Young onions are disinfected, dried and planted in the autumn in the ground. If the children are small, then they must be grown for several years before they bloom.
In winter, beds with young plants need to be insulated by sprinkling them with earth.
Bulb division propagation
Large, healthy maternal bulbs are selected for this operation. With a sharp disinfected knife, the onion is divided into two halves. The slice of each part is disinfected in potassium permanganate and sprinkled with ash. Next, each half is planted as a separate plant. Flowering may come next year.
Growing grouse from seeds
This method of reproduction is used only by those gardeners who are engaged in the reproduction of imperial grouse in large volumes. The time period from the moment of sowing seeds to obtain an adult flowering plant can be up to 7 years. After flowering, small boxes with small black seeds form in the upper part of the stem. They are collected and planted in light soil in mid-autumn. Depth of landing should not exceed 10 cm.
In winter, the beds are covered with leaves. In the spring, after the appearance of the first seedlings, seedlings are treated the same as for adult plants.
Diseases and Pests
Imperial grouse is rarely affected by viral infections. Tuber rotting can occur mainly if the bulbs are improperly maintained and their storage conditions are violated.
If rot is detected on the tubers, it is immediately necessary to remove it by cutting out the damaged part of the bulb. Sanitize the cutout with potassium permanganate and sprinkle with ash or crushed coal. To plant a "treated" bulb must necessarily be in a new place, to prevent repeated rot.
Among the pests, the greatest danger to the hazel grouse is the lily beetle and rattle. Particular damage to the plant is caused by the larvae of these pests. If insects and larvae are found on the stem, they must be collected manually or treated with a fungicide.
Why grouse does not bloom
Hazel grouse is used mainly as a group landing against a lawn. The plant also looks very advantageous near ponds.
In mixed plantings planted next to other bulbs - tulips and daffodils.
If you do not want the drying plant to spoil the appearance of the flowerbed, you can arrange irises around the imperial hazel grouse planting, which bloom a little later and cover the unsightly appearance of faded hazel grouse.
Simple care and maintenance of fritillaria allow even inexperienced gardeners to grow on their site a worthy "king" of flower beds - imperial hazel grouse.