The beauty of geyhera lasts quite a long time - from the first weeks of spring to late autumn. That is why the flower is often used for decorative purposes: to decorate garden plots, central paths, rockeries. Geicher is also grown in urban apartments, office premises. Culture often becomes an essential element of flower arrangements in landscaping projects. Geichera boasts a wide variety of species and varieties.
First of all, they differ in leaf color, which varies from simple green to cream, gray, red, purple, silver in various combinations. Geichera is a genus of perennial herbaceous plants belonging to the Kamnelomkov family. The birthplace of the flower is North America.
Hybrid Grade Rio Heicher
Heicher Rio has the following description and characteristic:
- In height, the heichera heuchera rio can reach 20-25 cm.
- The diameter of the bush is about 35 cm.
- Leaves have a carved surface.
- In the process of growth, the color of the leaf blades changes - light green gradually turns into coral.
- White flowers are collected in spike-shaped inflorescences.
- Flowering of Heuchera hybrida rio begins in the first days of June and ends in late September. The first flowers appear in late spring.
- Heichera Rio prefers sunny areas and partial shade. On a hot day, it is best to place the plant in the shade to prevent leaf burns.
- Heichera rio grows well on fertile, moist soils (it is necessary to exclude stagnation of water in the soil).
Interesting. This variety looks great in the foreground of flower arrangements.
Landscape design application
Geicher is actively used in this direction, due to the richness of the color palette of this plant. The culture is included both in single-species compositions and in mixed plantings. Due to the stability of forms, the plant can be used to create geometrically strict flower beds. Heichera perfectly combines with miniature shrubs. The flower is recommended to combine with such crops as:
- Hosta
- Badan.
- Primrose.
- Brunner.
- Astilba.
- Decorative cereals.
Geicher is used not only as an additional element in landscape design, but also is chosen for the role of an accent plant that attracts the main attention.
Culture in Landscaping
The use of geyhera for decorative purposes is very multifaceted and includes the following options:
- In mixed borders - both flower and tree-shrub.
- To decorate ponds.
- As a border.
- In combination with roses, hosts, irises.
- In rockeries, rock gardens.
- In combination with early flowering bulbous plants. This possibility is provided by the fact that the heichera after wintering retains the rosette of leaves.
- Like a cut plant. For these purposes, varieties with bright inflorescences are suitable.
- In the form of a container culture.
Flower propagation methods
Heicher propagated in three ways:
- Dividing the bush;
- Seeds;
- Cuttings.
To grow a young instance by dividing a bush, you need to do the following:
- Dig a heicher and divide the bush into several parts.
- Trim the dried shoots, leaving the living buds located in the leaf sinuses.
- Too long roots should be shortened. It is also necessary to remove the rotting areas, the places of the cuts to process with crushed coal.
- Prepare a landing hole measuring 30 by 30 cm, pour ash into it and add top dressing.
- Plant a geyher.
- Water the plant.
- Protect from direct sunlight.
Need to know! Young roots will appear in a month and a half. Once this happens, the flower can be moved to a new place.
Growing a heichera from seeds is not difficult at all, but the success of the event directly depends on the correct implementation of the planting rules, namely:
- After collecting seeds, the viability of the latter is six months. Therefore, when purchasing seeds, you should pay special attention to the expiration date of the goods. Seeds packed in foil are stored longer - about a year and a half.
- For landing, you need a wide container with drainage holes. The height of the container must be at least 5 cm.
- For sowing, you need to take loose soil.
- A little sand or perlite should be added to the soil.
- Before planting, the soil is heated for several minutes. This can be done in the oven. Another option is to warm with boiling water and wait until the earth dries.
- Depending on the degree of illumination, sowing time may fall in March or April.
- Since the seeds are very small, it is recommended to mix them with sand. Thanks to this, the seedlings will turn out to be more even.
- For the same reason, the seeds do not deepen, planting them superficially on pre-moistened soil. You should also loosen and level the soil in advance.
- Next, the seeds are covered with a film or glass.
- Provide seed access to light. To do this, they can be placed on the windowsill. It is important to ensure that seedlings are not exposed to cold and drafts.
- Shoots will appear in a couple of weeks. At this time, the seeds should be regularly ventilated. When they rise, the coating in the form of glass or film is left, only slightly raised (another option is to make special holes).
- When the first 3 leaves are formed, the seedlings need to be planted, keeping a distance of 4-6 cm between them.
- During this period, the process of moistening the soil requires special attention. As an excess of moisture, and drying out the soil entails the death of young plants.
- In May, when the weather is warm, the seedlings can be carried out into the garden, a shaded place. Containers with shoots are recommended to be fixed in the soil - thanks to this, young plants will get stronger faster.
- Seeds planted in the spring, shoots with a fully formed rosette by winter. Such plants can be left for winter without shelter. At the same time, experienced flower growers still recommend to cover the heicher with fir branches.
Seed cultivation
Propagation of the flower by cuttings is as follows:
- The lateral processes with a certain part of the rosette are separated from the parent plant without affecting the root system.
- To reduce evaporation, part of the foliage must be removed. 2-3 leaves should remain on the stem.
- Cuttings are planted in a shaded bed with loose soil. Sand or vermiculite is added to the soil, as well as ash (it reduces the acidity of the soil).
- The ideal time for planting is May or June (that is, the period before flowering begins).
- After planting, the cuttings are covered with a cloth (which will absorb excess moisture), and then with a film.
- Outlets should be above ground level.
On a note. The advantage of this method is that heichera does not need to dig a bush to breed.
Heichera propagation by cuttings
The first young leaves appear 3-4 weeks after planting. This means that heichera has formed roots.
Outdoor landing
Most hehera species prefer partial shade. Mostly in such areas the sun appears only in the morning. On the other hand, experienced gardeners advise planting young flowers in well-lit places and at the same time protected from strong winds and cold.
Good to know. Species of heichera with light leaves love the sun, and those plants that have green or raspberry foliage feel great even with significant shading.
It is allowed to plant a crop in a flower garden in the open sun. An important condition - it is better to place the geyher behind a tall flower, behind which the plant can "hide" from the midday sun.
In places native to this culture, the soil has a neutral or slightly alkaline environment, therefore it is better to use just such soil for planting. The substrate should be light, fertile and loose.
The landing pit should have a good drainage layer 3-5 cm thick. It is recommended to add ash or dolomite flour to the soil.
Watering is carried out in moderation. A flower can endure a short dry season. In hot weather, it is recommended to moisten the soil intensively under the plant (once a week is enough).
Heikhera planting in the open ground
Important! If moisture stagnation is observed on the site after snow melting and precipitation, the culture should not be planted here. The fact is that in the wild, heichera grows on rocky shores, so its roots are not able to tolerate excess moisture.
Plant nutrition
Growing geyhera does not require regular fertilizing. Only sometimes a flower is fed with complex mineral compounds, the concentration of which should be 2 times less than for other garden crops. In the first year, the plant is not fertilized at all. In the future, feeding is done only during the period of active growth 2 times per season (before flowering and after it).
How to transplant a hehera in the fall
In one place, the flower can grow for 5 years, then it is necessary to transplant. The procedure allows you to save the decorative properties of the culture. This will require:
- Dig out the bush.
- Remove long roots.
- Remove damaged and dried flower areas.
- Divide the bush into 2-4 parts.
- The shoots are planted 20 cm deeper into the ground than they previously grew. The distance between them should be from 20 to 25 cm.
- Cover the seedlings with mulch and water.
Geicher is an ideal balance of beauty and unpretentiousness in care. A spectacular culture can easily transform the surrounding space, whether it be a garden, flowerbed or mixborder.