- Type: plantain
- Flowering Period: July, August, September
- Height: 30-150cm
- Color: Purple, Pink, Purple
- Perennial
- Winters
- Sun loving
- Loving
In the back shaded courtyard, and among the garden trees, and in the sun in the center of the motley flower bed, digitalis — a tall, lush melliferous plant with large flowers similar to openwork bells — feels great. Proper planting and digitalis care will help to grow tall, almost two-meter flowers with bright, thick, airy caps, a real decoration and original natural decor for a suburban area.
Digitalis purpurea and other varieties
The most famous species is digitalis purpurea. Not surprisingly, Digitalis purpurea coexists perfectly in the middle lane: Eurasia is considered to be the birthplace of this amazing plant, although some varieties like a hotter climate, similar to North African. Digitalis is easily propagated by seeds, so its wild thickets can be found along ravines and streams, on the edges of the forest and roadsides.
One of the popular species of digitalis purpurea is a sample of the Excelsior group - a one and a half meter plant with very bright red or pink large flowers
A bright plant is attractively unusual in the shape of flowers resembling a thimble, hence the most common name. In addition to this generally accepted name, there are many other, no less artistic names: the glove of forest fairies (English), a fox glove, witch gloves, bloody fingers, thimble grass, forest bell, and a wineglass.
The large-flowered digitalis is distinguished by pale yellow pubescent flowers, covered with brown spots on the inside, and relatively short growth - up to 120 cm. Perennial gives peduncles in the second year and sometimes behaves like a biennial.
Large-flowered digitalis, due to its delicate pastel yellow tint, often in the form of bouquets or potted plantings, is used to decorate the interior of verandas, terraces or arbors
Yellow digitalis is very similar to the large-flowered variety, but it is even slightly lower (up to 100 cm) and grown as a full-fledged perennial plant. It tolerates frosts, so it is an excellent option for the northern latitudes.
Yellow digitalis is planted in flower beds to create a yellow-white or yellow-orange gamut, and sometimes to contrast with flowers in blue, red or purple
The curious form of digitalis flowers rusty makes it similar to an orchid. Painted in different shades of yellow and light brown, it serves as an excellent decoration for decorating multi-tiered flower beds and creating "natural" thickets in the garden.
The unpretentiousness of digitalis is rusty on the hand of gardeners who devote little time to caring for flowers or rarely visit the cottage. Infrequent watering and a small top dressing is enough to make the plant feel comfortable
The place of this flower in landscape design
The decorativeness of the plant allows it to be used to solve a wide variety of problems. Tall specimens serve as an excellent backdrop for linear flower beds and mixborders, lower ones decorate flowerbeds located along walls and fences, the smallest ones serve for decorating borders, paths and shrubs. Digitalis with large expressive flowers can be planted in a freestanding flower pot and flowerpot. A natural clearing of flowers propagating by self-seeding in the far corner of the garden looks romantic and natural.
For digitalis you can make a beautiful flowerpot with your own hands, read about it: //diz-cafe.com/dekor/vazony-dlya-cvetov-svoimi-rukami.html
Because of its high growth, digitalis is better to be planted closer to the center of the flowerbed so that the flower stalks rise above the surrounding, lower flowers
Partners for creating flower beds are various plants:
- trees and shrubs - honeysuckle, viburnum, dogrose, rhododendron;
- shade-tolerant - aquilegia, primrose, hosts, geranium, candelabrum primrose, dicenter;
- universal - peonies, decorative bow, valerian, irises, aquilegia, angelica.
Large flower stalks are often used to make bouquets placed in tall glass or ceramic vases. Flowers of pale pink, cream, purple, canary shades for a long time retain their freshness in cut form. In the early spring, digitalis is distilled as a potted plant. This is preceded by autumn preparation and winter storage in a cool room at a temperature of + 12 ° C. If the culture successfully transfers winter, then in April you can see its magnificent bloom.
Before planting any crops, it is necessary to prepare the soil. Traditionally, they dig the top layer - to a depth of about 30 cm, while enriching the soil with compost or manure (4-5 kg per square meter). It will not be superfluous to add some mineral fertilizers of natural origin, for example, 1-2 glasses of wood ash or a couple of spoons purchased in the Nitrofoski store. Using a rake, it is necessary to level the top layer so that the fertilizers are at a depth of 8-10 cm, then tamp a little. In May, seeds are usually sown in open ground, much earlier, in March, seedlings are prepared.
Compost for enriching the soil can be done independently. You can learn about how to equip a compost pit from the material: //diz-cafe.com/postroiki/kompostnaya-kucha-svoimi-rukami.html
The flowerbeds look luxurious and bright, for the design of which two or more varieties of digitalis are used in completely different colors: burgundy, white, pink, lilac, yellow
Recommendations for the care of such flowers
Lush flowering for two to three months can be provided only with good care, and even such an unpretentious plant, like digitalis, will be grateful for attention and care.
Digitalis overgrown easily plays the role of a human shield. If there is an old barn or an unsightly fence at the cottage, they will cover the flaws with their lush flowers, diverting attention to themselves
Soil and lighting selection
The ideal soil for digitalis is loose, moderately moist, well-fertilized fertile land. A plant planted in an arid place will never give lush and bright peduncles, and a plant located in a swampy area will soon die due to rotting of the roots. That is why you should regularly monitor the soil moisture and, if necessary, additionally water it, preferably at night.
Material will also be useful on how to make a timer for watering: //diz-cafe.com/tech/tajmer-poliva-svoimi-rukami.html
If the roots of the plant are in a comfortable, humidified and breathable environment, solar lighting does not matter much: the culture gains color equally well both in the lighted flowerbed and in the dark garden. Digitalis is one of the rapidly and brightly flowering plants used for shady zones, therefore it is actively used to create the so-called natural forest thickets.
Unusually bright colors and large sizes for a shady forest make digitalis a favorite among plants traditionally planted in park and garden areas
In addition to regular watering, the flowers need weeding, loosening the soil, timely top dressing with mineral fertilizers (2-3 times during the season is enough). Around the end of summer, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the roots: some of them are exposed, crawling out. With the advent of autumn cold weather, the roots should definitely be sprinkled with a dense layer of soil so that they do not freeze. In autumn, the seeds of the plant ripen. With proper care and protection in the "wild" plantings, digitalis reproduces remarkably self-seeding, so measures for the collection of seeds, their storage and planting are not needed. If you still need to collect seeds, then during flowering, you need to select the best specimens and mark them.
Protection against diseases and pests
Digitalis, wild or ornamental, sometimes suffers from diseases common to large plants. Some of them are quickly treated. For example, if you see small spots on the leaves, then the plant urgently needs to be fed with a solution of fungicide containing copper. Mosaic patterns and twisting of leaves, as well as decay of the peduncle or roots, indicate an incurable disease, in this case it is better to isolate and destroy the plant until the surrounding individuals become infected.
In addition to white and gray rot, the plant is exposed to such misfortunes as downy mildew, nematodes, viral diseases, various types of moths and aphids. The drug Vitaros (2 ml per 1 liter of water for irrigation) is excellent in fighting diseases, and the Spark (1 tablet per 10 liters of water) is fighting with aphids.
“Vitaros” suppresses many types of external and internal infections for 2 days. The cost of 1 package of 10 ml - 55 rubles
Which breeding method is better to choose?
Preparing and growing seeds
Each plant produces a large number of digitalis seeds. They are harvested in the fall, when the boxes are finally ripe. The most complete seeds are contained in boxes that are located at the bottom of the plant. It is necessary to choose the moment when the fruit has already painted in a dark yellow or brown shade, but has not yet burst. Seeds are gently scattered on a paper sheet in the shade so that they dry completely, and then carefully remove the remaining fruit. The collected seeds survive the winter perfectly, and in the spring they are completely ready for planting.
So that the seedlings are friendly and fast, they pre-soak the seeds in a small amount of water. The second solution is coating the crops with lutrasil or film. The soil should be loose, light. No need to dig holes or furrows, just sprinkle the seeds a little with frost or peat. Rows should be located at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other, only in this case adult plants will feel free. The emerged seedlings must be thinned out: the less often the plants are planted, the higher their growth will be and the larger the flower stalks. Spring digitalis cultivation from seeds is the main way to propagate flower culture.
Shoots appear at different times, depending on the type and temperature of the air - in the period from 8 to 15 days. They need to be slightly shaded and carefully watered until they get stronger.
Propagation by root processes
Leaving the largest and most magnificent peduncles on the seeds, brushes from other specimens should be carefully trimmed and wait about 3 weeks. After this period, 6-8 small basal rosettes are formed near the base, which will soon give 7-8 small leaves. At this point, the sockets must be separated from the base and planted in the ground at the planned site.
When transplanting and watering, you should ensure that water or soil do not get into the core, otherwise the plant will die. By the end of summer, the outlet will take root, give new leaves and will be ready to winter with adult specimens. To make digitalis comfortably survive the winter, it can be covered with branches or fallen leaves.
The large digitalis buds have many shades - from pale yellow to deep purple. The rich color scheme can be used both to create multi-color flower beds and to decorate buildings
Thanks to proper care, already in the second year the plant blooms with huge caps of bright peduncles, turning a flowerbed or garden into a paradise.
