Physostegia — long-blooming charm of summer
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Physostegia could well gain a reputation as a favorite of summer residents if it were as widespread as, say, marigolds. But I guess it’s just a matter of time…
Personally, I first learned about it only last year. In June, I was passing by a holiday village and drew attention to the snow-white bouquets at the local market. The same picture was observed a month later. August came, and in the front gardens it was still blooming …
Gardeners favor only one type of this plant — virginian physiostegia. Inflorescences of pink and white shades resemble four-sided arrows aimed at the sky. The length of the spikelets is up to 30 cm. Flowering begins from below, the flowers open gradually. This fact is due to such a long flowering.
Physostegia looks great in company with such textured plants as veronicastrum, meadowsweet, briar, phlox, high cereals. All these plants are well planted in arrays of the same color not far from each other in the same area. Tall, colorful, they do not interfere with each other and create a multi-tiered texture of the landscape.
Garden geranium, chistets, yaskolka and other ground covers are an ideal frame for physiostegia in mixborders and flower beds.
Physostegia virginiana (Physostegia virginiana)
- Growth area: from eastern Canada to Mexico.
- Flowering period: 35-45 days, in the south from June, to the north from July.
- Color spectrum: pink, mauve, white.
- Height: 65-110 cm.
- Growing conditions: moderately moist loose soils, sun, partial shade, hibernates without shelter, but in snowless winters it is better to cover the root part.
- Peculiarities: unpretentious long-flowering perennial, grows very quickly.
Garden forms of physiostegia: variegata (white-edged with pink-purple flowers), alba (white) and ruse (pink).
The varieties produced from them:
- white — Summer Snow, Crystal Peak White
- pink — Summer Spire, Rouse Bucet, Vivid.
IMPORTANT Perhaps the only drawback that this beauty has is that she strives to become the main one in the flower garden, actively spreading her root system.
When the physiostegia is planted in the ground, the plot is limited to a vertical screen 30-40 cm deep. It can be a deep plastic basin without a bottom, slate sheets.
PRIMING
Physostegia is generally unpretentious to the composition of the soil as a whole. Moist, humus-rich and loose soil stimulates the development of the root system and rapid spread throughout the site.
Spring waterlogging of the soil is not dangerous for this flower, because in nature the physiostegia grows just near water bodies.
Too dense clay soils dry out greatly during the drought period and the plant may die without watering.
WATERING
Additional soil moisture for physiostegia is required only during the period of drought. Soil moisture is the key to abundant and long flowering, as well as reproduction.
ILLUMINATION
Physostegia loves the sun, however, a slight shading on a hot afternoon will save the flowers from fading.
FERTILIZERS
This flower loves organic matter in the form of compost; for autumn mulching with manure, it will respond with lush growth and abundant flowering.
NEIGHBORHOOD
Physostegia in a favorable environment is an aggressor plant. It is better for her to allocate a separate territory, fortunately, the flower is tall and looks luxurious in arrays.
When landing in a mixborder, it is better to limit the root one with a vertical screen to a depth of 40 cm.
When transplanting, the divisions of this plant are planted at a distance of 40-60 cm. In four years, the roots of neighboring plants will close.
WINTERING
For the winter, the stems of the physiostegia should be cut to a height of at least 15 cm. If there is a danger of a snowless winter, it is better to cover the root before frost with mulch or spruce branches. Frozen roots die off, but given the depth of the root system, what is preserved will germinate and the plant will recover.
PHYSOSTEGIA VIRGIN IN GARDEN DESIGN
In the second half of summer, physostegia will become the brightest vertical of the garden. Such accents are especially good on a plain green background of a lawn, hedges, and low shrubs. growing nearby.
The flower is simply magnificent in large arrays of the same variety. In them, the shade of inflorescences is revealed as much as possible, it becomes more dense and saturated.
Curtains planted nearby with flowers of different shades bring romantic notes to the landscape garden.
REPRODUCTION AND TRANSPLANT
The plant is very easy to propagate by seeds in spring or pre-winter sowing. The main thing is that the bed should be slightly shaded, where the earth will not dry out in the sun.
Physostegia cuttings are produced in the first half of summer.
The fastest way to get an adult plant is to separate layers or divide rhizomes, which are produced in spring or in the second half of summer after flowering.
In all cases, young developing individuals should be planted in shkolko with light shading until fully rooted.
Physostegia is planted in a permanent place next year in the spring.
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