Growing a gentian or how to create a blue floral sea under your windows
The gentian is not a very popular plant among gardeners, but the reason for this is not at all its capricious nature. The cultivation of gentian generally gives good results, and the negative experience is rather the result of an incorrectly selected variety. There are more than 400 species alone, and each of them has its own characteristics. These are the forms of plants, and the structure of inflorescences, and the color of flowers, and especially cultivation.
Description of culture
The gentian bloom is very spectacular and bright, but also determined by the species. There are early flowering, summer and late varieties, which allows you to create a flower bed only from this culture, blooming all season. The flowers themselves in most species are bell-shaped, and in some they look like a round plate.
The main color scheme is presented in all shades of blue-blue and purple. Less common are gentians with white, yellow or pinkish flowers.
But gentian seeds, regardless of the species, are always small, enclosed in a bivalve box.
Growing gentian: features of soil selection and planting site
In the case of gentian, it is almost impossible to give unequivocal recommendations about its requirements for growing conditions. Each variety has its own preferences. If one is able to bloom in a shady, humid area, then the other needs moist soil and good lighting.
In general, you can focus on the conditions in which a particular crop grows in nature, and take into account the peculiarities of its growing season. So, early varieties of gentian are best planted in well-lit areas. But gentians blooming in summer and autumn will feel better in partial shade on the western slopes.
Soil requirements depending on the type of gentian:
- With regard to soil, the most undemanding are tall gentian species. The main thing is that it is loose enough. But for more compact varieties, the requirements may be completely opposite.
- Stemless gentian needs loam, Asian varieties need acidic peat soil.
- Daurian and recumbent gentian generally prefer lime soil with low acidity.
- Alpine plant species feel great in rock gardens among stones.
To avoid a sad experience, do not take seeds at random. When buying, it is imperative to find out about the varietal affiliation of the plant and the requirements for its cultivation.
Popular varieties of gentian
Given the ambiguous nature of the culture due to its multifaceted species diversity, it is sometimes difficult for gardeners to make a choice. Indeed, most often you have to choose not so much at will, but based on the characteristics of the soil of the site. However, some gentians are still more common in gardens and flower beds, beckoning with their chic bells.
Gentian stemless
Planting and caring for this plant assumes the presence of loamy soil. But at the same time, some varieties need alkaline soil, while others need acidic. The bushes themselves are perennial, grow up to 10 cm in height, have very short stems and elongated evergreen leaves. The flowers are in the form of an erect glass up to 8 cm long, often blue, but there are also white varieties. It blooms in late spring - early summer. In nature, it lives in mountainous areas, is highly frost-resistant.
Dahurian gentian
Growing from seeds involves presoaking them to increase germination. A hardy and winter-hardy perennial that prefers sandy soil and light. A bright emerald bush up to a maximum of 40 cm in height blooms on the tops of the shoots, which eventually fall to the ground. The leaves are lanceolate, narrower at the base. Inflorescences are often blue-blue, collected in lush brushes, but there are also yellow varieties. Blooms towards the end of summer.
Gentian daurskaya Nikita
The bush is up to 30 cm high, blooms in August with bright blue, almost blue bells. They are collected in inflorescences, have a diameter of no more than 3 cm. Growing Dahurian gentian Nikita from seeds does not imply long-term stratification. In some cases, they emerged even without this procedure.
Point gentian
Quite a tall bush with erect stems up to 60 cm. Yellow flowers with purple blotches, in the shape of a glass, several pieces bloom in the leaf axils. Blooms in August. Prefers partial shade and moist soil.
Ciliated gentian
Late flowering species up to 30 cm high, differing in size and shape of flowers. They are large, up to 6 cm in diameter, while they consist of 4 petals (instead of 5, as in most plants). Each petal has thin long hairs along the edge and curls. It blooms in September most often with blue buds, but there are also white varieties.
Gentian Urnula
One of the most unpretentious perennial dwarfs. The plant is only 8 cm tall and has original diamond-shaped leaves. But the flowers are several times the size of the bush. They are gray-white with purple stripes running along the outside of the petals.
How to plant a gentian in the garden
Gentian is grown most often by the seed method and there are some nuances. The seeds do not have a very high germination capacity, moreover, it decreases significantly the next year. The planting material must be "fresh"; in addition, small seeds must be stratified beforehand. To do this, they must be mixed with sand and kept in a cold place for at least a month.
Alpine varieties of gentian require even longer stratification - at least 3 months.
You can sow seeds directly in open ground or for seedlings.
Sowing seeds in open ground
Perennial species of gentian are most often sown on the flowerbed.
This can be done in two ways:
- in the spring, at the end of April;
- before winter, in the last days of September.
For spring sowing, seeds need stratification, while before winter they are sown dry.
Given the modest size of the seeds, deep grooves are not necessary. It is enough just to outline the future bed with a twig and scatter the seeds over the surface. Then, using a rake, fill the crops with a thin layer of earth. For podzimney planting, you can pour fallen leaves on top. In the future, the grown gentian bushes will need to be planted, thus, thinning the beds.
Growing gentian seedlings
Seeds are sown for seedlings in late winter - early spring, after having subjected them to mandatory stratification. It is convenient to do this immediately in a common container, again, given that the seeds are small. In this case, the soil should be taken breathable and moisture-permeable, for example, by mixing in equal parts sand and universal substrate from the store. Sowing is carried out on the surface, and on top you can sprinkle a little with sand or compost.
The seedling method is predominant when growing annual varieties of gentian. It allows for faster flowering.
Seeds should germinate in a greenhouse, under a film and in the light. After the emergence of shoots, about two weeks later, the shelter should be removed. Further growth of gentian seedlings is desirable at a lower temperature (15-18 ° C) so that it does not stretch out. When the bushes release a couple of real leaves, they need to be dived into separate cups. In the open ground, the seedlings are transplanted not earlier than the end of May, using the transshipment method. The young gentian has very fragile roots that are easy to damage.
Garden gentian care
Despite some exactingness, gentian crops are not capricious and can grow practically without the participation of a gardener. The most important thing is to choose the right place and soil for them, in the future it will simply remain to support the development of the bushes.
Both annuals and perennials will not take away much attention. It will be enough:
- Water the flowers as needed. At the same time, there is no need to arrange a swamp in a flower bed, because even moisture-loving varieties can die from excess moisture.
- Gently loosen the soil under the bushes so that a crust does not form.
- Remove regularly weeds, especially watch out for undersized varieties so that they do not drown them.
- Subject to proper planting in the "correct" soil, it is not necessary to feed the gentian. Simple enough mulch plants with peat.
The gentian does not need pruning as such - it forms itself. Unless you can cut off the faded buds so that they do not spoil the appearance of the bushes. All gentian species reproduce successfully by cuttings, and some by cuttings or layering. Perennial varieties winter well in our climate, but a young gentian in its first winter, if there is little snow, it is better to sprinkle it with foliage.
As you can see, growing gentian is not such a difficult undertaking. You just need to take into account its specific requirements. On suitable soil and with the right lighting, it will grow beautifully almost by itself, delighting you with charming bells.