Like the bird of the same name, the grouse flower catches your eye with its colorful coloring. Some varieties of this plant on the petals have specks located like cells on a chessboard. Grouse is a member of the lily family. Its wild species are quite common in the Caucasus and Turkey, on the territory of Iran and in Central Asia. They can be found even in the Far East. About a hundred species of these bulbous plants grow on the globe. They are diverse not only in appearance - the shape and color of the flowers, but also in flowering time.
general information
Breeders have bred many varieties of fritillaria, or hazel grouse, differing in many ways.
Many of them are named after the gods Aphrodite, Alba, Jupiter, Artemis, etc. In total, there are about twenty different forms of plants with a high stem and large hanging flowers. Despite the amazing beauty, hazel grouse is extremely unpretentious. Any beginner gardener can very well grow them in his flower bed. In our country, the most common grouse imperial. The photo of the flower of this plant surprises with its unearthly beauty and exotic appearance, reminiscent of the royal crown. Popularly, this amazing colorful flower is simply called "pockmarked." The ancestors of this plant came to Russia from Turkey as early as 1580. Grouse quickly became widespread and won the love of European flower growers. Today, breeders presented about twenty species of this amazing culture. And one of them is precisely the hazel grouse imperial or imperial. This plant is often found in personal plots. Due to its unpretentiousness, it is highly appreciated by domestic gardeners.
Description and photo of the imperial grouse
The stem of this perennial representative of the lily family is quite high - up to one meter long. The flowers are bell-shaped, large, drooping. They, depending on the variety, are orange with a red or brown bloom, as well as golden yellow. The grouse imperial amazes with its amazingly beautiful flowers. Formed in the axils of the leaves, they are located along the high trunk in groups of five to seven pieces.
Above, above the buds, leaf mass grows. In early spring, the flower of the imperial grouse looks especially impressive. After all, a man over the winter weaned from bright colors in the garden. Planted along with other early flowers, the imperial hazel grouse supplements the composition and emphasizes the coloring of other flowers. It looks especially beautiful with tulips and daffodils. Unfortunately, the flower of the imperial grouse does not long please the eye: it blooms for only twenty days. Its elongated leaves have a glossy surface and a rich emerald hue.
However, this flower has one not quite pleasant feature: its round, slightly flattened bulbs have a somewhat unpleasant smell. Nevertheless, this characteristic does not prevent the culture from leading among primroses.
Is it easy to care for such a plant as the imperial hazel grouse? Planting and caring for it have any features? When is it better to dig out its bulbs and how to store them? These questions are of interest to many gardeners. In this article we will try to tell you as much as possible about this amazing culture, as well as about all the agricultural activities that it needs.
Imperial hazel grouse cultivation
Planting and caring for this plant in the open ground are procedures that require certain knowledge from the gardener. Despite the fact that the culture in our country has been growing for a long time, nevertheless, it often presents unpleasant surprises to beginning gardeners. For example, judging by the reviews, a situation is often observed when the plant does not produce buds. The fact is that, despite the widespread belief that the imperial hazel grouse is unpretentious, in order to see its flowering, the gardener will have to work hard. However, with proper care, as many as two peduncles grow from one bulb.
Selection of planting material
A lot depends on the quality of the bulb. Today, it is not difficult to purchase planting material. Imperial hazel grouse bulbs are offered in almost all specialized stores.
It is known that the flower of this fritillaria is mainly limited to three shades - orange, yellow and red. Therefore, if the pictures attached to the bulbs show pink, purple or even black inflorescences, you should not buy such planting material.
When choosing bulbs, you should pay attention to both their size and quality. In diameter, they must be at least four centimeters, otherwise you can not wait for flowering. Bulbs of the imperial grouse may have a weight of five hundred grams or more. They look like flattened balls with a through hole. Bulbs should not be soft to the touch, they should not be cracked, mold or rot. Roots are acceptable.
Garden place
For successful cultivation in open ground, bulbs should be placed in the ground in open sunny areas.
Judging by the reviews, the grouse imperial grows well in partial shade. Therefore, this plant can be planted on the southwestern or western slopes, around arbors, near terraces and country houses, under deciduous bushes. The site must be protected from drafts, as high stems can be broken by strong winds. If there is no such place in the garden, it is recommended to use reliable supports.
Landing
Outwardly, the imperial hazel grouse resembles a small tree that is strewn with beautiful flowers. The soil under this plant must be chosen light. Grouse imperial, whose landing in open ground in different regions takes place at different times, looks great in group compositions.
If the bulbs of the plant were stored in sawdust in a cool room in the winter, then somewhere in early February they should be planted in containers and held in room conditions. After the last frost, seedlings with already developed stems should be planted in open ground.
In areas where the winters are mild, imperial grouse can be planted in late September or mid-October. Before the onset of cold weather, bulbs will need to be covered from frost with a film, compost or sawdust. The disadvantage of this method is that during a protracted spring, partial rotting of the planting material may occur. Wells must be prepared in two weeks. In diameter, the pits should have about forty, and in depth - thirty centimeters. If a group landing is supposed, then the distance between the holes should be 25-30 cm. After two weeks, sand should be poured into each hole and a peg about a meter long should be inserted in the center. Near it, you need to lay the bulb and sprinkle with earth, fertilized with compost.
Care
The grouse imperial begins to demand attention immediately after the snow melts. Gardeners remove the winter shelter so that the bulbs do not begin to rot due to a lack of oxygen. The soil must be immediately loosened and soaked with a solution of potassium permanganate. Then you should give mineral bait.
The hazel grouse is not afraid of spring frosts. When caring for hazel grouse, a necessary measure is the regular removal of weeds and careful loosening of the soil.
Watering and feeding
You need to cut the flowers of the imperial grouse so that a part of the leaves necessarily remains on the stem. Caring for bulbs involves moistening the soil only in dry weather. The grouse imperial is no exception. Watering this plant can be minimized by covering the soil around it with mulch. Otherwise, regular waterlogging of the bulbs can lead to their decay and to the death of the hazel grouse. But in a dry summer, the bushes must be watered even after the stem dies. So that the bulbs in the ground do not dry out, it will be enough to supply moisture twice a month.
After the last frosts, the emperor grouse should be fed with a special mixture of humus, complex fertilizer and nitrophosphate. At the initial stage of flowering, the plant needs potassium and wood ash. And after flowering, to obtain a healthy planting material, fertilizing with superphosphate or potassium sulfate is performed.
Breeding methods
It has long been noticed that in areas where the imperial hazel grouse grows, there are no mole minks, fewer bears and other pests appear. This plant is even planted on potato beds so that it scares off wireworms and the Colorado potato beetle. It is believed that its bulbs have an unpleasant odor, in addition, they emit harmful substances. Imperial hazel grouse propagates vegetatively - by dividing bulbs and seeds. For children, planting material needs to be dug up at the end of June, when the foliage has not yet dried up. During the season, the mother's bulb grows strongly, forming one or two daughters. They are separated and grown for two years.
It is easy to divide the mother bulb. After this, the children should be disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then stored for two or three weeks in a well-ventilated and dry room at a temperature not exceeding +30 ° C. During this time, the separated children should already give roots and processes. Since young onions do not yet have protective scales, they should be handled with extreme caution.
Seeds ripening in dried boxes of the plant should be sown in open ground immediately after harvest.