The birthplace of this plant, fashionable in many countries, is the rocky terrain of North America. This amazing herbaceous shrub has a special decorative value of its leaves, which can change color several times during the entire warm season. It received its name in honor of Johann Heinrich von Heicher (German physician and botanist), who made a considerable contribution to his study.
The article provides information about geyher: about planting and care in the open ground, features of growing conditions, etc.
Description
Geichera is a herbaceous plant (perennial) belonging to the Kamnelomkov family. It is a compact bush with a height of about 50 cm with luxurious exquisite leaves that are able to change color several times over the course of active life.
Large leaves, serrated at the edges, may vary in shape and color depending on the variety of the plant. They can be lilac, violet, red, green, brown, purple and yellow. Often you can find a combination of several colors. The unusual appearance of the plant is complemented by small bell-shaped flowers that are collected in panicle inflorescences. Heichera bloom can be observed almost throughout the entire warm season, from the very beginning of summer. Fruits - capsules with a huge variety of gray, small and rounded seeds.
No other flower can be compared with a plant. Its rich palette and various combinations of colors are inherent in it.
Species and varieties
This genus has approximately 70 plant species, including modern hybrid varieties with improved decorative characteristics.
Conventionally, they are divided into mountain and forest, since in natural conditions they usually grow in mountain woodlands and forests of Mexico and the United States. The article presents the most popular types and varieties of heichera among gardeners with photos. Landing and caring for all of them do not require much work. Plants are used in the cultivation of new varieties, as well as in the design of flower beds in landscape design. Among the many species today you can find the most unusual and fabulously beautiful forms. For all of them, care and landing are quite simple.
Blood red
This shrub has green leaves and bright red flowers located on long peduncles (about 50 cm). Often this plant is called a red bell. Some varieties of this species have specks of white and cream on the leaves.
This is a rather cold-resistant species, so it is suitable for landing in Russian latitudes. Hercules, Variegata and Monet are the most popular varieties of blood red heichera. Landing, care - events are quite simple.
Geichera small flowered
There are silver spots on the leaves of this species. The flower stalk height is 60 cm. A paniculate inflorescence is located on it, consisting of a large number of creamy pink flowers.
The most widely used varieties by gardeners:
- Bressingham Bronze with reddish-brown leaves;
- Palace Purple - a plant with dark purple leaves.
Planting and care are not particularly difficult in these plants.
Heichera Purple Castle - one of the most interesting varieties of this type of plant. Its large dark-violet leaves have a shape similar to maple, and they are covered with reddish-brown spots. Plants planted in large numbers look gorgeous. They are picturesque in a cut form. There are white long hairs on the stems. Small flowers are cream colored.
Heicher hairy
The leaves of this species are velvety, large, and the petioles and peduncles are slightly pubescent.
Known varieties:
- Bronze Brave with leaves of bronze hue (diameter 20 cm).
- Rachel - a plant with flowers of a pale pink hue.
Cylindrical heicher
The shrub has spectacular leaves: heart-shaped, rounded, green with a silver pattern and veins of a dark shade. Peduncle length - 90 cm. It contains many small flowers of greenish, white, coral or pink hue.
This kind of hehera looks pretty nice in the garden. Landing and caring for it also does not require much effort.
The most common varieties:
- Hyperion with red-pink flowers located on a peduncle up to 50 cm high.
- Greenfinch with creamy green flowers.
Geicher American
Rounded leaf plates on the underside are painted brown-purple. The upper side of the leaves, like its flowers, has a yellow-green color.
The most popular variety is Green Spice. On its leaves there are spots of silver color, and their main shade is dark yellow. In the process of growth, the spots become large, and the veins turn purple.
Heicher hybrid
The main background of the leaf plate is green, on which cream specks and contrasting veins are noticeable. This gives a special heicher effect. Planting and caring for it, as well as for all the varieties presented, are not particularly laborious. Flowers can have white, red, coral and pink.
Popular varieties: Cappuccino, Cancan, Ruby Vale, Beauty Color.
Leaf goeyhera
This is one of the most frost-resistant species. The name itself speaks of the shape of the leaves, which are painted in green. Yellow or snow-white flowers are located on a peduncle whose length is approximately 65 centimeters.
Most varieties of this species are winter-hardy, however, young plants that have been planted this year should be slightly covered with leaf litter, for example, oak, as it does not lend itself to rapid decay.
Outdoor planting and care
Geichera is a shade-tolerant plant. It can grow well in the shade of other plants. The best place for most varieties is the east or west side, where access to sunlight is only possible in the morning or evening. It should be noted that varieties with red leaves grow well in the sun, and variegated varieties also become more brightly colored in direct sunlight.
The plant is not picky about the choice of soil. Only acidic soils are contraindicated for him. It can also take root in areas with stones, however, the bush becomes more lush on loose fertile soil.
Heicher after landing almost does not require special care, but under the most comfortable conditions, she can maximize her decorative potential. In order for the bush to grow fully, it is necessary for it to provide a sufficient amount of moisture. However, it should be remembered that fluid stagnation in the roots is unacceptable, as it can lead to their decay.
To get rid of the need to constantly loosen the soil and weed away from weeds, after planting, the root section of the plant can be covered with peat. Plant nutrition is needed only in the second year after planting, and only a couple of times per season. Fertilizers should be selected based on the variety and variety of the geyhera plant. Landing and care, as we see, do not take much time.
Some features of the cultivation:
- The flower stalk after flowering is best removed (if there is no purpose to collect the seeds), since the plant does not look very neat when it rises above the bush.
- The natural process is falling of the lower leaves and exposure of the trunk. In this regard, before the flowers bloom, the plant must be removed from the soil and reinstalled in the hole so that the bare trunk can be sprinkled with earth.
- Geichera in landscape design is perfectly combined with daylilies, astilbe, incense, primrose and various decorative cereals.
This plant propagates by seeds, as well as cuttings and division of the bush.
Growing Heichera from Seeds
Planting and care are practically not difficult with any method of plant propagation. Seeds can be sown in open ground (late April), and seedlings can also be grown from them (planted in early March).
Seeding should be done not deeply, but even easier - just sprinkle them on the surface of the soil, slightly squeezing the palm into the soil. Then moisten from a spray bottle.
Below are some rules for growing seedlings:
- Use containers with water and breathable, loose soil.
- Cover the crops with film, regularly ventilate and moisten the soil.
- After 30-45 days, seedlings that have grown up must be carefully planted in separate small containers (cups), moderately watered and provided with heat and light.
- Before planting in the ground, seedlings should be hardened outdoors in a place protected from the wind, while gradually increasing the time (up to a full day) of staying in the open air and the sun. In the absence of night frosts, completely hardened seedlings can be planted on a flower bed.
When planting in a permanent place, young plants should be deepened by 3-4 cm, while observing a distance of 20 centimeters between the bushes of the heichera.
Planting and care are further carried out in the same way as during propagation in any other way. But it is important to note here that with the seed method, the best species and varietal properties of hehera are lost if the seeds are collected from hybrid forms. In this regard, it is best to buy planting material in specialized stores.
Bush division
With a bush age of 3-4 years, it is possible and necessary to produce its division. It is recommended to hold a similar event in the spring (in May) or in the fall (in September).
The following must be considered:
- Each dividend should have up to three leaf rosettes and a small part of the rhizome.
- Strongly grown roots should be trimmed, rotted parts of the plant should be removed, and the places of cuts should be treated with fungicide.
- A planting hole must be dug with a width and length of 30 cm, and its depth should be larger than the root system of the plant.
- The distance between the bushes should be 25 centimeters.
- After planting, the plant should be abundantly watered and the soil should be mulched.
Propagation by cuttings
And with this type of heichera flower propagation, planting and care do not require much effort and time.
Propagation by cuttings can be in June-July. The cutlery is a small part of the bush without rhizomes, from which below it is necessary to partially remove the leaves, treat the entire stalk with a growth stimulator and hold for about a day in a solution of “Kornevin” or “Heteroauxin”.
Next, the seedling should be rooted in a mixture of sand and peat, covered with a plastic bag or a transparent container. Every day you need to carry out ventilation and moderate soil moisture (preferably through a pallet). Rooting lasts about 20-30 days, after which the seedling can be planted in open ground.
Geicher in landscape design
As you can see, for all its beauty and originality, the heicher is not at all capricious. Landing and caring for her are simple processes.
Plants are quite popular in landscape design. Magnificent decorative groups are created from them. This culture can perfectly mask some of the shortcomings of the site, as well as fill the voids in the flower beds.
For example, heyhera blood red goes well with red geraniums, with wooly stachis or raspberry-colored peonies. Such groups usually land in rocky areas, in discounts, as well as in the foreground of mixborders. Geicher is often used to decorate the front of the site in the company with decorative cereals, with sedum and iris. Ideal neighbors for a flower are astilbe, bruner, primrose and thick-leaved incense.
A great combination is a heicher and a host. Such a group can be created during the design of the shores of water bodies. Most suitable for this are miniature hosts, shading with their greenery the bright and lush foliage of heichera. If you properly conduct planting and care activities, the heicher flower (photos are presented in the article) will delight you with its amazing appearance.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, one of the best options for giving freshness and brightness to the site is a heicher. Thanks to its decorativeness and unpretentiousness, a heicher is perennial. Planting and care (photo can be seen above) for this plant are quite simple. The unique decorativeness of the bushes gives the site a cheerful look for many years.
The unusual nature of the plant is that its diverse species possess foliage of various shapes and colors. The color of the hehera can vary from red to black. Bright colors of its leaves can decorate flower beds until late autumn (until the first snow).