Grouse flowers: planting, care and cultivation

At that time, when the breath of spring had already liberated the gardens from winter decay, but the young green growth was just beginning to appear, the collection of primroses pleases the eye with its lush flowering. Among them, unusually beautiful flowers - hazel grouse occupy the first place. This article describes the intricacies of planting grouse flowers, caring for them and breeding rules.

Varieties, varieties of plants

Grouse first to bring bright colors to the flower beds, garden lines turn out with colored lines, they tremble cheerfully on the alpine hills. It is they who, since mid-April, have been greeting their hosts, announcing the arrival of the long-awaited springtime. And in order to diversify the colors of the garden while other garden dwellers have not bloomed, it is possible to plant several species of grouse flowers.

• Royal grouse. This is a beautiful plant that can grow up to 1 meter in height. His buds are bright orange in color. This flower got its name because of the unusual arrangement of leaves that grow at the very top above the beautifully hanging buds and form a kind of crown.
• Grouse chess. This species has been cultivated since the XVI century. Against the background of the lilac background of the petals, light and dark spots appear in a checkerboard pattern - this is where the name came from. The plant reaches a height of 35 cm.
• Russian hazel grouse. This is a wild plant whose habitat is in the steppe. The maroon buds are hung on a high stalk, like bells. This is the “early bird” that appears with the first thawed patches in early March. The flower is listed in the Red Book.
• Yellow hazel grouse. This appearance is distinguished by bright yellow flowering buds.It is great for the foreground of compositional plantings, since the stem height does not exceed 25 - 28 cm.
• Grouse Mikhailovsky. Also a plant from the category of undersized, it has a stalk of only about 20 cm. This species is distinguished by an unusual two-tone violet-yellow color.
• Persian grouse. This is a thermophilic relative from this family. The buds are also painted in two colors: yellow and pale lemon.
• Kamchatka hazel grouse. Beautiful flowering tall plant. Petals are painted in burgundy.

Grouse: the nuances of growing

Despite the unusual beauty of hazel grouse, caring for them and planting them is not particularly difficult. They are not capricious, but still there are nuances, the observance of which will respond with wonderful flowering.

• The best time to plant bulbs is September or October. But you need to have time before the onset of frost.
• It is better to mulch the soil from above after planting so that the planting material is not damaged by severe frosts.
• In order for the bulbs not to rot, it is worth treating them with either a weak solution of potassium permanganate or biofungicides. But if planting occurs when the night temperature is below + 5 - 6 ° C, then after wet processing it is necessary to dry the prepared bulbs for planting at room temperature. At the same time, it is possible to sprinkle the material for planting with crushed charcoal - this method will help to further protect future plants.
• For stunted hazel grouse, the planting hole needs to be deepened by 11 cm, for taller varieties by 18 cm.
• For planting, it is better to choose the sunny side, but partial shade is also quite suitable.

Outdoor landing

It is important to properly arrange the bed for the bulb when planting in open ground.

• At the bottom a little expanded clay or small stones are poured, and then coarse sand.
• Then the onion is placed and again covered with a thin layer of sand.
• Then lay garden soil mixed with compost.

Important! You should not add land with manure or other organic fertilizers - if the autumn is warm, such top dressing will wake the bulbs at the wrong time, and they will die.

It is also important to remember that if planting material is hastily thrust into cold and damp soil, this will lead to a deplorable result.

Grouse flower care

The care of these flowers is not particularly difficult.

1. Watering is necessary as the top crust of the soil dries up, so that the rhizome of the plant does not remain in dry soil.
2. It is important to remember that in June, when the hazel grouse will drop the petals to the ground and the stem will begin to turn yellow, you need to cut off the entire aboveground part.
3. The place where the grouse bulbs are gaining strength should be noted with some noticeable sign so that they are not accidentally dug up.

Top dressing is added a couple of times during the spring-summer period.

• In late April, root-stimulating agents, as well as nutritious mixtures composed of organic fertilizers. The recipe for the mixture: 1 part compost, 1 part cow rotted or goat fresh manure, 1 part garden soil.
• After the flowers bloom, it is required to sprinkle ash around the plants in order to enrich the soil with nitrogen. And after about a week, repeat organic fertilizing.

Grouse after flowering

At the end of June, after the hazel grouse (or rather, their underground part), was sufficiently saturated with useful substances, they need to be dug up.

Digging up the rhizomes does not allow the bulb to flicker, which means that a large bulb will make it possible to bloom grouse luxuriantly next year.

Using the flower of the imperial hazel grouse as an example, one can gradually consider how to deal with bulbs during and after their extraction from the soil.

1. Dig bulbs in dry weather.
2. The digging diameter should be about 18 cm, because the lower part is large and can easily be damaged.
3. The earth around the rhizome must be dug up and, prying the bulb, pull it out. Where one bulb was planted, the gardener will dig up two, because it divides during the course of its life.
4. If during the procedure a piece nevertheless breaks off from the bulb, then such material will also give offspring, so you should not throw it away.
5. The bulbs must be thoroughly cleaned from the ground with a brush, removed rotted places, and then treated with biofungicides and put to dry in a shaded place.
6. After 7 - 8 days, when the rhizome and stem are dry, they can be easily removed. In the middle of the bulb should remain a void.
7. Bulbs are best stored in sand or parchment separated.

Plant propagation methods

Reproduction occurs in two ways:

1. Vegetative. The maternal bulb is divided into several parts. Observing all the rules of planting, such blanks are planted along with the formed planting material. Over the course of several years, onions-children grow on them, which increase every year in size and when they reach "maturity", they will begin to bloom.
2. The seeds. Grouse seeds ripen in boxes. Immediately after harvesting, they should be sown in fertile soil. They grow without transplantation for several years. Feeding is mandatory. The depth of penetration is 0.7-1.2 cm, the width of the furrows is approximately 8 cm. On reaching two years of age, the bulbs can be dug up.

Diseases, pests and care during this period

Since grouse birds are early birds, they manage to hatch and even bloom before most of the pests come out of hibernation. But still there are pathogens that should be feared.

1. Onion crackers and beetles that damage lilies are two pests that can do a lot of trouble. They eat the leaves of hazel grouse, causing the plant to die. The plant is treated by spraying with a special solution.
2. A tick can gnaw on the rhizome shell and enjoy the flesh of the bulb. Grouse will die. It will not be possible to save the pets, and even after serious processing, these flowers cannot be planted in this place for several years.
3. If the leaves of the imperial grouse began to turn yellow, then this is “rust” and urgent treatment with biofungicides is necessary.
4. Rot rhizomes. Excess moisture and clay soil, as well as improper preparation of the hole can contribute to the development of such a disease. If the leaves become lethargic and soft, and the basal neck loses its elasticity, then you should urgently dig up the plants and inspect. Treatment with fungicides and charcoal can save the situation.

Use in landscape design

The garden responds with special charm if, from the moment of snow melting, clusters of blossoming hazel grouse flaunted in it. The versatility of the use of this type of flowering plants makes them very popular in gardens. Moreover, they can be planted both in a cache-pot and in the ground, thus combining the space of the veranda and the relaxation area in nature.

The cultivation of a royal grouse with a high stem is best marked in places where it will not outshine the lower flowers, and babies such as the hazel grouse are best planted to the edge of the flower beds or on top of an alpine hill. But it is important to remember that grouse will show off, from April to June, and then they will go on vacation until next spring. So you need to think about who will wake up and bloom when the pioneers of garden riot bloom.