Sparaxis planting and care in the open field in the suburbs

A unique flower with bright colors and elongated leaves of the iris family is called sparaxis. He fills the site with a riot of colors and adds a special touch to the landscape design. Planting and caring for sparaxis in the open field requires a special approach and certain knowledge, since its homeland is South African countries and the plant is supposed to create conditions close to natural.

Plant characteristic

Sparaxis is considered a deciduous species. The plant has a tuberculous root system, long fleshy leaves, reaching a height of 90-100 cm with a spikelet at the top. The foliage is dark green in color, with a sinewy structure. The flowering period is from May to June. Sparaxis flowers are distinguished by a bright color with a contrasting core and a pistil in the middle, a flower diameter of about 5 cm. At the end of August or in the first decade of September, the plant dries up and sheds its foliage, leaving only underground tubers. Gardeners have 20 varieties. In temperate climates, in order to plant and care in the open field of sparaxis, varieties are selected that are most adapted to the given weather conditions.

Landing

The flower is quite whimsical and demanding, it is preferable to grow it in the southern regions. For example, if you plant sparaxis in the open field in the suburbs, then it is quite difficult to achieve lush flowering. The flower prefers sunny open areas, reliably protected from the wind. When planting, a light substrate is selected, providing good drainage, for which small gravel or expanded clay is used. For better growth, it is recommended to add a little sand and organic fertilizers to the selected soil. The bulbs are placed in a planting hole 8-10 cm, keeping a distance of 10-15 cm.

To grow a beautiful flower, you need to know when to plant sparaxis outdoors. In moderate weather conditions, disembarkation is made in late March, early April. In the southern regions, seedlings can be planted in the autumn. Sparaxis care in the fall involves digging up the tubers after they have fully bloomed in order to transplant in the spring. For this tubers:

1. Cleared from the ground.
2. They dry well.
3. Placed in a box and sprinkle with straw.

After that, the container is placed in a room with a temperature regime of 8-9 degrees Celsius.

Before planting in the soil in early spring, the flower bulbs must be placed in a place with a temperature of plus 25-27 degrees. This will enable the plant to quickly root and germinate.

In the south, it is not worth digging up tubers. To do this, the cut flower must be well covered with sawdust or fallen leaves. In the spring, the flooring is removed and a small part of the humus is introduced into the ground. How sparaxis is planted and taken care of in the open field in spring is described below.

Planting and caring for sparaxis in the Urals

Since the plant is southern, in this region, when growing it, it is necessary to adhere to certain conditions:

1. Wait for stable warm weather.
2. Plant tubers only in well-heated soil.
3. Find good lighting.
4. For the winter, it is imperative to dig up the bulbs.
5. Water regularly.

The same instructions are supposed to be adhered to when planting and caring for sparaxis in Siberia. Many experts advise planting flowers in greenhouses in colder climates for good growth and abundant flowering. This will allow the plant to feel comfortable and constantly delight with bright colors.

Care

The plant is hygrophilous, so it needs regular watering.

When planting and caring for sparaxis in the open field, it should be watered often, and at no time should moisture stagnate, this can lead to the death of the roots.

In extreme heat, spraying can also be carried out, but this should only be done in the early morning or in the evening, so as not to provoke a burn. During the rest period, watering is reduced.

For the formation of new shoots, it is necessary to regularly remove dry inflorescences and foliage. In addition, the flower requires monthly feeding. It is carried out with the help of mineral fertilizers, diluting 20 g of the mixture in a bucket of water. It is advisable to occasionally loosen the soil where the plant grows and weed the weeds.

Sparaxis as a decoration of landscapes

Excellent decorative properties of the flower allow it to be used in the design of gardens, parks, suburban areas. With his help, they create original compositions, combining with other plantings. Sparaxis gets along well with lawn cover, dwarf trees and shrubs, grasses that cover the soil. Also, some species are placed in pots and flowerpots, used to decorate balconies, loggias, decorate rock gardens, etc.

Sparaxis is a flower belonging to the Iris family. He migrated to us from South Africa and has not yet become widespread in our latitudes. Having a summer cottage or a personal plot, you can enrich the landscape with such a rare plant. Here is the most important information about a flower such as sparaxis, - planting and care in the open field. The photos below will help you appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of this African plant.

One bulb of sparaxis can sprout with peduncles for many years. But adapted to the African climate, it is not able to withstand the winter frosts. The beginning of flowering for the plant falls at the end of spring. Hot summers are the best conditions for the well-being of sparaxis outdoors. We present to you some photo illustrations that will help you to clearly imagine what the flower beds look like with this rare pretty plant.

Proper care is very important for Sparaxis

Conditions for planting sparaxis and care in the open field

An immigrant from South Africa is extremely fond of warmth. He will not be able to bloom if planted in the shade. Choose a place in your garden or summer cottage that will not be shaded by structures or other plants throughout the day. Sparaxis grows successfully in loamy soil enriched with humus. Be sure to take care that moisture does not stagnate on the site - a capricious flower does not like this. Proper maintenance means good drainage.

Sparaxis propagates by seeds and dividing bulbs. The seeds are planted in boxes, after a while the seedlings are thinned out to a distance of 2 cm, and when they reach a height of 5 cm, they can be planted in open ground.

Most often, sparaxis is propagated by dividing the bulbs. This is done after digging up the tubers for the winter. In winter, they are stored at a temperature not lower than 9 ° C, immersed in sawdust, peat or straw. Before planting in open ground, the ambient temperature is raised to 25 ° C. Sparaxis tubers are planted in May in well-heated ground to a depth of at least 4 cm.The distance between individual specimens should be 4-5 cm for low-growing varieties and 8-20 cm for tall varieties.

See also: The best perennial flowers for a summer residence: a catalog with names and photos

Sparaxis care consists in observing the following measures:

• Providing regular watering, but without much overkill. Use only warm water.
• Removing weeds around.
• Weekly feeding with complex mineral fertilizers.
• Pruning leaves after they are completely dry.
• Digging out the bulbs after the stem has completely wilted for winter storage.
• Storing tubers in a cool and dry place.
• May planting of sparaxis in open ground.

Sparaxis: planting and care in the open field, photos - all this should help you in growing this exotic flower. Surprise relatives, friends and neighbors in the country with an interesting design of the site by planting sparaxis.

Sparaxis cultivation.

Sparaxis tricolor photo

Sparaxis flower (Sparaxis) is a bulbous plant of the Iris family. Sparaxis is native to South Africa, therefore, when grown, it is very demanding on temperature conditions.

The sparaxis planting site should be sunny and well sheltered from the wind. Due to a lack of heat and light in a cold summer, the plant may stop developing, and the sparaxis flowers themselves will not appear.

Sparaxis prefers loamy and well-fertilized soil. When planting, you need to take care of good drainage: stagnant water leads to rotting of the sparaxis bulb. Does not tolerate a flower and drying out of the soil. Planting sparaxis and leaving behind him are very similar to the agricultural technology of growing gladiolus.

Planting sparaxis - when to plant?

Flowers sparaxis photo

Autumn planting sparaxis possible only when grown in regions with a warm southern climate.
There, in the open ground, sparaxis corms are planted in October. The soil is fertilized with humus. The distance between the holes should be 4-5cm for short and 10-12cm for tall species. When planting sparaxis, it is necessary to deepen the holes to 12-15 cm, and before the onset of frost, it is imperative to additionally cover the soil with dry leaves or peat.

If the temperature in the soil drops below zero, the bulbs of a tropical plant will freeze and will not survive the winter. The insulating layer is removed in the spring, after warm weather is established.

Sparakisis flowers will appear in late spring and early summer. Approximately by the end of July, the ground part of the plant withers and a dormant period begins. At sparaxis care in the southern regions, it is not necessary to dig up the bulbs for storage.

Sparaxis - landing and leaving in the suburbs.

Sparaxis tricolor, tricolor

Here you can also try to grow this capricious flower, but the weather conditions are not suitable for wintering sparaxis bulbs in the open field. In this case, the planting of sparaxis should be done in the spring, no later than May (immediately after the end of the spring frost), then the sparaxis flowers will appear at the end of August. The embedment depth is about 5cm. Planting sparaxis you need to do it in a large group and then they form a real "tropical" meadow in the garden.

For many bulbs from hot countries (tigridia, eukomisa, acidantera, cannes, etc.), the method of preliminary cultivation "for seedlings" is used. These plants lack our cold summer for normal development. Their bulbs are planted in pots at the beginning of April, and transplanted into open ground, already grown after frost. This is a guarantee that these exotic plants will delight you with flowering already at the end of July-August.

At the end of September-October, the sparaxis bulbs must be dug up, peeled and dried at 23-25 ​​° C. They are stored until spring in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, sprinkled with peat so that they do not dry out.

Sparaxis at home.

Sparaxis reproduction

Sparaxis is suitable for growing in a room.For forcing sparaxis flowers in winter, 3-4 bulbs are instilled into 2-3 liter pots. The soil is watered and the pot is removed to the basement or refrigerator for 2-3 months. Drying of the soil is not allowed. As soon as sprouts appear, sparaxis is transferred to the light. After a while, flowering will come.

Reproduction of sparaxis occurs by corms, which are separated by digging or by seeds collected after flowering. Sparaxis plants grown from seeds will bloom only in the 2-3rd year.

Sparaxis species and varieties.

There are species and varieties that are adapted to Russian conditions. The most common species in our gardens is Sparaxis tricolor (tricolor) (Sparaxis tricolor). Plant height up to 20 cm, flowers have a very bright, contrasting color. Quite often you can buy a mixture of plant bulbs of different colors (sparaxis mix).

Despite some of the difficulties that you will have to face when sparaxis care, the result will not leave you indifferent!

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Many colorful curiosities can be found among the bulbous plants. But no plant can compete in a variety of variegated colors and patterns with luxurious sparaxis. A perennial that does not tolerate frost and in regions with severe winters can only be grown with digging out of the soil for the winter, even in a short summer it manages to demonstrate all its originality. Luxurious flowers with outlandish patterns and spots, albeit not the largest, but one of the most spectacular. Growing sparaxis is not easy, but the whims of the bulbous exotic are fully compensated for by its spectacular appearance.

Sparaxis tricolor (Sparaxis tricolor)

Impressive beauty of sparaxis inflorescences

Sparaxis are far from the largest of the representatives of bulbous plants. In height, the peduncles of this exotic reach only 60 cm, while the bulb produces not so many leaves and does not create beautiful rosettes. In order for sparaxis to form a beautiful "spot" or group, the bulbs must be placed very tightly, planted almost next to each other.

Sparaxis is a genus of the Iridaceae family, which includes 15 species of perennial herbaceous corms.

Sparaxis (Sparaxis) cannot boast of a wide variety of species. This is a plant with several forms of growth, which today are divided into 4-5 wild natural species. Only two of them are used in landscape design - sparaxis tricolor (Sparaxis tricolor) and dwarf sparaxis graceful (Sparaxis elegans). Smooth, lanceolate leaves without a fringe only visually emphasize a rather powerful peduncle. But any shortcomings of greenery, including paucity, are more than compensated for by the beauty of flowering. In sparaxis it is not just decorative, but colorful and extravagant. Flowering begins in regions with mild winters in late spring and early summer, but in the middle lane and to the north - much closer to autumn, in colorful August or September. The flowers are stellate, up to 5 cm in diameter. A dark ring separates the bright yellow center with stamens from the main color of the petals, which creates an almost graphic effect. In different sparaxis, single-color orange, yellow, pink, white, cream colors are replaced by various variegated combinations that seem to be hand-painted patterns on the petals. In dwarf sparaxis, the colors are more limited: the flowers flaunt either white or orange.

Sparaxis graceful (Sparaxis elegans)

In the design of the garden, sparaxis use:

• to create colorful spots on the lawn and meadows from ground cover;
• as luxurious accents in the foreground of flower beds and mixborders;
• in large groups and in mono flowers;
• in flower beds of bulbous and corms requiring digging;
• for decorating rockeries, front gardens;
• as a cut culture;
• for decorating rooms, greenhouses, winter gardens.

Growing sparaxis in regions with mild winters

Heat-loving and not very hardy, this bulbous plant develops naturally in warm climates, with two stages of dormancy. In mild climates, sparaxis bloom in spring, in May-June, in summer they switch to a dormant period, during which the bulbs must be dug up. And in the fall they are again planted in the soil like most spring-flowering bulbs. Planting sparaxis, newly acquired or dug out after the leaves die off, is carried out in October. The bulbs are placed at a distance of about 10-15 cm between the plants, deepening 10 cm from the soil line. In anticipation of winter, sparaxis plantings are covered with mulch, dry foliage or spruce branches, and in spring such a mini-shelter is removed immediately after the soil warms up and the onset of warm weather. As soon as the sparaxis fades, all the aboveground parts of the plant will die off, the bulbs will again need to be dug up, dried and stored in a room along with the tulips.

Sparaxis growing strategy in the middle lane

In the conditions of harsh winters, in the middle lane and to the north, sparaxis can be grown only as a summer plant or as a bulbous plant with a digging out for the winter. In many ways, the agricultural technology of this culture is similar to gladioli, because sparaxis will also have to be removed from the soil and stored indoors before the onset of frost. But there is also a significant difference: sparaxis bulbs are much more capricious precisely at the stage of winter storage, they are more often damaged by rot, wither, die. This is explained simply: a plant in nature should be in the soil in winter, and due to the shift in the digging time and completely different temperature regimes during the storage period outside the soil, the bulbs suffer much more than gladioli used to such treatment.

This plant is more suitable for greenhouse cultivation than for open field: it is much easier to satisfy all the whims of sparaxis and provide it with stable growth conditions. But even outdoors, if you can pay attention to the plant and take care of its needs, you can succeed.

Growing sparaxis in a pot culture with wintering indoors

If the strategy with a shift in flowering dates and digging for the winter does not suit you, then sparaxis can be tried to grow as a container plant. When planting bulbs in September in large containers and pots in compost to a depth of 2-3 cm, the bulbs can be left in the greenhouse or greenhouse until the first frost, and then transferred either to living quarters or to a heated greenhouse and greenhouse. In the spring, when the development of sparaxis begins in the same way as in regions with a warm climate, you will admire the flowering of the bright bulbous. And after flowering, when the foliage dies off by mid-summer, the sparaxis will need to be removed from the soil and stored until planting in the fall. This strategy requires very meticulous maintenance, but if you are cutting sparaxis or have a winter garden, it is a great alternative to open soil.

Conditions comfortable for sparaxis

In order for sparaxis not only to bloom, but also to form large full-fledged flowers, it needs to be provided with a comfortable and "calm" location. This plant needs high-quality protection from wind and draft, the choice of warm and secluded areas. But at the same time, even the slightest shading is unacceptable: sparaxis are extremely photophilous and grow in the middle lane only in sunny places.

Soil characteristics are also very important. Sparaxis cannot be planted in any cultivated soil. This bulbous loam needs to provide a nutritious loam with good drainage and a rich loose texture. Even on the most permeable soils, drainage is still laid for sparaxis: this plant is extremely sensitive to water stagnation, especially in summer.

Features of planting and digging sparaxis

In the middle lane and to the north, sparaxis can be planted in the soil only after the threat of return frost disappears, the soil warms up, and the weather is stable and warm. Traditionally, bulbs are planted in May, but planting is carried out not as deep as before winter in the southern regions.

Sparaxis bulbs are set tightly to each other, with an interval of 5-10 cm and no deeper than 5 cm in relation to the soil line. The plant will bloom only after 2-3 months - in August with a May planting and September with a June planting. Flowering will be much shorter than in the southern regions. After flowering, the aerial parts of sparaxis gradually die off, but you need to focus on digging not by the death of leaves, but by the weather: you need to remove the bulbs before the first frosts come. After digging the corms, you need to carefully sort out, inspect and dry. Drying is carried out at a temperature not lower than 25 degrees - in a warm and actively ventilated room.

Sparaxis care

Growing sparaxis will not work without careful maintenance. This bulbous plant cannot be “planted and forgotten”: it needs care that compensates for the vagaries of the weather and allows it to bloom at a time atypical for a plant.

Watering should be sensitive to weather patterns. In the event of the slightest drought or extreme heat, the loss of moisture must be compensated for by maintaining a slight moisture content in the soil. But do not water sparaxis too abundantly and actively: waterlogging of the soil should not be allowed as well as prolonged drought.

The need for fertilizing directly depends on the quality of the soil. On fertile soil, sparaxis are not fed at all, but on an average garden or depleted top dressing, it is a guarantee of the development of both the peduncle and the bulb. If you have not improved the soil to optimal parameters, then from the moment of planting the bulbs, add a portion of complete mineral fertilizers with the water for irrigation every month. The last dressing can be carried out at the stage of active flowering, and then the bulbs must be allowed to ripen before digging.

Sparaxis tricolor (Sparaxis tricolor)

Sparaxis wintering

Dried sparaxis corms are not usually stored. They are much more sensitive than other bulbs, and they need to provide more than just coolness to survive the long winter and early spring. Sparaxis bulbs are stored in dry sawdust and only in complete darkness. The optimum air temperature is from 5 to 7 degrees Celsius. Rotting and drying out are equally dangerous for the bulbs, therefore, air humidity should be given increased attention, avoiding extreme indicators.

Pests and diseases

The capriciousness of sparaxis is slightly offset by the resistance of the plant. In greenhouses and in mild climates, these bulbs can suffer from aphids; in regions with severe winters, only various types of rot caused by waterlogging are dangerous for them.

Sparaxis graceful (Sparaxis elegans)

Reproduction of sparaxis

This bulbous plant is propagated not only by corms, but also by seeds. True, the latter option is possible only in warm climates or when grown in greenhouses, because you need to keep young seedlings without digging for 2 years before flowering (and only after that you can transfer the plant to the usual growing mode). Seeds are sown in boxes or on seed beds in August, in a loose nutrient substrate and germinated in the warmth. Immediately after the emergence of seedlings, they must be thinned out. And after the young shoots get stronger, it is better to carefully transfer the plants to open soil or greenhouse soil.