Correct care
Watering
Proper cultivation of ageratum requires abundant watering. All soil around the flower should be equally moist. In this case, the appearance of puddles is completely unacceptable. Ageratum is not susceptible to the harmful effects of drought; it can be safely grown also in arid places.
Loosening and weeding
Given the high oxygen demand of this plant, it is imperative to loosen the soil. Any weeds are eliminated at the same time. This allows you to maximize growth. It is advisable to mulch ageratum in order to retain maximum moisture.
Top dressing
The ageratum is replenished using organic and mineral mixtures. You can use them in combination. But the use of manure is categorically unacceptable. Fertilizers are applied a maximum of 1 time in 20 days. They start with minimal doses, because otherwise, instead of activating flowering, it will slow down and increase the development of leaves.
Pruning
Ageratum has practically no problems with a haircut. It grows back pretty soon and will again delight flower growers with lush flowers. It is imperative to remove all dry, broken off or just weakened shoots. The manipulations are simple, while significantly increasing the flowering time and allowing you to get more inflorescences. Pinching is very important, normally pinching the top, leaving only 3 or 4 internodes, in order to achieve the aesthetic appeal of the culture and improve flowering.
Ageratum, which is quite predictable, does not tolerate cold well. As soon as the early frosts come, he will die. Cutting helps to extend the life of the flower a little, after which it is stored in a warm room. If possible, you should avoid top dressing with peat and humus.
Growing ageratum
Long-flowered is a thermophilic plant. Ageratum flowers are small, collected in inflorescences. The pistils protruding above them give a special charm. A plant covered with such fluffy balls looks very unusual and bright. It is difficult to answer the question whether the ageratum is a perennial or an annual. It can be both, and sometimes it is able to reach the size of a small bush.
Ageratum can grow up to a height of about 70 cm. Long-flowering flowering is very long - from the beginning of summer to the first cold weather. With proper care, seeds may appear in September.
Ageratum
There are two ways a flower can be grown. And if grafting is used on an industrial scale, then germination from seeds is more suitable for amateurs.
Seed propagation is better than propagation by cuttings for several reasons:
- the flowering of the plant will occur earlier, since it takes longer to wait for the shoots during cuttings;
- by the seed method, you can plant many different species and varieties of ageratum on your site;
- the seeds are easy to obtain as they are sold at any specialty store.
How to collect seeds for seedlings
For seedlings, seeds should be collected immediately after flowering. This usually occurs 15 days after the first flowers appear.
In order for seedlings to appear from the seeds, the plant must be pollinated. There should be no problems with this, since bees and wasps willingly collect nectar from the ageratum.
Attention! If the plant is indoor, then for pollination it must be taken out into the street or onto the balcony. The seeds are oblong, very small in weight and size.
Healthy seeds should be light brown in color. It is better to store them in paper or cloth bags until planting.
The seeds are oblong, very small in weight and size. Healthy seeds should be light brown in color. It is better to store them in paper or cloth bags until planting.
Seeds
Possible complications
If not properly treated, hypertension can cause brain damage.
Arterial hypertension is the most important factor in determining the risk of stroke. Compared to individuals with normal blood pressure levels, hypertensive patients have a 3-4 times higher risk of stroke. The cause of 80% of strokes is the overlap of the lumen of the vessel, and in the remaining 20% of cases, the stroke is in the nature of a hemorrhage.
With arterial hypertension, the vessels of the brain are damaged with the development of arteriosclerosis (macroangiopathy). In patients with high blood pressure, occlusion and severe stenosis of large vessels of the brain may occur, followed by the development of stroke. In addition, impaired blood flow leads to damage to the small vessels of the brain, as well as their branches (microangiopathy).
If hypertension is left untreated (especially in childhood), the consequences will be so serious that it will be almost impossible to cure them. Complications include the following:
The child's development is inhibited.
Attention is scattered, it is difficult for him to concentrate.
Development of mental illness is possible.
The shape of the skull changes: the fontanelle begins to bulge, the frontal bone also protrudes significantly forward.
Compression of the brain leads to seizures, impaired breathing, frequent loss of consciousness, reduced vision, sometimes to complete blindness.
With prolonged hypertension, the child develops encephalopathy. At the same time, memory decreases, sleep and mental performance are disturbed.
Mental disorders lead to drastic changes in mood, from violent and active to complete apathy
The child forgets words, confuses the names of objects, dementia develops.
Trauma and damage to the brain cause residual encephalopathy. It develops some time after brain damage. And it doesn't matter how he was injured, mechanically or due to the effects of drugs, toxins. This disease develops rather slowly and is determined by memory impairment, mood swings, insomnia, dizziness, weakness, headache.
The brain, during compression and displacement, cuts into the foramen magnum or into the notch of the tentorium of the cerebellum. This inevitably leads to death. The wedging of the temporal lobe hook is sometimes noted. In this case, the symptoms consist in an increase in the patient's pupil on the side where the compression occurred. The pupil stops responding to light. With an increase in pressure, the reaction of the second pupil is also lost, a coma or respiratory arrest occurs.
Another complication of persistent intracranial pressure is loss of vision due to optic nerve atrophy.
Ageratum care in the garden
How to care for ageratum
Planting ageratum and leaving in the open field will not require excessive effort from you. Even in the seedling period, if the seedlings are strongly stretched, they are pinched so that they begin to bush. In the future, the density, splendor and compactness of the bushes is maintained by pinching and cutting off too long shoots. The rest of the ageratum care consists in watering, fertilizing, loosening the soil on the site, removing weeds and dried baskets.
Watering ageratum
Watering the ageratum in the flowerbed as the top layer of the soil dries up, and light sandy loam soil requires more frequent watering than a relatively heavy loamy one. However, on whatever soil ageratum grows, keep in mind that it tolerates drought more easily than waterlogging.For irrigation, water that is settled and warmed up in the sun is used, and after moistening the surface should be shallowly loosened, while removing weeds.
Top dressing ageratum
Growing ageratum involves the introduction of dressings into the soil. During the growing season, ageratum in the ground is fed two to three times. The first feeding with a solution of a mineral complex for decorative flowering plants are carried out in a week after planting seedlings in the ground, and the second time the same fertilizers are applied to the site during the budding period. Whether the ageratum will need a third feeding, you will determine during flowering: if it is not as abundant as expected, and the color of the leaves and flowers is not bright enough, it may make sense to add mineral fertilizers to the soil for the third time. The ageratum should not be fed with organics and complexes with a high concentration of nitrogen, since it will begin to increase the leaf mass to the detriment of flowering.
Ageratum after flowering
Ageratum grown in an annual culture, after losing its decorative effect, is disposed of: the bushes are pulled out, and the site is dug up just before the onset of cold weather. But the most attractive bush can be transplanted into a pot and kept in a cool room for a week so that the plant goes into a dormant state, in which it will remain until spring. And with the onset of March, the bush is divided into cuttings, which, after rooting, will give new plants. If you do not have a need for ageratum reproduction, then simply shorten the shoots on the bush and plant the plant in the ground in the second half of May.
Reproduction of ageratum
Ageratum propagates not only by seeds, but also vegetatively - by cuttings. Cuttings are cut in March from the shoots of a bush that has overwintered indoors. The lower oblique cut of the cuttings is treated with a root former - Kornevin or Heteroauxin, after which the cuttings are planted in a wet substrate and each is covered with a glass jar or a plastic bottle with a cut neck. Rooting lasts about three weeks, and after another month, the cuttings will begin to develop new shoots. Rooted cuttings are planted in the garden at the same time as ageratum seedlings.
Growing ageratum
To obtain healthy seedlings, seeds are sown in late March - early April. Ageratum seedlings appear in two weeks, and after another week they can be cut into separate pots. Seedlings do not tolerate moisture. They are planted in open ground after the end of spring frosts, they maintain a distance during planting between plants 15-20 cm... Plants bloom 60-70 days after germination.
Ageratum is a cross-pollinated plant, but self-pollination is also possible. Pollinated by flies, bees and thrips.
If it is not possible to grow ageratum seedlings on the window, you can sow seeds in the spring directly into the ground. As practice has shown, once, due to a lack of time, faded plants were left in the flower garden in the fall, and in the spring sprouts from fallen seeds appeared in this place. But they bloomed very late, at the end of July.
Ageratum gives adventitious roots very well. Shoots lying on the ground take root easily. Therefore, even having one plant, you can get several seedlings by cutting the mother plant, and all the resulting plants will remain stunted and uniform.
Since ageratum is a perennial by nature, it can be stored in a cool greenhouse in winter, and planted in the garden by cutting cuttings in summer.
All varieties and hybrids of ageratum bloom for a long time, from early June to September. But in order for it to be magnificent, several conditions must be met.
- Firstly, plants are compact only in open, sunny places. Even with a little shading, they stretch and bloom uncommonly.
- Secondly, the soil should be light, neutral, ageratum develops many shoots and leaves on too fertile soil, to the detriment of buds.
- Thirdly, if the plant is still stretched out, feel free to cut it off, because ageratum easily tolerates a haircut, after which it quickly grows back and blooms profusely again. This technique is also used to prolong flowering.
Ageratum blue.
Ageratum in landscape design
This delicate flower looks good in any plantings: ridges, borders, rock gardens, in the foreground of a mixborder. Compact varieties of ageratum can be used as container plants: in outdoor flowerpots, balcony boxes.
Ageratum goes well with marigolds, calendula, zinnia, cineraria, antirrinum, verbena, rudbeckia, helenium. A monoclumba can also be created from the ageratum, but it is better to plant varieties with different shades of flowers. All possible tones of long-flowered inflorescences are perfectly combined with each other. But keep in mind: pink flowers can fade over time.
Since ageratum retains its fresh appearance for a long time in the cut, beautiful bouquets are obtained from tall varieties of plants. For example, blue ageratum looks good with rudbeckia, zinnia, snapdragon and calendula. It is also suitable for creating winter bouquets.
The subtleties of growing at home
The culture is successfully grown not only in the garden, but also indoors. To grow ageratum in a pot, you just need to pick up a spacious container and prepare good drainage. As a primer, you can use a mixture from a specialized store.
It is better to place the pot in the warmest part of the house. Make sure the flower will be well lit. In the summer, it will be possible to take the plant out to the loggia or veranda. If you follow the simple rules of care, then from the beginning of summer days until the New Year, you can enjoy the lush flowering of the culture.
Water the plant at the root. Moisture should not get on the leaves. The best time to irrigate is in the morning. After moistening, it is advisable to gently loosen the soil. This will increase the access of oxygen to the root system of the crop. Fertilizers are recommended to be applied every 5-6 months.
Care rules
Growing seedlings of ageratum from seeds is more than half the battle, because in a permanent place this flower is completely unpretentious and not capricious. After transplanting into the ground, the plant grows quickly, becomes strong and hardened.
Ageratum bloom will be abundant only if the soil under the flower is normally moistened. Watering the flowers is essential, especially during dry periods. But watering should not be excessive, then the earth will become too damp, and the flower risks getting sick. Watering ageratum should be water at room temperature, choose the morning time for watering.
The flower tolerates cutting and shaping well, therefore ageratums are often pruned. In order for new flowers to constantly appear on the bushes, it is necessary to regularly cut off the faded shoots - this stimulates the growth of young ones. After the first wave of flowering, the ageratum begins to wither, there are few inflorescences on it, they become smaller and fade. To save the situation will help shortening the entire bush by a third or half the height - in a couple of weeks the flower will delight you with an even more luxuriant color.
It is necessary to feed ageratums in moderation - 2-3 times per summer. The first top dressing must be carried out before the flowering of the bush. They use not organics, but only mineral complexes that do not contain nitrogen.
In nature, ageratum is a perennial plant, but in Russia it is grown as an annual. That is why you do not have to worry about the wintering of the flower - with the onset of the autumn cold, the bushes will wither and wither. Flowers are removed from the flower bed, usually in early spring. If necessary, at the end of summer, a florist can collect ageratum seeds.
The flower loves moderate humidity, therefore, with an excess of watering, the roots of the ageratum can be affected by root rot. If this happens, only the complete removal of diseased bushes along with the roots will help. Dosed watering, loosening of the soil, sufficient heat and light can prevent the disease.
Dangerous for ageratum and various pests, such as scoops, nematodes, spider mites, whiteflies. In case of damage to the leaves of the flower, you should immediately treat the bushes with an insecticide or use a folk remedy for these purposes.
Difficulties in growing and caring
With an early planting of ageratum, the color of the leaves may change to a lighter color, due to the low temperature at night. In this case, timely hardening of seedlings with shelter during cold nights will be an effective preventive measure. It is also possible targeted hardening with the removal of seedlings to the balcony. As a shelter, they use: cellophane, paper bags, cut bulk plastic eggplants.
With improper watering of the ageratum, blackening and decay of the plant is possible. Abundant watering from above leads to the retention of water droplets in the fuzzy upper part of the plant. With insufficient ventilation, the flower is covered with mold with further negative consequences. In this situation, only the root method is a prerequisite and correct condition for watering.
The most popular types and varieties of ageratum
In landscape design, Houston's ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum), or Mexican (Ageratum mexicanum), is most often found. Below we list the best varieties of this species.
White ball
It is a compact plant (about 20 cm high) with neat fluffy inflorescences (1.5-1.7 cm in diameter) of a snow-white color.
Leda
This blue and white ageratum leaves no one indifferent thanks to its iridescent inflorescences. The flowers cover the compact bushes so abundantly that the leaves are almost invisible.
Blue mink
The bush grows 20-25 cm high, during the summer the plant is decorated with bright dark blue flowers, collected in dense inflorescences with a diameter of 5-7 cm.
Aloha Blue
Low-growing ageratum up to 15 cm high. On numerous stems there are small flowers collected in corymbose inflorescences.
Fire Pink
This fiery pink ageratum is distinguished by loose inflorescences (4-5 cm in diameter) and small leaves. Bush height - 20-30 cm.
A large number of ageratum hybrids are currently on the market. For example: Adriatic F1 (15 cm tall, with blue-blue inflorescences), Atlantic F1 and North Sea F1 (purple-blue flowers), Ocean F1 (20 cm tall, light blue flowers). In addition to single-color ageratums, you can also find mixtures on sale (for example, Hawaii Mixt), sowing which, you will grow flowers of pink, white, purple and blue color. Ideal for those who love colorful flower beds!
Do you live this attractive annual in your flower garden? And what varieties do you prefer?
Ageratum - perennial or annual?
Ageratum, a native of warm countries, was brought by flower growers from India. At home, this flower is a perennial plant, but in our countries with cold winters, it can only be annual, since it absolutely cannot withstand even small frosts. But this did not stop lovers of this wonderful flower and in our conditions it is grown from seeds.
Ageratum has more than 50 species, the height of the shrub fluctuates from this, from 15 but not more than 60 centimeters, depending on the variety, as well as the illumination of the site. The color range from lilac to hot pink, lavender and blue, white and heavenly, in general, these bright, fluffy shrubs blooming throughout the summer will undoubtedly become your favorites. Due to its constant flowering, it has a second name - "Ageless". One of the directions of varieties of hybrid shrub, is Ageratum Houston, Ageratum Mexican outdoor herbaceous plants, having various heights and a rich variety of colors.
Ageratum bushes can be erect or spreading with fluffy inflorescences throughout the plant. Leaves are round and triangular in shape with small jagged edges. It has a very developed root system.Ageratum achene of pentahedral wedge shape. The seed retains its germination for 5 years.
Reproduction
Ageratum is most often propagated by seeds. They are sown outdoors in May or for seedlings in March. In the second case, it will begin to bloom in June.
Ageratum seeds are very small, so they are not sprinkled with earth at all. The seedling box is filled with a light nutrient medium.
It may include peat, sand, humus, vermiculite, turf soil. The mixture is moistened and the planting material is sown.
The top of the box is covered with glass or polyethylene film to obtain the effect of a greenhouse. Periodically, it is necessary to ventilate the seeds and constantly monitor the moisture content of the substrate.
The box should be in a warm, bright place, then seedlings are formed after 8-15 days. After germination of seeds, the film and glass are removed. Shoot care consists in regular watering and application of mineral fertilizers with a break of 10-14 days.
A couple of weeks before planting in open ground, the seedlings begin to harden so that they can withstand the changing climatic conditions well.
Seedlings need to be taken out into the street, each time increasing the residence time. If growing seedlings at home is not possible, you can sow seeds directly in the front garden.
However, it should be borne in mind that from the moment of germination to flowering, it takes about 60-70 days. Therefore, seeds should be sown in the third decade of April.
In this case, Ageratum is planted in any containers and covered with lutrasil using arcs. The shelter can be removed not earlier than the third decade of May, when there are no longer frosts.
Any sprouts must be pinched if you want to get lushly branched bushes. Pinching is usually carried out above 3 or 4 pairs of true leaves.
Diseases and pests
The beauty of ageratum can be noticeably affected by pests or diseases:
- Rot. The disease appears when the humidity of the environment or soil is high. Rot is characterized by the appearance of dark spots on the leaves. It is treated by spraying the plant with Fundazol or Topaz. If this does not help, then the infected bush is dug up and destroyed.
- Cucumber mosaic. It is characterized by the appearance of yellow spots on the leaves. It is impossible to cure it, therefore, as a preventive measure, the soil is regularly weeded, weeds are removed. Since insects are carriers of the disease, at the first appearance it is necessary to take measures to destroy them.
Whitefly
Whitefly. These insects are easy to spot on the leaves. Pests feed on the sap of the plant and if you do not take action, they can kill it. You can get rid of the whitefly with the help of Aktellik or Aktar.
Following the provided requirements for growing and caring for the ageratum, you can get an unpretentious plant that will decorate an apartment or garden plot.
Use in landscape design
Ageratum is a versatile plant. In garden decoration, it is used everywhere:
- discounts;
- flower beds;
- carpet compositions.
Bright fluffy inflorescences are suitable for creating a background for flower beds and perennial mixborders. For low decorative borders and framing garden paths, choose low-growing varieties of long-flowered. Tall representatives are very much appreciated by florists, they are planted on a cut.
Unpretentiousness and long flowering are good qualities for decorating a balcony, summer terrace or summer garden with a garden plant. It perfectly tolerates planting in pots and containers.
Combination with other plants
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Ageratum and marigolds
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Ageratum and kosmeya
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Ageratum and chamomile
A harmonious company with long-flowered flowers is made up of:
- marigold;
- zinnia;
- Snapdragon;
- asters;
- calendula;
- chamomile.
The combination of different shapes and colors allows you to create an original mix composition, variegated, but refined. The culture treats the neighborhood favorably, planting in the same flower garden with all plants is allowed.
Pests
Scoops.Small butterflies whose caterpillars eat the leaves of Ageratum Mexican. This greatly weakens the plant, causing growth inhibition and lack of flowering.
Biological insecticides (Lepidocid, Bitoxibacillin) and chemical preparations (Sherpa, Arrivo, Decis) are used against them.
Nematodes. Tiny worms that settle in the roots or inside the shoots of plants and feed on the sap of the bushes.
The shoots of Ageratum are bent, the plant is deformed and loses its decorative effect and normal development.
The soil and ground parts are treated with insecticides - Mercaptophos, Fosamid, BI-58 new.
Herbivorous mites. They differ in microscopic size and high harmfulness. The leaves are covered with dried spots, which gradually increase. As a result, the leaf blades fall off, the plant is inhibited in growth and development.
Acaricides will help get rid of pests - Fitoverm, Vertimek, Apollo, Kleschevit.
You can also read more general recommendations about ageratum care, and Houston ageratum.
And for the most curious, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the video about the Mexican ageratum
Types and varieties of ageratum
In culture, there are only two types of ageratum.
Ageratum coniziform (Ageratum conyzoides) is a plant with broad-lanceolate leaves with a blunt apex, the base of which smoothly turns into a petiole. The inflorescences of this species are small and not very attractive. You can find the coniziform ageratum only in collectors' gardens.
Ageratum Houston, or Ageratum Mexican (Ageratum houstonianum = Ageratum mexicanum) is found in the wild from Mexico to Peru and is a shrub or herb with numerous pubescent stems. Actually, we gave a description of this species at the beginning of the article, since it is the Mexican ageratum that represents its genus in the garden culture. This species has many varieties that differ in flowering time, flower color, bush size, shape of inflorescences and leaves. Ageratum dwarf, reaching a height of no more than 15 cm, is called pumilum, and varieties of medium height (about 30 cm) are called nanum. The following varieties of Mexican Ageratum are most often grown:
- Alba is a compact spherical bush up to 20 cm high with white, dense inflorescences;
- Blaukappe is a hemispherical compact shrub up to 30 cm high with densely pubescent dark green shoots and loose inflorescences 5-6 cm in diameter from lilac-blue baskets with short stigmas;
- Blaushternchen is an early variety 10-15 cm high with thin branchy shoots of dark green color with a purple bloom and loose, low-flowered inflorescences from blue baskets with a lilac shade, reaching no more than 1 cm in diameter. The baskets are dark purple in the buds;
- Blue Ball is a late variety, representing a low, almost spherical shrub up to 18 cm high with thick and strong densely pubescent shoots and large leaves, pubescent on the underside of the plate. Baskets are dense, with long stigmas, up to 17 mm in diameter, dark lilac-blue;
- Little Dorrit is an early variety with compact hemispherical bushes, strong, slightly pubescent shoots, small rounded rhombic leaves on long petioles and multi-flowered loose inflorescences from light blue baskets up to 13 mm in diameter;
- Red Sea is a compact shrub up to 55 cm high with powerful erect dense leafy stems and red inflorescences unusual for ageratum.
The varieties Tetra Vari (ageratum blue), Summer Snow (ageratum white), Blue Performance and Blue Mink (ageratums lilac-blue), Fire Pink (ageratum pink) are also popular.
Recently, gardeners prefer to grow heterotic hybrids of ageratum (F1), which are compact, rapid development, earlier, abundant and prolonged flowering and, moreover, uniformity in many ways, which makes them ideal curb plants.The most popular are the following hybrids:
- Adriatic - plant 15-20 cm high with blue baskets;
- Atlantic - bushes about 20 cm high with purple-blue baskets;
- Blue Ribbon - early variety up to 17 cm high with blue baskets;
- Ocean is also an early variety with light blue baskets;
- Nose Si - a variety with dark blue baskets with a purple tint;
- Pearl Fields is a special award-winning hybrid variety in 2000. In height, a bush with purple baskets can reach 25 cm, but it spreads on the ground up to 30 cm wide, which is why it was called "purple fields";
A series of Hawaii mixed varieties represents compact plants up to 15 cm high, the baskets of which can be painted in white, cyan, pink and magenta.
