Geyhera care
Heuchera is an unassuming plant, care for it is minimal.
Watering
Watering Heuchera is necessary as soon as the topsoil begins to dry out. Frequency - 1 time in 2 days. Waterlogging of the soil is unacceptable, since excess moisture will negatively affect the root system. Heuchera tolerates drought more easily than stagnant water. However, the plant should not create stressful situations: on hot days, water it twice - in the morning and in the evening. Watering is carried out directly under the root. Droplets falling on foliage in hot sunny weather can cause burns.
Top dressing
In the first year after planting in the ground, Heicher does not need fertilization. From the second and subsequent years, the plant will need feeding. Ornamental-deciduous species of Geykhera are recommended to be fed with complex mineral fertilizers intended for deciduous plants. Decorative flowering varieties are fed with universal fertilizers for flowering plants. Plants are fed 2 times per season: before flowering and at the end of it.
Diseases. Pests
Geykhera shows high resistance to various fungal diseases, pests, but under unfavorable conditions it can be affected by rust, gray mold, powdery mildew or spotting. The culture can be cured with fungicidal solutions.
Snails, slugs, caterpillars, caterpillars, leaf nematodes can cause harm to Heykhera. You can fight pests with the help of folk remedies or an insecticide solution.
Types and varieties of heuchera
The genus Heuchera has about 70 species. Many of them grow naturally in the forests and woodlands of the highlands of Mexico and the United States. Conventionally, the types of geychera are divided into mountain and forest ones. We will introduce you to the most popular species and varieties among gardeners, which are used in landscape design and for breeding new varieties.
Photo: Geichera in natural conditions
Heuchera blood-red (Heuchera sanguinea)
Refers to mountain species. She has green leaves and bright red flowers. Americans call it a red bell. The leaves of blood-red heuchera, forming a rosette, are much denser than other species, they are round and jagged. Some varieties of this species are distinguished by beautiful white or creamy specks on the leaves. Peduncles reach a height of 50 cm. This type of cold-resistant, therefore, is so popular with our gardeners. The most famous varieties are Monet, Variegata, Hercules.
In the photo: Heuchera blood-red (Heuchera sanguinea)
Heuchera hairy (Heuchera villosa)
Differs in large leaves with a velvety surface and pubescent peduncles and cuttings, which is why it got its name. The Bronze Wave variety has the largest leaves up to 20 cm in diameter, bronze in color, and Rachel has not only flowers, but also peduncles of a pale pink color.
In the photo: Heuchera hairy (Heuchera villosa)
Heuchera cylindrica
Also a mountainous look, it has not only spectacular leaves, but also tall peduncles with a cloud of small flowers that seem to soar above the bush during flowering. This species is larger than others, and this attracted breeders who, on the basis of cylindrical heuchera, bred new varieties. Peduncles reach 90 cm in height, they bloom large flowers of white, pink, green and coral color on short pedicels. Leaves are heart-shaped, rounded, green in color with a silvery pattern or veins of a contrasting color.Varieties: Greenfinch with greenish-cream flowers, Hyperion is a compact bush with a peduncle height of only 50 cm and red-pink flowers.
In the photo: Heuchera cylindrica
Heuchera micrantha
According to many gardeners, this is the most spectacular of the geyher. Its leaf, resembling a maple leaf, is covered with silvery spots, and some specimens of those found in nature have a purple tint of the leaves. Paniculate inflorescence on a peduncle 60 cm in height consists of small creamy pink flowers with orange anthers. Of the popular cultivars, the best known are the Dark Purple Leaved Palace Pearl, the best perennial of 1999, and the Bressingham Bronze, the bronze brown leaves.
In the photo: Heuchera micrantha
American Heuchera (Heuchera americana)
Growing on the shores of the Great Lakes. In the United States, it is called mountain geranium. It attracts with its leaves, forming a rosette about 20 cm high. On the underside, the leaves are brown-lilac, heart-shaped, rounded, petioles are long. Panicles on peduncles 50-60 cm tall consist of yellow-green flowers. Green Spice is one of the most beautiful varieties of American Heuchera with green leaves and contrasting silvery spots on them. During the growing season, the leaves change shades of green from more yellow to darker, the silver spots increase, and a purple hue appears around the veins.
In the photo: American Heuchera (Heuchera americana)
Heuchera hybrid (Heuchera hybrida)
It includes interspecific hybrids of American and blood-red heuchera with the participation of small-flowered heuchera. The flowers of this species resemble those of the blood-red heuchera, but they are somewhat larger, as well as the leaves with peduncles. Flowers of white, coral, red or pink color bloom for more than two months. The color of the leaves is mostly green, but with contrasting veins and cream-colored specks. The only drawback of these hybrids is that the stalks can fall from strong wind and rain. Varieties: Cancan, Cappuccino, Beauty Color, Ruby Vale and others.
In the photo: Heuchera hybrid (Heuchera hybrida)
Gooseberry Heuchera (Heuchera grossulariifolia)
This plant is so cold-resistant that even after wintering in the garden in severe frost it can completely retain its leaves, and it is this rare quality that attracts both flower growers and breeders in it.
Carnation Shabo: growing from seeds, planting and careGelenium: planting, care and cultivation
After this article, they usually read
Add a comment
Varieties and types of Heykherella
Geykherella varieties differ in the shape and color of leaves, peduncles and shoot height. Using their variety, you can create a wonderful garden composition. At the same time, you do not need to be attached to the flowering period of the plant, since their leaves are much more beautiful than flowers. The most popular varieties of Heykherella include:
- Bridget Bloom
- Rosalie
- Solar Power
- Quick Silver
- Kimono
- Stoplight
- Honey Rose
- Golden zebra
- Tapestri
Bridget Bloom
Characterizing the Bridget Bloom variety, one can note the juicy green color of its leaves with brown veins and coral inflorescences on numerous peduncles. It got its name from the daughter of the famous breeder Bloom. It blooms profusely from June to July.
Rosalie
The Rosalie variety has a green-yellow color of leaves in the spring, which gradually darken. The veins of the leaves are dark red, which looks beautiful against the background of light colors. Its peduncles delight the eye for a long time.
Solar Power
Solar Power has lemon and lime-colored leaves with brown streaks. Small white flowers look delicate against the background of carved foliage. The height of the variety reaches 30 cm.
Quick Silver
The Quick Silver variety grows as a gray-silvery bush with grape-shaped leaves. It blooms with white-silver arrows.
Kimono
The Kimono variety is represented by palm-shaped leaves with burgundy veins, which are distinctive from other representatives of Geyherella. Due to its ability to grow, it quickly forms a large bush with light pink peduncles.
Stoplight
The unusual color of the Stoplight variety attracts the eye of any person passing by. It has light green leaves with dark red streaks in the middle. Blooms from July to August with small white bells.
Honey Rose
Honey Rose has a palette of foliage from yellow-orange to peach-red in its spectrum. Its leaves are deeply dissected. The flowering period is in the first half of summer.
Golden zebra
Deeply cut golden leaves with a cherry center are characteristic of the Golden Zebra variety. In autumn, the color of the foliage changes and becomes orange-pink in the sun, and in the shade, on the contrary, turns green. This versatility of colors gives an unrivaled effect in the garden.
Tapestri
The green representative of the Geyherella family - Tapestri is a favorite of all flower growers. During the season, its leaves change color from bluish to dark green. The leaves are decorated with brown veins that blend beautifully with the pale pink flowers.
Heycherella has rather massive roots, and some of its species grow up to 70 cm in height. These evergreen flowers are not capricious to care for and like to grow in partial shade.
Geyhera care
The most popular and demanded in garden floriculture are rhizome perennials. These are very hardy, unpretentious plants with unique decorative qualities. Most often in the gardens you can find representatives of the Kamnelomkov family, the "highlight" of the site is undoubtedly the Heuchera, which can change colors several times throughout the season. The flower got its name in honor of the botanist from Germany Johann Heinrich von Heicher.
In the first half of the last century, the most popular were flowering varieties, however, today in the gardens it is mainly possible to see ornamental deciduous plant species.
Homeland and appearance
Under natural conditions, Heuchera is found in North America, mainly in the rocky part. Here the plant grows up to half a meter in height.
Heuchera is a compact, dense bush. Leaves are leathery, attached to long cuttings. The shape and color palette of the leaf plate is very diverse and varies depending on the variety and type of plant. Today it is possible to grow geyhera in the garden with green, burgundy, red, amber, purple, pink, silver, spotted leaves. Also, the leaves differ in texture, there are corrugated, curly and simple smooth.
On flowering varieties of Heuchera, inflorescences appear in early summer and persist until autumn. Heuchera flower is a paniculate inflorescence formed by bells of predominantly white color, sometimes red, pink or beige.
At the end of flowering, fruits are formed on the plant - boxes with small seeds (no more than a poppy seed).
The main secret of the attractiveness and popularity of the plant is its extraordinary endurance and unpretentiousness. However, even for such a resistant plant, there are certain growing characteristics, which consist in good drainage of the site and the right choice of soil - light and nutritious.
Watering mode
Heuchera needs regular watering, but the soil should dry out a little between waterings. Optimal watering regime: every other day. Experts note that excess moisture is more dangerous for a plant than a slight drought, which is why it is better to forget to water the bush than to overdo it.
In hot summer, you can water the plant twice a day - early morning and evening.
To protect the leaves from burns, it is necessary to pour water under the root.
Lighting mode
An important condition for the successful cultivation of Heuchera is the right choice of location. The brightness of the color of the leaves will depend on this, and in the case of flowering species, the abundance and duration of flowering.
The vast majority of Heuchera species prefer light partial shade. It is better to choose an area in the garden where direct sunlight is in the morning.
Young Heucheras need more illuminated places, but carefully protected from drafts. In areas with bright sun, flowers with burgundy leaves will become more saturated, and a pattern will appear more clearly on spotted leaves.
The only place where it makes no sense to plant geyher is the lowlands, where rain or melt water stagnates.
Top dressing and fertilization
Considering that under natural conditions geychera grow in mountainous areas where soils are poor, cultivated varieties need a fairly large amount of nutrients. In the spring-summer period, complex mineral fertilizers are used.
After applying top dressing, the soil around the plants must be loosened.
The soil
The correct soil structure is a prerequisite for successful plant growth. The soil needs to be light, well-drained, nutritious and moisture-absorbing. Sand is used for drainage. The optimum acidity of the soil is from 5 to 6 pH.
Geichera in landscape design
How do specialists use Heuchera in landscaping and landscape design? It is planted in colorful compositions, especially if the task is to fill the free space: the almost continuous decorativeness of the plant will fill the void of the landscape in the off-season, when other crops lose their attractiveness. A flower bed with geyher of different shades looks great, where plants with burgundy leaves will coexist with green-leaved and yellow-leaved varieties.
Heuchera is also good in single plantings against the backdrop of a green garden or lawn. This plant is also used to disguise problem areas of the garden and yard with lush and dense bushes. Heuchera is ideal for rockeries and alpine slides.
This plant can be grown not only in the ground, but also in flowerpots or containers to decorate terraces, gazebos and patios with it, and from low-growing varieties you get a spectacular and picturesque border.
Since geychera do not experience discomfort in partial shade, their variegated varieties can be grown next to ornamental conifers. The neighborhood of Heuchera with Miscantius or sedge also looks picturesque, creating partial shade necessary for Heuchera.
Different types of ferns and host will be ideal companions for the plant, and varieties of red heuchera will look even more spectacular next to the dicenter.
Geyhera care in the garden
How to care for Heychera
Landing geyher and outdoor care behind this unassuming plant, even a novice grower can do it. The main points of plant care are watering, loosening the soil, weeding, feeding, removing wilted flowers, protecting heuchera from diseases and pests, and preparing the plant for wintering. In addition, heuchera bushes need to be hilled from time to time, since their bases grow close to the soil surface.
Watering Heuchera
Heuchera is watered as the topsoil dries up. In the summer with the usual amount of precipitation, you need to moisten the soil on the site 2-3 times a week, and during a prolonged drought, you will have to irrigate twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. Ample moisture can cause stagnant water in the roots, so watering should be frequent but moderate. And try to pour water directly under the root of the plant: the spray should not fall on the leaves of the heuchera, otherwise they will be covered with burn spots.
After watering, the soil around the plants is loosened, at the same time removing the hatched weeds, but if you do not want to spend a lot of time on watering, loosening and weeding, mulch the surface of the site with organic material - compost or peat. Mulch will also protect the root system of the heuchera, since the roots of the plant in the cold or during the rains can be exposed.
Heuchera feeding
In the first year of life, after you have dug up the site with humus before planting, heychera will no longer need fertilizers, and from next year it is enough to apply complex mineral fertilizers to the soil twice a season: before flowering and immediately after its completion. However, keep in mind that the concentration of the nutrient solution should be one and a half to two times weaker than what is suggested in the instructions, especially during the second feeding.
Reproduction of heuchera
We have already told you how heuchera is grown from seeds. It remains only to add that it is better to reproduce generatively species plants, since this method does not preserve the varietal properties of the mother plant.
In addition to seed, vegetative methods are also used for reproduction of heuchera - cuttings and division of the bush. For cuttings in June or July, the stems are cut from an adult bush and divided into segments 5-6 cm long. The lower sections of the cuttings are powdered with a root former, after which the planting material is placed for rooting in a cuttings with a sandy-peat substrate. It will take about a month for the cuttings to form a root system, and as soon as they acquire their own roots, they are planted in open ground.
Details about the reproduction of heuchera by dividing the bush
Heuchera can grow in one place for 3-4 years, after which it must be divided and transplanted. They do this in May or September: they dig out the heuchera and divide it with a sharp sterile knife into several parts with two or three young rosettes, the sections are treated with coal powder, after which the cuttings are seated in prepared holes. Plants will need 3-4 weeks to root in a new place.
Geichera in autumn and winter
During flowering, do not forget to timely remove wilted flowers so that heuchera forms new ones, and then its flowering will be long and plentiful. After its completion, it is necessary to cut the peduncles, but it is advisable to leave the leaves and stems, since in winter they will serve as a natural shelter for the roots of the plant close to the surface.
If you live in a region with a warm and mild climate, you will not need to cover the Heuchera with anything else, but in places with severe or snowless winters, the bushes are covered with sphagnum during cold weather or the plant is sprinkled with dry earth or humus high, and then sprinkled with sawdust or oak leaves. Young bushes can still be covered with insulating non-woven material on top of everything, and for adult plants, in order to winter normally, hilling and organic insulation will be enough. In the spring, the cover is removed, and the old leaves are cut off with a pruner as close to the surface of the site as possible.
Planting a plant
1. Site selection and soil preparation
Geykhera is an unpretentious plant that grows well both in the sun and in partial shade.
Some varieties and species show their decorative properties most vividly under certain conditions:
- Cultivars with red and dark leaves like open light spots. In the sun, their color becomes saturated, the leaves are larger and the pattern is pronounced. In hot hours, you should provide them with partial shade.
- Plants where light color predominates (yellow, silver, light green) prefer partial shade. It is better to plant them where there is no sun in the afternoon. They "burn out" in direct light.
Heucher is not recommended to plant near tree trunks, since such a neighborhood can leave them without moisture. The superficial root system of Heuchera does not tolerate both lack of moisture and its excess. In low-lying areas, you need to find a place higher or make a bulk bed.
Heuchera are plants that are undemanding to the soil, but most of their species are mountainous, so it is important to provide them with good drainage. Can add fine gravel or sand to the soil
2. Treatment and preparation of soil
Geykhera plant is rather unpretentious to the soil. It grows even on rocky areas, so alkaline soil can also withstand.
But for successful growth - an optimal pH level of 5-6, light, fertile soil and good drainage:
- In insufficiently acidic soil, just before planting, add wood ash or chalk. It is not bad for acidifying the soil, you can add leaf humus or sawdust.
- The area with alkaline soil will need to be prepared in the fall. Depending on the degree of acidity, add limestone to the soil and dig it up, the cultivation depth is 20 cm.
- To improve the structure of stony or sandy soil - well rotted manure, it helps to retain moisture at the roots of plants.
- For clayey soil - crushed bark makes it lighter, more structured and improves water permeability.
- Garden compost is also suitable for enriching poor soils.
Use coarse sand or fine stone for deep drainage. You can apply root drainage - when planting, add expanded clay or finely crushed brick into the hole.
3. The process of planting in open ground
Heuchera is planted in open ground in June. Crushed brick or expanded clay can be poured into the prepared holes as drainage. Cover the seedling with earth, leaving 2-3 cm to the top of the hole.
Carefully compact the soil around the seedling and cover with mulch. Water and shade the plant until it adapts
Leave the distance between seedlings depending on the variety, for medium-leaved heucheras - 20-25 cm, for larger ones - 40-45 cm.
Planting and caring for heuchera in the open field
In order for the Heuchera seeds to retain their germination, they are stored in a closed container in a cool place (in the refrigerator, cellar). Planting Heuchera seeds for seedlings is carried out in the second half of March or in April. The soil is preliminarily prepared - the earth is mixed with sand or perlite. The grown seedlings are hardened before planting in open ground. Seedlings are planted in flower beds in June.
Heucher bushes gradually grow and fall apart, and in the center of the rhizomes protrude above the ground, which leads to the fact that the plant suffers from frost and bright sun. Mulching helps to counter this. In the fall, it is recommended to sprinkle the heucher bushes with compost so that the rhizomes are at a greater depth and many shoots appear in the spring. Also, the leaves of overgrown bushes become smaller, and the number of shoots decreases. These are signs that it is time to separate the bush. Planting geychera and caring for it in the open field in the future is not difficult, since the culture is not particularly demanding on the soil and environmental conditions.
Seedlings dive when 2-3 true leaves appear in boxes or ridges. They are planted in the ground in late May - early June, with a distance between seedlings up to 20 cm. They are covered with foliage for the winter. Young plants bloom in the third year.
It is better to divide the bushes in the spring, in May, but it is also possible in late summer - early autumn. On clay soils, during autumn planting, plants can freeze out in winter, especially with a significant division of rhizomes. Each division should have at least five well-developed buds and roots. It is recommended to divide the bush by hand, without the use of tools.
The stems are cut before flowering or immediately after it, using rooting stimulants.
Watch how the Heuchera planting is carried out in the video, which shows the whole process:
For distillation, well-developed 2-year-old plants grown from seeds are selected. In September, they are dug out of the ground, planted in pots with sod-humus soil, watered and left in a shaded place. With the onset of a stable cold snap, they are transferred to a cool room or cold greenhouse. After freezing, the soil is covered with tree leaves or spruce paws and left in a greenhouse until the end of December, then brought into a room with a temperature of + 10 ° and begins to water and spray with warm water. After a week, the plants start to grow. On a sunny window, they bloom in March, throwing out 3-4 openwork panicles.After flowering, heuchera is planted in the ground, and for subsequent distillation, the material is prepared from seeds.
Application of Heuchera.
The rhizomes contain tannins.
The Cherokee tribe uses the plant for dysentery.
Powdered roots are sprinkled with malignant ulcers, the infusion is washed with difficult and long healing ulcers. Infusion of rhizomes with roots is taken for complaints in the intestines, hemorrhoids, excessive menstruation. Infusion of the underground part rinse the oral cavity with sores. Many Indian tribes use the roots as a powerful astringent and also as a tonic. A decoction of rhizomes and roots is used for pain in the stomach. Raw roots are eaten for indigestion. Crushed leaves are used as a healing agent for wounds and ulcers.
Description of heuchera and its flowering (with photo)
Heuchera are an evergreen plant native to North America. In recent years, many original varieties have been bred, which were immediately appreciated by gardeners all over the world. Unpretentiousness and decorativeness are their main advantages.
Due to the abundant flowering, heucheras are used to decorate the shores of reservoirs, to create rockeries, borders and mixborders. In the last two cases, they are planted in the foreground. Good partners for Heucher are cuff, daylilies, daisy, yarrow.
Description. Heuchera is a perennial plant, which is a bush with several rosettes that increase with the age of the plant itself. Heuchera reaches a height of no more than 40-60 cm, although among modern varieties there are also tall ones (up to 1 m). Rounded, leathery leaves with wavy edges of green with a slight red tint, are collected in these rosettes, while the leaves can quietly winter under the snow cover. When flowering, peduncles appear brownish-red. The inflorescence itself has a large number of small bells of pink, white or red color, and flowering can last about two months, starting in June. The plant looks decorative from spring to snowfall.
Look at the description of Heuchera and the appearance in the photo - all the aesthetic advantages of culture are presented:
Heuchera is a perennial plant that can grow in one place without transplanting for 4–5 years. Gardeners are more likely to grow blood-red Heuchera. There are also various varieties, including hybrid ones, of this plant.
See how beautiful the flowering of heuchera is in the photo located further on the page - they show all the beauty of the flower:
