Hosta: planting and care in the open field

Care advice

If you want your plant to look beautiful and healthy, then you should adhere to some rules for caring for callistemon at home. This process will not take long. In order for the plant to develop well and bloom regularly, it is recommended to feed it with a special fertilizer. You should also prune the shrub.

• Warm seasons are ideal for feeding. This is a period of intense growth for Callistemon. Twice a month will be enough to fertilize the plant. It is best for this purpose to select special complexes on a mineral basis, designed for flowering plants. In winter, such procedures should not be carried out.
• Pruning is recommended to be carried out immediately after the flowering of a beautiful plant. After the flowers fall, small growths appear instead of them, which prevent the appearance of new flowers, and also spoil the aesthetic appearance of the plant. Many callistemon growers do extra pruning in spring. This helps the plant grow faster and also gives it a beautiful shape.

For information on how to properly cut and shape the crown of a callistemon, see below.

Hosta Syboldiana. Hosta Siebold: features, varieties, agricultural technology

Hosta is an unusual plant that emphasizes and combines different types of flowers, completing the composition. At the same time, it is not a faded background, because it itself has rather high decorative properties. Hosta sieboldiana looks beautiful at any time, therefore it is the favorite of many landscape designers.

Description and characteristics

The plant belongs to perennials and belongs to the asparagus family. In natural conditions, it can be found in Japan (Honshu Island). The bush got its name in honor of the famous botanist Philip Siebold. The shrub has wide leaf plates with a rather dense structure, their length is about 30 cm, and their width is up to 25 cm.The leaves are covered with a light bluish bloom, their shape is heart-shaped with a well-pronounced ribbing.

The color has a bluish-gray tint, which is why the plant is referred to as blue hosts. The bush produces low (about 40 cm) peduncles, on which light lilac funnel-shaped flowers are formed, having a length of 5-6 cm. Hosta Siebold blooms in July, the inflorescences are almost buried in green leaves.

At the end of flowering, triangular small fruits with black seeds ripen on them. The root system of the plant is low-branched, compact in size.

Varieties

The most popular and beautiful representatives of the Siebold hosts are:

"Elegance" is a very beautiful plant, with grayish-blue leaves and light purple inflorescences, the bush reaches 65-70 cm in height, and up to 90 cm in width;

"Francis Williams" is also quite large in size, the leaves are uneven in color - the edges are edged with a yellow-cream stripe, and the main color is gray-blue;

Halcyon - a variety that was bred as a result of hybridization of Hosta sieboldiana and Hosta tardiflora, it belongs to low crops, the leaf plates are distinguished by a beautiful bluish tint;

Hercules is a tall shrub with large blue-green leaves and white inflorescences that bloom in June;

Semperaurea belongs to a fairly large variety, with broad leaves painted in yellow-green hues.

Landing

The growing season of the hosta begins somewhat later than other crops, so it can be easily planted in late spring or early autumn. The plant is shade-loving, which should be considered when choosing a site. Khosta Siebold prefers light, fertile soil with good moisture. Clay and sandy soil is not suitable for growing hostas.The optimal time for planting is in the evening, preferably after 18.00, when the heat subsides and the temperature drops slightly.

Landing is carried out as follows:

• planting holes are wide and deep enough;
• a little humus is poured to the bottom;
• to increase the air permeability of the soil, you can also add a small amount of peat;
• perlite should be used as drainage;
• a little water is poured into the recesses and a seedling is placed, but it must be positioned so that all the buds are above the ground;
• the plant is watered and covered with soil;
• a layer of mulch (sawdust, bark or peat) is applied on top.

The distance between the holes is made based on the parameters of an adult plant, 30-80 cm. When planting in autumn, especially if the winters are cold, the seedlings should be covered with agrofibre for the winter. Khosta is a frost-resistant crop, and adult plants are quite capable of hibernating without shelter, but young bushes can freeze slightly.

CHAMELEON HOSTS - VARIETIES

Another important feature of yellow hosts is the ability to turn green during the season or, conversely, acquire a brighter yellow color. Those that turn green belong to the so-called viridescent hosts, and those that turn yellow - to lutescent... This phenomenon, which distinguishes exclusively yellow hosts, is directly related to the action of genes responsible for the production of chlorophyll in leaves under certain conditions (sunlight and summer temperatures).

In green hosts, an increase in temperature slows down the action of a gene that interferes with the production of chlorophyll. In those who turn yellow, on the contrary, as the temperature rises, certain genes inhibit the production of chlorophyll.

Among the greening host can be distinguished English Sunrise ("English sunrise"), which is famous for its dense golden leaves with a waxy coating, which, it should be noted, is quite a rarity in yellow hosts, which turn green by mid-summer. Greening includes and Amber tiara ("Amber crown"), and Chinese Sunrise ("Chinese sunrise"), and ‘Sea Fire ' ("Sea fire"), and fashionable now Marrakech, and changing golden color to apple green Fire island and Paradise island... Spectacular Golden Meadows in spring it has leaves with a creamy yellow center and a blue-green feather-shaped border, and then the contrasting color, as the hosta turns green, smoothes out. Variety Cranberry Wine ("Cranberry wine") is also one of the viridescent hosts, spring bright yellow leaves with a ruffled edge on red stalks, which gave rise to the name (exclusively ornamental variety!), Become apple-green by the middle of summer.

I must admit that in my garden I prefer to plant lutescent hosts, because, firstly, they delight me with their endless transformations during the summer, and secondly, they remain yellow almost all summer, only in different shades.

And the greening hosts are yellow for a very short period in the spring and quickly become ordinary green. A striking (literally) example is x. Fortune, which in the spring dissolves leaves surprisingly fresh spring salad color, and then until the end of the season loses its brightness and becomes a fairly common, not outstanding plant.

Of the yellowing ones, dazzling bright are exceptionally good Jimmy crack corn ("Cracked corn"), Dab a green ("Green brushstroke"), changing the chartreuse color to a bright golden hue. A big plus of these plants is the ability to grow in full sun.

Of the lutescent varieties, those varieties are distinguished that are yellow in spring, and by the middle of summer they seem to fade and fade, acquire a more restrained color, become creamy yellow or even white. The gold of their color seems to tarnish and turns, so to speak, into ... platinum. For example, an orange-yellow center of a similar host Orange marmalade and Orange star turns white, and sunny yellow leaves Frosted June acquire a creamy shade. Leaves turn pale and Dancing Queen ' - a spectacular large hosta with a cascading bush shape and chartreuse-colored leaves trimmed with thick ruffles.A striking example of a whitening hosta remains a well-known variety August moon, in which yellow-green crushed heart-shaped cup-shaped leaves turn yellow in summer, and by the end of the season they become whitened, like an omelette, yellow-cream in color.

The color of the skin of an unripe banana, melon, lemon peel, acid shades, the color of mimosa, vanilla cream or corn on the cob, canary or honey, the color of egg yolk - these are all the nuances of color that can be found in yellow-leaved hosts.

Reference by topic: New host varieties - photos, names and descriptions

Description of the variety

The ornamental cultivar Fortunei Albopicta belongs to the Asparagus family of the "Fortune" species. The perennial plant develops and grows rapidly, is frost-resistant - it can withstand extremely low temperatures down to -40 degrees. The botanical characteristics are as follows.

• In breadth, the shrub is capable of growing up to 80-100 cm, its height is from 40 to 70 cm, these parameters depend on the created conditions and proper care.
• The leaves of the plant are 20 cm long and have the ability to change color. At the beginning of the growing season, they are yellow-green with a dark frame around the edges, by August they acquire a more uniform, pale green appearance. The yellowish tint lasts longer on the bushes if they are shaded, or if the summer is cold.
• The crown of the hosta is dense and dense, foliage with wavy or straight edges, sometimes a wax coating is visible on it.
• Flowers, collected in inflorescences in the form of bells and funnels, can be white, blue, light lilac, appear in mid-summer. Later, bolls are formed on them, filled with dark flat seeds.

The completely beautiful appearance of the plant is formed by the age of 4-5 years - the shrub becomes lush with a pronounced color of foliage. The hybrid hosta successfully grows and blooms both in partial shade and in open spaces, however, plants planted in the shade have a more intense, bright color, which is so necessary for an ornamental variety.

Hosta "Albopikta" is a successful combination of unpretentiousness and maximum attractiveness of the decorative look. It can be combined with any flowering crops, coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs. In landscape design, the plant is successfully used to decorate borders, garden paths and paths; it is planted in groups and separately near artificially created reservoirs, in flower beds, rocky gardens and on alpine hills.

It is allowed to use hosta leaves to create bouquets.

SIZE RANGE HOST

Just like all other hosts, yellow-leaved varieties, depending on the size of the bush, are divided into six categories: giant (giant), large (large), medium (medium), small (small), mini-hosts (mini) and dwarfs (dwarf).

Perhaps the most famous giant of the yellow-leaved group is, of course, Sum and Substancerapidly growing up to 180 cm in diameter. She has huge (45 x 40 cm) glossy heart-shaped leaves of bright yellow color. She not only feels great in the sun, but also shows her best qualities and brightness of color there. In partial shade it turns slightly green, acquiring a chartreuse shade.

Another huge classic yellow-leaved hosta, sun-tolerant cultivar Zounds, in an adult state reaches a diameter of 120 cm. Large hosta Golden medallion forms a dense clump of yellow-green leaves.

Golden Sun power enters the top 25 (2014) of the best yellow host, forms a spectacular fountain-shaped bush up to 150 cm in diameter. City lights ("City lights"), a large hosta with a vase-shaped bush and dense leaves on high petioles, turns bright golden in summer.

Another large, unusually bright yellow hosta with wavy leaves Dancing queen ("Dancing queen") by the end of summer changes color to a pale yellow-green. From a medium-sized host, the following excellent varieties deserve attention: Pauls Glory, Orange Marmalade, Rainforest Sunrise, Kabitan, Tire Islandpopular Marrakech with dazzling yellow lanceolate leaves with a ruffled border and pink peduncles (viridescent, by autumn the leaves lose their yellowness and become blocky green).

The smart Jimmy Crack Corn with its bright golden leaves is a real eye-catcher in any garden setting. Of the new ones, you should pay attention to Flemish Gold, Dutch Flame ("Dutch flame"), Frisian Pride ("pride of Friesland"); Mango Salsa ("mango sauce") combines smooth yellow leaves with bright red petioles and deep purple flowers

Among the yellow hosts, there are also crumbs and dwarfs. Cracker Crumbs, a new generation small host (2002), forms a lush bush. Another baby, Gold Drop, looks like a dense bump in a flower garden as an adult. Hosta Bitsy Gold, miniature, with shiny, wavy along the edge, strongly elongated leaves (2 x 12 cm), in the spring - the color of chartreuse, in the summer - it turns bright yellow. Golden Needles have dense bright yellow round leaves. A wonderful little variety Ladybug ("ladybug") grows into a dense round bush with bright yellow leaves with a slightly waffle texture and outlines reminiscent of the well-known bug.

Why do flower growers choose host

Why is the host so fond of?

First of all, recognition was won by the amazing decorative qualities of the leaves. Looking at the giant, up to one and a half meters, "burdocks" funkii and miniature rosettes 15 centimeters in diameter with delicate corrugated leaves sitting right there, it is very difficult to imagine that this is one and the same plant

And how many intermediate forms and shades a host can give!
Perhaps the most important thing in understanding the popularity of the host is that the cultivation of this wonderful plant is available to everyone - both a venerable professional gardener and a novice amateur. The plant's agricultural technology is very simple: the hosta does not require complex pruning, pesticide treatment, mandatory division and winter shelter.

In addition, the function is a long-liver, so more than one generation of garden owners will admire it.
And the final touch to revealing the secret of love for hosts is its versatility. Almost any flower garden or composition in the garden will sparkle with new colors when replanting a decorative funkia bush. She will highlight the best features of any plant and masterfully hide its inaccuracies.

You can read more about taking care of the host in a separate article.

Disembarkation host

Regarding the landing of the host. If the host seedlings have not expanded the leaves, then you can already plant (the seedlings have just been received / purchased, and only a small green nose is visible). Yes, in principle, no subtleties: plant it up with the awakened bud, sprinkle it a little with earth.

In general, it is better for the host - to lie in the refrigerator and sleep, do not put them in pots early. Naturally, you need to watch so that they do not rot, so that the rhizome does not dry out, etc. Hosts should be planted if in your refrigerator the sprout from it turns green and grows, the sprout and root collar may rot. If the host is stored normally - it does not rot, the sprout does not turn green - then it can be stored further. Wrap sphagnum in moss and refrigerate - the place should be dry and cool. Well, check how she is there. Hosts are usually kept with small white sprouts that do not grow in size.
 

If the host seedlings were grown at home in pots, the hosts were unrolled and released several leaves each, then they should be planted after return frosts - at the end of May / beginning of June. Or, if planted, then cover with a thin layer of agril. I planted both in pots in the spring, and immediately in the ground. From experience it seemed to me that it was better to go straight into the ground (overexposed rhizomes (hosts are not bulbous, but rhizome) in the refrigerator, in the fruit compartment, before planting). If you plant in a pot, then when transplanted into the ground, it sheds its leaves, and the bush turns out to be less decorative this summer. And I plant it: I tear apart the tetrapak and plant it in a hole with humus.

Types and varieties of hosts with photos

Plants such as hosts are very popular in landscape design. At the moment, there are more than 4 thousand.varieties of hybrid hosts. However, the main species, which served as a kind of material for creating all this diverse splendor, are relatively few. The main types that were used by breeders:

Khosta curly

The bush reaches a height of 60 centimeters, its wide dark green leaf plates have a white border, for example: Dream Weaver;

Hosta high

The bush reaches a height of 0.9 meters, large shiny leaves are painted in dark green, for example: Tom Schmid;

A bush up to 50 centimeters high, green leaves are bordered by a creamy strip, for example: albopicta;

The bush is about 60 centimeters high, veins are clearly visible on the leaf plates, for example: Elegans;

Hosta wavy

The height is about 75 centimeters, the edge of the leaf plates is wavy, the central part is white with a green border with strokes, for example: Undulata Mediovariegata;

The height is about 50 centimeters, the leaves have a pointed tip, for example: Thomas Hogg;

Khosta plantain

The height is about 50 centimeters, the shiny leaves are painted in a deep green color, for example: Royal Standart.

Fashionable host varieties

Varieties are classified by size and color

Such plants are divided into 5 groups according to the color of the leaves:

• hosta blue (hosta blue-B) - the color of the leaf plates is gray-blue;
• hosta yellow (Go) - it includes all these plants that have yellow leaves;
• hosta green (Gr) - green leaves;
• hosta variegata (V) - varieties with variegated foliage, and also varieties with a light edge along the edge of the leaf plate;
• hosta mediovariety (MV) - light colored leaf plates have a green border around the edge.

There are 6 groups separating hosts by size:

1. Dwarf - bushes no higher than 10 centimeters, Draft (D): Blue Mouse Ears (light blue leaf plates are very similar to mouse ears).
2. Miniature - the height varies from 10 to 15 centimeters, Miniature (Mini): La Donna (the leaves are painted simultaneously in yellow, blue and green).
3. Small - height 16–25 centimeters, Small (S): Hosta Goldtone (there is a strip of yellow or white on the green leaf plates), Headsmen Blue (greenish-blue leaves).
4. Medium - height 30-50 centimeters, Medium (M, Med): Night Before Christmas (the leaves are dark green, and their central part is white), So Sweet (the green leaf plates have a whitish-cream border), White Feather ( this unique plant has a white leaf, but it acquires a green color over time).
5. Large ― height 55-70 centimeters, Large (L): Alvatine Taylor (green-blue leaves have a yellow-green border), Golden Meadows (wrinkled, rounded leaf plates have a middle golden color, a rather wide greenish border and light green strokes ).
6. Giant - more than 70 centimeters in height, Giant (G): Blue Vision (greenish-blue leaves), Sum of All (the central part of the leaf plate is green and there is a golden border of a fairly large width).