Shrub amorph: reproduction, care and use
Shrub amorph is a plant with large flowers of an original shape, which remain open for almost a month. In addition to beautiful flowers, amorphous is used in medicine to treat certain types of diseases.
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Shrub amorph: description
Amorphous shrub grows wild throughout the United States, northern Mexico and parts of Canada. This is a plant that is undemanding to growing conditions. Therefore, it has taken root well in Europe and Asia. In some of these regions, the amorph has become a common plant, forming dense wild thickets.
Features of the structure of the amorph:
- Shrub amorph has an oval crown and reaches a height of 1.5 to 4.5 m. It depends on the temperature regime in the growing region.
- Barrel color is dark gray. The bush consists of a large number of branches covered with hard white fibers. The bark is brown. The branches grow upward.
- Amorphous leaves are large, about 30 cm. The leaf consists of ten pairs of rounded leaves, each of which reaches 4 cm long and about 1.5 cm wide. Each of them is crowned with a thorn, and dark pinpoint glands are visible on the surface of the leaf blade. Amorphous leaves contain essential oils that can be felt after rubbing the leaf.
- The amorph begins to bloom in mid-June. Brushes with flowers are located at the tops of the shoots, grow vertically. The flowers are small, with short peduncles and scaly bracts. They have only one petal, a two-lipped sail-shaped corolla that protrudes from the bell-cup. The flowers form an inflorescence of spikes. Coloring - different tones of purple. The stamens are yellow, they are clearly visible in the inflorescence. The length of the brush reaches 15 cm. Flowers have a vanilla scent.
- Fruits - beans up to 8 cm long, 2 cm wide. Each of them contains smooth the seeds kidney-shaped, about 3 mm long. Their ripening time depends on the ambient temperature. They usually turn brown for a month and a half: from late September to early November. Once fully ripe, the beans remain on the branch and can hang until spring comes.
Amorph belongs to the legume family. Root system plants are branched. Like all legumes, nodules are located on small roots, which contribute to filling the soil with nitrogen. The amorphous shrub species has many different forms.
Growing conditions
Shrub amorph differs in undemanding to growing conditions, tolerates wind well, withstands strong gas pollution of city air. It is a rather thermophilic plant. It can withstand frosts down to -23 degrees.
The most resistant to low temperatures amorphous shrub and dwarf. The amorphous growing area runs south of the Petrograd-Novosibirsk-Khabarovsk line. With a strong drop in temperature, annual shoots or even all branches freeze slightly. But the root remains, so by the end of summer the plant is practically recovering. It is growing rapidly. New shoots have time to bloom and bear fruit.
The amorphous is demanding for lighting, therefore, in the wild, it often grows on illuminated edges.
It stops blooming in the shade. Amorphous attachment to water is known. It is there that the thickets are especially lush. Amorph grows well on any soil, be it salt marsh or sand. It is better if it is wet. Grows well on light sandy, loamy calcareous soils.
Reproduction and care
Shrub amorph is propagated:
- Seeds
- By dividing the bush
- Root shoots
- Cuttings
Bush amorph does not like transplanting. Its roots are easily injured, which is why the plant does not take root well in a new place. The easiest way is to buy a ready-made seedling with a closed root system. It is better to plant seedlings and root shoots in spring, before the leaves bloom.
When growing amorphous seeds from seeds, the beans are placed in warm water for 12 hours. Then the water is drained, covered with a light substrate, periodically watered. The seeds germinate for about 2 months. It is easier to first stratify them for 2 months at temperatures up to 5 ° C, and then put them on germination. Then the sprouts will appear much faster. Approximately 40 percent of the seeds germinate. After the seedlings grow up, they are transplanted into pots. Plants will spend their first winter in a basement or other cool room. You can plant in a permanent place in the spring.
In June, cuttings are prepared and rooted in a greenhouse, this method gives a good result, almost 90 percent of the cuttings take root successfully.
Shrub amorph is very easy to care for. It only needs to be watered for the first year as needed. Further watering carried out only in very dry periods. Closer to autumn, they do not water it so that the shoots become lignified and do not freeze in winter. The first three years the trunk circle mulch and cover for the winter with branches or other materials. In the future, it is enough to bend the branches to the ground for the winter.
Amorph lends itself well to the formation of a bush with the help trimming... This allows you to create bushes of the desired shape. Shrub amorph does not need additional feeding. Pests do not damage it, because they are frightened off by the smell of leaves. Diseases of amorphous with various diseases have not been noticed. This makes it easier to grow the plant.
The use of amorphous shrub
Shrub amorph is well known for its medicinal properties. It contains pinitol alcohol, flavonoids (mainly in fruits), amorphrutins, amino acids, peptides. They mainly use the property of flavonoids, which calm the nervous system, have a positive effect on the work of the heart. Flowers and beans are harvested for treatment. There are vitamins and minerals there. The leaves, fruits, flowers of the plant contain a small amount of essential oils and natural indigo dye. In China, leaves are also used for treatment.
Collect recently opened flowers and beans, which have acquired a brown color.
As folk remedies, amorph is used to treat vegetative-vascular dystonia, diseases of the nervous system, and tachycardia. For this, tinctures or decoctions are prepared, most often with other medicinal plants of a similar effect. For the preparation of raw materials, the collected flowers or fruits are laid out in a thin layer on a thick cloth or cardboard in a ventilated place. Make sure that the sun's rays do not fall on him. In wet weather, you can use a dryer, but the temperature in it should not exceed 50 degrees. Knowing that the beans are ready is very simple: if they break, the raw material is ready. You can store it for 2 years.
Amorphous fruits and flowers are used to repel insects. To do this, it is enough to spread fresh branches or inflorescences in places where pests may be. Bush amorph is used as an ornamental plant, especially in the southern regions. It forms picturesque thickets, can grow in group plantings. Amorphous is beautiful from spring to autumn, especially in the period flowering.
More information can be found in the video: