Spirea: planting and care
Spirea or meadowsweet plants have been known for a long time. Even in the works of the culture of Ancient Greece, it was mentioned about an unpretentious plant with very flexible stems. Now there are about a hundred species of spirea growing in the steppe and forest-steppe. Some species of meadowsweet can also exist in semi-desert conditions.
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Planting spirea
The process of planting this shrub is carried out in the off-season. Spring bushes spirea are planted until the first foliage appears. When buying a meadowsweet seedling, you should carefully consider the root system. The roots must be flexible and resilient. Shoots should not break and they should have live buds. Before planting, it is recommended to soak the roots of the plant for a while in a bucket of water.
Spireas love good lighting and fertile soil. Please note that this plant produces many basal shoots. Therefore, set aside a larger area under the spirea bush.
For planting, make a hole with vertical walls, the volume of which is 30% more than the volume of the spirea roots. Leave the pit to sit for three days. It is better to plant meadowsweet in cloudy or even rainy weather. Make drainage layer 20 centimeters and add soil from 2 parts of leafy earth, 1 part of sand and 1 part of peat to the hole. Carefully place the root system in the hole and cover with soil on top. Immediately after planting, water the bush with water and lay the peat on top as mulch.
If the process of planting a plant takes place in the fall, then this must be done before the end of the leaf fall. During this period, spirea is usually transplanted. To do this, the bush is dug up, then the root system is washed from the ground. At this stage, if necessary, the bush can be divided into several parts. After that, a new hole is dug and the plant is planted in the described way.
Spirea varieties
As we have already noted, about a hundred species of spirits have been bred. The most popular varieties are:
- Gray spirea was bred in the middle of the last century. This branchy shrub with felt shoots is capable of reaching two meters in height. It has gray-green pointed leaves and small white flowers.
- Spirea argut begins to bloom early. This plant blooms very beautifully and powerfully. During the flowering period, the bush is covered with a continuous openwork blanket. Spirea Arguta has a large crown with narrow leaves of a rich green color.
- At the end of May, the flowering period of the Vangutta spirea begins. In this variety, flowers form cluster-like umbrellas on last year's branches. A distinctive feature of this variety is the blue-green foliage.
- In the southern regions of our country, crenate spirea grows. This variety of spirea grows up to one meter in height and has oblong leaves with three veins.
Spirea care
Like other ornamental shrubs, the spirea needs to be cut from time to time. Cultivars that bloom early are usually pruned after they have faded. If the plant blooms in summer, then pruning is done in early spring. The lack of pruning leads to the fact that the spirea bush becomes too large, stops blooming and turns into unsympathetic thickets.
Spirea bushes need regular watering... Moreover, during the flowering period, watering should be more intense. To retain moisture longer, mulch the soil around the bush after each watering.
Spirea bushes need to be fed two or three times per season. Mineral fertilizers are used for this in the complex. The first time it is recommended to fertilize in early spring, the second time to fertilize the plant in early June.
Spirea is usually not covered for the winter. This is a fairly frost-resistant plant that can withstand frosts up to 50 degrees. The exception is the seedlings planted in the fall. Such a plant must be covered for the winter. Depending on the variety of the bush, its shoots are either tied at the top with a bundle, or bent and pinned to the ground, covering the top with a layer of dry foliage.
Reproduction of spirea
There are several ways multiply spirea. Some plant species reproduce well by seeds. To do this, it is necessary to prepare seed boxes from the summer, collecting them still unopened. Once ripe, the seeds are harvested and left until planting. Seeds are sown into the ground from one share of vermiculite and four shares of peat. After sprinkling the seeds with soil, this place must be sprayed with water and covered with a film. When shoots appear, the film is removed. After two months, young plants must be dived and planted in boxes. They will spend the whole summer there. In the fall, they need to be planted in the garden, and the next year - in a permanent place. Seed-grown spireas begin to bloom after three years.
Hybrid varieties of spirea are propagated by cuttings. To obtain cuttings, only branches that are 1 year old are used, which grow straight up. They are cut into cuttings with five leaves. The lower leaves are removed, and the remaining ones are cut off in half. Then the cuttings must be placed in Epin's solution for 12 hours for speedy rooting. After that, the cut site is treated with a special powder called Kornevin for the early formation of roots. Plant the cuttings in moistened sand at an acute angle to a depth of about 2 cm. Keep the cuttings in the shade and spray regularly to moisturize. For the winter, dig in a container with cuttings and cover with a layer of foliage. In the spring, planting material can be planted in the garden.
Spireas: photo
