Aquilegia, or Elf Shoes

general description

It is a herbaceous perennial with erectstems up to a meter high. Leaves openwork with a blue bloom. Roots go deep into the soil to a depth of 60 cm. Flowers in aquilegia are large, up to 11 cm in diameter, but more often 3-5 cm, drooping, very recognizable - bell-shaped, with and without spurs, are terry and simple. Coloring red, white, purple, yellow, often bicolour.

Varieties

The most interesting are such varieties aswhite and red aquilem Crimson Star (Christmas Star), pink terry Nora Barlow, white Alaska with exceptionally large flowers. More often, the seeds of aquilegia are sold in a mixture, and then on the bags with its seeds there will be a photo of many varieties selected at once for the same period of flowering and leveled. Now in the world the varieties of the so-called parakvilegia are gaining popularity - they are watersheds with shapeless double flowers of the original drooping form with almost round petals.

How to grow aquilegia

The plant is very undemanding, but stillprefers moderately moist light and loose soils with the addition of sand, compost, peat. He likes abundant food - making compost and wood ash. Contrary to the name (aqua-Latin means water), does not like abundant watering and the close occurrence of groundwater. It can grow in the sun and penumbra, in the first case it will be necessary to water more often, so that the flowering does not stop before the due date.

Aquilegia is very suitable for landingmulti-colored groups on lawns in the half-shade of trees and shrubs, in this capacity it can often be seen in city parks. For example, in the Alexander Park in Moscow, groups of watersheds with incredibly large flowers blossom annually on the lawn. In the cut, aquilegia is short-lived, although it can be used in a limited way.

How to plant an aquilege

Valuable varieties can be propagated by dividing the bush. The bush needs to be dig out entirely, to cut off all leaves except for 3-4 youngest, roots to wash from the ground. The root of the catchment resembles a root crop, it needs to be cut with a sharp knife along to get the 2-3 buds of renewal on each. Slices powdered with crushed charcoal, then planted in the nutrient soil, deepening the neck by 3-4 cm. Thus, the bushes are divided early in the spring or late summer.

Seed reproduction - how to stratify and sow the seeds of aquilegia

Stratification of the seeds of aquilegia, without which they do notwill germinate as follows. The crops are lightly sprinkled with a moist substrate, covered and held for 2 weeks at a temperature of + 10C. Then germinate at + 20C. Seedlings appear after 3-4 weeks and grow well at a temperature of +12 - + 15C. Seedlings of aquilegia are dived when the first real leaf appears and is planted in the ground, when the threat of nocturnal frosts passes. Sown in the spring, the catchment will blossom in the same year.