Violet grows poorly and does not bloom. Why doesn't the room violet bloom? These are the kids I bought.

Erica is a very numerous genus from the heather family, which includes, according to various sources, from 600 to 850 species. They are mainly semi-shrub and shrub plants, with a height of 20 cm to 2 m, but there are exceptions to the genus - Erica arborea and Erica scoparia, with the shape of a tree and capable of reaching 5-7 meters in height. But still, most erics are green shrubs with hard, small, needle or scaly foliage. Their flowers are small, bell-shaped, cup-shaped, tubular or barrel-shaped, white, pink ( different shades), red. Many varieties, in the period before flowering, outwardly resemble coniferous species. Origin: Europe, Mediterranean, South Africa.

The following varieties are widely used in horticulture:

Landing. Care and cultivation.

Most types and forms of erica prefer rich, loose, acidic soils. Some species grow well on neutral and alkaline soils. It grows best in partial shade, but can also grow in sunlit areas. They do not tolerate stagnant water. When overdrying, the leaves turn brown, dry out and crumble. When grown in dry conditions, they need regular irrigation.

For distillation, rooted cuttings are planted in small plastic and ceramic pots with obligatory drainage layer. In summer they are kept in a prikope in open ground conditions with light shading. For landscaping, it is necessary to cultivate for two years in cool greenhouses or shady areas. Forcing plants are brought in December in closed ground with a temperature of 6-8 ° C (10 days), then the temperature is increased to 13-15 ° C. To extend the flowering period to 2-3 months, the temperature should be lowered after flowering begins. The soil is preferably moist, and the irrigation water is the same temperature at which the plants are kept.

Reproduction.

Propagated by seeds, cuttings and division. The seeds are small, so growing plants from them is laborious. The seeds are sown in closed ground in boxes or in bowls without sealing and kept under cover until mass shoots. A substrate of coniferous, heather earth and sand is moistened with a spray bottle. At a temperature of 18-20 ° C and daily spraying 1-2 times a day, seedlings appear in 1-4 months. Seedlings dive into the above mixture. For the summer, they are taken out into open ground or a greenhouse with shading on hot days. In autumn, plants are placed in cool greenhouses at a temperature of 10-12 ° C.

Most in a rational way propagation is cuttings. For cuttings, the tops of semi-lignified shoots are mainly used. Grow cuttings in various substrates: peat and sand, peat and perlite. At a temperature of 18-20 ° C and frequent spraying, the cuttings take root en masse in a month. After the cuttings have taken root, it is recommended to transplant them in order to avoid yellowing in the future.

These highly ornamental plants are used in parks, rocky alpine and winter gardens, are used as a pot and forcing culture. Except decorative features, the plant has other features. For example, from roots tree view pipes are made for smoking, as they keep heat very well. High-quality pipes are made from hundred-year-old roots. They are also considered excellent honey plants.

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The erica plant is a beautiful evergreen herbaceous or treelike shrub of the heather family with narrow, bright green, needle-shaped leaves and small, bell-like flowers.

Flower color ranges from white and pink to red and purple. Flowering is so abundant that no leaves are visible. Thanks to its unpretentiousness and attractiveness, Erica is loved by gardeners.

Grow her in open ground and in pots. Erica reproduces vegetatively and by seeds.

Seedlings are planted on the site immediately, and erica is grown from seeds in room conditions, and only a year later they are planted in open ground.

• Blush (herbal)- This is a shrub up to 60 cm tall, blooms from April. The color of the flowers is pink, reddish, rarely white.
• is a hybrid of Erica ruddy, plant height - up to 50 cm. It is distinguished by good winter hardiness and a long period flowering. The color of the flowers varies from white and lilac-pink to purplish-pink and purple.
• - bred more often as a pot culture. Blooms reddish, white and pink flowers several months from November.
• - reaches a height of 20 cm, blooms from April with red flowers.

All these types of Erica are propagated by cuttings or seeds.

Planting a flower on the site

On the permanent place erica planted in spring before or after flowering. The place is chosen sheltered from drafts, well lit. Without direct sun, the color of the leaves and flowers turns pale.

Erica prefers light, breathable, acidic soil. Therefore, peat and sand are introduced into the soil.

erica water stagnation can't stand, you need to plant it in places where there will be no heaps of melted snow in the spring. Potted crops require good drainage.

Plants are planted at a distance of 50 cm, keeping a planting density of 5-6 bushes per 1 sq.m. Planting depth - 20-25 cm, the root neck is not deepened. For good rooting and growth for the first couple of months, the plants are watered in a day or two.

Care

Plant roots are shallow, so loosen the soil superficially to a depth of 6 cm.

You can mulch the soil with peat, pine needles, sawdust or bark with a layer of 5 cm. Mulch acidifies the soil, prevents the growth of weeds, conserves moisture and ensures a safe wintering.

top dressing

Erica is fertilized when planting bushes, before flowering, and also after pruning. scatter under the bushes or add to the water when watering. They are fed with complex mineral fertilizers, such as Kemira-universal (20-30 g per 1 sq.m.), fertilizers for rhododendrons or azaleas, but in smaller dosages.

Erica should not be fertilized with fresh organics.

Watering

Although Erica is drought-resistant crop, drying of the soil should not be allowed. Watered with warm soft water and sprayed periodically.

pruning

Pruning provides rich flowering and improves bushiness. Lignified branches do not form new shoots, therefore, after flowering, they cut off the part where the leaves grow.

Pruning is carried out asymmetrically - it gives the bushes a more attractive natural look.

Wintering

Trunk circles of bushes fall asleep with a layer up to 10 cm dry foliage or peat. Plants are covered with spruce branches: it protects from the cold, prevents condensation and acidifies the soil with needles.

reproduction

cuttings

Erica is propagated by apical cuttings before flowering or a month after it.

The cuttings are cut 2-3 cm long and planted in an earthen mixture of 2 parts of peat and 1 part of sand, deepening 1/3 of the length into the ground. From above, the soil is sprinkled with sand with a layer of 1 cm.

Pots with cuttings are covered with polyethylene or glass, kept at a temperature 18-20 degrees shading from the sun. Regularly fertilize with microfertilizers and a weak solution of urea. After 3-4 weeks, the seedlings should take root.

layering

Spring on the bushes choose strong shoots, tilted to loosened soil, attached with wire or hairpin, covered with earth.

The soil is moistened, preventing drying. When the shoots take root, they are carefully separated and seated.

seeds

For sowing seeds, an earthen mixture is prepared from heather, coniferous land and sand (in a ratio of 2:1:1). The seeds are small, they are not covered with earth, but only slightly pressed against the soil. The soil is moistened with a spray gun, and the humidity is kept high for a week.

The container is covered with glass or polyethylene, the temperature is maintained at 18-20 ° C, aired daily. Seedlings will appear in a month.

Reproduction by seeds laborious, therefore, it is rarely used and mainly for natural varieties plants.

By dividing the bush

An old adult bush is dug up, divided with a knife or a shovel into parts and seated.

Diseases and pests

Fungal diseases:

• Gray rot- a gray coating appears on the branches, the plant sheds foliage, the branches partially die off. The reason is high humidity.
• powdery mildew- young branches dry up, and the plant is covered with a white-gray bloom.
• Rust- red-brown spots form on the leaves.

Spraying with antifungal fungicides such as Topaz or Fundazol is recommended, and in severe cases - Bordeaux liquid or 1% solution blue vitriol. After 5-10 days, the treatment is repeated.

At viral the disease deforms the flowers and shoots, the color of the buds and foliage changes. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease, the bushes will have to be dug up and burned.

When defeated worm and spider mite cotton-like bloom and cobwebs appear on the bushes on the underside of the leaves, the foliage is deformed and turns yellow. Treatment with fungicides is recommended, for example, "" or "Aktellik"

The use of landscape design

Erica used in singles and group landings, as groundcover and as a pot culture for decorating porches and windows.

decorative and organic Erica bushes look in company with barberry, heather, cereals, decorative ground covers, Japanese spirea, undersized conifers.

Erica branches are used to form a winter bouquet. The cut branches are dried in a vase. Spray flowers with hairspray to prevent shedding.

Completely easy to care for, but amazing ornamental plant will decorate the garden and will delight with a palette of colors most of the year.

Erika is evergreen shrub from the Heather family, originally from South Africa. Some of the nearly 800 species known today grow in the Mediterranean.

Erica is very similar in appearance to heather, but much more showy. A bush with straight branches reaches 200 cm in height, there are species - trees, several meters high. The leaves of the plant are needles, up to 1 cm long.

Flowers-bells are small, collected in inflorescences-brushes. The color is predominantly white, pink, red, purple.

Popular types and varieties in the Moscow region

Erica herbal (ruddy). A dwarf evergreen shrub that forms a lush cushion of delicate greenery. It reaches a height of 20 - 40 cm, a width of up to half a meter. The shoots are rigid, the needle-leaves are small, when it gets cold they become bronze in color. Flowering is plentiful, occurs in April - May. The flowers are small, arranged in a one-sided brush, pink, red or white. Blooming erica exudes a pleasant honey aroma. Grows very slowly. Winter-hardy. Varieties:

• Aurea - a variety with yellow-colored foliage and pale pink flowers;
• Challenger - with bright crimson flowers;
• Golden star - the foliage has a golden hue, the flowers are white;
• Isabel - snow-white flowering;
• Rosalie - pink flowers;
• Rubra - pink inflorescences with a purple tint;
• Snow Queen - a variety with white flowers;
• Winter beauty - flowers of a rich pink hue;
• Winter ruby ​​- bright red flowers.

Erica is graceful. Bush, half a meter high, pyramidal shape. Leaflets linear, up to 4 mm, light green. The flowers are bright red, appear on the plant in October and bloom all winter. This variety is grown as a houseplant.

Erica cruciferous (four-dimensional). A lush shrub 40 - 50 cm high. The foliage is needle-shaped, gray-green in color. It blooms in mid - late summer with red or pink flowers. Varieties:

• Ardi - flowers are dark pink with a lilac tint;
• Pink glow - pink-lilac flowers;
• Silver bell - flowers are white with a silvery sheen;
• Pink star - pink bloom.

Erica Darlene. An evergreen spreading shrub up to 50 cm high. It grows rapidly and is distinguished by abundant flowering of pink or purple flowers. Varieties:

• Straightened silver - a variety with dark green foliage and white flowers;
• Darley Dale - abundant flowering lilac pink;
• Setting - purple flowers, with a pink tint.

Erika is pink. Winter-hardy look, reaching a height of 50 cm. It grows quickly, blooms pink.

reproduction

Erica can be propagated by seeds and cuttings. propagated by cuttings hybrid varieties that do not transmit their qualities through seeds. Cuttings are cut from the mother bush at the end of summer (August). Twigs are rooted in pots or plastic bottles in a sand-peat mixture. Put a storage bag over the pots high humidity air. Landings are regularly aired, watered and sprayed. Plants are brought indoors for the winter. Planted in the ground in the spring, when the weather warms up.

Erica seeds are grown through seedlings. Seeds are distributed over the surface of a moistened substrate consisting of peat and sand. Shoots will appear within a month. Seedling care consists in providing a temperature of +16 degrees, careful watering through the pan. When the seedlings grow to a height of 10 cm, they dive into separate pots. Plants are planted in open ground the following year.

Site selection and soil preparation

Erica - light-loving, but not enduring direct sun rays bush. At home cultivation it is placed on the eastern windowsills. In the garden, slopes facing east or west are suitable. You can plant a shrub under the trees so that their crown shade planting at noon.

The branches of Erica are fragile, so the plant is planted in places protected from the wind.

The shrub grows on a well-drained, rich nutrients soil. Stagnation of moisture at the roots is detrimental. good composition the substrate should include soddy soil, humus, sand and peat. Soil acidity for different types different. For example, erica darlinskaya grows only in acidic soil, and ruddy soil needs neutral.

In the garden, shrubs are planted only in spring, when the soil has warmed up to at least +10 degrees. AT middle lane and Moscow region, the plant is planted in May. autumn planting possible only in southern regions with warm winter, and even then there is a risk that the plant will not have time to take root.

Landing

Planting holes are prepared with a depth of 20–25 cm. Sand is poured onto the bottom, with a layer of 2–3 cm. If the soils are clayey and wet, the drainage layer is increased, and crushed stone or expanded clay is added to the sand. Next, the hole is filled with fertile soil mixed with peat and sand. The distance between Erica bushes is 40 - 60 cm.

The seedling, 2-3 hours before planting, is kept in water, with the addition of a root formation stimulator (Kornevin, Heteroauxin). After that, it is placed in a hole and covered with earth, having previously spread the roots and watered abundantly.

Care

Watering Erica is carried out regularly, with soft water, strictly under the root. For varieties - lovers of acidic soils, water can be acidified once a week citric acid or vinegar. The soil under the bush should not dry out. Mulching the surface of the earth with peat and sand will help preserve valuable moisture.

The plant reacts positively to spraying with cool water several times a week in summer period. In this case, you can not get on the flowers and spray in the midst of the heat!

Fertilizers are fed twice a year. In the spring, as soon as the soil has dried up after the snow has melted, superphosphate granules (30 g per 1 sq. Meter) are scattered under the bushes. After flowering, they are fed with a complex mineral fertilizer for rhododendrons and azaleas (Kemira, Agricola). Do not use fresh organic matter!

It is important to properly prune the shrub. In the spring, bushes are cleaned, removing broken, frozen and weak branches. After flowering, shoots with faded buds are shortened. Sections of branches are coated with garden pitch or a mixture of clay and mullein.

In open ground, Erica needs to be covered for the winter. As soon as the first cold weather begins, and a slight frost binds the soil, the shrubs are mulched with peat or fallen leaves. Top cover with spruce branches or agro fabric. At home, wintering takes place in a cool (+ 14 ... + 16 degrees) and bright room, with moderate watering.