Choosing an ampelous plant for the garden and at home - ivy-leaved pelargonium
Catchy inflorescences pelargonium on the windows, few people are surprised. Erect bushes of pelargonium or zonal geranium are well known and loved by flower growers, but ampelous varieties are not yet so well known and are only gaining popularity. But one has only to plant such a plant in a hanging planter or use it to decorate windowsills and balconies, it becomes clear that unpretentious, but unusually beautiful pelargoniums are simply irreplaceable in landscaping and can transform any corner.
In addition, Pelargonium peltatum, ampelous ivy-leaved pelargonium can be used on vertical surfaces, and, if desired, forms a dense flowering carpet if planted in the garden on a flat area. How to grow, propagate and care for pelargonium so that the plants enjoy flowering as long as possible, are attractive and healthy?
Read also the article:Potato pancakes with minced meat.
Growing ivy pelargonium
Umbellate inflorescences, combining from 6 to 15 flowers, are formed in the axils of green or, depending on the variety, variegated leaves. Today you can find ivy-leaved pelargonium with simple and spectacular double flowers of all tones and shades. It is not uncommon for varieties with contrasting spots on the petals, stripes and a brightly outlined border, as in the presented photo of ivy-leaved pelargonium.
Like other related species, ampelous pelargonium loves the bright sun, develops well and blooms with long daylight hours. The plant easily tolerates dry periods, and in the summer it blooms beautifully outside the house, for example, outside the window in a balcony box or in a flowerpot on a garden plot. At the same time, the optimal temperature of the content is 20-25 ° C, but even on hotter days with good watering, the bushes do not lose their decorative effect, do not wither and do not stop blooming.
If the ivy ampelous pelargonium is hardened, it is not afraid of cold snaps, but sub-zero temperatures are destructive for plants.
When choosing a soil mixture for planting plants, they try to make the soil moisture-consuming, loose and nutritious. However, stagnation of moisture in the soil is dangerous due to rotting of the root system, therefore, care is planned so that the surface of the soil dries out from one irrigation to another. The active growth of bushes begins in March and ends with the beginning of autumn. During this period, ivy pelargonium blooms profusely, and plants, especially those in pots, must be fed.
It is best to support the bushes with top dressing once a week, alternating organic and mineral supplements, but not get carried away with the introduction of nitrogen-containing substances.
If the soil is oversaturated with nitrogen, pelargoniums react with the rapid growth of shoots and foliage, but the flowering fades noticeably, the buds are formed less and less and, if the feeding scheme is not changed, it ends altogether. To form lush inflorescences of ivy-leaved pelargonium from spring to the end of summer, regular application is required potash and phosphorus mixtures.
Complex additives with a predominance of these elements are also suitable. Magnesium sulfate also becomes an excellent help for the grower. As a top dressing, this compound provides plants with magnesium and sulfur and provokes long bud formation.
When caring for pelargonium and reproduction of bushes, it is important to consider that not only nitrogen causes the growth of greenery and stops flowering. An oversized plant pot produces the same effect. Therefore, when planting, it is better to give preference to containers only for a finger thickness larger than the existing diameter of the root system. You can also plant several bushes in one pot or balcony box, which will prevent the plants from “forgetting” about the formation of buds, and will give the composition originality and splendor.
At the end of winter or in March, pruning of bare stems is carried out and the shoots are pinched, which makes the ampelous ivy-leaved pelargonium branch.
Ampel Pelargonium - summer outdoors
If pelargonium decorates a room, it does not have to adapt to changes in humidity, light and temperature, it blooms all summer in the most comfortable conditions, which cannot be said about plants exposed in the garden or outside the window. For the gradual acclimatization of ivy ampelous pelargoniums, the bushes planted in selected containers with the arrival of heat begin to be exposed to the street, making sure that the plants do not fall under the influence of subzero temperatures and are not in direct sunlight for a long time.
In May or a little later, when the frost season has passed, pelargoniums can be sent to a permanent place where they have to spend the whole summer, until autumn, when the air temperature begins to drop to 10-15 ° C. Ivy-leaved pelargoniums quickly enter the flowering time and are very attractive if bushes with a contrasting color of flowers bloom nearby.
Wintering conditions for ampel ivy-leaved pelargonium
With the onset of autumn, pelargoniums are returned to the room, but not to warm rooms, but create conditions for them close to winter in the homeland of plants - in South Africa.
- To do this, choose a bright, cool and dry place for pelargonium.
- Provide content temperature in the range of 7-15 ° C.
- Reduce watering, only moistening the soil to avoid root death.
- Leaves and stems do not moisturize, top dressing is completed a month before the start of wintering.
In the off-season, plants practically do not require special care, but it is not worth propagating pelargonium at this time. The cuttings root poorly, and the bushes are weak and elongated. If at home it is difficult to create a semblance of a South African winter, in August, apical cuttings are cut from large plants and rooted. Young plants can hibernate on cool windowsills inside the house, and in spring they can be planted on a balcony or garden.
Reproduction of ivy pelargonium
You can propagate your favorite varieties of ampel ivy-leaved pelargonium by cuttings and sowing seeds.
The first method is used more often, although the seeds of this species germinate well and give many powerful young bushes for planting. You can sow seeds from November to April, given that the sprouts in the winter must be additional lighting, providing 12-hour daylight hours.
In order for the seedlings to form a powerful root system, they make a loose and light soil, mixing peat, sand and turf, previously disinfected soil in equal parts:
- Seeds can be planted in large peat tablets or pots without deepening the seed more than 5 mm.
- Then the crops are covered with foil or placed in a greenhouse.
- Watering is done very carefully. And in order not to erode the soil, it is better to use a spray bottle.
After 7-10 days in a bright warm room, the first shoots will appear, and after a month, young ivy-leaved pelargoniums can be planted in pots and start feeding.
Reproduction and care of pelargonium in the case of cuttings are also not difficult. Cuttings are obtained by cutting off the apical parts of the vertical shoots in August or March. For better development, it is better to choose shoots at least 7-10 cm long with two pairs of healthy strong leaves. Rooting of cuttings is carried out in loose soil, where shoots treated with coal powder and dried for 12-15 hours are buried by 3-4 cm. Care during reproduction of pelargonium in this way is similar to growing bushes from seeds.
To cover the cuttings of pelargonium, it is better to use not a film, but a non-woven material that allows moisture to pass through and does not allow condensation to form.
After a month, the root system of the plants will get stronger, and the ivy ampelous pelargoniums can be transplanted into the pots selected by the size. Flowering from young bushes can be expected after the first wintering.
Pelargonium ivy diseases
Since pelargoniums are often planted in the garden or decorate balconies in summer, it is difficult for them to avoid fluctuations in humidity and temperature. Therefore, having seen rusty or dry spots, light areas or a yellow mosaic pattern on the leaves, the florist should be alert and think about the health of the plant.
Most often, ivy-leaved pelargoniums suffer from attack by harmful fungi, viral mosaic and chlorosis.
Depending on the nature of the disease, the bushes must be treated with special means of protection, feeding is being established and the irrigation schedule is revised. After all, it is the high humidity, lack of lighting and weakness of plants that are the main causes of pelargonium diseases. As a preventive measure, before planting pelargonium, they must disinfect the soil, prevent excessive density of the bushes, which interferes with ventilation and provokes the development of fungi and pests.
When loosening the soil under the plants, remove yellowed and fallen leaves, cut off withered inflorescences and prevent waterlogging of the soil.