Growing heliotrope: planting and care in the open field

One of the plants that can decorate your flower bed is heliotrope. Its attractiveness is in bright, unbroken flowering with a vanilla scent. A special feature of heliotrope is the ability to turn the heads of flowers behind the movement of the sun. Hence the name of the plant, which in Greek means "turning for the sun." In our article we will tell you how to plant and grow heliotrope in your flower bed.

How to grow heliotrope from seed

Planting heliotrope seedlings can be done with the help of seeds.The plant belongs to the perennial, but in our regions it is grown as an annual. With good care heliotrope can please you for many years. In winter, the plant must be placed in rooms with a temperature of 12-15 ° C.

When breeding heliotrope from seeds, there are some drawbacks. First, the plant blooms only in the fall, and secondly, the inflorescences are small.

Soil: composition and preparation for planting

Heliotrope in open ground demanding of the soil. For good plant growth, it must contain the necessary amount of nutrients. But to propagate a plant with seeds, use a mixture of sand and peat or flower soil from a store.

Proper seed sowing

Sowing seeds is best done in late February or early March. To do this, place the soil in a container and lightly tamp it. Scatter the heliotrope seeds evenly over the surface of the soil and sprinkle them on top with a layer of 1-2 mm of soil. Watering should be carried out in small portions or using a sprayer.Using a plastic film create the effect of a greenhouse and place it in a warm place with a temperature of 18-20 ° C. It is necessary to wait for the emergence of seedlings three to four weeks after sowing. Remove the film and then keep the plant at a temperature of 20-22 ° C on the windowsill. Seedlings can develop well with ambient light.

Care of seedlings

Shoots need regular watering and sufficient lighting. When to dive heliotrope? Pick up the plant is carried out in pots with a diameter of 9 cm with the appearance of two leaves, and after two weeks you can feed the plant with fertilizer for seedlings. For picking use the same soil mixture as for sowing. Before picking, it is necessary to water the plant and with the help of a scoop to get the root, while preserving the soil on the roots as much as possible. The procedure for the plant is stressful, so the leaves can fall. After picking, the plant must be watered and covered for a while with a film until rooting.

Planting heliotrope seedlings in open ground

The plant can be planted in open ground, when the night frosts are.

Optimum landing times

The optimal time for planting heliotrope seedlings is the beginning of June.

Site selection and soil preparation

Before planting heliotrope, care must be taken to choose the optimal place. It should be borne in mind that the plant belongs to the light-loving and fastidious to the soil. The soil should be loose, permeable and fertile. It should be borne in mind that the plant feels bad under the scorching sun.

Correct fit

Planting seedlings carried out by the method of transshipment. In the hole, you must first add the humus, then carefully place the plant along with the earthy clod and cover it with garden soil. At the end we water.

Plant care in the process of growing

Some growers may get the impression that heliotrope is a very picky plant. This is not entirely true. The main thing is to carry out all care procedures correctly and on time.

Watering and spraying plants

The plant needs to be watered properly. On the one hand, flowers love moisture, on the other - they do not tolerate excess water. It is necessary to ensure that the soil was watered moderately and not allow it to dry out. Spraying will help bring conditions closer to tropical and will benefit the plant.

Mulching and soil loosening

In order to care for the plant does not take a lot of time, it is necessary to mulch the soil with compost or peat around it. If this is not done, then to prevent crusts on the ground, it is often necessary to loosen the soil. Besides, mulching prevents weed germination and retains moisture in the soil.

Top dressing and fertilizer of the soil

Fertilizing the plant is necessary to carry out mineral fertilizers once every two weeks. Especially in need of feeding the period before the appearance of flowers. After their appearance in fertile soil suspend feeding.

Benefits of nipping for heliotrope

In order to heliotrope had the appearance of a lush bush with a lot of inflorescences, you must pinch it. The process of removing the top point of growth allows stimulation of the growth of lateral shoots. Heliotropes pinch over 5-6 leaf when the seedling reaches a height of 10 cm.After that, the seedling will stall in growth for a week, it's not scary. But later the plant will not grow as up as in breadth.

When and how to collect heliotrope seeds

You need to know that heliotrope seeds ripen for a long time, so do not rush to cut the inflorescences immediately after flowering. When collecting seeds, an important condition for their germination is full maturation, which does not occur in all climatic zones. Therefore, if you are not sure of the ripening of seeds, it is better to purchase them at a flower shop. On the full maturation of seeds can indicate blackened inflorescences. It is necessary to cut them and in the boxes formed in the place of flowers, look for seeds. Moreover, the boxes should also be black. Dry seeds the size of a poppy seed. Usually in each box there are 4 of them. Seed material must be dried and stored in a paper bag until spring.

How to propagate heliotrope with cuttings

In order to propagate heliotrope using cuttings, queen cells are needed. They are kept in the winter in greenhouses.Perennial plants are better suited for queen cells, as they hibernate well and give many cuttings in spring. The process of grafting should be carried out from the end of February to May. Cuttings should have 3-4 internodes. To reduce the loss of moisture, the leaves in the cuttings are pruned, and the base is treated with root growth stimulants. Put in boxes with the soil consisting of humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 1. Planted cuttings are sprinkled with sand up to 1.5 cm in layer and watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Using a polyethylene film, they create a greenhouse effect and maintain the temperature in the range of 22-25 ° C.

Airing and watering cuttings are carried out daily. It is necessary to wait for the appearance of roots in 15-20 days. After rooting, the cuttings are seated in peat pots. The substrate should be more nutritious and consist of peat, sod land and sand at a ratio of 4: 2: 1. You should also add mineral fertilizer. During the first week, the plant should be pritenyat and sprayed with water 2-3 times a day. In order for the plant to go wide, you should pinch it several times. When planting cuttings in open ground, make sure that the distance between the seedlings is at least 15-20 cm.

Heliotrope in landscape design

The plant is widely used in landscape design. Bright flowers from June to autumn frosts can decorate each flower bed. The plant is often used as a carpet, for borders, for decorating balconies, in creating various compositions. What does heliotrope combine with? The plant can perfectly coexist with salvia, begonias, pelargoniums, petunias, coreopsis, rudbeckia, coleus, etc. Heliotrope stands out most clearly against the background of a green lawn. If a plant is formed as it grows, then it is possible to give a shrub or stem form.

Pests and diseases of heliotrope: how to deal with them

The plant pests include spider mites, aphids and whiteflies. If black spots appear on the leaves of the plant, which lead to the drying up of young shoots and the fall of the foliage of the plant, then it is affected by a tick. The presence under the young leaves of green, black or white small dots indicates the presence of aphids or whitefly. To control pests using a plant treatment with insecticides.

Diseases affecting heliotrope include gray mold. From the disease will save the treatment of plants with a fungicide.

Heliotrope and magic

Heliotrope was widely used in the Middle Ages for magical rituals and was one of the 12 magical plants of the Order Rosenkreutzers. It is believed that the plant gathered in the full moon has the greatest magical power. Used it to protect the house from thieves, in the rite to expel evil forces from the house, for the love spell. Witches use the heliotrope's magical properties as a means of giving them the opportunity to fly.

Truly magical is the aroma of the plant, which is widely used in the perfume industry. Most often heliotrope is considered as a symbol of loyalty and consent. Therefore, to harmonize relations, it is recommended to plant it in a flower bed. If you are tired of confusion and misunderstanding, perhaps heliotrope will help with this.