Perennial purple lobelia flower: growing and caring for a plant

Lobelia purpurea has several names; in the scientific community, a flower is called cardinal or blood red due to the colorful bloom of a rich red hue.

The plant belongs to the bellflower family. Lobelia has a long stem, long, racemose inflorescences of bright purple color.

Only professional gardeners in aquariums or greenhouses are often engaged in breeding an elite plant, since it needs special care.

Appearance and habitat

Purple lobelia belongs to the genus lobelia of the bell family. The motherland of the flower is considered to be marshlands, ponds of North America, Canada, can be found in the southwestern United States and Colombia. A flower was discovered and introduced to European countries in the 17th century.

In modern floriculture, the cultivated varieties are widely used as perennial flowers that are grown as ornamental shrubs and as aquarium plants. The bush is not high, the height of an adult flower reaches 25-30 cm. The bush grows 10-15 cm wide. It grows and develops at an average speed.

Purple lobelia is distinguished by a long stem, it can grow up to 1 m in height. The stem is erect, thin, up to 0.3 cm in diameter. May have a pale olive, green and red color. The leaves are oval, 4 to 5 cm wide, grow alternately, and are arranged in spiral form on stems. The leaves are light green on top, the bottom of the leaf plate is painted in violet - red.

Petioles are thin, of medium length, up to 3-4 cm. The inflorescences are racemose in shape, long and unite a lot of bright purple flowers. The flower stalk grows up to 40 - 50 cm, in a semi-submerged state it throws flowers above the surface of the water.

Landing Features

What season is the best time to start?

For purple lobelia, the most optimal time for planting ready-made, grown and stronger seedlings is the beginning of summer. In warm climatic conditions, in the southern regions, young bushes can be planted in late May.

How to choose and prepare the soil?

The soil for purple lobelia should be special - loose, fine-grained, slightly silted. This variety of lobelia grows well near ponds.

The root of the flower consists of small main processes; on the stem at the base, water roots develop well, consuming a large amount of moisture. For better rooting, the substrate must be constantly moist.

For planting seeds, you can use a ready-made substrate for growing seedlings. You can prepare the soil mixture yourself:

• Neutral peat - 1 hour
• Humus - 1 hour
• Sand - 1 hour

Seed growing

Advantages and disadvantages

This method for purple lobelia is usually not used at home. Breeding this variety with seeds is a long, painstaking process, requires certain skills and conditions. Seedlings develop very slowly, they need special care, additional lighting in the early stages of growth.

Growing lobelia with purple seeds gives a lot of seedlings, which, with proper care, become strong and resistant to various stem and root diseases.

Important! Seeds are sown usually in late spring - early summer.

How to choose seeds?

Purple lobelia seeds develop in small boxes, ripen in late summer. Seeds are small, shiny, dark brown, elongated.

Collect seeds in time, as soon as the box becomes light brown in color and does not open spontaneously.

Typically, seeds are harvested in August, in dry weather, it is necessary to take into account some features of the collection and preparation of seeds for planting:

1. Seed boxes are cut together with shoots of 5 - 6 cm.
2. Cut boxes are laid out on paper for ripening and final drying.
3. Knead a box with your fingers, seeds are cleaned of excess litter.
4. Dry seeds are packaged in paper bags or glass containers.
5. You can sign the variety.
6. Store seeds only in a cool, dry place.
7. The shelf life of the seeds is 3 to 4 years.

Procedure

Seeds are planted in the ground usually in the spring. Planting scheme for purple lobelia seeds:

1. Special containers are used, spacious, low.
2. A specially prepared substrate is placed in the landing containers.
3. Evenly distribute the seeds on the surface, without burying them in the soil.
4. Abundantly spray the crop with clean, warm water from the spray gun.
5. Containers are covered with film or glass.
6. Seedlings are placed in a warm, bright place.
7. The temperature of seed germination is 22 - 24 ° C.
8. Shoots usually appear after 7 to 10 days.
9. The greenhouse should be aired daily, gradually increasing the time to 2 hours.
10. After 2 - 3 weeks, the shelter is removed, the seedlings are gradually tempered, "accustomed" to fresh air.
11. Condensation should be wiped off the film.
12. Containers must be moved to a cooler place.
13. The temperature of seedling cultivation is not more than 14 - 15 ° С.
14. It is important to keep the substrate wet.
15. Watered several times with a weak solution of manganese for the prevention of diseases.
16. The seedlings affected by the black leg should be removed immediately, the substrate should be treated with foundationazole.
17. In a month from the moment of sowing, seedlings dive into small containers - 6 - 8 cm in diameter.
18. Dive seedlings while maintaining an earthen lump.
19. In each pot should be placed 3 to 4 seedlings.
20. Every week after a pick, you need to feed the seedlings with complex mineral fertilizers for flowering plants.

For, for seedlings to develop well, additional lighting is required special phyto lamps for several hours a day. You can sow directly in peat tablets - this is a more economical, practical and convenient way to grow seedlings.

Cuttings

Most often, purple lobelia propagates precisely by cuttings. In their structure, the stems have lateral shoots that can be easily detached and grow quickly enough.

Important! To speed up the process of reproduction in this way, flower growers are advised to trim the tops of the shoots, as a result of which many lateral processes are used, which are later used for cuttings.

Rooting is quick thanks to the subordinate roots.

Which cuttings to choose and how to prepare them correctly?

For propagation by cuttings, a flower is dug in the fall, placed in a separate container by the method of transshipment - together with an earthen lump. For the winter, they are transferred to a greenhouse or basement, you can put pots in a cold veranda. Air temperature should be no more than 16 ° С. In February, the bush is brought into a warm, bright room.

With intense light and good fertilizer, purple lobelia releases lateral stems used for reproduction. The length of the handle is 10 - 12 cm.

With intense lighting and in nutrient soil, the lobelia releases lateral processes.

Step-by-step instructions on how to plant

The procedure for grafting lobelia purpurea:

1. Lateral processes - seedlings 10-12 cm long, are neatly separated from the uterine bush.
2. It is important that each seedling has roots and several leaves.
3. Saplings are impregnated with a root solution or other growth stimulant for better rooting.
4. Cuttings are planted in separate planting pots with a pre-prepared substrate.
5. Young shoots take root quickly.
6. For the prevention of diseases and fungal infections, treatment of seedlings and the substrate with a solution of phytosporin or foundationazole is recommended.
7. Watering and temperature as for seedlings.
8. The grown seedlings are planted in open ground in May - early June.

For a quick result, it is recommended to feed the seedlings every week with mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium.

Is it possible to grow in open ground?

Important! For planting in open ground, a special substrate is embedded in the soil in the fall.

Soil composition for purple lobelia:

• Humus - 2 hours
• Peat - 1 hour
• Sand - 1 hour
• Drainage.

Landing is usually carried out in early June. In the southern climate, you can plant on the open ground at the end of May.

Landing procedure:

1. The site is dug up, weeds are removed.
2. Shallow pits are excavated at a distance of 20 - 25 cm.
3. Broken bricks or expanded clay is poured at the bottom of each hole for drainage.
4. A bush of 4 to 5 seedlings is planted in each hole.
5. After planting, seedlings must be well watered.
6. For several days, the bushes are covered with a glass jar.
7. The soil around the bushes is mulched.

For this variety, wet areas along water bodies should be selected. in shallow water, sunny places are desirable.

How to prepare for frost?

Purple lobelia is considered a frost-resistant variety, but for the winter it is required to prepare shelter for the bushes:

1. In autumn, the stems are cut to the ground. 3 to 4 cm of branches remain from the soil. The trimmed bush is covered with dry leaves, 15 - 20 cm in height.
2. If winters are harsh, then the bushes need to be dug up, transplanted into separate pots and stored in a basement or greenhouse until spring heat.

   Important! Any shelter should be breathable, have bends for melting snow. Usually, old wicker baskets, straw mats are used for shelter, you can cover with coniferous spruce branches.

3. In winter, snow should be placed on the shelter, which is removed with the onset of the first warming.
4. In the spring, the bushes are freed from shelter, loosening the soil and fertilizing for active growth is required. You can feed the flowers with a solution of organic fertilizers.

How to care?

1. Temperature. Optimum air temperature is up to 22 - 25 ° С.

   For cultivation in an aquarium, it is necessary to maintain a water temperature of 22 - 24 ° C.

   With increasing water temperature, the leaves become small, turn yellow. Water should be of medium hardness. A water change is required every 6 to 10 days.

2. Watering. Purple lobelia with a lack of water dies, it is not recommended to dry the substrate. In summer, you need to water every day abundantly, at the rate of 10 - 12 liters per 1 sq.m. In winter and autumn, watering is reduced. It is better to use drip irrigation, spraying bushes on hot days.
3. Shine. Lobelia purpurea loves light, but grows well in semi-shady places. Landing in northern areas should be avoided. Flowering may stop, will be faded and rare.
4. Pruning. In order for a dense bush to form and lateral processes to appear, for lobelia purpurea, trimming the tops of seedlings by 3-4 cm is necessary during the growth period.
5. Top dressing. This grade requires liquid mineral dressings, with a high content of potassium and phosphorus.

   Nitrogen fertilizers should be dosed. A supersaturation with nitrogen inhibits flowering. Such fertilizers are applied at the initial stages of seedling growth to root and form strong stems and leaves.

   Important! In the autumn, top dressing should be stopped, purple lobelia enters a state of rest.
6. Pot. Usually purple lobelia is planted in spacious aquariums, along artificial ponds in the greenhouse.

   In the aquarium, flowers are planted along the side walls, purple lobelia goes well with other aquatic plants.

Lobelia purpurea is an elite variety, more often experienced flower growers are engaged in breeding - aquarists, special care is required for the flower. These flowers are rarely bred at home, they can be found only in wet greenhouses, aquariums, aquaterrariums.

Watch the video: Gardening Tips & Flowers : How to Grow Cardinal Flower Lobelia Cardinalis (May 2024).