Astilba flower - planting and care

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Astilba is an unusually attractive perennial shade-tolerant plant that can decorate any garden or flower garden with its amazing flowers. In order for it to please with lush flowering, it is worth figuring out how to properly plant astilba in open ground and take care of it.

Features of agricultural technology

Astilbe needs a very small amount of sunlight for full development, and this is its main feature. It is better to plant such an unusual flower in the shade.

To grow astilba, mandatory soil mulching is required. The flower grows well and feels comfortable in nutritious and moist soil, so you need to try to maintain moisture under it. Mulching with straw, bark, sawdust or small pebbles is used to achieve this goal.

Landing astilba

If you want to have beautiful astilba panicles in your garden, you need to pay attention to the quality of the seedlings. In order for it to take root and is guaranteed to begin to develop normally, it is necessary to take into account the state of the root system of the planting material.

The roots must be strong and healthy, free from rotting or dead particles. During storage of seedlings, neither strong moisture nor overdrying should be allowed.

The seedlings should not appear wrinkled, strongly elongated, or crooked. They can take root, only they will hurt for a long time, which is fraught with a loss of decorativeness.

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Choosing the right place

Astilba loves shade or partial shade, direct sunlight is undesirable for her. Therefore, you should not plant it in open spaces that do not have protection from direct sun.

Areas with closely spaced groundwater or stagnant water are not suitable for astilba, since the roots will dry out and get wet. For normal development in such areas, it is necessary to consider drainage. If this is not possible, then choose the highest place.

Preparation

Before planting astilba in open ground, each plant must be carefully examined. If cuts or wounds are found, they are treated with crushed charcoal or a solution of potassium permanganate so that infections in the soil cannot infect the roots of the plant.

To protect against insect pests and fungal infections, the flower needs special care. Before planting, you need to treat with fungicides and insecticides.

Landing pits

A planting pit is dug under each of the plants strictly individually. It is designed to keep the roots free. It is impossible to bury the seedlings in the ground so that the growth points are covered with earth.

A hydrogel placed in a planting hole helps to retain moisture in the soil. You can also add 1 matchbox of ash, bone meal and mineral fertilizers to the recess as a top dressing.

The soil under the plant should be well mulched so that the soil remains constantly moist and the roots do not dry out.

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Soil requirements

Astilba is unpretentious to the soil, on any soil it will grow and bloom well. But in places with a high occurrence of groundwater, the duration of astilba flowering increases. It cannot withstand prolonged drought.

An important factor is the presence of potassium and phosphorus in the fertile soil layer. A 1 meter bed is fertilized with two handfuls of bone meal and 30 g of complex fertilizers.

This is done as follows:

1. It is necessary to dig holes no more than 30 cm deep, fill in fertilizers and bone meal, humus.
2. Stir, spill with water.
3. Pieces of rhizome with buds, which are called delenki, are covered with mulch 3 cm thick.

In what ways does astilba multiply

Astilba is usually propagated by seeds, by dividing a bush or by buds. The most common and widely available is the division of the bush:

1. It is necessary to dig up the plant, remove the leaves and divide it into several parts so that 3-5 buds are preserved in each.
2. Cut off the dead part of the rhizome.
3. Plant the plants in the ground at intervals of 30 cm, provide daily watering.

The most suitable time for division is the beginning of March, then in the fall it will already be possible to observe flowering.

The fastest is the variant of reproduction by the kidneys:

1. At the time of spring regrowth of shoots or buds, it is necessary to cut them off with part of the rhizome.
2. Powder the cut with ash.
3. Plant the planting material in the prepared mixture of peat and gravel (3: 1) and cover with foil.
4. Young plants are planted in a permanent place in the fall or next spring.

Varietal flowers are not propagated using seeds, since in this case the characteristics of a particular variety are not preserved. Plants grown in this way can only be used for breeding purposes.

But still, if it is possible to purchase high quality varietal seeds, it is quite possible to grow beautiful bushes from them:

1. The soil is pre-moistened from the sprayer, then the seeds are sown without embedding in the ground.
2. Stratification is used for fast germination of seeds. The seeds are stored at a temperature of -4 to +4 ° C, after 20 days they must be transferred to a well-lit room with a temperature of + 18 … + 22 ° C.

In spring, seedlings can be safely planted in the shade or partial shade.

How to care

Astilba is unpretentious in planting, therefore, it is easy to take care of it outdoors. You need to water the flower more often, because it loves water very much. Even if the soil remained dry for a short time, this greatly affects the decorative effect:

• leaves dry;
• panicles become smaller;
• the plant looks sloppy.

The flower tolerates Russian frosts calmly, but sharp jumps in temperature in spring are fatal for it. It is advisable to cover the astilba with some natural material, for example, spruce branches. If possible, the soil under the bushes should be mulched with pine needles.

Decorativeness is preserved under the condition of regular feeding. With dry soil, compost or peat are suitable, with wet soil, complex fertilizers, and after flowering, fertilizing containing phosphorus and potassium.

The life of the bush is about 5 years, then it is transplanted. You can simply, without digging a bush, separate a part from it, powder the sections with ash and sprinkle with fresh earth.

Care of adult plants: features of the seasons

Plant care is carried out depending on the season.

Spring

For the growth of astilbe, it is necessary that the average temperature per day be at least 10 ° C, so it comes out of hibernation rather late. Spring care consists of hilling, loosening the soil under the bushes, mulching, and applying nitrogen fertilizers.

Summer

Hot weather requires frequent and abundant watering. At the peak of the heat, astilba must be irrigated twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. Hilling of plants is obligatory: since the roots do not grow down, but up, their lower part gradually dies off.

If the roots come to the surface of the soil, they are threatened with drying out, which will damage the plant. So it is recommended to spud astilba at least twice a season.

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Autumn

At the end of summer, the astilbe stops blooming, and the panicles remaining on the bushes dry up. It is not necessary to remove them, since they can decorate the garden for some time.

But in the fall, the astilba must be cut to the ground. It is advisable to mulch the rhizome. Autumn is also suitable for transplantation and reproduction.

Winter

Adult astilba withstands winter frosts well, while young plants can suffer from temperature fluctuations (thaw, and then frost). It is advisable to cover the flower by cold weather.

Bloom

Astilba blooms throughout the summer: from late June to early September. Varieties determine different flowering times. In order for astilba to bloom for a long time and magnificently, it is planted away from the direct sun, in partial shade, for example, at the northern wall or on the shore of an artificial pond.

There are varieties that love direct sun. Moisture-loving astilba does not tolerate stagnant water at the root system. Therefore, it is good to plant it in an area with a high groundwater table.

The decorative properties of astilba are actively used in landscape design. The flower is used in single and group plantings, when creating complex landscape compositions in semi-shaded and shaded areas.

Astilba adorns any flower garden and fits into any design. In fact, all outdoor care for it consists in timely and frequent watering and loosening.

Summarize

1. Astilbe needs a very small amount of sunlight for full development.
2. She loves watering very much, but does not tolerate stagnant water.
3. Plant care is carried out depending on the season.