Aquilegia? Oh, this is a simple purple flower, scattered everywhere? Not exactly, or even not at all. Let me introduce: Aquilegia, a catchment of the Ranunculaceae family (Latin for Aquilegia-water-loving). The genus contains more than 100 species distributed in temperate zones of Europe, Asia and America. Small purple flowers – in the European A. vulgaris, but we will not talk about this modest flower, but about its luxurious hybrid counterparts.
Aquilegia hybrid is a hardy plant 60-90 cm high with outstanding decorative qualities, blooming for two months (June-July) with huge — up to 12 cm in diameter — delicate flowers with elegant spurs. Inflorescences with spurs are one-color or two-color, pure colors: white, yellow, cream, pink, blue, lilac, red.
Among Aquilegia there are also charming babies — small “mountain” Aquilegia 30 cm high; there are also 10-cm crumbs. As a rule, they are white, blue and white-blue, bloom in may-June and also like moisture.
Inflorescences of hybrid Aquilegia are also Terry without spurs, but they are usually less spectacular: the flowers are small, the color is often dirty. In short, an Amateur.
Aquilegia bushes are elegant from spring to late autumn. Very good habit of this plant with a dense “skirt” of openwork blue-green leaves, erect peduncles and bell-shaped flowers with long spurs collected in a loose inflorescence-panicle. There are up to 12 flowers per peduncle.
These luxurious flowers remind someone of butterflies, someone of exotic birds, someone of precious stones. From the species progenitors, they have only a love of wet soil and the simplicity of seed propagation.
How to grow Aquilegia from seed
How do you get this beauty in your garden? Quite simple.
Step 1: buy hybrid Aquilegia seeds. These seeds are not cheap, but the germination rate is very high.
Step 2: sow these seeds (from April to early September) in a bowl on the surface of the moistened compost and press the seeds firmly against the surface. Don’t sprinkle it on top! Too deep planting is one of the reasons for poor germination of Aquilegia seeds.
Put a cellophane bag on the bowl. Do not overheat and do not over — dry the crops-these are two more reasons why the seeds may not grow well.
Step 3: when the seedlings are large enough, transplant them into separate pots.
Step 4: plant Aquilegia permanently in the fall or next spring. They will delight you with blooming next summer.
Aquilegia cultivation and care
Aquilegia like moist, greasy soil, grow well in the sun or in partial shade, do not like hot, dry places. In a drought in the sun, watering is required. Transplants are poorly tolerated, since their highly branched tap roots go to a depth of up to 60 cm.
Does this beauty have any disadvantages? Just one: Aquilegia needs to be updated every 3-4 years. True, Aquilegia are actively propagated by self-seeding, but it is better not to leave such seedlings, they are most often the same purple “mongrels”.
Aquilegia can be propagated not only by seeds, although this is easiest, but also by pieces of rhizome with 2-3 buds (in the spring) or by cuttings (in the spring) of young shoots from the root neck (plant cuttings under the Bank).
Aquilegia is suitable for cutting and forcing. For forcing in the fall, you should plant plants in pots and keep them outside until frost, then move them to a dark unheated room, and in January-February, expose them to light at a temperature of + 12…+16 degrees, then they will bloom in early April.
After flowering, the flower stalks should be immediately cut off, then the Bush will retain its former decorative appearance, and next year it will bloom profusely.