Ageratum

The Ageratum plant is a representative of the Astrov family. In its natural environment, its small bushes with pompom flowers are found in the regions of Central and North America, as well as in eastern India. This genus includes about fifty species, including poisonous plants.

The name of the ageratum is translated as "ageless" and is associated with the long flowering period and the preservation of the attractiveness of the flowers of the bush. For the same reason, some plant species are known as "long-flowered". Ageratum came to European countries around the 19th century. An unpretentious, fragrant and beautiful flower has long won the love of gardeners, and growing it will not be difficult.

Although ageratums are perennial plants, they retain such a development cycle only in their homeland - in warm countries. Flowers will not survive frosty winters, therefore, it will be possible to grow them as perennials only indoors - in a greenhouse or at home. In gardens of the middle lane, bushes serve as annual garden decorations.

Ageratum description

Ageratums form bushes, reaching a height of 10 to 50 cm. Branched stems have pubescence. Foliage can be of different shapes: triangular, diamond-shaped or oval. The edges of the leaf blades are serrated, and the surface is slightly rough. Small fragrant flowers are collected in baskets that form complex inflorescences-shields, reaching up to 10 cm in diameter. Such inflorescences resemble fluffy caps, painted in shades of white, lilac and blue, pink or yellow. The effect of fluffiness is given to them by long forked stigmas protruding above the flower itself and having the same color as the perianth. The bushes continue to bloom from late spring to late autumn, in addition, the inflorescences can be cut for a long time. After flowering, seeds are formed on the bushes, ripening by the end of summer.

Brief rules for growing ageratum

The table shows brief rules for growing ageratum in the open field.

Growing ageratum from seeds

Sowing seeds

To get strong flowering plants at an earlier date, ageratum should be sown on seedlings. Sowing seeds in this case is carried out from the second half of March to early April. Prepared containers are filled with nutrient soil. You can use a mixture of equal parts of peat and humus with sand, after disinfecting it. The substrate is moistened by gently sprinkling it, and then fine seeds of ageratum are superficially distributed. For convenience, you can mix them with sand. Sprinkle the seeds on top with a thin (no more than 3 mm) layer of earth. Then the container is covered with foil or glass and placed in a warm (about 22 degrees or slightly less) place. Seedlings will need a bright corner, sheltered from direct rays. The shelter will need to be regularly opened for ventilation, as well as to maintain moderate soil moisture.

Growing seedlings

The sprouts appear within a couple of weeks. With the emergence of seedlings, the shelter is removed. After the formation of two true leaves, the seedlings dive into individual cups, or break the pick into two stages, initially planting in a common container, and later in glasses. It is possible to transfer ageratum seedlings to a flower bed with the onset of stable warm weather - around mid-May, having previously hardened the planting a couple of weeks before the scheduled disembarkation. Flowering occurs approximately 2-2.5 months after seed germination, depending on the characteristics of the selected variety. If the seedlings are too stretched during the maintenance of the house, they can be pinched.

Planting ageratum in open ground

For planting ageratum in open ground, a bright place is best suited. In the semi-shady corners of the garden, the bushes will also be able to grow, but the bloom will become much weaker.

The soil in the flowerbed should be nutritious and breathable - heavy clay will not work. For growing shrubs of ageratum, you can use a mixture of leafy soil with peat. It's good if her reaction is neutral. It is also undesirable to use excessively fertile soil - on humus-rich soil, the bushes can grow strongly, but bloom worse.

Most often, ageratums are grown in groups, for example, forming a border from them. In this case, leave at least 15-20 cm between the plants. The bushes are carefully removed from the containers and planted in pre-prepared holes. The level of penetration must be maintained. Having filled the voids with earth, the seedlings are watered.

Ageratum care

Watering

Ageratums do not require a lot of moisture, so they will not need to be watered too often. The soil between waterings must have time to dry out, otherwise you can provoke rotting of the root system of the bush. It is especially important to monitor the irrigation regime during the rainy season - the flowers may have enough rainfall. But in dry weather, watering is carried out regularly - otherwise the flowering will be weaker. Bushes develop best in loose soil, therefore, after rains or watering, the soil is systematically loosened, clearing the surrounding area of ​​weeds.

Top dressing

To maintain the flowering of ageratums, it is recommended to feed it several times over the summer. For the first time, this is done a couple of weeks after planting, and then when the bushes pick up color. For the third time, feeding is carried out as needed, approximately in the middle of the flowering wave. The lack of nutrients is evidenced by the pallor of the leaves and insufficiently intense color of the flowers.

For fertilization, you can use both organic matter (for example, mullein infusion) and mineral compositions. The main thing is not to overdo it with the introduction of nitrogen. This element promotes the rapid development of foliage, but is bad for flowering. Better to give preference to formulations that include more potassium and phosphorus. Also, fresh manure should not be used for fertilizing.

Pruning

To prolong flowering and preserve a neat appearance of the flower bed, it is recommended to cut off the withered inflorescences of the ageratum, if there is no need to collect seeds. Periodic pruning of shoots will also contribute to a greater decorative effect of overgrowing plantings. On each stem, enough internodes are left for lateral branching, after which the bushes begin to form shoots with peduncles again.

Ageratum after flowering

Seed collection

Seeds from ageratums are harvested at the end of summer. They should be kept dry and cool in a paper bag. The germination capacity of such seeds lasts up to 4 years. But it is worth knowing that seed reproduction does not guarantee the complete transfer of the characteristics of the variety - the flowers obtained in this way can have a different color. To be sure to get plants with flowers of a certain color, you should use vegetative propagation.

Wintering

In the middle lane, ageratums cannot overwinter outside - a cold snap below zero is considered critical for plants, therefore, for the new season, the bushes will have to be propagated using their seeds or cuttings. The most beautiful specimens can be transplanted into ordinary flower containers for the cold season and grown until spring in room conditions. The plants will continue to bloom even in winter. In mid-spring, the bushes can be used for cuttings. Rooted cuttings in the second half of May can be planted in open ground.

Propagation of ageratum by cuttings

For cutting ageratum cuttings, spring is best, but before that the bushes will need to be saved. Before the start of frost, the selected plant is dug up and transplanted into a pot. For some time it should be kept in a transitional room, where it will be slightly warmer than outside - for example, on a balcony. This will allow the flower to better adapt to changing habitat conditions. If the balcony is warm enough, you can leave the plant there or later move it into the house.

The transplanted bush can continue to bloom, sometimes delighting with flowers until winter. At the same time, a repeated wave of bud formation occurs very rarely. The faded ageratum is kept in a pot until March, and with the appearance of fresh shoots, cuttings are cut from the bush. The cuts are made obliquely so that the cutting can receive nutrients faster. The bottom cut can be treated with a rooting stimulant, and then the cuttings can be planted in individual containers. An impromptu greenhouse - a can or a bag - will help speed up rooting. The seedlings are kept warm (about 22 degrees) and the moisture of the soil is monitored. As a rule, such plants take root in a couple of weeks. With the arrival of heat, the ageratums obtained in this way are transplanted into flower beds, like ordinary seedlings. They usually develop stronger and more branched bushes than seedlings.

Ageratum at home

The branchy, but rather compact root system allows growing ageratums not only in open ground, but also at home. To make the bush feel good in a pot, a sufficiently large container is selected for it and a good drainage layer is provided. The flower is not too picky about the soil, so a universal substrate is suitable for growing it.

The ageratum pot is kept in a warm and bright place. For the summer, the flower can be transferred to the air - on the balcony or on the veranda. Watering is carried out in the morning, trying to direct the stream of water under the foliage so that drops do not fall on it. After watering, the soil in the pot can be slightly loosened to saturate the soil with oxygen. Universal formulations for flowering species are used as fertilizers. The plant does not require too frequent feeding, but the soil in the pot is depleted faster than the garden one, therefore, during active growth, the bushes are fed up to several times a month. But an excess of fertilizer can lead to stretching of the stems to the detriment of flowering. Stretching shoots can be pinched.

With proper care of the ageratum at home, its flowering can be enjoyed from the beginning of summer until the winter holidays. After the end of flowering, you can use the old bush for grafting according to the general principle.

It should be remembered that the juice of the Mexican ageratum contains toxic substances, therefore, such a plant should be kept away from children and pets - for example, in a hanging planter.

Ageratum pests and diseases

Unlike home shrubs, garden ageratums are quite vulnerable to diseases and pests, therefore it is recommended to maintain plant immunity, observing all the rules of cultivation.

Diseases

Root rot

Excessively frequent watering leads to the problem of root decay, but decay can also be provoked by heavy rainfall, as well as the wrong place for planting - water should not accumulate in it. Affected bushes begin to wither, lose foliage and shed buds - these are the consequences of root disease. It will not be possible to cure such plantings, so they will have to be removed from the site, and the remaining ones should be treated with a fungicide that prevents the possibility of infection. To avoid such a disease, you need to plant ageratums in areas with drained soil, observe the irrigation schedule, and regularly loosen the area near the bushes.

Cucumber mosaic

This viral disease is also considered fatal to planting. You can recognize it by the yellow spots on the foliage, gradually capturing the plate. Most often, such viruses are spread by pests, including aphids. Cucumbers usually suffer from them, so the flower bed should be located away from these vegetables. Ageratums struck by the mosaic are dug up, and the used tools and the soil where they grew are treated with bleach. Such measures will prevent the spread of the virus to neighboring bushes.

Blackleg

In this case, the bottom of the plant stem begins to rot. Usually bushes that grow in the shade, coolness and excess moisture are affected by the "black leg". The affected specimens are removed, and the rest are sprayed or watered with a solution of potassium permanganate in several stages with a weekly break.

Necrosis

This disease is also known as bacterial wilting. The upper part of the plants is the first to suffer, so necrosis can be recognized at an early stage. All affected parts of the ageratum will have to be removed, and the remaining parts should be sprayed with a product containing copper. They also spill the soil near the bush. If the treatment was carried out correctly and in a timely manner, the plantings should be restored. Otherwise, diseased plants are burned, and the soil under them is disinfected with boiling water. As in the case of other diseases, all manipulations should be carried out with gloves, and also do not forget about the timely sterilization of the working tool.

Pests

One of the most common pests of ageratum is a spider mite. He leaves light spots on the leaves of the bushes, and in advanced cases, covers them with cobwebs. Small lesions can be treated with a soap or alcohol solution. In other cases, the appropriate acaricide will do. Sometimes a whitefly appears on the bushes. In this case, parts of the plant are covered with a light bloom. Like the tick, the whitefly feeds on juices, gradually depleting the bushes and causing them to dry out. Insecticides will help get rid of it.

The most dangerous pest is the nematode. Depending on the species, it can attack the foliage or roots of the plant. Because of this, the bushes wilt, their stems dry out, and the leaves become deformed and spotted. Such ageratums will have to be removed from the flower bed. To prevent the appearance of nematodes, you need to monitor the cleanliness of gardening tools, and also plant plants only in sterilized soil.

Types and varieties of ageratum with photos and names

Ageratum Mexican (Ageratum houstonianum)

Or the ageratum of Gauston, Houston, Houston. It is this type that is most common in ornamental gardening.Ageratum houstonianum reaches a height of about 25 cm. On the basis of such plants, breeders have obtained many varieties with different colors of inflorescences.

• Blue mink ("Blue mink") - the variety forms compact bushes up to 25 cm high. Despite their small size, they branch strongly. The inflorescences are colored lilac-blue, and numerous stigmas really give them a resemblance to the fur of a fur-bearing animal.
• Aloha blue Is a lilac-flowered hybrid variety that blooms in early summer. The size of the bushes reaches 20 cm.
• Alba - neat 20-centimeter bushes are strewn with white flowers. This variety belongs to late flowering: inflorescences on it open only by the middle of summer.
• Summers Snow ("Snowy Summer" or "Summer Snow") - this variety is also distinguished by white flowers, but the size of the bushes is quite high - up to half a meter. Due to the larger inflorescences that resemble snow caps against the background of green foliage, the plants look especially impressive during the flowering period.
• Red Sea ("Red Sea") - ageratum with flowers of unusual purple color. Medium-sized bushes grow up to 30-45 cm. They have branched shoots and fluffy inflorescences. Long bloom, from late spring to September-October.
• Pink balloon - the variety has large pink inflorescences. It blooms from the second half of June to mid-autumn.
• Cloud Nine ("The Ninth Cloud") - the variety series includes flowers of various colors: purple, white and pink. Due to the compact size of the bushes, such ageratums can be grown not only in the garden, but also at home, in a pot. Flowering lasts about 3 months, starting in July.
• Cardinal bordeaux - profusely flowering variety forms spherical bushes up to 25 cm tall. The size of the inflorescences reaches 8 cm. The buds have a burgundy color, and the blossoming flowers acquire a more delicate shade. Flowering begins in late June and lasts until frost.

Ageratum in landscape design

Ageratum is one of the almost universal garden plants that can decorate any corner of the site with conditions suitable for this flower. It looks great in group plantings, goes well with other flowers, as well as with decorative deciduous species.

In group plantings, you can use both monophonic and multi-colored ageratums. Neat bushes of the same size will form an elegant fluffy carpet. Due to their low growth ageratums are often used as curb plants, and also fill the first tier of mixborders with them. There they can look good in the company of lobularia, calendula or marigolds. Higher varieties can be placed in the middle tier, composing with phlox, zinnias or other bright colors.

Thanks to the ability to grow ageratums in pots and containers, you can decorate hanging pots or decorative garden containers with them. The small size of the bushes makes them resistant to strong winds, and the dislike for stagnation of moisture in the soil makes it possible to plant such plants not only in ordinary flower beds, but also in rock gardens and rockeries. It is only necessary to provide ageratum with sufficient nutritious soil.