Galtonia, or Cape hyacinth, is a perennial bulbous plant with incredibly beautiful flowers from the Liliaceae family. There are only 4 species of this plant. And in culture, only one of all the known ones is grown in general - this is whitish or whitish galtonia.
Description of the galtonia flower
Galtonia grows 50-150 cm in height. The bulbs are large, cone-shaped, the bottom is concave. The leaves of the plant are ground, grooved, belt-like, glabrous and juicy. Flowers drooping, white. Perianths are non-falling, tubular-funnel-shaped, collected in loose racemose inflorescences located on a peduncle that grows up to one meter in height. Galtonia blooms in August-September. The fruit is cylindrical, slightly ribbed and three-celled. The capsule contains a large number of black flat seeds that have an irregular triangular shape.
Planting galtonia in open ground
When growing galtonia, it is imperative to know about the natural conditions familiar to it. The place where Galtonia grows in nature is known for its warm and humid summers, dry and cold winters. In order to grow galtonia, you need to choose a place for planting it where water does not stagnate in spring. An excellent place for planting Galtonia will be the southern rocky slope, which is brightly lit by the sun. Galtonia tolerates partial shade well. The soil for planting galtonia must be well-cultivated and drained, slightly acidic, light and necessarily fertilized with humus.
The best time to plant is late March or early May. In regions where there are severe frosts, it is best to plant plants at the end of May, when the soil warms up well and the night frosts disappear. You can control the flowering time of Galtonia using early or late planting, as well as using the planting depth of the bulbs.
When buying planting material, you must definitely pay special attention to the bottom. It should be free of various kinds of damage, without traces of decay and mold. The bulb should be firm and firm.
In order for flowering to come a few weeks earlier, the bulbs must be germinated before planting. To do this, they should be transferred from a cold room to a light and warm one. Treat with fungicide solution and decompose. Lighting should be diffused, without direct sunlight. When sprouts appear, the bulbs should be planted in pots filled with garden soil and watered moderately. There must be drainage holes in the pots! When the soil warms up enough, the passers-by bulbs need to be planted in open ground without violating the integrity of the earthen coma.
The planting depth of the bulb depends on its size. Large bulbs need to be deepened by about 22 cm, medium-sized bulbs by 18 cm.When planting, it is imperative to observe the distance between the bulbs, it must be at least 30 cm.If there is no drainage layer in the garden, then galtonia must be poured into each hole for planting coarse sand.As a fertilizer, you can use a balanced mineral complex, in combination with it, add pepper or compost. Such soil fertilization is necessary only if the soil in the garden has not been fertilized for more than 2-3 years. After planting, the soil must be watered abundantly.
Galtonia care in the garden
Galtonia has a fairly simple planting and care, because of this it is even hard to believe that it is an exotic plant from the African continent, and not an ordinary local flowering perennial. Galtonia is an unpretentious plant, growing it, you don't have to spend a lot of energy.
Watering
The plant needs to be watered, loosened up the soil, removed the prefabricated grass and applied the necessary mineral and organic fertilizers. During active growth, it must be watered every day. After each watering, the soil should be carefully and carefully loosened so as not to damage the bulbs. Together with loosening, it is necessary to remove weeds. When the plant begins to bloom, then watering can be done more moderately.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Galtonia can be fed with special complex mineral fertilizers, which are specially designed for garden flowering plants. Such feeding should be carried out once or twice during the growing season.
Pruning and tying
Peduncles sometimes grow very tall and so that they do not lie on the ground, they must be tied to a support. During active flowering, you need to regularly remove dry inflorescences and those that have already faded. This will keep the bulb from loosening.
Transfer
In one place, galtonia can grow for 4-5 years. During this time, a dense thicket appears, and the flowering level decreases. Therefore, a transplant is necessary. The rules for transplanting galtonia are the same as during planting.
Galtonia after flowering
Galtonia has moderate cold resistance. In regions with winters without severe frosts, the bulbs of the plant can be left to winter directly in the soil. Only be sure to cover with a thick layer of peat or sawdust and cover on top with dry leaves or coniferous spruce branches. You need to cover the plant only in dry weather.
If the winter is harsh and with little snow, then the bulbs in the middle of autumn must be dug up together with the leaves. Transfer to a dry and well-ventilated area and allow to slip within 7 days. Then trim the leaves, leaving two centimeters at a time. Do not touch the roots! After listening to the bulbs, you need to continue for a week and only then put them in sand or peat so that the bulbs do not touch each other. You need to store the bulbs at a temperature of 10-15 degrees.
Diseases and pests
If the garden has a good drainage layer and all watering rules are followed, then fungal diseases are unlikely to appear. If the summer is too wet and rainy, then the plant can be attacked by snails and slugs. For the prevention of such pests on the site, it is necessary to spread evenly wood ash. But if gastropods did appear, then manual collection will help get rid of them.
Types and varieties of galtonia
Whitish galtonia (Galtonia candicans), or whitish galtonia - perennial plant. Grows up to 1.5 m in height. The bulbs are large, up to 7 cm in diameter. The leaves are somewhat similar to hyacinth leaves, they are the same linear, gelatinous and belt-like. The flowers are drooping, tubular-funnel-shaped. Flowering occurs in August-September.
Galtonia excellent (Galtonia princeps = Hyacinthus princeps) - grows up to 1 m. The bulb is cone-shaped, about 3 cm in diameter. The flowers are white on the inside and greenish on the outside. It blooms in early September. Very rarely grown.
Green-flowered galtonia (Galtonia viridiflora) - bulbs of this species are dug out for the winter, since it is considered thermophilic. It grows up to 1 m. Flowers are emerald green.
