Incarvillea is a beautiful and very delicate flowering herb from the Bignonium family. There are about 17 species of this plant. Very often gardeners call Incarvillea garden gloxinia. This article will tell you in detail how to properly plant, grow and care for a garden Incarvillea outdoors.
Incarvillea flower description
Incarvillea can be an annual, biennial, or perennial herb that grows up to two meters in height. Tuberous roots, woody. Stems can be simple erect or branched. The leaves are arranged on the stem in the next order, have an unpaired-finger-cut dissected shape, the edges are finely toothed. Inflorescences are racemose or paniculate. The flowers are five-part, the calyx is bell-shaped, the corolla is tubular. Flowers can be yellow, red or pink. The fruit is a polygonal bipartite capsule, winged seeds with pubescence.
Planting incarvillea outdoors
When to plant incarvillea
Planting and caring for Incarvillea outdoors is easy enough. It is best to grow seedlings first, and then transplant them into open ground. The best time to plant Incarvillea seedlings is March. The seeds are distinguished by good germination, therefore, for sure, there will be 100% germination.
For planting, you can use ordinary soil for seedlings, you need to bury the seeds in it only 1 cm.After planting the flower, sprinkle the soil with a small layer of calcined and cooled river sand and water it well. The temperature in the room where the seedlings are grown should be between 18-20 degrees. The first shoots will appear in 5-7 days. Incarvillea seedlings do not tolerate transplanting very well, so it is best to plant seeds immediately in peat pots. Such pots can be planted together with seedlings in the ground, they will be an excellent decoration.
Seeds of biennials and perennials can be planted directly in open ground from April to June. If the temperature outside is not lower than 15 degrees, then the first shoots will appear in 2 weeks. The only drawback of the seed method is that such a plant will bloom only in the second year after sowing.
How to plant incarvillea
Incarvillea is best planted on a hill, as it absolutely does not tolerate waterlogging and stagnant water. If the soil in the garden is heavy, then it is necessary during planting to make a good drainage layer of gravel or coarse sand. The place for planting should be such that the sun hits the plant in the first half of the day, and in the second the flower should be in the shade.
The soil for planting Incarvillea should be light and fertile. Sandy loam soil is perfect. Before planting, in each hole you need to pour a little wood ash and mineral fertilizer, which have a long action. It is possible to plant seedlings in holes together with peat and pots, this will enable it to take root better. The empty space should be filled with garden soil and after planting, water should be abundant.
Caring for Incarvillea in the garden
Watering
In order for the plant to grow healthy, strong and beautiful, it is necessary to water it regularly. After each watering, carefully loosen the soil, remove weeds and apply the necessary fertilizers. Watering the Incarvillea should be regular and moderate, the plant does not tolerate both drought and waterlogging of the soil. After each watering or rain, you need to carefully pour the soil so as not to damage the plant's root system. Simultaneously with loosening, it is necessary to remove weeds, if necessary.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Incarvilleas need only two feedings for the entire season. The first one must be carried out at a time when the flower begins to actively grow, and the second - during the period of bud formation. As an organic fertilizer, you can use a solution of mullein or bird droppings. In the second half of June, you do not need to apply any fertilizers, annual Incarvillea plants do not need this, and for perennial varieties such late feeding is even harmful, it reduces the winter hardiness of the plant.
Incarvillea in winter
Perennials need a mandatory shelter in the winter. Covering Incarvillea can be done with spruce paws, sawdust, compost and peat. The layer should be thick enough, at least 6 cm. When spring comes, the shelter must be removed so that the plant underneath does not come into contact. Young Incarvillea seedlings can be covered with a cut plastic bottle or glass jar.
If the winters are too harsh and snowless, then it is better not to risk it and dig up the tubers of the plant. Treat with Maxim, dry well and store in a cool room until spring.
Reproduction of incarvillea
In addition to the seed method, Incarvillea can be propagated vegetatively - by dividing the tubers and leaf cuttings. You need to divide the tubers either in March or in September. Garden gloxinia must be carefully dug out so as not to damage the roots. Then you need to carefully cut the plant into several parts so that each part has at least two living renewal buds. Places of cuts must be processed with charcoal powder. After dividing, the parts must be planted immediately in the prepared pits.
But propagation by leaf cuttings should be carried out in the summer - in June or July. To do this, the leaf of the plant must be cut off at the very root and the cut must be treated with Kornevin or any other root-forming agent. After that, the leaf must be planted in soil, which consists of equal parts of peat and sand and covered with a cut plastic bottle, thereby creating greenhouse conditions. First, the plant will have roots, then a rosette of leaves, and a year later, beautiful flowers.
Diseases and pests
Very often, Incarvillea suffers from root rot. This happens due to the fact that improper watering is carried out and moisture stagnates in the soil. If you do not notice it in time, then the plant will already be difficult to cure, it will most likely die. At the first signs of root decay, it is necessary to carefully treat the plant with a solution of any fungicide. You also need to eliminate errors in watering the flower, if this is not done, the problem will come back again and again.
As for pests, spider mites and mealybugs can infect Incarvillea. These pests suck the juice out of the plant, because of this, it gradually withers and turns yellow, and then dies altogether. You can get rid of these pests with the help of such means as Actellik, Aktara and other similar means.
Incarvileia in landscape design
Incarvillea flower is great for growing in rocky gardens, rock gardens and rocky hills. This plant is versatile, looks great in any part of the garden and with any garden flowers. Several species and varieties of Incarvillea can be grown at the same time.
Types and varieties of incarvillea
Only a few species and varieties of Incarvileia are grown in culture.
Incarvillea mairei (Incarvillea mairei = Incarvillea grandiflora = Tecoma mairei)
Leaves are basal, lyre-shaped, slightly feathery dissected, have rounded lobes and grow up to 30 cm in length. The flowers are located on long petioles, a dark purple-red hue, there are white spots on the yellow throat. Flowering begins in early summer. The plant is quite winter hardy.
Incarvillea compacta
Herbaceous perennial. Stems grow up to 30 cm in height, smooth or slightly pubescent. Leaves are pinnate, basal have whole heart-oval lobes. Flowers up to 6 cm in diameter, purple, yellow throat. Flowering of this species lasts from three weeks to one month. Plants of this species do not need shelter for the winter.
There is another variety that grows up to 80 cm. Leaves are basal, pinnately-divided. The flowers are purple-pink, up to 7 cm in diameter. The flowers of some varieties of this species are pink, white or salmon pink.
Olga's Incarvillea (Incarvillea olgae)
Perennial, grows up to 1.5 m in height. Stems glabrous, branched in the upper part. Leaves are opposite, pinnately dissected, whole to the top. Flowers up to 2 cm in diameter, collected in loose inflorescences and have a reddish-pink tint. Flowering begins in mid-summer and lasts almost 2 months. Winter hardiness in this species is low, so the plant can winter only under a very good shelter.
Chinese Incarvillea (Incarvillea sinensis)
It can be both an annual and a perennial. Grows up to 30 cm in height. The leaves are feathery. The flowers are creamy yellow. This species is distinguished by the duration of flowering, since new buds are constantly forming on the plants.
Incarvillea delavayi
Herbaceous perennial plant. Grows up to 1.2 m in height. Leaves are basal, pinnatipartite. Flowers up to 6 cm in diameter, pink-lilac shade, yellow throat. Flowering begins in June and lasts about 1 month. This species is not frost-resistant, therefore it needs good shelter for the winter. There are varieties with purple and snow-white flowers.
