Kolkwitzia is a deciduous flowering shrub from the Honeysuckle family, preferring areas with a temperate climate. In 1901, the plant appeared in Europe. The plant got its name in honor of the German botanist Richard Kolkwitz.
Description of the plant colquitia
The shrub consists of numerous shoots with smooth or pubescent bark, depending on age, a red-brown shade, paired bright green oval leaves with a sharp top 5-8 cm long, a large number of bell-shaped flowers of pink and yellow shades and dry fruits ... The average growth of a perennial is 2-3.5 meters. The period of lush, abundant flowering lasts 15-20 days and occurs in the spring or summer season. The only species is the lovely colquction. It consists of two varieties - Pink Cloud and Rosea.
Planting kolkvitsii in open ground
When is the best time to plant
It is recommended to plant seedlings in the spring season (in warm weather without night frosts) on an open land plot with sufficient sunlight and no drafts. In partial shade conditions, the culture will also develop normally, the main thing is to protect it from sudden gusts of wind. An area with excessive moisture (for example, after snow melts in spring) is contraindicated. The soil should be neutral in reaction, loose in structure, drained and fertile.
When buying seedlings, you need to choose only specimens that are one or two years old. It is recommended to trim very long roots before planting.
How to plant correctly
About 2 weeks before planting the seedlings, they begin to prepare the planting pit. It must be filled with a special soil mixture consisting of one part of river sand and two parts of rotted humus and sod land. During this time, the substrate will thicken and settle down a little. About half of the soil from the pit should be mixed with one bucket of wood ash. It is filled with this mixture after the planting of the seedling. Instead of ash, you can add about one hundred grams of a complex mineral additive.
Sprinkle the seedling with earth, tamp it, moisten the trunk circle abundantly, and after absorbing moisture, apply a mulching layer of peat or sawdust.
The optimum width of the pit is 50-60 cm.The depth is 40 cm.
Caring for colquia in the garden
Watering
Irrigation water must be kept at a temperature of about 25 degrees. Excess moisture should not be allowed as well as drying out of the soil. Ideal when the soil is always moderately moist. Drought can kill the plant.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Additional nutritious dressings are applied to the trunk circle under each bush twice during the spring-summer season in liquid form in the amount of one large bucket per plant.In the spring, a fertilizer prepared from ten parts of water and one part of a mullein is used. In the summer (until the end of the flowering period), top dressing is prepared from ten liters of water and fifty grams of double superphosphate.
Pruning
Different types of pruning will have to be dealt with during the entire period of development of the shrub during the summer months. Colquitia is abundant and very quickly overgrown with root shoots, which are recommended to be removed regularly, preventing it from gaining strength. Formative pruning is desirable after flowering. It is necessary to rid the bush of all the young shoots that have appeared, which will still not have time to ripen before the arrival of the winter cold. A sanitary "haircut" is usually done in the first two weeks of spring before the buds are swollen. All dried, damaged and diseased branches, as well as those that strongly thicken the culture, should be removed.
Transfer
Kolkvitsia is one of the few shrubs that easily accepts the transplanting process. The crop must be removed from the ground with a shovel so that the root part is not damaged. A new planting hole is prepared in advance by filling it with a nutritious soil mixture. The plant is placed in a new place, the first watering is carried out immediately (quite abundant), after which it is recommended to mulch the near-trunk circle with peat or fallen leaves.
Preparing for winter
Kolquitsia has good winter hardiness, but severe frosts and lack of snow on harsh winter days can destroy the plant. That is why it will take a little preparation for low temperatures. Mature plants will be protected by a reliable mulch layer in the near-stem circle 10-12 cm thick. Peat, crushed bark, wood shavings or chips can be used as mulch. Young plantings, which have not yet turned 5 years old, are recommended to be tilted to the ground and covered with a layer of spruce branches, and in winter also with a layer of snow. A more reliable and proven shelter is wrapping plants with lutrasil or other covering material that protects young bushes until mid-spring.
Kolkvitsiya in the suburbs
Growing kolkvitsiya in the cool climate of the Moscow region, preparation for the winter period has its own characteristics. For example, after the end of flowering, watering is reduced to a minimum, feeding stops, and the surface of the trunk circle is covered with a ten-centimeter layer of compost or peat with sawdust. This mulch not only protects the root system of the shrub, but also acts as a fertilizer. At the end of autumn, it is necessary to prune most of the unripe shoots.
Reproduction of colquitsia
Seed propagation
This method is not popular, as it is considered ineffective and troublesome. Seed stratification is carried out within ninety days. This process most often occurs on the bottom shelf of a household refrigerator. Seeds are sown in mid-April in a planting box with nutritious soil, consisting of equal parts of sand, peat and garden soil. The container is kept under plastic wrap or glass in a warm room until the seedlings appear. Seedlings are grown throughout the year.
Propagation by cuttings
Cuttings cut in spring (May) are planted in a wooden box or tub and grown outdoors during the warm season. For the winter, the containers are transferred to the cellar or basement.
Cuttings cut in October are recommended to be placed in a plastic bag and kept in a cool room (for example, in a cellar) until spring arrives. In April, the cuttings are dipped in a container with Kornevin for several hours, after which they are planted in a greenhouse. Only after a year can they be transplanted to open ground.
Reproduction by divisions
In the process of transplanting a bush, it can be divided into several parts so that healthy and strong roots and shoots remain on each of them.The places of the cuts are sprinkled with wood ash or activated carbon and the cuttings are planted in the planting pits.
Reproduction by layering
In early spring, the lower shoot to the ground is slightly incised, tilted, pinned to the soil with a wire arc-hairpin, sprinkled with soil, leaving only the upper part of the shoot on the surface. The main care is regular, moderate watering. Young shoots can be separated from an adult bush only in the last weeks of the next spring season. Planting shoots in a permanent place is carried out in the same way as planting two-year-old seedlings.
Diseases and pests
The plant is highly resistant to various diseases. In extremely rare cases, a problem such as chlorosis may arise.
Of the pests, spider mites, thrips, aphids, caterpillars can harm flowering shrubs. Favorable conditions for their appearance are prolonged heat. Such drugs as "Aktara" and "Actellik" are highly effective in the fight against insects that feed on the sap of the plant. It is recommended to spray crops 2-3 times with a break of 7-10 days. Caterpillars that eat the leaves of colquicia will die after treatment with special insecticides.
