Boneset

The Eupatorium plant is a perennial from the Asteraceae family. Although the North American continent is considered to be its homeland, the spines have spread throughout Eurasia and are found even in Africa. The genus includes several hundred different species, of which only about 120 have a description.

Its Latin name - Evpatorium - the flower received from the name of one of the Pontic rulers, who used one of the varieties of the steep as an antidote. The word "poskonnik" comes from "poskoni" - the name of the male variety of cannabis. There is a certain similarity between the foliage of these plants.

Bone sap is unpretentious in care, resistant to sudden temperature changes, rarely gets sick and is attacked by harmful insects. An undemanding and cold-resistant plant with fragrant flowers, it is widely used to decorate gardens.

Description of the stethoscope

Stem stands are grasses or shrubs that can be both perennials and annuals. The height of the bushes reaches 1-3 m, but generally depends on the fertility of the soil. Strong straight stems with foliage located opposite, alternately or whorled, develop from the powerful rhizomes of the slopes. The foliage has a finger-like or pinnate structure, the plates themselves can have different shapes, and their edges are both solid and jagged. The tip of the leaf is usually narrowed. There are species with smooth, pubescent or rough leaf blades.

The flowers of the stethoscope appear closer to the middle of the summer season. At this time, baskets of small tubular flowers are formed at the tops of the shoots. Their color is pink, lilac blue, white, violet or purple. Such baskets make up complex inflorescences in the form of bristles, brushes or shields. They have a pleasant linden-vanilla aroma and attract pollinators to the site. Flowering continues until late autumn. After flowering, the fruit is formed in the form of an achene.

Brief rules for growing stethoscope

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

Planting a steep tree in open ground

The best time to plant

For reproduction of the stethosis, its seeds are most often used. Due to their small size, they are usually sown for seedlings. The seed must be stratified in advance. Small seeds are mixed with moistened sand, poured into a glass container and kept in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for about a month.

Sowing the seeds of the steep in the open ground begins in early spring. After the refrigerator, the seeds are pre-soaked for a day in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. Then they are distributed over the surface of the moist soil, deepening no more than 0.5 cm or simply slightly sprinkling with soil. For sowing, a universal seedling soil is suitable. The container with seeds is covered with glass and then placed in a warm place. Every day, the shelter must be slightly opened for ventilation, and any condensation that appears to wipe off. The moisture content of the soil must be monitored. Seedlings should appear in about 2-3 weeks. When the seeds hatch, the glass is removed. When the sprouts have 4 true leaves, they are dived in the peat pots.

The seedlings of the steep sap are planted in the ground from mid-May, when return frosts are completely bypassed. You can purchase ready-made seedlings, for this you should choose specimens whose root system does not extend beyond the pot. But, both domestic and commercial plants will require preliminary hardening. To do this, plantings are transferred to the air for 10-12 days, each time slightly increasing the time they spend outside the house. The seedlings should be taken out in a corner, sheltered from the wind and heavy precipitation.

Landing rules

Best of all, the stepped sap will be able to grow in an open and sunny place. Although the plant is able to tolerate shade, under such conditions it will have weaker flowering and flowers that are less vivid in color. It is also not very picky about the soil, but the most beautiful bushes will turn out on a fairly nutritious and loose soil of a neutral reaction. Sandy loam and loamy soils are the worst suited for the plant.

The soil for planting must be prepared in advance. Dig the bed, adding compost there (3-5 kg ​​per 1 sq. M). Then, holes are made in the leveled soil at a distance of at least half a meter. Their depth should correspond to the size of the peat pots. At the bottom of the holes, wood ash and a drainage layer of pebbles or expanded clay should be laid. The bushes are placed in the holes, and then the voids are covered with earth. After planting, the soil in the garden is lightly tamped, and then watered. From above, you can mulch the plantings with peat or straw.

Seedlings begin to bloom at 2 or 3 years of cultivation. You can get flowering plants earlier in other ways. The sapwood can be propagated by dividing the bushes (in spring and autumn), as well as by cuttings. The division is carried out approximately every 5 years, it contributes to the rejuvenation of the plantings. It is recommended to do this in the spring - so the divisions will surely have time to take root before the onset of autumn. All the shoots are cut off at the bushes at a level of 20 cm, watered, and then dug up and divided so that at least three growth points remain on each part. The sections are treated with fungicides, and then the cuttings are distributed in the same way as the seedlings.

Cuttings can be cut at different times. In the root area, they are cut in early spring, before the foliage blooms, using segments from 5 cm in height together with the "heel". Cuttings 10-15 cm in size are cut from the stems by the end of June. For rooting, a greenhouse should be used. Rooting takes place in a month.

Bone Stem Care

Planting care includes a number of basic activities: watering and feeding, weeding and loosening, as well as periodic inspection of plants for the presence of pests or signs of disease. If you follow all the rules for planting and caring for the steep in the open field, then the flower will be tall, strong and healthy. And also for a long time it will be able to delight with its abundant flowering and will become a real decoration for the garden.

Watering

Bushes require moist soil, so they are usually placed close to garden ponds. Watering the slope will be required often and very abundantly - such plants tolerate a small (but not permanent) stagnation of moisture in the soil, and prolonged drought can significantly harm plantings. It is especially important to monitor the soil moisture during the development of the shoots. When buds are formed on the stems, the amount of watering should be slightly reduced.

After watering or rains, the soil next to the bushes must be loosened, this will prevent the top layer of the soil from hardening. You should act carefully so as not to hurt the root system. In the process of loosening, the site is also cleared of weeds. Mulching will help to reduce the number of such procedures. Usually organics are used for this.

Top dressing

Over the summer, the steep sheds are fertilized at least three times: in spring, in June, and also during the formation of buds. You can use both complex mineral compositions, and poorly diluted mullein or bird droppings. All fertilizers are applied in liquid form. They are poured directly under the roots of the bushes so that drops do not fall on the leaves and flowers.

Garter

Bonebrush bushes have a sufficiently large height, so plantings can lie down from strong winds. To prevent this from happening, you need to tie them to supports or place them in advance next to a wall or fence.

Pruning

The steep does not need shaping pruning, but wilted inflorescences should be removed from it if self-seeding is to be avoided. Temperature drops are not terrible for the bushes. Most types of steep bush have excellent frost resistance and can winter without shelter, under a layer of snow. If there is a risk of a winter with little snow or the cultivated variety is not cold-resistant enough, you can cover the plantings with covering material.

In autumn, it is recommended to cut its dried stems to a height of about 10 cm, but sometimes they are left untouched for decorative purposes.

Wintering

After complete cutting of the stems, it is necessary to cover the area where the roots of the steep have remained with dry foliage, peat or hay. This will allow the plant to survive the winter well and delight with its flowering next year. Less cold-resistant varieties should also be covered with some special covering material that will help to more easily endure winter frosts.

Pests and diseases

Bone sap has good immunity and is rarely affected by both diseases and pests. Occasionally, plantings can be harmed by leaf miners, which are difficult to remove even with the help of an effective insecticide. Such bushes must be cut off, removing all areas affected by the miners, and the rest to process. If the procedure works, the plant will recover quickly.

As a prophylaxis for any disease, it is important to follow all the rules of agricultural planting.

Difficulties in growing bone sap

• If you plan to buy seedlings, then you must definitely pay attention to the fact that the entire root system must be in a pot, but in no case outside of it, since a strong and healthy plant will not grow from such a seedling. This is considered a gross violation in the cultivation of seedlings, such seedlings do not bloom well and are attacked by insects and affected by infections.
• The sapwood has a long germination capacity. Therefore, the seeds can sprout up to the beginning of May and this phenomenon is considered quite normal and acceptable.
• If you choose the wrong place for planting the steep, then due to a lack of sunlight, the flowers will be small, and there will be very few corollas.The flowering period can also be significantly reduced.

Breeding methods for stethoscope

Dividing the bush

The easiest way to get new young plants of the bush is to divide the bush. The procedure for dividing the bush must be carried out once every 5 years. The optimal time is spring and autumn. Of course, it is worth giving preference to spring planting, because over the summer and autumn, young plants will have time to take root well before the onset of frost.
The shoots should be trimmed, leaving about 20 cm. The bush should be well watered, after which it can be dug out. Evpatorium usually has a powerful rhizome, so it is worth preparing a small saw in advance. Each seedling must have a minimum of 3 growth points. Sections must be treated with a fungicide. Young bushes must be planted in pre-prepared holes.

Reproduction by shoots

This method of breeding stethoscope involves the use of kidney recovery. They need to be cut in the spring along with part of the rhizome, when the shoots reach 5 cm in height. Next, the buds need to be planted in individual pots or a common container for seedlings, but in this case, you need to keep the distance between the buds of 7 cm. Plantings need shading and moderate watering. After a month, the kidneys will take root and then you can transplant it into the open ground.

Cuttings

Another way of vegetative propagation of the steep is rooting of green cuttings. Cuttings are cut in summer, at the end of June. The length of the cuttings should be between 10-15 cm and have at least 3 points of growth. The cuttings must be planted in a sand-peat mixture, and on top they must be covered with polyethylene, thereby creating the effect of a greenhouse. Rooting takes about 1 month.

Types and varieties of stethoscope with photos and descriptions

Hemp steep (Eupatorium cannabinum)

The species lives in European countries near streams, in meadows or in wetlands. Eupatorium cannabinum forms stems up to 1 m in height, although it is also short. Finger-split foliage is located on small petioles and includes 3-5 lobes. Inflorescences at the tops of the shoots are in the form of scutes or panicles and are composed of baskets with pink flowers. The plant is considered poisonous, but it is used as part of folk medicinal drugs. The most common forms of this kind:

• Album - white-flowered stethoscope.
• Variegatum - forms bushes up to 75 cm tall. The foliage has a wavy white border along the edge of the plates. The color of the flowers is hot pink.
• Flore Pleno (or Plenum) - the flowering of this form is considered longer, and the inflorescences are composed of double flowers. The bushes grow up to 1.6 m in height.

Bone sap (Eupatorium rugosa)

This species is distinguished by oval foliage, located opposite on the stems. The edges of the leaves are jagged. Eupatorium rugosa has white flowers. The most common varieties:

• Brownlaub - forms bushes up to 1.5 m tall. The color of buds and fresh leaves is brown.
• Chocolet - cold-resistant variety with glossy foliage with a bronze-brown tint. At the same time, fresh foliage casts a little purple. In the second half of summer, tiny white flowers form on the bushes.

Purple stew (Eupatorium purpureum)

The species forms bushes up to 1.5 m in height. Eupatorium purpureum has green stems with a blue tint. The oval-shaped foliage is pubescent and forms whorls. Each sheet has a pointed tip and a serrated edge. Shield-shaped inflorescences reach up to 20 cm in diameter. They are made up of small baskets painted in various shades of purple and pink. Main varieties:

• Little Joe - Plants one meter in height with muted pink inflorescences.
• Little Red - forms shoots up to 1 m high, their inflorescences are painted in a dark pink color.

Bone sap (Eupatorium maculatum)

North American species that lives in forests or meadows near water bodies. Eupatorium maculatum forms powerful shoots up to 1.8 m tall. Elongated leaves are arranged in whorls. Inflorescences are usually purple in color.The most famous varieties of this species:

• Album - shoots reach 2 m in height, inflorescences are grayish-white in color.
• Atropurpureum - the stems are dark red, their height is about 2 m. The flowers are pinkish-purple.
• Barterd Bride - large bushes up to 2.4 m in size are supplemented with white inflorescences.
• Big Umbrellaz - the size of plants reaches 1.8 m. The stems are reddish, complemented by large gray-pink inflorescences.
• Gateway - shoots are colored red, and their height reaches 1.5 m. Spectacular inflorescences are lilac-pink flowers.
• Karin - 2-meter bushes have inflorescences painted in a delicate lavender color.
• Purple Bash - the variety reaches 1.5 m in height. Shoots have a deep red hue. The inflorescences are lilac-pink, but smaller than those of the Gateway steeple.
• Phantom - a hybrid with dark shoots. The height of the bushes does not exceed 1 m. The flowers are painted in a muted purple color.

Skeleton in landscape design

Stem stands are grown as solo or group plantings, or turn it into a background plant, next to which shorter flowers will look good. For this, the bushes can be placed in the middle tier of the mixborder. Among others, astilbe, daylily, buzulnik, rudbeckia and echinocea are good neighbors for such plantings. Bonewood also goes well with cereals, and also turns into an excellent bait for butterflies.

Bristleweed thickets can decorate the coastal areas of garden ponds. Due to the height of the bushes, they are also often used to mask garden objects that need to be hidden from view.

Beautiful inflorescences of the steep stem can be used for cutting - they remain in water for a long time. In addition, flowers or twigs can be used to create flower arrangements and flower arrangements. If the above-ground part of the birchwood is not cut off for the winter, large bushes will retain their decorative effect even when dry under the snow.