Tigridia (Tigridia) is an unpretentious perennial herbaceous bulbous plant from the Iris family, uniting in its family about fifty different species. The variegated color of its perianth forms the basis of the plant's name, which in Latin means "tiger". A feature of tigridia is the very short flowering period of each flower. He only lives for 8-10 hours.
Opsyvanie flower tigridia
The tigridium flower grows on average from 30 cm to 70 cm.It consists of a rhizome in the form of a dense corm, a straight or branched stem, xiphoid leaf plates of bright green color, a peduncle with several buds and fruits - boxes with smooth brown seeds. Butterfly flowers consist of three large monochromatic petals of red, pink, yellow, white, lilac or orange and three small petals with multi-colored patterns - stains, consisting of 2-3 shades. In group plantings, tigridia bloom from mid-summer to almost the end of October.
Planting tigridia in the open field
Optimal time for planting tigridia
The most suitable period for planting tigridia is the second half of May or early June. The bulbs are very sensitive to the slightest cold snap, therefore, they should be planted in open ground after the complete cessation of night frosts and severe cold snaps.
In case of insufficient lighting, the shoots of plants will begin to stretch, become thin and brittle. At the slightest breath of wind, the stem can be damaged. Based on this, it is recommended to choose only an open sunny area for planting tigridia, without the slightest hint of shade or partial shade.
The flower does not tolerate cold wind and drafts. This should also be taken into account when choosing a tigridia planting site.
The soil should be light, loose and very nutritious. The root part must receive a sufficient amount of air and moisture. Good drainage is also necessary so that the water does not stagnate. The earth must first be dug up, adding lime in the process of work. If the site consists of clay or loamy soil, then it is recommended to mix it with sawdust, fine gravel or coarse river sand.
How to plant tigridia correctly
You can grow tigridia flowers from seeds in a seedling way. To do this, the seeds are soaked in warm water for 1-2 hours or a weak solution of potassium permanganate, after which they are sown in a sandy peat substrate and kept in greenhouse conditions for 15-20 days. Seedlings are transferred to open ground in the last days of May.
For the bulbs, before planting, preventive measures are taken against possible diseases and infections. They are treated with a special disinfecting solution (for example, 1 liter of water and 2 ml of "Maxim") for two hours. And for earlier flowering, it is recommended to put the bulbs for distillation.
Before planting tigridia bulbs in open ground, you need to sort them. The size of the planting hole depends on the size of the planting material.
It is very important that the planting material is planted in well-heated soil with a temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius. For small tigridia bulbs, the hole depth is about 5 cm, and for large ones - about 10 cm.The distance between plants is 15-20 cm, between rows - 20-30 cm.
Caring for tigridia in the garden
Watering and spraying
Caring for tigridia is not very difficult, even a novice florist will be able to do it. Tigridia have special requirements for watering. Irrigation water should not only moisten the soil surface, but also get to the root system of the plant. It is necessary to water the soil where the tigridia flower is grown regularly in moderate amounts, and on hot summer days - every day in the evening. If there is no natural precipitation for several weeks in a row, and the temperature rises to thirty degrees and above, then it is recommended to add daily spraying with warm water to regular irrigation. Excess and lack of moisture in the soil will lead to the death of flowering tigridia bushes.
Fertilizing
If the cultivation of tigridia takes place on a fertile or already fed area with the necessary nutrients, then fertilization is no longer necessary. Poor or depleted soils, it is advisable to fertilize twice a season. The first time after planting tigridia bulbs is watered with liquid mineral fertilizer in about a month. The second time - when buds begin to form - tigridia plants must not only be watered at the root, but also sprayed on the leafy part. The solution is prepared from 3 liters of water and 9 g of complex mineral fertilizer.
The soil
As weeds appear on the flower garden, weeding and loosening of the soil should be carried out. There should be no dried crust on the surface of the soil, which poorly passes air to the roots.
To maintain moderate moisture in the soil and to protect plants from weeds, experienced flower growers recommend necessarily mulching the flower bed and flower garden with tigridia. Peat and rotted deciduous humus are perfect as mulch. With such a protective layer, the soil will always remain light and moist.
Pruning
Regular pruning of tigridia will allow you to maintain an attractive and blooming appearance on the site throughout the entire period of development of exotic perennials. Withered buds, damaged shoots must be removed constantly. Cutting off unnecessary parts of the plant, the flower will devote all its strength to the ripening of the bulbs, which is very important for the upcoming wintering.
Pegs or rods as support are needed only for tall species and varieties of tigridia. Without such "support", lodging of plant bushes is possible.
Tigridia transplant
In the first days of March, you can already start preparing tigridia bulbs for transplanting. They are buried in a light and loose soil mixture by about 3-4 cm, completely covering with soil. The planting container must contain drainage holes. Three or four bulbs can be placed in one flower pot at a time. Caring for tigridia bulbs consists of moderate watering before sprouting and abundant moisture after germination. It is very important not to overflow the water as the roots will start to rot. Experienced flower growers recommend using the bottom watering method in this case.
After the arrows appear, the planting containers are moved to a windowsill with a sufficient amount of light and heat and grown before transplanting into open ground. It is important to protect the flower from drafts. Bulbs sprouted in this way begin to bloom much earlier.
The depth of the pit for planting tigridia bulbs should not be less than 60 cm. Preparation consists in laying a drainage layer with a thickness of 10 cm to 20 cm, a layer of horse manure and a loose soil mixture in the same volume. Fine gravel or crushed red brick can be used as drainage material.
Sprouted planting material is placed on the surface of the soil in a pit, sprinkled with a fertile mixture all the free space and lightly tamp the surface. The first abundant watering is carried out immediately.
A favorable time for transplanting tigridia is the first week of June.
Breeding methods for tigridia
Seed propagation
Usually, the seedling method of reproduction of tigridia is used. Seeds are planted in February - March and germinated at a temperature of about 25 degrees Celsius. Picking at individual containers helps prevent root injuries when transplanting plants. Tigridia seedlings must be transferred to open ground by transshipment (together with an earthen clod). It usually takes six to seven months from sowing the seeds to the first flowering.
Propagation by daughter bulbs
Small baby bulbs must be separated from the adult bulb with a sharp knife on the day of planting. It is recommended to sprinkle the cut points with charcoal or activated carbon powder, then immediately place the planting material in the ground, sprinkle it and water it.
Tigridia in winter
Storage of tigridia bulbs
The thermophilic tigridia is not able to withstand the harsh winter times and negative thermometer readings, so its bulbs are removed from the ground in autumn and stored in a room with a low above zero temperature. Only well-ripened bulbs can preserve in good quality. That is why it is very important to remove them from the soil in a timely manner. A withered aerial part of flowering plants is an indicator of an already ripe and ready-to-store root part. If the shoots and leaves are still green, and the weather already presents surprises in the form of frost, then it is necessary to immediately dig up the plants along with a clod of earth and bring them in a cool room with good lighting. As soon as the aboveground part fades, you can proceed to the next stage.
All the bulbs, with and without children, are first cleaned and washed well under running water, then soaked in a disinfecting solution (for example, in Fundazole or Maxim) and left to dry. Dry prepared corms can be stored until spring in two ways.
- Wooden boxes or plastic containers are filled with peat or sand, the planting material is buried in them and kept in a cellar or basement. The necessary conditions are moderate humidity and air temperature in the range of 3-10 degrees Celsius.
- You can use paper bags or cardboard boxes to store tigridia bulbs. They are placed on the lower shelf of the refrigerator along with the planting material, not forgetting to inspect their condition from time to time.
Diseases and pests of tigridia
Possible diseases of tigridia are scab, rust, root rot, mosaic.
Preventive treatments of flower plantations with herbal infusions, fungicidal preparations or folk recipes will help prevent the emergence and spread of the disease. Crops must be sprayed repeatedly until buds appear. It is impossible to rid the flowers of the mosaic.
Possible pests of tigridia are slugs, bears, thrips, caterpillars, cabbage scoops.
To kill slugs, you will need various traps installed on a flower garden or manual collection of pests. Bears die from treatment with soapy water. And the rest of the uninvited guests can be destroyed only with the help of insecticides.
Types and varieties of tigridia with a photo
Peacock Tigridia (Tigridia pavonia)
The most common species, most often found in our country. The flowering period lasts 2-3 weeks and usually begins in the second half of July. The average height is from 30 cm to 70 cm.It blooms in purple, orange, red and yellow shades. Varieties:
- Alba
- Lalatia
- Rosalind
Tigridium tubular (Tigridia buccifera)
A compact form of a flower with rounded outer petals of a lilac shade, up to 7 cm in diameter. The stem is short, branching, the leaves are narrow. It is used in group plantings, as well as on a rocky background and near water bodies. The average height is 40-50 cm.
Tigridia multiflora (Tigridia multiflora)
A species with small-sized burgundy and pinkish flowers. The difference from other plants is the large petals bent outward.
Chess Tigridia (Tigridia meleagris)
An unusual color appearance of a flower, the surface of which is covered with light and dark spots of different shades in a checkerboard pattern. Hybrid varieties are painted in white and lilac shades.
Breeding work on the development of new varieties of tigridia continues to this day. The work uses such types of flowers as Tubular, Mexican, Celeriana and others. The tigridium flower is also used by professional landscape designers who recommend planting a plant in combination with conifers and ground cover representatives. Great neighbors for unusual flowers will be thyme, phloxes, arabis and low stonecrops.
