Decorative sunflower: Features of planting and care. How to grow decorative sunflower. Heliantus - decorative sunflower in the garden or on the windowsill

This annual herbaceous plant with wonderful "sunny" flowers will decorate any household plot. Do many gardeners know that the usual sunflower usually refers to the form that has more than 150 decorative varieties?

Content

Origin of decorative sunflower

More from the Mexican expedition of Christopher Columbus to Europe, seeds of an unusual plant were brought to Europe, which later received a name in the form of a flower - Helianthus (from the Greek "Helios" - the sun and the "antos" - flower).

Then, in the 16th century, the plant caused genuine admiration for its unusual form of flowers: paintings and poems - artists captured the beauty of this culture in their works.

In Russia, a sunny flower was hit by Peter the first: he brought seeds and punished with domestic gardeners to grow an unusual culture. It is like a decorative plant that spread then sunflower, which is now used in agriculture. But the varieties for the flower bed were brought by breeders significantly later: new varieties appear, characterized by a height, inflorescence, their tint and quantity.

Description of type

Heliantus is a herbaceous plant, which is grown around the world: in South and North America, Europe, Japan, and even in Africa. Sunflowers decorative include in bouquets, used in landscape design and grown as potted flowers on the windowsill. And the inhabitants of Austria so loved the sunny flower, that they even discovered the "Sunflower Park", where all possible wild and selection varieties of this culture are collected.

To date, the species is made to divide 2 subspecies:

sowing sunflower;
decorative sunflower.

There are both annual and perennial varieties.

Many Geliantus varieties look so much that they are even difficult to associate with their progenitor - now agricultural sunflower, from whose seeds are favorite in every family oil.

Colour. The coloring of the Helianthus flowers can be the most diverse: white, cream, apricot, orange, burgundy, lemon, brown and, of course, yellow.
The flower shape is simple, as well as semi-world and even terry.
Form of petals: round, long, twisted into the tube curved.
In the diameter, the flowers of different varieties can be from 5 to 30 cm.
Height of the stalk of the plant. Conditionally plants divide on 3 height groups:

giant varieties reaching 2-3 m in height ("Russian giant", "Toll Single", "yellow giant", "Titan", "Russian Mammont", "Bismarkianus");
average varieties whose height is from 1 to 1.5 m;
compact varieties, up to 60 cm high (Teddy Bear, Pacino, Music Boxing, Sunny Bunny).

All varieties have a subtle aroma and are honey plants.

Varieties of decorative sunflowers

We will not list all the varieties known to date. We will only tell about the most popular of them:

"Teddy bear" - this variety is very loved by the gardes of our country. An annual plant does not exceed 1 m in height, in the middle of the summer blooms large (22 cm in diameter) terry flowers, the color is bright yellow. Flowering continues until autumn.
"Red Sun" is a variety derived from domestic breeders, gained popularity around the world. It has red-brown petals, a long period of flowering, and height can reach 2 m.
"Vanilla Ice" is the famous grade grown on the cut. Flowers are notahn vanilla shade.
"Moulin Rouge" - has an unusual color: burgundy red petals become lighter to the edges and darker closer to the drawing of the flower.
"Kong" is the highest decorative sunflower - the height of the adult culture is 5 m. Often on the household plots it is planted for creating a living hedge.
"Procut Red Lemon Bicolor" - has inflorescences of two shades: the inner part of the petals is red, the outer - gently yellow, and the flower grip is black.
"Pacino" is a very small plant with expressive bright yellow flowers.
"Big Smile" - a low grade (maximum of 30 cm) with yellow flowers with a black middle.
"Sunspot" is an amazing dwarf grade with huge flowers (20-25 cm in diameter).
Music Box is a variety that is characterized by a large number of flowers on one plant.

Planting Helianthus in the garden

The name of the sunny flower itself suggests that it loves to grow on well-lit plots. Choose a plot with fertile soil for the plant so that there is no need to make feeding during the growing season. The plant will be better to feel if the landing site will be protected from sudden wind gusts that can break his fragile stem.

Decorative annual sunflowers from seeds are planted. Prepare sowing material is very simple:

wood ash dissolve in 0.5 liters of warm water;
pour a piece of fabric by the resulting solution;
wrap the sunflower seeds into the cloth;
leave for a day;
if the tissue dries - moisturize it with the same solution.

Seeds need to be chopped into the soil at a depth of no more than 3 cm. It is very important to think through the planting scheme of the culture: if the grade is compact, then it is enough to be 30-40 cm between plants, and if a large one is minimum of 70 cm.

The first plants can be planted at the beginning of May and a week after landing will appear. Blossom will begin in July and will last until late September. Some gardeners to prolong the flowering period of flowering flowering of flowering, plant plants with groups with a small interval over time (about 2 weeks) throughout the summer.

Decorative Sunflower: Plant Care

Sunflowers in care of unpretentious. They need:

watering as the soil drying (it is important to prevent water stagnation) - at least 1 time per week;
soil looser;
deleting weeds.

As you fight, floral baskets need to cut, without waiting for the formation of seeds - it will stimulate the plant on the formation of new buds and renewing the flowering cycle. In addition, the removal of faded inflorescences will help maintain the decorativeness of your garden.

If you want to remove the plant completely, then just cut it under the root: digging one bush, you can damage the gentle roots of the neighboring, still actively blooming crops.

How to grow decorative sunflowers at home: instruction

At any time of the year, a bright sunny flower will delight you by setting around on the windowsill in a warm apartment. The process of cultivation is so simple that many parents are pleased to entrust him with children who are watching the development of culture with great interest.

So, the first thing to do is to choose an interesting variety, walking in the nearest garden center. The main thing, do not forget that dwarf varieties are suitable for home cultivation.

Select container

To land the decorative sunflower, purchase a standard color container, taking into account the height of the future sunny flower and the number of plants you are going to plant:

too small pot will soon become a plant and it will have to transplant it, but the Culture transplant tolerates badly - so it is not worth doing this;
if the variety is a dwarf, the optimal will be a pot for planting, the diameter of which is 30-40 cm;
if you have a special balcony boxes for colors, it is perfect for landing several sunflowers at once;
if you still want to plant the average sunflower in the apartment (height to 1.5 m) - you will need a large box (from 18 liters), for example, such in which vegetables are transported.

Soil for sunflower

Disinfect the pot before landing to eliminate the development of diseases in the plant. Provide a fort for water drain under the bottom.

Be sure to pride the drainage - put on the bottom of the container for planting pebbles (pebbles, gravel) or pieces of foam. Flip the soil on top of the drain layer (universal soil for flowers). Earth should be so much that to the top of the container remained 2-2.5 cm. Well bypass the soil.

in soils, you can add special crystals that hold moisture - it will help maintain the optimal balance of humidity;
in order for the decorative sunflower to receive the necessary nutritional elements, add to the soil overworked compost (1: 1).

Landing and care

When the pot is prepared, go to the landing. Seeds are better to land in pairs when the plants will go up, remove the weaker of them. It is necessary to plunge the sowing material into the soil by 2.5 cm.

While the seeds do not germinate, it is necessary to water the soil every 2 days, watching soil moisture.

Shoots will be noticeable after 3-8 days. But if it passed 2 weeks, and the sunflowers did not proceed - they no longer go.

Place the container with decorative sunflowers, install in a well-lit place, so that the culture gets the rays of the sun throughout the day.

Pests and diseases

Sunflowers are subject to many dangers. Most often, they are attacked by mole, usach and a spindlers. The pests set on the culture and the contents of its stem, soon bringing the plant to death. Watch out the plant and as soon as notice the appearance of the uninvited guests on them - to process insecticides. One processing session will be enough to eliminate the threat.

Among the bacterial diseases that culture can be infected - rust, false mildew and brown spotty.

False powdery dew. The reason for the occurrence of the disease can be the defeat by insect-carriers of infection. Most often it is a wave, cherler or shield. Also bacterial lesions can be facilitated by the increased humidity of the soil or air.

It manifests itself a false milder dew on a white rode on the inside of the leaves, dark spots appear on the outerly.

To stop the dissemination of the disease, remove the most affected areas of the plant, carefully sterilizing tools for trimming. Then the entire landing is treated with special antifungal drugs - fungicides.

If you do not want to apply chemicals, then use the Folk Recipe: dissolve 3 g of copper mood and 25 g of household soap in 1 liter of water. Spray the plants by this agent until the symptoms of the disease disappear (usually after 3-7 days).

Buuray spotty (philostose) for decorative sunflower is also a fairly common problem. Moreover, it can get sick as a sunny flower on the garden and the one that is grown on the windowsill.

If you have noticed the stems and leaves of sunflower stains (round or oval shape), which over time dries away is a bright spot.

The phillostose can be propagated through the soil, water and even tolerated by the wind from neighboring sick plants. The development of the disease occurs rapidly at high air temperatures (above +26 ^oC) and high humidity.

Immediately, as soon as stains appeared, the affected parts of the plant should be removed. And if the sunflower is grown in the room - retain it from healthy plants. After removing the affected part of the plant, tools and hands need to be processed with alcohol, and sprinkle the cutting place on the culture to be activated. At the initial stage of development, to prevent enough of these measures.

If the disease continues to spread, the culture must be treated with special chemical antifungal drugs - fungicides. For example:

vectra preparation - diluted in water bucket (2-3 mg);
the drug Abiga Peak is diluted in half a bucket of water (40-50 g);
the drug strobe is bred in a bucket of water (4 g).

The resulting composition thoroughly spray all the above-ground part of the plant.

Rust. It is also a big problem for decorative sunflower. The causative agent of the disease is a rust mushroom. It is manifested by the appearance on the leaves or stalks of the empty - bubbles of bright orange, which, caused by, bursting. Inside the bulk contains orange powder.

To avoid the appearance of rust on the leaves of decorative sunflower, it is necessary to comply with all agrotechnical care regulations for it: to pour and explode the soil, remove weeds.

The disease can be eliminated using fungicides.