Copena - perennial that feels great in the shade, and therefore can be a good complement to a dense garden. Garden lily of the valley (the second name is kupeny) is ideal for creating designs in a natural environment, especially considering the plant's ability to grow rapidly.
In total, there are about 50 species of kupen, and various varieties differ not only in the color and shape of flowers, but also in the size of the bush itself (for example, the giant Chinese kupen grows to a height of 120 cm). Professional growers and amateur growers prefer to grow fragrant, medicinal, whorled, undersized or broad-leaved.
If you decide to plant the plant described in your garden, then the following information will be especially useful.
Place for landing kupeny
Virtually any soil composition is suitable for the growth and normal development of the kupene, but it looks best when planted in partial shade or shade. The only requirement for soil - compulsory fertility. On scanty areas, which are also located in the open sun, the garden lily of the valley will not look so spectacular, and the buoy grows in such conditions much worse.
When choosing a site for planting, it is necessary to take into account the depth of groundwater, because this plant does not tolerate stagnant fluids. If you plant a cupola under the trees, then it will rather quickly save you from weeds, since the dense thickets formed by it do not give them any chance of life.
Did you know? The English name is bought by Solomon's Seal, which means "Solomon Seal" and indicates the healing properties of this plant.
Planting and breeding kupeny
Despite the fact that many experts talk about the possibility of planting buried in open ground at any time of the year, it is best to do it at the end of summer, after clearing the chosen place from weeds and digging the soil 20-25 cm deep. In addition, a little ash can be added to the soil and mineral fertilizer can be applied, at the rate of 10–15 g per bush.
A drainage layer is also poured into the finished landing pits (crushed stone and sand are excellent for this role), and then compost is added, which is pre-mixed with the top layer of earth. Further developments depend on your chosen breeding method.
Division of rhizomes
One of the most popular variants of vegetative propagation of the garden lily of the valley is the division of its rhizome, and the resulting tree should not be too small.
The landing process itself is as follows: part of the rhizome with a stem or bud horizontally buried in the ground by 8-10 cm, then compact the ground above them and moisturize. In the first two years after such a landing, the kupena develops very slowly, and more intensive growth begins only with the full survival of the root.
If you decided to propagate the cupola by planting part of the rhizome of the donor plant, then the soil should be dug over the selected site (30 cm deep), remove all weeds and loosen it well. It is also useful to add wood ash, organic and mineral fertilizers.
After planting, a young bush should be protected as much as possible from excessive attention.
Important! If you do not control the growth and development of the kupen, performing division of the rhizome every few years, then over time it will grow too actively and will begin to oppress or even crowd out the neighbors.
Seeds
In addition to vegetative propagation, seed is often used. However, the seeds of the kupena are very rarely tied, since the pollination of a plant can occur only with the help of long-trunk bumblebees. The exception is the broadleaf lily of the valley, in which almost every year new fruits appear in large numbers.
In general, seeds lose their germination quickly and need to be stratified, but when choosing this method it is better to carry out a landing closer to winter.
Important! A plant grown from seed begins to bloom only in the 3rd or 5th year after planting.
Since the development of the baths takes a long time under the ground, you can only see the first shoots next year.At one place the plant can grow up to 15 years.
Simply put, when answering the question “How does a buried breed multiply?”, It’s impractical to talk about the possibility of a seed variant.
Kupena in landscape design and combination with other plants
The thick ornamental thickets formed by the activity of the bupenes make the plant a welcome guest in any garden or flower garden. The garden lily of the valley will perfectly hide all empty and unsightly parts of the territory and will make such places a real paradise.
It is also good when it grows in the shade of trees, which is why it is often used for planting tree trunks of garden trees. However, the plant will be able to help with the organization of rockeries, becoming an excellent central addition among short-growing fellows (for example, daisies, asters or pansies).
Using a bath in landscape design, you will definitely not lose, because even after it has flowered, the gracefully curved leaves of the plant will maintain the overall composition in a new color.
"Solomnova print" will be an excellent background for daylilies and irises, and in the general planting with tulips will help to hide the fading of spring bulbous. In addition, the kupena is great for the neighborhood with other plants, which, like her, prefer penumbra.
These include various types of ferns, a diverter and morrozniki. By the way, these plants are often chosen for the role of neighbors for kupeny.
Kupena looks good in cutting, so that it is often used to create bouquets or whole flower arrangements.
Did you know? All parts of the garden lily of the valley are very poisonous, although many animals eat them with pleasure. The most dangerous parts are the rhizome and fruits.Many gardeners recommend planting a garden lily of the valley along a hedge formed by perennial or annual bushes. The fact is that when the bushes grow up, their lower stems begin to bare and lose their experienced appeal. High shoots garden lily of the valley perfectly hide this flaw, just growing in the shade of shrubs.
Care of the bath in the process of growing
After dropping the bathhouse at the dacha or in the garden, you must provide her with good care in the open field. This concept means timely watering and mulching of the soil, quality weed control, as well as regular plant nutrition.
Watering and mulching the soil
The selection of watering regime depends largely on what kind of garden lily you grow. For example, a multi-color whip should be watered regularly, but in moderate doses, constantly maintaining the soil moisture, but not flooding the plant itself.
At the same time, the kupu is broad-leaved, medicinal and pink, does not need frequent watering and tolerates long-term droughts well. Therefore, it is necessary to water these types of baths only when there was no precipitation in a particular region for a long time, and the soil is very dry.
Important! With an excessive amount of moisture in the soil, the snail is often attacked by snails, slugs, mold and various fungal diseases.Usually, after watering the plants, gardeners loosen the soil, but in the case of a bath this option is unacceptable, because there is always the likelihood of damage to the fragile rhizome, which is very close to the surface. Therefore, loosening is replaced by mulching.
Weed control
If weeds interfere with other plants practically all their life, then the coupena suffers from them only in the first few years after planting. A young plant is not strong enough to cope with climbing parasites, but once the lily of the valley begins to grow, the weeds will have no chance.
However, so that the saplings do not die even at the initial stages of their development, well inspect the place of future planting and carefully collect all the weeds. Protecting the plant will help and rinsing its rhizome, which is performed before the direct placement of the buried in the ground.
Plant nutrition
As we have already mentioned, bupena is quite unpretentious to the composition of the soil and can grow on depleted soils, but if you want to get a beautiful and full of strength plant, then you should plant it in the ground, rich in humus. When planting in fertile soil (including fertilized when planting plants), lilies of the valley can not feed a few years.
Otherwise, when you got a very scanty territory, for rapid growth, you will have to purchase complex and mineral fertilizers that are applied to the soil twice per season: the first time in early spring, and the second during flowering. In addition, even on the earth rich in vitamins, the plant feels better if once a year, in the spring, it is additionally fed with organic fertilizers: manure or compost.
Resistance to pests and diseases
Perhaps, kupena is almost the only plant that is highly resistant to natural pests and diseases.
Garden lily rarely suffers from such misfortunes, but in dry weather it can still be attacked by snails, slugs, and in some cases caterpillars of the sawfly, which in a matter of minutes are capable of completely destroying the leaves of the plant.
That is why it is so important not to miss the moment of the appearance of insects in order to begin the correct struggle with them.
Wintering kupeny
Successful cultivation of kupeny involves the fulfillment of another requirement, which is relevant in preparing for the winter season. The ground part of the garden lily, with the onset of cold weather, simply dies off, and the rhizome calmly waits frost in the ground.
However, this feature is relevant only in a temperate climate, so that nothing more is required of you. However, if cultivation of kupena occurs in areas with severe frosts, the plant should be provided with additional shelter. It can be done with sawdust, peat or lapnik.
In short, the cultivation of garden lily of the valley will bring the desired result only if all the recommendations regarding planting and plant care are strictly followed.
