How to propagate host
Content:
Hosta seedlings are very expensive. They can be obtained independently from an already adult plant. Hosta, the reproduction of which is possible in several ways, usually takes root well. How to carry out the procedure is described correctly below.
Description of the flower
A perennial herb of the Liliaceae family, native to Asia. It grows from May to mid-autumn. Its beauty lies in its ornamental leaves: they can be round, narrow or heart-shaped in shape; in color, light or dark green, gray-blue, yellow, bluish, red shades; smooth or bumpy in texture, glossy or matte. The edges of the leaves can be edged or wavy, the tip is curled. On the leaves themselves, there are yellow stripes of various shapes and sizes.
What flowers look like
The leaves grow in rosettes from the roots and gather in bushes. The host is unpretentious, tolerates cold well and even loves the shade, for which she received the title of "queen of the shadow garden". Average height 50-80 cm (royal, St. Paul, Atlantis); depending on the variety, the bushes can grow up to 2 m (Saga, Dream Queen, Big Daddy) or only 5 cm (Delia, Little Jim, Blue Ice).
It blooms from mid-summer to mid-autumn. The inflorescences are collected in brushes, the flowers are shaped like bells or wide funnels and have a rich aroma. Hosta flowers come in white, purple, pinkish or blue shades. Peduncles grow up to 1 m in height. The host does not require special care in growing, tolerates transplantation well, is resistant to pests and diseases, in one place it can grow up to 10 years, and the full life cycle is 20 years. The rhizome is dense, with filiform roots.
Hosta is combined with many other garden flowers: irises, peonies, lilies, cobea, lungwort, looks great in a composition with ferns and conifers.
How the host reproduces
Host breeding methods:
- dividing the bush;
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- test tube propagation.
The last option is considered the most effective, it is used in industry. The essence of the process is in the cultivation of seedlings in test tubes. The method is divided into microclonal and meristemic.
In micropropagation, the shoot or bud of a plant is placed in an artificial environment, where the necessary indicators of light, temperature and humidity are maintained. The grown seedlings are adapted to external conditions.
Meristem reproduction is designed to heal the plant. Here, the deep cells of the kidneys (meristem cells) are involved, they have a minimum amount of viruses and diseases. The plant is healed using a microscope: the meristem tissue is isolated and placed in an artificial environment, where the cells give life to new sprouts. They are carefully checked for infections and only completely healthy specimens are used for further reproduction.
Seedlings grown by such methods may even be a new species and may not retain the varietal characteristics of the parent plant, as they are affected by the artificial environment. Yes, the process is complex, requiring special equipment, so it is beyond the power of an ordinary florist.
When and how to propagate the host by dividing the bush
By dividing the bush, only an adult, healthy plant is propagated. The larger the bush, the more the cut will turn out. To do this, dig up the entire bush. One plot should have several rosettes with leaves. They are planted at the same depth as the parent plant.The distance between plantings should be about 30 cm. For good survival, the planted plants are abundantly watered and mulched around the soil with sawdust or dry grass.
When to share to host? Best time to divide a bush:
- early May;
- any summer month;
- beginning of September.
You can plant the bush when it is fully ripe. A clear sign of the necessary seating is when the center of the crown begins to shrink.
The bush can take up to five years to form. A young plant does not show its varietal characteristics; they appear as it grows. Therefore, frequent transplants are undesirable, since you can not wait for the varietal characteristics of the hosts. The first time you can divide the bush in 4-5 years.
How to split host
Choose the right one from the garden tools. It is better to work with a large bush with a shovel, with a small one - with a knife with teeth; with a large root, use a hacksaw for metal (the cut is treated with ash or crushed coal in order to prevent decay processes).
Before removing the plant from the ground, cut a circle around it with a diameter of 10 cm if the bush is small, and 30-35 cm if the bush is large. Then they pry it under the root with a shovel and carefully remove the plant with a lump of earth.
The host needs to be divided carefully so as to damage the root system as little as possible. Small roots are neatly separated by hands, large seedlings are divided with a knife with cloves.
Slow-growing varieties are best divided in large parts, and well-growing varieties will grow even from one outlet. It is undesirable to divide the entire bush into more than four parts.
Roots
Plots are examined for damage and disease, suspicious areas are removed.
The soil is prepared either in the fall or a month before planting: they dig up and add fertilizers. Mineral fertilizers are applied to the poor soil.
Delenki are planted at the same depth at which the parent plant grew. A little wood ash is poured into the bottom of the hole. The distance between plantings should be kept about 30 cm. For good survival, the planted plants are abundantly watered and mulched around the soil with sawdust or dry grass.
At first, you can use mullein infusion as a top dressing. Be sure to periodically loosen the soil and remove weeds.
You can get delenki without digging up the entire bush. To do this, choose one or more strong sockets. They are dug in from the outside and carefully separated from the mother bush. The resulting void is filled with fertilizer, the plant is watered abundantly. The resulting cut is planted first on a prepared bed for growing, and then transplanted to a permanent place.
Division
Reproduction of hosts by leaves
The process is simple and fast to execute. Best time to breed:
- mid-spring;
- early summer.
This method of propagation does not damage the root system and preserves the varietal characteristics of the plant.
In young shoots, a rosette with a part of the rhizome is cut with a sharp knife. The cut is treated with sand. The cut outlet is planted in a greenhouse or shady place and covered with a bottle. The leaves will elongate within 3-4 weeks.
When the plant grows, it is transplanted to a permanent place. The earth must be tamped, watered abundantly and mulched. The latter applies only to medium and giant varieties; small and dwarf varieties can die from such a procedure.
How to grow hosta from seeds
How does hosta propagate by seeds? The plant is difficult to propagate by seeds, as they have a low germination rate. Slow-growing varieties are propagated in this way, and some do not bloom at all and, accordingly, cannot produce seeds. Also, a lot depends on weather conditions. Varietal characteristics of seed grown hosts appear in 4-5 years.
Hosta seeds can be purchased or harvested from an existing bush. They mature within 6-8 weeks after pollination. Ripe bolls turn brown and crack, usually at the end of summer or autumn.
For maximum evaporation of moisture, seeds are dried at a high temperature and stored at 20-40 ° C. Some gardeners believe that seeds will grow much better if kept in a cold environment for two months (leave in the refrigerator from February until sowing).
The soil can be bought or kneaded independently from peat, periculite and vermite, taken in equal proportions.
Suitable containers are pots, boxes, cups or cassettes with cells that are sold at a flower shop. They are treated with medical alcohol. A drainage layer is required at the bottom.
The soil for sowing must be loose, without hard lumps. The container is filled with a ready-made mixture (peat and perlite must be included in the composition) and poured with a solution of potassium permanganate and evaporated in a water bath for half an hour. Then the soil is allowed to cool.
It is advisable to sow seeds by seedlings in containers, and not in greenhouses, hotbeds or open ground.
The seeds are planted in January. Before planting, they are soaked in a growth stimulator (epine, root, zircon) or they are stratified for a month at a temperature of 5 ° C, since the seeds germinate very poorly.
They are planted to a depth of 5-7 mm. Correct landing technology:
- Compact the earth.
- Sow seeds.
- Sprinkle with perlite.
- Seal.
This will ensure good seed-to-soil contact. It is not worth tamping the ground, it should be loose. It is leveled and slightly compacted. The finished plantings are covered with foil.
At a temperature of about 20 ° C, the first shoots will appear in two weeks.
Seedling hosts
Small shoots must be protected from the sun, watered moderately and remove condensation from the film.
Seedling
When the first leaves appear, the seedlings are transplanted into other, previously sterilized containers with nutrient soil. They are watered by lowering the containers into a container with water (bottom-up method) and left in this form until the ground is completely saturated with water.
The sprouts are now ready for independent survival. It is important to choose a good place for them, the hosta does not tolerate drafts, likes partial shade, some varieties, prefer to grow in groups. The soil needs slightly acidic, moderately moist, permeable to moisture and air. They have been preparing it since the fall: the necessary organic fertilizers are distributed over the beds at a depth of 10 cm. In the spring, planting begins.
Landing
Before planting, the seedlings are watered abundantly, then they are carefully removed from the container, if necessary, the wide roots are straightened and lowered into a previously dug hole. The topsoil with the sprout should be slightly below ground level. The hole is covered with earth, slightly compacted, watered abundantly and mulched with sawdust or dry grass.
The approximate distance between the holes should be 50-60 cm, and if the variety is capable of growing to gigantic sizes, it is better to leave up to a meter.
At first, the planted host can be fertilized (once every two weeks until July).In the fall, the soil is fertilized with humus or compost. Water the plant under the roots. The ground should almost always remain moist.
For the prevention of diseases and pests, the plant is treated with special substances.
Also, hosta sprouts can be grown in containers for two years, when the leaves are formed, and on the third, plant seedlings in open ground.
If the hosta begins to bloom in the year of planting, it is better to remove the peduncles, since the plant has not yet matured.
Summer grafting host
To propagate the host with cuttings, you need to know how to properly separate them from the general bush. The procedure is carried out in May-June. Rare or slow-growing varieties are usually propagated by cuttings. Only those shoots are selected that are well separated (usually they have short petioles and small leaves). They should have a heel - a piece of rhizome with roots. The resulting cuttings are planted first on prepared beds or in a greenhouse and watered every day.
When the plants get stronger and take root, you can transplant them to a permanent place.
Cuttings
Preparing the plant for winter, the leaves are cut with pruning shears and sprinkled with peat.
Hosta does not require special care, it is considered a plant for the lazy. It is easy to grow it yourself at home. With its beautiful leaves, it is able to decorate any garden. The main thing is to study everything about the flower, including about reproduction, in order to get healthy specimens, and not sluggish and sick ones.
