Kobey climbing: what is it like, how to feed it to bloom
Content:
The climbing shrub of the kobei climbing belongs to the Sinyukhov family. It is a perennial crop that is grown in Russia as an annual plant. The large and eye-catching flowers of the plant will beautify your home or garden. Even a nondescript landscape can be brought to life with a single kobei branch. This southern plant is widely used by landscape designers all over the world.
Plant features
In nature, the cobei flower grows in Peru and Mexico. It got its name in honor of the monk Barnabas Kobo, who loved natural science and studied the nature of the subtropics. The first mention of the plant dates back to the end of the 18th century. Now it is used for landscaping gazebos and creating hedges.
Flowering kobei
In its natural environment, the kobei plant is found in South America. It differs from other representatives of this family by its very rapid growth of shoots. The powerful root system of the plant consists of a large number of fibrous branches.
The stem length can reach six or more meters.
A perennial flower has compound-plumose leaves arranged alternately. Each of them is divided into three parts. At the end, the leaves become narrow and tendril-like. It is they who help the kobe to cling to the nearby support in order to reach a height where the sun is. In rainforests, you need it to survive.
Purple kobei bells
The kobei flower has the shape of a large bell. Its diameter can reach 8 cm. The original flowers are attached to the stem with strong pedicels. They are located in groups or singly. Only when you see a kobei flower, you can understand what it is and appreciate the beauty of the bush.
Popular varieties
Of the 9 species of Cobaea known to science, only one is grown in Russia - a climbing or creeping variety of a plant.
Kobeya creeping is distinguished by its unusual leaves and large bell-shaped flowers that exude a tart musky smell. Kobei grows very quickly, which is good for a short summer in central Russia.
Designers make extensive use of the flower when decorating landscapes. The most popular kobei varieties:
- Alba. It has large white flowers that hang down beautifully.
- The Tsar Bell. Delicate white flowers delight the eye from mid-summer to the very frost.
- Cathedral bells. The flowers are large, purple in color. Flowering continues until the first frost.
- Colando. This variety has large blue-purple flowers with a long pistil protruding from the petals. The plant is thermophilic, so you need to plant it in the sun.
- Amazon. It has a lush vine, reaching a length of 4 m. The flowers of this kobei are purple, pleasing to the eye for several months.
Seed planting by seedling method
The most common way of growing kobei is by seed.But novice gardeners often face the problem of germination, since the seed coat is thick enough, and the sprouts cannot always break through it.
Experienced growers dissolve the peel in a liquid and then scrub the mucous substance from the seed surface. The order of the procedure:
- Having laid out the seeds on the bottom of the container so that they do not touch each other, they are poured with plain water and covered with a lid.
- After half an hour, the degraded layer is removed.
- If necessary, the procedure is repeated several times until the coating is completely dissolved.
This is the preparatory stage for obtaining a kobei plant from seeds, the cultivation of which is not particularly difficult. After peeling, the planting material is ready for planting.
Seed fruit of the plant
The process of growing seedlings begins in late February - early March. Each seed is immediately planted in a separate container. This avoids a dive, which the kobeya does not tolerate well. Any soil from the store is suitable for planting. Seeds are laid out on the surface of the soil and sprinkled with a thin layer of substrate. If preliminary cleaning has been carried out, then the first shoots will appear in two weeks. Otherwise, you will have to wait for the sprouts for some time.
When the second pair of leaves appears on the seedlings, they should be planted in more spacious containers. It is best to transfer plants with an earthen clod so as not to violate the integrity of the root system and allow the seedlings to grow stronger faster. Even for such a tiny kobei, a support made of plastic or wood is already needed. For this so-called ladder, the plant will cling to the antennae.
After three weeks, the climbing cobe, whose cultivation is not too difficult, will be ready for planting in the ground. It is better to do this when the night frosts are over. Seedlings can hardly tolerate frequent transplanting, so in the first days you will have to monitor their condition.
Kobei: planting and care in the open field (non-seedling method)
It is not recommended to grow a flower in open ground in central Russia, since the seedlings will not have time to get stronger and bloom in time. The plant develops best from seedlings grown on windowsills, but some gardeners grow kobei flowers in peat tablets in the garden.
In autumn, young shoots are stored in a room with a temperature of about 5-8 ° C. In the spring, they can be planted again in the ground without damaging the roots. Shoots bloom much earlier than kobei, which were planted and cared for in winter. The problem with this method is the need for constant monitoring of the condition of the seedlings. They should not outgrow or die from lack of water.
Propagation by cuttings
In addition to the seed method, it is possible to grow kobei using cuttings. They are cut from plants brought into the house for the winter. Moistened sand is used for rooting. Young shoots are planted in the ground in mid-May, when it is already warm enough. This method allows you to achieve an earlier flowering. However, in this case, when the kobea blooms, the process is not particularly splendid.
Plant breeding by cuttings
Features of care in the garden
When transplanting a plant to a site, it is necessary to choose a well-lit place with soil rich in minerals. Another condition is protection from the cold wind, the contact to which the kobei liana can hardly bear. It is better to choose darker corners of the site. The distance between the bushes should be at least 50 cm. A humus-peat mixture is poured into the planting pits before planting, and the seedling transferred with a lump of earth should be watered well after that. In order for the stem to have support, you need to build a special arch or fence nearby.
If the possibility of frost exists, for some time the bushes are insulated with a covering material. Later they are opened to provide access to the sun's rays.
Watering is carried out systematically. Its intensity depends on the temperature regime of the region.
You need to start feeding the kobe when shoots appear. To do this, they are watered with a solution of humate. It is necessary to do this, and when they grow intensively. For normal development, nitrogen fertilization is required once a week in the soil. When deciding what else to feed the kobe with, one should not forget about the increased need for a flower for potassium and phosphorus at the beginning of flowering.
In addition to top dressing, for normal growth, liana needs to loosen the soil at the roots and get rid of weeds.
On hot days, in addition to watering, shoots must be sprayed with water. To make the flowering lush, the following activities are performed:
- cutting off faded buds;
- pinching a stem that is too long;
- transferring stems that have fallen to the ground on a support.
Preparing for winter
In October, long kobei vines are cut off, and a 20 cm trunk and a lump of earth with roots are dug up. Having moved the remains of the plant into a container, it is sent to a cool room for a dormant period (until spring).
When and how it blooms
Kobei looks especially beautiful when it blooms. The color of its large bell flowers is bright purple. They also come in a wine-white shade. Flowering occurs in early July and can last until the first fall frost. With the onset of cold weather, the flower is simply pulled out of the ground along with the roots or transferred to home flowerpots.
Changes in care during flowering
While the kobei is blooming, you need to remove the wilted buds, and tie the new shoots to a support. Also, the plant needs to be watered regularly, fed with complex fertilizers and ash added to the soil. If it is necessary for the kobei to have more leaves, it is fed with nitrogen fertilizers.
Possible growing problems
Improper watering and high soil moisture are especially dangerous for this ornamental crop. Because of this, the roots are affected by rot. The first symptom of the disease is dark spots on the leaves.
Home decoration outside
As a preventive measure, you need to control the intensity of watering, loosen the soil at the roots and remove their affected areas. In the most difficult cases, the plant is completely dug up. Such a bush must be looked after as follows:
- remove decayed rhizomes;
- cut off the stems to a level of 30-40 cm;
- treat with protective equipment;
- plant again, but in a different place.
From insect pests, aphids and ticks affect the flower. To get rid of them, it is enough to treat the shoots with a solution of green soap and Fitoverm. You can replace this effective remedy with a flea treatment for animals.
It is quite easy to grow a climbing kobe in the garden. The main thing is to properly care for the seedlings and do not forget to water and feed on time when the kobea is blooming. Liana, strewn with flowering buds, will noticeably transform the site.
