Where does geyhera grow. Growing geyhera: planting and caring for the plant

Geichera is decorative all season. It has no equal in beauty and variety of varieties and shades. The color range is impressive: from green and silver to red and black. There are varieties whose leaf color is different in spring and summer. It is more interesting to watch a geyhera - a chameleon, than other flowering perennials. In care, the geyhera is content with little.

Geichera in garden design

Individual plantings with geyhera look most impressive when the plants are a multi-colored carpet of golden, orange, brown, green, red, pink and almost black leaves.
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Planting geyhera in open ground

Planting geyhera is not difficult even for a novice gardener. Determine the appropriate time, choose a place, prepare the plant and boldly plant the bushes. After landing, provide proper care: cover from the bright sun and "drink" the geyhera.

Heuchera planting dates

1. The best time to plant geyhera is May And June. The plant needs a little more than a month and not too hot weather for confident rooting.
2. Permissible in the conditions of the Moscow region and July planting geyhera if the plant is purchased with a closed root system, and there is no heat outside.
3. Plants planted in august, may not have time to take root in the case of early autumn and early September frosts.

Place for planting geyhera

• Heuchera feels equally good in the shade and in the sun.
• However, landing in absolute shade, for example, on the north side between the house and the fence, is best avoided.
• You also need to consider that different varieties look different in intense light or in the shade.

Before you place the plant in the garden, you need to put it in the sun or in the shade, and decide in what kind of lighting you like the look of the geucher.

How to properly plant a geyhera

1. Soils are preferably loose with the addition of compost or humus, I add ¼ bucket of humus per 1 m², I do not add other fertilizers.
2. Before planting, the plant, together with the pot, is immersed in a solution of sodium humate for several hours.
3. I take the plant out of the pot and inspect the roots, carefully take out all the granular fertilizers, if any, so that the plant quickly gets used to the new soil and switches to self-feeding.
4. You need to plant geyhers in the same way as strawberries, without deepening the root neck.

After planting, you need to water and shade if it's hot outside.

Care for geyhera in the open field

Geichera is an unpretentious plant in care, but there are also nuances in growing. The plant eventually forms a good rosette of leaves, the top grows, and the lower part of the stem becomes a little bare, and therefore the geyhera needs autumn mulching with soil or compost.

Heuchera top dressing

Heuchera do not need to be overfed, otherwise the bush will quickly age.

• I only add compost when planting.
• Then, for 3 years I do not apply fertilizers, and after that - renewal and transplantation.

The faster the geyhera grows foliage, the more the bottom of the bush is exposed, the plant turns into a kind of “palm tree” and needs to be rejuvenated.

Heuchera flowering

IN June- July geyhery throw out flower stalks, gardeners deal with them differently.

1. There are varieties with beautiful flowers, they can be left, and there are flower stalks that are completely inconspicuous, they are cut one at a time at the base so as not to leave protruding “stumps”.
2. There are lovers of geyhera who appreciate only the leaves in it, they cut off the arrows with buds as soon as they appear.
3. It is believed that flowering weakens the plant to some extent and, instead of building up a rosette of leaves, the strength goes into flowers.
4. In my garden, I did not notice that flowering somehow weakened the plants, so I cut the flower stalks not before, but after flowering, preventing the seeds from setting.

Photo: geyhera flowering

Heuchera in winter

When growing geyhera, you need to remember that the plant hibernates with leaves, so in the fall they are by no means cut off.

• Since the plant comes out from under the snow with leaves, and the soil is still frozen, the geykhera often “burns out” in the sun, and gardeners sometimes mistakenly believe that the plant has not overwintered.
• To prevent the death of the geyhera from the sun's rays, in October or March, right on a thin layer of snow, I spread a non-woven cloth over the geyher plantings and securely fasten it. I shoot material in early May in cloudy weather.

What to do if the spring geyhera suffered from the sun?

1. You need to take a knife and cut off the very top of the plant with a stem about 2-3 cm long. If the stem is dry and soft, then there is little chance of resuscitation of the plants.
2. If the stem is hard, you need to cut off all the dried leaves and completely immerse the cutting in the epin solution: 2 drops per liter for several hours.
3. Then, in partial shade, prepare the soil, level it, pour a few cm of sand on top, moisten it properly, and stick the cutting, leaving only the top of the head on the surface. Top with half a plastic bottle with a closed lid.
4. The stalk needs to be watered, usually after 3-4 weeks the leaves begin to grow. This year, the plant is not transplanted; after 1.5 months, in cloudy weather, the bottle is removed.

Pruning geyhera in spring

• In the spring, I cut off the lower leaves of the geyhera.
• I do this after I remove the non-woven fabric from the plants.

Reproduction and rejuvenation of geyhera

Geichera reproduces quite easily with the help of rosettes

• If there are side outlets, they are carefully separated with a knife, dug up and planted in a new place.
• If the sockets are separated without roots, they are covered with a plastic bottle, that is, they create a greenhouse.

If it is planned to update the geyhera bush, it is completely dug up and the sockets are separated.

Propagation of geyhera by cuttings

1. It happens that half-decayed roots and a half-dry "stump" - a trunk are found in old bushes.
2. That's how they do it. With a sharp knife or secateurs, cut to healthy tissue, even if a very short stem remains.
3. Leaves are cut off, leaving only a few of the youngest and cuttings of plants, covered with bottles.
4. With cuttings, it is desirable to have time before mid-summer.
5. If the cuttings are slowly overgrown with leaves, or the cutting process itself is carried out closer to autumn, then I leave the plants to winter under the bottles.

The same method is used when you need to rejuvenate an old plant. Rejuvenate geykhera 1 time in 3 years.
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Geuchera (Heuchera) or spotted geranium is a genus of herbaceous rhizomatous perennials of the Saxifrage family. The flower got its name in honor of the German professor of botany and medicine I. G. Geyher. This plant is native to North America.

This plant began to decorate gardens and parks relatively recently, previously it was known as mountain sapling and was used to heal wounds and ulcers.

In landscape design, geyhera has become popular because of the variety of colors of velvety leaves wintering under the snow. Delicate flowers, retaining their decorative effect throughout the summer, complemented its beauty.

Geichera is a rounded shrub consisting of several rosettes with bright long-leaved leathery leaves. Over time, the number of rosettes on the plant increases and in a 3-5-year-old flower their number reaches several dozen. The size of the patch in diameter reaches 60 centimeters. The height of the plant, depending on the variety, ranges from 20 to 100 centimeters.

The leaf stalks are long. The leaves are rounded, of various colors, often greenish-red. The edges are serrated. The redness is most noticeable on young, unfolding foliage and in autumn, after frost. During the season, the color and texture of the leaves changes up to 10 times. On the surface of the plates there may be patterns, shapeless spots, small dots, veins. Winter green leaves are replaced in late April - early May.

The plant blooms in early summer. Red-brown peduncles in height reach 60-100 centimeters. The openwork inflorescence panicle is a large number of miniature bells. Flower color can be red, white, pink and white. Red-flowered species are the most common, white-flowered species are less common.

In autumn, instead of buds, fruit-boxes with very small seeds appear. There are about 20 thousand seeds in 1 gram.

Types and varieties of geyhera with a photo

The genus geyhera has more than 70 species of this plant. They, in turn, are divided into mountain and forest species. Among the most popular types, the following can be noted:

H.sanquinea Engelm

This mountain species is distinguished by its endurance and is considered the ancestor of most varieties and hybrids of geyhera.

The leaves are dense, rounded, serrated at the ends. The color is green or spotted. Some of the varieties are distinguished by light green or cream marbling.

Peduncles reach half a meter in height. Red, white, pink or coral bell buds are collected in a panicle.

H. grossulariifolia

The leaves are similar to gooseberries, collected in 15-centimeter rosettes. They have 3 or 5 blades measuring 7 centimeters.

Peduncles 60 centimeters high. The buds are large, white.

H.villosa

The velvety leaves of this species are triangular in shape. They are large in size, reaching 20 centimeters. Their ends are pointed. The leaves change color from green to bronze during the season, in some varieties they are chocolate in color. Petioles of leaves and pale pink peduncles are pubescent.

The flowers are white, pink or creamy green.

H. micrantha

This species has wedge-shaped leaves. The color is purple, bronze, some varieties have silver specks. In winter, the leaves are rounded, in summer they are spreading.

Inflorescence-panicle 60 cm high. Flowers small, creamy pink. Anthers are orange. Buds appear by the end of spring, the plant blooms for 2 months.

H. cylindrica

This tall species is unpretentious in care. The leaves are green or coral, with a silvery pattern or contrasting veins. The shape is heart-shaped, rounded.

Peduncles reach 1 meter in height. Flowers are collected in the form of a cylinder, small, delicate colors.

H. americana

Leaf socket 20 centimeters high. The leaves are heart-shaped or rounded brown-lilac. At the first autumn frosts, a bright crimson border forms on them.

Peduncles in height reach half a meter. Buds are yellowish green.

H. hybrida

This is an interspecific hybrid obtained by crossing the blood-red, American and small-flowered varieties. The plants are larger than the blood red variety.

The leaves are often green, veins of contrasting shades. You can also find speckled varieties with a beautiful cream pattern.

Peduncles are tall. The buds are white, coral or pink. Flowering lasts most of the summer.

shaking

This is a colorful hybrid with a variety of foliage colors. Leaves are voluminous.

Flowers are large. The color varies from white to red. Flowering lasts up to 2 months.

About 400 varieties of this beautiful plant are known, the most popular of them can be called, such as:

Variety Marmalade

This variety is considered one of the most common. Dense leaves have a carved texture. They are collected in a lush basal rosette. The upper part of the leaf is colored in orange, yellow, bright red and red tones, and the inside is purple.

The height of the peduncles is 30 centimeters. Buds are greenish.

Low, slow growing bush, no more than 20 centimeters high. Matte leaves are rounded, wavy, change color with aging. From orange or reddish, they become greenish-yellow.

Peduncles brown. Flowers coral or red.

Forever Purple

Violet bushes 30 centimeters high, 55 centimeters wide. The leaves have an openwork frame. The purple color does not change throughout the growing season.

Bell-shaped small buds are located on low peduncles. They are collected in panicles and painted in a light purple hue. Flowers among the leaves are barely visible.

Glitter

The bush reaches a height of 25 centimeters. In spring, pink foliage blooms on the bush, over time they dress in silver. Leaves become silvery with black veins. The reverse side of the sheet is lavender.

The buds are large, similar to fuchsia. Blooms from June to early September.

Zipper

Zipper

Multi-colored geyhera is distinguished by orange, golden and amber hues. Leaves change color over time. In spring they are orange, in summer they are golden. The underside of the leaf is purple. Flowering begins in July. Buds-bells cream or white.

Variety Cappuccino

The bush is compact, low. The leaves are wavy, coffee-mustard. The edges are serrated. Over time, the color of the leaves becomes green.

Peduncles 0.5 meters high. Flowers small, inconspicuous.

Cajun Fire

The bush is fast-growing, 25 centimeters high.

This fiery beauty changes the color of large matte leaves. In early spring they are bright red. In summer they are reddish-black, and in autumn they become burgundy.

The flowers are white buds that rise above the bush. Flowering lasts from early June to late July.

Variety Melting Fire

The bush is compact, consists of wavy leaves forming a rosette. In spring, the blossoming leaves are purplish-reddish. Over time, they darken and become a brighter, more saturated color. The underside of the leaf is reddish.

Peduncles erect. The buds are small, openwork, snow-white, like miniature bells.

Variety Caramel

The bush is low, grows up to 30 centimeters. Large golden-orange leaves. In spring they turn bright red. Over time, they become yellow or amber. The scarlet shade remains on the wrong side.

Flowering rare, but lush. Buds are cream or pale pink.

Variety Amethyst Mist

Bushes reach a meter in height. Wine-colored leaves with a silvery speck. Flowering lasts from late May to mid-July.

Variety Rio

The height of the bush is 20 centimeters, the width is 30 centimeters. The leaves change color from pinkish green to orange or bright red during the season.

The flowers are snow-white. The flowering period is May - August.

This hybrid has purple-colored leaves on top and beet-colored underneath. The shape resembles a holly maple or ivy. In hot summers, the leaves turn bronze.

Bell-shaped beige buds are collected in panicles. Peduncles erect.

Variety Comet

It is a hybrid variety resistant to heat and cold. The leaves are serrated, rounded, with a delicate edge. They emerge from the rhizome and form a rosette.

The peduncle is even, 40 centimeters high. Buds-bells are small, red. Flowering lasts up to 3 months.

Variety Midnight Rose

Shrub miniature, 25 centimeters high. Differs in a rich dark maroon color of the foliage of a heart-shaped form. Pink spots are scattered on the leaves.

The plant blooms in early June. The buds resemble small bells.

Variety Purple Castle

It is a hardy, small-flowered variety. Bush 50 centimeters high. The leaves are large, burgundy-purple with a silvery tint. The roots are branched. Flowers are white.

For different varieties of geyhera, you need to choose a suitable place for planting. Most often, a flower needs good illumination with a slight darkening.

Some varieties from hot sunlight lose their decorative qualities.

Red and burgundy varieties, on the contrary, prefer bright light, as their leaves turn green in the shade.

Water should not accumulate at the planting site, otherwise the plant will die.

Land for planting is suitable for any, and neutral acidity, and slightly alkaline. It should pass water and air well to the roots of plants. To do this, drainage from coarse sand or fine gravel is poured into the planting holes.

The plant is planted in the ground in the form of seedlings. It is best for these purposes to take seedlings with a protected root system (in peat pots).

Plants are planted in the ground at the end of the last spring frosts. In warm regions, this procedure can be carried out in the fall. During autumn planting, the soil must be mulched with ash or bark. In the spring, after the snow melts, the mulch is removed.

Where and how to plant a geyhera in the garden: video

The main features of care are top dressing, watering and hilling.
You need to hill the bushes in the fall, while preparing them for wintering. In addition, gerhera requires pruning of peduncles and foliage.

Nondescript flowers of some varieties spoil the beautiful view of the flower beds. Therefore, flower stalks are removed immediately after the appearance. If the geyhera has already faded, then the flowers are removed along with the stems.

Old, dead and dry leaves are cut off in the spring, after the growth of young shoots begins.

You can’t cut geyhera in the fall! The old leaves of the flower protect the roots of the plant from freezing.

In the dry season, geyhera should be watered 1 time in 2 days as the soil dries. In very hot weather, watering is carried out 2 times a day - in the morning and in the evening.

When watering, water should not fall on the leaves, otherwise burns form on them.

If in the spring the ground around the flower is mulched with peat, then in the summer it will not be necessary to often loosen the soil and remove weeds.

In the first year of growth, geykhera does not need top dressing. You can fertilize the flower a year after planting. Top dressing is carried out twice a season (before and after flowering). For this, a small amount of complex mineral fertilizers is used.

reproduction

Geichera is propagated by seeds, dividing the bush and cuttings. Planting seeds in the ground does not guarantee the preservation of varietal qualities. Therefore, growing plants in seedlings is considered the most suitable.

The viability of geyhera seeds is maintained for six months after harvest. To preserve their germination for a longer period, when harvested, they are placed in a foil envelope and sent to a cool, dark place. In this case, the seeds can be used for 1.5 years. Sowing is done in early spring.

For planting, a box or container with drainage holes is taken. It is filled with an earthen-peat mixture, which is spilled with a hot solution of potassium permanganate or foundationazole. After moisture has drained into it, geyhera can be sown.

Before sowing, the seeds are mixed with wet sand. They are distributed on the surface of the soil and covered with glass or a transparent film. At a temperature of + 20-22 degrees, the first shoots appear after 2 weeks.

A phytolamp is installed next to the germinated seedlings for additional lighting.
The soil is moistened as it dries. It must be poured along the edge of the container, water should not fall on the plants.

After the appearance of 3-4 leaves, the plants are seated in peat pots. After the plants grow up and get stronger, they can be planted directly in pots in open ground. Landing takes place at the end of May or June.

The distance between plants is 20-30 centimeters. They need to be planted in holes with a depth of 30 centimeters. Previously, a layer of drainage is poured onto the bottom of the pits.

By autumn, the first leaf rosettes will form on the plants and they will easily survive the winter.

By dividing the bush

This method is considered the most effective, as it allows you to fully preserve the decorative qualities of the flower.

An annual transplant is not required for the plant; it is carried out for reproduction and rejuvenation of the flower. After 3-5 years, the geyhera loses its decorative qualities and the bush falls apart. During this period, the plant needs a transplant. It is held in early spring or autumn.

The bush is carefully, without the use of sharp objects, divided into parts. Roots are checked for disease and rot, and treated with rhizomes and crushed activated charcoal or ash. After that, the plants are planted in a new place.

For planting cuttings, processes growing on the sides are taken. They are pruned after the end of flowering geyhera. The cuttings are cut together with part of the outlet. Long processes are divided into parts, the length of which should be equal to 3-4 centimeters. The lower sections are treated with a root formation stimulator, and the upper sections with ash or activated carbon.

The cuttings are planted in peat soil and covered with a transparent film. In a month, the plants will take root.

Cuttings that took root closer to September are not recommended to be planted in flower beds. They overwinter in a greenhouse.

Geichera has good resistance to various pests and diseases. But in rainy weather, it can be affected by powdery mildew, spotting, rust and oidium. Fungicides help fight powdery mildew.

Spotting, odium and rust can be eliminated by spraying the plant 2 times a month with a solution of Bordeaux liquid.

Stagnation of water, an excess of organic fertilizers and acidic soil provokes root rot. At the first signs of wilting, it is necessary to cut the rosette to a healthy tissue, leaving a minimum of foliage and root the resulting stalk in the standard way.

Slugs, weevils, snails and nematodes can harm the leaves and roots of the plant. To avoid these problems, the ground around the plants must be sprinkled with slaked lime or sawdust moistened with creolin, this repels slugs and snails. Mustard water helps against weevils, which is sprayed on a bush (a spoonful of dry mustard per liter of water).

In case of severe damage by any insects, you can use insecticides (Aktara, Iskra or Aktellik).

Trimming geyhera for the winter is strictly prohibited. Plants are sprouting. The soil around is covered with a layer of mulch from compost or rotted tree bark with the addition of ash. Plants are additionally covered with a layer of dry leaves, sawdust, needles or spruce branches.

In the spring, shelter and mulch are removed.

Geichera is used in shrub and flower mixborders. It is used in the design of rock gardens, borders, rockeries, coastal zones of artificial reservoirs. This plant is able to hide any problem areas. Heuchera is grown in containers and flowerpots, and decorates terraces, arbors, patios. It looks beautiful among ferns, lilies, roses, irises, sedium, veronica, daylilies, crocuses, chrysanthemums, tulips, brunera, daffodils, astilbes, hostas, primroses, geraniums, ornamental cereals.

Geichera in landscape design connects other flowers and plants. Among the variety of varieties of geyher, you can easily choose the one that will decorate this or that flower garden and will be combined with other plants.

Geichera is able to decorate any garden. This beautiful flower connects other plants and fills in any areas that need tweaking. Growing this plant is not difficult. This perennial grows quite quickly and pleases with the rich colors of its leaves, and some varieties and flowers.

Geichera is a perennial plant belonging to the Saxifrage family. This plant is of North American origin; most of its species in the wild grow in the United States, a small part of them in Mexico. A distinctive feature of geyhera is its decorative properties.

The color of the foliage of the plant can be very diverse: from standard green to extreme colors - red or silver. But that's not all, because there are plants whose leaf color combines several multi-colored shades. Geyhers are very popular with designers, because they allow you to get the most diverse colors of the lower level of flower beds and flower beds.

Below, the planting of geyhera and caring for it are considered in detail, as well as photos of some plant varieties. The plant retains an attractive appearance from the first months of spring to the end of autumn. Its use in landscape design is extremely wide - from continuous cover-type plantings to curb thickets on the sides of the paths.

Botanical description

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Geichera is a herbaceous plant about half a meter high.. The central stem as such is absent, the leaves are mostly basal. The length of the petioles can reach 30-40 cm. The leaves consist of five fused lobes, their size is about 5 by 10 cm.

1 root system plants have a rod structure. The central root is quite large and fleshy. Sometimes there can be several roots on one bush, as a rule, this is obtained by natural budding of additional roots from a larger one. The length of the root can reach up to 50 cm.

2 flowers the plant is small, mostly inconspicuous. However, some species are quite bright. Their color can vary from white and green to bright red or pink. There are practically no single flowers, they are mainly collected in inflorescences of the "panicle" type.

3 Fruit Plants are capsules containing several thousand seeds. The seeds are extremely small, slightly smaller than a poppy seed. One gram contains up to 20 thousand seeds.

The modern classification of geyhera does not have a single standard. In fact, there are two classifications of the plant: according to one, the genus has 58 species, according to the other - more than 70. The varietal diversity of the plant is quite large.

For several decades, about 400 varieties and hybrids of the plant have been obtained, differing in leaf color and size.

Some types of geyhera are able to interbreed with related plants of the same Saxifrage family. An example of such a cross is a hybrid of geyhera and tiarella.

Its distinctive feature is a plant with multi-colored foliage and fairly large inflorescences.

Geichera is very unpretentious and can grow even on stony soils completely devoid of soil. In the wild, there are several species that grow in the deserts of California and Arizona.

The plant reproduces in all possible ways - from vegetative to seed.

Landing

Choice of landing site

This is a very important question because there is no single answer to it. Mature plants do not tolerate life in sunny areas, preferring shade and partial shade, but this situation is contraindicated for young plants.

The growth rate in the shaded areas of the young is very low and you will have to wait a relatively long time to get beautiful bushes.

Since the plant tolerates transplanting and root separation well, it is recommended to plant plants in the sun at the beginning of cultivation, and then plant adult plants in shaded areas. Therefore, if a plant with a developed root system is purchased, it sits in the shade.

When planting young animals or the seed method of propagation of geyhera, planting should be carried out in a sunny area.

Besides, young growth does not tolerate cold wind, therefore, the place of his landing should have protection at least from the north side.

All varieties of geyhera very negatively perceive waterlogging of the root system, therefore, growing them in lowlands and any places with high water tables is not recommended.

There is another recommendation for choosing a place for a plant, based on the color of its foliage. Varieties with light colored leaves (such as yellow, white or silver) will do well in full sun.

While the darker ones (green, burgundy, crimson and blue) grow much better in shading.

soil for the plant

Geichera comes from mountainous and rocky areas, where the soil has a predominantly neutral or slightly alkaline environment. Most of the soils of the European continent, if they differ from neutral ones, then in the direction of oxidation.

Therefore, the soil for geyhera requires liming. Depending on the acidity, liming with ash or dolomite flour can be used.

The plant does not like too heavy soils, light and well water-and air-permeable soils are more preferable. The plant also needs drainage. It is made from broken brick or large rubble; The thickness of the drainage layer must be at least 5 cm.

Planting seedlings

It is most preferable to plant seedlings in mid-spring. Seedlings can be purchased or obtained by vegetative propagation of the plant. In both cases, the arrangements for their landing are absolutely identical.

The order of planting seedlings is as follows:

1 The stems of the plant should be cut to young tissue, and shoots that may have dried out should be cut to the level of living brood buds, which are usually located in the leaf axils.

2 Preparation of the root system consists in removing diseased, damaged or fungus-infected areas. Such parts of the root should be completely removed, and the sections treated with crushed charcoal.

3 Landing is done in squares or in a checkerboard pattern. Distances between plants in a row and between rows are 50-60 cm.

4 Under each bush, a hole should be dug with a diameter and a depth of 30 cm. At its bottom it is necessary to place drainage, which is covered with a layer of soil about 5 cm from above. Next, mineral or organic fertilizers are applied to the soil. As a mineral, you can use nitroammophoska (no more than 15 g per plant). Organics can be a layer of humus or compost (about 3-4 cm).

5 A young seedling is installed in the center of the hole and covered with soil. The soil is slightly compacted and watered with 3-5 liters of water.

6 For the first 2-3 days, it is desirable to shade the plant, after which the protection from direct sunlight is removed.

Full rooting occurs approximately 40-45 days after planting. It is during this period that the plant can already be transplanted to a permanent place. However, you should not rush - the transplant is best done at the beginning of the next season.

Planting seeds

Heuchera seeds

This is not the most common planting method, but with its help you can get a much larger amount of seed at lower material costs. Growing geyhera through seedlings is quite simple and not burdensome. Moreover, its seeds, subject to storage conditions, have a germination rate close to 90%.

It is believed that the viability of seeds stored outdoors or in a paper bag is six months. The use of sealed packages or foil packages that prevent access to seeds not only for moisture, but also for light, extends this period to one and a half years.

After these periods, almost all seeds become unusable, so it is recommended to carefully check the dates of collection and packaging of seeds.

Sowing seedlings usually occurs in late March or early April. Therefore, you should check the compliance of the expiration dates of the purchased seeds with the planting dates.

The main thing is to make drainage holes in them. It is also allowed to grow a plant using peat tablets with a diameter of 27 or 36 mm.

Seedling after germination

Further, two options for further growing seedlings are possible. Continue growing plants indoors or transplant them outdoors to a sunny area. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Since it takes approximately one year for a geuchera to develop a normal rosette, it is best to continue growing indoors. At the same time, around June-July, seedlings should be transplanted into larger boxes.

In summer, they can be taken out into the open air, or even stay there continuously until the end of the season, but with the onset of cold weather they are again placed in room conditions. The final planting of seedlings in open ground is carried out in the spring of the following year. This method of cultivation is applicable in areas with severe winters.

If the cultivation takes place in milder conditions, it is possible to plant the plants in a sunny area in the garden already in the middle of summer, corresponding to the year of planting. In this case, the plants will be better adapted for further cultivation.

However, in this case, they will need to be covered for the winter with a layer of mulch about 10 cm thick. Peat, sawdust or compost should be used as mulch material.

plant care

Directly maintaining a geyher in a healthy form does not require practically any action from the owner, since a flower accustomed to growing in desert conditions perfectly tolerates both summer and winter of a temperate climate.

Watering should be seriously limited, since in fact even the level of natural precipitation in a temperate climate is excessive for geyhera.

To maintain the required level of moisture in the soil for a long time, it is recommended to mulch the soil around the plant with sawdust or needles with a layer of 3 to 5 cm. For mulched plants in the shade, the amount of natural precipitation will be quite enough. Watering should be carried out only in case of excessive drying of the soil.

Plants in open sunny areas should be watered at an average frequency of 1-2 times a week. To maintain soil moisture, mulching of such plants is mandatory.

Even poor soils for mature plants have a sufficient level of fertility. However, feeding should not be completely ignored: once a year, at the end of the season, after autumn pruning, it is recommended to mulch the plants with a layer of peat or a mixture of peat and humus in a ratio of 1 to 1.

The above applies to decorative leafy varieties of geyhera. There are also several dozen decorative flowering varieties. They require fertilizing with complex fertilizers for flowers before and after the flowering period.

Of all the procedures for caring for a plant, the procedures for trimming and loosening the soil remain the most relevant. The need for pruning in temperate climates is greatly increased, as abundant vegetation rates cause vigorous leaf growth. This leads to a strong thickening of the bushes and the plant simply becomes cramped.

Usually pruning is done at the beginning and end of the season. The plant is actually evergreen and many of the leaves that appear in the second half of the summer may well endure the winter.

Pruning at the end of the season consists of removing diseased and damaged parts of the plant., as well as pruning extra side shoots and petioles that have lost leaves. But at the same time, even old leaves are not removed during autumn pruning.

Removal of too old, as well as diseased and injured leaves, is done in early spring. Also at this time, shaping and stimulating pruning of the bush is performed.

Loosening the soil is important because the root system of the plant needs a lot of air. The stony soils of the plant's homeland allow this process to proceed without problems, but in the heavy soils of the temperate zone, the plant may have certain problems.

Usually loosening is done every 2-3 weeks. At the same time, the soil in the area with geyhers is watered with a very small amount of water (to moisten only a layer of 2-3 cm at the surface) and loosened to the same depth.

Simultaneously with loosening, it is imperative to carry out the procedure for hilling the bushes, since the core of the bush constantly sticks out of the ground. However, it is also not worth being too zealous in this.

Why are geyhers good? First, its diverse coloring. And secondly, its exquisite simplicity. All their charm is in the leaves and less often in small elegant flowers. Experienced flower growers have long paid attention to geyhera, and not a single garden is complete without it. But in "ordinary" gardens it is rarely planted. Why? Geicheras are credited with the complexity of growing, which in many cases is not. You just need to UNDERSTAND what the plant wants and try to please it.

For any crops, environmental factors such as light, humidity (soil and air) and soil acidity are of great importance.

To provide optimal conditions for growth, you need to carefully monitor the plant, as well as know how it lives in nature. Let's try to figure out what geyhers love.

"TALKING" COLORS

The color of the geyhera variety is very diverse. The leaves are plain or with a complex pattern, with a glossy sheen or simply matte, with bright veins and almost black.

It turns out that by coloring geyhera you can determine how demanding it is for light.

Beginners need to choose varieties that have green hues. Do not think that these are the simplest, banal colors. They are marble, with a silver sheen, spectacular border. The green color provides chlorophyll, which makes plants more resilient. They can grow in both partial shade and full sun.

Purple, maroon and black geyhera often "burn" in the bright sun, because the dark color attracts heat. However, among the purple varieties there are many unpretentious and very popular. Take, for example, the Purple Castle (Palace Purple). Perhaps, everyone who is passionate about geykhers started with this variety. The bush is quite large, grows well, leaves with a juicy glossy sheen.

The varieties of marble coloring are quite unpretentious, there are a great many of them. The base can be green, purple, bronze and silver tones. Darker veins and transitions of shades make up the marble pattern. The best place for them is light partial shade. Although many varieties grow well in the sun.

The most "capricious" are yellow, red and light green geykhera. Their leaves have a minimal amount of chlorophyll. For them, you need to carefully choose a place. In the bright sun, they sometimes dry out, and in the shade they lose their color saturation. Because of this, they weaken and winter poorly.

In good conditions, geyhera grows well and has a healthy appearance. If something is wrong, replant it. Perhaps she will like it better elsewhere and grow better.

1. So, the first rule when growing geyher is: avoid bright sun and too thick shade. Don't be afraid to repot your geyhera in search of a better spot.

FROM THE FOREST OR FROM THE MOUNTAINS?

All types of geyhera are divided into two large groups. Some come from the forest, others come from the mountains. Naturally, they have different soil moisture requirements.

Mountain species are more drought tolerant. This is a plus when growing in the summer. But they cannot stand stagnant moisture, as in the mountains water flows down. This is especially important in spring and autumn, when there is a lot of melt water or precipitation.

From this it follows that mountain geyher should be planted on a slight slope, for example, on an alpine hill.

Forest species of geyhera are less drought-resistant. They are used to living on the forest floor, under which the soil is always wet. This must be taken into account and water the plants, preventing drying out. If you are rarely in the garden, then monitoring the humidity is difficult. An excellent way to mulch the soil with compost, bark, coniferous litter, imitating the forest floor.

But forest geyher also do not like stagnant water. The soil in the forest is loose, and moisture easily penetrates deep into, without lingering at the roots.

Stagnation of moisture occurs on clay soils. When planting, it is necessary to provide drainage. It can be crushed stone, broken brick laid on the bottom of the hole. It is desirable to add baking powder to the soil: sand, sawdust, compost.

When buying a geyhera at an exhibition or in a store, they are unlikely to tell you what type this forest or mountain variety belongs to. But this is not required. We realized that both mountain and forest species are contraindicated in stagnant water and, conversely, its lack.

2. The second rule when growing geyher. Moisture should be in moderation: do not dry it in summer, and do not let it get wet in spring and autumn.

ABOUT ACIDITY

Geyhery do not belong to plants that have any special requirements for the acidity of the soil. Most varieties grow well in neutral and slightly acidic soils, and in our gardens the soil is usually slightly acidic.

But some varieties grow slowly for no apparent reason. Perhaps they need more alkaline soil. Mountain geyher often grow on chalk deposits and garden soil seems acidic to them.

Reducing the acidity of the soil is not difficult at all. It is enough to feed the geyher with ashes 2-3 times a season (a couple of handfuls per bush) or add lime materials (dolomite flour or lime) in the spring.

Finding out where your geyhera comes from is not necessary. Ash will be useful to any varieties.

3. The third rule for geykhera: pour ash under it 2-3 times a season or pour infusion of ash (1 glass per bucket).

LIKE VICTORIA

Heuchera has one feature, because of which it is often compared with garden strawberries (Victoria). Bushes need to be rejuvenated often. For 3-5 years, geyhers age and lose their decorative effect. We need to understand why this is happening and take action.

In their structure, geyhera plants are similar to strawberries. The stem is very short. The kidney is at ground level. Gradually, new buds form, the stem branches and grows upward. The kidneys rise above the ground on a kind of "horns". At the beginning of winter, during the snowless period, they can freeze slightly. At the same time, the plant dries out, and it loses its decorative effect.

The way out of this situation is quite simple. As soon as you see that "horns" have formed in the geyhera and the buds have risen above the ground, divide the plant. Cut off each bud (including the shortened stem) and plant separately. These cuttings take root very well. Only it is necessary to cut cuttings not in the fall, but in early August, so that the plant is securely rooted.

Part of the old leaves must be removed. Deepen the stem so that the kidney is at ground level. Cover the cutting with a plastic can for about a month. So that on a sunny day the plant does not overheat, grease the walls of the can from the inside with chalk or simply earth (contaminate).

In such a simple way, it is possible to quickly propagate geyhera. Then you can create a border from these plants or change the extra ones for other flowers from your neighbors. Young geyhers look very pretty: lush, compact, with beautiful healthy foliage. To avoid overgrowing, divide the plants every 3-4 years depending on the growth rate.

4. The fourth rule for geykhera: rejuvenate the bushes in time. This contributes to a good wintering and increases the decorativeness of plants.

FROM SNOW TO SNOW

The value of geyhera is not only in its elegant coloring. This is a winter green plant, it retains its leaves from snow to snow. Such a long period of decorativeness makes it indispensable in seasonal compositions. In late autumn, geyher bushes adorn the garden along with conifers and other winter green plants.

In the spring, geyhera wakes up one of the first. The leaves are perfectly preserved under the snow. But there is a danger here: the leaves begin to evaporate moisture, and the roots in the cold ground do not work. In bright sun, the leaves dry, especially in dark varieties. What to do?

Experienced gardeners from autumn (or early spring) cover the geyhera with spruce branches or spunbond from the sun. When the soil thaws, the shelter can be removed.

Even if the geyhera loses some of the leaves, it will recover. Next year you will know that your variety should be covered.

The fifth rule of growing geyhera. Some varieties need to be covered from the sun in spring. Use spruce branches or spunbond.

WINTERING

Geyhery rather winter-hardy plants. But if the growing conditions did not meet the requirements (especially for colored varieties), then by winter they may come weakened. Such varieties are best covered.

Advice from Elena Valentinovna Petrova.

Geuchera are best grown in a group in a separate flower bed or in a composition with shrubs. When geyhers are planted side by side, it is easy to build a winter shelter over them (photo 1).

The air-dry method is used. Boxes are placed on the bushes and covered with spunbond. On top of the branch, the last layer of film. The principle is simple: there must be air under the "roof". With such a shelter, geyhers are perfectly preserved, as if there was no winter.

In the spring, first remove the film. Spunbond is left for a while so that the leaves do not get a sunburn.

It happens that planting material is acquired late. Then young bushes can be planted in pots and kept at home on the windowsill. If the apartment is not very hot, geyhers will overwinter as indoor flowers.

GEICHERA IN DESIGN

All the rules that are said here about geyhers relate to especially beautiful, exquisite varieties. Popular varieties that can be found on sale grow without any hassle. The exception is the rule of division, which is fair for everyone: geyhers need to be rejuvenated.

It's hard to believe, but there are decorative leafy plants that can outshine the most spectacular flowers with the brightness of greenery. It will accept this - geyhera, planting and caring for it in the open field is not difficult at all and is available to summer residents in many regions of Russia.

Description of geyhera for open ground

All naturally occurring types of geyhera come from the American continent. Here, plants from the Saxifrage family, justifying their origin, settled in the rocky wastelands of the center and south of the United States and some parts of Mexico. Most of the plants tamed by man are perennial ornamental and deciduous crops. According to the description, in the open field, the geyhera, which forms a lush rosette of cut palmate leaves, changes color depending on the season, miraculously transforming the corner of the garden allotted to it.

The appearance of the foliage depends not only on the season, but also on the variety of geyhera. Thanks to two- or three-color leaves with jagged, smooth or corrugated edges, you can transform the most inconspicuous area.

The decorative effect is complemented by flowering that lasts all summer. The brightest inflorescences on erect peduncles are blood-red geyhera with small corollas of a coral hue. In other species, the flowers are predominantly white or pinkish, collected in sparse paniculate inflorescences.

When to plant geyhera in open ground? What you need to know about the nature of the plant and its preferences?

Conditions for growing geyhera in open ground

Usually, well-lit places are chosen for decorative deciduous plants, where bright colors on the leaves will look the most advantageous. However, geyhera easily settles under the crowns of trees, and in an open area it can wither and will require frequent abundant watering. Therefore, it is better for her to find a site with light protection from the scorching midday sun, but not in a dense shade that will “wash away” unusual patterns from the leaves, leaving only a green background.

The requirement for sufficient illumination is especially important to fulfill when planting in open ground and caring for variegated geyhera.

Despite its bright appearance, this perennial is unpretentious and, with proper care, grows well in summer cottages. In plantings, geyher often coexists with hostas, coniferous crops, herbaceous ground cover plants and shrubs, as well as tall flowering species.

When planting and caring in open ground, perennial geyhers are not demanding on the composition and nutritional value of the soil, but they do not tolerate:

• excessive acidity of the soil;
• high density of the earth at the landing site;
• stagnation of ground, melt and rain waters.

On a loose substrate that holds a moderate amount of moisture well, the plants are especially lush.

Planting time for geyhera in open ground

In nature, geyhers reproduce by seeds and vegetatively due to the growth of leaf rosettes. In the garden, it is better to use the second method.

Unfortunately, seeds collected from garden varieties do not retain the varietal characteristics of plants, and plants close to wild grow from them.

It is much easier to get a geyhera of the desired variety - using seedlings grown and seeds from a trusted manufacturer or dividing an adult outlet.

Seeds are sown in early spring in containers. In greenhouse conditions, the first shoots appear after 4-6 weeks. When true leaves open on the sprouts, the plant is transferred to open ground. Taking into account future growth, sockets are planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other.

In May or early autumn, large, often 3-4 year old geyher rosettes are planted, which lose their compactness and fall apart. This means that daughter plants have appeared near the main plant, and it is time to separate them.

Planting perennial geyhera in open ground and caring for plants

To make new plants more "fluffy", 2-3 rosettes with their own rhizomes are left on each delenka. If for some reason the planting material has no roots, it should not be thrown away. Cuttings with a few leaves and a piece of stem can be rooted by treating with a stimulant and planted in a sand-peat mixture. In a shaded greenhouse, roots form in 3-4 weeks.

If the cuttings are obtained in May or June, the time for planting geyhera in open ground is in the middle or second half of summer. The soil under such plants must be mulched, and the seedlings themselves provide protection from the bright sun.

On cuttings and large cuts, the places of cuts are powdered with crushed charcoal. Planting pits for geyher should have a depth of at least 30 cm and the same diameter. When this crop is used as a border, the distance between the bushes is usually 25–35 cm.

After planting, the plants are watered, and the soil under them is sprinkled with peat, rotted sawdust or chopped grass.

Heuchera care after planting in open ground

These plants are moisture-loving. Therefore, the basic care for geyhera after planting in the open field includes:

• regular watering to prevent the soil from drying out;
• loosening the soil surface under the bushes and near them;
• weeding;
• top dressing, which starts from the second year of life and is carried out with the help of complex means for decorative and deciduous crops.

In the warm season, geyhers are watered 3-5 times a week. In the heat and in the absence of rain, it is better to moisten the soil daily in the morning or after sunset.

So that there are no discolored burn marks on the leaves of the geyhera, the watering can should be kept as close to the ground as possible.

All plants of this genus bloom, but geyhera flowers are not always too attractive. If they interfere with the perception of the flower garden, or after withering, the flower stalks are removed by cutting off under the base. For the winter, the bushes leave with leaves. So that by the spring the bases of the sockets do not suffer from preli, it is better to cover them with loose spruce branches, oak branches, non-woven fabric and mulch.

Everything interesting about geyher - video

This small plant surprises not only with its airy and delicate flowers, but also with the incredible beauty of the leaves - of various shapes and colors. In a garden of any style: English landscape, luxurious Moorish or strict regular - such a decorative and deciduous perennial as geyhera looks great. Planting and caring for this plant is quite simple and even a novice gardener can do it, but there are some nuances and rules that should be observed and taken into account when growing geyher.

Botanical characteristic

This perennial, belonging to the saxifrage family, was named after the German physician and naturalist Geicher I.G. In total, there are about 70 natural species of this plant, most of which grow in various parts of North America. Geichera is a rather low, about 30-50 cm, herbaceous perennial, dense and variously colored long-leaved leaves of which are collected in a basal rosette. The flowering of this plant in the middle lane can be observed in the middle of summer. If the place was chosen correctly and all conditions were created, then in June-July each bush throws out flower stalks that reach a meter in length and are decorated with small flowers collected in paniculate inflorescences. They are red, pink, white, depending on the type and variety to which the geyhera belongs. Planting and care, the photo below shows how spectacular the flowering bush Heuchera villosa of the Autumn Bride variety looks.

After flowering, a fruit-box is formed, inside of which there are many very small seeds. The plant is quite frost-resistant and shade-tolerant.

History reference

At the very beginning of the 17th century, the botanist Karl Clusius described a plant - a mountain undergrowth - brought from North America. It was then that the Heuchera flower was mentioned for the first time in the scientific literature. Planting and caring for this plant were not described there, but it is known that by the middle of the same century it was cultivated in French gardens. John Tradescant Jr. was the first known geyhera horticulturalist, and 1656 is considered the year of their introduction into cultivation.

At the beginning of the 19th century, other representatives of the genus Heuchera were described, including Heuchera sanguinea, a blood-red geyhera found in Mexico. The planting and care of which did not differ from the already known species.

At the beginning of the last century, geyhers were quite rare in gardens, and for the most part they were species plants and their natural forms. The situation changed after the well-known French breeders of that time, father and son Lemoine, took up the hybridization of this perennial. The first hybrid form, obtained from crossing small-flowered and blood-red, was the shaking geyhera. Planting and care (a photo of a modern plant of this type of Pluie de Feu variety is presented below) is exactly the same as that of its "ancestors". In the future, breeding work was carried out both in France by the Lemoine family, and in Great Britain - by A. Blum. The latter received more than a dozen complex hybrid forms from crossing the hairy, small-flowered, American and cylindrical.

Kinds

In modern horticulture, the most common are not the natural species themselves, but various hybrids and varieties of geyher:

• American (Heuchera Americana) - with long-petioled leaves of a heart-shaped rounded shape, bordered along the edge. They have different color options.
• Hairy (Heuchera villosa) - stands out with large leaf plates, painted in apricot-bronze, light green and various shades of purple.
• Blood red (Heuchera Sanguinea) - also called the "red bell", has denser leaves than other species. This is the most unpretentious and stable geyhera. Planting and caring for her in the garden is minimal, the most important thing is not to plant her in sunny places, as she prefers to grow in partial shade and shade.
• Small-flowered (Heuchera Micrantha) is one of the most spectacular types of geyhera. On the leaves of plants of this species, there is a silvery color in the form of spots and "blots" of various sizes, there are also varieties with a velvet-cherry, almost purple color.
• Cylindrical (H. Cilindrica) - the largest representative of the genus Heuchera. The species got its name because of the cylindrical shape of dense inflorescences, which are reddish, pink and greenish-yellow in color. The leaves of this species are usually green.

Popular varieties

It is unlikely that anyone will be able to say exactly how many varieties of geyher exist today. Almost every year, breeders delight lovers with new and interesting plants. The approximate number of modern varieties is about 200. It will not work to tell about everything, but we will try to highlight interesting and popular ones.

• Low, only 25 cm, Amethyst Mist Coral Bells geyhera stands out with glossy foliage of a rich purple color, covered as if with an ice pattern of thin silver veins.
• The leaves of the beautiful variety Regina, whose height is about 30 cm, are painted lavender with an ash-silver tint. On high - 50-60 cm - peduncles, pink inflorescences bloom in June.
• Geichera Autumn Leaves (AutomnLeaves) is practically a chameleon variety, as it changes the color of its leaves three times during the season. In the spring they are "firemen" - bright red, in the summer - gray-green, and in the fall they turn crimson. The preferred landing site is partial shade.
• The Beauty Color variety is distinguished by its two-tone leaf color, a green border around the edge and bright veins.
• Creamy-yellow leaves adorned with reddish-brown veins will surprise the Heuchera variety Electra. The intensity of the yellow color varies throughout the season, and blooms with milky white bells. It is better not to plant in the sun.

If desired, all these varieties, as well as many others, can be grown as houseplants.

Geichera: planting and care in the open field

When growing this perennial, it is quite important to choose the right place to place it. This affects both the splendor of the bush and its flowering, the brightness of the color of the leaves, and the life of the plant. When thinking about where to plant a geyhera, it is better to opt for those areas where the sun is in the morning, or where there is light partial shade. Despite the fact that this plant is shade-tolerant, but only in openwork penumbra will it reveal its beauty to the maximum. Planting and caring for young plants have their own characteristics: they should be located in places protected from strong winds and with well-drained, light and nutritious soil. This plant is unpretentious, but in areas where water stagnates for a long time, for example after rain, it will die, as the root system will quickly begin to rot.

How to care for this flower?

We will not repeat how unpretentious the geyhera plant is. Planting and caring for it are simple: the right place with good soil, timely watering, mulching and hilling. As noted, this perennial does not tolerate stagnant moisture, but it also does not like overdrying of the soil. The earth around the plant should be constantly slightly moist, then the leaves will be large and beautiful, and the flowering will please. In order to prevent excessive evaporation of moisture, especially on hot days, it is advisable to mulch the soil around the bush that the geucher has formed with humus, foliage, grass or straw. Planting and care in the fall, as well as mulching the plant, especially after the first frost, will prevent its death from spring extinction.

To feed or not?

Quite often you can read in various sources that geyhers of any variety and type do not need to be fed. This is partly true, but only when you have well-filled fertile soils. And in this case, it should be remembered that all stocks someday come to an end. Many flower growers feed geyher with complex mineral fertilizers with a small amount of nitrogen twice a season: before and after flowering. When feeding this plant, use only half the dose recommended by the manufacturer, no more.

Diseases and pests

To various diseases and insects that want to feast on it, geykhera, planting and caring for which correspond to the agricultural technology of this plant, is quite stable. But adverse weather conditions, as well as a lack or excess of water, weaken the flower, and the larva of the furrowed weevil beetle can begin to “feast” on its roots. The insect itself is black-brown, only about 10 mm long, decorated with deep grooves on the elytra. They feed at night, nibbling the edges of the leaves, and hide in the soil during the day. In the same place they lay eggs, from which white larvae with a brown head hatch, gnawing the roots. Pests also include slugs and snails that love to “chew” young leaves.

Of the diseases that affect geyhera, bacterial spotting and fungal infections are most common.

How to propagate?

It is quite easy to get seedlings of a plant such as geyhera. Planting and caring for young plants in the open field is simple, but first you need to get seed in one of three ways:

Sowing seeds;

Dividing the bush;

Rooted side cuttings.

Let's consider each of them in more detail.

We divide the bush

The easiest way to get several small geyher is to divide a three-four-year-old plant. For this you need:

1. Carefully dig up the plant.
2. With a clean and sharp knife, cut it into several parts.
3. Cut dry leaves down to the buds located in the axils of old leaves.
4. Damaged and long roots should be cut off, and the cut should be sprinkled with ash, crushed coal or a root stimulant.
5. Before planting, it is necessary to dig a hole measuring 0.3x0.3 m.
6. At the bottom, put a little of any complex fertilizer and well-rotted humus.
7. After straightening the roots, fill the hole with soil and compact it well.
8. Water and protect from sunlight.

Growing from seeds

You can propagate a plant such as geyhera with seeds. Planting and care are easy. It is important to remember that the germination of the seeds of this plant lasts only six months after harvest. Pay attention to the packaging date if you buy them in a store. If they are packed in a foil bag, then their shelf life can increase up to one and a half years. Heuchera seeds are planted for seedlings in March-April, depending on the level of illumination in the house. In the prepared soil, previously laid out in containers with a height of more than five centimeters and spilled with a weak warm solution of potassium permanganate, loosened and leveled, seeds are sown, previously mixed with clean river sand. They should not be deepened, it is enough to press them into the ground a little. Then the containers are covered with glass or transparent film, after which they are placed on a warm, well-lit window sill. Shoots will appear in 14-21 days, all this time you need to ventilate the plantings daily. When the first three leaves appear, the seedlings dive. In May, seedlings can be taken out into the garden or moved to a greenhouse, and planted in open ground in early June. In autumn, young plants should be covered with straw or spruce branches.

cuttings

Another way to propagate geyher is cuttings, which allows you not to dig up the plant. Near the ground, you need to find shoots with buds, cut them off and transfer them to a greenhouse or seedling bed. Twigs are treated with a root formation stimulator and planted in the ground so that the buds rise above the ground. Somewhere in 4–5 weeks, the planted cuttings will take root, and after a couple of months they can be transplanted into open ground.

Geichera is a perennial plant of the Saxifrage family, native to the highlands of North America. The place of its natural habitat is mountain poor soils, therefore the geykhera does not require special conditions of detention.

The flower will serve as an adornment of any garden due to the wide variety of varieties that differ in leaf color. It is they who give this plant a decorative effect. Geichera grows as a low lush bush no more than 30 cm high, flower stalks can grow up to 90 cm. Flowers of red, white, pink flowers bloom on them. Heuchera is very fond of landscape designers and use it to decorate borders, alpine slides, and artificial reservoirs.

Features of growing geyhera in the garden

It is not difficult to grow a geyhera, it does not impose special requirements on its content. But some rules will have to be observed in order to preserve the beauty of its leaves, which serve as its main decoration. These rules apply to soil, lighting and watering the plant. Geichera winters well in the garden, if she is provided with reliable shelter from frost. It will grow well in almost any soil, as long as it is well drained.

An important feature of geyhera is its ability to get along with almost all garden plants, so you can choose almost any place, based on how you want to decorate this or that corner of the garden.

There are varieties of geyhera that bloom with inconspicuous small flowers that do not decorate the plant at all. Unless there is a need to collect seeds, it is better to remove the flower stalks so that they do not spoil the appearance of the flower bed.

Planting geyhera in the ground in autumn (spring)

Geichera is planted in the ground with seedlings, it is advisable to use seedlings with a closed root system (in pots) for this. At first, she is provided with abundant watering and shading. When the seedlings get stronger, they can be moved to a permanent place.

Landing methods

There are two ways of planting - seeds and seedlings grown from cuttings or taken from a divided old bush. Moreover, planting geyhera with seeds absolutely does not guarantee the preservation of species qualities, especially decorative ones. Therefore, experienced gardeners prefer to plant seedlings.

Optimal landing time

Usually geyhera is planted in the ground in the spring, when the last frosts have already passed. However, you can do this in the fall, if it is warm and long.

Important! When planting geyhera in the fall, it is imperative to mulch the soil with wood ash or bark; in the spring, the mulch must be removed.

soil for the plant

The soil for geyhera is suitable for any, neutral acidity or even slightly alkaline. The main thing is its water and air permeability. To do this, drainage is poured into the hole to a certain depth before planting. Since in nature geyhera grows on rather poor soils, fertile garden soil will give good growth and splendor to its bush.

Features of care for geykhera

The main features of care are the feeding regimen, the choice of location and illumination, and the need to hill the plant. Hilling is necessary due to the fact that as they grow, the roots of the geyher begin to protrude above the ground and they must be sprinkled.

Important! Heuchera should be spudded in the fall, as part of the preparation of the plant for wintering.

Location and lighting for the plant

For different varieties of geyhera, you need to choose a different place. Most often, a plant needs good illumination, but not bright direct rays of the sun, but an openwork shadow. The best place in the garden will be where the sun is only in the morning or evening. Some varieties from too hot sunlight can not only lose the color of the leaves, but also change their shape, which is also one of the components of the decorative qualities of geyhera.

On the contrary, varieties with red and burgundy leaves are best planted in a place where there is more light, because in the shade their leaves may remain green.

Do not plant geyhera in places where melt or rain water can stagnate, the plant can simply rot.

Air humidity

The humidity in the garden is optimal for plant growth. There is no need to take additional measures to improve it.

How to water properly

Watering the geyhera too often is not necessary. It is enough to do this once every two days as the soil dries up and only in a dry summer. If the weather is very hot, then watering should be done twice a day - in the morning and in the evening, when the heat subsides.

Important! When watering, avoid getting water on the leaves. They may get burned.

Plant nutrition and fertilizer

In the first year of life, a young plant does not need to be fed at all. You can start fertilizing geykhera in the second year and little by little. This feature of the flower is due precisely to its origin and natural habitat on mountainous rocky poor soils.

Experts say that it is better for a geyher to underfeed than to overfeed. Some recommend fertilizing once a season, others twice, before and after flowering.

For top dressing, it is better to use mineral fertilizers, and their concentration should be half that for other plants.

Heuchera pruning

Pruning is necessary for the plant, but not the leaves, but the peduncles.

Trimming methods

In some varieties of geyhera, flowering can spoil the beautiful appearance of the flower bed. Due to the long peduncles and inconspicuous flowers, it takes on an untidy appearance. Therefore, it is better to cut them off as soon as they appear. If you let the geuchera bloom, then you must definitely remove the flowers along with the long stems.

Geyhere leaves are cut only in spring and only those that have dried up and died.

Important! In the spring, you can cut off old leaves only after new shoots begin to grow.

Pruning for the winter

In no case should you cut the geyhera in the fall, before preparing it for wintering. Old leaves will serve the plant in good stead - they will save its root system from freezing.

Heuchera transplant in spring (autumn)

An annual geyhera transplant is not needed, it is carried out only for the purpose of rejuvenating the plant. After 4-5 years, the flower loses its decorative qualities, and the bush itself falls apart. That's when he needs a transplant. Transplantation can be done both in early spring and autumn.

Transplant methods

The bush is divided into several parts and planted separately from each other. Before planting, you need to carefully inspect the roots and remove rotten or diseased ones. Sprinkle slices with ash.

The distance between seedlings should be at least 20-25 cm. Planting is carried out in a hole up to 30 centimeters deep with good drainage and loose soil.

Heuchera breeding

Geichera is propagated in several ways. Since geuchera does not live very long, its reproduction is a way to rejuvenate and preserve a very beautiful ornamental bush in the garden.

Reproduction methods

Propagation of geyhera by cuttings

For cuttings, lateral processes are taken from geyhera. This should be done after the end of flowering. The cuttings are cut along with a fragment of the outlet. If the shoot is long, it can be cut into short (3-4 cm) parts and the lower sections can be treated with a root stimulator. It is not necessary to dig a plant for this, unless it is transplanted at the same time. When dividing the bush, you can also separate the cuttings for propagation. Sections must be treated with ash.

The cuttings are planted in prepared holes in loose peat soil and covered with a film, creating greenhouse conditions. The greenhouse should not be too hot. Rooting occurs within about a month.

Important! If the cuttings take root closer to autumn, then it is not recommended to plant them in open ground, it is better to leave them to winter in the cuttings, covering them well with foliage, moss or spruce branches.

Propagation of geyhera seeds

When purchasing seeds for planting, it must be borne in mind that they are able to sprout only within six months after ripening. It is best to plant seeds in early spring.

Before planting, they must be mixed with wet sand. The soil must be loose. The seeds are not buried, but are put on top of the ground and covered with a film. Seedlings need good lighting and constant soil moisture, but without overflow. The first shoots appear in two weeks.

After the appearance of the first leaves, the seedlings are seated in separate pots. These pots can be dug into the ground in the spring at the place where a permanent place for geyhera is planned. By autumn, they will have their first leaf rosette.

leaf reproduction

Reproduction of geyhera by a leaf is possible, but experts practically do not describe it in the literature, and most likely it is not practiced.

Reproduction by dividing the bush

This is the most common breeding method for geyhera. After three to four years of life, the plant must be transplanted. For this, the bush of the old mother specimen is divided into several parts, seated and several new young plants are obtained.

Heuchera is dug out of the garden, the roots are carefully examined, cleaned of rot. The rhizome is divided into several parts so that each of them has 2-3 rosettes, the stem is cut to a new tissue. Sections on the roots are treated with root.

When preparing a seat, the hole can be filled with compost, coarse sand or pebbles can be poured as drainage. The place where young new bushes will be grown should be well lit, but the light should be diffused. You can cover the seedlings with a wooden box made of slats so that there is a light shade and good ventilation.

Rooting occurs in one and a half to two months. Then the seedlings can be moved to their permanent place.

flowering plant

Geichera blooms with small flowers, which are of no decorative value, with the exception of some varieties.

When the plant blooms (flowering period), flower shape

It begins to bloom in early summer and ends by early August. Very small flowers of pale nondescript shades are collected in inflorescences in the form of a panicle, crowning a long peduncle. The exception is the blood-red geyhera, whose flowers are very beautiful.

Problems, diseases and pests in a flower

Geichera, living in nature in rather harsh conditions, is quite resistant to pests and diseases. During too rainy summers, it can be affected by powdery mildew, which is easily removed with fungicides.

The leaves and rhizomes of the plant can be harmed by weevils (they eat thin roots) and slugs that gnaw holes in the leaves. To avoid such problems, you need to sprinkle the ground around the geyhera with sawdust moistened with creolin, or sprinkle the soil with lime, which will scare away slugs. Mustard water will also be effective against the weevil, which must be sprayed on the bush (1 tablespoon of mustard powder per 1 liter of water).

Popular species (varieties)

Heuchera blood red

It was from her that the main garden varieties of geyhera came. Its bright red flowers serve as an additional decoration of the plant. She has denser pubescent leaves than other varieties and beautiful bright red or pink small flowers resembling a bell shape.

Heuchera american

A small bush about 20 cm tall is distinguished by a heart-shaped leaf and beautiful veins on them. The most popular garden variety "Green Spice" with silvery veins on a green background. Flowers are not ornamental, they must be removed when peduncles appear (if you do not need to get her seeds).

Heuchera shaking

Specially bred hybrid with the most diverse leaf color.

Geichera small-flowered

One of the most beautiful types of geyher, which has several garden varieties. It differs in the shape of a summer leaf resembling a maple leaf. The greatest love of gardeners is the variety "Purple Palace" with a bright purple color of the leaves.

There are no difficulties in growing geyhera, but here are some tips to help you grow healthy, beautiful flowers that will decorate the garden for a long time.

• Plant geyher in places where moisture will not stagnate. It is better if these are small mounds. This is especially true of blood-red geyhera, it is most vulnerable in conditions of high soil moisture.
• If you mulch the soil around the geyher with peat in the spring, during the summer you will not have to constantly fight weeds and often loosen the soil.
• When growing geyhera in a greenhouse, a light hygroscopic material can be laid in an arc. It will absorb excess moisture.
• After sowing, seedlings should be watered very carefully - only along the walls of the container.
• Before sowing seeds, it is better to ignite the soil or spill it with boiling water. Seeds can only be sown in dry soil.

Answers to questions from readers

plant life span

After three to five years, the plant loses its qualities, the bush falls apart and the geyher needs to be dug up. The old bush is divided into several parts and seated. They produce young plants. So geyhera has a long renewable life cycle.

Why does geyhera grow poorly?

The reason may be too fertile soil or an excess of fertilizer, due to which a large bush grows by autumn and too many buds are laid. During the winter, the root system weakens and cannot “feed” such a number of new shoots.

Perhaps some conditions of detention do not meet the requirements (humidity, windy place in the garden, too dark or, on the contrary, too bright place in the garden).

Flower care in winter

In winter, the flower does not require care, but in the fall you need to take care of it. Pruning is strictly prohibited, the bush is well covered with foliage or spruce branches. Be sure to mulch the soil with compost or rotted tree bark. You can add wood ash. The mulch is removed in the spring.

Geichera decorates the garden from early spring to late autumn. And even for the winter she leaves with decorative leaves. How to grow such a beauty in a flower garden?

Geichera is widely used in landscape design. Most often, it is planted in rockeries, rock gardens, discounts and in the central flower beds near the entrance to the house. This plant is unpretentious, but with improper planting and poor care, it does not look very presentable.

Choosing a landing site for geyhera

The color saturation of geyhera leaves and the duration of flowering of the plant largely depend on the place of growth. Most species prefer semi-shaded areas where the sun shines only in the morning or evening - an east or west side will do. However, young bushes develop better with more sunlight. It is important that they are protected from the wind.

Heuchera with brightly colored leaves, especially red, look richer in the sun. But in such conditions, plants need abundant and frequent watering.

The red-leaved Geichera Peach Crisp loses its bright color in the shade

Geichra is unpretentious in its choice of soil, but grows best in light, fertile and well-drained, slightly acidic soil with a pH level of 5-6. The plant does not tolerate stagnant water: with excessive moisture, its roots rot.

Landing geyhera

The most suitable time for planting is early spring. Geuchera can be grown from seed, but this is an unreliable method of propagation, as a young plant often does not receive varietal traits from its mother and, as a result, grows with unremarkable green leaves. Therefore, geyhera is most often grown from a seedling - a bush bought in a specialized store, or a delenka of a bush.

At the selected site, a hole is dug 30 cm wide and deep, ash and rotted compost are added to it and mixed well with loose fertile soil.

Dry shoots are removed from the bush, long stems are shortened to young tissue, damaged and rotten areas are cut out and sprinkled with crushed charcoal. After that, the geyher is planted in a prepared hole, watered and shaded.

When planting between plants maintain a distance of about 25 cm

After 4-6 weeks in young plants, the root system becomes strong and well developed - then they can be transplanted to a new place. In regions with an unstable climate, in March-April, geyhera is first planted in a greenhouse, and after stable warm weather is established, they are transplanted into open ground. Or young bushes are planted no earlier than May.

In the same way, delenki with 2-3 rosettes can be planted in September, but it should be noted that they take root for 1-1.5 months, and during this time it is important to protect plants from a sudden drop in air temperature.

Heuchera care

The plant needs regular watering as the soil dries out - usually once every 2 days. But during a drought, more frequent watering may be necessary. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that moisture does not stagnate in the soil, and drops do not fall on the leaves. Otherwise, the bright sun may cause burns.

If the leaves of geyhera become dull, small or lethargic, and the flowers do not bloom for a long time, then before and after flowering, the plants are fed with a complex mineral fertilizer. In this case, the dose recommended in the instructions for the drug is reduced by 2 times. After all, it is better for a geyher to underfeed than to overfeed.

Heuchera usually blooms throughout the summer. Immediately after the end of this process, wilted flower stalks are cut off so that the plant does not multiply by self-sowing.

In one place, geyhera grows well for no more than 5 years, then its bush begins to fall apart and can freeze in winter, so every 3-4 years the plant is dug up, divided and planted.

Heuchera tolerates transplant well and quickly takes root in a new place.

In autumn, with the onset of cold weather, some geyhers turn yellow, but often snow covers bushes with bright foliage. The shoots are not cut: they winter well in this form and at the same time protect the root system from frost. In regions with a cold climate, geyhera is additionally covered with dry leaves (preferably oak) or spruce branches.

In the spring, the shelter is removed and with the help of a pruner, last year's geyhera leaves are cut as close to the soil surface as possible.

Diseases and pests of geyhera

As a rule, geyher rarely get sick and practically do not suffer from pests. But with improper care, they can become infected with powdery mildew (which they get rid of by spraying with fungicides - Topaz, Fundazol, Bayleton), rust and leaf spots(against these ailments, a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture is effective).

With excessive moisture, geyhera can be eaten snails And slugs. To avoid this, carefully monitor watering, periodically collect pests by hand and, if necessary, place traps in the flower garden.

Plant spectacular geyhers on your site - and they will paint even the most boring flower garden with bright colors. And if you want these flowers to decorate your home, grow them in containers. Geyhery grow well at home.