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An interesting, unpretentious and quite beautiful plant, called broom, is gradually gaining popularity among gardeners. The perennial shrub, represented by more than 50 species, amazes with its beautiful flowering, causing admiration. Depending on the species, this plant may have a spreading or fluffy compact crown, mainly with rich yellow flowers. Moreover, this ornamental shrub attracts not only its appearance, but also its ease of cultivation. As a rule, planting and caring for broom in open ground is not difficult, and the plant itself will delight you with its lush greenery from early spring until late autumn.
Features of growing rakidnik in the Moscow region
Broom is a beautiful shrub that belongs to the legume family. This plant is mainly deciduous, but evergreen species are also found. The shrubs are characterized by a lush crown with flexible branches and small foliage. Flowering is abundant and has a pleasant aroma.
Species of wild broom are not resistant to frost and begin to bloom in early spring. The flowers are small and yellow.But since the natural conditions for this plant in the Moscow region are quite harsh, breeders have developed hybrid varieties that combine the flowering of several species and resistance to various climatic conditions, including frost. It is the broom of these varieties that is recommended for growing in gardens in the Moscow region.
Boscope Ruby - a hybrid variety with a lush spherical crown, reaching up to 2 m. It blooms in early May. Flowers of a rich ruby hue.
Albus – a frost-resistant variety that can tolerate frosts down to -40 C°. The height of the bush is up to 1 m, the crown is dense with arched branches. Flowers are white.
Andreanus - a variety of broom, reaching up to 2.5 m in height. A distinctive feature is a pleasant aroma reminiscent of pineapple. Flowers are bicolor red and yellow.
Purple broom - a low shrub, no more than 40 cm in height, with trifoliate leaves and delicate flowers of a purple-lilac hue.
And the most common among the species of shrubs, which are well able to take root in the gardens of the Moscow region, is Russian broom.
In fact, there are no special rules for planting and caring for Russian broom and other varieties in the Moscow region, but there are a number of recommendations, following which, this plant will delight you with healthy flowering for many years:
- it is better to give preference to hybrid frost-resistant varieties;
- the landing site should be sunny, but sheltered from the winds;
- preparation for winter must necessarily include covering the bushes, especially young, recently planted broom;
- Watering should be moderate and as needed; it is not advisable to flood the plant;
- It is necessary to carry out timely fertilizing and loosening.
Planting and caring for broom in open ground
Broom is a rather unpretentious shrub when it comes to planting and subsequent care, but it still takes root much better, develops and blooms on fertile, light soil in a warm and windless place.
The shrub itself is planted in early spring at the end of April or beginning of May. Planting can be done with seedlings or seeds. The soil for planting should be sandy with a low acid content. The place should be sunny, warm and without draft winds.
Preparation of planting material
Broom is planted as a seedling in open ground. In this case, you can purchase a seedling ready for planting or grow it yourself from seeds.
When purchasing a broom seedling, you need to make sure of the exact characteristics of this plant. The best option would still be to contact a specialized store, where all the necessary information about the selected seedling will be provided:
- variety;
- age;
- degree of frost resistance;
- company manufacturer.
You can also sow broom seeds yourself. It is recommended to soak purchased or collected seeds in warm water for 2 days before sowing.
After soaking, the seeds are sown in a container with moist peat-sand soil to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. The seeds should be located 4-6 cm apart from each other. Afterwards, the container is covered with film and placed in a warm, bright room with a temperature of about 21 C° . Regular watering and spraying is mandatory.
After the appearance of seedlings with 2-3 fully formed leaves, the seedlings must be picked and transplanted into separate pots with prepared soil (2: 1: 0.5 - turf, humus and sand). Seedlings should be transplanted into open ground at the age of 3 years.
Preparing the landing site
The place for planting broom must be prepared in advance. The site should be chosen to be sunny and with little wind. The soil must be fertile, sandy, neutral or slightly acidic. If the soil is poor in nutrients, then it is advisable to apply complex mineral fertilizers.
The soil is dug up before planting. Make holes, the depth of which should be several times greater than the volume of the root system of the seedling along with the earthen lump. It is imperative to drain the bottom of the pit with pebbles or stones. The heavier the soil, the thicker the drainage layer should be.
When planting several brooms, the distance between planting holes should be at least 30 cm for small plants and 50 cm for tall shrubs.
Landing rules
Proper planting of broom seedlings must be done in the following way:
- Prepare the planting hole and fill in the drainage layer.
- Place the seedling exactly in the middle so that the root collar is at ground level.
- Then the broom is covered with soil mixture (a mixture of turf soil, humus and sand 1:1:2), compacted around and watered abundantly (the root collar should also remain at ground level).
- It is also recommended to mulch the soil, which will ensure less evaporation of moisture and prevent the rapid growth of weeds.
Watering and fertilizing
Watering and fertilizing the broom must be done in a timely manner. The shrub should be watered abundantly until the top layer of soil around the trunk becomes completely dry.
But it is worth noting that an adult plant tolerates drought quite well. If it rains quite often in the summer, watering may not be necessary. It is more difficult for this plant to survive excess moisture than its lack.
After watering, be sure to loosen the soil and simultaneously remove weeds. The soil around the trunk should be loosened to a depth of 12 cm.
For abundant flowering and growth, broom also needs systematic feeding. The first feeding is carried out in the spring, and the second in mid-summer. In the spring, the shrub is fed with fertilizers with a high nitrogen content; for this, a urea solution (30 g per 10 liters of water) is watered around the trunk. In mid-summer it is necessary to fertilize the plant with fertilizer containing phosphorus and potassium.
If the bushes develop slowly, additional feeding can be done. Sprinkle no more than 300 g of wood ash evenly around the tree trunk.
Trimming
Broom does not need crown formation. Pruning should be done only after flowering has ended to stimulate the formation of new shoots. In this case, only some branches are removed up to the lateral lignified strong branches.
Since broom contains the toxic substance cytisine, pruning should be done with gloves to avoid burns.
Preparing for winter
Regardless of the fact that it is advisable to plant frost-resistant broom species in the Moscow region, there are still some tips that you need to know about preparing the plant for winter:
- The young bush needs shelter for the first 3 years. It is covered with dry peat or earth. Then the branches are pulled together, tied to the top, and bent to the ground. Then cover with spruce branches, dry leaves or non-woven material.
- Low-growing brooms also need to be covered for the winter with spruce branches or other covering material.
- Mature shrubs 3 years or more do not need shelter.
Reproduction
Broom can be propagated in 3 ways:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- layering.
Seeds for propagation are collected at the end of August or beginning of September, when the beans are fully ripened. They are planted in a container, covered with film and placed in a warm place with a temperature of up to 20 C°. Periodically, the seedlings are opened, ventilated and sprayed. The grown seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place in open ground no earlier than after 3 years.
Cuttings are carried out after the end of flowering using semi-woody shoots, which should have at least 3-4 full leaves of medium size. They are trimmed and planted in a container. Each cutting is covered with a glass jar; during rooting, ventilation and spraying are mandatory. In spring, rooted cuttings are transplanted into open ground.
Propagation by layering is performed by bending the branches of the lower part of the bush to the ground.The tops of the branches that touch the soil are secured with special staples, then they are sprinkled with earth. When the cuttings begin to take root, they should be cut off, separated from the mother bush, and transplanted to another place.
Diseases and pests
Broom is a fairly resistant plant to pests and diseases, but the following can still cause great damage to the shrub:
- Moth caterpillars – the larvae of this butterfly feed on the vegetative parts of the bush, which can lead to its drying out. To prevent the spread of the pest, broom should be sprayed with bacterial insecticides or organophosphorus preparations.
- Moth – destroys the green crown of the plant. Due to rapid reproduction, broom can lose most of its leaves. A 2% Chlorophos solution will help get rid of the pest.
The following diseases should also be highlighted:
- powdery mildew;
- black spot.
When the first signs of these diseases appear, broom must be sprayed with a solution of 5% copper sulfate. In case of extensive damage, it is recommended to use potassium sulfur or Fundazol.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for broom in open ground in the Moscow region is no different from growing this plant in other regions. The only thing worth considering is the frost resistance of the shrub, so it is recommended for a given area to choose exactly those varieties that can withstand negative temperatures.
