Content
Chinese swimsuit (lat. Trollius chinensis) is an ornamental herbaceous perennial, the tallest representative of the Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). In its natural habitat it grows in damp meadows, river valleys, forest clearings in Mongolia and China. The name of the decorative culture comes from the ancient German “Troll”, which means “ball”. The long-blooming inflorescences of the Chinese large-petaled swimsuit have an attractive spherical shape and fiery color. Modern landscape designers give preference to perennials of the Golden Queen variety to create the most vibrant compositions.
The amazingly beautiful bright orange flower of the swimsuit appears when other varieties and species have already dropped their petals.
Botanical description of the species
The perennial plant, Chinese large-petalled swimmer (Trollius chinensis) has the following characteristic features:
- rhizome short;
- bush height 80-100 cm;
- bush diameter 50-70 cm;
- stems are erect, densely branched, strong, glabrous, with evenly spaced leaves;
- leaf blades are lobed;
- leaf color is bright green;
- double flowers, open in shape, up to 5 cm in diameter, located at the top of the stem;
- perianth with numerous sepals;
- petal color is bright orange with orange nectaries;
- fruits - leaflets with a spout, collected in spherical fruit
- The flowering period is from June to July.
Chinese swimsuit flowers are characterized by high winter and frost resistance and do not require complex agricultural techniques for cultivation. Even with minimal care, the ornamental crop blooms profusely in one place for about seven years.
Chinese herbaceous flower is the record holder for the longest flowering period (up to 30 days)
Description of the Chinese swimsuit Golden Queen Chinese swimsuit
Chinese Golden Queen (Trollius chinensis) is rightfully considered one of the most attractive, “royal” varieties. The hybrid is a decorative perennial characterized by the following distinctive properties:
- bush height up to 90 cm;
- stems thin, erect, branched;
- leaves are simple, sessile, dissected, divided into five lobes with sharp-toothed edges, collected in a basal rosette at the bottom of the bush;
- leaf color is dark green;
- peduncles are tall, with single, unfolded, bright flowers at the top;
- sepals broadly oval, golden yellow;
- nectaries are long (up to 2.5 cm), linear, larger than sepals;
- receptacle convex, with numerous pistils and stamens;
- flower diameter is 5-7 cm.
Golden Queen is a winter-hardy ornamental variety that prefers moist soils and well-lit areas of the garden.
Golden Queen swimsuit is very popular among gardeners due to its consistently long and bright flowering
Application in landscape design
The exceptional decorative properties and unpretentiousness of the Chinese Golden Queen swimsuit attract landscape designers everywhere. The plant combines effectively in the same bed with other flowering crops: columbine, sleep grass, delphinium.
You can paint any corner of the garden with the Chinese large-petaled bathing suit:
- as a full-fledged participant in any flower bed, bed, lawn or prefabricated mixborder;
- in the form of group plantings for border decoration;
- for decorating the north side of houses;
- to decorate the foot of alpine slides;
- for artificial reservoirs.
The tall Chinese swimsuit in the photo can make a bright accent in the garden bed.
Golden flowers in the shape of large roses look good in bouquets
Reproduction methods
The Chinese large-petaled swimmer reproduces in several ways:
- seminal;
- vegetative (dividing the bush, cuttings).
The seed method of propagating an ornamental plant is long and labor-intensive. Cuttings are also quite difficult (harvesting cuttings at the end of spring, rooting seedlings, growing and wintering indoors, planting in open ground the next year).
Dividing the bush
Propagation of the Chinese Golden Queen by dividing the bush is the most acceptable way to obtain viable young plots for subsequent rooting.For this breeding technique, maternal specimens over five years old are suitable. Manipulations are best carried out in August-September, on a cloudy day.
The mother bushes are dug up and the remaining soil is shaken off. The roots are washed with water, rotten or dry roots are removed, and divided into parts with 2-3 viable shoots and a developed root system. The cut areas are sprinkled with wood ash, the foliage is removed, leaving 1/3 to reduce moisture consumption.
Moving plots to open ground should be done on the same day to reduce moisture loss and minimize the likelihood of flower death
Growing Chinese swimsuit from seeds
Growing Chinese Golden Queen from seeds is a long and painstaking process. In the first year of life, young bushes form a basal leaf rosette. Flowers appear only in the second year.
At home, the seeds of the Chinese Golden Queen are collected in the fall. For these purposes, ripe seed pods are selected in dry and warm weather.
There are two main methods of seed propagation of plants: seedlings and non-seedlings.
The seedless method consists of directly sowing the seeds of the Chinese swimmer (Trollius chinensis) in open ground in October, which will ensure natural stratification. The area for the decorative crop is prepared in advance (dig up, form small grooves). Small seeds of the Chinese large-petalled Golden Queen are mixed with river sand, sown in the ground, and sprinkled with a layer of soil (about 3-5 mm). The crops are thoroughly moistened.The first shoots appear at the end of April or at the beginning of May next year.
The seedling method consists of preliminary cultivation of planting material. Before sowing, the seeds are stratified to increase the percentage of germination. Seedling boxes and soil mixture are disinfected. Chinese Golden Queen seeds are sown in prepared containers in late October or early November. Crops are left in a cold room (cellar, barn, garage) until the end of February, beginning of March. The next stage of germination of Chinese decorative bathing suit seedlings occurs indoors. The crops begin to be moistened with a spray bottle and a constant temperature of up to + 22 ⁰С is maintained. Planting boxes are covered with plastic film or glass to create a greenhouse effect. The crops are periodically ventilated. The location of the planting box should be well lit, but without direct sunlight. The first shoots appear 1-3 months after moving the container with the crops into the room.
The deadline for transferring decorative bushes of the Chinese Golden Queen (lat. Trollius chinensis) to open ground is the end of summer
Planting and caring for the Chinese swimsuit
Planting and caring for the Chinese Golden Queen swimsuit is not characterized by complex agricultural technology. Experienced gardeners recommend wearing gloves for all manipulations, since the root system of the plant is poisonous.
Landing dates and rules
Well-lit or slightly shaded areas of the garden are suitable for the decorative Chinese Golden Queen swimsuit.With a lack of sunlight, the plant slows down, the buds become small and pale, and lose their decorative appeal. The Chinese swimsuit develops and blooms very intensively in wetlands or near water bodies.
Light soil is best suited for it - a mixture of turf, wood ash or coal, humus and a large amount of nutrients. Loamy soil can be mixed with river sand. Acidic soil can be fed with slaked lime, crushed eggshells or chalk.
The time for moving Chinese swimsuit seedlings to open ground is the end of summer. It is best to do manipulations on a cloudy, rainy day or in the evening. The decorative flower does not adapt well, so you should immediately choose a permanent “place of residence”.
Approximately one day before transplanting, the seedlings of the Chinese ornamental bathing suit are watered abundantly to intensively wet the soil. Young shoots are moved into the planting holes along with a lump of earth. The root collar should be 2-3 cm below the soil level. The distance between holes for group plantings is up to 70 cm.
The seedlings are sprinkled with earth, watered abundantly and mulched with pieces of bark and sawdust. For the first 2-3 weeks, the bushes are protected from direct sunlight.
Spring planting is not recommended for Chinese decorative swimsuit
Features of care
During the first time after transplanting plots or moving Chinese (Trollius chinensis) seedlings into open ground, the plant needs regular watering.
Adult plants need abundant watering without dripping water on the buds and flowers. The frequency of moisturizing is once a week. After watering, the ground around the bushes is cleared of weeds and loosened to a depth of 3 cm.
Organic and mineral fertilizers are suitable for feeding. Humus, manure, nitrogen-, potassium-, and phosphorus-containing fertilizers are suitable for decorative crops.
After flowering is complete, the Chinese Golden Queen should be fed with wood ash.
Preparing for winter
As preparation for winter, pruning of buds and leaf plates at the base is used. Before the onset of the first frosts, the ground part of the Chinese Golden Queen's swimsuit is cut to a height of 3 cm.
In central Russia, the plant does not need additional shelter, since it tolerates frosts down to -20 ⁰C. In the northern regions, the bushes of the decorative Chinese bikini are spudned, sprinkled with dry leaves and covered with spruce branches.
Autumn pruning prevents the spread of fungal diseases
Diseases and pests
Chinese Golden Queen is an ornamental crop that is resistant to pests and diseases. Most often, the plant is affected by the following diseases and pests:
- White leaf spot, or septoria, is a fungal disease. The disease is characterized by the appearance of light spots with a dark border.
For white spotting, copper-containing preparations Hom, copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture, Profit, Nitrofen are used
- Smut appears as dark spots (fungal spores) on the ground parts of the decorative Chinese bathing suit. The drug Vitavax helps against fungus.
Smut disease disrupts metabolism and causes plant death
- The short-bodied nematode is the main pest that parasitizes the root system of the Chinese Golden Queen.
Treatment with insecticides (Nematodos) allows you to get rid of parasites
Conclusion
The Chinese large-petalled flower is a poisonous plant that is widely used in folk medicine. The decorative crop has diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties. To decorate your local area with bright orange flowers, you should plant the unpretentious Golden Queen variety on your site. The ideal composition for the fireballs of the Chinese swimsuit will be summer flowers, endowed with various shades of blue color. The linear nectaries of the inflorescences, protruding beyond the sepals, create the effect of a royal crown, which distinguishes the Golden Queen variety from others.
