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Gentian (Gentiana asclepiadea) from the Gentian family is a beautiful ornamental plant. It is very popular among modern landscape designers. In its natural habitat, blue gentian grows in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere at an altitude of up to 5 thousand meters above sea level. Various parts of the plant were used by residents of Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt and medieval settlements to treat the liver, gall bladder, gastric diseases, plague, fever, tuberculosis, convulsions, bruises, bites of poisonous animals, and as an anthelmintic.
The plant received its Russian-language name “Gentian lasovnevaya” due to the bitter taste of the leaves and roots containing a large amount of glycosides
Description of the species
Gentian is an attractive perennial that is considered one of the most common species of this genus. An unpretentious, profusely flowering plant is endowed with the following characteristics:
- bush height from 60 cm to 80 cm;
- the shape of the bush is dense;
- the root system is shortened, thick, with several cord-like processes;
- shoots are straight or curved, not branching, completely leafy, with flower buds;
- leaves are sessile, alternately arranged, entire, oblong-oval, lanceolate, with pointed ends, up to 10 cm in size;
- height of peduncles up to 5 cm;
- number of flowers on a peduncle up to 3 pieces;
- inflorescences five-membered, solitary;
- the shape of the corolla is bell-shaped, fused, with five teeth;
- the color of the inflorescences is blue, dark blue or white;
- the pattern inside the corolla is black and white from spots and stripes;
- The fruit is a bivalve capsule with small sand-colored seeds.
Under natural conditions, you can find gentian latinata with an icy blue, snow-white or dark blue color.
Application in landscape design
Modern landscape designers pay great attention to the gentian.
The plant is used with great success to create various solutions:
- elegant borders blooming from the second half of July;
- mixborders with a tight fit;
- in combination with hostas, ferns, black cohosh, heuchera.
In the photo - gentian latinum in group plantings with other ornamental plants.
Beautifully flowering blue gentian combines elegantly and harmoniously with plants with purple, orange-yellow foliage
Features of reproduction
Perennial gentian is propagated in two main ways:
- vegetative (by dividing the bush, cuttings);
- seed (sowing seeds for seedlings or in open ground).
The division of the root system of gentian lastinata is carried out in the spring, for more comfortable engraftment of the decorative crop.Autumn vegetative propagation of gentian is undesirable, since disturbed plants may not survive the winter period. The bush is dug up, divided into several plots with growing points, while the earthen lump is preserved. Gentian plots are planted in prepared holes at a distance of at least 25 cm from each other and watered abundantly.
Cuttings of gentian lastinata are separated at the beginning of the growing season (late spring). Side shoots are cut as cuttings. Cuttings should be deepened into the ground by 1/3 of their length. The plants are covered with a glass jar or plastic bottle to create a greenhouse effect. After 20-30 days, the first roots of the gentian appear, so the shelter is removed.
Gentian seeds are planted in open ground at the end of September before winter or in the spring, at the end of April. When sowing seeds of the martin crop in the fall, the material does not need stratification. The area is dug up, the seeds are distributed over the surface and covered with a rake. During spring sowing, seedlings should be shaded and the required level of soil moisture should be maintained. By autumn, the swallow culture forms a small leaf rosette.
In addition to planting in open ground, gentian is grown in seedlings.
Young gentian bushes, grown by seed, produce flower stalks only for 3-4 years of life
Growing seedlings
Seed propagation is welcomed by most gardeners. To grow seedlings, blue gentian seeds are stratified for 1 month in the refrigerator. Before hardening, the seeds are mixed with granulated peat or fine sand.
It is best to sow seedlings in ceramic dishes. As a soil mixture, a nutrient composition of equal parts of turf soil or soil for seedlings and coarse sand is used. Algorithm for sowing seedlings:
- seeds are distributed over the surface of the soil mixture;
- crops are sprayed with a spray bottle;
- The container with the crops is covered with plastic film or glass to create a greenhouse effect.
To germinate gentian seedlings, it is necessary to maintain the air temperature to 20 ⁰C for 10-20 days (until the first shoots appear). The container with crops must be ventilated daily and condensation must be removed.
After the first shoots appear, the shelter is removed, diffused natural light is provided and the air temperature is reduced to + 18 ⁰C.
When 2-3 permanent leaves appear on the sprouts, the seedlings are planted in separate containers and deepened to the cotyledon leaves.
The seedlings are moved into open ground in early May along with a ball of earth. Before planting seedlings, the sprouts are gradually hardened over 2-3 weeks.
Transplanting gentian lastinata into open ground is relevant when a consistently warm temperature is established.
Planting and caring for swallowtail gentian
Blue gentian is a mountain crop that “loves” areas that are as close as possible to natural habitat conditions. Following the rules of planting and simple care will allow you to enjoy the pretty blooming of blue-blue inflorescences throughout the second half of summer.
The bell-shaped flowers of the swallow gentian delight with their piercing blue blooms
Landing dates and rules
When a consistently warm temperature is established: at the end of April or at the beginning of May, the seedlings of gentian lastinata are transferred to open ground.
Algorithm for transplanting seedlings into open ground:
- seedling bushes are moved into the prepared holes along with a lump of earth;
- the plants are sprinkled with earth and pressed slightly into the ground;
- The seedlings are watered abundantly and mulched with a mixture of peat, crushed limestone and horn flour.
The seedling planting pattern is from 15 cm to 30 cm between individual bushes.
For plants you should choose slightly shaded areas:
- on the western side of the local area;
- under the crown of a spreading or old tree;
- near artificial reservoirs.
In order to retain natural moisture, low-growing cereals can be planted in the area where the gentian is located. Cereal crops will not only help imitate natural conditions, but will also help avoid overheating and drying out of the soil.
The most suitable soil for gentian is permeable, neutral, nutritious, loose soil with a mixture of natural gravel.
Blue gentian does not react well to stagnation of moisture at the roots
Watering and fertilizing schedule
For seedlings of gentian lastinata, minimal care associated with watering and fertilizing the soil is sufficient.
According to the rules of agricultural technology, moistening should be systematic and quite abundant, since the ornamental crop adapts and develops better in moist soil. The intensity of watering should be increased during the period of budding and opening of inflorescences.
If for some reason watering needs to be limited, the bed with gentian will have to be covered with a layer of mulch made from peat, sawdust or straw to preserve natural moisture for a long time.During the dry summer period, blue gentian needs additional irrigation.
The uniqueness of the flower lies in the fact that the crop does not require additional feeding. For bushes, spring mulching with peat mixed with crushed limestone and horn flour is sufficient.
Blue gentian “does not tolerate” moisture on the leaves
Weeding and loosening
Every time after watering, plants need to loosen the soil. Removing weeds is a mandatory procedure for caring for decorative blue gentian.
In addition to weeding and loosening, dry inflorescences should be removed in a timely manner.
Preparing for winter
Preparing the plant for wintering involves cutting off the ground part. Since sweet gentian is a frost-resistant crop, in places with a temperate climate there is no need to cover the bushes for the winter. In the northern regions, plants must be covered with a layer of spruce branches or branches.
In areas with little snowy winters, gentian bushes are also pre-covered until spring
Diseases and pests
In open ground, gentian is most vulnerable to pathogens of the following diseases:
- Gray rot manifests itself as characteristic brownish-gray spots at high air humidity. Infected areas of plants should be removed in a timely manner, and bushes should be treated with fungicides.
Gray rot is a faithful companion of thickened plantings, where the process of natural air circulation is disrupted
- Brown spot appears in the form of brown-yellow spots with purple rims after plants are infected with a fungal disease.
A solution of copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture and other modern fungicides will help you quickly get rid of brown spotting on blue gentian bushes.
- Rust characterized by the appearance of dark brown pustules. Contaminated areas must be completely destroyed.
The part of the plant that is not affected by rust is subject to careful treatment with fungicides
- When rot appears at the base of the stems of young seedling bushes, this is a sign basal rot. The fungicidal drug “Zineba” is used as an effective means of control.
Parts of the swallow culture affected by fungal diseases should be burned; such components are not suitable for forming a compost heap
Among the main pests of blue gentian are nematodes, caterpillars, ants, snails, slugs, and thrips. These representatives of the world of living fauna gnaw on foliage and plant buds, as a result of which they lose their attractive and decorative appearance. To control pests, insecticides are used, as well as traditional methods (traps with beer or compote, cut potatoes).
Natural antagonists of slugs and snails are toads and hedgehogs
Conclusion
Gentian is a pretty ornamental plant that attracts gardeners with the harmonious flowering of numerous blue-blue bells. Mountain decorative flowers require simple care: regular watering without drying out or excessive moisture, timely loosening to prevent stagnation of moisture in the roots, removal of faded buds to preserve the decorative appearance of the planting.
