Content
Large-leaved Brunneramacrophylla Silver Heart is a new impeccable variety that holds its shape perfectly throughout the season, grows quickly, and does not lose its attractive appearance. It is a frost-resistant, shade-loving crop, with a flowering period in late May or early June. The new variety of silver brunner Silver Heart is very popular and in demand among landscape designers and florists. The culture is used to decorate coastal zones of artificial reservoirs, spectacular borders, well-moistened rockeries, and as a ground cover plant for shady areas.
Brunnera variety Silver Heart is an amazing plant that at the beginning of summer delights with airy “clouds” of blue-blue inflorescences, and from the middle of the summer season hypnotizes with luxurious, large silvery foliage
Description
The new variety of large-leaved brunnera Silver Heart is a unique herbaceous perennial of the Borage family (Boraginaceae). The plant is characterized by the following characteristics:
- the rhizome is thick, long, with numerous basal leaves;
- bush height up to 30 cm;
- the leaves are large, heart-shaped, on elongated petioles, rough to the touch;
- the color of the leaves is silver with greenish veins and light green edging;
- inflorescences paniculate or corymbose, with small flowers;
- flower diameter 5-10 mm;
- corolla of buds is forget-me-not;
- the color of the flowers is blue with a white center;
- height of peduncles up to 20 cm.
The Silver Heart variety differs from Brunnera Sea Heart in its paler edging (on the leaves of the SeaHeart variety, the edge of the leaf is more contrasting - dark green, and the leaf blades are silvery with veins).
The name of the culture "Brunnera Silver Heart" comes from the name of the famous Swiss botanist and researcher Samuel Brunner, who first discovered the genus Brunnera
Landing
The most suitable area for large-leaved Brunnera Silver Heart is an area with predominant shade in the afternoon. Total shading can cause stretching of shoots and poor flowering of Brunnera Silver. Sunny areas with a lack of natural air humidity are detrimental to moisture-loving and shade-loving crops.
The plant needs periodic rejuvenation every 3-4 years. The crop is planted at any time (during the growing season), but no later than September. Experienced gardeners recommend planting Silver Heart Brunnera from July to August (after flowering) on loamy, slightly acidic soils. Plants are transplanted on a cloudy day along with a lump of earth according to the following algorithm:
- The above-ground part of the mother bush is completely removed, leaving up to 10 cm in height of the basal leaves;
- the root system is dug up and immersed in a container with water at room temperature;
- the cleaned roots are inspected for damage and cut off;
- rhizomes are divided into parts;
- plots are placed in the prepared holes;
- the roots are carefully sprinkled with soil, leaving the neck of the root system outside;
- the plots are watered abundantly and mulched with sawdust, leaves or peat.
It is not recommended to replant Silver Heart Brunner in the spring, since a weakened plant is more susceptible to the influence of pests and pathogens of various diseases.
Care
Brunnera large-leaved variety Silver Heart is a fairly unpretentious crop, provided that the site for its placement is chosen correctly. The main phases of caring for ornamental crops boil down to the following activities:
- natural moisture (if there is sufficient precipitation, additional watering is not needed);
- careful, manual removal of weeds (there is a risk of damage to the root system located under the soil surface);
- mulching the space under the bushes;
- fertilizing with complex fertilizers in early spring before flowering;
- removing faded inflorescences;
- autumn mulching of the ground around the bushes with fallen leaves before frost.
If reverse shoots with leaves appear on the Silver Heart Brunner, they should be removed immediately, otherwise there is a risk of complete loss of varietal characteristics
Diseases and pests
Like many other garden crops, the decorative variety Brunnera Silver Heart is susceptible to fungal infections:
- Powdery mildew manifests itself as a characteristic white (flour-like) coating on plastic sheets. Affected areas should be treated with fungicides.
Brunnera Silver Heart leaves affected by the fungus must be removed.
- Brown spot also affects beautiful leaf blades, which subsequently wither and lose their decorative appeal. To treat perennials, use a solution of Bordeaux mixture or suitable fungicidal components.
To prevent the appearance of brown spot on rainy summer days, Silver Heart brunner bushes are treated with fungicidal solutions twice a month.
Among the insect pests that pose a danger to the silver brunnera are aphids, whiteflies, leaf miners, and slugs. Insect larvae quickly eat tender and juicy foliage, so when pests are detected, the bushes are treated with insecticides (karbofos, actellik).
Quite often, voles “feast” on the tasty rhizomes of Silver Heart brunner
Trimming
To maintain an attractive appearance, after flowering the inflorescences of Silver Heart brunners are cut off. Neat and well-groomed bushes delight with exquisite heart-shaped leaves outlined in bright green paint. The second time pruning is carried out in late autumn, as part of general measures to prepare plants for wintering.
Periodically, you should trim off dried leaves, which spoil the overall picture of the silver shine.
Preparing for winter
To prepare the bushes of large-leaved brunnera Silver Heart for wintering, the plants are pruned. Above-ground shoots and leaves are subject to removal, which are cut off, leaving up to 15 cm of stumps. Plants require universal “shelter”. The soil around the bush is mulched with compost, leaves or peat.
Mulching helps protect the above-ground part of plants from sudden temperature changes.
Reproduction
Brunnera large-leaved variety Silver Heart can be propagated in two main ways:
- vegetative (dividing rhizomes);
- seed (sowing seedlings and sowing seeds in open ground).
The seed method rarely gives the desired result due to the late ripening of seeds and the low probability of preserving varietal characteristics.
Brunnera grains purchased in specialized stores can be planted directly in open ground in the fall (before the first frost). There is also a spring method of propagation by seeds: sowing seedlings, minor germination of seedlings and planting seedlings in open ground.
When sowing Silver Heart brunner seeds in the spring, the seeds are pre-stratified in the refrigerator or in a special box placed in the snow for 2 months
Dividing the rhizome is the most acceptable and easiest way to propagate the ornamental Silver Heart crop. The division and planting of plots in open ground is carried out after the end of flowering of the perennial.
Plots with a sufficient number of healthy roots and buds are planted in small holes
Conclusion
The large-leaved Brunnera Silver Heart and its soft blue flowers are associated with forget-me-nots. In the natural environment, plants grow in Asia Minor and the foothills of the Caucasus, so the second name for the ornamental crop is forget-me-not, or Caucasian forget-me-not. Unlike other flowering plants, Brunnera is able to decorate the local area not only with the delicacy of its inflorescences, but also with the spectacular, unique coloring of its curly foliage.
