Among the flowers grown at home, there are some that can also be planted outdoors, except, of course, in very cold regions. One example of this is the not yet very well known in our country ispheion, a short plant with flowers resembling small stars. Interest in it will probably increase over time, since the care of the flower is so simple that it is also manageable to an inexperienced florist.
Description
Ipheion is a bulbous plant, a herbaceous perennial belonging to the Amaryllis family. In the wild grows in the American tropics and subtropics (Peru, Argentina). Biologists still have no consensus about the number of its species: formerly it was thought that there were more than two dozen, now they speak about 2-6 species, referring the rest of the varieties to varieties. The only thing that is indisputable is that species are considered to be:
- Ifeion recurviflorum – a low plant that resembles snowdrops when flowering;
- Ifeion monoflowered – its petals are somewhat smaller, and the bush itself is a little higher, the color of the flowers is varied.
It is from the monoflowered ipheion that many varieties have been bred, and in domestic conditions there is mainly this species. It is a plant that reaches a maximum height of 30 cm. It has an egg-shaped bulb and many narrow strap-shaped leaves with an emerald-blue color. If you crumple them with your fingers, you get a strong garlic smell. Several tall flower stalks emerge one after another from the middle of the rosette in mid-spring: up to a dozen buds can be produced from a single bulb during flowering.
Flowers are solitary, up to 3 cm in diameter, six-petaled, with a characteristic pleasant fragrance. The coloring is most often white, blue or purple. There are varieties with blue, purple and pinkish flowers. When growing in the garden, Ifeion decorates alpine mountains, it is convenient for decorating borders: the bulbs planted closely give a lush cap of flowers. Often use another of its names – Spring Star. Flowering is long, up to a month and a half. After its completion, the plant gradually prepares for a dormant period, by mid-summer the above-ground part dies off.
Planting and care
The best time to purchase and plant bulbs in pots is the end of summer. It is important that they are not overdry; after purchase, planting should be done immediately. Pots can be of any size: to increase decorativeness, several bulbs are planted in them at once. They are small: about 1 cm in diameter, twice as high. Drainage material is placed at the bottom of the pot, and light, loose, fertile soil is placed on top. It is good if it will include sawdust or crushed tree bark.
The depth of planting – 4-5 cm, the distance between adjacent bulbs – a little more. The soil is lightly watered, at room temperature the bulbs take root within a month, and then shoots begin to appear slowly. The plant meets winter with a rosette of leaves, by the end of winter it can even flower, but more often it happens in the spring. In the future, transplanting is carried out once every 2-3 years, as the bulbs grow, in August.
During the cultivation of Ifeion requires simple care. It is necessary to try to create him the following conditions:
- Illumination. It is better if the pot is placed on a southern window sill: with a sufficient amount of sunlight, the bush will be more lush, and flowering is more intense. With a lack of light during the winter, the leaves may even lose elasticity.
- Temperature – the usual room temperature, from 20 degrees.
- Soil moisture. Water the Ifeion moderately, only in the case of drying of the top layer of soil. To the water used for watering no special requirements, its temperature should be room temperature.
- Air humidity. The plant is not very demanding to this parameter, but in case the air is too dry, humidification is desirable.
- Fertilizing begins in February, any universal fertilizer for room flowers is suitable. Feeding is repeated after 2-3 weeks. It is desirable to have time to feed before flowering again, but if the flowers appear early, it should not be done.
After the end of flowering, after some time the leaves begin to fade. You can not wait for them to dry out completely, and cut them off at the very surface of the ground. The plant in the dormant period, which will end by the very beginning of autumn, is removed to a cool shaded place (it is better that the temperature does not exceed 10-15 degrees). Water at this time only so that the soil does not dry out completely. With the sprouting of the first shoots the pot is transferred to the light and the normal watering regime is resumed.
Growing in the open air
In the southern half of our country, ifeion can be grown in the garden. The place is chosen sunny, closed from strong winds, with light soil, excluding stagnant water. Approximately every three years the bulbs are replanted, as the plant quickly forms solid clumps. As in pots, the planting depth is about 5 cm, the distance between the bulbs is about 8 cm. Planting is made at the end of August or the beginning of September.
Watering and feeding are carried out in the same way as in the room conditions. The flowering period falls in the second half of spring. As one flower stalk fades, it is replaced by the next. If the bulbs are not dug up annually, and leave them in the open ground, the bed should be covered for the winter with a solid layer of mulch from fallen leaves or coniferous lapnik. Covering is removed in early spring immediately after the snow cover descends.
Propagation
Propagate Ifeion is very simple: it is done by dividing the bulbs during transplanting. This does not even require the use of tools: daughter bulbs formed around the mother bulb are easily separated by hand. They are immediately planted in new pots, not giving them to dry out: at room temperature, keep the bulbs in the air for more than a day is not necessary. In the first year, young plants give not very lush foliage and, as a rule, do not bloom; normal flowering occurs in the second year.
You can propagate Ifeion and seeds: they are quite mature at home. They are sown finely in pots with light soil, cover with glass. At room temperature, sprouts can be expected after three weeks. Seedlings pick twice. Such plants do not bloom until the third year.
Possible problems
Ifeion is considered very easy to care for, and problems arise only with gross mistakes of the florist. So, if there is no drainage in the pot and too much watering, the bulbs can rot. Sometimes they can be saved by cutting off the damaged areas, treating with fungicides and transplanting them into fresh soil. The first sign of trouble is yellowing of the leaf tips.
Aphids, scabs, mealybugs and spider mites can settle on the ipheion. These are familiar to flower growers pests of most houseplants. If the number of uninvited guests is small, you can try to remove them by hand, but it is better to start spraying immediately. In uncomplicated cases, folk remedies (soap and alcohol solution, infusions of tobacco, onions, dandelion, etc.) can help, but nothing prevents the use of insecticides and insectocaricides (Fytoverm, Actellic etc.).
Ifeion is an undeservedly little-known flower in our country, which can delight the eye in early spring both in room conditions and in the flowerbed. Its peculiarity is that care is not very difficult, and flowering lasts quite a long time.
