Distinctive features of the plant, how to grow aquilegia in the garden, reproduction of the catchment, diseases and pests that arise during cultivation, notes for the curious, species. Aquilegia (Aquilegia) can be found under the name Catchment or Eagles. The plant belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. Basically, it is a perennial representative of the flora with a herbaceous form of growth. All varieties of this genus prefer to settle naturally in the Northern Hemisphere. According to various sources, the number of varieties of these plants varies within the range of 75-120 units, but a very small number of them are grown in culture. As practice shows, about 35 species were chosen by flower growers.
| Family name | Buttercup |
| Life cycle | Perennial or biennial |
| Growth features | Herbaceous |
| Reproduction | Seed and vegetative (cuttings or division of the rhizome) |
| Landing period in open ground | Cuttings, planted in spring |
| Disembarkation scheme | Depends on the variety - at a distance of 25-40 cm |
| Substrate | Any nutritious and light soil |
| Illumination | Penumbra |
| Moisture indicators | Moisture stagnation is harmful, watering is moderate, drainage is recommended |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | 0.3–1 m |
| Color of flowers | White, yellow, blue, purple, pink, red, magenta or bi-color |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Single flowers |
| Flowering time | June to November |
| Decorative time | Summer-autumn |
| Place of application | Flower beds and flower beds |
| USDA zone | 3, 4, 5 |
There are different versions of the origin of the name of the catchment area. According to some, aquilegia bears its name due to the fact that the Latin words "aqua" and "legere" were combined, which translated as "water" and "collection", respectively, but other data indicate that the terminology originates from "aquila" - meaning "eagle". The second, in all likelihood, served as the popular name of the plant - eagles. And the first was given to him because of the lotus effect, that is, water droplets have a very low wetting ability, falling on the surface of leaves or petals. Moisture turns into a tight droplet, which, flowing down, carries away dust, cleansing foliage and flower petals. People can hear how aquilegia is called - doves, boots or a bell.
Typically, the development cycle at the catchment is two years: the first is necessary for the origin of the renewal point located at the base of the stem. When, with the arrival of autumn, the plant dies off, then a basal rosette begins to form in this place. In the spring, this rosette of leaves will die off to make room for the formation of a new one, which will give rise to a young flowering stem. Such a peduncle will soon become a carrier of both stem leaves and flowers. Leaves that are collected in a basal rosette have elongated petioles. Their shape is twice or three times triple-pinnate. In addition, the last leaves are sessile. The color of the foliage is dull green, while closer to the base of each leaf lobe, the veins stand out in a lighter tone.
In the process of flowering, single flowers are formed, which have a variety of shades: blue, purple, yellow or snow-white, as well as different tones of red and pink. There are also two-color ones that combine different tones. The corolla of the flower is made up of five individually growing petals, resembling in their structure a funnel, in which a wide opening and spurs are obliquely cut out, differing in different sizes and outlines. But usually the latter elements have a curvature at the tapered tip. There are also species in nature that are devoid of spurs, that is, they take a stellate shape. It is according to the length and degree of curvature of the spurs, as well as their presence, that the varieties of aquilegia and its garden forms are systematized.
Usually, the separation on these grounds is as follows:
- European species: alpine, ferruginous, ordinary and Olympic aquilegia - holders of a spur bent in the form of a hook or a ring;
- American species: aquilegia blue, Canadian, Californian, golden, Skinner - have an elongated and straight spur;
- Chinese and Japanese species are distinguished by flowers devoid of spurs.
The first group of plants usually has flowers of snow-white, blue, blue and pink colors. The second is the owner of a very bright color of the corollas of a golden, orange or red hue.
In the process of flowering, each flower stays on the peduncle for only a week, but since there are a lot of them, it seems that the catchment blooms a little longer. Eagles are taken to bloom in early summer, if the dried parts of the planting are removed in time, then the doves will bloom flowers until late autumn.
After pollination, fruits ripen in the form of a multileaf filled with small seeds. The color of the seeds is black, the surface is glossy. The seeds are poisonous, their germination is maintained throughout the year.
How to grow aquilegia in the garden - planting and care
- Landing place. The catchment will need a location in partial shade, however, it will be able to grow normally in the sun, but the flowering will not be so lush and the flowers are crushed.
- Soil for aquilegia is the most important indicator. A nutritious, light and moderately moist soil is preferred. Therefore, when planting, humus or compost is added to the substrate, and then everything is dug onto a bayonet.
- Landing eagles are held according to the following rules. For each square meter, 10-12 catchment bushes are planted. The distance for low-growing varieties of aquilegia is maintained at about 25 cm, and plants with tall shoots are seated at a distance of 40 cm from each other.
- General care when growing boots is to regularly loosen the soil under the bush and systematically remove weeds. Every year, experienced florists advise to add fertile soil under each of the eagle bushes. To prevent unauthorized hybridization, many gardeners recommend not growing Aquilegia in one place for more than 5 years. After flowering, all flowering stems are cut, and the collected seed is planted away from the mother specimens.
- Fertilizer. For this, the plant is recommended several times during the growing season, to use complex mineral preparations. The catchment also responds well to organic and mineral agents.
- Watering. Although pigeons can withstand drought, moderate watering is still recommended for them.
Reproduction of the catchment: growing from seeds and cuttings
Basically, they carry out sowing of seeds and cuttings, sometimes dividing an overgrown bush.
Seeds are sown immediately after harvesting in autumn days or already with the arrival of spring. You can place the seeds either in the seedling boxes or directly on the flower bed. If sown before winter, then such plants sprout more amicably. When it is decided to sow in spring, it is recommended to mix the seed material with the ground and carry out stratification - put them in the snow or stand on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. When sowing in planting boxes, you need to use a soil mixture of humus, sand and leaf substrate. The soil is watered, compacted and seeds are sown on it.
After that, they are sprinkled with a layer of 3 mm earth mixture, and then burlap or newspaper sheets are placed on top. Seeds are germinated in partial shade, where an average temperature of about 18 degrees is maintained. As the top layer of the soil dries up, you need to moisten it with a spray bottle. Under these conditions, seedlings can be expected in 14 days, but sometimes you have to wait longer. When several new leaves have already developed on the aquilegia, the seedlings can be transferred to the flower bed using more nutritious loamy soil. This usually takes place at the end of April or with the arrival of May.
When grafting, it is necessary to use stems on which leaf plates have not yet blossomed in spring. Cut out the workpiece of the branch "with a heel" and the cut is treated with a root formation stimulator. Then disembarkation is carried out at the chosen place in the garden or in the greenhouse. This will require shelter from a cut plastic bottle. The place is selected in shading. During the first 10 days, when watering, the shelter is not removed, and then it is removed only for the duration of airing. Cuttings of aquilegia take root for about 20-30 days, and then they can already be planted in the chosen place in the garden.
Young eagles will begin to bloom in the second year, and they will reach full development only by the third year. It is possible to form hybrid forms with ease, which are obtained after cross-pollination. The aquilegia bush is divided only when it is necessary to preserve some rare variety or shape. This is because the roots of the catchment are fragile, and the root system is located deep in the soil. At the same time, a 3-5-year-old bush is selected, which is carefully dug out and the root system is carefully washed from the soil. At a height of about 5–7 cm, it is recommended to remove all shoots and all foliage, leaving only 2–3 of the youngest leaves. Then the taproot is cut in half lengthwise so that each division has 2-3 renewal buds and a number of small root processes. All sections are powdered with activated charcoal or charcoal powder. After that, all parts of the catchment are planted in boxes with light, but nutritious soil. But even if all the rules are followed, the plant will hurt for a long time.
Diseases and pests arising from the cultivation of aquilegia
When growing a catchment in a garden, it can be affected by the following diseases: powdery mildew, gray rot, or rust. If the eagles have fallen prey to gray rot, then the entire plant will have to be dug up and burned to prevent further spread of the disease. The same applies to rust, which can be affected by sheet plates. However, if it is useless to fight gray rot with any preparations, then if rust is detected, you can treat the eagles with a soap solution in which copper sulfate is diluted, or spray it with a sulfur-containing agent. But the biggest problem in cultivation is powdery mildew, when a fungal bloom forms on the stems and leaf plates, which resembles a layer of lime. Under it, the foliage begins to curl, then turns brown and dies. To combat, it is recommended to spray with colloidal sulfur in a solution combined with green soap.
Among the insects that can harm aquilegia are aphids, spider mites, nematodes, leaf miner and scoop. Against the first two pests, it is necessary to apply actellic, a paste made on the basis of yarrow and karbofos. Nematodes are difficult to cure, often you just have to change the place of planting, and in the old place are planted those representatives of the flora that do not lend themselves to this pest, for example, onions, garlic or cereals. It is recommended to burn the affected catchments.
Notes for the curious and aquilegia photos
Aquilegia is also mentioned in works of art. For example, if you take Shakespeare's "Hamlet", then in it Laertes was offered a Columbine flower by Ophelia (and this is the name eagles are called in English lands). There is also information that if in the Middle Ages the painter depicted the flowers of this decorative plant in a painting, then this was a sign that the Holy Spirit was present here.
Also, bees that come to flowers for nectar have long appreciated the melliferous properties of doves. So insects fly to those varieties and their garden forms that have a shortened spur. Although flowers with such an elongated element emit much more nectar, the bees can only get through when the spur at the base is bitten by bumblebees.
Types of aquilegia
- Alpine aquilegia (Aquilegia alpina). The stems of the plant are rather low, only 30 cm, but if the soil is fertile, then their height reaches 80 cm. The size of the flowers is large - about 8 cm in diameter, a variety of shades of blue color prevail. Spurs are shortened, with a bend. Flowering stretches from late June to early July.
- Fan-shaped aquilegia (Aquilegia flabellata) often referred to as Akita Aquilegia. Indicators in height are approximately 60 cm. The leaf plates are trifoliate with long petioles. A root rosette is collected from the leaves. The flowers range in diameter from 5–6 cm. The spur in the corolla is elongated with a strong bend. One flowering stem can have 1–5 buds. The color of the corollas is blue-purple with a fuzzy rim of a whitish color along the edge. The variety is winter-hardy, it can grow well, as self-seeding occurs.
- Common aquilegia (Aquilegia vulgaris) is a European species that can vary in height within the range of 40–80 cm. On the peduncle, flowers open 5 cm in diameter. Blue and purple shades prevail in the color. If we talk about cultivation in culture, then flower growers breed plants with a wide variety of color combinations, with simple or double flowers, with or without spurs. This species is frost-resistant, as it can withstand temperatures lower than 35 degrees below zero.
- Golden-flowered aquilegia (Aquilegia chrysantha). The native range falls on the territory of North America. The plant has large, non-drooping flowers of golden color. The rim has elongated spurs. Differs in drought resistance and winter hardiness. So far, it does not have much popularity among flower growers.
- Aquilegia canadensis (Aquilegia canadensis) is also a North American variety. The flowers have straight spurs and a red-yellow corolla. Prefers to grow in the shade and on a damp substrate.
- Dark aquilegia (Aquilegia atrata). This variety is European and at the same time its height is 30–80 cm. The color of the leaves is bluish. The corollas of drooping flowers are dark purple, reaching 3–4 cm in diameter. The spurs are shortened, differing in bend, stamens protrude from the flower. The flowering process lasts from late May to early June. Prefers to grow in partial shade. It is used as a base species for breeding varieties with dark colored flowers. Looks good both in the flowerbed and in the cut.
- Olympic Aquilegia (Aquilegia olympica). This species is "native" from the territories of the Caucasus, Iran and Asia Minor. It can vary in height in the range of 30-60 cm. The stem is distinguished by dense pubescence. The flowers, when opened, reach 10 cm in diameter, the color of the corolla is light blue, there is a long spur. Flowering is observed from mid-May to mid-June.
- Aquilegia skinneri. Native lands fall on the North American continent. Possesses winter hardiness up to -12 degrees of frost. Flowers are formed drooping, corolla with a red-yellow color, there are spurs of a straight shape.
- Aquilegia hybrid (Aquilegia hybrida). This species includes various forms that were obtained by crossing Aquilegia vulgaris and American species. The height of the plant will directly depend on the variety and at the same time varies within the range of 0.5-1 m. The flowers are formed in large sizes, reaching almost 9 cm in diameter. There are species with spurless flowers, or with spurs of different lengths, while the flowers themselves are simple or double-shaped.
