You will find useful tips on growing hazel grouse, a description of possible problems and practical recommendations. The second name of the hazel grouse is fritilaria. This plant belongs to the Grouse genus. It came to us from the highlands of Central Asia. Here he chose for himself mountain forests, subalpine slopes, steppes and meadows located at an altitude of 1300 to 2500 meters above sea level.
Description of hazel grouse
This bulbous plant is perennial, depending on the species, it can be low or tall - from 30 to 80 cm in height. Leaves are narrow-lanceolate, pale green. The stem is leafy, simple. The flowers are bell-shaped, drooping, light yellow, cream in color, on the inside there is a checkerboard pattern of a light brown shade, they are 5–6 cm long.
Weak plants can form one flower per cluster, and those that have enough light and nourishment - 3-5 pieces, collected in a rare cluster, over which a whorl of leaves is formed. You can admire this splendor in May, it is at this time that flower stalks grow and the formed buds bloom.
After the fritilaria has faded, a faceted box is gradually formed on it, in which the seeds ripen, they, when ripe, become brown.
Simplicity and problems of growing hazel grouse
Like:
- hazel grouse is checkerboard;
- hazel grouse;
- hazel grouse,
pale-flowered is also one of these, the most unpretentious species. He does not need shelter for the winter, in the Middle Lane he already perfectly tolerates this time of year.
Like all plants from this group, hazel grouse does not like moisture stagnation. After all, its bulb is in the ground and does not have such dense scales as, for example, a tulip bulb, therefore it can rot. For the same reason, it is sometimes difficult to preserve the onion before planting. Therefore, it is covered with damp moss or peat and placed on the fruit shelf of the refrigerator.
Growing hazel grouse from bulbs
The most common way to get a new plant is to grow hazel grouse from bulbs. When buying, pay attention to the fact that there are no stains, cuts or other damage on them. See if the bulb has dried out as a result of long or improper storage. Do not buy such planting material.
If you use your onions and notice small rotten spots, carefully cut them out with a knife, soak them in a red solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes, dry and lubricate the wound with green paint. After it dries, you can plant hazel grouse bulbs.
As mentioned earlier, the place for the flower should not be too wet, with stagnant waters. To the rest of the growing conditions, hazel grouse is more than loyal. If you do not have a place in a sunny area, plant it in partial shade, it will feel great here too.
The best time to plant this plant is late summer or early fall. The soil should be nutritious, light. If fertilizers were not applied here, add 1 sq. m. 3 st. l. nitrophoski when digging the earth to a depth of 25 cm. The bulbs themselves must be planted to a depth of 10-12 cm, depending on their size. It is equal to three heights of the bulb, but dig the planting hole a little deeper in order to pour brick chips, expanded clay or sand of a coarse fraction on its bottom as drainage in a layer of 2 cm. Above, about 5 cm of well-ripened compost or manure, which has turned into humus.
The distance between the bulbs should be 30–40 cm. It would be nice to mulch the soil surface with peat after planting.
Care for hazel grouse
The first feeding of hazel grouses should be given early, as they bloom already in May. After the snow melts, it is necessary to feed the flowers with a product prepared from 5 liters of water and 1 tbsp. l. complex mineral fertilizer. Such a nutrient solution should be prepared 2 times a month and watered with it on the soil under the plants only on damp ground.
If the hazel grouse grow in partial shade, they can be watered a little less often than those placed in the sun. The dried upper layer is not a signal for this process, since the bulb is at least at a depth of 10 cm, its roots are even lower, and over time it tends to sink even further. Therefore, depending on the weather, it is enough to water the hazel grouses abundantly once every 2 weeks, and the next day to feed the plant.
The soil under the hazel grouse must be periodically loosened, at the same time removing the weeds. When the blossoming buds have faded, they are removed. They do not do this with the leaf mass and stem, since these parts of the plant are necessary for him to give nutrition to the bulb and help form daughter bulbs. There are few of them. When you plant the daughter bulbs, they will bloom in 2 years.
In one place, the hazel grouse grows on average for 5 years, then it is transplanted to a new place, having previously separated the daughter bulbs. It is better to plant them immediately so that they do not dry out, so dig up the bulbs no earlier than the end of August or September.
Possible problems, tips for growing hazel grouse
If only a stem without flowers is formed on your plant, it is more than three years old, then pay attention to whether hazel grouses are often planted? If so, thin them out by digging up the bulbs closer to autumn.
If you decide to grow hazel grouse from seeds, then first stratify them for 2 months in the refrigerator, and then sow. But the flowering of these plants can be expected no earlier than 6-7 years after planting.
Grouse grouse is usually not used for cutting, since, like many other species of these plants, it has a pungent, not very pleasant smell. But it helps the bulbs not to be attacked by mice and many pests. In addition, the plant is very decorative, easy to care for, blooms early, which speaks in favor of growing it in the garden.
You can learn more about the cultivation of hazel grouse from this video:
