The dicentra is a very spectacular plant and caring for it is by no means difficult. How to propagate a dicenter, what its types are - all this is written in the article. If you want your garden to be decorated with an amazing plant with flowers that look like hearts, plant a dicenter. In addition to its charming appearance, the flower is unpretentious and does not require transplanting for 5-6 years.
The old legend of the dicenter
The flowers of the dicenter, which look like hearts, look great against the background of openwork leaves. This plant gave rise to just such a legend.
Once a girl named Jeanette got lost in the forest. She was found and rescued by a handsome young man. He put the beauty on a horse and took her home. In parting, the young man kissed Jeanette.
The girl fell in love with her savior and looked forward to his return. But one day Jeanette saw a wedding cortege on the outskirts of the village. Ahead rode her savior with another girl. Unable to see this, Jeanette fell, and her heart cracked with pain. Subsequently, a dicenter, which is called "Jeanette's heart", "broken heart", "flower of the heart", grew on this place.
Dicenter varieties
The charm of the plant is reflected in the name of its species. Among them there are such as the dicenter:
- beautiful;
- gorgeous or "broken heart";
- exceptional;
- dwarf;
- golden tears;
- vagrant;
- canadian;
- Nevada;
- one-flowered;
- few-flowered.
Each of these varieties has its own characteristics:
- The center is magnificent grows up to 30 cm in height in a sunny place of the garden, and in a dark place - up to 1 meter or even more. This variety loves watering with warm water in dry weather, but does not tolerate waterlogging.
- The center is beautiful originally from North America. It grows in height up to 30-60 cm. On the sunny side up to 30, and on the shady side up to 60 cm. Lavender flowers, elongated. This species blooms for a long time - the first blossoming buds can be admired already at the end of May, and the last at the beginning of September.
- Dicenter dwarf grows only up to 15 cm, but it feels great under the shade of tall shrubs, garden trees. Its flowers resemble hearts and are painted in pink and purple tones. The leaves are fern-like, located on thin stems. This type of dicenter will cover the land on the site, turning it into a floral carpet. Even if someone walks on it, the plant will soon recover - flexible stems will straighten, and a powerful root system will provide the necessary nutrition.
- Dicenter golden tears is a climbing perennial up to three meters in height, so it needs support. In 2-3 years he will completely entwine her. This green liana is covered with inflorescences of yellow and pink tones. They bloom in early summer until the first autumn frosts. The dicenter of this variety is picky and feels good in the shade.
- Dicenter exceptional has 2 more names - "turkey grain" and "fringed broken heart". This species has a creeping root. Therefore, give the Exceptional Dicenter sufficient space when planting. Although the plant itself is low - it reaches only 15–20 cm, so it looks good in alpine hills, on curbs. Blooms from early May until the first frost.
Dicenter - landing, leaving
It is better to prepare the land for the plant in advance. The soil must be fertile. For this, humus is added to the soil. If the soil is clay, then you need to make it lighter by diluting it with sand and peat.
Dicentra does not like stagnant water. Therefore, at the bottom of the planting pit, put drainage in the form of expanded clay, small stones or coarse sand. By the way, the dicentra loves stony soils, so it grows well in such areas. For 1 sq. m. 3-5 kg of humus and 1-2 tbsp are introduced. l.granular fertilizer for flowers or complex mineral fertilizer. All this mixes well with the soil, then you need to shed a depression. The distance between the holes is 30–40 cm. Plant the plant, spreading its roots, and cover with light fertile soil.
After the planting of the dicenter, if it is not cloudy weather, the plant needs to be shaded.
Water the plant periodically, carry out shallow loosening, as the root system of the flower "broken heart" has a superficial one. Therefore, it is impossible to loosen deeply so as not to damage the roots.
The plant doesn't need much attention. After your dicenter has taken root, care consists in watering, loosening, weeding. During the season, it is fed 3 times with fertilizer for flowers, diluting 20 g in 10 liters of water.
Reproduction of dicentra
If you want to plant several plants or share them with friends, acquaintances, or sell, you can propagate the dicenter and get your own planting material.
There are 3 methods of propagation of dicentra: seeds, division of rhizomes and aerial shoots. The first method is rarely used - it is mainly used by professional botanists to develop new varieties. After all, the "flower of the heart" forms few seeds, but some varieties in our latitudes do not give them at all. In addition, it is difficult to grow a dicenter from seeds.
The easiest and most optimal way of reproduction is by shoots or parts of the rhizome. Aerial shoots at the "heart of Jeanette" die off at the end of summer, and then this plant is propagated. But you can propagate the dicenter in early spring at a time when the shoots have not yet woken up or have just started to grow.
The roots must be very carefully dug out, removed from the ground and dried. The latter is necessary because in such a slightly sluggish state, the roots are more elastic, therefore they break less. After that, carefully divide the rhizomes into several parts, so that each has 3-4 buds, from which shoots will develop over time. Sprinkle ash over the cuts to protect them from decay.
Choose an area with dense partial shade and bury the root pieces here, then pour generously with warm water. After rooting, transplant the delenki to a flower bed or to another prepared place.
Propagation by dividing the rhizomes should be at least once every 5-6 years. Then you can rejuvenate your favorite plant. The second common breeding method for dicentra is by ground cuttings, which should be carried out in the spring. Carefully scrape off the ground from the base of the bush, cut off small cuttings with a "heel" with a sharp knife. Prepare a solution of a root formation stimulator according to the instructions and soak the cuttings in it for the specified number of hours. Then plant in a shady place in light moist soil, cover with a plastic bottle or greenhouse wrap to prevent excess moisture from evaporating. Plant rooted cuttings in a permanent place after a year.
Useful information about the dicenter
Finally, here are some useful tips for caring for the dicenter. To make the color of the buds saturated, feed the dicenter with superphosphate in the spring. In the process of its growth, carry out another 3-4 of the same feeding. Don't forget about nitrogen fertilizers. This top dressing is done in early spring, and then, when the plant has faded. This last nitrogen supplement of the season promotes better new bud formation. Faded brushes need to be removed in time, this will prolong the flowering period of the plant. In the fall, remove the aerial part, leaving 4–5 cm hemp. If a strong cold snap is expected in spring, and the "broken heart" has already started to grow, cover it with a non-woven material.
For more information on growing, care and reproduction of bicenters, see this video:
