Description of the action plant, how to grow when planting in the open field, methods of reproduction, how to protect against diseases and pests, interesting facts, species.
Deutzia is a member of the Hydrangeaceae family, which unites only 17 genera and up to 266 species. The genus deytsium has only fifty varieties, the natural habitat is in the Mexican lands, the Himalayas and East Asia.
| Family name | Hydrangea |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Growth features | Shrub |
| Reproduction | Seed or vegetative method |
| Landing period in open ground | Seedlings are planted in spring |
| Disembarkation scheme | Leave up to half a meter between the seedlings |
| Substrate | Loose, nutrient-rich, well-drained and neutral in acidity within pH 6, 5-7 |
| Illumination | Well-lit, warm, draft-free area |
| Moisture indicators | Watering is regular and abundant for young plants, adult bushes are drought-resistant |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | 0.5–4 m |
| Color of flowers | Snow white, pink or lilac-purple |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Racemose |
| Flowering time | Spring-summer |
| Decorative time | Spring-autumn |
| Place of application | As single and group plantings, the formation of hedges |
| USDA zone | 4–9 |
The plant is named after the name of Johann van der Deutz (Johann van der Deutz), whose life dates fall on the period 1743-1788. This mayor of Amsterdam (and also a philanthropist) was a friend of Karl Peter Thunberg (1743–1828), a Swedish naturalist who studies the flora of Japan and South Africa. The money for some of the naturalist's expeditions was also provided by Deitz. Occasionally you can hear how the action is called "zhilistek".
All plants belonging to this genus are perennials, with a deciduous or evergreen crown, looking like shrubs. The branches of the action can be erect or spreading. Their height varies within 0.5–4 m, while the life span of many is almost 25 years. Today, thanks to the labors of breeders, a large number of decorative garden varieties have been bred, the flowers of which can be either simple in shape or terry. Often, such low shrubs reach 1, 2–1, 8 m in height.
It is noteworthy that, like many members of the family, here the bark also peels off on the branches, which over time begins to hang from the shoots in the form of "rags", while the color of the surface of the branches is grayish-brown. It should be noted that it is mature branches that have this property; this is not a sign of pest damage or disease. Leaves resemble honeysuckle foliage in outlines, since their shape can be ovoid or lanceolate. Leaf plates grow oppositely on the branches, their surface is characterized by rigidity. The color of the leaves includes a green or light greenish tint, with the arrival of autumn changing to yellowish, orange and even bronze.
What the gardeners who have grown them since the beginning of the 19th century have loved so much is the large number of blossoming flowers and the duration of flowering. The buds begin to open on the bushes from May to the end of the first summer month. However, for all their beauty, small racemose inflorescences are completely devoid of aroma. The color of the petals in flowers can be white, pink or purple-purple. Usually the flowers are bisexual.
After the spectacular inflorescences have been pollinated, the fruits, which are boxes, ripen. When they are fully ripe, they crack on their own, and very small seeds spill out of them.
It is recommended to plant action bushes in a location that is visible from all sides. The best neighbors for them will be rhododendrons or terry kerrias that do not lose their crowns from evergreen foliage. This is due to the fact that the flowering process of these representatives of the flora falls on almost the same period, and if the flowers of the vein are of a snow-white color, then they create a spectacular transition between the blossoming buds of the lilac and yellow colors of the “neighbors”. When decorating a landscape, designers can often plant action next to ornamental conifers, if Deutzia bushes have tall shoots, then they can be used to form a hedge. Since it is completely unaffected by exhaust gases, such a fence is suitable for planting in areas that are adjacent to roads.
Tips for planting and caring for outdoor action
- Choosing a landing site. Since the plant is thermophilic, it is recommended to select an appropriate location. It is important that protection against drafts and wind is provided. Good lighting is also necessary, since in shading the flowering will be less abundant, and the color of the flowers will be paler. For action, moist substrates are most preferred, which are found in clearings in forests or on the slopes of hills of low height. Too waterlogged soil will not work, you should also avoid the proximity of groundwater and stagnant moisture when snow melts and heavy rainfall.
- Soil selection when caring for action, it should be as close to natural conditions as possible - for normal growth you need a loose, nutrient-rich soil with good drainage and neutral acidity in the range of pH 6, 5-7 or slightly alkaline pH 7-8. If the soil on the site turned out to be acidic, then when planting it is recommended to put about a glass of ash or up to 300 g of slaked lime in a hole. The best performance when growing zhilistek is achieved when using a soil mixture from a compost substrate, humus, river sand, combined in a 2: 1: 1 ratio.
- Landing action held in the spring. It is better to purchase seedlings immediately before planting them in open ground. When choosing plants, their branches are carefully examined for possible pests or diseases. It is clear that the veins planted in a container will cost more than those with an open root system. But in the first case, the inspection of the roots will be difficult - they can be not only diseased, but also simply dry, which will subsequently complicate their rooting. If the seedlings are not in a container, then it is recommended to wrap the roots more tightly in paper during transportation. Before planting the action, the broken shoots must be removed, the root shoots must be shortened so that their length is 35–40 cm. where 1 liter of light pink solution of potassium permanganate is poured. The planting hole is dug up to a depth of about 0.5 m. Drainage is necessarily used, which is coarse-grained sand, medium-sized expanded clay or crushed brick. In this case, the drainage layer should be up to 10-15 cm. Then a little prepared soil is placed on it, a small mound is formed that will cover the drainage. When planting zilistek, it is recommended to mix the substrate with nitroammophos in the amount of 100–120 g of the preparation. The root collar of the seedling must be installed above the soil level. If several plants are planted, then a distance of up to one and a half meters is maintained between them. After the action seedlings are installed in the hole, it is filled with the above soil mixture, and then abundant watering is performed. The substrate should settle a little and it must be carefully tamped. Then mulching is carried out in the near-trunk circle. Peat can act as mulch, which is about 5–7 cm thick.
- Watering. While the bushes are young, they cannot cope with drought on their own, and they will need regular and abundant moisture, having matured, the action perfectly tolerates dry and hot summers. In any case, waterlogging is harmful to the bushes, so it is necessary to pour one bucket of water weekly under each plant. After watering or rains, it is recommended to loosen the soil to a depth of 20 cm. If the weather is very hot, there has been no precipitation for a long time, and the flowering period has also begun, then the plants are watered more often and more abundantly. When the first half of August comes, they gradually begin to reduce the amount of watering, so that the zhilistek bushes begin to prepare for wintering.
- Fertilizers. Most of all, you will need to feed the action during the flowering period and in the first half of summer. In autumn, it is better not to fertilize the bushes, as this will reduce their resistance to frost. It is recommended to use complete complex mineral preparations twice during the growing season (for example, Kemira Universal or Kemira Plus). For each bush, you need to apply about 120-150 grams of fertilizer. The plant also responds well to organic matter - you can use a solution of liquid manure diluted in a ratio of 1 liter to a 10-liter bucket of water, or you can take compost mixed with ash.
- Trimming the action. To shorten the grown shoots, which can stretch up to 25 cm per season, is better in spring or June. In the middle of spring, it is recommended to remove all branches that have begun to go to the middle of the crown, are damaged by diseases or pests, or have broken during the winter. Also, shoots that have not matured during the previous growing season or have suffered from frost are subjected to pruning. When the flowering period ends, each of the branches is cut to the point where a strong and young shoot begins. It also needs to be shortened by 1/3 or 1/4 of its length - this will stimulate future branching and increase the number of budding buds. When the bushes are more than five years old, once every 3 years, 1-2 old shoots are removed, while cutting is performed to the very level of the soil. In this way, the rejuvenation of the plant is performed.
- Transplanting action bushes it is carried out exclusively in the spring, since with the autumn change of the place of growth, the plant will not be able to take root until winter. In this case, the bush is carefully removed from the soil, while trying not to destroy the earthen lump. To do this, the veins need to be dug around the perimeter corresponding to the projection of its crown, and then the root system with a lump of earth should be removed from the substrate. The bush is placed in a prepared hole, at the bottom of which a drainage layer has already been laid and 20-30 g of complex mineral dressing (for example, Kemira Universal) is added. The hole with the plant is filled up with a prepared soil mixture (it is described in the section Soil selection), the soil in the near-trunk circle is rammed and abundant watering is carried out. After the transplant has been carried out, it is necessary to cut off all old shoots, and the remaining branches are cut off by 1/3. Around the bush, the substrate is mulched with peat.
- Tips for wintering action. Unlike spirea (a shrub plant of the Pink family with abundant snow-white flowering), this plant's wintering process is not so simple. If there are severe frosts, then the shoots of the zhilistek can freeze to the level where the snow crust is poured, however, with the arrival of spring, the branches grow anew. There may not be flowering this year, and if the buds are formed, then their number will be minimal. This is due to the fact that all inflorescences mainly cover the regrown shoots of the last growing season. For better preservation, it is recommended to bend the young bushes of action to the ground, and fix the shoots with a pair of sticks set crosswise or in small arcs made of strong wire (plastic). A layer of fallen dried foliage is thrown on top of such a structure. You can build a kind of hut out of spruce branches and cover everything with spunbond (in extreme cases, plastic wrap). Such a design will not allow, when snow melts with the arrival of spring or winter thaw, to strongly bend and break the branches of the plant. When adult plants are prepared for wintering, their branches cannot be bent to the soil, as they eventually become hollow inside and break easily. Preparation in this case begins even before the shoots become bare and the foliage will fly around. In this case, the leaves will remain an additional means of protection against frost. It is recommended that the branches be pulled neatly and not too tightly with a rope and then a non-woven material with a density of about 60 should be placed over such a "broom". Sometimes it is better to use a bag made of the same spunbond or lutrasil. From above, you need to fix everything with clothespins so that gusts of wind do not damage the shelter. This not only protects against the winter cold, but also prevents the branches and flower buds from drying out.
Attention!!
When transplanting adult action bushes is performed, subsequent long-term adaptation and illness are possible. When young plants are moved, rooting is quick and almost always successful.
Breeding methods for the action shrub
Usually, a new plant can be obtained by sowing seeds or by vegetative methods - cuttings or rooting of cuttings.
Seed material is recommended to be sown in a prepared place (for example, on a garden bed) in open ground immediately after they are harvested, so that the seeds undergo natural stratification (exposure for a long time at low temperatures). In the spring, after the soil warms up, young seedlings will appear. They should be looked after in the same way as for adult action bushes. But the first winter, young plants need to be covered, as they can suffer from frost. Only after a three-year period from the moment of sowing, the buds will bloom on the seedlings. However, this method is not very popular with gardeners, since many ornamental Deutzia varieties do not mature viable seeds.
Often the shrub is propagated by rooting cuttings or layering. Workpieces are cut at the very beginning of summer, their length is 20-25 cm. The lower sheet plates must be removed so that moisture does not evaporate from them. Then the cuttings are placed in a solution of a root formation stimulator (for example, you can use Kornevin). The workpieces are planted in a sandy-peat substrate, which is mixed with humus. Before planting, such a soil mixture must be moistened and the cuttings must be deepened by no more than 5–10 mm.
For better rooting, it is recommended to create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse - cover the cuttings with plastic wrap or put cut plastic bottles on them. Then the pots with seedlings are placed outside protected from direct sunlight. As the cuttings begin to take root and release new young leaves, the shelter is removed. For the winter period, it is recommended to transfer containers with young veins to a greenhouse or winter garden, since frost will destroy them. Only with the arrival of spring can you plan to transplant to a prepared place in the garden.
If the propagation of action is carried out using lignified cuttings, then they are harvested in November, while their length should be 15–20 cm. Small bundles of such branches are tied, sprinkled with coarse sand and kept cool (for example, in the basement). When March-April comes, then the cuttings must be planted on the beds at an angle and a shelter made of polyethylene should be built. With successful rooting, buds can be seen on the seedlings, and then the shelter is removed.
The method of rooting layers has proven itself quite well. The lower shoots of the action shrub are carefully bent to the soil surface, fixed there with a stiff wire or hairpin, and sprinkled with soil. Layering care is carried out in the same way as for the entire mother bush. If you want the roots to appear faster, then in the place where the shoot touches the ground, the bark is cut off in a ring. Only with the onset of the next growing season, the rooted cuttings are carefully separated from the adult bush and transplanted to a prepared place in the garden.
How to protect action from diseases and pests?
Despite the high resistance of the veil to harmful insects and diseases, it happens that the plant becomes a victim of the bumblebee proboscis. The symptoms of the appearance of this green butterfly with a reddish-brown mark on the abdomen is the nibbled foliage of the action. At the same time, it is recommended to treat the bushes with insecticidal agents - Phthalofos or Karbofos (15% solution).
Interesting facts about action
Only in the first half of the 19th century, thanks to the Dutch merchants, Japanese and Himalayan types of wines appeared in culture. But it wasn't until the end of the century that actions of Chinese varieties began to grow in gardens. All thanks to the works of the French dendrologist Maurice Vilmorinin, for whom the missionaries carried out the collection of seeds of such plants in China. In the scientist's nursery in the years 1880-1890, many species were grown, which became the property of European botanists. But the bulk of the varieties of action were introduced (imported) already in the 20th century.
Types of action
Since there are many types of zhilistek, we will give those that are usually grown in the territory of central Russia:
Small-flowered action (Deutzia parviflora)
or as it is also called - Deutzia amurensis (Deutzia amurensis). The shrub has spreading outlines, its shoots reach a height of 2 m (but on the lands of the Moscow region it is not higher than 1.5 m). When blooming, small (diameter 1, 2 cm) snow-white flowers with five petals, devoid of aroma, open. The flowering period occurs in early summer and lasts until June 20th.
Deutzia magnifica
Occurs under the name The action is magnificent. The crown of this shrub is wide, the height of the plant is 1.5 m, there is a property of rapid growth. The flowers open large (3 cm in diameter). The color of the petals is bright white, umbrella inflorescences are collected from the buds. In the Moscow region, the species blooms during the period from late June to early July. The following varieties are popular:
- Formoza, with a double flower structure;
- Superba the corolla of the flowers looks like a bell;
- Erecta inflorescences are of high density.
Deutzia x lemoinei
can be referred to as Hybrid action … This shrub is taller, its shoots reach 1.6 m in height. The crown is wide, rounded. From flowers (with a diameter of 2 cm), panicle erect inflorescences with a pyramidal shape are collected during flowering. The flowering process begins in May, but in the Moscow region it is late.
Deutzia scabra
or The action is star-shaped. The foliage has a rough surface due to the coating in the form of hairs. The crown, as the shrub matures, takes on a spreading shape. On the territory of central Russia, the height of the bush does not exceed 1.5 meters, flowers of a snow-white or pinkish shade with a diameter of only 1.5 cm open. The petals have a characteristic sharpening at the top. A narrowed panicle inflorescence is collected from the flowers.
Video about growing action:
