General signs of the hebe plant, tips for growing a flower, recommendations for reproduction, transplantation and feeding, problems with cultivation, species. Hebe is included in the genus of the Plantaginaceae family (Latin Plantaginaceae) or Norichnikovykh, which is a large number of dicotyledonous plants of the order of the Lighthouses. It includes about 110 genera and more than 1000 species of representatives of the green world of the planet, which are annuals and perennials with a herbal or shrub form of growth, and they are common on many continents.
The homeland of Chebe is considered to be the territories of South America, areas of New Zealand and the Falkland Islands. It was this genus that united more than a hundred species and subspecies of these herbs, almost all types of chebe, except for one (Hebe rapensis), which grows only on the island of Rapa (it is located in French Polynesia). The plant bears its name in honor of the Greek goddess of youth Hebe.
Hebe represents two types of plants with different forms of growth: one is dwarf spectacular shrubs and the other is trees, in natural nature, reaching 7 meters. The size of the bush plantings varies from 20 cm to 60 cm. The leaf plates are arranged crosswise on the branches and are thus very similar to the green pyramidal conifers. The plant never changes its deciduous shade. The very surface of the leaf is leathery and glossy, painted in light or rich emerald shades. The shape of the leaves is elongated-oval or lanceolate, measuring about 10 cm in length, the petiole is short or absent.
Blossoming occurs in small flowers in the summer months. The color of the buds is quite varied: sky blue, pinkish, pink-purple or all kinds of red shades. If the plant is sick, then the color of the buds becomes bicolor (two-color). Numerous racemose inflorescences are collected from the flowers. The flower has a perfect shape; the corolla usually contains 4 petals. Stamens in a steam flower.
Plants of this genus are usually divided into two groups: the first contains winter-hardy species, and the second includes relatively winter-hardy varieties. Sometimes, due to confusion in the names, the chebe is confused with the veronica plant. But it is impossible to accurately describe all types of chebe, since it can resemble heather, and boxwood, and juniper.
Chebe is often used for plantations on the shores of the seas in open ground, which are open to the wind, or in alpine meadows. Can be grown as a garden or pot plant. From the plantings, spectacular hedges are obtained. On the basis of the Hebe beautiful variety, many hybrid varieties have been bred, and they are grown in home floriculture.
The plant is a good remedy for stopping blood. May increase the vitality of the body.
Tips for cultivating hebe
- Lighting and location selection … The plant is somewhat similar to rosemary, it loves bright sunlight. However, at noon, you should still shade the bush from harmful ultraviolet radiation using light curtains or make gauze curtains. Tracing paper or paper is also glued to the glass. But many of the varieties do not require this, but the plant should be taught to light gradually to avoid sunburn. The windows of the eastern, western and partially southern locations will do. On the windowsill of a north-facing window, it will be necessary to organize supplementary lighting using phytolamps so that the daylight hours are at least 10 hours a day. You can take the plant out into the garden or on the balcony in the summer, but you need to remember that the hebe, which is grown in the open field, simply will not survive the snowless cold winter.
- The temperature of the content of the hebe. The plant is very thermophilic, but it feels more comfortable in the summer with heat indicators of 20-22 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn, the temperature should be reduced to 6-8 degrees. Such a "cold wintering" will be the key to the subsequent exuberant flowering. If the column of the thermometer shows higher temperatures in the spring-summer period, then this threatens with the falling of leaves and buds.
- Air humidity should be high, since if its indicators decrease, then the plant will be susceptible to pest infestation and the deciduous mass will begin to be dumped. It is best to often spray the crown of the bush with warm, settled water. When the temperature rises above 26 degrees, it is necessary to carry out additional humidification of the air and leaves. You can put mechanical humidifiers next to the pot or install a flowerpot in a deep container, at the bottom of which a layer of expanded clay, pebbles or crushed brick is poured, and a little water is poured.
- Fertilizers for shrubs must be applied from mid-spring to the end of August every two weeks. For feeding, choose liquid preparations for decorative flowering indoor plants. The phosphorus and potassium content should be higher than the nitrogen values. It is important that boron and zinc are mandatory in the composition - this promotes flowering.
- Watering the plant. In the summer, it is required that soil moisture is abundant, but it is important not to allow the substrate to flood. In the autumn-winter period, watering depends on the temperature of the content: the lower it is, the less often the soil is moistened. The signal for humidification is the drying of the top layer of soil in the flowerpot.
- Pruning. After the flowering period ends, the hebe needs to prune the shoots. This time comes with the arrival of the autumn months. If such an operation is not carried out, then soon the bush will lose its decorative effect.
- Transplantation and choice of substrate. Hebe needs to be replanted annually until the flowering process begins. When transplanting, special care is needed, since if even a small number of root shoots are affected, part of the bush may dry out. When the plant grows in greenhouses or in pots, you can only add a little new soil on top or use the transshipment method without destroying the earthy coma, so the root system will be less injured. A sufficient layer of expanded clay of a medium fraction or pebbles is necessarily poured onto the bottom of the pot - this will help the soil not dry out so quickly.
When changing soil, you can make up a substrate from the following components:
- sod soil, leafy soil, top peat, coarse sand (all parts are equal);
- any substrate for indoor plants, with the addition of crushed charcoal and sand or perlite.
Important!!! After the purchase, the plant is not recommended to be transplanted within a month, the hebe must get used to the atmosphere of the room.
Tips for self-propagating shrubs
You can get a new young evergreen hebe using the method of cuttings or planting seeds.
It is difficult to propagate the plant with the help of seeds, since the germination percentage is quite small. With the arrival of spring, the seeds must be placed in a container with a sandy-peat moistened soil and deepened by 1 cm. Then the container is covered with polyethylene or a piece of glass so that high humidity and heat are maintained for seedlings. The temperature for germination is maintained within 22-25 degrees. As soon as 3 real leaves appear on young plants, they must be carefully dived into separate pots, with the same soil mixture as for adult specimens.
In order to cut the cuttings, a plant is selected that is at least three years old. The branches are cut from the tops of the stems and should not be shorter than 10 cm in length. Cuttings must be planted in containers with peat and sand mixed in equal parts and covered with a plastic bag or a cut plastic bottle. The soil temperature for rooting is maintained at 20-25 degrees. As soon as you can see that the stalk is rooted, then the package can be removed and the plant can be accustomed to the air in the apartment. After 2-3 weeks, the young Chebe can be transplanted into a new container with a layer of drainage material at the bottom. The soil is composed of peat, leafy and soddy soil with the addition of sand (all parts of the components are equal). Perlite or crushed charcoal can be added to lighten the substrate. After another 2-3 weeks, it is necessary to pinch the tip of the shoot - this will allow the branching process to begin. Subsequently, this operation is performed several more times.
Difficulty growing chebe
Of the problems arising from the cultivation of shrubs, the following can be distinguished:
- The shoots are strongly stretched, and the foliage becomes shallow if the plant does not have enough light. Solution: illuminate with phytolamps so that the daytime is equal to 10 hours a day or move the pot to a brighter place.
- Brown spots on the leaf blades caused sunburn. Solution: move the pot of chebe to a more shaded place, it is necessary to accustom to light gradually.
- If foliage is dumped, it means that there was a flood of soil or a sharp drop in temperature. Solution: equalize the humidification mode, transfer to a warmer place.
- The leaves began to wither, and the bush lost its decorative effect, in case of abundant flowering or elevated temperatures of maintenance, insufficient watering is possible.
- The growth of the bush has slowed down or stopped, flowering does not occur - this is a consequence of a lack of nutrients or a change of substrate and capacity is required. Solution: transplanting and fertilizing.
- Leaves droop and turn yellow if watering for the plant is insufficient or there is not enough air humidity. Solution: spraying and moistening the soil.
- Decay of the root system and the appearance of mold on the soil surface indicate the flooding of the substrate or the lack of drainage. Solution: transplant hebe, and pour a sufficient layer of expanded clay or pebbles into the pot, level the moisture regime.
- Flowering does not occur in any way if the hebe was kept at elevated temperatures during the winter. Solution: to provide heat reduction in the autumn-winter time.
Of the harmful insects that infect the bush, aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites can be distinguished.
Aphids like to settle on cheba, especially if it grows in open ground during the flowering period of the shrub. Symptoms include yellow foliage, stunted growth, beetles and pest eggs covering the leaves and stems of the plant.
When a spider mite is affected, punctures are visible on the reverse side of the leaf plate, which the insect leaves, sucking the vital juices of the hebe, and subsequently the leaves on the back side and internodes are covered with a thin translucent cobweb.
When a mealybug appears on the leaves and in internodes, a cotton-like bloom and sticky sugary desires (waste products of the pest) are visible.
If a harmful insect is found, then it is necessary to carry out the treatment with a soap, oil or alcohol solution. You can apply the product to a cotton pad and remove the insects by hand. If non-chemical solutions do not provide the desired result, then insecticide spraying is carried out. Treatment can be carried out every other day, until all pests are destroyed.
Hebe species
- Hebe salicifolia. The plant is a tree-like shrubby form of growth. The leaf plates have an oblong elliptical shape with a sharp apex. They grow up to 15 cm in length and 3 cm in width. The leaves are located oppositely on the shoot, they are practically devoid of petioles and sit on the stem, the surface is smooth and painted in a rich green hue. From numerous small flowers, fluffy racemose inflorescences are collected, which measure 20 cm in length. The diameter of one flower is 0.5-1 cm, their color is snow-white or purple.
- Hebe cypress (Hebe cupressoides). It looks like a bush with numerous branches. Shoots are thin and completely covered with leaves that are very close to each other. The branches are only 2 mm across. The leaf plates are fleshy and painted in a gray color. The flowers bloom in a sky blue and pale purple color, with a diameter of about 3-4 mm. Loose capitate inflorescences are collected from them.
- Hebe is beautiful (Hebe speciosa). This species is also a tree-like shrub plant. Its branches cover leathery, elongated leaf plates with short petioles. The length of the leaf approaches 10 cm with a width of 3-4 cm. The surface is bare, but there is a slight pubescence that runs along the central vein. When blooming, red and purple buds of a centimeter diameter bloom. From them are collected inflorescences containing a large number of flowers and in its shape resembling a brush. The plant has long been grown on the Crimean coast, but in central Russia it does not withstand winters.
- Hebe pinguifolia. The plant has the shape of a highly branching shrub, which reaches a height of 40-50 cm. The leaf blades are located very tightly to each other, their surface is fleshy, the shape is elongated-elliptical, there is a pointed tip at the top. Their color is gray-greenish. Loose racemose inflorescences are collected from multiple snow-white buds, which measure 3-4 mm in opening.
- Hebe andersonii. This species is native to New Zealand. The plant is a shrub-growing plant, reaching a height of two meters. The trunk is upright, highly branching, the crown is compact, rounded. Leaves with a smooth surface, in the form of elongated ovals, with a sharpness at the top, painted in a green tint, are located on the shoot in 4 rows. Flowering occurs in white buds with purple speckles. From the flowers, inflorescences are collected, growing at the tops of the branches.
- Hebe angustifolia. Shrub with evergreen deciduous mass, reaching a height of one and a half meters. The trunk is highly branched, thin. The crown is compact, rounded. The leaf plates are narrow, their surface is smooth, up to 7 cm in length, the arrangement is 4-row on the branch. In the apical inflorescences, small whitish flowers with lilac speckling are collected.
- Hebe armstrongii. The form of the plant is bushy, prostrate. Reminiscent of heather. The branches are raised, very densely covered with small leaf plates with a bluish color. The length is measured 2 cm.
- Hebe rejected (Hebe anomala). This plant can be found under the name Hebe odora. A shrub with evergreen foliage, reaching one and a half meters in height. The crown is rounded, the trunk is upright, with good branching. The leaf plates only reach 2 cm in length, have a narrow shape, and are located on a branch in 4 rows. Inflorescences reach 3 cm in length and are collected from small white or pale pinkish flowers with blue dots.
- Hebe Townson (Hebe townsonii). The height of this shrub reaches two meters. The leaf mass never changes its color, the trunk grows upright with numerous branches. The leaf plates have a narrowed shape, are arranged in a 4-row order on the shoot, along the stem, the color is a rich green hue. The color of the buds is pale purple. From numerous flowers, drooping inflorescences are collected, up to 8 cm in length.
What does hebe look like at home:
