In the meadows, forest fringes and glades of the Far East and Siberia, on the stony slopes of China, in some areas of Japan and Korea, blue placers of a perennial platycodone plant can be found. In translation from Latin it is called a large bell-shaped bell. Breeders brought platycodons with pink, purple, white flowers.
Platycodone perfectly coexists with other garden plants: daylilies and peonies, phlox and asters, wormwood and geraniums. A feature of vegetation of platycodone is that it wakes up after wintering after all other perennials. It starts in July, and not only its flowers are beautiful, but also buds that look like origami figures or Japanese lanterns. It decorates the garden and the already faded bush of platycodon: its leaves first become lemon, and then yellow-purple. Such bright bushes look great against the background of greenery of coniferous plants .
Platycodone - reproduction and cultivation
Cultivation of platycodone comes from seeds that are sown in March-April. Crops should be covered with a film, and water them with room water, spraying from the spray. In a couple of weeks there will be shoots. If you want to get early and more amicable shoots, pre-stratify the seeds, that is, stand them for a while in the cold.
A container with sprouted plants should be kept in a cool room at a temperature of about + 15 ° C, watered sparingly. In open ground seedlings are planted in early June, while trying not to damage the earthen litter.
It is possible to sow the seeds of platycodone in the garden and under winter. In this case, they should be sprinkled with a two-three-centimeter layer of compost or sifted earth. Such crops will be planted in late spring - early summer.
Transplant in a stony garden or flower garden small plants can be in the fall or next spring. The platycodone seedlings grow very slowly, and they can blossom for the second or even the third year.
When choosing a permanent place for platycodones, remember that plants do not tolerate prolonged stagnation of thawed waters and a near occurrence of groundwater. Platycodons are planted at a distance of 15-20 cm. Therefore, before they are planted, a good drainage layer should be made in the pit, and gravel or coarse sand should be added to the soil to increase its air permeability. After planting the plant must be covered with peat, compost or humus.
It is possible to grow platycodone in pots placed on a terrace or veranda. In this case, such compositions will look great if the color of the containers will match the shade of the flowers of platycodone.