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In landscaping not only garden plots, but also urban flower beds, landscape designers widely use a perennial plant - heuchera. Large, spectacular leaves of the culture surprise with their variety of colors, harmoniously combining with each other and with other plants. However, the blood-red geychera is one of the most attractive, vibrant species, which, thanks to the colors, can completely transform the garden design and add a piquant note, rich in carmine tone, to it.
Description of blood red heuchera
Heuchera blood-red is a decorative herbaceous perennial, the leaves of which are collected in a rosette with a height of 20 to 50 cm, depending on the species and variety. The shrub has long, graceful flower stalks with vibrant purple flowers. Large, pubescent leaves are unusually spectacular and decorative, decorate the garden from early spring to late autumn. The plant blooms for quite a long time - almost all summer, with small flowers, collected in paniculate inflorescences, located on high peduncles. Blood-red Heuchera has no prominent main stems and has a fleshy, powerful rhizome that can adapt to unfavorable growing conditions.
Blood-red varieties of Heuchera
Blood-red geychera are characterized by a green rosette of leaves and a corresponding - bright, carmine-red, purple, up to burgundy - color of flowers. At the beginning of the growing season, the leaves are translucent, but gradually change their color, acquiring an increasingly intense, dark shade. Many blood red varieties have a jagged, corrugated or curly leaf texture with white or marble blotches, which further enhances the decorative effect of the crop.
Geyhera blood red Coral Forest
The variety forms a rosette of incredibly beautiful, green, marble-veined leaves from the earliest spring. They decorate the garden until late autumn. In summer, on strong peduncles, about 30 cm high, bright coral flowers appear, which are harmoniously combined with the foliage.
Heuchera blood red splendens
Heuchera blood-red Splendans is a very large, up to 50 cm in height, beauty, the green leaves of which organically set off the carmine-red flowers. They are collected in compact inflorescences, surprising with their attractive power during flowering, which lasts from July to August.
Heichera blood-red Leichtkafer
This is a small-flowered blood-red heuchera with green leaves, up to 40 cm high, with small, red glossy flowers. The duration of its flowering is from early to late summer.
Geichera Blood Red Ruby Bells
The height of the leaf rosette of the Ruby Bells variety is 25 cm with the height of the peduncles up to 40 cm. The jagged green leaves with a gray, marble pattern are very attractive. Very small bell flowers have a rich bright color, they are collected in graceful inflorescences.
Other varieties
Among the other varieties of blood-red heuchera, several more popular ones can be distinguished:
- Robusta - large-flowered, with rich red inflorescences, pleasing with their attractiveness in June-July.Leaves acquire a burgundy color closer to autumn;
- Bresingham - a very large culture, the stems of which reach a height of 60 cm, and its flowers are not only red, but also white, pink. It blooms in the middle of summer;
- Red-leaved - as is clear from the name of the variety, it has a red tint of foliage with a stem height of up to 50 cm. Flowering from June to August;
- Geichera Forever Red (always red) - refers to the novelties of 2017, the Forever series. This variety is really not just red, but hyper-red. The bushes are compact, with a wide crown, of medium size - 20 - 30 cm. The leaves differ not only in "redness" but also in shape and gloss: carved, with curl and shine. Geuchera Forever Red, preferring partial shade, is not capricious to the sun.
Geichera blood red in landscape design
Bloody red Heuchera is a favorite of landscape designers, as it is one of the few ornamental crops capable of diversifying a garden with a brightly saturated, color palette of all kinds of shades. Of course, additional advantages in the widespread use of blood-red heuchera in the garden landscape are unpretentiousness and preservation of decorative qualities throughout the growing season.
The culture looks great in single and group plantings - mixed or single. Blood-red heuchera is used to decorate:
- flower beds, flower beds, mixborders;
- rockeries and rock gardens;
- the coastline of backyard ponds;
- borders and edges of garden paths.
Blood-red heuchera is planted in the trunks of tall trees, covering empty spaces; successfully combine with almost all beautifully flowering crops and herbaceous perennials. The composition of dwarf shrubs in combination with blood-red heuchera looks harmonious. You can combine it with hosts, primroses, ornamental cereals, astilbe, brunner.
A flower bed with early flowering bulbous crops looks gorgeous, the fragile graceful flowering of which is effectively set off by bloody heuchera. She will also become an excellent companion to the queen of flowers - the rose. In the rock gardens of Heuchera, it looks great with conifers, barberries, bells. It is widely used by landscape designers in container compositions and single plantings in separate containers. Blood red heuchera flowers can be used for cutting and drying for dry compositions.
Growing Heuchera from seeds
Blood-red Heuchera can be easily grown from seeds.
The cultivation scheme is as follows:
- a drainage layer of expanded clay is poured on the bottom of the container, loose, fertile soil from a mixture of humus, peat and sand is laid on top;
- small seeds of blood-red heuchera do not deepen, but are poured on top of moistened soil and sprinkled with sand in very small quantities;
- the container is covered with plastic wrap or glass, periodically ventilating and slightly moistening;
- after 3 - 4 weeks shoots appear, the film is removed;
- when 2 - 3 true leaves appear, pick the seedlings into separate small containers;
- water them sparingly, avoiding waterlogging.
Planting and caring for blood-red Heuchera outdoors
Winter-hardy, unpretentious to growing conditions, the culture feels great in the southern, central regions of the country. But it can also be successfully grown in Siberia, covering it from frost for the winter. Every 4 - 5 years, the bushes require rejuvenation with division of the rhizome and transplantation, due to the rapid growth rates. Caring for the blood-red Heuchera is not difficult - it is undemanding to abundant watering and fertilizing.Periodically, it is important to loosen the soil, followed by mulching with bark or peat. It is necessary to mulch before wintering.
When growing unpretentious blood-red heuchera, problems can still arise:
- lodging or breaking of long peduncles during the wind, which indicates that it is better to pick up a place protected from winds and drafts;
- the growth of the base above the soil level indicates the obligatory annual hilling of the plant;
- rot of the root system due to waterlogging of the soil.
It is worth saying that in a dry summer without watering Heuchera, the bloody one will suffer from a lack of moisture. Therefore, the event must be organized correctly.
Landing site preparation
The place for the blood-red geychera should be light, with a light, delicate shade in the sultry midday hours. It is better to plant the plant on the east or west side of the infield. The culture prefers loose, neutral soil with low acidity. Before planting in acidic soil, add chalk, lime, dolomite flour or wood ash. The soil can be mixed with mineral fertilizers and compost.
Landing rules
At the bottom of the planting pits with a diameter of 30x30, a drainage layer of river sand and fine expanded clay must be laid. Next, the prepared fertile soil is poured and the rhizomes of blood-red heuchera are buried until the beginning of the leaf rosette. Fertile soil is added from above, lightly tamped and watered.
Watering and feeding
Geichera prefers dry, not waterlogged places and can even withstand a short drought. Water it no more than once a week, preventing waterlogging and stagnant water. Otherwise, the root system of the plant will start to rot.
Top dressing of blood-red Heuchera is reduced to the rare application of mineral fertilizers. The dose usual for other horticultural crops is reduced by 2 times, since overfeeding the plant will lead to the development of diseases. In the first years of life, it takes all the substances necessary for growth and development from the soil.
Pruning
In the spring, wilted and dried leaves are removed. In the fall, pruning is not recommended, since the updated Heuchera is unlikely to be able to successfully overwinter. After pruning, the soil is spud and mulched with a mixture of peat, humus and river sand.
Preparing for winter
The plant does not need shelter for the winter in the southern and central regions. But young seedlings, as well as adult bushes, in especially harsh winters or in Siberia, can freeze a little. To avoid this, the bushes are covered with spruce branches or fallen leaves.
A video about caring for Heychera will give even more useful information:
Reproduction
Red Heuchera can be propagated in several ways:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush.
The seed method was mentioned above. Reproduction by cuttings is reduced to cutting rosettes without roots and digging out a bush. Some of the leaves are removed, and the roots are smeared with a stimulating solution. The planted cuttings are covered with plastic wrap, making a mini-greenhouse. The cuttings are regularly moistened and ventilated. The cuttings are ready for transplantation to a permanent place in a month.
In May or August, blood-red heuchera can be planted by dividing the bush. A profusely spilled plant is dug up and the rhizome is divided into separate parts with a sharp knife. On each plot, healthy, young roots and a formed leaf rosette are left. The seedlings are immediately planted in a permanent place, preventing the root system from drying out.
Diseases and pests
Blood-red Heuchera, like other varieties of the crop, is resistant to pests and diseases. However, improper agricultural practices, excessive soil moisture and a large amount of organic matter can provoke the following troubles:
- powdery mildew;
- spotting;
- the appearance of slugs.
Special means are used to combat pests and diseases. The damaged parts of the blood-red heuchera plant are removed, and in case of severe damage, the bushes are completely eliminated.
Conclusion
Geykhera blood red is an excellent choice of every grower to decorate his own personal plot. The variety of varieties allows you to select the most suitable ones, depending on the overall design of the landscape and neighbors nearby, which will maximize the delightful charm of Heuchera in mixed garden compositions.
