Platicodon

Platicodon Is a herbaceous perennial, which belongs to the "bellflower" family. The flowers of this plant are really very similar to meadow bells both in shape and color, only they are somewhat wider, therefore they are sometimes called "shirokokolokolchikami". In nature, these flowers are found mainly in the east of Russia, as well as in China, Japan and Korea. Plants are usually found on hillsides or forest edges. Platycodon grandiflorus or in other words large-flowered shirokokolokolchik is the only representative of this genus. It got its name in 1872, and spread widely as garden culture somewhat later, already in the 20th century. The name, as is often the case, is of Greek origin: the first part of the word "platycodon" means "wide", and the second part - "bell".

Botanical description of platycodon.

Platycodon has a tap root system - its long fleshy rhizome goes deep into the ground, so transplanting an adult plant to another place is impossible, the root will inevitably be damaged and the bush may die. The height of the aboveground part of the plant can be either 20 cm or 80 cm (it all depends on the type of plant). High varieties are not stable enough, therefore, it is recommended to install supports for them, so the plant will not lose its decorative effect. Platycodon leaves are elongated or oval in shape with denticles along the edges, they are located oppositely. The color of shoots and leaves is gray-green.
Flowering occurs in mid-summer and lasts for about a month and a half. The shape of the buds is very reminiscent of a flashlight, and the blossoming flowers can be up to eight centimeters in diameter. Platycodon is most common with lavender-colored flowers, but flowers can also be white, light pink, light lilac, or purple. Flowers can be arranged one at a time or inflorescences in several pieces. After the end of flowering, an oval seed box remains in place of the flower, in which the seeds ripen (we will tell you when and how to collect them a little later).
In the garden, Platycodon looks spectacular in the same flowerbed with gypsophila or low phlox. If all the flowers are about the same height, then it is not necessary to tie up the platycodon - the blooming neighbors will provide him with a natural support.

We grow seedlings.

Platycodon seeds can be sown directly into the soil, but still, most gardeners prefer to grow it by seedling method. If you plan to get good strong seedlings by the beginning of summer, you need to sow seeds at the end of February or in the first days of spring.
You should start by preparing the seeds and soil. Place the seeds in a cotton or gauze bag and soak in water for two days. While the seeds are in the water, prepare containers with a nutrient mixture of equal parts of earth, compost, and sand. If you are not able to prepare the soil mixture yourself, then purchase ready-made soil for seedlings - it contains everything you need to feed the seedlings at first. The soil must be moistened and the seeds spread over its surface. It is not necessary to deepen them into the soil, it is enough to sprinkle it on top with a small layer of sand and moisten it with a spray bottle (if you pour it from a watering can, the sand will be washed out, and the seeds will move).After that, cover the container with glass or foil (do not forget to open the shelter for a few minutes every day for ventilation) and put it in a warm place, for seeds to germinate, an air temperature of at least +20 degrees is required. Before germination, and this will happen in 10-14 days, water the crops as the top layer of the soil dries up, use a spray bottle for watering.

After the shoots appear, the shelter must be removed and the air temperature must be reduced by several degrees. This is done so that young shoots can get stronger, and do not immediately begin to stretch out into growth. If in the first days the air temperature is above +20 degrees, then the seedlings can grow thin and fragile.

Water the seedlings after the soil dries up, and after watering, loosen the soil a little. When the sprouts have two or three real leaves, the seedlings should be planted in separate containers (it is better to use pots with a diameter of at least 10 cm for this). The seedlings do not require special care, but, like any other plants, a couple of weeks before transplanting to a flower bed, they must begin to accustom them to outdoor conditions, gradually increasing the time they spend in the air.

We transplant seedlings.

Seedlings should be transplanted into a flower bed only when the threat of recurrent frosts has passed. As a rule, this is either the end of May or the beginning of summer. Take care to choose a permanent seedling site, as it will then be impossible to transplant the plants without fatal damage to the main root, so the Platycodon will grow in the place you have chosen for the next ten years. Platycodon can grow both in the sun and in partial shade. The most suitable will be loamy soil with the addition of sand and a neutral level of acidity. Since the roots of the plant go very deep, it is extremely important that the groundwater is not located close to the surface.
Preliminary preparation of the site consists in deep digging the soil, removing all plant residues and applying fertilizers: per meter of the flower bed, you need a handful of complex fertilizer and half a glass of ash, all this must be evenly distributed over the surface, and then once again dig up the soil, thus embedding fertilizers into the soil ...
Prepare the seedling wells by placing them at a distance of 30 cm from each other, the size of the well should be slightly larger than the volume of the container with seedlings. Water the seedlings abundantly the day before, so it will be easier to get them out of the containers without damaging the root system. Carefully remove the plants from the containers, lower them into the hole and cover them with earth, tamping it down a little. After planting, be sure to water the seedlings.

Plant care.

The first couple of weeks after transplanting to a permanent place, it is necessary to water Platicodone almost every day. Then the frequency of watering is gradually reduced and less water is used, but they continue to loosen the soil after watering and regularly weed out weeds. To keep moisture in the soil longer, the surface of the flower bed can be mulched.

For feeding Platycodon, you can use complex fertilizers for garden flowers, such as Zraven, BioMaster, Kristalon, adding them every three to four weeks to the water during irrigation.

There is one feature inherent in ordinary, non-dwarf varieties of Platicodon - after reaching the age of three, the plants begin to stretch strongly, becoming fragile and losing their decorative effect. To avoid this, it is necessary to pinch the tops of the shoots during the growing season, thus achieving the greatest bushiness. If the plant is still stretched out, then it is necessary to take care of the installation of the support in a timely manner so that the flowers do not break during heavy rain or from gusts of wind.

As with any other flowering plant, faded flowers must be removed in a timely manner in order to prolong the flowering period.If this is not done, then the plant will throw all its strength into ripening the seeds, which will significantly reduce the number of flowers.

The undoubted advantage of Platycodon is that this plant is extremely ill and is exposed to the invasion of harmful insects. Of all diseases, you can only encounter gray rot, and even then in a rainy summer, when the soil is waterlogged, moisture stagnates, the disease begins from the roots and spreads to the rest of the plant. If the disease begins to spread, then the affected parts of the flower should be removed, and the rest of the plant and the soil should be treated with Fundazol, Topsin-m or copper sulfate, the treatment should be carried out twice with an interval of 9-11 days.

If we talk about pests, then one should be afraid not so much of insects as of rodents, they can gnaw the roots of Platicodon, thereby causing severe damage to the plant. To combat moles, you can install special scarers on the territory of the site, and remove the mice with the help of poisoned baits.

Reproduction.

The simplest and most common way of reproduction of Platycodon is exactly the one that we described above - sowing seeds and growing seedlings, followed by transplanting into open ground. The least common method of rooting cuttings is due to the fact that cuttings do not always take root. But theoretically it is possible, cuttings should be harvested and rooted in spring, when the plant is actively growing. The harvested stalk should have two internodes and a heel, it should be planted in moist soil and covered with a bag or jar on top, the stalk is in such a greenhouse until it has new leaves - they are evidence that rooting has taken place.
Despite the taproot system, you can try to divide the bush. Carefully remove the soil from the base of the bush and examine the exposed roots. If you find any shoots and buds, then very carefully cut them off with a sharp and sterile garden tool. The place of the cut should be sprinkled with ash, and the cut off part of the bush should be immediately planted in the soil. But be prepared for the fact that rooting may not happen. This is why sowing seeds is the most common method.

Collection of planting material.

Platycodon seeds are harvested after the seed pods are fully ripe and the pedicels are completely dry. Cracking of the bolls signals the maturity of the planting material. Collect seeds in dry weather, then pack them in a paper bag and sign the date of collection. Be prepared for the fact that the seeds you collect will not always repeat the varietal characteristics of the parent plant and the color of the flowers you grow in the future may differ from those that are already growing in your garden.

How to prepare platycodon for wintering.

Since Platycodon is a perennial plant, care must be taken to ensure that it overwinters comfortably. During the autumn work on preparing the garden for winter, all the stems of the plant should be cut off, and the surface of the flower bed should be mulched with a thick layer of pre-prepared material: compost, dry leaves, typos, coniferous litter or spruce branches. In the spring, when the snow melts and the soil begins to warm up, the layer of mulch will need to be removed.

The most common varieties of Platycodon.

At the very beginning of the article, we said that the genus Platycodon includes only one species, but there are quite a few varieties of this species. We will list only the most popular of them, which can be most often found in gardens at summer cottages.
1. Album. This plant has very large white flowers with thin blue veins, located on shoots about 70 centimeters high. It blooms at the very end of June and blooms until about mid-August.
2. Shell Pink. From the name it is clear that this variety boasts pink flowers, the height of the shoots reaches 80 centimeters, in this regard, the variety needs to be tied up.
3. « Marilin Blue ". Charming compact bushes no more than 35 centimeters tall with wonderful lilac-blue flowers.
4. Fairy Snow. A tall plant that needs to be tied up, shoots up to 80 cm high. Flowers are arranged one at a time, have a white or light lilac color and thin blue veins.
5. «Apoyama". The most compact variety, no more than 20 centimeters high, Blue-violet flowers.
6. «Snowflaix". The height of the bush does not exceed 50 centimeters, the flowers are white, semi-double.
7. Mother of Pearl. Light pink flowers on shoots that grow up to 60 centimeters.

Conclusion.

Summing up, it is safe to say that Platycodon is one of the most unpretentious flowering plants. The only prerequisite that you need to fulfill is to find a permanent place for it with suitable loose soil and low-lying groundwater, since the plant cannot be transplanted and it will grow in this place for almost ten years. In the future, the platycodon will have to be taken care of in the same way as for any other flowers: watering, weeding, and installing a support if necessary. Regardless of the variety, all Platycodon flowers are very beautiful and will undoubtedly decorate your garden.