Deutsia is a deciduous shrub of the Hortensia family, which came to us from East Asia. Under natural conditions, it is found in Mexico, in the highlands of the Himalayas and even in the Far East of Russia. Outwardly, the bush looks like lilac and hydrangea, during the dormant period it is easy to confuse with honeysuckle. All information on how to properly plant and care for the action in the open field, what pure and hybrid types of shrubs exist, as well as tips on choosing a variety are collected in the material.
Content:
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plant description
Crown The plant consists of erect shoots, smooth or pubescent.
Leaves opposite, simple, with uneven serrated or serrate margins.
Bark usually not coarse, only in old plants it exfoliates and can acquire a rigid structure.
shoots hollow inside already starting from the second year of the life of the bush.
root system usually consists of several central powerful rods and numerous short fibrous roots located in the upper half of the root. Such a structure causes resistance to drought and ease of transplantation.
The flowers of many varieties of the plant are bell-shaped.
Flowers simple or double of 5 petals, collected in spherical large apical inflorescences of white or all shades of pink, red, purple. The plant does not have a pronounced aroma. Fetus - a small spherical box with seeds inside.
In nature, shrubs can be compact and grow up to 40 cm, but most often an adult plant reaches 150–200 cm. Some individuals become real giants up to 4 m high. Average life expectancy is 20–25 years.
The origin of the name, according to some theories, is associated with the name of a merchant from the Netherlands and the mayor of Amsterdam, Johann van Deutz. In the 18th century, he financed an expedition of Dutch scientists to Japan, where they first encountered this species. The botanist Carl Peter Thunberg named the plant in honor of the patron, but the people often call the action an Asian or oriental beauty.
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The plant cannot be called unpretentious: it does not like waterlogging, it is afraid of cold winds and low temperatures. Among the positive agrotechnical characteristics, drought resistance can be distinguished.
It is best to plant shrubs in open ground in spring.
Planting is best done in the spring, after the final retreat of night frosts, when the buds on the trees have not yet opened.
Choice of landing site
The plant will feel best on the southwestern slopes, rather gentle, which in cold winters are covered with a dense layer of snow. It is better to choose a shaded site for planting, without direct sunlight, protected from wind and drafts. Groundwater should lie no higher than at a depth of 2.5-3 meters.
The shrub should be planted at a considerable distance from other plants and buildings
Loose, fertile soil, with a mandatory drainage layer, is ideal for an oriental beauty. You can make a neutral or slightly acidic soil with these characteristics yourself by mixing two parts of compost soil and humus with one part of sand.
How to properly plant
Shrubs should be planted one by one, at a distance of at least 2 meters from each other, other plants, buildings and obstacles. The depth of the landing hole is quite large - at least 50 cm in depth and the same in width and length.
Drainage should be poured at the bottom of the hole (sand, broken brick, expanded clay will do), 250 gr. lime or wood ash. If homemade soil is used, then the size of the hole must be increased by 30–40 cm.
The plant takes root well in open ground in central Russia
Seedlings with an open root system before planting for 24 hours are placed in a solution of Kornevin or any other drug to stimulate root growth. Directly on the spot, the roots are straightened. If a plant is planted with an earthen clod, then its lower part needs to be slightly broken and the roots straightened.
After the trunk falls asleep, the root collar of the shrub should protrude above the ground or be at a maximum depth of 1–2 cm below the ground. After planting, the soil should be watered with a bucket of water and tamped, the near-stem circle should be mulched with a layer of peat of 5–7 cm.
How to choose a good seedling
When choosing between purchased seedlings in containers or with an open root system, preference should be given to the latter, since they can easily assess the condition of the plant.
When buying container seedlings, it is difficult to assess the condition of the root system
Another argument in favor of the solution is the lower cost of such planting material compared to a container copy. Before planting, shrubs are cut from dried shoots and the roots are shortened to 40 cm.
If, after buying a young bush, it turned out that its roots were overdried, the plant can be reanimated by immersing it for 2-3 hours in a mixture of clay, water and mullein with the addition of a weak solution of manganese.
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Care
All actions aimed at stimulating the growth of the Asian shrub - watering and fertilizing - are carried out during the flowering period of the plant, which lasts an average of 30–60 days. Pruning and wrapping are considered to be the preparation of the plant for winter.
Watering
Waterlogging has a detrimental effect on the condition of the shrub, so it is recommended to water it moderately: no more than 10–12 liters of water under 1 bush every 2–3 weeks in the warm season. During the period of active growth and in dry weather, watering can be increased.
Watering the plants is stopped in August for the wood to ripen.
Already in the second half of August, watering the plant is stopped so that the wood is ripe for the onset of cold weather. In autumn, the trunk area is covered with waterproof material.
It is recommended to loosen the soil under the shrub after each watering, but only on the surface, so as not to hurt the root system. Weeds should also be removed, providing oxygen access to the upper root layers of the soil.
top dressing
Fertilizer for action during the flowering period is applied monthly: liquid organics (no more than 3-4 liters) will be the best choice. At least twice a season before the end of flowering, the plant is fed by adding 130–150 g to the soil. complex fertilizers consisting of a mixture of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, or superphosphate.
You need to feed the bush several times a season.
The growth of the action and its attractive appearance will be beneficially affected by mulching the near-stem circle with humus at the rate of 4-5 liters per bush. In the fall, fertilizing the shrub can only do harm, because it leads to a decrease in winter hardiness.
pruning
Cut shrubs with a sharp knife, pruner or blade
The first pruning of dead shoots in winter is carried out in May-early June. After flowering, the plant is pruned to rejuvenate and form a crown - while it can be given any shape.
Several shoots from old bushes are allowed to be removed every 2–3 years to ground level. Young shrubs aged 5 years are also allowed to be cut heavily, leaving a 10–15 cm stump with two side shoots. But most often, the bush is simply given a rounded shape, shortening branches that are very protruding from the total mass.
Transfer
You can transplant the action only in the spring, otherwise the plant will not have time to get stronger before the cold weather. The plant should be dug according to the diameter of the projection of its crown, trying to keep the earth lump intact.
A young shrub normally tolerates a transplant
The new planting pit should have a drainage layer and complex mineral dressing (no more than 25–30 gr.). You need to fill the shrub with the same mixture as when planting, then water well, compact the soil under the plant and mulch with peat.
When transplanting, it is convenient to cut dried shoots, shortening the branches by one third. A young plant quite easily tolerates a change in “place of residence”, an adult shrub can get sick.
Preparing for the winter
For the winter, the plant is warmed twice: for the first time - after the onset of the first night frosts. It is necessary to press the shoots to the ground and make a small wooden frame, the surface of which is covered with fallen leaves - this is an air-dry shelter.
Air-dry shelter of the shrub will keep the plant viable in the winter
The second stage of preparation for wintering is carried out when the average daily air temperature drops below zero. To protect the shrub from freezing, the lower massive branches of needles are placed on its base: this way the hollow shoots will not break from the snow masses.
You can additionally cover the shrub with non-woven fibrous material or film, which will help prevent branches from breaking under the yoke of snow and prevent the soil from rotting in the spring.
It will not be possible to bend adult plants to the soil, they will simply break, so to shelter old bushes, you need to act like this:
- Carefully collect all the shoots in one sheaf, tie it with a soft rope.
- Put on top a bag of lutrasil or spunbond with the closed bottom up.
- Fasten the material from below with clothespins and bandage along the diameter with a soft tourniquet.
It is recommended to remove the shelter in early spring, when the snow has melted, at positive average daily temperatures. It is necessary to release the plant without waiting for the remnants of the leaves to begin to rot. Also, bushes should not be allowed to get wet.
If you do not get rid of the shelter in time (usually in early April), then this will slow down the process of the spring vegetation of the shrub.
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Deytion is quite simple to grow from seeds, but other methods of reproduction: cuttings, division, seedlings of root shoots and layering are just as effective.
seed
Shrub grown from seeds blooms in the third year of life
Seed propagation does not require any other preparation, except for loosening the soil at the intended planting site. Seeds are harvested in autumn from ripe fruits, and in spring they are sown on the surface of the soil, without sprinkling anything. It is important that the beds are located in a shady place, and the seedlings receive sufficient watering.
The first shoots under favorable conditions will appear in 20–25 days. As soon as two pairs of true leaves form on the seedlings, they need to dive. Plants obtained in this way begin to bloom in the third year of life.
Vegetative
For propagation of action by cuttings, young shoots 15–20 cm long are cut from mid-June to mid-June. Julyuntil the bark of the shoots becomes hard.
Oriental beauty cuttings for reproduction should be harvested in June-July
The lower cut of the branches is dipped in a root formation stimulator, and then planted in greenhouses in the soil at an angle to a depth of 1 cm. You can achieve 100% rooting of the cuttings by installing a fogger in a greenhouse covered with a film. Rooted branches are transferred to open ground when shoots appear on them - such seedlings grow for another 1.5–2 years.
Cuttings with a lignified trunk can also be cut for subsequent reproduction. This should be done in late autumn, choosing branches with 3-5 buds. In winter, they are stored, sprinkled with earth, in a cold, dark place, planted in a greenhouse in the first spring months.
By dividing the bush
New shrubs can also be obtained by dividing the old plant into 2-3 parts. Dry and too thick shoots are immediately removed.
New shrubs can be obtained by dividing the old plant
The division can be carried out by separating the root growth from the adult action. Both of these methods of reproduction are resorted to in the spring, so that new bushes have time to take root and grow before the cold weather.
layering
Reproduction scheme by layering
Pretty quick and easy way to get a new plant. For reproduction, one of the side shoots is pressed to the ground and added dropwise. To speed up the process, the bark at the site of the future root is scratched a little.
After rooting the twig the next spring, it is separated from the mother bush and transplanted like a normal seedling.
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Pests and diseases
Butterfly bumblebee - the main pest of the Asian beauty
Deytion is quite resistant to pests and diseases. One of the main parasitic insects that damages the plant and feeds on its leaves is the bumblebee proboscis (bumblebee butterfly). You can get rid of it by spraying the shrub with a 15% solution of Phtalofos or Karbofos.
Ticks, aphids, caterpillars with a horn and two stripes on a bright green body, which just as quickly devour the foliage, can also attack the bush. They are fought with by spraying with insecticides (preparations "Decis", "Bitoxibacillin", "Lepidocid-BTU").
It is also necessary to be wary of rotting of the root system due to excessive watering, in which case the shrub is already difficult to reanimate.
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Deytion unites almost fifty both pure and hybrid species, however, in horticulture and floriculture, the most decorative and capable of surviving are in demand.
Graceful
The distribution area of the species in nature is the mountainous regions of Japan. The height of the shrub varies from 45 cm to 1.5 m. It has a rounded shape, elongated lanceolate serrate leaves 6 cm long.The front surface of the leaf in this species is covered with stellate hairs, and the reverse surface is smooth, moreover, both have a light green unsaturated color.
Inflorescences of graceful action are racemose, upright, up to 10 cm long, with fifty white flowers. This species blooms in June, for a month or more. A distinctive species feature - early readiness for flowering - already in the second year after planting. Individual varieties of the bush may have a golden hue of leaves.
The most famous variety, Nikko, can be recognized by the burgundy color of the foliage in autumn. Such shrubs bloom in May or June and look like sprawling shrubs up to 85 cm tall.
Decorative forms that have become widespread in landscape gardening culture:
- golden (with yellow leaves)
- white-marble (leaves have white patches)
Purple
A shrub up to 2 m high is named so due to the shade of flowers that appear on the plant in the form of semi-umbrella inflorescences of 15–17 pieces each.
The leaves of this species are broadly lanceolate, rarely pubescent, with a finely serrate margin. The variety will grow only in warm climates where there are no long cold winters.
Pink
A hybrid obtained from crossing graceful and purple action. The flowers, taking white and purple pigment from both species, turn out to be pale pink, bell-shaped, 30-35 flowers in each racemose. The shrub is very compact and rarely grows above 1–1.2 m.
This species is perhaps the only one among other varieties of action that is resistant to cold wind and frost. The most recognizable variety - Campanulata has a dense spreading crown, bell-shaped flowers that appear in May and delight gardeners with all shades of pink.
large-flowered
An early flowering perennial, this variety of Asian shrub can reach 2 m in height and is characterized by a solitary position of large flowers in the inflorescence.
The leaves are oval, rough on both sides, have a dark green color. Suitable for planting in temperate and warm climates, as it does not tolerate cold weather at all.
Amur (small-flowered)
Spreading, deciduous shrub, common in the Far East (protected by the state in some reserves of Russia), in the north of the Korean Peninsula and in China. This type of action can reach 2 m, has oblong, up to 7 cm long, pubescent bright green leaves.
Corymbose inflorescences with small white flowers that do not have aroma reach the same size. The flowering period for this variety begins at the end of June and lasts an average of 3 weeks. The fruits are small, yellow-green, spherical with small seeds, ripen in October.
Some ornamental varieties of oriental beauty are sterile and do not bear fruit.
A distinctive feature of the Amur action is its resistance to dry weather, polluted air and smoke. The shrub grows very quickly and begins to bloom earlier than related species.
Rough (star-shaped)
This variety (natural habitat - Japan and China) has a feature - brown or with shades of red bark, which exfoliates with age. The leaves have a pale greenish color, up to 8 cm long, and their surface is covered with star-shaped hairs that give a rough texture (hence the name).
This type of shrub blooms later than others with beautiful long (12 cm each) inflorescences in the form of a panicle with pale pink or white bell flowers. The flowering period lasts 15–20 days. In rough action, such forms are distinguished as: terry, pink terry, white-dotted, Vaterera, pure white, and also the most interesting - Marmorata (the surface of the sheet is strewn with yellow-white spots).
The most common and popular varieties among gardeners:
- Captivity (erect flowers, densely doubled shoots)
- Roseo Plena (double flowers in the center are snow-white, and along the edges are bright pink)
- Candissima (pinkish buds bloom into white double flowers, needs reliable shelter for the winter)
- Pride of Rochester (dense crown, consisting of straight long shoots with white double flowers at the ends of inflorescences)
- Codsell Pink (dense crown formed by curved branches, at the ends - narrow panicles-inflorescences with bright pink flowers that appear in June)
Vilmorena (colorless)
The cold-resistant variety of Vilmoren's action is very miniature - only 70 cm long and came to us from Central and Western China. The leaves are narrowly lanceolate with finely serrated edges, the flowers are rather small (2 cm in diameter), snow-white in color, bloom in corymbose inflorescences.
When choosing a variety of action for planting in central Russia, you should pay attention to such winter-hardy species as: Amur, graceful, Lemoine and pink. However, if the temperature drops below -30 degrees in winter, no variety will survive such cold weather.
Gorgeous (magnificent)
One of the most picturesque, this hybrid of the lush and action of Vilmorin is an upright shrub 2–2.5 m high. The leaves are oval, long, like the inflorescences, which have an umbrella shape and a large number of white double flowers. Flowering later: begins in July and lasts 20-25 days.
There are such decorative forms of this subspecies:
- Formosa (double flowers)
- Erekta (with dense inflorescences)
- Eburnea (drooping inflorescences)
- Superba (with bell-shaped flowers)
The most popular variety, Tourbillon Rouge, changes the color of the leaves from green to yellow-gold in autumn. The bark, even on young branches, is red-orange, with white stripes. It blooms in early summer with large flowers of all shades of pink. Winter hardiness is average, it is necessary to cover if the temperature in winter reaches -25 degrees.
long-leaved
A characteristic feature of plants of the species is elongated leaves 10 to 12 cm long, dark green above and slightly grayish from the hairs below. It is rare in landscape gardening, even in botanical gardens.
The variety attracts the attention of gardeners with bright pink flowers, purple in unopened buds. Veitch's long-leaved action has an even darker color during flowering, which in all representatives of the species begins at the end of July.
Lemoine
A winter-hardy hybrid obtained from crossing small-flowered and graceful varieties, blooms earlier than others and is very plentiful. The flowers are small, white, collected in small inflorescences up to 10 cm long.
For gardeners, of particular interest are such decorative varieties of deutsia Lemoine, such as:
- Pink Pom Pom (flowers in hemispherical inflorescences vary from bright red to bright pink)
- Boule de Neige (snow-white flowers of medium size up to 3 cm in diameter, the shrub is quite compact - up to 1.5 m)
- Mount Rose (bright pink flowers with a special everted petal structure)
Hybrid Strawberry Fields
Low shrub up to 150 cm with dark green rough leaves and large pink flowers with a pronounced red center that bloom in June-July.
Shoots have an arched shape. The plant gives an annual increase of almost 30 cm. Winter hardiness is average, it is necessary to cover well for the winter.
Wilson
The type of action is named after the outstanding scientist and researcher of the flora of China - the Englishman Ernest Henry Wilson. Very profusely flowering natural hybrid with a flowering period of about 30 days.
Height is rarely more than 2 m, annual shoots are slightly pubescent. The bark is exfoliating, reddish in color. Broadly lanceolate, finely serrated leaves are green above, and below have a grayish undertone.
graceful
The hybrid form, obtained by crossing the deutsia purple and Siebold, is suitable for planting only in warm climates. In mid-latitudes, it can take root, but will not bloom.
The shrub reaches 150 cm, the leaves are oblong with a serrated edge.At the ends of the shoots in June, racemose inflorescences appear with rich pink flowers. Among gardeners, the Pearl Rose variety received special love with a dense crown and lush inflorescences on the tops of the branches.
Whitest
A hybrid species with large snow-white flowers up to 3 cm in diameter in large 12 cm inflorescences. Under favorable conditions, a shrub of this variety can live up to 50 years and reach 2 m in height.
Smooth
A rare protected plant, which in appearance and flowering time is very similar to the Amur variety. The main difference is the later entry into the flowering time, which in this bush occurs only at the 8th year of life.
Less common types
Allocate species whose resistance to diseases and pests is reduced, and winter hardiness is assessed as low. Their use in horticulture and decorative floriculture is unpromising.
These varieties include:
- Gorodchataya. Blossoms in May, vegetation runs from April to October. Flowers small, white
- Schneider. A low shrub (up to 120 cm) that blooms with white small flowers for only 2-3 weeks in the first half of July
- Siebold
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A sprawling shrub strewn with flowers will decorate any landscape composition, but the action looks most spectacular against the background of other flowering perennials and conifers. The plant is successfully combined with other flowering shrubs: mock orange, weigela, forsythia, spirea and lilac due to the combination of shades and the sequence of flowering periods.
Dwarf low varieties are used to create alpine slides and complex compositions of perennials - mixborders. Hybrid types of actions with double flowers are used to decorate alleys, tracks, walking routes.
The Asian beauty looks especially picturesque against the backdrop of coniferous shrubs.
One of the indisputable advantages of the Asian beauty is the full development in urban conditions. From large-flowered action it turns out excellent hedge, picturesque and immune to smoke, so the action is often planted in home gardens near busy roads. Graceful action is often used to decorate curb slabs and visually pad a group of taller plants.
Even though the action ornamental plant, quite susceptible to cold weather, which is not uncommon for most of the territory of the Russian Federation, you can grow this beautiful shrub on your site. Proper planting and proper care of the oriental beauty will be rewarded with abundant beautiful flowering and attractive appearance of the action in the garden.
All information on how to choose the right place for planting action on your site, what you need to know about watering, fertilizing and pruning a plant, how to deal with pests and diseases, is collected in the training video:
ACTION Amazing and beautiful! Ornamental shrub for your garden. Care and reproduction
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A very beautiful plant. I will definitely plant it in my garden this year. Thank you for the article.