All about eukomis

Eukomis is an original South African plant belonging to the Hyacinth family. The plant has an attractive and unusual appearance, it is subdivided into several subspecies. Further in the article - all the most interesting about this beautiful flower.

Eukomis belongs to the genus of unisexual flowering plants, included in the Asparagus family. This green handsome man is subdivided into several types and varieties. Absolutely all varieties of a flower have a rosette consisting of 6-8 wide lanceolate leaves. The color of the latter varies and can be bright green or bluish. The length of the leaf plates is usually no more than 35 cm. Their edges are characterized by a wavy structure. The underside is often covered with characteristic specks.

A flower arrow is knocked out of the central part of the flower rosette, the height of which can be from 20 to 120 cm.This component bears a cylindrical brush, on which there are 50 to 100 white, pink, crimson and light green star-shaped flowers.

The bulbs of the original flower in question are characterized by a wide and conical structure. Their diameter can be from 4 to 10 cm, there is a wide bottom. The outer scales are scarious and have a reddish-brown color. The roots develop rather dense. At the base, they are wrinkled, and at the tips they turn out to be significantly branching.

A beautiful and unusual-looking flower develops very quickly, therefore, at the very beginning of the summer season, it begins to release long arrows with miniature bright inflorescences. After that, the flower is overgrown with rather large foliage with an attractive glossy sheen.

A spectacular plant can serve as an interesting landscape decoration, until the arrival of the autumn season... Certain varieties of eukomis can grow small, but there are also tall varieties. The latter are able to easily reach a meter height.

Eukomis is also called eukomis or pineapple lily. The root system of the flower is branched. An exotic plant is capable of retaining its decorative properties for a long time. By the end of flowering, eukomis forms special fruit-boxes, in the inner cavity of which the seed material of a dark brown hue matures.

The exotic plant in question includes only 14 different varieties. Let's take a closer look at the most common specimens and their distinctive features.

• Point... This type of pineapple lily is widespread. In height, it can reach an impressive mark of 1.5 m, it is distinguished by a large number of flowers that have a green color. The leaf plates of the punctate eukomis are characterized by a graceful linear structure, have pronounced disseminations in the form of dots.

• Spot red stem... This attractive variety is characterized by spatulate leaves. In addition, the stems of the plants are red in color.Bracts of red-stemmed eukomis are characterized by a similar color design, but with the presence of green elements.

• Wavy red stem. The inflorescences of this beautiful flower are externally especially similar to pineapple fruits. For a wavy plant, rather long leaf blades, which have a belt-like shape, are characteristic. One inflorescence can contain up to 50 flowers, as well as a large number of green bracts.

• Wavy autumn (Otumnalis). This pineapple lily variety can only grow up to 30 cm in height. The plant blooms quite late - closer to the arrival of the autumn season. For wavy autumn eukomis, inflorescences with attractive white or cream shades are characteristic. A distinctive feature of the exotic variety in question is its ability to tolerate not too severe frosts without problems.

• Autumn bicolor. This flower is considered one of the most beautiful. Its arrow can grow up to a mark of 1.5 m. It is covered with characteristic specks of purple. The flowers of the autumn bicolor eukomis show a green color coupled with a purple border.

• "Bicolor". A very showy garden plant with attractive bicolor flowers. On the petals there is a pronounced purple border. The perennial in question can reach a height of 60 cm. The average length of the inflorescences is 30 cm. The flower buds grow small and star-shaped, consisting of 5 petals.

• Komosa. Interesting plant with purple flowers. The latter gather in long cylindrical inflorescences on an elastic peduncle. The height of this perennial can be 90 cm, and the length of the inflorescences is 30 cm.

• "Pallidiflora". The height of this plant can reach 45-75 cm. It blooms with miniature flowers of a yellow or green hue. In regions where frosty winters persist, this flower is grown extremely rarely, since it can bloom late - in late August, when summer temperatures and daylight hours gradually decline.

• Sparkling Burgundy. A very beautiful plant that can be an amazing addition to your landscape design. Peduncles grow long, small buds of a delicate pink shade are formed on them, forming inflorescences 30 cm long.

• "Carnival Strain Mix". A beautiful and unpretentious perennial, it is bulbous. The bulbs are quite large and can reach a diameter of 5 to 8 cm. The flower petals are characterized by a neat purple border that contrasts with the basic matte green tone.

Any type of eukomis must be grown in accordance with all the rules. Only if this simple condition is met, one can count on the fact that an exotic flower will grow beautiful and healthy. Let's figure out the basic rules for growing this spectacular plant.

To plant an exotic flower, it is very important to choose the optimal and comfortable place. Consider what basic requirements it must meet.

• In order for the perennial to be in the most comfortable conditions for its growth, it must be placed in a lighted place.... The sun's rays must have 100% access to the selected planting area. However, you should not plant eukomis in a place where particularly strong wind gusts pass.

• An interesting tropical plant thrives best on lighter soils. It is desirable that there is a good drainage layer. It can be fine gravel, pebbles or brick chips - all options will do.

• Before planting an exotic plant in open ground, it is advisable to supplement it with a small amount of river sand.

• The planting place where the pineapple lily will grow, it is advisable to protect against stagnation of moisture and dampness... Eukomis tolerates drought without problems, but a large amount of water is destructive for him.

The best soil for planting the exotic plant in question may be a mixture of peat (0.5 parts), humus (1), sand (0.5) and sod land (1).

All basic planting procedures must begin with the processing of bulbous materials. For this, disinfectants are used. Thanks to such actions, the plant is protected from various diseases of an infectious nature.

After that, the bulbs must be rinsed with clean water, dried a little. They should be planted in early May in a prepared soil mixture. The deepening must be done in such a way that about 1 centimeter of soil remains above the top.

The plantings must be positioned so that there are gaps of 30-40 cm between them. If the weather conditions are comfortable, the first shoots will begin to break through after a week. After that, the rosette of the flower, as well as the peduncle, will begin to form. The latter usually quickly begins its upward striving.

The pineapple lily, like any other flower, requires proper care. It should be noted that caring for an exotic plant is extremely easy and simple. Eukomis does not like too frequent and abundant watering. This care procedure should be performed rarely and only as needed. As an exception, only those periods during which the active growth of the flower falls.

After each moistening, the soil must be thoroughly loosened and mulched so that the moisture does not evaporate too much and quickly.

Another important care measure is feeding. You need to fertilize the plant regularly.... Every couple of weeks, under the bush, it is necessary to apply a correctly selected composition of complex mineral fertilizers. To ensure the exotic flower has a good and lush bloom, all the necessary nutrients are diluted with clean water.

To get new specimens of pineapple lily, different methods can be applied. Here is some of them.

• You can breed the original flower using the harvested seeds.

• Sometimes the reproduction of eukomis is done using a method such as cuttings.

• It is permissible to propagate a flower using daughter bulbs.

The first and second indicated methods are practiced by gardeners in rare cases, since such experiments, as a rule, do not bring the desired positive results. The last breeding technique is the most effective, so even novice growers who do not have rich experience in this matter turn to it.

It will need to be processed in a special composition, rinsed in clean water at room temperature. After that, the harvested component can be planted in soil enriched with the necessary nutrients. After removing the baby, the mother's bulb should be sprinkled with charcoal.

The bulb is placed in a previously prepared hole, sprinkled with soil. In this case, its top should remain open. After 7 days, you can see the first sprout, which will gain growth at a high rate. Because of this, its size will increase. Each young plant needs to be moistened with warm liquid. The resulting pineapple lily seedlings are planted at the required distance from each other.

The considered method of flower reproduction at home is especially in demand, since it allows the culture not to lose all the characteristics inherent in the variety.

A beautiful exotic plant can suffer from various diseases and pest attacks. Most often, eukomis shows rotting of the bulbs. In order not to face such a serious ailment, they should be stored correctly during the rest period. Before storing materials, they will definitely need to be treated with a fungicidal agent. In addition, you should not allow stagnation of water in the soil when caring for flowers.

Most often, the pineapple lily is attacked by such pests as mealybugs, whiteflies, aphids, and spider mites. There are many different types of drugs that can be used to fight these dangerous parasites. Most of them are found on the shelves of specialized stores, where everything for the garden and vegetable garden is sold. You need to use any drugs only strictly according to the instructions. As a rule, it is found on the branded packaging. If you resort to experiments and use such products incorrectly, then you can cause very serious harm to the plantings.