Haulteria: description and varieties, planting and care

Gaulteria belongs to the Heather family. The birthplace of this culture can be considered Australia, Africa, Asia and New Zealand. With the help of this ornamental plant, you can decorate the interior of any room or garden plot.

Gaulteria is an evergreen perennial, other names for which are goltheria, gothteria, gaultria, winter-lover. It is cultivated almost all over the world due to its unpretentiousness and ease of cultivation. The plant has creeping branches and elongated, shiny, elliptical foliage with a deep green color. In length, the leaf plates of this representative of the flora do not exceed 4 centimeters. In the cold season, the foliage of the bush turns red, which gives it a special decorative effect.

During flowering, small white-pink flowers appear on the golteria, which are very similar to a bell and a water lily. In autumn, when the buds wither, bright red berries that look like cranberries are visible on the bush. They decorate the plant for a long time and do not fall off even during frosts. Despite the pleasant aroma, the fruits of the gault are not eaten.

Currently, a large number of varieties of haulteria are known, but gardeners grow only a few of them.

• Hairy. The Himalayas and China are considered the birthplace of culture. The plant of this species is a 10-centimeter bush, which is covered with gray-green foliage with an elliptical oblong shape. The pink flowers of the winter-lover are drooping, reaching about 4 millimeters in length. The fruits of the culture are colored blue.

• Ovate. The plant is presented in the form of a shrub with a height of 0.3 meters. The foliage of the culture is characterized by a length of 35 millimeters. The flower of the haulteria is white, and the fruit is bright red with a diameter of 10 millimeters.

• Spread out. This decorative representative of the flora can grow no more than 10 centimeters in height. The plant is characterized by the presence of ovoid or almost round foliage. The length of the slightly serrated leaf plates is 2 centimeters. Flowers are single axillary, not exceeding 5 millimeters in length. The winter-lover fruit is reddish in color.

• Glandular hault Is a visitor from the Japanese islands. The 30-centimeter bush has leathery serrated foliage up to 30 millimeters long. The flowers are drooping, bell-shaped, pinkish on the outside and white on the inside. Small glands are observed in the red fruits of the plant.

In addition to creeping and pointed golteria, the following are the most common varieties of culture.

• Mikel. The evergreen shrub haulteria has erect branches up to 250 millimeters high and a creeping rhizome. It contains dense dark green leaves and few-flowered racemose inflorescences. The winter-lover berry is similar to the fruit of the snowberry.

• Shallon. The culture of this variety is grown more often than others. The height of the shrub is 50 centimeters. The shoot at the haulteria is ascending, straight, with regular foliage.The centimeter-long flowers of the culture are pink and white, they are collected in a paniculate inflorescence. Shallon's fruit is purple, but over time it turns black.

To grow a healthy haultery in the open field, you should choose a well-lit place for planting it. In this case, the soil should be characterized by looseness, the presence of peat in the composition, acidity of no more than 5 units. Florists should remember that lime should not be present in the soil. If the soil is very heavy, then for the planting hole it is worth preparing a special substrate from semi-rotted coniferous litter, high-moor peat, and coarse sand.

The depth of the pit should be between 30 and 40 centimeters. Also, do not forget about observing the distance between the holes - it should be from 20 to 40 centimeters. The bottom of the pit should be equipped with a drainage layer 15 centimeters thick. For this purpose, you can use pebbles and broken bricks.

If you want to keep a gultery, a florist should be prepared for the fact that you will have to perform some simple procedures for caring for it. Because this bush is unpretentious, problems with caring for it are extremely rare.

Winter-lover needs moderate irrigation. To avoid the appearance of burns on the foliage, it is worth watering only in the evening. This representative of the flora needs irrigation every 14 days. Pour at least 5 liters of liquid under one bush. If there is a drought in summer, then it is worth increasing the amount of irrigation.

After watering, do not forget about loosening the trunk circle and eliminating weeds. Also, experts recommend mulching using peat or chips. A 10 cm layer of mulch can keep moisture near the roots for a long time.

Before the start of the active growth phase of goltheria, it is necessary to do a rejuvenating pruning of the plant's shoots. Thanks to this procedure, they will actively grow and develop. Shrub fertilization should be done with mineral fertilizers. For this purpose, use "Kemira" and nitroamofosku. In the first week of summer, it is appropriate to fertilize the haulteria with a nitrogen-free complex composition.

Often, the Gothieria hibernates without additional shelter. But the roots of the plant of the first year of life are recommended to be insulated with a layer of peat or fallen leaves. If the winter is not snowy, then the culture should be overlaid with spruce branches. With the onset of spring, the shelter must be removed.

Even an inexperienced florist can grow a decorative miniature shrub. The plant can delight its owners by sitting on the windowsill in the apartment. The level of illumination for this representative of the flora is not significant. It can be placed even in a darkened area of ​​the apartment. However, flower growers should remember that this perennial is afraid of bright sunlight.

Top dressing of an indoor resident should be carried out with a special composition, which is intended for heather and rhododendra plants. Fertilize the culture at the same time as the irrigation procedure. Air humidity for winter lovers is of great importance. Dry air, as well as overdried soil, can destroy the bush.

Haulteria likes coolness, so she feels great at an air temperature of 12 degrees Celsius.

There are several options for breeding gaulteria.

• Seeds. The planting material of the winter-lover needs cold stratification before planting. Before sowing, the seeds are kept in moistened peat for 4-10 weeks in the refrigerator. With the onset of March, you can start sowing seeds along with peat. Under the condition of optimal humidity, germination of the planting material can take about 2 months. Upon reaching a height of 25 millimeters, the seedlings can be dived and planted in separate pots. Planting plants in open ground can be carried out with the onset of summer. When choosing this method of reproduction, growers should remember that the culture may not inherit the characteristics of the mother.

• Cuttings. This version of the reproduction of a decorative perennial is considered simpler than the previous one. To get planting cuttings, you need to dig in the ground, find a rhizome, cut off a part from it with roots and a ground shoot. The seedling needs to be transplanted to a new location without delay. After the plant begins to grow, it is transferred to a semi-shaded place and planted in fertile soil by transshipment. In open ground, haulteria are planted only with the onset of spring.

• Layers. Reproduction in this way always has a positive result. In springtime, the side shoots must be tilted and then laid in a shallow ditch. Next, the seedling is sprinkled with soil so that the top remains on the surface. Flower growers should maintain an optimal soil moisture level until the next season. With the onset of spring, a young crop that has shown signs of growth should be transplanted into a separate area.

Gaulteria is considered a plant that exhibits resistance to attack by parasites and ailments. Even so, culture can be annoying gray mold, powdery mildew, leaf spot... Of the pests on the shrub, there can be aphids, thrips.

Winter-lover can be planted in the landscape of the territory that needs soil strengthening, since this plant protects the soil from leaching. Gaulteria is a great addition to rockery and alpine slide. The culture looks quite interesting next to conifers, ferns, rhododendrons, euonymus, barberries.

Gothieria is suitable for terraces and balconies potted landscaping. In the winter season, sprigs of haulteria with berries are used for festive decoration of premises.

To create a unique autumn composition, it is recommended to plant a winter lover near a chrysanthemum, heather or erica.

You can look at the beauty of the haulteria further.