Most of the suburban areas are used by their owners, of course, for growing various kinds of horticultural crops. But almost every summer resident allocates some land in his garden or in the yard for flowers. There are many ornamental crops that are excellent for growing, including in the Russian climate. Some of them are well known to gardeners, others can be considered rare and little known. Helon oblique is also among the plants of the last variety.
Where is it found in the wild?
Also, summer residents call this unusual spectacular plant a pink flamingo. In the wild, such flowers are found mainly in the forests and fields of Canada. The climate in this country, as you know, is very similar to the Russian one. Accordingly, this North American guest feels just fine at summer cottages in the Russian Federation.
In winter, helon oblique does not freeze even in Siberia. In summer, neither prolonged rains nor droughts have a particularly harmful effect on it.
Description of the plant
The Helon oblique flower (Latin name - Chelone obliqua) belongs to the familyPlantain, a group of perennials. The plant is very dense and stately. On the flowerbeds helon looks just great. But more often this wonderful plant is still planted in tubs. The pink flamingo fills their area completely, and therefore looks especially impressive in such containers.
Helon oblique root gives several powerful stems of bright green color at once. The leaves of the pink flamingo are small in size. But they grow on one bush just a huge amount. Therefore, the plant looks very thick and fluffy. The shape of the chelone leaves of this variety are slightly oblong with sharp tips. Their shade, like that of the stems, is saturated green. There are denticles along the edge of the chelone leaves.
Pink flamingo, this plant is called for the unusual configuration of its flowers. The buds on chelon are collected in powerful panicles-candles and protrude above the surface of a densely leafy bush on the arrows. Thus, purely outwardly, they resemble flamingo heads on long necks. Complements the impression, of course, and the pink color of the chelone panicles.
This decorative culture looks very attractive. Photos of helon oblique are presented on the page. As you can see, both the stems and leaves of this plant and its flowers look simply luxurious.
Biological features
Pink flamingos will feel great on the site both in single plantings and in company with other flowers. Adult helon oblique usually reach a height of 50-80 cm. This plant blooms in the conditions of the Russianclimate is usually in August. The last time his panicles bloom in mid-September.
One of the features of this plant is a weakly creeping rhizome. Such flowers grow on the site usually for a long time. Also, the features of this ornamental plant include the fact that it loves moisture very much. Watering Helon in the garden will have to be done quite often.
What varieties are there?
Varieties of this rare ornamental crop, unfortunately, were practically not bred. In any case, it is mainly the basic pink look of this plant that is popular with Russian gardeners. But on the other hand, in the areas of domestic gardeners, you can see such a culture with a variety of shades of panicles. Both light pink flamingos and dark pink or even almost red look very beautiful in the flower beds.
Helon oblique variety in gardens and yards in suburban areas in our country can be seen mostly alone. It's called Alba. The flowers of such a chelone are not pink, but pure white. Of course, such a plant looks very impressive in flower beds and in tubs.
Landing Helon oblique on the site: choosing a place
As already mentioned, these plants are usually planted in tubs as a single plant. In the flowerbeds, helon oblique, in most cases, is combined with other decorative perennials. For example, it is believed that this culture looks very nice in plantings with asters, echinacea, solidago, etc.
Helon is considered a very unpretentious plant to the composition of the soil. Not badthis decorative culture adapts even to poor or clay soils. Accordingly, you can plant a pink flamingo on the site almost anywhere. The only thing is that many summer residents do not advise choosing a place on a hill for helon. It is better to plant this crop in a lowland - where the soil contains more moisture.
Very often this plant, for example, is planted on the banks of garden artificial ponds. But, of course, it is not recommended to place a pink flamingo in a wetland. In this case, its roots will still begin to rot.
If necessary, the perennial helon oblique can be moved at any time on the site to any other flower bed. One of the features of this plant is that it tolerates transplants very easily.
How to plant?
This beautiful plant is propagated mainly by seeds. It is allowed to sow them directly in the flower bed. But sometimes gardeners also grow Helon oblique seedlings. The seeds of this plant are mostly viable and germinate well, including without stratification. Helon oblique planting material is sown on flower beds in late May or early June. At the same time, they are not buried too deep into the ground. At the same time, seedlings are also transferred to open ground.
Of course, like almost any other decorative perennial, pink flamingos can be propagated on the site and by dividing the roots. In this case, helon oblique is also usually very well received in a new flower bed. Many experienced summer residents even advise beginners to be sure to divide the bushflamingo into 3-4 parts every 2-3 years.
Care and watering
One of the absolute advantages of this beautiful plant is that it does not require too much attention from the gardener. In any case, most likely, the summer resident will not have to weed the helon oblique during the season. Bush pink flamingo forms a very dense. And weeds simply cannot break through it.
This ornamental crop should be watered as the soil under it dries up. Usually summer residents moisten the soil in a flower bed with chelon once every two days.
How to fertilize?
Pink flamingos will grow and bloom on the site even without top dressing. But, of course, this decorative culture still needs to be fertilized from time to time. In this case, helon oblique will look especially impressive.
Experienced summer residents advise feeding pink flamingos 3 times per season. At the same time, it is believed that helone responds best to a complex mineral fertilizer intended for garden ornamental crops. For the first time, such top dressing is usually applied to a flower bed with chelon in early spring, during the period of snow melting. The second time pink flamingos are fertilized at the end of May. The third top dressing for such plants is applied at the beginning of bud blooming.
Preparing for winter
Thus, we found out how landing and care are carried out for helon oblique. This wonderful decorative perennial, subject to timely watering, will surely delight the owners of the garden for many years, releasing new sprouts every spring. But how rightpreparing hellone for winter?
The pink flamingo tolerates frost very well. Therefore, it is not necessary to cover such a decorative culture for the winter. But to prepare this plant for the cold, of course, is still worth it. Helon overwinter in the Russian climate is usually about the same as peonies. That is, in the fall, summer residents most often simply cut the bush so that stumps about 10 cm high remain above the ground. Next, the plant is mulched with dry grass, straw or sawdust.
