Ixia is akin to gladiolus - it is also propagated by bulbs and dug up for the winter. If you want to settle this exotic beauty in your garden, we will find out in more detail - Isxia: planting and care in the open ground, consider the photo, and determine the rules of care.
Ixia came to us from overseas countries, namely from South America. The plant is not whimsical, it blooms very beautifully, many of its hybrids are bred now, and if you plant several species, you can breed a beautiful flower garden that will delight the eye. In addition, the exotic flower is not only gentle and beautiful, it is also very fragrant, which gives an additional desire to the grower to grow such beauty on the site. Ixia can grow up to 70 cm, so when planting, consider its collaboration with other plants. The flowers are diverse, they close at night, and in the morning, when the sun rises, you go out into the garden - and there you will be amazed by the unearthly beauty revealed!
See also: when to sow petunias for seedlings in 2016 according to the lunar calendar .
How to plant ixia
The flower is almost not susceptible to disease, it is not problematic to grow, you just need to pick up a protected place from the winds so that the trees do not obscure the light and loose soil, water it on time, and clean up the flowers, clearing the way for new buds. You can plant the onions, you can divide them (dividing the onions into parts), on each of which at least 1-2 kidneys were root buds.
So, you have Ixia bulbs, what to do next? Initially, we are waiting for the warming of the air and soil warming up, because the tropical beauty is sensitive even to small colds and you need to behave gently and accurately with her. The weather was warm, frost was no longer expected - you can get onions.
Now we select a place on the site, loosen the soil, if it is heavy, add sand and sawdust so that the drainage is better and the water does not stagnate. Further, we dig small holes not deep, up to 8 cm, the distance between them 15-20 cm will be just right, if thicker - they will obscure each other.
If you plant delenki - the pits are smaller and more often you can make them, and besides, they’ll get quite warm, they are very tender and very vulnerable. It would be nice to add there to the pits of fertile soil. They planted everything, sprinkled it with earth, they covered it with a mulch a couple of centimeters on top - and forgot it for a couple of weeks. As a sprout the first one will hatch - then only watering is recommended. Now you need to understand that large, healthy ixia onions will bloom this year, while small and small dividends may bloom the next, or even a year later.
More for your garden: phlox perennial planting and care photo.
If you live in the southern regions where the winters are warm, you can plant a plant for the winter so that it blooms early. Then do a hole 10 centimeters in depth, take healthy and large onions so that they have strength, and on top still mulch well. And in the spring, as it gets warmer - remove the mulch and the plant will go actively in growth.
How to care
How the sprouts appeared - now it is plentiful, but warm with water, and without fanaticism, so that the onions do not rot, they need to be watered and fertilized periodically, alternating between organic and mineral fertilizers. Drying flowers to clean, in the heat to spray tropical beauties necessary. By the way, if your soil is very saturated with moisture, you can treat it with fungicide from decay before planting.
How to save for the winter
A tropical plant of cold weather will not survive and die, and therefore it must be hidden for the winter. That's as soon as ixia fades, so it must be dug up.Peel the onions carefully, dry them, process them in potassium permanganate, dry them again, wrap them in a clean newspaper, and hide in a cool dark place until spring. You can put and cover in a pot just like in the photo. And every spring is better to plant in another place, so it will be better for her.
See also: hydrangea garden planting and outdoor care.
