Aquilegia, Armeria, Astilbe, Achillea. Rhizomatous Perennials Wintering in the Soil of Kyrgyzstan

Perennials

— flowering plants that grow in one place and maintain their decorative appeal for several years.

Ornamental gardening offers a vast assortment of flowering and decorative perennial plants.

Many of them — Aquilegia, perennial asters, delphiniums, coreopsis, lilies of the valley, lupins, poppies, peonies, phloxes, hostas, daylilies, etc. — have long been cultivated, resulting in a large number of varieties and forms created through selection and other breeding methods. Less known and still rarely used in landscaping are trollius, primroses, rudbeckia, astilbe, and others.

Aquilegia (Aquilegia L.)

Widely distributed in nature. There are up to 30 species in the flora of the USSR (Caucasus, Central Asia, Siberia, Far East). This is a beautiful flowering and ornamental-leaved plant, ranging from 40 to 100 cm in height. The leaves are large, deeply dissected, and collected in a lush rosette. The flowers have an original shape, with spurs, in a variety of colors, often bicolored, on long sturdy flower stalks, gathered in a branched panicle.

Aquilegia thrives equally well in open spaces and in shade. It blooms from seeds sown in the second year; to preserve the characteristics of the variety, it is better to propagate it by division of the rhizomes, although this yields few planting units. For uniform germination, it is best to sow the seeds in winter. The seedlings develop slowly, so it is better to transplant them in the fall. Plants can remain in one place for 4 to 6 years. To maintain their decorative appeal, they should receive 3 to 4 feedings of mineral fertilizers during the growing season and be regularly watered. After flowering, the inflorescences can be cut off, and the plants will adorn the plantings with decorative foliage until late autumn.

About 20 species are cultivated: A. caerulea, A. vulgaris, A. canadensis, and others. The most decorative and widespread is A. hybrid. The height of the plants is 80–100 cm. The stems are straight, resilient, ending in multi-flowered, gradually opening flowers. The flowers are large (5–6 cm), with long spurs, in various colors. Flowering is longer compared to the species.

Armeria (Armeria Willd.)

A spring, drought-resistant, and shade-tolerant plant. Its native land is America and Europe. It is not widely cultivated, mainly species are grown. It has rosette, narrow linear leaves. The flowers are small, gathered in head-like inflorescences with a diameter of 3–5 cm. It blooms in May to early June. During the mass flowering period, it is very decorative. It propagates by seeds and division of clumps.

Sowing should be done with freshly harvested seeds, either directly in the soil or preferably in partial shade. The seedlings are planted in their permanent place in the spring of the following year. Clumps can be divided every 2 to 3 years in the fall or early spring.

The plants develop particularly well and retain the freshness of their leaves for a long time with slight shading.

Armeria is very effective in borders, flower beds, group and solitary plantings on lawns or among ground cover plants.

Astilbe (Astilbe Hamilt.)

Wild-growing species of astilbe are quite common in East Asia (Japan, China), in the southeastern part of the USA; in the USSR — in the Far East, in the Khabarovsk region. In cultivation, mainly interspecific hybrids obtained by breeders from various countries are used.

Astilbe is a herbaceous plant ranging from 15 cm to 1.5 m in height. The underground part consists of a vertically growing and heavily compacted rhizome. The leaves are simple or highly dissected (twice or thrice pinnate). In spring, young leaves, depending on the variety, have various colors: reddish, brownish-green, light green. The inflorescence is a panicle, consisting of numerous very small flowers. The varieties differ in flower color (white, red, pink, purple) and the shape of the inflorescences (rhomboid, pyramidal, paniculate).

It blooms in our conditions in June.

Astilbe is best placed in semi-shady locations or under the canopy of large trees, where it blooms more abundantly and for a longer period. It loves moisture. It prefers light, fertile soil. It is mainly propagated by division of the clump (in spring or late summer). When dividing, the average, heavily compacted rhizome can be removed, leaving younger parts for planting. Astilbe can be left in one place without transplanting for no more than 3 to 4 years, as the rhizome grows upward, emerges from the soil, and the plant suffers from dry air.

In the Botanical Garden, varieties with different inflorescence colors are cultivated. The most decorative are: Scarlet — 80–90 cm tall, with pyramidal inflorescences 23–30 cm long, carmine-raspberry; Amethyst — 80–100 cm tall, with inflorescences 35–40 cm, loose, sprawling, lilac-pink; Frida Klapp — 50–60 cm tall, with compact bushes and delicate lace-like foliage, inflorescences 18–25 cm, paniculate, dense, pale pink; Garnet — up to 40 cm tall, with pyramidal, loose, purple-red inflorescences, young leaves in spring have a reddish color.

Achillea (Achillea L.)

About 100 species are known, with A. ptarmica, or yarrow, and its variety Pearl being common in floriculture. The plants are 60–70 cm tall, with double flowers 3–4 cm in diameter, gathered in umbellate inflorescences. The underground part contains numerous creeping rhizomes, by which Achillea easily propagates. When planted in the fall, it produces lush flowering plants the following year.

It is used for tall borders, groups, and for cutting for bouquet arrangements, as it holds well when cut.

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