Incarvillea (Incarvillea) – a genus of annual , biennial and perennial rhizomatous herbs and subshrubs of the Bignoniaceae family (Bignoniaceae), Beautifully flowering plants with ornamental leaves, are rarely used in European gardens, although they deserve more attention.
- Family: bignoniaceae.
- Homeland: China, Tibet, Central Asia.
- Rhizome: tuberous.
- Stem: erect, simple or branched.
- Leaves: Pinnately dissected.
- Fruit: box.
- Reproductive ability: propagated by seeds, less often by cuttings or dividing bushes.
- Illumination: photophilous, tolerates partial shade.
- Watering: drought-resistant.
- Content temperature: hibernate with shelter.
- Flowering time: 20 to 45 days in June-July.
Description of the incarvillea flower
Plants from 20 to 150 cm tall with straight, smooth or slightly pubescent stems, simple or branched. The leaves are large, up to 30 cm long, twice or thrice pinnately divided, dark green, with a corrugated surface. At the tops of the stems, paniculate or racemose loose few-flowered inflorescences are formed.
Incarvillea in the photo
Incarvillea flower is tubular, five-petalled, up to 6 cm in diameter, white, pink, rarely yellow or red. It resembles gloxinia in shape, which is why sometimes the culture is called that – garden gloxinia. The plant blooms in early summer from 20 to 45 days, depending on the species. In August, the second wave of flowering begins, not so plentiful, but longer. At the same time, pods are formed, which crack when ripe, throwing large, gray seeds to the ground. Seed germination lasts 3-4 years.
The rhizome of the plant is elongated, slightly branched, cylindrical, similar in appearance to dahlia plots.
The genus got its name in honor of the Frenchman Pierre Nicholas D’Incarville, a missionary and plant lover who collected a large collection of representatives of the flora of China.
The culture is very decorative, can be used in rock gardens, rocky gardens and flower beds in dry places with deep groundwater. For its lush bright flowering, it is sometimes called the “garden orchid.” Incarvillea flowers look beautiful in bouquets, but in the cut they last no more than 1-2 days.
Types and varieties of incarvillea flowers in the photo
The genus includes about 14 species of incarvillea, photos and descriptions of the most commonly grown varieties are given below.
Incarvillea Delaway (I. delavayi Bur. et Franch) , large, up to 120 cm, a plant with a few pinnate leaves up to 30 cm long, collected in a rosette. Homeland – Southwestern China, grown in gardens since 1889. The flowers of this incarvillea are pink with a yellow center, up to 6 cm in diameter, collected in 3-4 pieces. in a loose racemose inflorescence. Flowering – in June for a month. Shelter is required for the winter. The garden form of Delavayi incarvillea (Delavayi) var purpurea hart is distinguished by darker leaves and rich purple flowers. Another well-known variety of this type of incarvillea is Snowtop, with white flowers.
Chinese Incarvillea (I. sinensis) , a species long cultivated in Asian countries, has many variations that differ in flower shape and color. In European gardens, the Cheron cultivar is found, with creamy yellow flowers and feathery leaves, no higher than 30 cm high. It blooms 2-2.5 months after sowing, continuously forms new shoots, which ensures long flowering.
Incarvillea Olga (I. olgae) , tall, up to 150 cm, perennial, originating from the regions of the Pamir-Alai mountain system. It has been cultivated in gardens since 1880. It has bare, branched above, lignified below trunks and opposite pinnately dissected leaves. The flowers are red-pink, up to 2 cm in diameter, collected in the apical inflorescence-panicle. Blooms in early July up to 45 days. Winters with cover.
Incarvillea dense (I. compacta) , low, up to 30 cm, a perennial plant that grows naturally in the northwestern part of China and Central Asia. It has smooth or slightly pubescent stems, basal leaves, pinnate, with entire oval-heart-shaped lobes. It blooms in early summer for a month, the flowers are large, up to 6 cm in diameter, purple with a yellow center, bloom alternately. Known in culture since 1881, more hardy than other species, can winter without shelter. There are varieties of white and pink colors, there is a large-flowered variety var. grandiflora up to 80 cm high with purple-pink flowers about 7 cm in diameter.
Incarvillea Mayra (I. mairei) , a very spectacular species native to the northwestern regions of China, with lyre-shaped basal leaves, slightly dissected, on long petioles. Height – about 30 cm, flowers are large, red, the inside of the corolla is yellow with white spots. Blooms in June, winter-hardy enough.
Features of growing incarvillea from seeds
The plant is photophilous, develops well in sunny areas, but also tolerates partial shade. In the open sun, the duration of flowering is shorter, so a place illuminated by the sun for several hours will be optimal for the culture. The flower requires light, loose, fertile soil with good drainage. Since the root system does not tolerate stagnant water and can rot even during a rainy summer, it is advisable to add expanded clay, crushed stone or broken brick to the planting pit. The plant is resistant to drought, does not require frequent and plentiful watering. For better flowering, once every 2 weeks, the bushes are fed with organic or mineral fertilizer. It can stay in one place without a transplant for up to 5 years.
All species hibernate in the middle zone, provided mulching and good drainage. In autumn, the leaves are cut off, the rhizome is covered with peat, leaves or wood shavings with a layer of at least 10-15 cm. The shelter is removed early to prevent the tubers from drying out when warm weather sets in.
In severe snowless winters, the bushes freeze slightly, so in the fall the rhizomes can be carefully dug up, and, without shaking off the ground, placed in the basement along with potatoes, or stored in the refrigerator, covered with sawdust. If you plant tubers in advance in peat pots in spring, without deepening the root neck, then by the time of planting in May, young leaves will appear, and in mid-June the plant will bloom.
When growing incarvillea in a room culture in winter, it is provided with a temperature of 7-10 ° C and rare watering without drying out the earthy coma. In summer, the pot can be placed on a balcony or terrace, planted a flower in the garden. Further care – as for open ground. Indoor specimens are transplanted annually in the spring.
How to propagate the incarvillea flower
Most often, the plant is propagated by seeds. When growing incarvillea from seeds obtained independently, they are pre-stratified, for which they are placed in sealed packaging and stored all winter until sowing in the refrigerator or on the street. It is sown in March in greenhouses, seedling boxes, or at the end of April directly into the ground, deepening by 0.5 – 1 cm. weeks. With the seedling method of planting, seedlings dive in the phase of a real leaf, planted in the ground in the absence of a threat of frost, deepening to the very cotyledons, at first they are watered daily, while avoiding water stagnation. The survival rate of seedlings is low, therefore crops in open ground are preferred, which are carried out without picking. Young plants are carefully covered for the winter, they bloom in the second year.
The flower can be propagated by leaf cuttings, in June-July, cutting off a fully ripe leaf from a rosette with a small (2-3 cm) part of the stem. The ends of the cut cuttings are soaked for 12-14 hours in preparations that stimulate root formation (heteroauxin, root), then planted in a greenhouse. Roots are formed in 2-3 weeks, a tuberous rhizome – the next year. Then the plant forms a rosette of leaves and blooms.
In early spring or in August-September, you can divide the bush by carefully digging the rhizome to the full depth and cutting it so that at least one growth point remains on each division. When planting, the root neck is buried 3-5 cm below the soil surface. Such a division can be made no more than once every 5 years.