Planting and caring for decorative dope, the best varieties and growing rules

To create a landscape landscape, plants that bloom brightly, unusually or for a long time are planted. Decorative dope is a poisonous flower. But the beauty of its buds makes us forget about the health hazards that can occur if handled carelessly. Its cultivation requires careful adherence to safety measures when planting, caring for, and storing seeds.

General description and characteristics

Datura is a perennial plant if it grows in regions with warm winters. The weather conditions of the Central zone allow it to be grown as an annual crop.

Herbaceous plants have a powerful root system, from which a straight shoot emerges, branching into 3 stems. The height of Datura under favorable conditions reaches 1.5 meters. Leaves on petioles, 15x10 centimeters in size, dark green, alternate. The flowers are single, simple or double in shape, reminiscent of miniature gramophones. The color of the corolla is snow-white, pink, yellow, red, purple. The seeds ripen in a capsule studded with thorns.

All parts of Datura are poisonous. After ingestion, the person experiences hallucinations and delusions. Prolonged inhalation of the aroma of blooming dope has a toxic effect on the central nervous system.

Types of datura

According to the botanical classification, the genus Datura belongs to the Solanaceae family. The list of herbaceous dope includes 9 species in which the flowers open vertically upward or to the side.

Datura Stramonium - Datura common

An annual plant found in the wild on forest edges and garbage dumps in the area from the Urals to the Mediterranean Sea. The height of the dope stems is 1.5 meters. The flowers are white, with a strong aroma. A ripe box contains up to 500-800 black grains.

Datura Metel - Indian datura

The habitat of Datura is from the Caspian to the Indian Sea. The name is explained by the special attitude towards the flower in India. According to Hindu theory, it grew from the body of Shiva and is considered sacred.The second name is Datura Metel, which means magnificent dope, because of the graceful huge flowers.

The height of the dope stems is from half a meter to 1.2 meters. The corolla of the flower is 20 centimeters long. The color is white or purple. The testis is in the form of a ball studded with spines, filled with yellow seeds.

Datura Innoxia - Indian datura

The birthplace of the flower, which has a second name, harmless datura, is South and Central America. The annual grows up to 1.5 meters per season if the weather and soil conditions are favorable. The color of the flower is white. The fruit is spiny and ovoid. If the stem or leaves are damaged, the plant emits an unpleasant odor of rotten vegetable oil.

Datura Stramonium var. Tatula

Flower growers value Datura for the rich lilac and blue tint of its blooming buds.

Datura Stramonium f. Inermis

The difference between Datura and other species is the absence of thorns on the testes.

Features of cultivation

Datura loves bright sun, but does not tolerate cold drafts. The plant can withstand the summer heat provided it is watered abundantly. Datura feels most comfortable on compost and manure heaps.

Preparing the landing site

For dope, choose a leeward, sunny place. The soil is prepared in the fall from a mixture of loose garden soil, rotted manure and river sand. The ratio is 2:2:1. This composition is suitable for sowing seeds and planting seedlings. The thickness of the soil layer should be at least 50-60 centimeters.

Planting material

Datura can be propagated by seeds, seedlings from seeds or from cuttings. When planting seeds in the ground, it is recommended to stimulate their germination. To do this, they are filled with water at a temperature of 45-50 degrees for 20 minutes.Seeds that have settled to the bottom are suitable for sowing.

For seedlings, seeds are sown in March in a container with soil mixture, covered with film and care is taken to ensure that the soil is always moist and warm before germination. With the emergence of shoots, the film is removed and the sprouts are transferred to a cool, well-lit place. On the 3rd leaf, a pick is made and the plants are distributed into separate containers.

Planting process

Seeds and seedlings are planted from seeds in May, when stable warmth has established. For planting, prepare holes at a distance of 1 meter. The seeds are deepened to 8-10 centimeters. Seedlings require a hole corresponding to the volume of the root system. After planting, the soil is filled up, slightly compacted and watered abundantly.

Plant care

The main care for dope consists of watering, pruning, and disease control. Loosening the soil and removing weeds is required for the first month until the plant has branched shoots covered with large leaves and buds. Shade and aroma inhibit the growth of weeds near the datura.

Watering

The difference between Datura and flower crops is that it needs hard water. In its absence, the datura is watered 1-2 times a summer with lime water prepared from 10 grams of dry slaked lime and 10 liters of water. Once a week, add 20 grams of complex mineral fertilizer to a bucket of water.

The plant does not tolerate dry soil and drops its buds. The soil must be moistened abundantly. The frequency of watering depends on the air temperature and the amount of precipitation.

Trimming

The fading “gramophones” are removed so that the datura bush looks just as elegant and to stimulate new budding. To obtain seeds, leave a few of the very first flowers to bloom.Full ripening of the ovaries occurs 60 days after the start of flowering.

Pruning is carried out in 2 cases: when grown as a perennial and when stored indoors in the winter. The perennial leaves its youngest shoots at the end of September, forming the future crown.

Top dressing

Once a week from June to August, 20 grams of complex mineral fertilizer are added to a bucket of water. Organic fertilizers alternate with mineral ones if there is not enough humus in the soil where Datura was planted.

Wintering

In regions with cold winters, annual datura can be dug up and placed in a spacious pot with a nutrient mixture. Pruning is done first to form a crown of young shoots. Plants are placed in a cool room where the temperature does not rise above +15 and does not fall below +8 degrees.

Datura sheds its leaves, but remains viable.

In the spring, after transplanting into the ground, new leaves appear, shoots grow and buds bloom.

Disease and pest control

The appearance of gray fluffy spots on the leaves of Datura means the plant is infected with gray rot, a fungal infection. The development of the disease is favored by the peculiarity of growing datura: the need to keep the soil moist.

To combat gray mold, the bush is treated with:

• 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture;
• antifungal agents;
• infusion of ash, chalk and copper sulfate.

Pests of the plant are whitefly butterflies and their larvae, false spider mites. The whitefly feeds on plant sap. During the summer, caterpillars are rejected every 25 days. The caterpillars not only suck the juice from the leaves, but also secrete a sticky sweet substance on which the sooty fungus parasitizes.To combat insects, systemic insecticides are used, and in the fall, deep digging of the soil is done.

False spider mites are microscopic in size. Infestation can be determined by dried, brown leaves. As a preventative measure, autumn deep tillage of the soil is necessary. When infected, drugs containing pyrethroids and organophosphorus compounds are used.

How to propagate

For propagation, cuttings are used. The shoots are cut off at the end of September. There should be 2-3 internodes on the cut. The lower leaves are removed. You can root in water or soil mixture, in good light and a temperature of at least 20 degrees.

In mid-May, rooted cuttings are planted. Planting seedlings with soil occurs using the transshipment method. The pre-watered plant is removed from the container and transferred to the prepared hole. Sprinkle with soil and water again.

Examples in landscape design

The aroma of Datura depresses most flower crops. It is planted next to non-flowering shrubs, spruces, and thujas. The bright tones of flowers look more expressive against the background of dense greenery.

Datura is planted in separate flowerbeds on the banks of artificial reservoirs, streams, or next to perennials that bloom before or after Datura blooms.