Liatris is a beautiful perennial flower from the Asteraceae or Asteraceae family. In nature, the plant grows in North America and Mexico. It has amazingly beautiful flowering and a subtle pleasant aroma. Liatris is an unpretentious plant, but still needs some care and, of course, preparation for winter.
When and how to prune for the winter
Liatris blooms until mid-autumn, starting to bloom not from below, like other flowers, but from above. Gradually its inflorescences finish flowering. Just after the flower completes this process and the foliage on it turns yellow and falls off, its stems should be cut off.This is done using pruning shears or a well-sharpened knife, cutting off the shoots to the very root.
Pruning is done to prevent infection of the corm fungus spores through the stems during the cold season. This can lead to various diseases, including rotting of the plant’s root system.
Hilling up the plant
Over the course of the summer, the corm gradually becomes exposed, emerging from the ground, since the root system of the liatris is quite close to the surface of the earth. Therefore, before wintering, the bushes need hilling. The earth is raked in the shape of a cone. You can add additional substrate.
Hilling up will not only help the bushes overwinter, but also improve air exchange in the top layer of soil, which is a kind of prevention of certain plant diseases and a stimulator of root system growth.
Liatris shelter for the winter
In moderate climatic conditions, for example, in the Moscow region, liatris can overwinter without shelter, but provided that the winter is snowy. In snowless winters or severe frosts, sheltering the plant is necessary, otherwise the rhizomes may freeze.
It is best to use peat, spruce branches or dry humus as a shelter. You can also use a wooden box or a sheet of plywood. As a last resort, dry leaves from the garden will do. The thickness of the mulch should be about 15 cm. This will be enough for the plants to survive the winter safely.
It is not recommended to use straw and hay for mulching for the winter. These materials attract rodents, which will build a nest in a secluded, warm place and can damage the plant's corms.
The shelter will not only protect the bush from freezing, but will also help maintain the necessary soil moisture.
Good to know! Without shelter, liatris can tolerate frosts down to -15 °C in snowy winters..
Do I need to dig it up?
Liatris is dug up only in severe winters, such as in Siberia or the Urals. In regions with more favorable weather, digging is not necessary.
Bushes dug up for the winter are placed in a box or box with damp peat and left in a cool place, in the refrigerator or cellar. The tubers are left in this form until spring. Liatris can be planted back into open ground immediately after the end of frost.
Before transplanting into the ground, the tubers are carefully inspected. They should not show any damage, stains or signs of rotting.
For planting, dig the required number of holes 10 cm deep at a distance of 30-35 cm from each other. A third of the humus is poured into each hole and a liatris tuber is placed into it. You need to find a depression on it and place the tuber so that it “looks” up. It is from this that the first green shoots will begin to appear. Next, cover the tubers with fertile soil and compact it thoroughly. The planting procedure ends with watering. After a month, the first shoots will appear.
Possible mistakes during care
Sometimes gardeners make mistakes in growing liatris, which can lead to problems, illnesses and even death of the flower:
- Gardeners often try to grow liatris from seeds collected on their site. But from such raw materials it is almost impossible to grow a plant similar to the mother bush. Even the color of the inflorescences may be different. This will only be known 3 years after sowing the seeds, since the plant will begin to bloom only after this period. If you want to grow flowers from seeds, it is better to purchase them at a specialized store.
- Unknowingly, some gardeners plant a flower in a shady area of the garden or in soil that is too wet. But in such conditions the bush will not develop. Liatrises love sunny and bright areas.
- These bushes need regular watering, but you should not overdo it, because excessive moisture can cause the death of the plant.
- The plant is unpretentious and adapts well to almost any conditions, but it is wrong to assume that it does not need feeding. The flower will bloom, but its development will be slow, and the bush will not be as thick and lush. It is necessary to carry out at least 3 feedings per season.
- Gardeners often loosen the soil under the flower, but it is better not to do this, because the root system of the bush is too close to the surface of the earth and is easily damaged. Instead of loosening the bush, you need to hill it up more often and remove weeds manually. If the gardener nevertheless decides to loosen the soil under the bush, this must be done extremely carefully.
- It is wrong to leave fading and dried inflorescences on the bushes. They must be removed immediately, then the flowering of the bush can be significantly prolonged. In addition, pruning will help prevent seeds from spreading throughout the area. After the inflorescences dry, the wind will disperse the seeds, and in the spring they can sprout in the most unexpected places.
- The bush should not be left to grow in one place. Every 4 years it is recommended to replant it to a new place. Otherwise, the bush will become smaller every year and bloom less actively, and ultimately it may die completely.
Liatris is a spectacular plant that will decorate any garden, subject to simple care rules and proper preparation for winter. It looks great as a stand-alone plant or in combination with other types of flowers.
