Godetia is a herbaceous annual plant that is directly related to the fireweed family. This genus unites about 20 species of various plants. In natural conditions, they can be found on the American continents. Such a plant comes from Southern California. This plant was named after the Swiss C. H. Godet, he was a botanist, and the first to study and classify this flower. Since the early sixties of the 19th century, this plant has been incredibly popular in European countries. This garden flower has 2 main advantages: unpretentiousness and very spectacular silky flowers, which are outwardly similar to azalea flowers. Godetia has a certain similarity with clarke, related to the same fireweed family.
Features of godetia
The shoots of this plant are erect and branched, the height of the bush reaches 20-60 centimeters. Neat bushes, depending on the variety and type, can have a pyramidal or spreading shape. Alternately arranged entire leaf plates have a lanceolate shape. The flowers are cupped or bell-shaped, their diameter varies from 3 to 10 centimeters. They can be simple (have 4 petals) or double. Flowers are part of the cystic inflorescence. The flowers can be colored red, peach, purple, white, carmine or pink, there are varieties with a combined color. Peduncles are short. The fruit is a cylindrical tetrahedral box with small seeds inside. They remain viable for 3-4 years. A large number of hybrid varieties of this plant are also cultivated, for example: azalea, dwarf, double and bushy. Flowering begins in July and ends with the onset of frost. At the same time, the plants are not afraid of a sharp change in temperature.
Growing godetia from seeds
Sowing seed
Godetia can only be grown from seeds. This breeding method is quite simple, even for inexperienced gardeners.
You can grow godetia through seedlings or sow seeds directly into open ground. It is recommended to sow seeds in open soil from the second half to the end of April. In the southern regions, the seeds of this flower are sown before winter. Regardless of when you sow the seeds, you need them for 30 minutes. immerse in a weak solution of potassium manganese. This will protect the seeds from various diseases. For sowing, you must choose a site with neutral or slightly acidic loamy soil. The site should also be well lit. Dig up the soil and water it, while it is necessary to add wood ash and mineral fertilizers, and also humus (1 kg is taken per 5 square meter). After that, it is necessary to sow seeds on the floor a centimeter depth, while taking into account that a distance of at least 25 centimeters should be kept between the bushes. To accelerate the appearance of seedlings, the crops should be covered with foil from above. If the seedlings are excessively dense, then thinning is necessary. This method of growing godetia is better than seedling, because when planting seedlings, some of them are damaged and die.
Seedling
Sowing for seedlings must be done in the last days of March or in the first – April. First, a drainage layer must be laid on the bottom of the containers and filled with loose soil saturated with nutrients. For convenience, it is recommended to combine small seeds with sand. After that, they are distributed over the surface of the substrate, and sprinkled on top with a thin layer of soil. The container must be covered with a transparent film. Every day it is necessary to remove the film from the container for a while in order to ventilate and water the crops. After about 1,5 weeks, the first seedlings can be seen. After this happens, you need to remove the shelter for good. A pick is made after the plants have a pair of true leaves. The seedlings are carefully dug out, the soil is carefully removed, the overly long roots are trimmed. 1 seedlings are planted in 3 pot.
Landing in open ground
Spring planting of seedlings
Seedlings in open soil must be planted in the last days of May or the first in June, while the height of the plants should be from 5 to 7 centimeters. Planting should be done by taking the godetia along with a clod of earth, while trying to injure the root system as little as possible. It is recommended to disembark on a cloudy day, early in the morning (before the sun rises) or in the evening (after sunset). Do not forget that the distance between the specimens should be from 20 to 25 centimeters. Remember that the taller the variety, the longer the distance between the bushes should be.
Landing before winter
Before winter, seedlings can only be planted in areas with mild warm winters. It should be borne in mind that such landings are currently experimental in nature. Experienced gardeners try to sow seeds directly into open soil, since in this case it will be possible to avoid losses during a pick or planting in open soil. It is believed that plants grown from seeds sown in late autumn are more resistant to diseases and adverse weather conditions.
Features of care
The surface of the soil under the plants must be systematically loosened, while removing weeds. In this case, the godetia will grow stronger. Water these flowers systematically, while watering should be of medium abundance. Tall varieties (more than 0,6 m in height) require support (wood pegs or metal rods), because relatively fragile stems can break under the weight of flowers. In order for the plant to bloom profusely, systematic feeding is necessary once every 1 weeks. For this, a complete mineral fertilizer is used, which contains a small amount of nitrogen. So, a solution of nitrophoska is perfect (4 large tablespoons of the substance are taken for 6 liters of water).
After flowering
The seeds ripen approximately 4 weeks after the plant has faded. When the seed pods begin to change their color to a darker one, they must be carefully cut off. Pour the seeds from the dried open boxes of nadao. They are sown in the southern regions before winter or left for storage until the onset of spring. The seeds remain viable for 4 years.
Types and varieties of godetia with photos and names
Godetia grandiflora (Godetia grandiflora)
The compact bushy plant is an annual. There is slight pubescence on its surface. Cultivated since 1867 Fragile shoots can grow up to 20-40 centimeters. They are recumbent or erect, while at the end of the growing season they become lignified. Lanceolate leaf plates taper towards the base. Large flowers have a diameter of about 10 centimeters, their shape can be bell-shaped or cupped. They are part of the leafy racemose inflorescences located at the ends of the stems. The color of silky flowers can be red, white, scarlet, pink, crimson, lilac or dark red. Flowering is observed in July – October. There are hybrid varieties, both dwarf, which are used to decorate borders, and tall. Popular varieties:
- Weisser Schwann… In height, this low sprawling bush reaches from 30 to 35 centimeters. Above the stems are green, and below they have a light brown color. The leaf plates are broadly lanceolate. Medium-sized (5 to 6 centimeters in diameter), satin-white cupped flowers. The petals are whole-edged.
- Orange Room… This variety is medium-sized. A branched semi-spreading bush in height can reach 0,4–0,5 m. Stems are greenish-red. Narrow-lanceolate leaf plates. The diameter of the flowers is about 5 centimeters. They have broadly bell-shaped flowers with orange-red whole-edged petals.
Godetia amoena
The bush reaches a height of 0,6 m. Erect smooth shoots are rather fragile, by the end of the period of active growth they are semi-lignified. Narrow-lanceolate leaf plates are pointed. The flowers are cupped or bell-shaped and have a diameter of about 5 centimeters. The petals are satin spatulate, they have a lilac-crimson or pink-red color, and they can also be colored in various shades of red. Flowering is observed in July-September. Cultivated since 1814 Popular varieties:
- Kirshkenigin… The flowers are reddish pink.
- Crystal snowflake… The variety is tall, reaches a height of 0,75 m. The color of the flowers is white.
Terry godetia
Such a natural species does not exist. However, in hybrid varieties of large-flowered godetia, double, semi-double and densely double flowers are often found. Azalea terry godetia has such varieties with double flowers as:
- Sybil Sherwood… Compact bushes reach a height of 0,3–0,4 m. The leaf plates are lanceolate. The shoots are pinkish-green. The diameter of semi-double flowers is about 5 centimeters. They are painted salmon pink, with the color lightening from the middle of the flower to the edges of the petal.
- Rembrandt… The height of the low bushes is about 30–35 centimeters and they have a hemispherical shape. Stems are greenish pink. Narrow-lanceolate leaf plates. The diameter of the double pink flowers is from 5 to 6 centimeters. The petals are wavy, cut along the edge, and on each of them there is a speck of red.
- Diamond… The flowers are deep red with a speck of white.
- The Bride… Terry azalea white flowers have a barely noticeable shade of pink.
