Which is common on many continents. This plant prefers arid climates. Kochia belongs to the goosefoot family. Simply called prutnyak, summer cypress, annual cypress, passion, broom grass.
The plant has a rod-shaped root. It has a powerful structure and deep burial, so the bush is firmly rooted. The height of kochia is approximately 60−80 cm. The stem is straight and has branches along its entire length. The leaves are drooping, linear, rather narrow, and sometimes thread-like. Kochia flowers are very small and are collected in spicate or paniculate inflorescences. The flower is pollinated by the wind. After flowering, it forms fruits containing very small seeds. Once ripe, they are spread by the wind and begin to germinate after winter.
Kochia does not have attractive flowering, so it is grown exclusively as an ornamental foliage plant. It forms lush bushes that lend themselves well to pruning. This plant can be used as hedges, borders and so on. Bushes can not only decorate the garden, but also be used for technical purposes; brooms and panicles can be made from them. Some varieties of kochia are used as feed crops for domestic animals.
Gallery: perennial kochia (25 photos)
Types of kochia
Kochia has more than 80 various types. Not all types are widespread, but there are popular varieties.
The most popular are:
Growing rules
Kochia is grown only from seeds. Moreover, once you plant this plant in your garden, you no longer have to worry about purchasing seeds. Growing kochia from them occurs independently.
The seeds germinate very well; out of 100 seeds, almost all of them will germinate. It is important to remember that they have their own shelf life and it is 1.5 years. After this period, seed germination sharply decreases.
Sowing seeds in open ground
Seeds can be sown in open ground in the beginning of May. In any case, it must be remembered that young plants are very afraid of cold weather; they should be planted in open ground when the threat of frost has passed. If it was not possible to sow the seeds in May, you can do this until mid-July. To sow seeds, be sure to select a sunny area. Without sunlight they may not germinate.
The soil surface is cleared of debris and last year's grass, compacted and well watered. Now you can sow. The seeds laid out on the surface are slightly pressed. To prevent the bright sun from burning the tender sprouts, they are covered with white material.
Shoots will appear in one to two weeks. At this time, the material must be removed. If the seeds are planted too often, they are thinned out; there should be a distance of at least 10 cm between seedlings.
The first transplant is carried out at the moment when the young seedlings reach a height of 15 cm. Such plants can be planted immediately permanent place.
Sowing before winter
Planting can be done before winter. In this case, the seeds are sown 2-3 weeks before the onset of frost. It is important that the seeds do not have time to germinate in the fall, otherwise they will die under the snow. For sowing, you need to make grooves in which the seeds are laid out. They are sprinkled with a thin layer of soil on top and wrapped with covering material.
Growing seedlings
You can grow seeds at home and transplant small plants into open ground. Seeds are sown in a container in March-April. First you need to prepare the soil; it should consist of peat, humus and river sand. To disinfect the soil, you can bake it in the oven for 30-40 minutes. This will prevent seedlings from becoming infected with diseases and pests. You can take a shallow container and pour soil into it.
Seeds are sown on the surface of moistened soil. To prevent them from being washed away by water, they are pressed a little. They are watered periodically. To create a certain microclimate, the container is covered with glass or thick film. The container is placed in a room with a temperature of 18-20 degrees and plenty of sunlight. In one to two weeks, shoots should appear. At low temperatures, seeds will take longer to germinate. If the seedlings stretch too high, you can cut off their tops.
When the seedlings grow to 5-7 cm, they need to be transplanted into separate pots. It is important not to damage the roots, so you need to remove a whole ball of earth with intact roots from the ground.
Young plants after transplantation can be fed with nitrogen fertilizer. Plants that have grown to 15-20 cm are planted in open ground.
Caring for kochia in open ground
In order for kochia to be lush and bright, you must adhere to certain growing rules.
Features of care:
Pests and diseases
With proper care, the plant is not affected by diseases and pests.
Perennial kochia is rarely grown on garden plots, although it has its advantages over annual species. Knowing the peculiarities of growing kochia, you can confidently plant it in any area and get a lush, unusual and spectacular plant.
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Description and features of kochia
This is a slender, small (usually less than a meter tall), fluffy, belonging to the Chenopodiaceae subfamily. Kochia It is interesting for its unusually narrow leaves, which at a superficial glance look so much like needles that many mistake it for a prickly coniferous fauna.
However, appearances are deceiving, because fresh, tender shoots feel very pleasant and soft to the touch. For this quality people called it kochia– broom, making beautiful bath brooms from its twigs.
The homeland is China, it is in this ancient country a significant number of varieties of this flora were bred, brought to Europe several centuries ago by the German professor Koch, which gave rise to the name.
Pictured is Kokhia Sultan
It immediately attracted the attention of gardeners for its originality, as well as its ability to change the color of the leaves as it grows. How can you be sure photo of kochia, young ones are covered with emerald, light green leaves.
However, after just a few months, the color scheme changes radically, taking on pink, crimson and other shades. On cypress kochia similar with a clear pyramidal crown shape. In addition, as it turned out, the shrub tolerates pruning painlessly, regaining its lost lushness in a very short time.
Beautiful decorative properties, giving scope for the creative imagination of designers, have become the reason for the active cultivation of this flora in many countries and parts of the world for a long period.
Modern gardeners use fast-growing, densely branching plants to decorate flower beds, borders and fences, in landscape design kohia extremely in demand. It can be annual or perennial.
It looks great planted in boxes and pots displayed in front of the house. In flower beds it goes well with, fragrant tobacco, and other summer ones. When planted at a short distance, the bushes make a wonderful fluffy hedge.
The appearance, which with the onset of autumn, depending on the variety, takes on yellow, pink, purple, bronze and crimson-red shades, only gets better at this cool time of year. And cut and dried branches can serve as wonderful material for creating winter compositions in designer bouquets.
In the photo there is red kochia
Summer cypress kochia called in common parlance, in scientific literature - bassia. The leaves of the plant are fed to silkworm caterpillars. Flora is also famous healing properties, long used in Chinese medicine to relieve itching and fever.
Nowadays, for the production of medicinal infusions and decoctions, an inconspicuous and inconspicuous-looking kochia flower, as well as leaves and stems of the crop, its fruits and seeds.
These remedies are used for a variety of diseases, and without any contraindications. Ointments made from plant elements treat diseases of the skin and nails. An extremely healthy soup is prepared from kochia leaves.
Planting and propagation of kochia
This plant is characterized by extremely rapid reproduction. The vigor of growth inherent in the seeds is quite sufficient for self-sowing, and germination at growing kochia very high, almost one hundred percent, which makes growing this plant extremely convenient and feasible even for inexperienced gardeners.
However, those who want to have it on their site should make sure that the planting material does not expire, because it should be stored for no more than one and a half years.
Kochia in open ground planted in May, preferably at the very beginning of the month. However, everything depends on the vagaries of the weather, because you should choose the right time when the frosts will completely recede and will no longer be able to damage the heat-loving flora.
Planting kochia
Kochia does not tolerate temperature changes, and in the future it should be taken into account that prolonged autumn frosts can destroy it. Since it grows and develops quite quickly, it is possible to sow much later than the previously indicated period, but only until mid-June.
First, seedlings should be grown in an area specially designated for temporary placement. And only then move the plants to their place of permanent growth. No special tricks in the science of success growing kochia from seeds does not exist.
It is enough that the seed, which only needs to be lightly pressed down, but not sprinkled with a layer of earth on top, blocking access to the beneficial rays of the sun, simply touches the moist soil. And then the nature and power of the plant will do their job themselves.
Afterwards, the planted area is covered with a transparent film to create greenhouse conditions inside it and protect the sprouts from the cold. This cover is removed after a couple of weeks with the arrival of real warmth, and the exact period varies depending on the state of weather conditions.
After the emergence and strengthening of the shoots, the sprouts are thinned out, leaving a distance of the length of a human hand between the shoots. When the height of the seedlings reaches 15 cm, they should be transplanted to a place designated for permanent growth.
Seeds buy kochia available in specialized stores; if you require any special varieties, information for purchasing them can be easily found on the Internet.
Sowing can be done in late autumn. Here it is also important to choose the right time, preferably shortly before the onset of frost, but not earlier, so that the seeds do not have time to germinate, otherwise they will certainly die in winter.
Caring for Kochia
Wherein planting material laid out in shallow grooves prepared in advance in fertile and loose soil, and in this case they must be sprinkled with a thin layer of earth (the rays of the sun during this period will not be beneficial, and future plants need protection from cold and wind).
It happens that in the spring the owner of a summer cottage or personal plot has a desire to please himself and those around him with the beauty of the delicate emerald leaves of this decorative plant as early as possible.
When to plant kochia seeds in this case? This should be done in April, even in March. In this case, future plants are first grown in room conditions in boxes or containers.
This process should begin with the preparation of the soil, to which river sand, humus, etc. are added. In this case, the seeds are simply poured into shallow grooves, and the box is covered on top with a transparent film to create a suitable environment with diffused lighting for the shoots growing inside.
Afterwards, the container, the soil in which must be regularly moistened in the future, is placed in a warm place in the room. It is better not to place the box directly on the windowsill, but when sprouts appear, they should be provided good lighting, moving closer to the sunlight on the window. If the shoots begin to stretch out too much during unexpectedly intense growth, it is better to trim the tops.
After some time, the seedlings, which have reached a length of about 7 cm, are transplanted directly from the ground into separate pots. In this case, you should act carefully so that the roots of the young ones are not damaged.
Pictured are kochia seeds
But first, you should prepare the soil on the site by loosening it, adding a little ash and sand. The interval between the final planting depends on the decorative purposes of growing flora.
To create a fluffy fence, it should be about 20 cm. If the gardener wants to highlight the beauty of each of the bushes, then the distance between them should be slightly larger. A great idea is to grow this flora in flower pots, homemade kochia can significantly decorate rooms and verandas.
Caring for Kochia
It is unpretentious and essentially requires minimal care. The main thing is that he must be regular and, above all, competent. Healthy depends on it appearance decorative fluffy bushes, which will certainly give an original look to the lawns, gardens and personal plots for which they are grown to decorate. Knowing the intricacies of how to grow kochia, will make things much easier.
It should be remembered that the plant tolerates a lack of moisture well, and natural precipitation may be quite enough for healthy, full-fledged growth.
However, watering, which should be reasonably regulated, is an important component in the process of caring for kochia, so it is better if the soil is saturated with moisture relatively frequently, and watering is at least weekly.
And again, when creating a regime, it is necessary not to be too zealous, allowing water to stagnate in the area, which is much more dangerous than a prolonged drought. To keep the soil always moist with relatively infrequent watering, you can use mulching decorative stones, crushed stone or bark.
Grows well in light shade. But it’s still better to choose for planting kochia the place is brighter, there the conditions for development will be more favorable.
The photo shows kochia seeds sold through retail chains
For cutting, as already mentioned, the flora is very suitable, and this procedure does not create problems, giving every opportunity for beginner gardeners to practice.
Kochia is convenient for giving it bizarre, even fantastic shapes. At the same time, the plant without pruning can very quickly stretch to a length of more than a meter.
After cutting, minerals with a predominance of nitrogen help the shrub to restore the vegetative system in a short time and grow leaves, which again has a beneficial effect on the appearance and beauty of the decorative plant.
In general, the first fertilizing should be done ten days after germination of the seedlings. Next, the procedure must be repeated during the period active growth in a month or a little more.
Types and varieties of kochia
There are about eight dozen subspecies in the genus Kochia, but some of them are especially common and famous. All of them are unpretentious and differ from each other mainly in the height and shape of the bushes, as well as the color of the leaves in autumn period. Most decorative subspecies are annual.
The most popular and widely used for decorating landscapes is Kochia coronata or Kochia broom. It is distinguished by the spherical shape of the bushes, which become burgundy-red by autumn.
Pictured is Kochia Jade
This crop is convenient for growing in countries with a temperate climate, as it is able to withstand frosts and minor frosts, which makes it possible to enjoy the beauty of its appearance until late autumn.
Hairy kochia- a slender and tall variety, with downward, narrow leaves, which acquire a burgundy color as they develop. Kochia jade It is attractive due to its unusually fast growth and is convenient for creating artistic sculptors from bushes by cutting them.
This decorative subspecies is considered heat-loving, but can grow without problems in areas with depleted soil. The Childs variety is a low-growing, round-shaped bush that delights with green foliage throughout the season.
Perennial kochia They are little used in decorative floriculture, but some are highly valued as fodder crops. One of these subspecies is izen. , growing to a height of no more, or even less than 50 cm.
In the photo Kochia broom
Branching at the base, it has characteristic feature spread across the earth. takes strong roots underground. its small, completely inconspicuous in appearance, seeds ripen in them by the end of summer.
The crop is rich in nutrients, quite productive, adapts well and grows in areas with cold or, conversely, dry climates. This is a promising forage crop, but is also used to decorate landscapes. Most often it is planted in sunny flowerbeds or rocky hills.
Diseases and pests of kochia
However, it may well happen that the owners of plots growing this plant will one day discover that there are spider mite.
Kochia seedlings It is often affected by the so-called “black leg” - a fungal disease in which the lower bases of the stems turn black, which can result in death.
Pictured is Childs' kochia
A good preventative measure against this is treating the soil with a solution of manganese or ash. If the seedlings grow in a container in a room, then it is better to move it to where the room temperature is slightly lower.
As one can conclude, growing a tree that resembles a gentle cloud in appearance, once brought from the blessed East, brings more pleasure than trouble.
And the beauty of cheerful multi-colored small bushes growing in the garden in warm weather, and in flower pots at home in winter, will create great mood for the whole year.
Prutnyak, broom, ruff, bassia - all these are popular names for kochia.
This subshrub from the Chenopodiaceae family, thanks to its thin elongated leaves resembling needles and its highly branched structure, looks like a small Christmas tree.
Therefore, it is also called summer cypress. This plant has gained popularity due to its distinctive qualities:
It is easy to trim (the shapes of the bushes are limited only by the imagination of the “barber”);
Has “chameleon abilities” (closer to autumn, the color of the leaves changes - depending on the variety, it can be purple, burgundy, or remain emerald green until frost)
Variety of colors of kochia
Drought-resistant and unpretentious (planting and caring for kochia is simple and does not require labor-intensive activities).
For these reasons, kochia is often planted not only on summer cottages; landscape designers use it to create “living” labyrinths, borders and hedges. Yes, and like a tapeworm in a flowerbed in combination with contrasting flowering plants she looks great.
Main types of kochia
Summer cypress has approximately 80 species, of which about 10 are cultivated in gardening, distinguished by the greatest decorativeness and bush shape:
Hairy Bassia is an annual plant with a dense, branched crown. The color of the leaves changes from a rich light green hue in summer to red or pink in autumn. Tolerates haircut well;
Child's Kochia is a compact shrub with a dense crown, reaching a height of up to 0.5 m. The color of the foliage (pale green) does not change with the onset of autumn;
Bassia densely flowered is an annual tall species (reaches a height of up to 1.3 m). Its peculiarity is that during flowering, long whitish hairs grow around the base of the flowers, giving the plant an unusual appearance;
Kochia wooliflora is a low-growing variety of summer cypress (0.1-0.6 m) yellow-green in color. The branches of the bush are densely covered with wavy fibers;
Creeping kochia - low-growing perennial 0.1-0.5 m high with a powerful root system. Its fiber-covered branches spread along the ground, which is why the plant received its name.
Other varieties of perennial bassia have no decorative value, therefore they are not cultivated in horticulture and are used mainly as feed raw materials.
Features of growing and planting kochia
Before planting summer cypress, you need to plan its planting location. Kochia is a light-loving plant and feels best in sunny areas (in nature it grows on rocky and semi-desert open areas).
If there is insufficient lighting, the color of the leaves will be faded, the branching will be weak, and the bush itself will lag behind in development.
Bassia grows well on well-drained soils with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction that easily allow water and air to pass through to the roots.
Lowlands and areas with close occurrence groundwater not suitable for growing kochia. When moisture stagnates, its root system is susceptible to various rots.
Methods for planting kochia (photo)
Green cypress is planted in flower beds as seedlings or seeds.
To obtain seedlings, kochia seeds are sown in the second half of March in bowls with universal primer, to which perlite or coarse sand is added. Dishes for growing seedlings should be treated with an antiseptic, and the prepared soil should be shed with a fungicide (for example, Fundazol, Topaz, Vitaros, Fundazol, Ridomil Gold, Previkur).
To successfully germinate kochia seeds, it is important to follow these rules:
The seed material must be fresh (its germination rate decreases within one year);
Availability of sufficient lighting.
The seeds are laid out on moist soil to a depth of 1 cm. You can only lightly sprinkle them with a thin layer of sand or just barely press them into the soil with a spoon or a small piece of plywood.
Sowing kochia: lightly press the seeds into the soil
After this, the planting boxes are covered with glass or transparent film and placed on a warm windowsill. At room temperature, seedlings appear after 1-1.5 weeks. After this, they do not need shelter.
Young kochia seedlings are susceptible to a disease called “black leg,” in which the lower part of the stem first turns brown and then rots. Hence the name of the disease. Therefore, to reduce the percentage of damage to seedlings, the boxes with them after germination are kept in a cooler room at an air temperature of +10-15 ° C. Water the seedlings moderately: if there is a lack of moisture, the plants quickly wither; if they are waterlogged, the possibility of being affected by the “black leg” increases. When the seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, they are planted in separate pots.
Picking kochia seedlings
Although kochia seedlings are just as unpretentious as adult plants, unexpected spring frosts can destroy them. Therefore, it is better to plant it in flower beds when stable warm weather sets in at +18-20°C (last week of May - beginning of June). Before planting, nitrogen-containing fertilizers (for example, ammonium nitrate or superphosphate) are applied to the soil. After a month, fertilizing is repeated.
You can sow bassia directly into the ground. In this case, the seeds are placed in grooves at a distance of 30 cm from each other, so that in the future each plant has enough space for development. Immediately after sowing, water the beds and make sure that the soil is always moist.
There is another cunning way to sow summer cypress: in the fall, cut selected branches from the bush and place them in a bed in a greenhouse. In the spring, young shoots will appear under the dried “brooms”. They can be picked into separate pots or thinned out, left in place, and when the seedlings grow up, transplanted into flower beds.
Kochia can reproduce by self-sowing. If you leave a couple of mature bushes over the winter, shoots will appear in the spring. Thanks to the wind carrying the seeds, kochia can grow in any corner of the garden. Dense seedlings must be thinned out, otherwise the plants themselves will create shade for themselves and develop poorly.
The planting scheme depends on the desired result: for borders and hedges, plants are planted at a distance of 0.3-0.4 m from each other, and in flower arrangements the location is arbitrary.
Caring for kochia (photo)
Summer cypress - unpretentious culture. This “child of the semi-desert” is drought-resistant and requires minimal care. However, in hot summer weather, kochia still needs to be watered. It is better to do this in the morning and evening hours, otherwise burns of the leaves are inevitable.
Bassia grows actively with regular feeding. In the spring, before planting, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, and a week later they are “treated” again with the same preparations. A month later, foliar feeding is carried out with complex mineral fertilizers. To ensure that the leaves retain their bright color, the plants are watered every two weeks with liquid nutrient formulations (Kemira universal, Agricola, etc.).
Kochia loves aerated soils, so the ground around the bushes needs to be regularly loosened and weeded.
Another point in caring for kochia is its pruning, which it tolerates easily. Thanks to this, the bushes can be given any configuration. After cutting, to maintain the weakened plant, it is fed with liquid mineral fertilizers.
Shaping kochia haircut
Few summer residents know what kochia is.
Almost everyone knows the photo of the broom plant. Everyone should have a cheerful and fluffy brush suburban area, because it provides simply enormous opportunities for use!
Strictly speaking, previously people knew only one use for it - as a broom, but later breeders did their best, and now gardeners successfully use light green, crimson, carmine and even pinkish “panicles” of kochia to bring their wildest ideas to life.
By the way, if a person has the skills of a sculptor or simply has a certain craving, then he can use this plant as a material for sculpting his “sculptures.” It’s so nice to look at a bear or a swan. As if carved from a living green bush!
Basic growing rules
Summer residents consider growing kochia very exciting process. Kochia is a perennial plant - quite light-loving. If there is absolutely no space left on the site under constant sun, then you can highlight slightly darkened areas. The main thing is to periodically sunlight got there too. Otherwise, the kochia plant will lag far behind in development and will not be able to fully delight the owner with its living beauty. By the way, in nature, kochia grows in semi-desert areas, which contributes to the characteristics of its cultivation.
What kind of soil does kochia like? Growing this plant in terms of soil brings virtually no problems. Even forest and poor soil is suitable for it, but it does not tolerate soil with a significant acidic reaction. Heavily moist soils will also be undesirable, and this quality has also been derived from its natural habitat.
Experienced gardeners also note that kochia, planted and cared for in an open area without many close plants in the neighborhood, grows significantly better than that one that was planted next to other plants or its fellow plants. Kokhia loves space, because it is freedom that gives her the opportunity to increase her vegetative mass. If it is planted between bushes or without additional thinning, it begins to bloom ahead of time, and the decorative properties of its flowers are not so highly valued. This can also explain the fact that kochia is practically unsuitable for growing under standard indoor conditions.
In what period are kochia seeds planted?
Kochia seeds are usually planted first in small pots. Gardeners note that this plant has exceptionally high germination rates. No special knowledge is required to plant it in seedling pots. It is only important to create conditions - drained semi-dry soil, room temperature and sunlight. Nature can do the rest. The seeds should not be sprinkled deeply with soil. The soil should rise above the seeds by a maximum of 1 centimeter. You can even simply press the seeds into the soil and then cover them with a special material that will help maintain a moist environment. The seeds begin to germinate after about a week, and the covering material can be removed.
Already from mid-April you can plant plants in the ground. Kochia, which is grown in the southern region, can be planted even earlier. In a continental northern climate, you should be wary of frost, so the best time for planting in the ground is May-June.
You can also plant kochia even earlier, at the beginning of winter. To do this, you should wait for consistently low temperatures, and then plant the plants in special furrows, which are then covered with a thin layer of soil.
It is also advisable to build a greenhouse or simply cover it with paper, spruce branches or other means, but if the winter is planned to be snowy, then a few centimeters of fluffy snow will be enough to ensure the life of the seeds for the whole winter.
Seedling
Seedlings are people's favorite method of growing. To do this, kochia is planted in early spring in greenhouses or special containers that need to be filled with a special substrate. These seeds are lightly pressed into moist soil, covered with material to maintain specific moisture and temperature characteristics, and then placed in a bright location. The temperature during germination should be no more than 20 degrees. After the kochia, the planting and care of which will very soon yield results, shows its shoots, the temperature must be lowered to a maximum of 15 degrees.
Care
The main care for kochia is its haircut. A summer resident can even feel like a real hairdresser, because sometimes he has to cut his hair several times a season. In this case, the secateurs - best tool for the gardener. He can do almost anything with it. If the summer resident likes the natural forms of kochia, then he only needs to occasionally pinch the top leaves. This will help the plant stop growing slightly.
Gardeners may encounter several pests when growing kochia. In particular, spider mites love to settle on kochia leaves. Aphids can also take a liking to light green kochia bushes. In this case, it will be necessary to treat the plant with special insecticidal agents, which can be purchased at any store for summer residents. As a rule, after the initial treatment, another one is required, which should be carried out two weeks later.
