Planting and caring for mirabilis in the open field, 20 best varieties and cultivation
Mirabilis is a flowering plant that is most often found in South America. However, growers can grow this flower anywhere in the world. Before disembarking it, you need to deal with the landing and care of the mirabilis.
Description and features
Mirabilis, or night beauty, is a perennial plant that is often planted in gardens and flower beds. Such flowers have a tuberous root system. Flower bushes are round in shape, they grow up to 70-90 centimeters. Flowers can be yellowish, purple, crimson and red.
Kinds
There are six common varieties of mirabilis, which are often grown by flower growers.
Yalapa
It is a popular type and is suitable for decorating large flower beds. The advantages of Yalap include the following:
- multi-colored petals;
- unpretentious care;
- abundant flowering.
Such a flower is planted in early April so that in summer you can enjoy the flowering of mirabilis.
Multi-flowered
A perennial herbaceous seedling that grows up to eighty centimeters. The multi-flowered plant has powerful erect stems, which are covered with ovoid leaves. In late spring, inflorescences with a diameter of 4-7 cm form on the bushes of mirabilis.
Round-leaved
A compact shrub that grows well even in small pots. The height of the round-leaved flower does not exceed thirty centimeters. The leaves of such a mirabilis have an oval shape, their length is 7-8 cm. In the upper part of the seedlings, flowers are formed that bloom in the evening.
Blood red
It is a plant with fragrant reddish flowers that only open in the evening after three o'clock. The shrub of mirabilis is medium-sized, its height is 85 cm.The stems of the blood-red seedling are branched and at the same time erect.
Bright red
It is a broad, leafy flower bush with thick stems with a perfectly smooth surface. With proper care, the seedling grows up to ninety centimeters. The leaves of the plant are oval, colored green. The seedling begins to bloom in June.
Violet
This is a medium-sized variety of mirabilis that can be planted both outdoors and indoors. The main difference from other types of flower seedlings is the bright purple color of the petals. Flowers bloom in late spring and June.
Popular varieties
There are several popular plant varieties that are most commonly planted in flower gardens.
Iolanta
A short, compact spherical bush that grows up to fifty centimeters. Iolanta has multi-colored flowers, on the petals of which you can see colored strokes and stripes. Mirabilis bloom begins in mid-July and lasts until October.
Red lollipop
A wide and rounded shrub for planting and outdoor cultivation. The main stem of the Red Candy grows up to 80-95 cm. The leaves of the variety are green and oval in shape. The diameter of each flower is 6-8 centimeters.
Elvira
A rounded, medium-sized bush with erect stems that grow up to 70 cm in height. The leaf plates are oval, with a sharp and oblong tip. The inflorescences of such mirabilis are not very large, they have wavy red petals with a purple tint.
Tee Time Red
It is a frost-resistant variety that copes with nighttime drops in temperature. Tee Time Red shrubs are distinguished by thick foliage and oval shape. The cultivar has strong and tall stems that do not need a garter. T Time Red blooms in summer.
Tee Time Fomula Mixche
A spherical bush 0.8 meters high. On its stems, oblong leaves are formed in spring. Their surface is tinted darkish green. Inflorescences form in early May and bloom within two and a half weeks.
Marbles
These are unique flowers with two-color petals. Bushes of the Marbles variety are considered tall, since the height of the main stem is 80-85 centimeters. The stems are colored red, their surface is woody and durable. Marbles bloom in spring and summer.
Serenade
Serenade is considered a common variety of mirabilis, which is grown to decorate flower beds. The petals of this variety can be colored lilac, yellow, red and white. Among the advantages of Serenada, they distinguish resistance to frost and known fungal pathologies.
Marble
This is a flower with brightly colored petals, on the surface of which there are thin darkish veins. The marble variety belongs to the medium-sized varieties of mirabilis. Its bloom begins in the twenties of July and ends in August.
Mathis
Many people plant Mathis to decorate gardens and lawns. The main distinguishing feature of this variety is the rich color palette of flowers. They can be painted in bright pink, red, raspberry, yellowish and even lilac color.
Drakosha
When decorating a rabatka and flower beds, you can plant a Drakosha flower. This is a low-growing variety that can grow up to forty centimeters in the open field. Drakosha's flowers are medium in size, their diameter does not exceed 5-6 cm. They bloom in the evening, after 15-16 hours.
Cavalier
This is one of the most common varieties of mirabilis. The Cavalier's buds are simultaneously colored in two colors - yellow and orange. The plant blooms, like many other varieties, in the summer. Flowers open only in the evening, after sunset.
White lollipop
A medium-sized seedling, the height of which, when grown outdoors, is 65-70 centimeters. The White Lollipop has branched and powerful shoots with oval greenish foliage. At the end of spring, flowers 6-7 cm in diameter appear on the bushes of mirabilis. They begin to bloom on June 10-20.
Yellow lollipop
It is a flowering shrub with branched shoots with many elongated leaves. The yellow candy gets its name from the color of the petals, which have a golden hue. Mirabilis flower buds open in the evening and close in the early morning.
Purple lollipop
This is one of the tallest varieties in which the bushes grow up to a meter. The stems of the Purple Candy are thick and smooth. The leaves are oval, with a green surface. The flower petals are wavy, painted purple.
Grapefruit champagne
This variety has rounded-elongated bushes about sixty-five centimeters high. Grapefruit Champagne has a woody stem with upright lateral shoots. The flowers are reddish and give off a pleasant odor when blooming.
How to grow seedlings
Before planting mirabilis in open ground, you need to grow strong seedlings.
Preparation of planting material
So that the seedlings do not get sick, it is necessary to prepare the seed for planting in advance. For first, the seeds must be soaked in a liquid from manganese for half an hour. Then the seeds of mirabilis are dried and soaked for 24 hours in heated water.
How to prepare the container and soil
You can grow flower seedlings in three containers.
Landing box
Some growers grow seedlings in special boxes. They are half filled with soil mixture, which consists of compost, sand and earth. In such a vegetable mixture, seedlings will germinate many times faster.
Pots or cassettes
For growing small compact varieties, they use cassettes or pots. The containers are completely filled with soil mixture. In this case, the soil must be compacted so that it is located 5-8 millimeters below the side of the container.
Peat tablets
Peat tablets are popular among flower growers. They are filled with warm water to increase the size of the container slightly. Then the tablets are filled with fertilized soil.
Timing
People who are going to grow mirabilis using the seedling method must determine in advance the timing of planting seeds. Experienced flower growers advise doing this in early April, so that after 20-30 days the seedlings can be transplanted.
Sowing
After preparing the containers and seed, you can start planting. Flower seeds should be planted in shallow holes 5-8 millimeters deep. The planted seeds are sprinkled with soil and watered with water.
Temperature regime
When growing mirabilis, you will have to carefully monitor the temperature indicators. The most suitable temperature is 18-20 degrees. However, some varieties can tolerate lower values.
Illumination
It is a light-loving flower that must be grown in well-lit rooms. Therefore, lamps will have to be installed near the containers with seedlings.
Thinning
In order for the seedlings of mirabilis to grow better, you will have to deal with their thinning. It is recommended to remove the most weakened seedlings that may die after transplanting to the street.
Watering
Mirabilis is classified as a plant that copes with drought without problems. Therefore, it is not necessary to water the planted seedlings too often. It is enough to do this three times a week. For watering, it is better to use a liquid warmed up to room temperature.
Top dressing
Various fertilizers are used to feed mirabilis.
Calcium nitrate - "Buysky fertilizers"
Many growers use nitrogen-calcium fertilizing for feeding seedlings. They dissolve in water in a ratio of one to three. This fertilizer is suitable not only for flowers, but also for many vegetable crops.
Fertilizer Kit BioThrive Grow + BioThrive Bloom
To saturate the soil with nutrients, you can use BioThrive complex dressings. Regular use of such feeding mixtures strengthens the root system of plants, promotes their growth and further flowering.
"Gumistar"
This is a biological fertilizer that is often used when growing mirabilis seedlings. Such a top dressing should be used in the summer, before the flowering of seedlings.
"Citovit"
To stimulate the development and flowering of seedlings, use the mineral fertilizing mixture "Tsitovit". It contains biological additives that mirabilis needs. Citovit is used 2-3 times per season.
Powder Feeding Calcium
This is a powdery fertilizing agent that is used to enrich the soil with calcium. Before use, the powder is dissolved in water, after which the prepared mixture is poured under the root of mirabilis seedlings.
Dive
When the seedlings of mirabilis begin to grow, a dive is carried out. A separate pot is prepared for each flower. The containers are completely filled with soil mixture, after which the seedlings are planted in them.
Hardening
Seedlings are hardened in the second half of May, when the temperature rises to 15-17 degrees. Saplings are taken outside every day and brought into the room after sunset.
How to plant in open ground
There are several recommendations that will help to transplant seedlings correctly.
Timing
It is necessary to determine in advance the timing of planting a flower. Experts advise against replanting mirabilis seedlings too early. Therefore, it is transplanted to a new place at the end of May, after warming.
Seat selection
For mirabilis to bloom better, it must be planted in the most suitable place. It is necessary to plant it in a sunny bed that does not shade throughout the day. Also, the selected area should be well protected from the wind.
Ground requirements
The plant is very demanding on the soil. Do not plant it in areas with too acidic soil. Dry soils with a good level of loosening are considered ideal.
Landing scheme
Before planting mirabilis, holes are made on the site with a depth of 8-10 centimeters. The distance between them should be 25-35 cm. No more than one seedling is planted in each hole.
Care
Mirabilis, like other flowers, must be properly cared for.
Watering
Despite the fact that the mirabilis flower copes with drought, it still needs to be watered. This is done every four days. For each bush, 2-3 liters of heated water are consumed. In summer, the plant will have to be watered more often due to drought.
Loosening and weeding
Weeding and loosening the soil should be done regularly. Experts recommend to loosen the soil after prolonged rains and watering, after which a crust may form on the surface. Weeds are removed every 3-4 weeks.
Top dressing
For normal growth, the plant needs nutrients. Each bush is fed four times per season. Organic and mineral compositions are used as a top dressing for mirabilis.
Pruning
Pruning the flower is optional, as it will grow well without it. However, if dry twigs appear on the stem, they can be carefully cut with scissors.
Preparing for winter
Before the beginning of winter, the tubers of the flower will have to be dug out of the ground and placed in containers filled with peat and sand. The tubers are periodically moisturized and stored until spring. When it gets warmer, they are re-planted in their old place.
Pests and diseases
Sometimes mirabilis suffers from dangerous diseases that must be treated on time.
Root rot
This is a dangerous disease due to which the root system of the plant begins to rot. It is impossible to cure root rot, and therefore the infected bushes will have to be burned.To prevent the onset of the disease, crop rotation must be observed.
Rust
Due to rust, a reddish spot appears on the surface of the leaves. To get rid of rust, it is necessary to remove all affected leaves and treat the seedlings of mirabilis with a fungicide.
Spotting
With the development of such an ailment, the foliage of mirabilis becomes covered with brown spots. If you do not get rid of the disease in a timely manner, the infected seedlings will die. To eliminate spotting, drugs are used that contain mancozeb.
Reproduction
There are three ways mirabilis reproduce.
Seeds
The easiest way to propagate a flower is by seed. To do this, in the summer, ripe seeds are collected from adult bushes, which can be planted in the garden in spring.
Cuttings
Sometimes seedlings are propagated using cuttings. Before planting, they are kept in a peat mixture for rooting for several weeks, after which they are transplanted into the garden.
Tuber
Some growers propagate mirabilis with tubers. They are carefully dug out of the ground at the end of summer and stored in a cool room until spring. Tubers should be planted in late April or early May.
After flowering
After the end of flowering, the tubers of the plant are dug up. Then the shoots are cut off from them, after which the tubers are wrapped in paper and transferred to a box for further storage.
Growing errors
Common mistakes include the following:
- wrong choice of planting and growing a flower in the shade;
- waterlogging of the soil;
- irregular fertilization;
- the use of cramped containers when growing seedlings.
Use in landscape design
Florists recommend using tall mirabilis in landscape design. They must be combined with carnations, petunias, yarrow and chamomile.
Beneficial features
Anti-inflammatory drugs are prepared from the flower tubers. Also, from the foliage of mirabilis, solutions can be prepared that help get rid of abscesses and boils. For better wound healing, use the juice squeezed from the stems of the flower.
Conclusion
Some people use mirabilis to decorate flower beds and summer cottages. Before planting this plant, you need to understand the most famous varieties and recommendations for growing them.
