In order to decorate the room, many gardeners resort to growing ampelous plants. Caring for bacopa is not particularly difficult.
On the contrary, this plant is completely unpretentious, as it can grow well indoors, on a glazed balcony, and on open loggias.
Varieties of Bacopa
Bacopa's color palette is very diverse. You can find varieties of it, ranging from snow-white, and this row ends with rich red, and you can even find a bacopa with bright yellow flowers, violet and even blue. It is characteristic of this type of flower that some time after pollination (often a couple of years), the bacopa flowers turn white.
Common varieties of bacopa:
1. Giant Snowflake. The variety is large, the length of the stems can grow up to 90 centimeters. Looks great if grown in hanging baskets. The flowering period can last several months.
2. Bluetopia. Suitable for lovers of smaller plants, since the stems do not reach more than 30 centimeters in length. Blue flowers with a delicate lilac hue. Blooms for a long time.
3. ScopiaDoubleBlue. The length of the stems is about 40 centimeters. Pink bush flowers with a delicate purple hue cover the plant abundantly. The flowering period is long. Bacopa looks great when grown in hanging baskets.
4. Olympic Gold. The golden hue of the leaves clearly distinguishes the variety from its kind. The stems are long, can reach 60 centimeters. White flowers abundantly cover the bush, which in such a blooming state can be, for proper care, for a long time.
5. Snowstorm blue. It differs in large flowers. Their color is blue with an incomparable purple hue.
In fact, the concept of "bacopa" unites a group of more than a hundred species of plants that are native to Australia, Africa, America, India, Asia, and the Canary Islands. Now this plant is common in tropical and subtropical zones. Cultivated by man, this lovely plant is about a quarter century old.
The culture blooms for a long time, and flowering stems look excellent even after weather disasters. The flowering period begins at the bush, when its stems are densely covered with flowers. After some time, the abundance of flowering decreases, later it resumes with even greater force.
Shoots very beautifully fall down, can take root, creating new bushes. The only minus when growing bacopa is that the bush should be updated annually, since the decorative properties of the bush are preserved only during the first year of life.
Widespread use for landscaping, in landscape design is justified by the fact that bakopa is unpretentious in grooming.
Interesting! Many are aware of the decorative qualities of bacopa. But in addition to a beautiful bush that you want to admire for hours, it is widely used in medicine, cosmetology.
What you need to know about breeding when growing bacopa
Bacopa propagation can occur in several ways: cuttings or seeds. Consider the first method.
You can get cuttings by cutting off the top of the shoot. The time for planting, so that the stalk is well rooted, is suitable for January-March or August-September.
A light substrate should be used for rooting. Having planted the cuttings in a container, it is better to place them in a greenhouse or cover with a plastic bag. When it becomes noticeable that the stalk has begun to grow, the tip should be pinched. This has a beneficial effect on the formation of the bush. Planting, as experience has shown, is better in May.
If you decide to grow bacopa from seeds, you should first get seedlings from them. Do not deepen the seeds, they are sown on the surface, slightly pressed to the ground.
The optimum temperature at which plants should germinate is 20-24 degrees, in any case, it should not fall below 18 degrees.
The appearance of several true leaflets indicates the need to make a pick. The distance between plants should be at least 2 cm. The second pick is made in separate containers. After it, young plants should be fertilized.
Choose a place to land
It is best to grow and develop bacopa in a well-lit place, lighting in the early and evening is especially important, but at the same time, intense heat will not do it any good. In addition, the flowering intensity directly depends on the amount of lighting received. So in the penumbra near the bacopa, mainly leaf cover will grow, the branches will begin to reach the sun. But about the excess of sun for bakopa you need to talk, based on the variety.
For growing in open ground, bacopa is quite adapted, it can grow from early spring to late autumn. But we must ensure that the temperature does not fall below five degrees.
But it is not demanding on the ground. But prefers slightly acidic soil. It is also better to fertilize the ground well, good drainage will also benefit the plant.
Growing plants in open ground, it is better to add peat. But still, in pots, the plant feels better, especially if sand and humus are added to the soil in the sheet substrate to peat.
We carry out planting of bacopas and watering
If it is planned that the flower will grow in the open ground, planting can be done at the end of frost. The space between the bushes leave at least 10 centimeters. In fact, it depends on the variety of the bush.
Flowers are planted in small holes, pre-filling the drainage in them, only after that they place the bacopa, cover it with soil, lightly compact it and water it. In the future, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture. Watering is an important consideration when caring for bacopa. During this period should be watered in the morning and evening every day. Spraying is also useful, but when buds appear it must be stopped. In winter, watering is carried out as the soil dries.
Fertilizer
In spring and autumn, fertilize three times a month. Use should be organic and mineral fertilizers. Manganese and magnesium will help make sheets brighter and larger.
Diseases and pests that must be remembered when caring for bacopa
Despite the fact that, with proper care, the bacopa is resistant to diseases, otherwise the plant becomes vulnerable to them.
The most common disease is gray rot. The main reason for the appearance is excessive watering of the bush. It is very difficult to deal with it, as the root system is affected.
In order to fight, the plant should be transplanted, while removing all damaged roots. It is also better to use special tools. In the advanced case, the flower will have to be thrown away.
Another common pest is aphid. It is not difficult to deal with her if she was noticed when she first appeared. In this case, the flower is treated with a soap solution. This should be done several times during the week, after a week break, if necessary, the procedure should be repeated. Also, the aphid is afraid of a strong pressure of water.
Improperly created conditions for wintering (warm room, and subsequently overdried soil) is the reason for the propagation of whiteflies. In order to combat, it is desirable to cut off the entire flower or at least its damaged areas, put in appropriate conditions. But processing with special means of bacope can do much harm.
