Give the pachyphragma a shadow!
Pachyphragm photo
In the past year, in the end of April, fragrant small flowers blossomed in my garden, collected in flat inflorescences. The pachyphragm made itself felt, or thick wall. Abundant flowering lasted more than a month. A little later, young foliage appeared. I cut off the withered inflorescences, so that the plant delights the eye in summer with lush greenery. The curtain has grown quite well during the season. true, in autumn the foliage looked ugly. So I cut off some of it.
This year the pachyphragm came out of winter stunted, flowering was poor. Against the background of a fading white sanguinaria, she looked pitiful. Closer to summer, the plant completely withered. Apparently, the microclimate of my garden did not suit him. And there were no worthy neighbors in it. Irina NAVRUZOVA, Smolensk region.
COMMENTS OF THE SPECIALIST
Thick-walled - rhizome perennial, blooming simultaneously with sanguinaria. Sure, the company of snow-white beauties needs to be diluted with brighter neighbors. During flowering, the pachyphragm looks spectacular in a group of purple crested beetles, blue forest, whitish-green Caucasian hellebore. You can plant it as separate bushes., and in mass. In the latter case, it will brilliantly fulfill the role of a ground cover, weed-proof.
Pahifragma: leaving but "three elephants"
At all, there are no problems with thick-walled, if you initially follow the rules of agricultural technology. And there are not so many of them.
Remember, that the plant prefers shade or partial shade. maybe, you have chosen the wrong place. The pachyphragm could well dry out in the sun.
Often write, that in relation to the composition of the soil, the beauty is undemanding. And yet I was convinced from personal experience, what she likes wet, soils rich in leafy humus and humus. The plant is more likely to adapt to heavy loam, rather than sandy ground. Winter hardiness of the pachyphragm is lower, than the same sanguinaria. Therefore, in the fall, after you cut off old leaves from it, planting I advise to insulate. No need to install any frames. It is enough to sprinkle the plant with dry leaf litter.
About sowing
Many growers buy thick-walled seeds and sow them before winter.. In this case, to no avail. Meanwhile, in gardens, the plant gives abundant self-seeding. This is the whole secret of the reproduction of the pachyphragm. Seeds must be freshly harvested. Sow them directly into open ground (at the end of summer). Or, after flowering, you can divide the adult curtain into several parts.
Fearless beauty
It practically does not suffer from thick-walled diseases. In summer, fleas sometimes feast on its leaves. Basically, they do not do much damage. And you don't have to worry about the appearance of the flower garden, because by that time the ferns are growing, black cohosh, bought, hellebores and other shade-tolerant species. You can forget about the pachyphragm until next spring.
© Author: Anna RUBININA, collector, r. Moscow
