Growing kochia from seeds: how and when to plant. Growing kochia (summer cypress) from seeds, care in open ground

Among the huge variety of annual flowering plants, kochia deserves great attention. Despite the fact that its flowers are inconspicuous and small size, the plant itself looks original due to the rich color of the leaves and the bizarre shape of the bush itself.

Red Kochia

Kochia belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family and is native to China. It is represented by lush bushes reaching a height of one meter or more. Has a rich green color, which by autumn can turn yellow or burgundy color A. There are more than 80 species of kochia and it is distributed throughout the world. The reasons for this success of kochia are its decorativeness, ease of cultivation and ease of care.

Sowing seeds

IN southern regions countries, kochia seeds are sown in May, directly into the soil. Kochia is quite cold-resistant and is not afraid of night frosts. In other regions of Russia, kochia is grown through seedlings. Best timing for sowing seeds for seedlings - the first ten days of April.

The seeds are very small, so they cannot be planted deep into the ground; just press them a little into the ground. Suitable for seedlings garden soil mixed with rotted manure. Before planting, moisten the soil, which will give good and friendly shoots. Boxes with sown seeds are placed in a place where there is diffused sunlight. The temperature in the room is maintained at 18-22 degrees. To prevent the top layer of soil from drying out, you need to spray it with water every day. Shoots will appear a week after sowing. At this moment, you need to have enough light, otherwise the sprouts will stretch and weaken.

Picking seedlings

When the seedlings grow to 5 - 7 cm, for their further full development they should be dived. To do this, they are removed with a clod of earth and moved to separate container. After picking, the plants continue to be watered from time to time and provided with sunlight.

Wild Kochia

Transplanting kochia into the ground

In May, the seedlings will reach a height of 15-20 cm and it is time to transplant them to permanent place. It is advisable to choose a sunny and wind-protected place for it. The soil for kochia should be light and permeable to water. When a place is chosen, holes are dug for planting. The planting step should be 35-40 cm, otherwise they will be cramped later. The prepared holes are filled with water, and then seedlings are planted there, keeping a lump of earth on the roots.

Plant care

During the summer growing season, kochia should be watered and fed with fertilizers. At a minimum, plantings should be fed twice a summer with complete mineral fertilizers. Fertilizers promote the growth and development of plants and increase their resistance to diseases.

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 was in this ancient country that a significant number of varieties of this flora were bred, several centuries ago brought to Europe 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 bush tolerates pruning painlessly, regaining its lost splendor in a very short term.

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, V landscape design kochia 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 composing winter compositions in designer bouquets.

In the photo there is red kochia

Summer cypress kochia called in common parlance scientific literature– bassia. The leaves of the plant are fed to silkworm caterpillars. Flora is also famous healing properties, which have long been used in Chinese medicine to relieve itching and fever.

Now for production medicinal infusions and decoctions used that are inconspicuous and inconspicuous in appearance 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 disembarks at May days, it’s better if 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 exact date varies depending on 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 preparing the soil, to which is added river sand, humus and . IN 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. Great idea is the cultivation of 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. The healthy appearance of decorative fluffy bushes depends on this, which will certainly give an original appearance 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 haircuts, 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 of 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- slim and high grade, with downward, narrow leaves, acquiring a burgundy color as they develop. Kochia jade unusually attractive rapid growth and is convenient for creating, through cutting, artistic sculptors from bushes.

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 shape bushes that delight 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 culture is rich nutrients, is 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.

Kochia is favorite plant many gardeners and ordinary flower lovers. Today this ornamental plant is very popular. This popularity is explained by the fact that kochia can gain splendor in a short time. In addition, the plant is well able to tolerate decorative pruning. Kochia is native to China. It was there that it was bred a large number of plant varieties that can take on absolutely any color during growth. The plant was brought to Europe in the 17th century by the botanist Koch. In this article we will talk about how to grow a flower such as kochia from seeds. You can also learn about when to plant and remember other important points.

It is worth saying that if you open special literature in floriculture, you can see that this plant has many names. For example, kochia can be called:

• broom tree,
• Basia,
• Summer cypress.

Kochia is very similar to cypress. And if you look at these plants from afar, they can be confused. The plant is considered unpretentious. Minimal care is required for growth. Kochia can tolerate a lack of moisture and light shading. IN favorable conditions When growing, the plant can grow to a height of 1 meter.

How to grow kochia from seeds

Well, the time has come to talk about how to grow kochia from seeds at home. At the beginning, it is worth emphasizing that the seeds of the plant have a high degree of germination. And the vigor of growth allows the plant to reproduce by self-sowing.

On a note! Pay attention to the expiration date of the plant seeds. Their shelf life should not exceed 1.5 years.

If you are going to sow the seeds in the ground, then choose the first days of May for this purpose. It is during these dates that frosts do not occur, and the plant is very afraid of them. In general, the plant can be sown until mid-July. Kochia grows very quickly. Therefore, she still has enough time to grow and please you. Of course, annual seeds will grow well in a place where there is a lot of light. When planting, it is not recommended to cover the seeds with soil. When planting, it is enough to press the seeds lightly into the soil, which should be moist. After which, the soil with the seeds must be covered with white covering material.

The covering material must be removed after a week or two. If it gets sharply cold, then leave the fabric. You need to remove it when warm weather arrives. When the first shoots appear, then the sprouts should be thinned out. Leave a distance of 10 cm between the plants. When the kochia becomes 15 cm long, it must be sent to a permanent place of growth. Kochia can also be sown before winter. But it is best to do sowing 2 weeks before the onset of frost. In another case, if done differently and in warm weather, the plants will germinate and simply die. If you sow kochia before winter, then place its seeds in shallow furrows and sprinkle with a thin layer of soil, which should be loose and fertile.

Features of growing seedlings for planting in open ground

In this section it is worth talking about how to grow kochia seedlings from seeds. Kochia seedlings are grown so that it becomes possible to acquire very early ornamental plant that will decorate personal plot. Seeds are sown for seedlings in March-April. But then it’s worth talking about how to grow seedlings step by step:

1. Prepare your garden soil. Add a small part of humus, river sand and peat to it.
2. Pour this soil into a container or box and be sure to moisten it.
3. Make shallow grooves or simply sprinkle the seeds on the ground. Cover the box with covering material. As a result, a special microclimate can be created.
4. Crops need to be provided diffuse light sun. Also, crops should be in room temperature.
5. Spray the soil daily to prevent it from drying out.
6. After a couple of weeks or one week have passed, the container with the seedlings should be moved to a place where there is more sunlight. If the plants are elongated, their tops should be trimmed.
7. If the plants reach a height of 5-7 cm, then they can be planted in peat pots. At the same time, do the work carefully. Try not to damage the clod of earth with roots.
8. It is recommended to water young kochia regularly and do one-time feeding, using any nitrogen fertilizers.

When the annual plant reaches a height of 15-20 cm, it can be planted in open ground. Be sure to plant kochia in loose soil and choose a sunny place for this purpose. You can also add sand, ash and a small amount of lime to the soil for planting. acidic soils. In order for kochia to reach its characteristic size, it is important to leave a distance of 30 cm between plants. And if you want to create from kochia decorative fence, then the distance can be 15-20 cm.

Caring for kochia in open ground

Now you can learn about how to grow kochia seedlings. Now it’s worth talking about how to care for this plant. Remember that competent and regular care can make your kochia even more beautiful.

So, the most important condition in care it is watering. It is not recommended to do it often enough. Kochia may suffer from precipitation. If the weather is dry, the kochia should be watered once a week. Do not allow moisture to stagnate. Remember that this phenomenon is more dangerous than drought. To keep the soil moist, mulch with small crushed stone, decorative stones and bark.

Regular application of fertilizers will quickly restore the vegetative system of the plant after cutting. In addition, thanks to fertilizers, the plant will look great. The feeding schedule should be as follows:

Active plant growth occurs one and a half months after sowing. If kochia is planted in open ground, then apply full mineral fertilizers ten days after germination.

After a month or a month and a half, the annual plant is fed with any mineral fertilizer, in which nitrogen predominates.

After cutting and forming the bush, another fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizer is necessary, which will allow the leaves to quickly grow.

Pests and diseases of kochia. How to deal with them

So that kochia grows well in open ground necessary correct landing and quality care. It is worth noting that care activities should not be limited to watering and cutting. It is necessary to ensure that the kochia does not get sick and is not attacked by pests.

It is worth saying that various kinds Pests do not like kochia. That's why they avoid it. However, spider mites can still appear on kochia. If this happens, then the plant should be sprayed with a weak solution of an insecticide such as Nero. This drug is very effective. The drug is diluted with 1 ml of product per 1 liter of water. You can get rid of this pest in one treatment.

At the seedling stage, the annual plant may be affected by a fungal disease called blackleg. As a result of this disease, the kochia stem at the base turns black and thins, and the seedling itself dies. As preventive measures gardeners cultivate the soil in the nursery. You can dust the ground with ash or spill it with a weak solution of manganese. It is also worth lowering the temperature in the room where the seedlings are located.

Features of decorative haircut

Kochia is considered an excellent processing object on which novice designers can train their skills. Many objects can be created from kochia by cutting. After pruning, the plant is able to maintain its shape for a long time and decorate any garden area. Designers highlight following dates haircuts:

• A haircut is carried out every two weeks at any time of Kochia growth.
• Trimming is carried out at a time when the plant reaches maximum growth and development.

On a note! Under no circumstances should pruning be done if the plant is in the stage of seed formation.

Kochia and its use in landscape design

Gardeners plant summer cypress to make the landscape more decorative. You can plant not only single specimens, but also groups. Plants are planted as a hedge or border.

Kochia planting options:

• Tapeworm - in a single copy among ground covering plants or on the lawn.
• Group - as a background in flower beds or in a mixborder.
• Alpine hill, rock garden - against the backdrop of large stones.
• Border - as a hedge.
• Topiary - as a plant for decorative cutting and crown formation.

Mistakes gardeners make in growing kochia

You could learn a lot from this article. And you probably realized that this annual is incredibly easy to grow. However, for this to happen this way, it is necessary to take into account some points. So, what to do if:

No shoots. Pay attention to the expiration date of the seeds.

Poor seed growth. This happened because the seeds were sown too deep. As a result, the seeds did not receive enough sunlight.

The seeds do not germinate at the same time. The annual plant does not like deep sowing. But the seeds should not be on the surface either. Cover them with a layer of soil.

The seeds sprouted quite rarely. This happened because the seeds suffocated due to lack of fresh air.

The shoots turned out to be of different sizes and uneven. This occurs due to a violation temperature regime. The room should not be too hot.

Kochia and its use

Except decorative qualities, kochia can be food for farm animals. Brooms are also made from it. The plant can be used in folk medicine. It is used to prepare medicines, which can be used in the treatment of many diseases. Such diseases include:

• Inflammation;
• Eczema,
• Heart diseases.

Kochia is the most common type of plant, which is often used in garden plots. And there is no need to be surprised by this. Landscape compositions with the use of this plant they will not lose their attractiveness until late autumn.

Prutnyak, broom, ruff, bassia - all this popular names 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 they 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;

Childs' Kochia – 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 woolly-flowered - a low-growing variety summer cypress(0.1-0.6 m) yellow-green. 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. Kokhia – 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. Her root system When moisture stagnates, it is susceptible to various rots.

Methods for planting kochia (photo)

Green cypress planted in flower beds with seedlings or seeds.

To obtain seedlings, kochia seeds are sown in the second half of March in bowls with universal soil, to which perlite or coarse sand. 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).

For successful germination 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, but unexpected spring frosts could destroy her. Therefore, it is better to plant it in flower beds when establishing a stable warm weather+18-20оС (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 one more tricky way sowing summer cypress: in the fall, cut selected branches from the bush and place them on 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 pattern depends on 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 they spend foliar feeding complex mineral fertilizers. To maintain the color of the leaves bright color, the plants are watered every two weeks with liquid nutrient compositions (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

Kochia is an annual or perennial subshrub of the Amaranthaceae family. In another way it is called summer cypress. The plant is mainly distributed in desert and steppe zones North America, Africa and Eurasia. Kochia is often used in landscape design, as it can quickly gain “green mass” and easily tolerates shaping haircuts. Its peculiarity is the ability to change color with the onset of autumn.

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Description

Kochia is an ornamental plant with a lush, developed crown. The height of the subshrub reaches 60–150 cm. It consists of an erect woody stem and many branched thin shoots. The leaves are thin, linear, entire, petiolate, soft to the touch, appearance reminiscent of cypress needles. Covered with a short edge.

The leaf blades of a young bush are light green or dark green in color. Closer to autumn they acquire an orange, yellow, pink or crimson hue. The taproot goes 3 meters into the ground.

The flowers are inconspicuous, very small, spike-shaped or paniculate, collected in inflorescences and located in the axils of the apical leaves. Summer cypress blooms from July to September. The fruits are miniature nuts with seeds that remain viable for two years. If they are not collected, they scatter on the ground and sprout in the spring even in Siberian conditions, growing up to one meter by August.

Fresh leaves of the plant are added to soups. Kochia is also used in medicine: it helps with gonorrhea, edema, rheumatism, skin inflammation, erysipelas, and eczema. The plant has tonic, bactericidal, cardiotonic, diaphoretic, laxative and diuretic properties.

Types and varieties

The most popular types and varieties of kochia used in landscape design:

View	Description	Varieties
Kochia broom	This is a low spherical plant. With the arrival of autumn, the bush turns reddish-burgundy. It withstands slight frost and retains its decorative appearance until late autumn.	Sultan is a low variety, reaching a height of 60 cm. Round-shaped bushes that turn red in autumn. Jade – fast growing plant 100 cm high. It is used for curly haircuts. Green Forest - grows up to one meter. Easily tolerates pruning and is suitable for group compositions. It is often used to design paths in the garden.
Kochia wooliflora	The stem of the plant is covered with curly short hairs. Grows in height up to 60–80 cm
Kochia dense-flowered	Tall species, up to 130 cm high, with horizontally located shoots. The flowers have long white hairs at the base, which give the shoots a slight pubescence.



Growing seedlings

Kochia is grown through seedlings, and the seeds are also sown directly in open ground. Seedling plants enter the growing season much earlier, take shape faster and acquire a decorative appearance. Those sown directly into the ground grow more slowly, but they are more resistant to disease and adverse weather conditions.

Since summer cypress is used in decorative purposes, then it is more convenient to grow it with seedlings at home. Sowing time depends on climatic features. IN middle lane Kochia seedlings are planted in the last week of March. For this purpose, containers with a depth of 12 cm are used. The soil for planting should consist of the following components:

• fine-grained high-moor peat;
• perlite;
• crushed humus;
• fine-grained river sand.

The soil is disinfected. To do this, it is heated in the oven at a temperature of +60 degrees, after which it is spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate. The boxes are filled with prepared soil. The soil surface is leveled, lightly compacted and well moistened. The seeds are evenly distributed over the surface without being buried into the substrate. They are sprinkled with a thin layer of sand on top, which is then moistened.

The boxes are covered with spunbond or lutrasil and taken to a bright room with a temperature of +18... +20 degrees. The sprouts sprout in 8–10 days. The shelter is removed, and the container is moved to another place where the temperature is 3-5 degrees lower. Water the seedlings with a thin stream of water.

Seedlings are often infected with blackleg. To protect it from death, you need to maintain an optimal temperature.

The soil should not be overwatered or soaked, but it should not dry out either. At the slightest hint of drought, the leaves wither and are restored with great difficulty. If the seedling containers have drainage and the soil is light and loose, then the sprouts need to be watered twice a week.



Picking, fertilizing and planting

To prevent the kochia bush from growing too fluffy and to maintain its compactness and neat appearance, seedlings should be planted in individual pots with a diameter of 10 cm. They are transplanted 2–3 weeks after the sprouts appear, and they must have at least 2 leaves. Containers and soil are disinfected. Three seedlings are placed in each pot. Subsequently, the weak ones are removed, and the strong ones are left for planting. The containers are placed in the brightest place.

Sprouts must be fed three times before planting in open ground. First time use complex fertilizer for seedlings a few days after the dive. The next feedings are carried out after 2 weeks, also using complex remedy, in which nitrogen predominates.

You can plant seedlings in open ground in mid-May, but it is advisable to wait until the end of the month. Choose a sunny place without drafts. The soil should be loose, fertile and not waterlogged. If the sprouts are planted in a regular flower garden, then the distance between them should be 30 cm, and if the plant will be used as a low hedge or border, then 15 cm. While the bushes are taking root, they are watered abundantly, and after 2 weeks they are fed. Then the first cutting is carried out and fertilizers are applied again.

Planting seeds in open ground

Kochia can be grown from seeds that are planted directly in open ground. This is usually done in May, when the daytime temperature is +18 degrees, and at night it should not fall below +12 degrees. The soil on sunny place loosen, crush lumps and water. It is best to sow seeds in the morning, spreading them over the surface of the soil. There is no need to sprinkle them, but press them a little into the top layer of soil and cover them with a non-woven cloth.

Growing kochia in this case will take much longer, since seedlings appear only after three weeks and often look stunted. The fabric is removed, and the young plants are thinned out so that the distance between them is at least 10 cm.

Sowing in open ground is also carried out in late autumn. This should be done shortly before the onset of frost, but not earlier, otherwise the seeds may germinate and die in the winter.

Care

Kochia does not have any special care requirements if the soil is well saturated with nutrients and permeable to water. This is a drought-resistant plant, so if there is regular precipitation, there is no need to water it additionally. But if the weather is hot and dry, then good growth summer cypress needs to be systematically moistened. At the same time, water stagnation in the soil should not be allowed, as this will deteriorate its decorative properties, and sometimes the plant will even die.

Every 10 days, kochia is fed with mineral fertilizer, which should contain more nitrogen than potassium and phosphorus. For feeding you can use:

• potassium chloride;
• superphosphate;
• ammonium nitrate.

The plant must be weeded. It has fairly stable stems; there is no need to tie them up. While creating suitable conditions the bush can reach its peak height in a month or a little more.

Summer cypress grows quite quickly, as it produces many shoots. It tolerates pruning and shaping well. Bushes need to be fed after each trimming ammonium nitrate. The procedure is carried out 1-2 times a month, giving them a certain shape. It can be a pyramid, an egg, a column, a cube, a ball. The top needs to be pinched in a timely manner.

Diseases and pests

Kochia is resistant to diseases and pests. If rot develops in rainy summers, the diseased bushes are destroyed and healthy ones are watered with potassium permanganate.

Sometimes a plant is attacked by a spider mite, which damages its greenery. To get rid of it, special drugs are used - Akarin, Neoron, Bitoxibacillin. You can also use a decoction of cyclamen tubers or a soap solution.