Plumbago

To the genus Plumbago, or Piglet (Plumbago), belongs 12 species of evergreen tender shrubs with thin drooping shoots. Of these, only two are usually grown. Their leaves are lanceolate soft light green, with stipules. The flowers are blue, white, and blue in short racemose inflorescences. Plumbago capensis, or P. auriculata, is better known as the blue jasmine, a species with lignified stems and shoots covered with oblong or elliptical leaves, slightly wavy at the edges. With the help of pruning, it is given ampel forms. Flowers of intense blue color with a central, darker stripe, tubular with five apical rounded lobes. They are collected in apical brushes, bloom in spring and autumn. In the open ground, they grow to a height of 4 m, in a pot of 1.5-2.0 m. They need support. The 'White' variety is characterized by white flowers. Pink plumbago (P. rosea, or P. indica, P. coccinea) is a shrub approximately 1 m tall with oblong-elliptical leaves. Purple-crimson flowers with a tubular corolla are collected in inflorescences-brushes, they bloom in June-August.

To the genus Plumbago, or Piglet (Plumbago), belongs 12 species of evergreen tender shrubs with thin drooping shoots. Of these, only two are usually grown. Their leaves are lanceolate soft light green, with stipules. The flowers are blue, white, and blue in short racemose inflorescences.

Plumbago capensis, or P. auriculata, is better known as the blue jasmine, a species with lignified stems and shoots covered with oblong or elliptical leaves, slightly wavy at the edges. With the help of pruning, it is given ampel forms. Flowers of intense blue color with a central, darker stripe, tubular with five apical rounded lobes. They are collected in apical brushes, bloom in spring and autumn. In the open ground, they grow to a height of 4 m, in a pot of 1.5-2.0 m. They need support. The 'White' variety is characterized by white flowers.

Pink plumbago (P. rosea, or P. indica, P. coccinea) is a shrub approximately 1 m tall with oblong-elliptical leaves. Purple-crimson flowers with a tubular corolla are collected in inflorescences-brushes, they bloom in June-August.

Cultivation

In the southern regions, plumbago can be grown in the open ground. It is widely used as a beautiful flowering plant for lighted places in cool rooms, taken out into the fresh air for the spring and summer months. Finally planted in the ground in early spring in a fertile garden land, fertilized with organic fertilizers at the rate of 5 kg /m2. When growing in a pot, a mixture of peat and fertile turf land with the addition of sand is used, and a complex fertilizer is applied at the rate of 20 g per bucket of soil. In spring and summer, once every 20-30 days, a complex fertilizer is added to the water for irrigation in the amount of 10 g per bucket. After flowering, the lead is cut off for better crown formation. In Cape porcupine, the shoots are shortened by 1/3 of the length. In pink piglets, approximately 15 cm from the base is left.

In the southern regions, plumbago can be grown in the open ground. It is widely used as a beautiful flowering plant for lighted places in cool rooms, taken out into the fresh air for the spring and summer months. Finally planted in the ground in early spring in a fertile garden land, fertilized with organic fertilizers at the rate of 5 kg /m2. When growing in a pot, a mixture of peat and fertile turf land with the addition of sand is used, and a complex fertilizer is applied at the rate of 20 g per bucket of soil. In spring and summer, once every 20-30 days, a complex fertilizer is added to the water for irrigation in the amount of 10 g per bucket. After flowering, the lead is cut off for better crown formation. In Cape porcupine, the shoots are shortened by 1/3 of the length. In pink piglets, approximately 15 cm from the base is left.

Location

In the air, plants are exposed or planted in the open sun or in partial shade. At home, they need a brightly lit and draughty place.

Temperature

Cape lead can withstand a minimum temperature of 7 °C, and pink lead does not tolerate temperatures below 13 °C. The maximum temperature when growing a plumb plant is observed no higher than 25-28 °C. In winter, in areas with mild winters, if the temperature drops below the minimum value, plants planted in the ground may lose their leaves, but they will reappear in the spring. Therefore, for the winter, it is recommended to thoroughly mulch the soil around the plants with straw.

Watering

In spring and summer, they are watered abundantly and often (make sure that the water does not stagnate), and in winter it is enough to keep the soil in a slightly moist state.

Transplant

Lead is transplanted into a new pot in the spring, using the same soil that was recommended above for cultivation.

Reproduction

The most common method of propagation of Cape porcupine is cuttings. In June-July, semi-woody cuttings 8-10 cm long are taken and planted in a mixture of peat and sand (1:1), maintaining the temperature at 16-18 °C. Pink pig cuttings are taken in April-May from basal shoots. The temperature during root formation is maintained at 18-20 °C. Stronger cuttings of both types are planted in a permanent place in the open ground or pot at the beginning of the next spring.

Diseases

Aphids and worms suck nutrients from the plant, and their sugary secretions develop worms. They get rid of pests by treating them with appropriate medications.

Acquisition

Lead can be purchased at well-stocked gardening centers and specialized nurseries. Usually buy potted plants tied to a support, in the budding phase (when several flowers are opened).