Exochord

Exochorda is a spectacular ornamental shrub, including about 7 species, the natural habitat of the plant is the territories of Central Asia, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. At the peak of the flowering period, which occurs in late autumn and early summer, the plant is strewn with a huge number of snow-white inflorescences, consisting of rather large flowers. The size, which can reach five centimeters in a circle, and the shape resembles a pear.

Varieties

• Exochord "Grandiflora" is a visitor from the Eastern side of China, preferring rocky and rocky terrain for growth. This species belongs to large-flowered and rather tall, it reaches a length of three meters, a spreading crown consists of densely planted ash-burgundy branches. The leaf plates are inversely lanceolate or oval, bluish-whitish and sharp from the lower edge, and denticles from the upper edge. The inflorescences are snow-white flowers in the amount of five to ten pieces, the petals are wave-shaped. The flowering period lasts about twenty days, has high resistance to temperature drop, drought. The species remains decoratively attractive throughout the growing season.

Exochord: photo

• Exochorda "Racemosa" large-flowered in its natural habitat grows in the western part of the People's Republic of China. The height of the bush varies from three to five meters. The volumetric crown during the flowering period seems to be painted white, these racemose inflorescences adorn the plant. Unlike the species described above, Exochorda Kististaya does not tolerate winter cold. "Racemosa" blooms from the first weeks of May.

Exochord: photo

• Exochord "Alberti" grows in the mountain forests of Central Asia, the height of an adult bush reaches four meters. The spreading branches are covered with foliage of a rich marsh green color. The leaf plates are quite large and their size ranges from edge to edge to edge seven centimeters, white flowers are formed at the top of the shoots, and the inflorescence is an umbrella eight centimeters long. It has a positive feature for most of our regions and it consists in good winter hardiness. It looks especially impressive during the flowering period, making it possible to prepare the material for future breeding.

All hybrid species of exochord are the result of crossing "Alberti" and "Racemosa". Such types of exochord are distinguished by more abundant flowering, their flowers are larger in size, but the culture itself is lower than those described above.

• A very bright representative among hybrids of exochord is large-flowered "The Bride" (exochord Ze bride), the variety is also known as "exochord bride", the beautiful exochord Ze bride stretches up to a meter or one and a half, its branches are strong and flexible, and the crown is spreading, creating an oval shape bush. The foliage of the Zebraid exochord is light green in color, and the racemose inflorescence consists of white flowers about ten centimeters in length.

Exochord Ze Bride: photo

• Exochord Niagara just below the exochord Bride and reaches a height of eighty to one meter, consists of many branches, foliage in the form of an elongated oval faded green color with snow-white umbrella-shaped inflorescences.
• The sawnose stringcarp is another representative of the exochord. The species is protected and included in the Red Book of Primorsky Krai. It is the "golden mean" between hybrids and natural species of exochord, the culture stretches no higher than one and a half meters. The leaf plates are wide lanceolate, pointed at the end, and small serrated along the perimeter.The flowering period begins around May 15th. On the territory of our country, such a rare representative of the exochord can be seen in the Botanical Garden of the city of St. Petersburg, she is about thirty years old. It grows well with proper care and under the supervision of specialists, freezing a little only in frosts, which are felt more strongly in the climate of a city with high humidity.

Exochord: landing and care

Exochord: video

When growing a large-flowered exochord in open areas, the most important and basic point is choosing a place to plant. It will depend on this how the flowering period goes. The plant prefers well-lit areas or light shade.

The planting pit is prepared in advance before the planting of the bush, a drainage layer is necessarily laid on the bottom, which is closed with a prepared substrate and, as a result, a slide is formed. The depth of the planting pit is about half a meter. Having placed the seedling on a prepared hill, it is covered with the remaining soil, and the root perimeter is covered with mulch to prevent the soil from drying out. There are no specific recommendations on the composition of the soil, choose a nutritious, rich in minerals and with medium acidity.

Irrigation scheme.

All exochord varieties prefer a well-moistened soil, and your main task is to maintain the proper water level. This will have a positive effect on growth and development, and will not be superfluous in the heat, although one of the main characteristics of the crop is its high drought tolerance. Water for irrigation should not be hard, better settled or rainwater, it is better to water the exochord in the evening hours.

Exochord nutrition.

They feed the plant during the period of active flowering or at the end of this process. As a fertilizer, natural organic, such as manure or humus, and chemical ones, which include the components necessary for the normal growth of the bush, are used. The frequency of fertilizing is about once every 40 - 45 days, more frequent application to the soil is not required, just follow the instructions for use.

Pruning.

Cutting Exochorda large-flowered is performed for the purpose of decorative (shaping the plant and its crown) and sanitary (removing bad branches, old and uneven). This procedure is carried out at the end of the flowering period. If you skip this moment, you can disrupt the flowering next season, since the new branches simply cannot develop to the proper state. But in the opposite version, there is also no positive effect, it is possible to remove shoots ready for flowering, since only last year's branches enter the flowering phase.

An important point in pruning is to activate the growth of new and healthy branches, for this only a third of the old ones are removed.

Flowering period.

At the peak of the flowering period, the exochord shrub transforms into a wonderful - a fabulous plant, it is covered with a snow-white carpet of a huge number of flowers. The graceful bush is so strewn with small flowers that the plant turns into almost a snow-white cloud, in which green leaves are practically invisible.

Landscape designers and gardeners who simply love the beauty of their site often combine the described culture in combination with similar plants, for example Spirea.

Wintering.

The resistance of the exochord to frost depends on the type and variety of the plant; some of them can safely tolerate a temperature drop of up to minus forty degrees. But when preparing for the winter, it is worth remembering that the branches are fixed by pressing them to the trunk or they are inclined as close to the ground as possible, otherwise there is a threat of fracture under the mass of the snow that has fallen.

The trunk circle is covered with mulch; spruce branches, humus or peat are perfect for this. Also, the exochord has a high ability to recover, and minor damage from cold weather quickly disappears with the arrival of warm weather.

Exochord: bush reproduction

Exochorda large-flowered: photo

Reproduction of the Exochord shrub by seeds.

When choosing a seed propagation method for breeding, be prepared for the fact that this method requires a lot of time and effort. In addition, the main goal - the flowering of the bush, you will achieve only after at least seven, or even ten years from the sowing of seeds. First of all, the seeds are sown in special containers, covered with soil mixed with sawdust and placed in a cool place until spring. And in March - April they are transplanted to the selected open area.

Reproduction by layering.

The abduction method is performed when warm weather is established without the threat of frost. For this method, small recesses are prepared and the lower branches are placed in them, filling them with pre-prepared soil and fixing them. In about 20 - 30 days, the stem grows back, and it is covered with soil by fifty percent. Separation from the mother bush is carried out with the onset of autumn.

Propagation by cuttings.

The grafting method is carried out after the flowering period ends. For cuttings, select that part of the branches that have not yet completely lignified. The cutting should be about fifteen centimeters in size. The environments are performed at an angle, in place under the kidney.

The finished cutting is placed in a container filled with a substrate consisting of earth, sand and humus, and the process is completed by covering the planting with a film. The seedling is transferred to the open ground after a year.

Diseases and pests of large-flowered exochord

Exochord: photo

Exochorda large-flowered has good immunity to diseases and pests. Infections are possible if the irrigation scheme is violated. With an excess of water in the soil, the general condition of the plant deteriorates, the branches lose their elasticity, the foliage becomes lethargic and loses its attractiveness. Also, a lack of light leads to the elongation of the bush and poor formation of flower buds, and this already becomes the reason for the reduction in size and deterioration of the condition of the inflorescences of the exochord.