Black cohosh: planting and care in the open field

Even the most inexperienced gardener can grow black cohosh and decorate his house with it for many years. This graceful perennial plant belongs to the buttercup family. The elegance of its tall, candle-like flowers makes the plant very popular in landscaping. Flower beds, parks and gardens around the world can be decorated with them. In addition, traditional medicine does not leave black cohosh without attention and uses it to treat various diseases.

Black cohosh: description

Translated from the Latin black cohosh, it is "cimicifuga", but different peoples called it differently. The green parts and roots of this plant contain insecticides, known to all gardeners as an insect repellent substance, which is reflected in the name of the flower in Russian culture. But in Germany the plant got its name due to its appearance - "silver candle".

Black cohosh grows up to 2 meters in height and has tall and powerful peduncles. The height of the plant depends on the variety, as well as on how the area on which it grows is illuminated. The height of medium specimens is at least 40 centimeters, and a maximum of 1 meter.
The older the plant, the more powerful its root system becomes, which goes deep into the ground. Due to this, the perennial long-liver is drought-resistant, frost-resistant and easily tolerates heat.

Bushes black cohosh are covered with large bright leaves from the very base of the stem and gather in a long rosette. The color of the leaves depends on the type of plant, they can be green, with a red or blue tint, or painted in the color of chocolate with a burgundy tint. The leaves are serrated three times dissected and bears a distant resemblance to large parsley.

A strong shoot, sometimes two, grows from a rosette on the leaves growing at the roots. At its top, a large peduncle is formed, which has a cylindrical or elongated pointed shape. The inflorescences are collected from hundreds of small buds and small petals, as well as from very long stamens, which make the flowers fluffy.

Black cohosh can show different shades on its flowers, they depend on which variety the plant belongs to. The opening of flowers occurs gradually, from the bottom up to the top. Flowering can last more than a month, the early species begin to delight with their beauty in the middle of summer, and the later ones at the beginning or middle of the autumn season.

Landscaping:

Due to the fact that black cohosh varieties can be of different heights, inflorescences can be of different lengths, and the color palette is wide enough, the plant can become an adornment of various flower arrangements, alpine hills and borders. It can be used to decorate the garden with a bright accent or serve as a backdrop for other flowers.

When planting a bush as a single, you should pay attention to varieties with high growth and bright colors of the inflorescence. A good option might be: European cimicifuga, Daurian or atropurperia. With the help of these types, you can decorate the shore of a reservoir or decorate walls and fences.
Black cohosh of medium height will look great in flower beds with different, different flowers, and black cohosh of small stature can become an adornment of rock gardens, borders and flower beds.

Low-growing and cover crops can be a good addition to black cohosh. Host, anemone, perennial moss, maple leaves, you can not only make a beautiful frame for cimicifugi, but also protect the land from moisture loss and weed growth. Curly lungwort can also be used as mulch.

When making a plan for decorating a garden, it is important to consider the neighborhood of plants. For black cohosh, you need to choose plants that grow under the same conditions as he does, and also need the same care.
Ferns, aconites, astilbe, buzulniks and sedges will become good neighbors for black cohosh. It is easy to refine its background with conifers.

Black cohosh breeding methods:

Black cohosh perennial bushes reproduce easily and can be obtained in several quantities within a short time. It can be propagated using cuttings, seeds and root division.

The seed method of growing the flower and scented black cohosh is the most difficult. In order to see the first shoots, it will take at least 6 months, and then you will have to wait a few more years before enjoying the beauty of flowering. With the help of chancing or dividing the bush, all processes are much faster, but they are unreliable. Temperature drops, bright sun, dry soil, as well as excessive moisture, often cause the death of the planting material.

Cuttings

It is best to propagate plants using cuttings in the spring. Those that are cut in the fall need warmth, rooting in the house, and more protection, and therefore more time. This method does not harm the bush, in order to propagate it, it is enough to cut off a small part of the shoot containing a pair of buds.
You can also use independent sprouts growing around the central root of a plant in adulthood. In order for the cutting to be guaranteed to take root, it must be cut into a growth-stimulating solution for several days, and then placed in a pre-moistened and loose soil.
This method will ensure the fastest development and flowering, which will occur in the same year. As for the mother bush, such procedures are not terrible for him.

Dividing the bush

The width of the black cohosh bush increases annually and begins to take up more space in the garden. When he reaches the age of six, he can begin to divide it into parts and transplant it into different areas. To do this, you need to dig it up completely and carefully, without damaging the roots and remembering that they go deep.
Next, you need to divide the rhizome into parts without affecting the central part. Each of the parts should have several live buds on the shoots, which remain on it. All parts can be transplanted into a previously prepared area or into a container, allowing the plant to take root better. A plant with a main root can be left where it grew.

Seed method

To propagate a plant by seed, you need to stock up on patience and time. It is important to remember that the seeds cannot be stored, so they should be sown immediately, and they also have limited germination. There are some peculiarities of growing black cohosh with seeds.

Planting seeds collected in the autumn should be carried out immediately after the collection of seeds and the end of flowering, since leaving it, they will lose their germination.

Sowing black cohosh seeds is carried out in containers that are filled with loose soil mixture. Then they are placed in a warm room where the thermometer will not drop below +20 degrees. They must stay there for three months. Watering should be done infrequently, the land should remain semi-dry.

It is not necessary to create a greenhouse effect by covering the container with a film so that the seeds do not vomit.

After three months, the plants must be transferred to the one where the temperature is kept at +16 degrees and kept in such conditions for the same amount of time.

The bores are grown in the same way as regular seedlings.They can be planted in the garden at any period of formation. The main thing is to carry out planting activities after the threat of frost disappears.

The bush will show growth and development annually, but the first flowering is possible no earlier than in 4 years.

The significant disadvantages of seed reproduction include the difficulty of growing such a plant in central Russia. This is due to the cold and snowy winters. This method will be most suitable in the south of the country.

Growing: when and where to plant

The bookmark for success in the cultivation of cimicifugi occurs during planting. In one place, a perennial plant can develop for 25 years, but does not like transplanting. For this reason, you need to be very responsible when choosing a site. If the place is chosen incorrectly or the seedlings were chosen inattentively, then it will be impossible to grow a flowering beautiful plant even with proper planting and care.

When buying seedlings or growing them on your own, you need to inspect them well before planting them in the garden. Make sure they don't show any signs of illness, damage or dryness. During planting, the plant should have formed buds, the shoots should be strong, have a healthy appearance.

When to plant

Planting events take place during the spring and autumn periods. The recommendations of experienced gardeners talk about planting a plant after the air warms up to +15 degrees. By planting seedlings in the spring, you can provide them with a longer time for adaptation and good rooting, which means it will be easier for them to survive the winter frosts. Also during this time it will be possible to understand whether the correct site has been selected.

A place

Tsimtsifuga is unique in that it will have good development and flowering even in semi-shady areas. This fact is very much appreciated by gardeners and designers. After all, this allows you to decorate those parts of the garden that could not be decorated with other plants.

Black cohosh likes to grow in partial shade or in areas where the midday sun does not touch the plant.

Soil preparation:

Black cohosh actively grows, develops and blooms profusely for many years, therefore it needs a soil with a lot of nutrients. Preparing the soil before planting seedlings must be thorough.

The site must be dug deeply and the earth must be supplemented with sand, peat and mineral fertilizers, if necessary. It is impossible to add lime to the soil, since the acidity in the soil is good for the plant.
The planting holes should be 60 centimeters apart, 50 centimeters deep and the same width.
A drainage layer of broken brick, pebbles or gravel is laid on the bottom.
The holes are filled by a third with rotted manure, compost, wood ash or complex fertilizers pre-mixed with soil.
If everything is done correctly, the plant quickly adapts and begins to develop without requiring additional nutrition for several years.

Black cohosh planting rules:

Plants are planted after the threat of frost disappears and the thermometer will show + 15 and above. When planting seedlings, it is necessary to preserve the integrity of the earthen coma. With an open root system, before planting, you must carefully spread the roots so that they are level and directed downward.
After the plant is planted, water it abundantly using warm water. There is no need to tamp the ground. Next, a layer of mulch from dry peat, straw and sawdust is applied to the trunk circle. Mulching will help keep the soil moist and stop weeds from growing.

Please note that the distance between mulch and stems should be about 5 centimeters.

Care:

Caring for black cohosh is quite simple and does not require any special skills.The plant should be watered moderately, fed, cut and the bushes should be prepared for the winter cold. These are all activities that need to be carried out periodically.

Watering

Black cohosh is a water-loving plant and does not tolerate drying out of the earth. If you deprive the plant of moisture, the leaves and flower stalks will wither. It is immeasurably important not to water the plant too much, since stagnant water will lead to the development of putrefactive diseases and to the death of the bush.

Watering should be done infrequently, but use a large amount of water to feed deep horses. On hot days, regardless of whether the bush grows in the shade or in the sun, it must be watered twice a week.

Fertilization

Black cohosh needs fertile soil, but if you correctly fertilize before planting in the garden, then you will not have to think about nutrition for three years.

In the fourth year of life, the plant must be fed so that it demonstrates lush flowering and all the decorativeness of its leaves. In early spring, he will need nitrogen-based fertilizers. During the period of bud formation, fertilizers based on potassium and phosphorus must be added to the soil.
Organic fertilizers are no less suitable for the plant. Overripe manure can serve as mulch in the fall, when preparations for winter begin.

Mulching

When the plant grows, it does not allow weeds to develop due to the lush rosette of leaf plates, due to which a thick shadow is formed under it. For this reason, it is extremely rare to weed the bushes. With the help of mulching, you can significantly simplify all the care of an ornamental plant.
Loose organic materials with a layer of 5 centimeters will help protect the earth from moisture loss and keep it loose. You can mulch with sawdust, foliage or peat.

Preparatory measures for the winter season:

As an adult, black cohosh can tolerate winter cold well in the Middle Lane. Gardeners who grow it in the Moscow region say that the plant does not need any shelter and that it tolerates winter well. In those regions where winters are especially harsh or there is not enough snow, the bushes should be covered with spruce branches or dry leaves.
In order for the plant to winter well, nitrogen fertilizers cannot be used from mid-summer. Nitrogen contributes to a set of green mass, which means that by winter the plant will become weak and for the winter period it will not have enough strength.

Cropping:

To prepare black cohosh for winter, it is enough to cut off all the leaves and stems to the very base. This must be done before the cold weather sets in.
The bushes of the first years of life should be covered with a 10 cm layer of mulch. Especially, this will be done in regions where temperature drops and severe winters often occur.

In order to preserve the decorative effect of the bush, it is necessary to carry out pruning, thinning the foliage and removing faded shoots. Carry out such a procedure during a warm period, when it is convenient for the gardener.

Disease and pest resistance of black cohosh:

Black cohosh has a strong immunity and if planting is carried out correctly, it is looked after, then the bush will have enough strength to cope with any diseases and not be damaged by harmful insects. This plant is very resistant to common diseases such as scab and fungus.
The disease can make itself felt if the soil is excessively waterlogged. If at this moment the soil is cold enough, then a disease such as powdery mildew will affect the plant. Such conditions arise, as a rule, in the spring during the nighttime cold snap. As a preventive action, spraying with a solution of copper sulfate is carried out.

Reasons for the lack of flowering:

Black cohosh is decorative already because of its bright, succulent foliage, which gathers in one luxurious bush. However, gardeners who do not yet have experience are often in a hurry to find the cause and eliminate it.Often, mature buds do not show their petals for reasons other than leaving.
There are a number of natural reasons why black cohosh does not bloom, these include:

0. Low amount of sunlight due to cloudy weather. The plant grows well in the shade, but if the summer turned out to be cloudy, then the opening of the buds does not occur, but the peduncles wilt.

0. Also, the reasons include cold spring and a sharp drop in temperature in summer. Blooming black cohosh is impossible if the thermometer dropped below +15 degrees. At this temperature, branches do not develop and buds crumble.

0. If you do not moisten the soil for a long time and allow the formation of a crust on it, then the plant ceases to have enough nutrients and flowering does not occur.

0. If you plant the bushes on an open sunny area, where the sun will touch the plant all day, or plant a full shade, then you should expect nothing more than beautiful foliage. In such conditions, peduncles do not develop.

The main mistake during maintenance is considered to be too much water in the soil, which leads to rotting of the root system. Also, the lack of the necessary nutrients badly affects the condition of black cohosh. If the leaves begin to fade, wilt or become dry, then this signals the need for top dressing.

Most black cohosh varieties show their beautiful flowers in July, but they unfold gradually from the bottom up. Those species that belong to the flowering later, it is better to grow in the south of the country, since in regions with a short warm period, the peduncles do not have enough time to form.

Outcome:

Black cohosh does not require special knowledge in order to plant and care for him. In order for the plant to retain its decorative effect and bloom beautifully over the years, it is enough to water it correctly and choose a place with the optimal amount of light. Each year, the plant will become more and more beautiful, with little labor.