Brunner large-leaved: photo, description, planting and care

Brunnera large-leaved is an ornamental plant that is distinguished by large oval or heart-shaped leaves with beautiful patterns. Growing a crop is very simple, the bush requires almost no maintenance. The only important condition is abundant, regular watering.

Where does Brunnera macrophylla grow?

Brunnera macrophylla is also called forget-me-not. Under natural conditions, it grows in warm regions with a subtropical and subequatorial climate:

• Caucasus;
• Transcaucasia;
• Southeast Asia.

This is a perennial shrub from the genus of the same name, the Borage family. It is undersized, up to 50-60 cm in height. Leaves with long petioles are rounded, up to 15-20 cm in diameter, thanks to which the plant got its name. The flowers are similar to classic forget-me-nots (they are small, blue, with five petals), but the spot is not yellow, but white. At the same time, it is the leaves, not the flowers, that give the large-leaved brunner a special decorative effect.

Sorts

In the Burachnikov family, 3 types of brunner are known. At the same time, many more varieties have been bred. Despite the fact that this is a heat-loving plant, breeders managed to achieve the desired winter hardiness. Thanks to this, large-leaved brunner can be grown in most regions of Our Country.

Millennium Zilber

A small shrub with beautiful light green leaves. A distinctive feature is white spots, against which the veins contrast well, creating an interesting relief effect. According to the growing conditions, this variety of large-leaved brunners is unpretentious.

Variety Millennium Zilber prefers light soils, shading and abundant watering.

Jack Frost

The original variety of large-leaved brunners with silver, frosty leaves and classic blue flowers. The bush is quite tall, reaches 60 cm in height. It has good winter hardiness, withstands frosts down to -40 ° C, which allows it to be planted almost throughout Our Country.

The variety of large-leaved brunners Jack Frost prefers light shading, abundant moisture.

If the flow of moisture stops, the leaves begin to droop almost immediately. Active growth of foliage is observed on fertile soils, well fertilized with manure. It is in this case that the brunner is able to decorate the site from mid-spring to late autumn.

Hadspan Cream

Bush with large heart-shaped leaves, light green color, creamy yellow edges. A pattern is often noticeable on the surface: the border invades the center of the sheet, drawing different patterns. This Brunner variety blooms from May to June. It grows only up to 30 cm in height, so it is better to combine it with undersized plants – various types of hostas, petunias, iberis, alpine asters, rays and many others.

The Hadspen Krim variety is characterized by medium winter hardiness, so it can be grown in the regions of Central Our Country and in the south.

Langtrees

A low shrub growing up to 40 cm in height. The leaves are oblong, have long petioles and a pointed apex. They are painted in a rich dark green color, have specks of a silvery hue, resembling frozen raindrops. The large-leaved brunner has been blooming since the end of May (about 3-4 weeks). The second flowering begins in late September or early October, if a warm Indian summer has set in.

Bush brunnera Langtriz unpretentious, quite winter-hardy, compact and does not grow

Such a plant can be used in mixborders, borders and rockeries. It will not interfere with neighboring flowers and will fit well even in a small flower bed.

Otherwise, the greenery will begin to stretch, and the bush will lose its decorative effect.

Variegata

One of the most beautiful varieties of large-leaved brunners is variegata. The bushes can be easily recognized by the rich green leaves with a fairly wide, uneven cream-colored border. The flowers are small, painted in bright blue.

This variety of large-leaved brunnera is very winter-hardy (zone 3), withstands frosts down to -40 °C. Therefore, it can be grown not only in the Central part, but also in Siberia and the Urals. The bush is compact, so 1 m² can accommodate up to 9 plants. Prefers partial shade, so it is great for decorating the trunk circle, in single and group plantings.

Brunnera Variegata flowering period – May-June

Cultivation from seeds

Brunnera large-leaved can be grown from seed, but this method is rarely used because:

1. The seeds are small and difficult to work with.
2. Before planting in the spring for seedlings, they require a long stratification.
3. Seeds ripen for a very long time, so in some regions it will not be possible to wait for their formation.
4. Brunner is easier to propagate by dividing the rhizome. If you grow it from seeds, the bushes will bloom in 3 years.

However, you can grow a bush of large-leaved brunners on your own. Most often, seeds are sown in autumn, in early October. The site is pre-cleaned, dug up, wood ash or a mixture of superphosphates with a potassium salt is added. They are laid out on the surface, sprinkled with earth, watered, mulched. The first shoots will appear next year.

Large-leaved brunner seedlings are grown at home. At the same time, it is also necessary to start working with seeds in the fall. They are stratified within three months: they are laid out in a cup with moistened vermiculite, sphagnum or perlite. Then cover with foil and put in the refrigerator. Periodically make sure that the “soil” does not dry out.

In mid-March, large-leaved brunner seeds are planted for seedlings. To do this, you can use cassettes, peat pots, cassettes and other containers. The soil is bought in a store or made up independently, for example, from turf land with compost and humus in a ratio of 2: 1: 1.

Seedlings of large-leaved brunners are first grown in greenhouse conditions (temperature 25 ° C, under a film). After 10-15 days, the film is removed and the temperature is reduced to room temperature. Every 2-3 weeks, a liquid complex fertilizer is applied. Brunner seedlings are transferred to open ground in early July (it is undesirable to plant a plant in spring). They can be pre-hardened at a temperature of 15-18 °C.

Landing

One of the features of the large-leaved brunner is that it is planted not in the spring, but in the second half of the summer. The fact is that in the spring the bushes are prone to various diseases, so it’s better not to risk it.

Brunnera macrophylla prefers shady places

Site selection and preparation

Almost all brunner varieties need shade and moisture, so it is best to place the crop under a large tree or next to a taller shrub (in the trunk circle). It is not scary if the site is located in a lowland, but prolonged stagnation of moisture is also undesirable.

A few weeks before planting, the site should be prepared. It is cleaned and dug up. If the soil is depleted, it is fertilized with humus and complex mineral fertilizer at the rate of 50-60 g per 1 m². An alternative way is to sprinkle a few pinches of wood ash with sand.

Landing stages

Landing instructions are standard:

1. Several holes are formed, the depth of which corresponds to the rhizome. The interval between them should be 30-40 cm. A less tight fit is also allowed – it all depends on the design features.
2. If the soil has not been fertilized, it is necessary to make a fertile mixture of soddy soil with humus, or add a tablespoon of superphosphate and potassium salt to each well, mixing them with the soil.
3. The rhizome of the large-leaved brunners is sprinkled with soil and watered abundantly.
4. To keep the soil moist as long as possible, be sure to lay a layer of mulch (peat, hay, straw, spruce branches).

Care

Brunner care is very simple, but it has several features:

1. Watering should be regular and plentiful. The soil should not dry out and even more so crack. It is optimal to use settled water at room temperature.
2. It is undesirable to loosen the soil, because the roots of the large-leaved brunner lie near the surface.
3. The plant does not need to be fed. In early spring, you can place several granules of complex fertilizer directly on the snow.
4. Brunner is rarely transplanted to a new place. Experienced gardeners grow it without a transplant for 12-15 years.

Diseases and pests

Since Brunner needs good hydration, she often suffers from fungal diseases:

• powdery mildew;
• brown spotting.

Periodically, the bush should be inspected for the presence of spots, white plaque and other foreign formations. If they are found, all affected foliage is immediately cut off and thrown away from the site or burned.

Carry out the treatment with any fungicide: Bordeaux mixture, Tattu, Profit, Fitosporin or others

Also, whiteflies and aphids often parasitize Brunner large-leaved. They are removed manually or sprayed with an insecticide (Biotlin, Decis, Confidor, Aktara). You can also use folk remedies – a solution of baking soda, an infusion of onion peel, chopped garlic cloves and others.

Trimming

Pruning of large-leaved brunners is recommended to be done 3 times:

1. After flowering, all flower stalks are removed. The fact is that the plant spends a lot of energy on the formation of fruits, so the decorative effect is reduced.
2. Before the start of the second wave of flowering, large-leaved brunners pluck all the buds.
3. After the first frosts (October – November), all leaves and shoots are removed under the root (stems are left at a height of 4-5 cm).

Preparation for winter

Almost all varieties of large-leaved brunners tolerate frost well, as they are highly winter hardy. Therefore, they do not need special preparation for the winter period. In October, the bushes can be watered abundantly, and then mulched with compost, peat, humus, and fallen leaves.

Reproduction

Along with the seed method of propagation, the large-leaved brunner is also bred by dividing the bush. The procedure begins after the end of flowering – it can be July or August. An adult bush (at least 3 years old) is dug up and cut with a knife into several sections so that 2-3 healthy shoots remain on each of them. Then they are planted in a permanent place according to the same algorithm.

Conclusion

Brunner large-leaved – a plant that can decorate the garden, especially the near-stem circle of a tree, nondescript corners. With it, you can create a composition in rock gardens or rockeries. The culture is unpretentious, does not even require top dressing. Therefore, any gardener can cope with the cultivation of brunners.