Dolichos – curly lilac (hyacinth beans): varieties with descriptions, photos and reviews

Climbing plants are a great way to decorate arbors, arches, mesh structures. One of the most spectacular crops traditionally used for this purpose is dolichos, or curly lilac. Due to its rapid growth and excellent decorative appearance, this plant is well-deservedly popular among many lovers of landscape architecture.

General description of climbing lilac dolichos

Dolichos (hyacinth bean, climbing lilac) is a native inhabitant of the tropics and subtropics of East Africa, also found in Asia. Curly lilac belongs to the legume family.

The main characteristics of the plant are shown in the table.

How dolichos blooms

The flowering of dolichos usually begins in mid-July and stops only in late autumn, with the onset of frost. Inflorescences usually consist of 30-40 pinkish, white-yellow or pale lilac flowers. As the vines grow, new inflorescences constantly appear. Each of them lives about 3 weeks, while the life of each flower is about 3 days. After pollination, flat pods of bright purple color are formed in place of the flowers.

The best varieties of curly lilac

Dolichos has many varieties. They differ in the color of foliage and flowers. Below are the most popular varieties of curly lilac (dolichosa) and their photos are given.

Sapphire

The vine of this variety of curly lilac is distinguished by good branching, grows up to 3 m. The leaves are large, symmetrically arranged, green. The flowers are medium-sized, blue-blue, collected in long lush brushes.

It is used as an ampelous plant singly or together with a climbing lilac of another variety, creating a variety of decorative compositions.

purple garland

The dolichos variety Purple Garland is characterized by intensive growth. During the season, the liana can grow up to 6 m. The heart-shaped leaves of a reddish color, as well as bright purple inflorescences hanging like a garland, give the plant a special decorative effect.

ruby moon

Dolichos Ruby Moon (in the English transcription of Ruby Moon) is considered by many to be the most spectacular of all varieties of climbing lilacs. This is especially true in late autumn when it snows. At this time, rich purple beans look great on a white background. The leaves of this variety are green, the inflorescences are bright purple.

Liana climbing lilac Ruby Moon can reach a length of 3 m or more. The variety is resistant to drought and heat.

Lilac cascade

Liana of this variety of dolichos can grow up to 4-5 m. It is a vigorous and rather strongly climbing plant with many side shoots. The leaves are green with a dark burgundy tint. Violet-lilac curly flowers are collected in panicle inflorescences of about 20 pcs.

The Lilac Cascade variety is well suited for decorating the walls of houses, gazebos, and various designs. Often this dolichos is used for landscaping balconies. Can withstand light frost.

Niagara Falls

Dolichos liana of the Niagara Falls variety usually grows by 3-4 m per season. The foliage is good. The flowers are lilac, bright, collected in inflorescences-panicles.

The flowering of the plant continues until the onset of cold weather.

lablab purple

Depending on climatic conditions, the liana of this variety of dolichos grows by 1,5-3 m. The leaves are large, heart-shaped. They have a pointed tip and a reddish tint. Inflorescences are brushes, in which up to 40 medium-sized purple flowers are collected.

Growing climbing lilac dolichos from seeds

In the cool climate of Our Country, dolichos, or climbing lilac, can be grown from seeds only as an annual plant, even in the southern regions, since any negative temperature is guaranteed to kill dolichos. Planting in open ground is carried out by seedling method after preliminary germination of seeds at home. The seeds extracted from the pods remain viable for quite a long time, so for those who grow hyacinth beans constantly, there are usually no problems with planting material. Curly lilac beans can be stored even at low temperatures, but heating above + 25 ° C greatly reduces germination.

Recommended dates

To determine the optimal time for sowing seeds of dolichos, 50-55 days are subtracted from the expected day of planting seedlings in open ground. At the time of planting seedlings of climbing lilacs, the probability of frost should be completely excluded. In the middle lane, this is the second half of May, which means that you need to sow beans for seedlings around the end of March.

Selection of containers and soil preparation

For planting curly lilac beans for seedlings, any shallow container is suitable, for example, a used correx from under cookies or cakes. You can sow the seeds in individual peat cups. As a nutrient substrate, any soil for indoor plants or for seedlings is quite suitable, it can be bought in gardening stores.

For self-preparation of soil mixture for planting climbing lilacs, you will need:

• river sand;
• fine peat;
• humus;
• upland or chernozem.

For disinfection, all components are calcined for 20-25 minutes in an oven at a temperature of about 200 ° C. Such a heat treatment will disinfect the soil well and prevent the damage of dolichos seedlings by fungal diseases.

How to plant climbing lilac seeds

Before planting, dolichos seeds need to be scarified, i.e. destroy the hard shell that covers the top of the bean. The easiest way to do this is to peel off the white scallop that is on each bean. You can do this with any sharp tool, file, sandpaper. Scarified seeds are sown in moistened soil to a depth of 1 cm, then watered again. Then the container is covered with a film and cleaned in a warm dark place.

Care of seedlings

Before the first shoots of climbing lilac seedlings appear, it usually takes 5-7 days if the seeds have been scarified. After that, the container is moved to the windowsill. If you leave it in a dark place, the plant will thin out and die quickly, so you need to constantly monitor the sown beans. Further care for dolichos seedlings consists in watering the soil as it dries up and periodically loosening the soil to a shallow depth so that a crust does not form that prevents the normal air exchange of the root system.

After the seedlings are deployed, 4 full-fledged leaves of the plant can be pinched. This will give impetus to the development of side shoots. After 1-1,5 months after the emergence of seedlings, seedlings begin to harden, periodically taking it out into the open air, first for a short time, and then gradually increasing the intervals.

Planting climbing lilacs in open ground

Before planting dolichos in open ground, you need to prepare a place. Since climbing lilacs are planted for vertical gardening, it is worth taking care of the supports along which the vine will go. If these are massive structures such as a metal arch, then you need to put them in order (clean, paint) before planting seedlings.

When to transplant

Dolichos seedlings are transplanted into open ground only after the soil has warmed up sufficiently, and the threat of return frosts has completely passed. In the middle lane, the right time for this comes in the second half of May or even in early June.

Site selection and preparation of soil

Curly lilac grows well in open sunny areas, in the shade and partial shade the plant feels much worse. Plants are usually planted in 1 or 2 rows, depending on the desired density. For a solid carpet, the distance between adjacent plants is 20-25 cm, for individual vines – 50-60 cm. Two-row planting of dolichos seedlings is done in a checkerboard pattern.

Dolichos prefers loose fertile soils with neutral acidity. A month before planting, the planned landing site is dug up, at the same time introducing humus there.

How to plant dolichos in open ground

Dolichos should be planted in open ground as carefully as possible, trying not to damage the root system. Therefore, it is preferable to grow seedlings in individual peat cups. If the seedlings are in a container, then the plants must be removed very carefully, trying to keep the earthen ball intact on the roots. Dolichos is planted in prepared pits. At the same time, the root neck is not deepened, leaving it at the same level with the soil surface. After planting, the plant is watered abundantly, and the root zone is mulched with peat chips or sawdust. It retains moisture well in the soil and prevents weeds from developing.

Care for climbing lilacs after planting

After planting a climbing lilac, watering it should be daily until the plant takes root in a new place. Dolichos loves well-moistened soil, so in hot weather it is watered every day, and in extreme heat – twice, in the morning and in the evening. In the cooler season, watering can be reduced to 2-3 times a week. Dolichos, like all legumes, loves breathable soils, so the root zone must be cleared of weeds, loosened and mulched.

In the year of planting, dolichos do not need to be fed. Under adult bushes, several types of fertilizer are usually applied per season. In early spring, the plant is stimulated to grow and gain green mass with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, during flowering, the bushes are fed with potash compounds, and superphosphate is applied in autumn.

To maintain a decorative appearance and increase bushiness, the vine of curly lilac is periodically pinched, stimulating the growth of lateral shoots.

Diseases and pests

Dolichos rarely gets sick. Changes in the appearance of the leaves of the plant are usually associated with violations in care, for example, a lack of potassium in the soil causes yellowing of leaf plates. You can make up for the lack of this element with the help of wood ash, which is scattered in the root zone or insisted for watering.

Insect pests practically do not attack hyacinth beans. If aphids or caterpillars appear on the leaves, the plants can be treated with insecticides. However, such cases are rare.

Application in landscape design

In landscape design, dolichos is most often used as an intertwining plant, planting it next to garden structures. Curly lilac is used to decorate fences, arbors, arched structures. Dolichos is often used for vertical gardening of balconies and terraces.

In the southern regions, where decorative curly lilac is grown as a perennial, it is often used to decorate the facades of large buildings.

The use of hyacinth beans in cooking

In addition to decorating the garden, dolichos can also be grown to produce a bean crop. The fruits of curly lilacs extracted from the pods, ripening in place of flowers, are quite edible. To taste, they resemble green beans, but softer than it. Hyacinth beans can be added to soup, used as a side dish for meat dishes, they taste good in combination with rice and other vegetables. Dolichos beans are best stored frozen.

Conclusion

Curly lilac is a wonderful plant that can be used both for decorating a personal plot and for harvesting. Dolichos is easy to care for and unpretentious, any gardener can cope with its cultivation. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to grow this plant in a year-round cycle due to the cold climate, however, even when using the annual planting scheme, the plant can grow to a significant size and will completely cope with the task of decorating the garden.

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