Contents
Hosta is valued for its decorative qualities and shade tolerance, making it suitable for shady areas of the garden where other flowers do not grow well. But even in such places they will be clearly visible. For example, Blue Angel hosta has blue leaves that stand out against the background of greenery of other plants. Not a single flower grower will refuse to plant this variety on his site. A description of the plant and an understanding of its agricultural technology will help to properly plant and grow this bush in a personal or summer cottage.
Description of Hosta Blue Angel
The Blue Angel variety was bred by a breeder from Holland in 1986. It is frost-resistant, unpretentious, resistant to infections and many pests, can grow without transplanting in one place for many years. Able to withstand short-term drying or flooding, does not impose high requirements on air purity, so it can be planted not only outside the city, but also within it. The Blue Angel variety is recommended for cultivation in the regions of Central Our Country, it is well adapted to temperate climates.
In the description of the Blue Angel hosta, it is indicated that its height is 0,7-0,8 m, but if you create excellent conditions, it can grow up to 0,9-1 m. The bush is voluminous in diameter, equal to 1,2 m. The leaves are large, 0,4 m long and 0,3 m wide, dark blue (turn green by autumn), tips pointing down. The surface of the leaf blade is slightly wrinkled, with parallel veins of a light tone. Flowers hosta Blue Angel are collected in racemose inflorescences of a conical shape. Their color can be varied, ranging from white to pale-lavender. Peduncles erect, strong. Flowering is long, falls on July-August.
The Blue Angel variety is shade-tolerant, can grow without problems in the shade, partial shade or diffused light. If you plant hostas in an open area, there is a chance of burns on the leaves. The ideal place for planting is under the crowns of trees, where the plants will be protected from too bright lighting and strong winds.
Hostas of the Blue Angel variety are moisture-loving, for normal growth and development they need moist, but well-drained soils, loose and with a full layer of humus. On dry sandy soils, they grow worse, as well as on acidic or alkaline soils.
Hosta Blue Angel prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil.
Application in landscape design
Against the background of a host with plain leaves, like the Blue Angel variety, other plants look good, for example, peonies, ferns, astilbes, conifers. Next to them you can plant daylilies, kupena, phloxes, ornamental cereals.
Breeding methods
In one place, Blue Angel hostas can grow for about 10 years. If necessary, it is easiest and fastest to multiply them by division. You can divide during the entire growing season, but it is better to do this no earlier than the end of August. At this time, new growth buds form in the plants, they become clearly visible, which makes it easy to divide the bush correctly.
You can also choose any summer day for grafting hostas. It is necessary to separate young shoots from the bush with a small piece of rhizome and plant them in a shaded place in moist ground.
If necessary, Blue Angel hostas can be propagated by seeds. They sprout well, but plants grown from them will develop slowly and can only reach the size characteristic of the variety by 4 or 5 years of life.
It is best to propagate the hosts by dividing the bush
Landing algorithm
Young hosts of Blue Angel suitable for planting should be healthy and well developed, with fresh roots and shoots. Instances on which traces of diseases or pest damage will be noticed should not be planted.
In nature, hostas grow in the shade of trees, in the garden they also need to create similar conditions. But you can place them not only under trees, but also near fences, buildings, along paths, near water bodies. The main thing is that the site is not in direct sunlight and is protected from gusty winds.
Blue Angel hostas are planted at a distance of 1 m from each other, as the bushes are quite large and sprawling. The size of the landing holes should be approximately 0,4 m in diameter. A drainage layer must be laid down, a fertile mixture of organic matter and excavated earth is poured on top. The seedling is placed in the center, sprinkled with soil, watered. It is advisable to mulch the soil surface on the day of planting the hosts in order to reduce the evaporation of moisture. This will help the plant to take root faster.
Growing rules
Hosts, including Blue Angel, are considered unpretentious. Most of all they need moisture, and mainly after planting, when rooting occurs. That is why it is so important to water them on time during the first month, until the seedling has new roots. Adult hosta bushes also need watering, especially on hot days. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that water does not fall on the surface of the leaves (burns may appear in place of moisture droplets), it must be poured only under the root. It is not necessary to water during wet seasons – despite the moisture-loving nature, the culture does not like too damp soil.
Feeding Blue Angel plants in the first year after planting is not required. In the future, they are fertilized:
- early spring when new stems begin to grow;
- before flowering;
- after its completion.
Fertilizers are used standard: organic matter (humus, ash, compost) or mixtures of mineral origin. The amount of fertilizer applied should be moderate, overfed hosts become more susceptible to fungal diseases, grow lush foliage, but bloom poorly.
Experienced florists advise to cut off all flower stalks after the completion of flowering of Blue Angel plants. This will prevent seed set (if not needed) and allow the hosts to be better prepared for winter.
On one site, you can safely combine several varieties of hosts
Preparation for winter
Hostas of the Blue Angel variety are cold-resistant, therefore, theoretically, they do not need to be warmed for the winter. But in the first year, it is better to cover young plants, especially if they were planted in early autumn. Adult bushes cover only in regions with cold and long winters. Peat, sawdust, humus, fallen leaves, straw or old hay are suitable as a covering material. Light but strong modern agrofibre can be used. It will cope with its task no worse than proven organic materials.
As for pruning leaves, flower growers do not have an unambiguous opinion on this matter. Some prune their plants in the fall, others in the spring. The former claim that pests hibernate under the leaves of hostas, the latter claim that the leaves protect the roots from the cold. One way or another, you can cut off at any of the indicated periods of the year.
Diseases and pests
The Blue Angel variety is considered resistant to pests and rarely gets sick (subject to the conditions of agricultural technology). Of the pests on it, you can only see slugs and snails. But they can cause significant damage to plants. Mollusks breed especially quickly in wet weather, so on rainy and cool days you need to inspect the bushes in order to identify pests in time.
Slugs and snails are quite large and noticeable, if there are few bushes, they can simply be collected by hand. Simple traps will help: damp boards laid out next to the bushes, pieces of glass or slate. Pests always climb under them, where they are easy to detect and destroy. And so that they do not get to the plants, it is recommended to sprinkle the ground with mustard powder, tobacco or just ash around. The ashes will also serve as a good fertilizer.
If the hosta has too many leaves, they can be thinned out for better ventilation.
Conclusion
Hosta Blue Angel is a representative of the group of blue varieties. It is well known to culture lovers, but it can also attract beginners. Hosta is equally decorative both on its own and in composition with completely different colors. That is why it can be chosen for landscaping any area.
Reviews
