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Hosta Praying Pens is one of the most spectacular plants that has taken its rightful place in modern backyard design. Despite the seeming inconspicuousness in the overall composition, upon closer examination, the host simply fascinates with its extraordinary beauty.
Hosta Praying Pens – a unique plant with an unusual leaf shape
A rare, unique plant in its own way, demanding on the planting site, but completely unpretentious in further care. Perennial will decorate the garden and garden plot, greenhouse and living room.
Description of Hosta Praying Pens
Hosta Praying Hands (Praying Hands) belongs to the Liliaceae family, is a perennial, whose homeland is considered to be the Far East, Japan and Southeast Asia. In Europe, the plant first appeared in the XNUMXth century, initially it was very rare, only in private collections.
Currently, the Praying Handles hosta is very popular due to its high decorativeness and unpretentiousness.
She got her name for the shape of hard leaves with numerous veins located close to each other. Dark green narrow leaves with a cream border along the edges are directed upwards and intricately twisted. In shape, they resemble hands facing the sky.
The leaves of the plant are hard, strongly twisted, with a creamy narrow border around the edges.
The leaves have a waxy coating. Hosta blooms in August. Flowers – narrow bells of light lavender color on long peduncles. With good care and a properly selected planting site, the height of the plant can reach 50 – 60 cm. On average, the height of the host is 35 – 40 cm.
Hosta Praying Hands refers to medium height species – medium (M). The shape of the bush is vase-shaped, in diameter the bush grows up to 76 cm. In one place, the plant can grow up to 20 years.
Praing Hands grows in semi-shaded places. It can be planted in sunny areas, but at noon it is recommended to shade the plant. Of all the host, Praying Pens is the least demanding on lighting. It is winter-hardy, well transfers winters of an average strip without shelter.
It prefers slightly acidic soils, but planting in soil with an alkaline reaction is acceptable. Does not tolerate waterlogged soils. Responsive to intensive watering. Leaf color remains the same throughout the season.
Application in landscape design
The high decorativeness of the Praying Hosta led to the widespread use of the bush in landscape design compositions. Unpretentious to the neighborhood with other plants.
Placing a hosta in single plantings emphasizes its originality.
Against the background of other hosts, the Praying Pens are lost, so it is better to land it as a border decoration. Favorably emphasize the beauty and uniqueness of a herbaceous plant framing with stones and fancy snags. A good hosta planted around the perimeter of the blind area of the house, along the edges of a pond or garden path.
Breeding methods
You can propagate the host yourself in several ways:
- dividing the bush;
- growing from seed;
- cuttings.
Another method of reproduction is vegetative, but it is available under industrial conditions. Is the most efficient.
Reproduction by dividing the bush is carried out in late spring or summer. The survival rate and growth rate of a young plant will depend on the size of the adult. The more magnificent the bush, the more fruitful the division.
Cutting is understood as the separation of a single cutting from an adult plant with a root. The selected material can be immediately planted in the ground.
Hosta Praing Hands blooms in August, flowers are narrow bells on long peduncles
A more labor-intensive method of reproduction is growing from seeds. Before planting, they should be kept in a cold place for a month, they must be treated with growth stimulants. Germination is 70%.
Before planting, it is necessary to disinfect the container itself, seeds and soil. Potassium permanganate is suitable for these purposes. The planting container can be treated with an alcohol-containing solution.
The bottom of the container must be filled with drainage. Then fill in a layer of light fertile soil. Seeds are planted in well-spilled soil and the container is left under the film in a shaded place at a temperature of 18 to 25 degrees. Shoots appear after 2 – 3 weeks.
After germination, the container is placed in a well-lit place, but not in the sun. And after the appearance of two leaves, the host dives. A quarter of the soil for sprouts should consist of sand. Single sprouts grow under the film.
The first week after diving, the film is periodically opened to harden the plant. A week later, the film is removed. Seedlings can be taken out into the street at a time when the air temperature reaches a stable mark – +18 degrees.
Landing algorithm
Planting material is chosen, paying attention to the number of buds and root characteristics:
- the seedling should have 2 – 3 buds;
- the root must be elastic, and its length must be at least 12 cm.
Seedlings should be planted in the ground in early spring or late summer. If seedlings are purchased in advance, store them in a dark, cool place. The room temperature should not exceed +5 degrees.
The root of the seedling must be elastic, light, at least 12 cm long
For planting, do not choose places where the plant will be exposed to direct sunlight. This can change the color of the leaves, instead of the bright green of the Praying Hands hosta, it will become a faded color.
The best landing site is partial shade or well-lit places that do not get the midday sun. Tolerates shady areas well.
The seat is prepared as follows:
- Dig up the soil, adding humus or compost.
- Planting holes are dug 30 cm deep, the distance between them is 120 cm.
- Spilled with water.
- Seedlings are planted so that the stems of the plant are above the soil.
- Root areas are mulched with crushed bark or peat.
- Watering and loosening the soil is done every 3 days.
Growing rules
Hosta Praying Hands is a moisture-loving plant. It is watered 2 times a week. In dry summers, the number of waterings is increased, the procedure is recommended in the morning.
Praing Hands is responsive to soil loosening. It is carried out regularly, preventing the appearance of a dense crust in the root zone. Since the hosta grows well in diameter, weeds rarely affect the habitats.
Top dressing is carried out three times per season. More often, fertilization should not be carried out in order to avoid burning the leaves. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium additives are used as top dressing. They are applied during the period of growth, flowering and after its completion.
Shelter the host for the winter as needed, using coniferous branches
After flowering is completed, it is necessary to replace mineral fertilizers with humus or compost as a top dressing. This will allow the plant to reduce the growth of green mass, prepare for wintering, and it is easier to transfer it.
In autumn, at the end of flowering, flower stalks are cut off so that the plant does not waste energy on seed ripening. Leaves do not need to be cut in autumn. This procedure is carried out in the spring.
Preparation for winter
Hosta Praying Hands tolerates wintering well in the middle lane. In regions with mild winters, it does not require shelter, except when it comes to a young plant planted in open ground at the end of summer.
In temperate zones, it is preferable to shelter the hosta for the winter. Polyethylene film should not be used as a covering material. It makes it difficult for the bush to breathe and promotes the reproduction of pests and diseases.
Before sheltering for the winter, the soil under the plant is loosened and mulched with peat, sawdust or dry grass. In the spring, the mulch is not removed; when it decomposes, the soil will receive additional top dressing. Cover the hosta with spruce branches.
Diseases and pests
The host rarely gets sick. In some cases, gardeners notice the appearance of brown spots on the leaves. The phenomenon is due to the development of phyllostictosis. With this disease, the bush is destroyed, and the soil under it is thoroughly disinfected.
Brown spots on hosta leaves – a sign of phyllostictosis disease
Sometimes the host is affected by gray rot or sclerotinia. These diseases are treated with fungicides.
Slugs that like to feast on the leaves of the plant, leaving holes in them, affect the host. To scare away the pest, crushed stone or broken shells are scattered around the bush. Insecticides are used to protect the leaves.
Hosta Praying Pens looks great in a composition with stones and whimsical driftwood
Conclusion
Hosta Praying Pens are a real find for gardeners. With minimal care, the plant pleases with its decorative effect and appearance. Hosta Praying Hands is unique, has an unusual leaf shape. It belongs to rare species, grows in one place for decades.
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