One of the favorite plants of gardeners is Kobe lazy, the cultivation of the seeds of which is somewhat labor-intensive. But the time and effort invested are compensated by the chic look and abundant flowering.
Brief Botanical Reference
Liana Kobeya (translated from Latin. Cobaea) is a curly half-shrub. The plant belongs to the Sinyukhov family. Despite the fact that it is a perennial, Kobey is grown as an annual. Liana is named after Barnabas Cobo, a Spanish Jesuit naturalist monk who lived in Peru and Mexico for a long time, the birthplace of Kobe.
If we talk about the natural conditions of growth, the plant prefers moist subtropics and tropics of America. Since 1787, the vine has been used as an ornamental plant for the decoration of hedges or gardening arbors.
Ground Requirements
Growing kobei requires adherence to a number of rules. Only with their meticulous implementation can you achieve seedlings and get suitable seedlings. First of all, let's talk about the ground. For good development, it is necessary to provide the plant with a soft, moderately moist and loose soil. Unfortunately, in the latitudes of Russia the natural conditions are different, so you have to find a way out of the situation, regularly loosening, wetting and feeding the earth.
Seed preparation
It’s just not possible to sow the seeds - they simply will not grow. The fact is that the seeds are covered with a hard shell. It is necessary to carry out preliminary preparation: remove it mechanically or simply dissolve it to a mucous state.
The first thing to do is scarification. To do this, damage the seed coat by rubbing it, for example, with sandpaper. After the seeds are distributed in a damp cloth so that they do not touch each other, wrapped and placed in a plastic bag, thereby creating a "greenhouse".
If you have a container that resembles a Petri dish, you can use it. A simpler option is a regular plastic container with a lid.
The condition of the seeds is checked daily. If mucus appears on the surface, it is removed with a cloth, after having been wetted in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. The procedure for removing mucus is carried out in several stages. The appearance of mold indicates an excessively low temperature in the container, so it must be moved to a warmer place. As a rule, germination lasts for 2 weeks, but in some cases this period is extended to three weeks.
Watch the seeds carefully. As soon as they turn out, the seeds are sown immediately. If you are late, the seed box will simply remain on the plant and then it will have to be removed manually, which is fraught with damage to the plant itself.
You can also pre-soak the seeds in special substances - germination accelerators:
Epin Extra. Soak for 4 hours, preparing a solution of 4 drops of the substance in 0.1 l of water.
A mixture of honey and aloe juice in the same parts. The duration of soaking 1 hour.
Zircon. Soaking time is also 4 hours. The solution is prepared from 5 drops, dissolved in 0.1 l of water.
Next, the seeds are dried and sent to a cloth.
Planting seeds
In order for the future kobei to be resistant to external influences, the cultivation from seeds must begin in late February. To do this, prepare the substrate, poured it into the boxes. In the ground, make hollows 1.5 cm deep, distribute the seeds in them with the flat side down, sprinkle with earth and slightly tamp.
Planting can be planted in peat tablets or in individual cups of paper, in which it will be possible to wholesale the young in the ground immediately.
The soil with seeds watered, covered with glass or film and sent to a warm place, preferably under direct sunlight.
Do not forget to conduct daily ventilation of the greenhouse and remove condensate.
Winter sowing
Often gardeners to obtain early flowering planted vines seeds immediately in the ground in July, be sure to spend all the necessary training. At the end of August, youngsters who emerge are dug up, planted in an individual “house” and sent to spend the winter in a cool room where the temperature does not fall below zero. The ideal temperature for wintering is 8-10 degrees. If it is lower, then the plants additionally cover.
Kobei watering is carried out moderately and only with complete drying of the earth. If the plants are strongly branched in the summer, they are pruned. At the end of May next year it will be possible to plant vines in open ground.
With proper cultivation and proper care, the length of the vine can reach 11 meters, and flowering lasts until autumn.
Seedling care
During germination, watering should be moderate. You can pour growth stimulant. When shoots appear, the box is shaded from direct sunlight. After a time, when the sprouts will get a pair of leaves, they can already be transplanted.
To do this, Kobayu is pulled out together with an earthen clod and transferred to the pot 2-3 times more than the previous one. This will avoid the next transplant and the vine will develop and strengthen without additional stress.
Be sure to keep track of the capacity. In a close pot, the vine is yellow.
After the transshipment, it is necessary in conclusion to establish a support for each germ. As for feeding, it should not be carried out, since the vine will not grow and develop, but become entangled, which will complicate its further transplantation. As soon as the vine reaches a little more than 20 cm in height, it will need to be clipped to start planting the bush.
Planting in open ground
It is possible to transplant seedlings only when the temperature at night will not fall below 4ºС. As a rule, this corresponds to the second half of May - the beginning of June. Consider, the young growth is extremely sensitive to cold, therefore the grown up liana before planting should be tempered. To do this, in the last two weeks before transplanting it is carried out to a loggia, veranda, or to a greenhouse. If the temperature continues to fall below zero at night, the plants should be covered with a film.
The landing. Option 1
In a sunny place devoid of wind, dig a hole at least 40 cm deep. Mixing in the same parts peat, humus and sod land, fill the hole.
The distance between the instances must be at least a meter.
Next, the liana along with the earthy lump is pulled out of the tank and transferred to the well, setting in the very center on the hill of the substrate.
Watering the seedlings, sprinkled with earth, lightly tamped and set footing.
If the seedlings do not ascend at the same time and there are weak plants, they are also planted in the garden, but at the same time fertilized with organic matter.
When the night temperature drops, the sprouts are covered with plastic bottles or film. The next 2 weeks are adaptable for plants.
The landing. Option 2
Also, seedlings can be planted in early May. As a rule, it is an emergency landing carried out with heavily grown vines. The algorithm is identical to the previous version. But after disembarking, all the loops are neatly distributed on the ground and carefully covered with thick film. All corners are securely fixed so that the film does not “run away”.
With this method, it is important daily ventilation. Flowering vine will come 2 weeks earlier.
Upon the onset of heat, the “greenhouse” is removed, the whips are lifted and fixed to the installed supports.
Further care
For young plants landed in the ground should be carefully looked after:
Watering is carried out at normal temperature. It should be moderate and abundant in the heat to avoid stalling.
When weeding, you need to be very careful not to damage the plant. In this regard, Kobey is very capricious.
As for fertilizing, they are carried out twice a month alternately: first they bring in mineral fertilizers, and in 2 weeks organic fertilizers. It is especially important to use nitrogen-containing drugs. Top dressing ends at the end of June, otherwise the foliage will “clog” the buds.
Kobe requires care and whips. They need to be regularly distributed in the right direction, tie up and remove yellowed leaves.
The soil should be loose and wet. In order not to have to perform these manipulations on a daily basis, mulching with peat, sawdust and humus is carried out.
We discussed in detail how to grow a kobay, determined the rules for planting vines, taught you several ways to plant seeds and seedlings. All you have to do is choose a direction and, moving along it, grow your creeper.
You can additionally familiarize yourself with the video on how the Kobe is cultivated climbing from seeds.
With all the tips, you will get a beautiful plant with abundant and long flowering.