Katarantus ampelous: description and photos of various sub-grades, including Titanium, Mediterranean and others, growing a flower from seeds and not only, as well as caring for it

Ampelic catharanthus is the lush and generous flowering that adorns the garden and garden beds, balconies and terraces.

A beautiful plant with beautiful inflorescences is easy to care for and does not require special manipulations such as pruning or cleaning after flowering.

About what kind of flower it is, what species there are and how they look in the photo, what are the features of growing (from seeds and other methods) and caring for it, as well as some information about possible plant diseases and preventive measures, read further in the article.

What it is?

Ampel varieties are characterized by abundant, generous flowering. Flowers, blooming one at a time, fill the entire stem with dense flowering. A dense, densely planted bush is formed. Green leaves are very decorative, even during dormancy, the flower looks attractive.

Important: the ampelian cataractus is completely unpretentious, it does not require special pruning, even faded flowers should not be removed from the branch, the ampelian cataractus can clean itself after flowering.

Description and photos of different varieties

Titanium

Ampelous, curly flower native to Africa, refers to periwinkle species. The height of the adult bush is 60 - 75 cm. It is characterized by abundant flowering, the bushes are small, up to 15 cm, densely cover the surface. The leaves are oblong, oval, holistic in shape, saturated green. Blooms in bright red. Differ in special aroma.

The variety is heat-loving, tolerates open sunny places of planting, grows well in diffuse shade. The soil should be fertilized, light and loose. Perfectly propagated by seeds. Usually used to decorate balconies and loggias, they are planted in a hanging pot at a time for 3 to 4 seedlings for lushness and wealth of the bush.

Attention: This variety is resistant to cold, but does not tolerate frost, in winter it needs to be grown in a warm climate. Pots are usually transferred to the house in late autumn.

Mediterranean

A very common variety, it has many sub-varieties - Mix, White, Rose and others, which differ in colors - red, pink, white and motley. The bush is undersized, the height of an adult flower is not more than 15 cm. The flower belongs to the annual indoor. Shoots are long, branching, grow up to 50 - 60 cm.

The leaves are bright green, medium length. The flowers are large, dense, up to 4 - 5 cm in diameter, bright, saturated shades of red, pink, white. It is characterized by rapid growth and development, blooms well and abundantly, the bush is quickly formed. It reproduces well by seeds, blooms in late spring and early summer, there are varieties that bloom in August. Usually planted in hanging baskets in the garden.

White

The shoots of the bush are long, reach 70 cm, curl, each shoot is humbled with flowers and leaves. The flowers are pink, pale white, cream, depending on the sub-variety, are large in size - up to 5 cm. The leaves are dark green in color, decorative.

Propagated by seedlings previously sown in February. It prefers light, fertile soils, loves moisture, although the variety is resistant to arid climates. The variety is grown in hanging flower pots and flower beds, grows well, covering the entire surface of the soil with a bright dense carpet.

Gates

A new variety of ampelous catharanthus. The plant is annual, grows undersized shrubs, with a height of up to 15 - 20 cm. The stems branch well, grow quickly, the length of adult shoots is 50 cm or more. The leaves are oblong, shiny, bright green. The flowers are large, soft pink, with a bright red core, in diameter up to 5 cm. The flowers have 5 rounded petals.

The Strobury series has a wide variety of shades of pink with a variegated core. Sowing of seeds is carried out in March - April. Differs in special moisture resistance. Long flowering, begins in May, blooms until September. It is recommended to grow in hanging pots, a cache-pot on terraces and open flower beds in a garden.

Pink

Natural varieties grow in Madagascar, Indochina, Cuba. The variety belongs to the evergreen shrubs. It grows in height to 50 - 60 cm. The stems branch, upright.

The leaves are oblong, petioles are short, petioles are absent in some subsorts. Leaves are bare, shiny, there are leaves with a slight pubescence. The leaves have a dark green color, grow opposite, the midrib is pronounced, white. Leaf length - 6 - 8 cm, width - 3 - 4 cm. The flowers are medium, up to 4 cm in diameter, there are white, pink, colorful colors of the petals. Seeds are black, small.

You can find out more about what pink cataranthus is and how to care for it here.

Apricot

Apricot Catharanthus is a subspecies of Mediterranean Catharanthus. The variety is classified as decorative indoor perennials. In the southern regions planted in open ground, like an annual flower. Belongs to evergreen shrubs up to 12-15 cm high. Stems are long, exceed 50 cm in length, spread.

It differs in delicate apricot - salmon flowers. The flowers are large, 5-6 cm in diameter. Flowering begins in late spring, continues until the beginning of autumn. The variety is heat-loving. It does not tolerate drafts and cold winds. Usually grown in spacious hanging baskets, in a warm climate they are grown in open ground, in flowerbeds and in front gardens.

Mix

To create a colorful, motley flowerbed, you can grow several varieties of ampelous catharanthus at once. A mix of different colors will create a vibrant composition.

You can plant seedlings of pink and white, red and apricot subspecies of the Mediterranean series in each pot or flowerpot to create a multi-colored Mix. Caring for such a Mix will be simple:

fertile soil;
warm landing place;
sufficient air humidity;
moderate watering.

Flowers of the same shape, but of different colors will look spectacular and colorful in one pot or on one flower bed.

You can find out more about the different varieties and types of Catharanthus here.

Growing

From seed

Sowing seeds is usually carried out in February or March:

In a special seedling box, drainage is laid out, a 3 - 4 cm layer of special soil mix.
Seeds are sown to a depth of 2 cm.
Sowing is covered with a dense film or glass.
Germination air temperature - 24 º С.
It is enough to moisten the crop by ventilating the greenhouse regularly.
The first shoots appear within 6 to 8 days.
After seed germination, the boxes are exposed.
The air temperature required for sprouts is 18 - 22 º C, air humidity is 80 - 90%.
After 2 weeks, mineral supplementation of the sprouts is desirable.
Seedlings should be dived when 4 leaves appear on a sprout with a height of 6 - 7 cm.

Tip: full germination is required for seed germination.

In more detail about the cultivation of cataranthus from seeds, we talked about here.

From cuttings

The procedure is carried out in early spring:

Cut off obliquely the top - cuttings 6 - 7 cm long.
The apical cuttings are treated with root for quick rooting.
Place the cuttings in water or in clean coarse sand.
Seedlings must be covered with glass.

To form a beautiful bush and to obtain lush and generous flowering, it is recommended to pinch the tops of seedlings 2 times.

When the seedlings take root, they are dived into special peat cups and planted in open ground when there is no threat of night frost. It is recommended to plant seedlings at a distance of 30 - 40 cm. It is advisable to add perlite and river sand in equal proportions to the soil for cuttings.

Division

Amaranth varieties of catharanthus are easily propagated by division during transplantation. The procedure is simple, performed in spring, in April:

The mother bush is divided into parts with roots - layers without damage.
Places of cuts are necessarily processed with charcoal.
Each part is planted in a separate spacious, deep pot or flowerpot.

Recommendation: when dividing the bush, it is necessary to preserve part of the earthen coma and healthy root processes, which will allow the flower to take root quickly, easily adapt to new conditions.

Care Features

Temperature

Katarantus ampelous - thermophilic flower, the temperature of the content is 26 - 27 º С in the summer period. A temperature reduced to 10 - 8 º C can hold the flower in bloom and growth.

Watering

Katarantus is considered a hygrophilous plant. And the abundance of its flowering depends on sufficient humidity of air and earth. If the leaves of the plant begin to twist - this is a signal of the need for moisture.

Watering for ampere varieties of cataractus requires moderate, but regular. The soil should be slightly moist..

For indoor flowers, immediately after watering, you should drain the excess water so that the roots do not bother.

In autumn and winter, watering should be less frequent when 1 cm of the upper layer of the substrate dries. In the summer months for this variety, additional spraying of the greenery of the bush is desirable.

Shine

Ampelian catharanthus loves light, some varieties can grow in open flower beds. But at noon it’s still better to use a little shading to avoid leaf burns and burnout of the flowers themselves. Flowerpots and hanging baskets are best installed on the west or east side of the apartment.

Attention: when growing a flower on the northern windows, additional lighting with phyto lamps is required. With a lack of light, flowering stops, the shoots turn pale and stretch.

Soil and pot

The root root, 20 - 25 cm long, numerous root processes without hairs depart from the main root. Therefore, the pot should be spacious, deep enough, with drainage holes.

Soil composition for catharanthus ampelous:

Garden land.
Sheet earth.
Sod land.
Horse peat.
Expanded clay as a drainage.
Ratio: 1: 1: 1: 1: 1.

You can learn more about growing and planting Catharanthus at home here, and in this article you will find all the nuances of caring for a houseplant.

When planting in open ground, you must:

Remove the top layer of garden soil, mix it with peat, sand and perlite.
At the base of the landing site, drainage should be laid: broken brick, expanded clay, pebbles.
Ready soil mixture should be poured onto the drainage layer.

In more detail about the rules of planting and further care for catharanthus in the open ground, we talked about in this material.

Disease prevention

Excess moisture causes decay of the roots and stems - late blight. Fungicide treatment will help.
From powdery mildew - fungus will help additional spraying with fungicides.
Gray rot - you need to adjust the watering and humidity, you need to treat the bush with any antifungal agent.
Mealybug, aphid - soap solution or treatment with kalbofos or actar will help get rid of them.

Varieties of ampelous catharanthus are stable and unpretentious, do not require special care and attention. In recent decades, these tropical flowers have become very popular among gardeners and gardeners.