Ash "burning bush" in the garden: growing rules

A beautiful plant with white or pink inflorescences adorns flower beds in mid-summer. Growing and caring for an ash tree "burning bush" is not difficult, while the bush will give the garden a picturesque effect of a natural corner. Attention should be paid only to the placement of the plant - away from the paths, in the middle of a flower bed or rockery.

Plant danger

The ash tree cannot be placed in the immediate vicinity of the place of active human activity because of its interesting feature - the release of a large amount of essential oils (anethole and methylchavicol). This process is enhanced during the period of seed ripening. In a calm heat, an open fire, brought to an ash tree, provokes the ignition of oils. The phenomenon is reflected in the popular name of the plant - the burning bush. The ash tree itself does not suffer from fleeting fire. The climate of Russia, with the exception of the extreme southern regions, is unlikely to allow gardeners to observe this specific phenomenon in their own garden.

But plant flowers and seed pods, when touched in hot weather, can cause photodermatitis or even allergic shock. Flowers cannot be sniffed. At first, the lesion is not felt at all, signs of a burn appear after 10-12 hours by reddening of the skin and the formation of blisters. Temperature rise possible. Scars remain on the body that last for about a year. Contact with the "burning bush" is especially dangerous for delicate baby skin.

Ash is dangerous by exposure to the skin only in hot sunny weather.

Description

Yasenets (Latin name - Dictamnus) belongs to the Rutov family. There are several varieties of these wild-growing herbaceous shrubs in the warm regions of Europe and Asia. Previously, scientists distinguished Caucasian ash, bushy and narrow-leaved, but now they have determined that this is one plant - white dictamnus. Breeders have developed varieties with bright pink and dark red petals.

The stem is straight, strong, 0.6–1 m in height, with a dense edge of glandular hairs, sticky to the touch. The woody rhizome is creeping, therefore, under favorable conditions, thickets are formed, but the plant does not occupy a large territory. Unpaired, dense, with finely toothed edges, leaves of intense dark green color, with a bluish tint, located at the bottom of the stem, covered with dots - glands with essential oils.

Lacy inflorescences of white or pink flowers with more saturated veins are long - 20-40 cm. The diameter of the 5-petal asymmetric flower is 2-2.5 cm. It smells harsh, resembling a medicine or the scent of a citrus peel. Ash "burning bush" blooms for 20-30 days in June-July. The seeds ripen in August in a small box. In the conditions of central Russia, in the zones of the northern forest-steppe and forest, seeds may not ripen.

Role in garden design

The ash tree looks fresh even in hot weather, does not get lost against the background of other greenery thanks to its graceful inflorescences and intense color of the leaves. Flowers of pink shades with bright veins are delicate, surprisingly elegant. White petals are monochromatic. The plant loves an open sunny place, tolerates partial shade. Ash is unpretentious, winter-hardy, decorative throughout the season. It grows in one place for a very long time, up to 15 years, while maintaining a luxurious decorative effect.

It is planted in the garden for different purposes:

• bright soloing in the center of the flower bed, rock garden, double-sided ridges;
• creating an expressive component in country-style gardens;
• the formation of the background of flower beds;
• element of landscape plantings or romantic groups with flowers of pink hues.

The first rule in growing an ash tree should be its removal from the resting area into the depths of flower ensembles and prevention of tactile contact with the plant.

In caring for a burning bush, you must be careful and careful.

The ash goes well with flowers that the sun loves: daylilies, gypsophila, kermek, heycheroi, lyatrix, monard.

Reproduction

The ash plant is propagated by seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

• Seeds

The seeds have a fairly short germination period. If they are harvested, they can be sown in the marked place in the fall, before frost.

Sometimes seeds sown in spring will sprout the next year.

Seedlings of spring and autumn sowing are thinned out. In the first year, they develop slowly. The sprouts do not like excess moisture. The ash tree is transplanted to a permanent place for the 2-3rd year.

Self seeding is possible in the southern regions. Seedlings in this case are transplanted after a year.

Growing from seeds gives you the opportunity to admire the flowering for the 3-4th year.

• By dividing the bush

As flower growers note, it is not always possible to propagate an ash tree in a vegetative way. Sometimes we get a weak plant. But since the ash tree does not produce seeds in cold regions, this is the best way to start it in the garden.

Work only with gloves. For the division procedure, choose early spring or September (in summer, the ash tree does not take root in a new place). Large cuttings are transplanted and watered regularly.

• Cuttings

Young shoots that have not yet become lignified are cut and treated with root formation stimulants. They are rooted in mini-greenhouses that can be made from scrap materials: a plastic bottle or glass jar. The top should be opened for a short time every day to ventilate. Water gently, keeping the soil moderately moist.

All care work near ash plantings is carried out with gloves. Do not touch your face or rub your eyes after contact with the plant.

Landing

In the shade, the plant will be oppressed. At best, the perennial will survive but not bloom. For cultivation, choose an area protected from cold winds. Ash prefers alkaline dry soil. It develops poorly on neutral or slightly acidic. On rocky soils, loose and loose, it gives the most lush flowering.

The hole is dug at a distance of 50-70 cm from other plants. So the ash tree will develop freely without interfering with other plantings, and the grower will have less contact with him.

1. For planting, add 300-500 g of lime to the hole, mixing it with soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 1: 2: 2.
2. No melt or rainwater should collect at the landing site.
3. A good place is the western or southern slope.
4. Ash trees are planted in cloudy weather.
5. After planting, large stones are placed near the hole, which, heating from the sun, will share heat with the plant.

Care

The drought-resistant ash tree is undemanding to care in summer. Actually, it comes down to rare watering and loosening of the soil.

Watering

After planting, the ash is often watered, keeping the soil slightly moist. Abundant watering is stopped after signs of plant development have become visible. Otherwise, the roots may begin to rot.

• If the ash tree blooms in dry season, water it more often so that flowering does not interrupt.
• The flower stalks will be more powerful and the whole plant will look colorful for much longer when watered.
• A layer of mulch will protect the soil from drying out and eliminate the need to loosen the soil near toxic bushes.

Top dressing

After feeding with complex fertilizers, the plant develops more luxuriantly, but with proper cultivation, it is more important to apply alkaline fertilizers to the soil once a year. In the spring, in the second or third year of growth, an ash tree can be fertilized with calcium nitrate, dolomite flour, or another similar agent.

Pruning

Growing an ash tree involves autumn low pruning.Some growers prefer to keep tall plants to create an expressive graphic effect in the winter garden. In this case, the dead wood is cut in early spring, carefully so as not to damage the awakening buds.

The ash is frost-resistant, in the central regions it is not sheltered for the winter. Pests, like pathogens, bypass it.

Easy to grow, minimal maintenance, graceful flowering make the plant desirable in any area.