Datura, or dope. Seed Care and Growing

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For the first time I saw a datura in a flower bed near a very beautiful private house. I also thought: such magnificent flowers can grow only in such estates; they are probably very rare and demanding. Imagine my surprise when over time this plant began to meet quite often, and even found out that it was completely unpretentious in its care. Interestingly, the datura belongs to the nightshade family, which means it is a relative of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Another feature is that all its parts are poisonous. No wonder its second name is Datura, and that's what it is called more often.

Dope, or Datura (Datura) is a genus of plants in the Solanaceae family. Large herbs, rarely tree-like plants. The genus includes 13 species distributed in temperate and steppe zones. In gardening, as an ornamental plant, different types of dope are used.

The flowers of the datura are very beautiful: huge (up to 25 cm in length and up to 20 cm in diameter), tubular, fragrant in some species. Most often white, but there are yellow and purple-violet.

In our flower gardens, datura has appeared recently, but in Austria, where it is especially popular, it is called the “pipe of the archangel”. Fruits are seed boxes that, thanks to thorns, look like hedgehogs. By the way, the name "datura" comes from the Arabic word for "stabbing", which is associated with the presence of thorns on the fruits.

Datura Care

Allocating space for the datura, do not forget that it reaches large sizes, which means that over time it will capture a considerable territory. Looks great in single plantings, but very effective and group. Luxurious white Datura gramophone flowers seem to brighten the space around you. Fade quickly, but on one bush - a huge number of flowers. Therefore, in general, flowering is long. And it will be even longer if you provide the datura with abundant watering, because the leaves are very large, which means that the area of evaporation of moisture is considerable.

Extend the flowering period and help the removal of wilted flowers. With good care, dope bloom can be enjoyed until late autumn.

Dateure is grown as a container culture, but the capacity for planting should be voluminous. Container plants will require more frequent watering and higher air humidity.

Growing datura from seeds

The soil for planting should be fertile, well-fertilized, drained. The date is photophilous, therefore she is assigned sunny open places protected from the wind. From time to time they are fed with complex mineral fertilizers.

It is better to grow datura seedlings, then it will bloom earlier. Seeds in boxes are sown in February-March. Germination rate is low, so the first seedlings appear approximately 10 days after sowing. The rest can sprout for about a month. To speed up the process, the seeds are soaked overnight in a growth promoter, and then sown, sprinkled with a layer of soil 0.5 cm thick.

During the germination of Datura seeds, the soil should be moist, the air temperature should not be lower than 18-20 degrees. When several pairs of leaflets appear on the sprouts of the datura, they are planted in separate pots. From the first weeks, the plant claims that over time it will reach considerable size - it grows quickly and develops a powerful root system. Therefore, dive pots are not very small.

In open soil, seedlings of datura are planted in May, when the threat of frost passes. The distance between the plants is not less than 1 m, because over time they will turn into spreading bushes.

Seeds usually ripen 1.5-2 months after they set. For seeds, it is better to take fruits that formed on the site of the first flowers, then germination will be better. And so that they do not fall to the ground, gauze bags are put on seed boxes. The plant gives self-seeding. Datura seeds retain their germination for a very long time. You can propagate the datura using cuttings. They are easily rooted in water and soil.