Beard flowers are perennial ornamental shrubs that beautify the garden in late summer. The plants, which come from China, are non-toxic and easy to care for. A favorable location, regular cutting and good winter protection are enough for the bearded flower to produce many flowers.
How do I properly care for a beard flower?
Caring for a bearded flower includes moderate watering, occasional fertilizing, annual pruning, light winter protection and pest control. Only water when the top layer of soil has dried, fertilize in spring or after pruning and cut the plant back to a third of its height annually.
How often does the bearded flower need to be watered?
- Moderately but regularly
- Avoid waterlogging
- Allow the top layer of soil to dry
Beard flowers survive short dry periods without any problems. Watering is only necessary when the top soil has dried out. This is especially true for potted plants. The vessels must definitely have sufficiently large drainage holes.
How much fertilizer do bearded flowers need?
The bearded flower is a fairly undemanding plant that does well with little nutrients.
In the open field, it is enough to give the beard flower some rose fertilizer (€11.00 at Amazon) after pruning it in spring. If you cut the bush in autumn, you should then mulch it with compost and a leaf cover.
In the bucket, the bushes need more fertilizer. Give some rose fertilizer once a month according to the instructions.
How are the ornamental shrubs transplanted?
Beardflowers are deep-rooted. If you want to transplant the shrub, dig as deep as possible so you get all the roots.
Repot bearded flowers grown in a pot if the pot has become too small. You can tell this because the roots stick out of the bottom of the drain hole.
The best time for transplanting or repotting is spring.
Do bearded flowers need to be cut?
Beard flowers only bloom on annual shoots. They must therefore be cut down to a third of their height in early spring.
If necessary, you can cut the bushes in the fall after flowering. Then the beard flower needs particularly good winter protection.
What pests and diseases can occur?
Beard flowers are very robust and disease resistant. The slightly hairy leaves, which have a slightly spicy scent depending on the variety, drive away pests.
Do bearded flowers need winter protection?
Most bearded flowers are only partially hardy and need light winter protection outdoors. As a precaution, you should overwinter some sensitive varieties in a bucket frost-free.
Tip
You can propagate particularly beautiful bearded flower varieties yourself. To do this, cut cuttings from the mother plant in June or July. However, you need a lot of patience until the plant blooms for the first time.
