The gentian offers you attractive ground-covering foliage and a particularly attractive flower. In doing so, it brings two elementary characteristics of a good ground cover. Here you can find out how to plant it and what to pay attention to.
How do you plant and care for gentian as a ground cover?
Gentian as a ground cover thrives best in a partially shaded, moist and humus-rich location. Planting takes place in autumn or spring. For optimal growth, the soil should be permeable and nutrient-rich, with some sand providing drainage and compost or fertilizer providing nutrients.
Where does gentian grow best?
Choose amoist and humus-rich location with enough nutrients for the gentian. Full sun locations with dry ground are therefore not suitable. Waterlogging also causes problems. The plant grows even better in a partially shaded location and in loose soil. The ground cover thrives on acidic as well as neutral soils.
Which varieties should you plant?
Particularly popular are varieties that areeasy to care forand have a strikingblue flower color during the flowering period. It is considered the well-known symbol of this unique plant. The gentian flower transforms both a bed and the most desolate ground into a very special place. Against this background, the following varieties of the plant genus are particularly suitable for creating a ground cover:
- Stemless gentian (Gentiana acaulis)
- Spring gentian (Gentiana verna)
- Autumn gentian (Gentiana sino-ornata)
What kind of planting time is recommended for planting?
You can plant the gentian either inautumn orinspring. In both cases, the plant finds the right conditions to grow in the soil and to prepare for the coming flowering period in peace and quiet. You don't plant cuttings but want to sow seeds? Then sowing in autumn is recommended. The seeds are hardy and only germinate after a natural cold period. The shrub is also hardy and will hardly cause you any work during the cold season.
How do you care for this ground cover?
Make sure that thesoil is permeableand hasenough nutrients for the perennial. To do this, you can spread a small drainage layer at the location with some sand. With the moderate addition of compost (€12.00 at Amazon) or suitable fertilizer, you ensure he althy growth, ground-covering foliage and beautiful gentian flowers.
Tip
Gentian under nature protection
Since the gentian is a protected species, you are not allowed to dig up any free-growing plants. Harvesting the seeds of these plants is also not recommended. After all, this would prevent self-propagation in the wild. The gardening retailer offers you both he althy seeds and grown young plants for sale.
