Gypsophila perennial - beautiful flower, rightly popular with flower growers due to its beauty, undemanding in planting and care. You can purchase both annual and perennial varieties of baby's breath.
An annual plant blooms during the summer season, then comes extinction, while perennial varieties continue to bloom year after year. Perennial gypsophila is a gentle and delicate plant, the beautiful flowers of which will long fill your garden with amazing beauty and harmony.
Gypsophila perennial: description of the plant
Gypsophila perennial - This is a semi-shrubby herb of the family of cloves, consisting of an abundance of white or pink-purple inflorescences. Shrubs look like a "flower cloud", giving the plant a light appearance. Perennial flowers can be simple or terry.
There are many types and varieties of this culture, the most common gypsophila paniculata and gypsophila creeping. Perennial blooms every summer (in the middle of the summer season). Then, after the break, repeated autumn flowering is possible. The height of this plant can vary from 15 to 120 cm.
Did you know? Gypsophila is not the only name for this beautiful plant. This culture is also known by such interesting names as "child's breath", "tumbleweed", "gypsum" and "swing". The British called the baby's breath the baby’s breath. Ask why? All thanks to her gentle and light appearance.
Planting baby's breath
Perennial gypsophila - unpretentious, the requirements for its cultivation are quite simple. Planting and caring for the plant does not take much time, but its colorful blooms will delight you throughout each summer.
How to choose the soil and place
An important step in the planting of gypsophila is the proper preparation of the soil. The plant prefers light soil and does not like clay. Lime soil or any other non-acid neutral soil will be optimal. The soil should be loose and well drained, as sandy as possible. The rocky surface will also be perfect.
The main recommendation regarding the cultivation of gypsophila, as well as the question of how to plant this plant correctly, is the right choice of location. The area where the gypsophila is planted should be sunny.
Did you know? Gypsophila is translated from Greek as "lime-loving." This is due to the fact that this culture prefers lime soil, and does not tolerate damp places.
Description of the process of planting seeds with gypsophila
Gypsophila is grown from tiny seeds. In September, on the faded shoots of gypsophila seeds ripen, which are collected and dried. In spring, these seeds can be planted. Gypsophila do not like frost, so sowing work begins after the soil is fully heated in the spring. 
So, let's see how to grow a baby's breath from seed. Planting work is carried out in the following order:
- Before planting it is necessary to prepare the beds and moisten the ground well.
- Then the seeds are distributed over the beds and carefully covered with a thin layer of earth. The distance between the seeds should be no more than 10 cm.
- Next, the sowing site is covered with foil and left for a few days in a sunny place.
- In the fall, grown plants can be transplanted to any area you choose, keeping a distance of about 20 cm between plants, and between high varieties - about 50 cm.
The soil is enriched with additional nutrients, which helps the growth process.
Sprouted shoots thinned and left at a distance of 15 cm, so that in May, after the appearance of the leaves, transplanted to a permanent place.
Did you know? To provide continuous flowering of gypsophila, among experienced gardeners practiced another interesting way of growing from seed. Since gypsophila seeds germinate quickly (as early as on the 10th day after planting you will be able to observe young sprouts), for continuous flowering the seeds can be planted sequentially - every two to three weeks.
Peculiarities of courtship for perennial gypsophila
The question of how to care for a baby's breath does not require careful consideration. Gypsophila has good resistance to the vagaries of nature. To the plant pleased you with abundant and colorful flowering, it is enough to properly water and do not forget to feed fertilizer.
Rules for watering the "flower cloud"
In hot weather, the gypsophilus must be watered abundantly and regularly. Do not allow drying, the plant does not like too dry conditions. Young bushes especially need timely watering. However, at the same time, it is necessary to eliminate the possible stagnation of water in the ground.
Water retention can cause horse rotting, the development of fungal diseases, which ultimately leads to the death of the plant. To help excess moisture freely leave the top layer of soil, care should be taken of a good soil dehydrator (trench, drainage, pipes).
Top dressing and care of the soil
Gypsophila fertilized only twice per season. However, if the bushes are provided with a sufficient amount of sunlight and heat, then the gypsophila is excellent without additional fertilizers. Excess feed for the plant is undesirable. It is customary to enrich the soil with complex mineral fertilizers and organic matter.
Important! Among organic fertilizers in the care of gypsophila, a mullein is very useful and effective. But the use of fresh manure is absolutely contraindicated for this culture. He is able to completely destroy your baby's breath.In winter, so that the bushes do not die from low temperatures, it is desirable to mulch the soil under the plant with peat or humus. In addition, if your baby's breath is young and frail, in the winter you should take care of it separately.
Young plants are recommended to cover spruce branches or dry leaves. By following these simple rules of care, you will receive abundant and long flowering gypsophila.
Do you need a transplant and pruning plants
Over time, the creeping shoots of the plants form dense bushes, so that your baby's breath will look unkempt. In addition, we must remember that this perennial culture is growing rapidly.
Perennial even able to destroy growing in the neighborhood of weak plants. That is why it is important to promptly limit the spread of gypsophila in the flower bed.
The pruning procedure is recommended when the plant stems look faded (after flowering). Shrubs gently pruned, leaving only 3-4 shoots at the base. Thus, after trimming the bushes will become much more magnificent.
In addition to pruning, it is desirable to transplant the plant 2 years after planting. Young bushes gypsophila rather easily tolerate the first transplant. However, this procedure is not recommended further. Over time, when the plant takes root, transplanting becomes more and more dangerous. However, gypsophila can easily grow up to 25 years without a transplant.
Plant reproduction: how to perennial perennial gypsophila
In addition to the seed method of growing, gypsophilia is also propagated by vegetation, that is, by grafting.
This method is especially effective if you are going to breed terry varieties of gypsophila.
So, how to plant a gypsophilus cuttings? Works should be carried out at the end of spring (at the end of April or at the beginning of May). It is necessary to have time to cut the cuttings from the young shoots of the plant before the inflorescences begin to form.
In the open field, cuttings should have time to take root before the onset of autumn. Therefore, for successful breeding gypsophila, you need to follow the following simple rules:
- the soil for planting should be loose, with the addition of a small amount of chalk;
- planting depth - about 2 cm;
- air temperature is about 20 ° C;
- cuttings need to provide a 12-hour daylight;
- process plants with a solution containing heteroauxin (a root formation stimulator).
Important! To achieve optimum moisture, the cuttings must be covered with a film. To do this, construct special polyethylene greenhouses.
Gypsophila and landscape design: how to choose neighbors "for little flowers"
Gentle gypsophila is able to make a uniquely light and airy any composition at your cottage. Gypsophila paniculata is used to decorate curb stones and flower beds, mixborders and flower beds. A creeping gypsophila (miniature species) will look great on alpine hills, rocky slopes and rockeries.
Next to the stones, any variety of gypsophila will be very useful.
Tender perennial gypsophila looks great surrounded by the same bright perennial cultures. The combination of perennial with other plants will help not only beautifully decorate your garden, but also visually expand the garden plot, form a unique landscape.
Gypsophila produces a special effect in combination with plants with large flowers. The following garden plants will be suitable neighbors for our lush perennial: marigolds, yarrow, echinacea, stonecrop, phlox, eryngium, escholcium, godetia and liatris. In addition, the gypsophila looks spectacular next to the ornamental plant Elimus (or, as it is also called, grassland, hairs).
In addition, the gypsophilia can be dried by placing in the vase fresh opened "little flowers". Can be combined with other dried flowers-amulets. Openwork and thin twigs of this culture give weightlessness also to a fresh bouquet. Spectacular gypsophila is able to decorate and complement any bouquet.
Did you know? Gypsophila stems are straight and almost devoid of leaves, which gives the plant extra lightness. The weightless appearance of gypsophila is ideal for accentuation. Due to this feature and, of course, due to its beauty, these flowers are very popular in the design of wedding bouquets. They are included in the compositions of roses and other combined bouquets that we often give or receive as a gift.As you can see, gypsophila - quite unpretentious, its planting and further care in the open field will not require your special skills. Light and elegant, it will fill your garden with small “flower clouds”. And the pleasant and gentle flower smoke of a plant will please with unusual aroma.
