One of the plants that can decorate your flower bed is heliotrope. Its attractiveness is in bright, unbroken flowering with a vanilla scent. A special feature of heliotrope is the ability to turn the heads of flowers behind the movement of the sun. Hence the name of the plant, which in Greek means "turning over the sun." In our article we will tell you how to plant and grow heliotrope in your flower bed.
How to grow heliotrope from seed
Planting heliotrope seedlings can be done with the help of seeds. The plant belongs to the perennial, but in our regions it is grown as an annual. With good care heliotrope can please you for many years. For the winter, it should be brought into rooms with a temperature of 12-15 ° C.
When breeding heliotrope from seeds, there are some drawbacks. First, it blooms only in the fall, and secondly, the inflorescences are small.
Important! Some types of heliotrope (N. europaeum, N. lasiocarpum) are poisonous and can cause damage to the nervous system.
Soil: composition and preparation for planting
Heliotrope in open ground demanding of the soil. For good plant growth, it must contain the necessary amount of nutrients. But to propagate a plant with seeds, use a mixture of sand and peat or flower soil from a store.
Proper seed sowing
Sowing seeds is best done in late February or early March. To do this, place the soil in a container and lightly tamp it. Scatter the heliotrope seeds evenly over the surface of the soil and sprinkle them on top with a layer of 1-2 mm of soil.
Watering should be carried out in small portions or using a sprayer. Using a plastic film, create the effect of a greenhouse and place it in a warm place with a temperature of 18-20 ° C. It is necessary to wait for emergence of shoots in three-four weeks after crops. Remove the film and then keep the plant at a temperature of 20-22 ° C on the windowsill. Seedlings can develop well with ambient light.
Seedling care
Shoots need regular watering and sufficient lighting. 
When to dive heliotrope? Pick up the plant is carried out in pots with a diameter of 9 cm with the appearance of two leaves, and after two weeks you can feed the plant with fertilizer for seedlings. For picking use the same soil mixture as for sowing.
Before picking, it is necessary to water the plant and, using a scapula, reach the root, while preserving the soil on the roots as much as possible. The procedure for the plant is stressful, so the leaves can fall. After picking, it must be watered and covered with a film for some time until rooting.
Planting seedlings in open ground
The plant can be planted in open ground, when night frosts are.
Optimum landing times
The optimal time for planting heliotrope seedlings is the beginning of June.
Site selection and soil preparation
Before planting heliotrope, care must be taken to choose the optimal place. It must be borne in mind that it belongs to the light-loving and fastidious to the soil. The soil should be loose, permeable and fertile. It should be borne in mind that the plant does not feel well under the scorching sun.
Correct fit
Planting seedlings carried out by the method of transshipment. In the hole, you must first add humus, then carefully place the plant along with the earthy clod and cover it with garden soil. At the end we water.
Care in the process of growing
Some growers may get the impression that heliotrope is very picky. This is not quite true. The main thing is to carry out all care procedures correctly and on time.
Watering and spraying
The plant needs to be watered properly. On the one hand, flowers love moisture, on the other - they do not tolerate excess water. It is necessary to ensure that the soil was watered moderately and prevent it from drying out. Spraying will help bring conditions closer to tropical and will benefit the plant.
Mulching and loosening the soil
In order to care for the plant does not take a lot of time, it is necessary to mulch the soil with compost or peat around it. If this is not done, then to prevent crusts on the ground, it is often necessary to loosen the soil. Besides, mulching prevents weed germination and retains moisture in the soil.
Top dressing and fertilizer of the soil
Fertilizing the plant should be carried out with mineral fertilizers once every two weeks. Especially in need of feeding the period before the appearance of flowers. After their appearance in fertile soil suspend feeding.
Did you know? The heliotrope plants within the same species vary in intensity of flavor. The heliotropin (piperonal) substance gives aroma to heliotrope flowers. Piperonal is also found in lilac flowers and vanilla pods.
Benefits of nipping for heliotrope
In order to heliotrope had the appearance of a lush bush with many inflorescences, it is necessary to pinch it. The process of removing the top point of growth allows stimulating the growth of lateral shoots. Heliotropes pinch over 5-6 leaves, when the seedling reaches a height of 10 cm. After that, the seedling will slow down in growth for a week, it is not scary. But later it will not grow as up as in breadth.
Did you know? For 40 years heliotrope has been grown on the territory of the Czech Republic in Bohemia (Kopilno). Its height reached four meters.
When and how to collect seeds
You need to know that heliotrope seeds ripen for a long time, so do not rush to cut the inflorescences immediately after flowering. When collecting seeds, an important condition for their germination is full maturation, which does not occur in all climatic zones. Therefore, if you are not sure of the ripening of seeds, it is better to purchase them at a flower shop.
On the full maturation of seeds can indicate blackened inflorescences. It is necessary to cut them and in the boxes formed in the place of flowers, look for seeds. Moreover, the boxes should also be black. Dry seeds the size of a poppy seed. Usually in each box there are 4 of them. Seed material must be dried and stored in a paper bag until spring. 
How to propagate by cuttings
In order to propagate heliotrope using cuttings, queen cells are needed. They are kept in the winter in greenhouses. Perennial plants are better suited for queen cells, as they hibernate well and produce many cuttings in spring. The grafting process should be carried out from late February to May.
Cuttings should have 3-4 internodes. To reduce the loss of moisture, the leaves in the cuttings are pruned, and the base is treated with root growth stimulants. Put in boxes with the soil consisting of humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 1. Planted cuttings are sprinkled with a layer of sand up to 1.5 cm above and watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Using a polyethylene film, they create a greenhouse effect and maintain the temperature in the range of 22-25 ° C.
Airing and watering cuttings are carried out daily. It is necessary to wait for the appearance of roots in 15-20 days. After rooting, the cuttings are seated in peat pots. The substrate should be more nutritious and consist of peat, sod land and sand at a ratio of 4: 2: 1.
You should also add mineral fertilizer. During the first week, the plant should be pritenyat and sprayed with water 2-3 times a day. In order for the plant to go wide, you should pinch it several times. When planting cuttings in open ground, make sure that the distance between the seedlings is at least 15-20 cm.
Heliotrope in landscape design
The plant is widely used in landscape design. Bright flowers from June to autumn frosts can decorate each flower bed. The plant is often used as a carpet, for borders, for decorating balconies, in creating various compositions.
What does heliotrope combine with? It can perfectly coexist with salvia, begonias, pelargoniums, petunias, coreopsis, rudbeckia, coleus, etc. Heliotrope stands out most clearly against a green lawn. If a plant is formed as it grows, then it can be given a shrub or shtambovoy form. 
Pests, diseases and how to deal with them
Plant pests include spider mites, aphids and whiteflies. If black spots appear on the leaves of the plant, which lead to the drying up of young shoots and the falling of the foliage of the plant, then it is affected by a tick. The presence under the young leaves of green, black or white small dots indicates the presence of aphids or whitefly. To control pests using plant treatment with insecticides.
Important! To achieve maximum effectiveness of insecticides, it is necessary to add liquid or laundry soap to them. Thus, the solution is better to stick to the leaves of the plant.
Diseases affecting heliotrope include gray mold. From the disease will save the treatment of plants fungicides.
Heliotrope and magic
Heliotrope was widely used in the Middle Ages for magical rites and was one of the 12 magical plants of the Order Rosenkreutzers. It is believed that the plant gathered in the full moon has the greatest magical power. Used it to protect the house from thieves, in the ritual to expel evil forces from the house, to spell wealth. Witches use the heliotrope's magical properties as a means of giving them the opportunity to fly. 
Truly magical is the aroma of the plant, which is widely used in the perfume industry. Most often heliotrope is considered as a symbol of loyalty and consent. Therefore, to harmonize relations, it is recommended to plant it in a flower bed. If you are tired of confusion and misunderstanding, perhaps heliotrope will help with this.
