One of the most unusual and original representatives of gladioli is the Chocolate Girl, which is quite easy to distinguish by its rare brown color for flowers, reminiscent of a mixture of cocoa with milk. What are the features of plant cultivation and how to properly care for it - find out from the article.

History and description of the variety

Gladiolus Shokoladnitsa (Gladiolus Scelerisque Factorem) is a prominent representative of Russian selection, bred by geneticist Alexander Evdokimov in 1982. The plant belongs to the category of perennials, characterized by excellent resistance to ailments and a long flowering period.

The description of the culture should begin with its appearance. In height, the gladiolus can reach 1.6–1.8 m. On a strong, powerful peduncle, very beautiful, large flowers up to 12 cm in size are formed, the number of which is 22 units. At the same time, up to 8-10 flowers can be open at the same time.

Thanks to the elegance and original colors of the buds, the gladiolus Chocolate bar is an ideal flower for cutting. The period of its active flowering lasts from July to September.

A specialty of the Chocolate Girl is the non-traditional color of the petals - “cocoa with milk” and a faint pink shade. In their structure, the petals are silk, delicate, sparkling, decorated with numerous folds that look like corrugations. On the lowest petal in the reddish-orange halo there is a bright spot with brown dusting.

One of the advantages of the culture of the described variety is its high immunity, resistance to diseases and good adaptation to environmental conditions. Such qualities make it possible to grow a flower in almost all regions of the Russian Federation.

Did you know? The very first cultivar of gladioli, which was characterized by large flowers and slender inflorescences, was developed by German Beddinghausem at the beginning of the XVII century. The first variety with corrugated flowers appeared in 1841.

Landing Features

Planting a Chocolate Girl does not cause any difficulties for gardeners, however, it requires compliance with several important rules:

1. A place. For a plant, it is necessary to select a smooth, well-lit, sunny area without drafts, but with good ventilation. Stagnation of air can provoke the development of fungal ailments.
2. Compliance with crop rotation. It is not recommended to plant a gladiolus on one site for more than 2 consecutive years. The best precursors for the plant are legumes and perennial herbs. You can not plant flowers after solanaceous or root crops.
3. The soil. The ideal substrate for the Chocolate Girl is structural black earth. In the absence of this type of soil, gladiolus may be planted on loam or sandstone with the simultaneous introduction of nutrients - humus or compost. For the culture, slightly acidic soil is ideal, the hydrogen index of which varies from 6.5–6.8.High acidity of the soil negatively affects the decorativeness of gladiolus. Its flowers and leaves begin to turn yellow and fall, Fusarium may develop. To neutralize the soil, chalk is used in a proportion of 150 g per 1 m².

A month before the alleged bulb planting in open ground, they should be carefully prepared. To do this, you need:

1. Peel the onion of surface flakes. If there is a bacterial scab, the planting material is cut to healthy sites, and the places of the cuts are treated with a solution of brilliant green. Next, the bulbs are turned upside down and placed in a bright place. In this position, they are held until the first root processes appear.
2. Root treatment. Before planting the bulbs, its root roots need to be soaked for 30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Such treatment will protect the root system from pests and fungal ailments.

The preparation of the children for the landing begins in two weeks. For this, kidneys of small diameter, about 8 mm, are selected, which have noticeable root tubercles. Then each baby is cleaned from the top husk, laid out in one layer on the bottom of a cardboard box and placed in a warm bright room. Immediately before laying in the ground, they are disinfected by soaking in a 0.1% potassium permanganate solution for 9 hours.

The planting of gladioli begin when the climatic conditions of the region allow. The main thing is that the earth warms up well, and the likelihood of night frosts is minimal. As a rule, the second ten-day period of April is considered to be the best time for planting. First of all, children are planted, then adult corms.

The landing technology is as follows:

• dig holes in the soil into which planting material is planted: children 3-5 cm deep, corms - at a depth of three diameters of the adult bulb;
• planting should be carried out with an interval between adult plants of 15 cm, between children - 5 cm, while leaving between rows 20 and 15 cm, respectively;
• fill the garden bed with a small layer of soil, cover with a non-woven material, for example, spunbond, which will provide comfortable conditions for rooting and further development of planting material.

Important! Bulbs are considered ideal planting material 2–3 years of age.

Growth Care

Gladiolus Shokoladnitsa needs high-quality and systematic care, which consists of regular watering, top dressing, loosening the soil, and controlling pests and diseases:

1. Watering. For a plant of the described variety, it is very important to organize abundant, but not frequent watering. Too frequent surface wetting compacts the soil, which significantly reduces the rate of moisture and nutrients entering the plant. Mostly watering is carried out once a week, in the evening, using about 10 l of settled cold water per plant. If the summer is too hot and the air temperature is high, irrigation measures are carried out every 3 days.
2. Top dressing. Fertilizing under gladiolus is recommended several times during the season. Until 4 leaves appear on the flower every 10 days, the Chocolate Girl is fed with complex mineral fertilizers, for example, Kemira Combi, diluted with water according to the instructions. When more than 4 leaves appear on the culture, potassium preparations, for example, saltpeter, are added to the dressings. The last time the plant is fed after the completion of the flowering stage, using mineral complexes.
3. Loosening and weeding. These two procedures are among the most important when caring for gladiolus. Loosening the soil, which helps to saturate the root processes with moisture and nutrients, is carried out at least 3 times a month, deepening by 5-7 cm. Weeding is carried out regularly, as weeds grow.
4. Mulching. Mulching the beds, which is carried out using natural materials, allows enriching the soil with valuable components, preserving moisture in it and creating favorable conditions for crop growth. The use of organics is permitted, but using fresh organic products is undesirable.
5. Garter. The chocolate girl has a fairly high growth and has large, heavy inflorescences, so that the flowers do not break from the wind, they must be tied up.

Gladiolus Shokoladnitsa - a spectacular, beautiful, original flower that will serve as an exclusive decoration of the flower bed. It differs from other members of the family by its unusual color “cocoa with milk” and high vitality. The culture is ideal for cutting.