Flowers are an ornament of the land and many owners of estates and cottages are trying to grow such plants, along with fruit crops. One of these cultures is the diastia, the appearance of which causes the aesthetic pleasure of both the owners and guests and passersby.
Botanical description
This flower is from the family of commongrass distributed in South Africa and grows in warm places with abundant watering and sunbathing as a perennial plant. Diastia is very beautiful in all its manifestations and is used as a culture, the stems and colors of which you can create soil cover. At the moment there are about 50 species of these flowers. 
The root structure of the plant is in the near-surface layer. At the same time straight or curly stems creep, and the leaves have a dentate shape and opposite to each other position. The color of the diastia can be completely different - from salmon to deep purple. In the wild, the plant stems reach a length of 1 m, and in our gardens grow from 25 to 60 cm. The flowers are five-week with tubular base. The lower three lobes of the flower form a similarity to the lower lip, and the upper two contain spurs.
Popular varieties of diastia
Diastia has a large number of species. It is worth noting that the origin of some species has not yet been determined.
Important! The plant is interesting because, depending on the variety, it blooms in waves at completely different times - from spring awakening to frosts in late autumn.
Pink queen
A small rounded bush, like all members of the species, loves open areas with bright natural light. Flowers of soft pink color with a bronze tint on the edges usually bloom at the same time, causing delight of the site owners and their guests. Despite the fact that it is a perennial plant, it is grown only during one season. In addition to cultivating in the open field, the Pink Queen variety is planted in balcony blocks and drawers. 
Pink Basia
This variety differs from the Pink Queen in a softer and more delicate shade of pink color, which is rather closer to rich apricot. Flowers have a certain terry that distinguishes them from the rest of the species. Hanging shoots of plants with beautiful in appearance and color of flowers will create an accent that will decorate the landscape design of the dacha or backyard, and will also look great on the windowsill. 
Ampelnaya
There are actually quite a lot of ampel varieties of diaztion - those are the ones that can be grown in hanging pots and flowerpots. Flowing stems with flowers look quite impressive in all kinds of home, balcony and street designs. 
Borodchataya
Drought-resistant species, which is successfully cultivated in the home. Bearded diastia has a pink color with yellowing in the middle. The bush is rather wide, dense, with a large number of flowers and about 30 cm in height. The variety is very attractive in appearance, since the gentle tones of the colors perfectly harmonize with the glossy shine of the petals. 
Barbers
Another variety of pink color differs from its "colleagues" by the peculiarities of flowering - after a long period of first flowering (up to 1.5 months) and a short rest, the bush blooms again. If after the first flowering the plant is carefully cut, then it will bloom much more luxuriantly. 
Diastia in landscape design
The plant is well suited for landscape design, where its properties are remarkably used:
- unpretentiousness - rather simple care and survivability of diastia allow to grow it in different climatic zones;
- beauty - small flowers of pleasant colors adorn any landscapes, be they man-made or natural;
- versatility - can be grown in the apartment, on the balcony, in the courtyard, in the country, in the garden.
Did you know? The Roman emperor Claudius Caesar (reigned from 4 to 41 AD) was very fond of landscaping and gave flowers from his garden not only to his friends, but also ordinary Romans.Diastia looks equally beautiful with any environment - from pots in the "Khrushchev" to an artificial landscape under an alpine meadow. Moreover, in the latter case, these flowers perfectly conceal height transitions and sharp edges of stones. They can also be used to create live borders, contrasting compositions, fill the transitions between groups of plants and use them in the design of rock gardens.
The plants such as avran medicinal, foxglove, verbascum, veronica, nemesia and penstemon can also be attributed to the family of norichnikovs.
Growing Diastia
Like any other plant, diastia requires diligence in growing. Despite the unpretentiousness, these flowers can repay the owner, who will treat them with love with a beautiful and long flowering.
Accommodation and lighting
Given African origins, bushes love open space and sunlight. In residential conditions, especially in winter, they need to be well lit and warm. In the warm season, when the night temperature is not too different from the daytime, a potted plant, a container or a block will feel great on the balcony on the sunny side. It is also possible to transplant the plant in the summer to the cottage or garden.
Soil, green manure and fertilizer
The plant develops well in the soil with a slight acidity, which, together with heat and humidity, imitates the natural conditions for diasion. Also, a pet will take well a mixture of peat, ordinary land and perlite sand in equal proportions. Flowers do not tolerate long-term stagnation of water and can die, so they need high-quality drainage under room conditions and mulching with sand in open ground. 
The soil, in which it is planned to plant a diasia, should be prepared with the help of planting green manures and fertilizers. In the form of green manure - plants that are grown on the site in the time free from the main crops and fertilizing the soil - you can plant mustard, rye, lupine or peas. As for fertilizers, they are used in the flowering period. Liquid fertilizers are used, which are applied once every two weeks. It is necessary to monitor the amount of fertilizer applied, since their excess can help in the growth of diaztion, and not in color.
Landing
This plant can be propagated using both seeds and seedlings. It is clear that seedlings with a normal survival rate will develop faster, and with the seeds have to tinker. Flower growers usually prefer seed sowing followed by culling of weak shoots. Quality seeds sprout in one and a half to two weeks and look very tiny, but they are quite viable.
Such plants as fuchsia, begonia, verbena, geranium, lobelia, petunia and dichondra can also be attributed to the ampelous plants.
Sowing seeds
The sequence of planting and planting is as follows:
- Seeds are pressed into the soil, after which they do not need to be sprinkled with earth.
- Until the emergence of shoots, a stable temperature is maintained (about 18 ° C).
- After the emergence of shoots, the container with them is moved to a room with air temperature up to 15 ° С.
Important! Seed flowers at home will bloom in mid-summer, and seedlings - in early June. In the southern regions of the country, it is possible to plant seeds directly into the flower beds, but flowers will appear only in late August.
How to plant seedlings
Planting seedlings produced before the onset of summer - in the last days of May. Seedlings are placed at a distance of 20 cm from each other. Amppelnaya seedlings are planted in several pieces in one container. The soil for planting should be light, porous and fertile. With all the drought tolerance of culture, it is necessary to closely monitor the soil moisture and maintain it.
Pruning
When the first flowering is over, the plant needs to be renewed. All shoots are cut about half the length. After this operation, the flower is abundantly watered for 7-10 days. This helps him to regain his strength and most likely will lead to the growth of stems and new flowering. 
Wintering
Most owners simply throw out the bushes at the onset of cold weather. However, the plant can be saved for the next season, after a simple manipulation. The capacity in which the diastia is located can be brought into a cool room (temperature is about 5 ° C). In early spring, such a plant can be propagated by cutting.
Pests and diseases
The main "sore" for the culture is excessive watering - do not forget that the homeland of this plant is Africa, where it managed to survive, after which it spread throughout the world. If the diaztion began to wilt or even dry, then in most cases, the problem is in excessively moistening its roots and forming root or stem rot. 
Fungal infections, as a rule, bypass this culture side, but the ground leaves can harm slugs and snails. In this case, you need to either remove these leaves, or arrange for them some kind of support.
Did you know? You can fight with slugs in an environmentally friendly way: the old board is smeared with kefir and is placed with a greased side down on some supports (a pair of small stones). For the night of the delicacy, all the slugs from the site will be gathered.
Reproduction diastia
The plant can be propagated in two ways - seeds and cuttings from an adult plant.
Seeds
Diastia landed in late winter or early spring. Seeds are laid at a very small depth - only half a centimeter. The soil surface after laying the seeds covered with film or other material. This is done not only to insulate future shoots, but also to maintain the moisture necessary for growing seeds. After the appearance of the first shoots, the film is taken off and a dive is made. 
Cuttings
For propagation by cuttings, you need to cut several healthy stems and plant them into the ground. Such cuttings will develop and bloom much earlier than those plants that are grown from seeds. You can plant the culture and the winter - in this case, a piece of the stem about 8 cm in length is planted in late August at a warm time of the day in a richly moistened soil. In the fall, the root system of the bushes can be divided by seating the diastia. After planting, the bushes are pinched so that they are lush next summer.
Gardeners often grow flowers such as Surfinia, Begonia, Pelargonium, Calibrachoa, Marigolds, Dahlia, Hortensia, Zinnia, Lobelia, Chrysanthemum, Geranium, Peony, Lily and Tulip.Diastia is able to perform many different roles: it is a decoration of the window, balcony, area; can be a landscape design tool; able to close the empty places in the flower garden. But in any case, this beautiful plant causes good emotions and imparts to the beautiful world of nature!
