This elegant plant is rarely seen in an ornamental garden. Beauty is bought in a sophisticated and most suitable setting for it — a natural garden style garden.

Long arcuate faceted stems, leaves like wings, and under them a row of droplets of flowers, which in autumn turn into round dark berries.

Very pretty cut.

If you ever hear the phrase «Solomon’s seal» — know that this is a kupena. And in order to get to the bottom of the history of the emergence of this name, you will need to dig in the truest sense of the word.

On the rhizome, after the death of annual shoots, round scars remain, similar to a seal. According to an ancient legend, it was King Solomon who marked the cupen with his seal.

Kupena is considered an unpretentious plant, it does not require any fertilizing or watering, while it grows in one place up to 15 years. True, in order for the plant to become like this, you will need to find the “right” place for it.

Kupena loves moist shade (partial shade), rich humus soils, does not tolerate stagnant moisture, blooms poorly in the sun, winters without shelter.

Thus, kupena is another beautiful plant for a shady flower garden.

POPULAR VIEWS

The genus includes about 50 species. Among them there are whorled species, as well as plants with pink and orange flowers. But the most decorative are the following. Very beautiful varieties with variegated leaves have been bred from them.

Kupena fragrant, medicinal (Polygonatum odoratum)

• Growth area: coniferous and birch forests of Europe, the Far East, China, Japan, Korea.
• Flowering period: May.
• Color spectrum: white flowers with green tips.
• Height: 30-65 cm
• Growing conditions: shade, partial shade, moist humus soils.
• Peculiarities: rhizomatous perennial, 1-2 flowers grow from each leaf axil, used in folk medicine.

Kupena multiflora (Polygonatum multiflorum)

Kupena squat (Polygonatum humile)

• Growth area: East Asia, forests, rarely meadows.
• Flowering period: May June.
• Color spectrum: white flowers with green tips.
• Height: 12-30 cm.
• Growing conditions: partial shade, moist humus soil.
• Peculiarities: rhizomatous perennial, the shortest among relatives, it is preferable to grow in shady rockeries.

IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW

All parts are bought poisonous. However, this plant is widely used in folk medicine.

BOUGHT IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Solomon’s seal can be planted in the shade of a fence, a house, an arbor — there it will fill the shaded space, and besides, it will save it from weeds.

The drooping shape of the kupena stem will look perfect on retaining walls and along shady paths.

Gardeners recommend planting kupena along hedges. Growing, it will cover the bare stems of shrubs.

It is also good bought as a lawn frame: tall stems hang beautifully over a green carpet.

COMBINATION IN SHAPE AND COLOR

Since kupena is a forest plant, ferns will become ideal neighbors for it. They have the same curved growth line.

However, from a design point of view, a contrasting landing is more suitable for her, for example, bathing suit, anemone, badanlow grades hosts, astilboidesa, darmers.

And Kupena also has a lot of variegated varieties, which look luxurious against the background of plants with purple and yellow leaves: geyhera, hakonehloya, decorative sedge, etc.

According to the type of soil, the level of humidity and the degree of shading, hydrangea and clematis can be identified as neighbors of the kupene.

REPRODUCTION AND TRANSPLANT

Increasing the population bought by seeds is ineffective. A number of factors play an important role here:

• seeds retain their germination for several months while they are inside the berry,
• they germinate as a result of natural stratification,
• during the first year the plant develops underground,
• flowering will come in three years.

That is, if you sow the seeds before winter, they will grow next spring (development of the root system in the horizontal direction), in August a vertical shoot will begin to develop, which will peek out of the ground as early as May next year.

The most rational way to propagate kupena is to divide the rhizome. For planting in the ground, segments with a renewal bud or stem are suitable. The procedure is carried out at the end of summer. The thick rhizome is very fragile in the “knees”, therefore it will not be difficult to break it into segments.

Delenki are immersed in the ground horizontally. In the first few years, the plant will build up the root system, because its aerial part develops very slowly.

You can divide an adult plant no more than 1 time in 4 years.

What else to read on the site:

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Sometimes I so want to do something like that in my garden, causing enthusiastic responses and admiring glances. Adding an interesting element to the garden is easy. And most importantly, not for long … Sometimes it’s just enough to transform a little what is under your feet all the time …

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