Your shopping cart is empty!
Bottle gourd mix
Bottle gourd mix - Lagenaria siceraria.
Lagenaria is an annual decorative liana with shoots up to 2 m from the Pumpkin family.
The plant is vigorous and strongly branched, with pale green, slightly pubescent large leaves.
The flowers are white, large, similar to a huge open bell. Fruits are pear-shaped, bottle-shaped or elongated, almost serpentine with dense bark and spongy pulp.
The fruits are used mainly for decorative purposes and in floristry. Due to the spectacular appearance of the plant itself, lagenaria is widely used for vertical gardening.
Seeds are sown for seedlings at the end of April (preliminary soaking is recommended). The optimum soil temperature for seed germination is + 25 + 30 ° С.
Young plants are planted outdoors in June, when the threat of frost has passed.
Lagenaria is an annual decorative liana with shoots up to 2 m from the Pumpkin family.
The plant is vigorous and strongly branched, with pale green, slightly pubescent large leaves.
The flowers are white, large, similar to a huge open bell. Fruits are pear-shaped, bottle-shaped or elongated, almost serpentine with dense bark and spongy pulp.
The fruits are used mainly for decorative purposes and in floristry. Due to the spectacular appearance of the plant itself, lagenaria is widely used for vertical gardening.
Seeds are sown for seedlings at the end of April (preliminary soaking is recommended). The optimum soil temperature for seed germination is + 25 + 30 ° С.
Young plants are planted outdoors in June, when the threat of frost has passed.
Bottle gourd. Bot. syn.: Cucumis bicirrha Forster ex Guillemin, Cucumis lagenarius., Cucumis mairei H.Lev., Cucurbita lagenaria L., Cucurbita leucantha Duchesne, Cucurbita longa hort., Cucurbita siceraria Molina, Lagenaria leucantha Rusby, Lagenaria vulgaris Ser.
* Lagenaria siceraria.
This plant belongs to the pumpkin family. Its fruits at an early age resemble greenhouse elongated cucumbers in shape, and zucchini in color. They can be eaten only in an unripe form, when they reach a diameter of 2-3 cm and a length of 30-50 cm. And surprisingly, the fruit will grow well and quickly if you cut off only the necessary part of it (the cut plane will not rot - it will heal quickly!).
During the growing season, we carry out three or four feedings with a garden mixture: 20 g per 5 liters of water or 150-200 g of wood ash per 5 liters of water per two plants.
Lagenaria lashes reach a length of 10-15 m, so we place them along the fence or let them fly onto a nearby tree.
The flowers of this plant are large, white, they begin to open in the afternoon and reach full opening only late in the evening. At this time, pollinating insects no longer fly, so we pollinate the plant manually, using pollen from 2-3 male flowers for this purpose. Lagenaria fruits, when they reach a length of 50-60 cm, are suspended, otherwise they will grow in the form of an arc. We leave only one fruit for seeds every 4-5 years.
In the fall, before frost, we cut it off with the stalk and store it at room temperature until the end of November. By this time, the seeds are well ripened. Then we extract them. Seed germination lasts up to 8 years.
In the homeland of lagenaria, the bark of ripened fruits is used for storing liquid and bulk food products. Milk in such a container does not sour for a long time, since such a container is not exposed to microorganisms and does not allow heat to pass through, which is very important in countries with hot climates.
In addition, the bark can be used to make various crafts: vases, bowls, etc. If at the beginning of growth you place the fruit in a collapsible structure of any configuration, for example, such as a jug or bottle, it will completely fill it. Only the internal volume of the form should be designed for the full volume of the mature fruit.
This is such an interesting plant - lagenaria!
