Bacopa flower, planting and caring for which is not difficult, is quite popular among gardeners and amateurs. If you observe simple recommendations, then the plant will certainly delight the beautiful appearance, which will persist until frost.
Bacopa: plant description, main species
Bacopa, or as it is also called sutera, is a bushy flower. Long stems with rich green foliage during flowering are strewn with snow-white, blue and pale pink buds along the entire length.
Popular types:
In artificial bacopa Karolinska will grow all year round.
Bacopa: planting and caring for a plant
The plant needs sufficient light, especially in the morning and evening. In the middle of the day, the bush must be shaded from the sweltering heat. Therefore, in order for the plant to feel good, the best place for planting are areas located near tall bushes.
Sutera easily tolerates significant temperature fluctuations. Thanks to this, it can be kept outdoors from spring to autumn frosts.
At temperatures below -5 0 С, the flower may die.
This is a culture that is very fond of light. The abundance of flowering directly depends on its quantity. In a darkened place, the plant will be comfortable, but the sutera will spend all his strength on the accumulation of stems and foliage. In this case, the branches will be strongly elongated, the buds will decrease.
When choosing a substrate, the most optimal option is a soil with a slightly acidic reaction (about 6.5 pH). Good drainage and a high organic content are important. IN open beds they just add to the ground. But best of all, Bacopa grows and blooms precisely when it is kept in a pot, in a mixture of humus, peat and river sand with leafy ground.
Landing rules
Due to the elongated shoots, the plant is used to create horizontal as well as vertical compositions. If you lift the stems up and fasten them to the lattice, you get a decorative wall.
Ampelous plants are especially popular. Because of their unusual appearance, they are often planted in hanging flowerpots. Also, ampelous varieties are used in areas where it is necessary to cover hatches or untidy places.
They planted it outside only after frost. The distance between individual specimens depends on the size of the future bush and its variety, but not less than 10-15 cm. A drainage layer must be poured onto the bottom of the hole, covered with soil and a plant is planted. The space is covered with earth, tamped and watered abundantly.
Plant care
The plant is not capricious, but for abundant flowering you must observe simple rules for care.
Watering the plant
This is one of the most important factors, which must be monitored when growing bacopa. After planting, if the weather is quite hot, the flower is watered twice a day. In this case, water should not fall on the deciduous plates, otherwise they will get burned.
In order for the flower to winter well, in the cold months the flowerpot must be placed in a dark place, and watering must be reduced to 1 time in two weeks.
Spraying is very good. It is recommended to do this early in the morning and in the evening, after sunset. As soon as buds begin to form on the plant, the procedure is stopped.
Fertilizing and feeding
With active vegetation from spring to autumn, the flower is fertilized every week, alternating mineral mixtures and organic fertilizers... In order for a flower to be strong, with bright foliage and bloom well, it requires, in addition to the typical elements of potassium and phosphorus, also compounds of magnesium and manganese.
Pruning Bacopa
Without correct pruning the bush loses its attractiveness and decorative effect. Immediately after rooting, the plant begins to pinch at the growth points of the lateral and main shoots. As the bush grows, crown formation continues. The flower is also cut off when the shoots are greatly elongated. They should not exceed 65 cm.
Plant pick
When growing, suters must dive it. The first time when transplanting seedlings into separate pots, when three leaves appear on the shoots. You can also grow them in a common box, providing a distance between adjacent specimens of 2 cm.The second time they dive during the period when the flower is transplanted to its permanent place (pots, open beds).
Bacopa wintering
On the street, the flower will not tolerate severe frosts, so it is taken to a warm room for wintering. If you bring it in before the first frost and provide suitable conditions, then the plant will continue to bloom and will delight everyone with its appearance until the New Year.
After the bacopa has faded, it should be pruned and moved to a well-lit, but cool room with a temperature of + 10 ° - + 15 ° C. An excellent option is glazed balcony... At the same time, the soil should not dry out, but watering is significantly reduced. If necessary, spray the plant periodically.
Reproduction methods
The flower is propagated using seeds or cuttings. The simplest is the second way:
- The planting option is separated at the end of autumn during the pruning of excessively elongated shoots or with the onset of spring.
- It is enough to bury the cuttings in well-moistened loose soil or sand.
- Rooted twigs are planted in the beds at the very end of spring, when the frost has already passed.
Seeds are sown in the second half of winter when the day is longer. They are not buried, but simply laid out over the surface of loose soil and slightly pressed. In order for the seeds to germinate, the temperature should be maintained at least +18 0 С, ensuring high humidity. The best option - keep bacopa seeds in the greenhouse until the first shoots appear. This happens 10-12 days after sowing.
An unusual and new plant in our latitudes Bacopa is not at all capricious and very beautiful flower... Its use in medicine is still only being studied, but flower growers have already appreciated the high decorative properties of the plant.
Growing ampelous bacopa - video
Bacopa (sutera) is a herbaceous, unpretentious plant that curls and spreads. The branches of the flower can reach 70 cm in length. Leaves are medium in size, arranged in pairs on the branches. The color is olive green. The plant belongs to the plantain family, native to southern Africa. Bacopa has existed as a cultivated flower for 25 years. She was originally named Suter.
The culture blooms in waves and continuously from early spring to mid-autumn. In other words, an ovary of buds appears, which open, and crumble after flowering. In their place, new buds immediately appear. Flowers are massively located on the branches, the petals, depending on the variety, are light red, blue, white, purple.
Each year, the originators bring out new mixed varieties of a flower.
Growing a plant in flowerpots, they are transferred to a room with a temperature of no more than 10 degrees for the winter. Plants after wintering are suitable for cuttings, planting.
Bacopa in garden landscaping photo
A distinctive feature of the plant is its rapid growth, long preservation decorative properties rich leaves and beautiful flowers. Sutera is used to decorate and give an attractive look to coastlines, fences, walls, fences.
On the flowerbed, an indomitable blooming and smelling carpet of bacopa looks great. Expositions of fresh flowers with, fuchsia, petunia, are well combined.
Growing bacopa from seeds at home
Grow a bush in room conditions will not amount great complexity, both for the amateur and for the professional florist. Correct care and fragile creeping or curly shoots of a flower will be the best decoration for flower beds of stones, flower beds, balconies and decorative ponds.Seed and soil preparation
To grow Bacopa for the first time, you have to acquire seeds. This method of growing will not cause particular difficulties for flower beds. Go to a seed shop and buy quality seed.
The date of packing the seeds plays an important role. Expired seeds will not germinate.
Before planting, the seeds must be disinfected by soaking. This will protect them from the occurrence of various diseases. For this, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is used. The soaking time is 20 minutes.
The soil for sowing bacopa should be moist, with a low level of acidity, and loose. Optimal composition: leaf humus, peat and wet compost in equal parts. To warn root rot, it is recommended to use sand drainage. This mixture absorbs excess moisture well.
Sowing and caring for seedlings
The seeds are sown in March. To do this, you need a peat substrate previously sterilized in the oven (about 4 hours) at a temperature of 100C. After the mass is cooled and placed in a transparent container. Do not plant your bacopa seeds too deep. It is enough to press the seeds to the surface of the wet substrate with your finger. After this procedure, the container is covered with foil, cellophane or glass. Remember to comply temperature regime not lower than 20C. Sowing should be in the light. The first shoots will appear after 2 weeks. The full germination period can take up to a month.
Taking care of seedlings is not difficult. As soon as you see the shoots, do not let the soil dry out. Carefully plow the soil around the seedlings. When the first three true leaves have appeared on the seedlings, we proceed to the picking stage. In other words, the seedlings need to be transplanted into separate pots of peat with a diameter of no more than 5 cm. After the seedlings get used to the new home, they begin to feed them with fertilizers enriched with minerals.
The best temperature for growing bacopa from seeds is 22-26C.
If you want to plant flowers in the front garden, then you will need a second pick. Larger pots are needed here. A week after the second pick, the seedlings are fertilized with minerals rich in phosphorus and nitrogen. The room temperature should be maintained at 15-24C during the day and 13-15C at night.
If bacopa is grown as indoor culture, the second transplant is not needed. Seedlings are immediately planted in a basket, bucket, pots.
It is not necessary to remove faded flowers, the plant cleans itself on its own.
Planting bacopa seedlings
Plant a flower in open ground is possible only after the probability of night frosts is minimized. That is, in mid-May. Experienced gardeners know that seedlings need to be hardened. This is done as follows: every day the flowers are taken out into the open air, gradually increasing the duration of the sessions until the plant adapts to spending the whole day outside.
The best place for landing is a sunny corner, sheltered from the wind. You can plant the bacopa in the shade, but then there will be fewer buds on the flower. In the shade, the plant will generally lose its decorative effect: there will be almost no flowers, and the shoots will become long.
If we talk about the soil, then it should be well drained, rich in humus and with weak acidity. When planting seedlings in open ground, the distance between the seedlings must be observed. Depending on the variety, you will need to retreat between flowers by 10-25 cm. Remember, the higher the plant, the more free space it needs for maximum fertility.
Caring for bacopa after disembarkation
The conditions for caring for the bacopa bush at home and in the front garden do not differ. When growing a suter in the garden, you need to understand that the plant will need top dressing, weeding, watering, loosening the soil, cutting, insect control and protection from diseases.After planting flowers, it is necessary to provide the plant with good lighting, as well as direct sunlight. Since Bacopa can withstand temperature extremes and even slight frosts down to -5C, it is hung in a flowerpot from spring to early autumn.
Watering the plant
Bacopa is watered frequently and plentifully, especially in dry times. After watering, the soil is fluffed, trying not to damage the roots. Also, remove the weeds carefully by hand.
Fertilizers and feeding
With regards to dressings, they are effective only for young plants. Fertilizing is best from spring to autumn every ten days. As winter approaches, you do not need to fertilize the flowers. As a rule, sutera is fertilized with universal solutions enriched in minerals, as well as organic substances in the form of mullein and bird droppings.
Pruning Bacopa
To make the flower bush better, the ends of its shoots are pinched. If the stems of the plant grow long enough, they can be trimmed. Cuttings from the top that remain after pruning are used for further propagation. When the shoots are lignified, and the flowering becomes less lush, the lower part of the flower is cut off to 1/3 of the length. Such manipulations are usually carried out in the fall.
Bacopa wintering
Some varieties of suters, unfortunately, do not tolerate wintering in the open field. To prevent the plant from dying, it is transferred indoors without drafts with good lighting. The temperature should be kept within 8-15C. The air must be humidified so that fungus does not appear. In winter, the flower is not watered as abundantly as in summer. At this time of the year, Bacopa rests, stopping its growth.
Many growers think not the right decision leave an adult flower for the winter, because it loses its decorative effect. Usually, plants that have overwintered are used for grafting.
Diseases and pests of bacopa
Sutera belongs to undemanding plants. She is disease resistant.From spring to autumn, Bacopa almost does not get sick. Sometimes the stems are affected by aphids. In this case, they are treated with soapy water 2-3 times with an interval of a week. If this procedure does not help, then insecticides come to the rescue. Remember that problems can start in winter if the plant is not moved to a cold room.
When growing bacopa from seed at home, there is always a risk of damage to the plant from whitefly attacks due to dry air. If this happens, you must cut it off completely upper part flower, and place the flowerpot in the coolest place. Treatment chemical preparations can harm.
Bacopa varieties photo and name
Today the genus contains more than 60 plant species. On their basis, breeders brought out a mass decorative varieties flower, differing in color of the petals. Read more in our article further.Bacopa Snowtopia is an unpretentious, easy-to-grow variety. Most often used for hanging flowerpots. The flower is highly branched. It has shoots up to 60 cm long, strewn with many small flowers. Best grown in areas without direct sunlight.
Blutopia
Bacopa variety Hybrid is characterized by white and blue flowers... The plant is most popular among gardeners who plant balconies, terraces, and loggias.
Vasilisa
The culture is distinguished by the color of flowers in a deep purple hue. The plant is decorated, front gardens, balconies. Bacopa is often grown in combination with petunias, chrysanthemums, miniature roses. Vasilisa looks good on the alpine slides. Grows in partial shade, in the sun. The stems grow up to 60 cm.
Bacopa Karolinska
The plant is characterized by pairs of leaves on succulent stems. The birthplace of the flower - North America... The Bacopa variety can grow in both fresh and salt water. It is often used to decorate marine, freshwater aquariums. Growing out of the water, the flower blooms with light purple flowers on the surface.
Blue avalanche
Annual plant with small blue flowers... Blooms profusely from early summer to early autumn. The length of the shoots reaches 60 cm. The culture is used on front gardens, borders, to decorate pots. The blue avalanche loves sunlight. With its lack, the bacopa stretches and does not bloom.
snow avalanche
Handsome and unpretentious flower... During flowering, it looks like a ball. Bacopa stems reach 60 cm. Combines well with other flowers in flowerpots, baskets. Loves shady places devoid of direct rays of the sun.
Bacopa Raphael
For florists and gardeners, a flower evokes a sea of \u200b\u200bemotions. Used to decorate balconies, alpine slides... The culture looks good with petunias, chrysanthemums, small roses. The shoots of the flower grow up to 60 cm, covered with purple inflorescences. Characteristic property for the Raphael variety - the duration of flowering, resistance to rain, self-cleaning from faded flowers. The plant loves moisture, tolerates temperature fluctuations. Prefers partial shade and sun.
Blooming Bacopa is amazing decoration front garden, veranda, balcony, garden, loggia, different types fences. A little effort to grow bacopa from seeds will only be needed at the initial stage of flower cultivation, at a time when it is overly capricious. After getting used to a new place, the established culture will become unpretentious in the course and will not require much attention from the grower.
Bacopa, also called suthe, is mainly found in countries South America... Sometimes it is found on the territory of the CIS countries, but this is a rather rare occurrence, since such climatic conditions unsuitable for her. An exotic plant that came from abroad immediately found its number of admirers among flower growers. And every season there are more and more of them.
Bacopa flowers
A distinctive feature of Bacopa is its small multi-colored flowers that look like stars. The flower has 5 petals, similar to the sharp rays of a five-pointed star. The color and size of flowers may vary depending on the variety. They can be white, pink, blue, purple. It is famous for its lush, round leaf caps. This plant has abundant greenery and grows very quickly. There are a lot of varieties, ranging from ordinary varieties to hybrid specimens. Of the varieties, the most famous are the following:
Growing and care
Despite its beauty and splendor of flowering, which will delight absolutely anyone, the plant is quite unpretentious in care. Regular watering and pinching of excess shoots provides a bright and lush bloom for a long time that will delight your eyes.
Bakola is capricious to watering and does not tolerate dry soil, therefore, watering must be monitored. It should be located closer to moist areas, from where it can take additional food if necessary. She loves a lot of light, so she should always be located in well-lit, sunny areas.
This applies not only to bushes growing in open ground, but also to shoots growing in pots, they should also be taken out to the well-lit sides of the balcony or veranda. Otherwise, due to a lack of sunlight, the plant begins to stretch in length, and the flowering, on the contrary, becomes less abundant.
The soil should be selected, consisting of a mixture of peat, turf and sand, and when planting, prepare good drainage. When planting in the ground, it is worth waiting for warmer weather, when the earth will probably already be warmed up. Timely watering, good lighting and suitable soil - these are all the secrets of growing and caring for a flower. Bacopa also likes to regularly loosen the soil to saturate the root system with oxygen, but this should be done carefully, since the plant sits shallowly in the ground, and sudden movements can disrupt its root system.
Before hibernation, the ground part growing in the open field is cut off almost completely. And the plants growing in pots are brought into the room. During hibernation, the growth of bacopa practically stops., but it still needs periodic watering. The recommended temperature for keeping indoors in winter is not higher than + 10 ° C.
Bacopa ampelous
Bacopa ampelous is one of the types of bacopa. It is used as a decoration in hanging planters, baskets. This variety has long shoots that can either hang from hanging pots or trail along the walls, covering everything around with their star inflorescences. different colors... Bacopa ampelous blooms cyclically. After the lush bloom, there is a temporary period of rest, then again a lush flowering.
The flowering period lasts from early spring until late autumn. For the winter, the plant is brought into unheated room... For regular and lush bloom, the flower should be renewed annually. This is done in two ways:
- dividing the shoots from the main adult plant;
- reproduction unpretentious plant by growing from seeds.
The sowing time is influenced only by the further conditions in which the bacopa will grow. If its further growth and flowering will occur in indoor conditions, then the sowing time can be absolutely any. Both breeding methods are good and are guaranteed to produce abundant color in the first year.
Propagation by cuttings
Cutting, or graft propagation, of bacopa is produced by rooting the tops of the plant's shoots. Before planting cuttings in the ground, they need to go through a little preparation. The upper shoots of the plant are cut about 10 cm long, leaving several leaves on them. Then the cut shoots are dipped in water for several hours. If desired, you can also add to the water special tool to speed up the appearance of root shoots. After a few hours, the cuttings are planted in the prepared soil.
An important point in the matter of cuttings is the choice the right soil... Sandy soil with vermiculite works best. It absorbs water well and oxygenates the roots better. Shoots are planted in the ground so that a few petals remain on the surface. For faster rooting of the shoots, you can cover them with a film, creating a greenhouse effect inside. Further, it is recommended to put a greenhouse with cuttings in warm place with sufficient light, but not in direct sunlight.
When new fresh shoots appear, it is best to pinch them, so that in the future the bacopa has richer inflorescences. After a noticeable growth of new petals, the film is removed. Further care produced in the same way as for any other seedlings. Cutting is best done towards the end of summer, when many overgrown stems have already formed in the ampelous bacopa. Another favorable time for planting ampelous bacopa is winter period... At this time, large bakopa bushes are divided into smaller ones.
Growing from seeds
Bacopa ampel cultivation from seeds - the most common type of breeding. Bacopa seeds can be purchased at almost any gardening store. Growing in this way requires growing seedlings, and then transplanting them into the planned soil.
Sow bacopa superficiallylightly crushing the seeds. Further, care for the seedlings is the same as always. Cover with foil and set in warm room... The seeds hatch about two weeks after sowing. This is followed by a pick when small leaves appear. The first pick is carried out at a distance of about 2 cm from each other. The second pick is made already in separate containers, for example, cups or small pots, with a hole for drainage.
After the second pick, you can safely start feeding the plant with fertilizers. Also, after the second pick, it is necessary to lower the room temperature in order for the seedlings to harden. The optimum temperature for their favorable growth is considered to be from + 15 ° C to + 23 ° C.
Bacopa Blutopia
This bacopa species is blue in color. Small beautiful flowers of bright saturated color. The active blooming period lasts from June to September. The length of blutopia shoots can be up to 60 cm.
The bloom of blutopia, like all other species, is very bright and abundant, in the form of a lush cap. This variety can often be seen in outdoor flowerpots, flower beds, hanging pots. Blutopia flowers, like a blanket, cover the vases in which they grow on top. Like all members of this family, blutopia loves abundant bright light. With its lack, the plant begins to lose all its beauty, and its appearance becomes no longer so attractive.
Landscape decor
To decorate landscapes, a combination of a flower with lobelia erinus, geranium, capuchin or fuchsia is used. Such combinations do not leave indifferent not only gardening lovers. Growing in hanging pots can be combined with wicker lattices, along which the bacopa can crawl and form a flower fence from its branches.
It can also be used as a background plant. Against its background, you can create excellent contrast and highlight the colors of other plants. An excellent combination in the form of vertical gardening of the site will be a combination of bacopa with morning glory and nasturtium.
To cover desert areas in the garden excellent solution there will be ampelous bacopa planting. Due to the fact that the plant grows quickly and covers everything around with its flower carpet, it is possible to achieve excellent decorations in a recently vacant place.
Even more brightness and saturation of the leaves and flowers of bacopa can be given by dressing based on trace elements.
Bacopa or Sutera is a perennial, lush flowering climbing herb from the Plantain family, common in many european countries and Russian regions. These flowers are native to the South African tropics. Bacopa possesses decorative qualities, is unpretentious in care and maintenance, is distinguished by a long flowering period and a wide variety of species, varieties and hybrids. She is deservedly held in high esteem among florists, gardeners and landscape designers.
The method for propagating bacopa by cuttings is the simplest and does not require special skills and efforts, but it is available only to those who already have adult plant... All others can use the method of growing a flowering crop from seeds. This will take a lot of attention, some florist skills and a lot of hard work. For planting, it is recommended to take seeds from tried and true Bacopa varieties: Snowflake, Scopia Doubl Ballerina Pink, and Blizzard.
The optimal time for sowing seeds is the first week of March. With more early landing (for example, in last week February) it is necessary to use additional supplementary illumination of crops. For convenient control over soil moisture in containers, it is recommended to use transparent plastic cups for planting seeds.
The soil should be loose, moist, with a low level of acidity. The ideal composition is equal parts of peat, compost (wet), leaf humus. To prevent the appearance of root rot and other diseases associated with an excess of moisture in the soil, it is recommended to use sand drainage. This material easily absorbs excess moisture... A small layer of sand must be poured onto the bottom of each glass, and only then filled with soil mixture.
The packing date of purchased seeds has great importance, since their germination is maintained only for three years.
Soaking is necessary seed material as a disinfectant and prophylaxis against various diseases. The residence time of seeds in a weak manganese solution is about 20 minutes.
Sowing seeds is carried out in moist soil, after which they are lightly pressed and sprayed with a sprayer. Every plastic container with seeds, cover with glass or plastic wrap and put in a bright, warm room with a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius.
Constant temperature and high level humidity must be maintained for two weeks. This time is necessary for the germination of seeds and the appearance of seedlings.
The emergence of seedlings is a signal for transferring containers to a brighter place, for removing glass or film coverings, as well as for thinning young plants.
The method of watering seedlings is drip and plentiful. The potting mix must be constantly moisturized.
The first pick is carried out after the formation of 3-4 full-fledged leaves. Plants in this form can grow independently in individual containers with peat soil. When transplanting seedlings into common containers, the distance between plantings must be observed (at least 2 cm). The transfer of plants to a new growing site is carried out together with an earthen clod in order to preserve the integrity of the delicate and fragile root system.
Top dressing is applied regularly. The first one - 15 days after germination, the second and all subsequent ones - every 10 days. It is necessary to use mineral and organic fertilizers alternately. Full development and abundant lush flowering of bacopa depends on the composition of the complementary foods. It must contain phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium in large quantities.
The second pick is carried out with grown bushes, which are transferred to a permanent growing place. The decorativeness of plants will depend on the planting density. The distance between plantings should not be less than 10 cm. It is recommended to deepen the root part by one knot, which will contribute to better rooting and abundant flowering... The place of cultivation can be open areas in a garden or flower garden, as well as hanging flower containers or planters.
Bacopa seedlings should be hardened approximately 15 days before planting in open ground, gradually reducing the temperature, reaching 15 degrees Celsius. This procedure will strengthen the immunity of young plants, which can be transferred to the beds in the second half of May. The distance between the planting holes is at least 20 cm. In case of unexpected whims of the weather and the temperature drops below 10-14 degrees, it is recommended to use film covers.
The landing site should be half-shaded, without direct sunlight, with moist soil (it is possible near a reservoir).
Basic rules for caring for bacopa
- The decorative qualities of bacopa are preserved with regular pinching.
- Withered and dried flowers do not need to be removed.
- Plants require periodic loosening of the soil. Do not forget about the shallow location of the roots to the soil surface.
- It is recommended to timely carry out preventive treatment of plants by spraying in order to resist pests. When the main pest (aphids) appears, it must be used to combat it soap solution based on laundry soap.
Flowering Bacopa plant - wonderful decoration flower garden, garden, veranda, gazebo, loggia or balcony. A little patience for its cultivation is required only for initial stage plant development when it can be too capricious. After adaptation to a permanent place, the rooted flowering culture will become practically unpretentious and will not require much attention.
How to grow and propagate bacopa (video)
Flowers - best decoration at home and personal plot... Every year, gardeners get acquainted with new types of decorative and fruit plants and learn methods of growing exotic crops.
In this article we will talk about bacopa - we will talk about growing from seeds and the peculiarities of caring for this unusually beautiful South African flower. Today, in addition to the traditional white bacopa, there are many varieties with flowers different shades - lilac, blue, pink, yellow, blue, red, purple. But a plant with white flowers is the most stable, unpretentious and resistant to various kinds of external influences. In addition, many bacopa varieties tend to degenerate and become highly pollinated, transforming from colored to white forms after a few years.
Bacopa: planting and care
Bacopa (sutera) is a low perennial with many small single five-petalled flowers (about 2 cm in diameter), blooming almost continuously from spring (March) to autumn (October). Most often, bacopa is grown as (decorating fences, pillars, walls of buildings with flowerpots,), but it also looks great as an unpretentious and spectacular perennial ground cover. If desired, other species can be grown in the same flowerpot with bacopa. ampel plants: petunias, nasturtium, fuchsia, lobelia, aregatum. In terrestrial plantings, Bacopa is used as an attractive background plant, forming a lush flowering carpet around the center plant of the composition. The plant's advantages also include resistance to prolonged rains - Bacopa does not lose its attractiveness even in such conditions. In addition, even in the absence of flowers, the plant is quite decorative, due to the presence of many small bright green leaves.
The very first thing that anyone who wants to grow this beautiful flower should find out is how to plant Bacopa. After all, it is correct fit makes it possible to grow high-quality seedlings, which means healthy and beautiful plants. Planting a bacopa is not a difficult task, but here, as in any other business, you should adhere to a certain algorithm of actions.
First of all, you need to choose the right soil. For bacopa, a slightly acidic mixture (peat and garden soil 1: 1). For growing in flowerpots, you will also need to add humus and sand to the mixture (2 parts each). It is also imperative to ensure good drainage, since stagnant water is bad for the condition of the root system.
Bacopa should be watered often, but little by little, avoiding drying out or waterlogging of the soil. From time to time, the plant should be fed with liquid complex mineral fertilizers.
Depending on the variety, the distance between plants should be between 10 and 25 cm (the taller the plant, the more space it needs).
Bacopa can be planted in open ground as soon as the threat of night frost disappears.
Bacopa grows best in sunny, sheltered areas. Growing in partial shade is also possible, but remember: the less sun, the fewer flowers. With full shading, the bacopa stretches out and loses some decorative effect.
For the winter, the bacopa is hidden in a cool wet room (with an air temperature of 8-15 ° C). The plant is able to withstand short-term frosts down to -5 ° C. When wintering in too hot rooms, the risk of diseases increases - gray rot, soot fungus, shoots can stretch out and become bare.
Do I need to pinch the bacopa?
Pinching the bacopa is not mandatory procedure, but significantly increases the number of flowers, therefore it is very popular among flower growers.
It is carried out according to the classical scheme - growth points are pinched on young shoots, which stimulates the development of lateral processes and flower buds. You can pinch the shoots at any length.
Bacopa: reproduction
This plant can be propagated different methods: sowing seeds or cuttings.
The seed method of reproduction involves growing through seedlings; Bacopa is not grown by direct sowing into the ground.
The seeds are small, there are more than 5 thousand seeds in 1 gram. Germination lasts for 2-3 years.
Light, light, moisture and air permeable soil is best suited for germinating small seeds. Optimum temperature for germination - 20-23 ° C. At air temperatures below 18 ° C, the seeds do not germinate. You should not close the seeds deeply - they are light-germinating, it is better to only slightly crush them to the soil surface. For the same reason, you cannot cover the pots with sown seeds with opaque materials - without light, the seeds will not sprout. It is also important to ensure high humidity during seed germination.
The first shoots appear on the 10-14th day.
At the stage of one or two true leaves, the first pick is carried out (2 cm between plants). From this moment, regular fertilizing with diluted fertilizer is required (50% of the norm specified in the instructions).
At the second pick, the seedlings are transplanted into separate cups (with a drainage hole). In this case, the specimens should be buried in the substrate by one node. After the second pick, the plants begin to harden, gradually reducing the temperature from + 22-23 ° С to + 15-22 ° С during the day and + 13-15 ° С at night.
How to cut bacopa?
Bacopa cuttings are carried out in January-March and August-September. To do this, choose healthy young shoots, cutting them off. 
the apical part with two nodes (up to 10 cm) and root them in a moist light substrate to a depth of about 0.5 cm so that bottom node was below the soil surface (it will form a root). The knot remaining on the surface forms ground shoots and leaves. To increase rooting, cuttings can be treated with phytohormones or stimulating drugs.
The container with cuttings should be placed in a warm, humid environment (you can cover with a bag and put in a warm place). Rooted plants are planted in the ground (in a permanent place) in early May.
White bacopa varieties take root best.