Cultivation of Filipendula
Cultivation of Filipendula
Filipendula (Filipendula Mill., 1754) is a genus of herbaceous plants of the Rosaceae family that grows in the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere.
The species of Filipendula are found distributed in a wide range that includes: eastern North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia up to Yunnan.
Their habitat is that of woods and open places, often on moist soils.
They are perennial herbaceous plants characterized by erect stems which in nature reach even 180 cm in height, with green leaves with light thorns in the centre, irregularly palmate and pinnate, 15 cm wide and up to 20 – 25 cm long. The flowers can be of various colors according to the species and the varieties; they are united in a widely branched terminal panicle.
Among the various species we remember the (Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim., 1879), to which we refer for the cultivation, which covers an important ecological role as it is the nourishing plant from the larvae of various species of lepidoptera of the families: Arctiidae , Erebidae, Geometridae, Hesperiidae, Nepticulidae, Noctuidae, Nymphalidae, Psychidae, Saturniidae, Tortricidae.
Cultivation –
The filipendula grows well on any type of soil (preferably alkaline), as long as it is fresh and humid. In general, the soil must be fertile, rich in organic substances and well drained.
It is a rustic plant that tolerates low temperatures and is not afraid of frost.
It is also a plant that prefers a partially shaded position but can also tolerate full sun if it grows in soil that is not excessively dry.
For this reason it is a plant suitable for cultivation along the banks of ponds, small lakes and streams.
We remind you that the flowering period is between the second ten days of June and the end of July, obviously depending on the latitude and altitude where it is grown.
However, it survives between -10 and 40 °C, therefore it is necessary to be careful to avoid cultivating it in extreme temperatures and, above all, to choose fresh, sufficiently humid but not stagnant soils and partial shade zones for a better vegetation and flowering.
If these minimum requirements are respected, Filipendula is a plant of easy cultivation and maintenance also because it hardly suffers from diseases or is attacked by pests, such as aphids and scale insects.
Irrigation must only be necessary so as not to dry out the soil as its rhizomatous roots support and nourish the plant very well.
However, if it is planted in the garden, it must be watered only during periods of prolonged drought. If, on the other hand, it lives in a vase, it must be watered with a certain regularity.
As far as its maintenance is concerned, a certain pruning is important. This consists in regularly eliminating withered flowers if you do not want to produce seeds.
In particular at the end of flowering, clean up the dry parts, leaving the basal leaves.
Fertilization should be carried out only when the plant resumes its vegetation in the following years, especially by supplying well humified organic matter or earthworm humus.
It is not recommended not to use synthetic nitrogen (above all nitric) in order not to induce the plant into excessive vegetation, even to the detriment of flowering, and in order not to weaken it by exposing it to attacks by parasites and phytophagous insects.
It can be reproduced by seed, and in this case some flowers must be left on the plant to produce the necessary seed.