Physalis: cultivation, planting and care, types and varieties

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden plants Published: February 24, 2019Last edits: November 03, 2020

plant (lat. Physalis) belongs to the largest genus of the Solanaceae family, which includes about 120 species growing in Asia, Europe, as well as in South and North America. Translated from Greek, physalis means bubble - the name is given because of the shape of the growing red-orange calyx of the plant. Gardeners sometimes call physalis earth cranberry or emerald berry, as well as bladderwrack, dog cherry and maroonka. Physalis is often compared to tomatoes - plants from the same family, and although these plants are similar in many ways, planting and caring for physalis in open ground has its differences.

Planting and caring for physalis

• Planting: sowing seeds in open ground - in April or early May, sowing seeds for seedlings - in March, transplanting seedlings into the ground - in early or mid-May.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• Soil: fertile, neutral or alkaline.
• Predecessors: good - cucumbers, cabbage; bad ones are peppers, eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes and physalis.
• Watering: regular, moderate.
• Feeding: liquid organic fertilizers 2-3 times per season.
• Reproduction: seeds, cuttings and lateral shoots.
• Pests: mole crickets and wireworms.
• Diseases: phytosporosis, black leg and viral mosaic.
• Properties: the berries of the plant have a diuretic, analgesic, hemostatic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and choleretic effect.

Read more about growing physalis below.

Procurement of seeds

You can prepare seeds for subsequent sowing yourself at home. For this:

1. Select ripe fruits without signs of disease.
2. Leave for a couple of weeks in a warm place (20-25°C).
3. Knead in a glass container and leave for 3-5 days.
4. Remove the top layer.
5. Wash the seeds several times.
6. Those that have sunk to the bottom are taken out, laid out on paper and dried.

Growing physalis from seeds is not as difficult as it seems. The main thing is to follow the rules and recommendations, and then the plant will delight you not only with its decorative appearance, but also with its fragrant fruits.

Botanical description

Physalis flower is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant with sometimes branched, erect or angularly curved, geniculate stems, bare or with sparse pubescence in the upper part, reaching a height of 20 to 120 cm. At the base, the stems become woody over time. The leaves of Physalis are opposite, and in the lower part of the stem they are close in pairs or alternate. The flowers are usually solitary, axillary, located along the entire length of the stem. The calyxes are bell-shaped, swollen, bright, hiding spherical, bilocular berries of orange or red color - the aromatic fruits of physalis.

Physalis is an ornamental plant, although many of its species have fruits that are quite edible and even tasty. The perennial physalis is called the Chinese lantern - it looks great in a winter bouquet.

Peculiarities of propagation of indoor physalis

Physalis in nature reproduces by seeds, layering and cuttings. I tried all propagation methods at home, it is better to use seeds and cuttings, excluding layering.

How to propagate.

• I described the process of planting seeds in the paragraph “how to plant.”
• I propagate by cuttings after fruiting has ended.
• I cut off a side branch and divide it into 2-3 cuttings measuring 10 cm.
• I put the cuttings in a glass of warm water.
• I add 2-3 drops of a root growth stimulator (Epin, Kornevin).
• I change the water every other day.
• When the roots sprout, I immediately plant them in a pot with a diameter of 5-8 cm.
• I'm making a greenhouse for a month.
• Care as for seedlings.

Growing physalis from seeds

How to sow seeds

In warm areas, physalis seeds are sown directly into the ground, since the plant is cold-resistant, early ripening and productive, and it is enough to sow physalis once, and then it will multiply by self-seeding - all you have to do is thin out the seedlings. Since physalis seeds sharply lose their viability after 4 years, before sowing, soak them in a five percent salt solution and after a while remove the floating seeds that are not useful to you, and rinse and pickle the settled ones for half an hour in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate, then rinse and dry.

• How to care for daylilies in a flower bed

Physalis is sown in April or early May sparsely in furrows, maintaining an interval of approximately 30 cm between rows. When seedlings appear, they are thinned out so that the distance between seedlings ends up being about 25 cm. Those seedlings that had to be pulled out can be transplanted to another place – they will take root well, although they will begin to bear fruit a little later. You can sow physalis before winter, in October.

Seedling care

In the middle zone, physalis is grown in seedlings, especially since it allows you to get fruits earlier than when sowing seeds in the ground. Sow physalis seeds for seedlings about a month and a half before planting in the ground in separate 0.5-liter containers, if you don’t want to bother with picking, or in seedling boxes according to the 6x8 pattern - before planting in the ground, all that remains is to divide the seedlings into bushes. As a pre-sowing treatment, the seeds are kept for 30 minutes in a strong solution of potassium permanganate.

Physalis is germinated at a temperature of about 20 ºC, and then sprouts can appear within a week. At a lower temperature, seedlings will have to wait a month.

Make sure that the soil and air humidity are not too high, since under such conditions there is a risk of seedlings becoming infected with blackleg, so caring for physalis flowers at this stage includes regular ventilation of the room, provided that they are reliably protected from drafts. If, with proper care and normal lighting (physalis seedlings need bright, diffused light), the seedlings grow slowly or painfully stretch out, it is necessary to add a solution of bird droppings to the soil - 1 part of fertilizer to 20 parts of water at the rate of half a bucket per 1 m², then spill the soil with water avoiding burns.

Physalis pick

Those who have sowed physalis densely in a seedling box will have to, when the seedlings have two true leaves, dive them into separate cups so that when planting, they injure the root system of the physalis as little as possible, which grows very quickly. If you sowed the seeds directly into separate cups, then you will not have to pick the seedlings - you will be able to plant them directly in open ground within the time limit established by the conditions for growing the seedlings.

Sowing physalis seeds for seedlings indoors

Fill the sowing bowl with the prepared soil mixture and compact it a little. Spread the physalis seeds evenly over the surface of the soil using a small piece of white paper.

Cover the top with the same soil mixture with a layer of 1 cm and compact it again so that when watering the soil does not wash away and the physalis seeds do not float to the surface.

Water the crops carefully, starting from the edge of the bowl, in small portions, waiting until the next portion of water is completely absorbed.

To prevent moisture from evaporating too quickly, cover the crops or place the bowl in a clean plastic bag and place it in a bright place. At a temperature of +15...+20°C, physalis germinates in 7-8 days. After emergence of seedlings, the cover must be removed. Make sure that the soil in the bowl does not dry out.

Planting physalis in open ground

When to plant

Physalis is planted in open ground on a cloudy day or in the afternoon at the stage of development of seedlings with 5-6 leaves. For physalis, a sunny area with neutral or slightly alkaline soil is suitable, on which cucumbers or cabbage grew before it, but after crops such as physalis itself, peppers, potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes, physalis is not planted for four years, since all these plants suffer from the same diseases, the pathogens of which often remain in the soil for a long time.

Planting a physalis flower is preceded by digging up the area with the addition of humus and ash no later than two weeks before the scheduled date. Do not fertilize the soil with fresh manure.

How to plant

Since most of the species and varieties of physalis are highly branched, seedlings are planted in a checkerboard pattern in increments of approximately half a meter. Tall varieties need staking - provide this when planting. The hole for physalis should be so deep that the seedlings are immersed in it until the first true leaf. When planting overgrown seedlings, pour one and a half liters of water into the hole and plant the seedling at an angle directly into the water so that the roots in it straighten out on their own, after which the hole is covered with earth and compacted.

Seedlings planted in a timely manner do not need such tricks: they are planted in the usual way, but after planting they are watered abundantly. To make caring for physalis easier, the area can be mulched with peat.

Picking Physalis seedlings

After 2-3 true leaves appear, you need to start picking physalis seedlings. Use the same soil for picking as for sowing, but without sifting, reducing the proportion of sand by half. For every 5 liters of soil mixture, add 1 spoon of complete mineral fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (for example, nitroammophoska).

Fill the pots or seedling trays with the prepared soil mixture and compact it slightly.

Using a small spatula, make holes large enough to accommodate the root system of the seedlings. When planting, deepen the seedlings as far as your container allows; if the seedlings are too elongated, you can deepen them down to the cotyledon leaves. Like most nightshades, physalis quickly produces additional roots.

If the roots are too long, they can be shortened a little. This procedure stimulates the development of a more powerful root system.

Compact the soil around the seedling.

Water the picked seedlings carefully, starting from the edge of the pot. If the soil has settled too much after watering, then add more on top so that its top level is about 1 cm below the edge of the pot.

Caring for physalis in the garden

Growing conditions

Growing and caring for physalis is simple and not labor-intensive. During the growing season, the plant needs regular watering, followed by weeding and loosening of the soil, as well as fertilizing with organic fertilizers - solutions of mullein (1:10) or chicken manure (1:15), also carried out after watering the site. Growing physalis also involves hilling the bushes in cold and damp summers, but there is no need to pin or prune them: since the fruits develop in the branches of the stems, the more the bush branches, the higher the harvest will be.

Physalis propagation

In addition to the seed method of propagating physalis, which we have already described, the plant propagates by lateral shoots and cuttings. Ornamental physalis forms many shoots from a creeping rhizome located shallowly underground, so in spring or autumn, part of the rhizome, along with regrown shoots, is dug up from the mother bush and replanted.

To make cuttings from physalis in July, cut off the tops of the stems with 2-3 well-developed internodes and plant them, burying them halfway into loose soil and covering them with perforated film for the first time. When the leaves on the cuttings restore turgor, the film can be removed. Caring for physalis during the rooting period of cuttings consists of timely watering and shading from direct sunlight.

Pests and diseases

Physalis is affected by diseases to a much lesser extent than tomatoes, however, a disease such as mosaic sometimes affects persistent physalis, and specimens weakened by poor care are the first to fall victim. Symptoms of the disease: leaves acquire a mottled contrasting color of dark green and light green areas. As a result of the disease, fruit yield may be reduced by half.

• Buttercup: planting, care, types and varieties

There is no cure for mosaic virus, so it is necessary to immediately destroy diseased plants by fire before the disease spreads throughout the entire area. The place where the diseased physalis grew should be spilled with a strong solution of potassium permanganate.

In the seedling stage, in conditions of too high humidity, physalis is affected by the black leg, as a result of which the seedlings turn black at the base of the stem and die. You can avoid the disease by strictly following the rules for caring for seedlings: loosening the soil, thinning out the seedlings in a timely manner, watering the seedlings abundantly but not often in the morning.

The scourge of all nightshades is phytosporosis, which is especially dangerous in wet weather during the ripening period. Brown subcutaneous spots appear on the fruits, which make the berries unsuitable for eating. You can fight phytosporosis by spraying physalis with a one percent solution of Bordeaux mixture, and this should be done in advance, even before the ovary appears on the bushes.

Among insects, mole crickets that gnaw the roots of seedlings and wireworms can cause harm to physalis. You can fight mole crickets by planting seedlings in a plastic ring: cut off the narrow neck of two-liter plastic bottles and cut off the bottom, then cut what is left into two parts (rings); A plastic ring is placed in the hole for the physalis seedling, in the center of which the seedlings are planted. After burying the seedling, the ring should rise above the surface of the area by approximately 5 cm. In this way, you will protect the roots of the young plant from attack by mole crickets.

They fight wireworms using baits: dig several holes around the area, fill them with half-rotted grass or hay and cover them with boards. In a day or two, check the bait, and you will see that many click beetle larvae - wireworms - have moved into it in search of warmth and food. Collect the contents of the bait and burn it on a fire along with the pests. Autumn plowing or deep digging of the area gives good results in the fight against wireworms - in winter, the larvae, once on the surface, die from the cold.

In general, physalis is a very healthy plant that is resistant to negative influences. Follow the rules for caring for and growing physalis, and pests and pathogens will bypass your area.

Growing through seedlings

Before sowing, physalis seeds are processed.

Disinfection: seeds wrapped in gauze are dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for a third of an hour. Potassium permanganate can be replaced with a fungicide solution.

To speed up germination, soak in a growth stimulator for 12 hours (1-2 drops per 100 ml of water).

Next steps are as follows:

1. The containers are filled with soil mixture and lightly compacted.

2. The processed grains are laid out at a short distance.

3. Sprinkle with earth (1 cm layer) and compact.

4. Moisturize carefully.

5. Cover with polyethylene or glass.

Boxes with plantings are placed on a lighted windowsill, providing the necessary temperature conditions (15-20°C) and constant humidity. How long does it take for physalis seeds to germinate:

• subject to the necessary conditions – about a week;
• If the temperature regime is violated, sprouts appear later.

When sprouts appear, the polyethylene is removed.

Physalis after flowering

How and when to collect seeds

Physalis fruits are collected together with dried bright cups in dry weather 45-60 days after planting the seedlings in the ground - in August or September. The fruits do not ripen at the same time: the lower berries ripen earlier and fall to the ground. If you pick them right away, you can eat them or send them for processing. Or you can get seeds from them. To do this, ripe fruits are cut in half and filled with rainwater for a day, and then the swollen pulp is rubbed through a sieve, the seeds are washed and dried.

Preparing for winter

The above-ground part of the decorative perennial physalis is cut off in the fall - it will make beautiful dry bouquets. The leaves are removed, and the stems with fruits in bright sheaths are hung to dry. The area is mulched with peat for the winter. Annual (vegetable and berry) species are disposed of after harvesting, and the site is subjected to deep digging.

When to harvest physalis and how to store it

Visual signs of fruit readiness are their dried orange-red lantern boxes and a specific berry-vegetable aroma.

One way or another, it is recommended to collect physalis slightly unripe and directly with the branches of the bush (this way it ripens better). Then, without delay, remove the lantern covers and let the fruits dry. Otherwise, the safety of juicy fruits is not guaranteed.

As a rule, physalis ripens by the end of August. Fruit ripening occurs gradually, starting from the bottom of the bush. It is best to collect physalis in clear and sunny weather. First, all of them fell and were fully ripe, and then - still unripe green ones. The collected berries need to be dried well.

The ideal place to store physalis is a dry, well-ventilated and cool room. Containers - lattice boxes. The optimal storage temperature is 12-14 degrees, so the fruits can last for 1-2 months. Unripe berries can be preserved until spring. But if you keep physalis at room temperature, the berries will quickly deteriorate, wither and rot. During the entire storage period, physalis must be constantly and regularly examined, selecting ripe fruits and throwing away spoiled ones. Thus, if you want to store a vegetable wonder for a long time, then create comfortable conditions for it.

Video: cleaning and storing physalis

Types and varieties

Physalis edible is divided into physalis berry and physalis vegetable. The physalis berry is represented by such species as raisin physalis, or pubescent physalis, or strawberry physalis, Peruvian physalis, which has recently begun to be grown in the middle zone, and Florida physalis, as well as their varieties.

Physalis floridana

It has sweet, pleasant-tasting fruits without any fruity aftertaste and almost no acidity. The jam made from this type of berries resembles cherry jam, so when cooking, leaves of fragrant geranium are added to it.

Physalis pubescens

It has a more refined taste - sweet, with barely perceptible sourness and a pronounced taste and smell of pineapple. The juice of the fruit resembles tangerine juice. The fruits of this physalis can be stored for up to 3-4 months, or even up to six months, acquiring a slightly withered appearance over time. Dried fruits really resemble raisins.

Physalis peruviana

It is not as sweet as raisins, but the fruity taste and aroma of its fruits is stronger, and in terms of the amount of acids and sugar they contain, they are close to garden strawberries. Physalis berries of this species are too tender for long-term storage.

The best varieties of physalis berries include:

• Pineapple - early ripening physalis with miniature and sweet-tasting fruits with the aroma of pineapple, consumed both fresh and in the form of jam and candied fruits;
• Strawberry - bushes up to 70 cm high, on which amber sweet fruits with a strawberry aroma ripen, consumed fresh and dried, and also used for making desserts, compotes and jam;
• Physalis raisin Surprise is a low-growing, early-ripening and unpretentious annual with strong pubescence; Surprise fruits are good for fresh eating and as a raw material for desserts;
• Columbus is a tall, heat-loving and late-ripening variety, the berries of which are rich in vitamins, pectin and microelements. They are eaten fresh and made into desserts and drinks;
• Kudesnik is a variety with very large, flattened brown-orange, sweet and sour fruits with a slight grapefruit bitterness and a strong strawberry aroma. The berry juice tastes like orange juice, but has a brighter bouquet;

Mexican physalis (Physalis ixocarpa), or glutenous

Physalis vegetable is represented by the species Physalis Mexicana, or glutenous, and its varieties. The fruits of the vegetable physalis resemble tomatoes more than the fruits of other species. Among vegetable physalises, there are tall varieties, and there are also low, spreading ones. The fruits are yellow, green, and purple in color, and they vary in shape and size. Vegetable physalis are less demanding of heat and more productive, but when fresh they are not as tasty as berry ones. But they make excellent marinades, pickles, caviar and salads. The most famous varieties in the culture of the middle zone:

• Vatochnik: growing in open ground and care

• Ground Gribovsky is a cold-resistant, mid-early productive variety with a bush height of up to 80 cm and semi-erect branches. Light green, sweet and sour in taste, the fruits weigh 60 g;
• Confectionery - a large-fruited mid-season variety with sour round fruits of light green or dark green color, which can not only be pickled, salted and made into caviar, but also used for making homemade desserts;
• Korolek is an early ripening variety that is used, like the Confectionery variety, for processing into desserts and canned vegetables;
• Moscow early is an early ripening variety with almost recumbent branches and sweet light yellow fruits weighing up to 80 g.

Physalis decorative

Chinese lanterns - represents species of herbaceous perennials. All its parts are not only inedible, but also poisonous, but it enjoys constant success among landscape designers. This physalis reaches its greatest decorative value in late summer or early autumn, when its boxes acquire a bright orange color.

Popular varieties:

• Franche - often this plant is cultivated as an annual. Physalis Franchet bushes reach a height of 90 cm, its leaves are oval, widened towards the base, up to 15 cm long. Up to 15 “lanterns” can form on one shoot, which are the fruits of physalis, dressed in bright cups;
• Alkekengi is also a type of decorative physalis with yellow, red or orange “lanterns”.

Recommendations for protecting physalis from diseases and pests

Physalis, compared to tomatoes or peppers, is much less susceptible to any negative factors in the form of diseases or pests. However, the ease of caring for it may form the wrong opinion that even preventive measures to protect it should not be taken.

Hanging pot with physalis

Naturally, this is not so. To prevent the spread of diseases and prevent the plant from being attacked by pests, it is necessary to follow a number of measures and apply specialized methods to prevent these factors.

The following measures will help you get rid of possible troubles when growing physalis:

• Procurement of seed material should be carried out exclusively from your own plot, only from healthy plants that have been tested for productivity; It is better to avoid cross-pollination with other areas;
• seeds must be treated before sowing;
• it is imperative to adhere to crop rotation , correctly observe the alternation of successors and predecessors, and in no case allow nightshades to grow in the same place without a break of at least three years;
• it is necessary to constantly combat weeds and any pests;
• it is necessary to regularly remove plant debris from the growing area, since they can become a place for the same mold or other fungi to appear;

Using these simple tips will greatly protect physalis from possible problems in the form of diseases.

Properties of physalis - benefits and harms

Beneficial features

The composition of the fruits of edible physalis includes substances such as dietary fiber, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, structured water, vitamins A and C, trace elements iron and zinc and macroelements potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus and magnesium. Physalis berries are used as an antiseptic, diuretic, analgesic, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory and choleretic agent. They are used to make decoctions and infusions for the treatment of bronchitis, urolithiasis, rheumatism, edema, hepatitis, gout, and cystitis. Eating fresh berries alleviates the symptoms of dermatoses, dysentery and hypertension.

Contraindications

Do not eat the fruits of the ornamental physalis - they are poisonous. And be careful with the cups that contain the fruits of the plant, as they contain physaline and alkaloids - toxic substances that, if they enter your body, can cause serious harm to it.

Why is it important to plant physalis on time?

Central America, in particular Mexico, is considered the homeland of physalis. This southern plant is light- and heat-loving, has a long growing season: 90–160 days pass from germination to fruit ripening, depending on the variety.

It is believed that Columbus brought the culture to Europe. Since then, breeders have been trying to develop new varieties adapted to colder climates. They succeeded, and physalis is already grown in Siberia. However, the number of ripened fruits in Russia is no more than 50% per bush. The remaining berries ripen after being picked throughout the winter, but they already contain fewer nutrients. The smallest physalis berries weigh 3–5 g, but they also ripen faster.

To get the maximum number of berries for your region, every gardener must choose the right planting time. This is not easy, because the later the seedlings are planted, the less fruit will ripen, but at the same time, early-planted plants may die from return frosts.