Landing
Correct planting of spikelet liatris is not particularly difficult, but requires care and accurate calculation. Seed germination is low, about 50%, when sowing directly into open ground, you may not get the desired result. Sowing seedlings is performed in March, having prepared a container with a mixture of humus and fine sand. Planting material for disinfection is placed in a solution of potassium permanganate. After 8-10 hours, empty floating achenes are removed.
The remaining material can be placed on top of the prepared soil mixture, having previously well moistened it. A mulching layer of sawdust is laid on top, which reduces the evaporation of moisture. After 7 days, the first shoots will appear, and the container will need to be rearranged in a place with good lighting. By 21 days after planting, a pick is performed, the seedlings are placed in new containers.
Planting in open ground is shown for already matured plants. It is carried out in dry weather, having previously introduced humus into the ground and carefully dug it up. The soil is moistened, the seedlings are placed in the ground up to the most common leaves, the roots are covered. The first 2-3 days are watered abundantly.
Growing from tubers
Planting liatris spikelet in tubers is also not difficult. Planting material is harvested in the fall, and in the spring, when the earth warms up, they are returned to the flower beds. Suitable for planting bulbs up to 2 cm in diameter, dry, without traces of rot. Planting is carried out in a prepared soil substrate, loose, with a lot of humus. Holes are prepared in the ground, the bulbs are placed in them upside down, sprinkled with earth, watered.
Care
In order for liatris spikelet to grow and develop well in the open field, it needs to provide decent conditions. This plant is very sensitive to excess moisture, proximity to groundwater. It is imperative to ensure that spikelet liatris is planted in a dry, well-lit place where moisture stagnation is excluded.
Watering
The plant still needs regular watering. In the warm season, it is carried out 2-3 times a week, depending on the intensity of moisture evaporation. If it rains, you can cancel the mandatory procedure.
Loosening and hilling
The roots of liatris spikelet are often exposed under the influence of external factors. This should not be allowed, as the plant may die. Loosening and hilling helps to save the situation. These agrotechnical procedures help keep the soil breathable and protect the roots. It is necessary to loosen and huddle the ground at least once a week, trying not to damage the plant.
Fertilizer
When the time comes for flowering, the spicate liatrix has to pay maximum attention. In the spring, before the emergence of seedlings, fertilizing is applied to the soil on a nitrogen basis. Further, in the summer months, a remedy is used that combines potassium and phosphorus mineral complexes. To preserve the decorative effect, spikelet liatris must be regularly freed from dead inflorescences.
Wintering
For the subsequent spring planting, the tubers need to be dug out for the winter. To do this, wait until the foliage dries up, and carry out the separation of the planting material. The dug out bulbs are cleaned of clods of earth. Tubers with a diameter of over 20 mm are considered optimal for planting. They are dried, sent to storage in a place with a moderate air temperature.
Description and varieties of cleoma
Cleome, or cleome, is a flowering plant belonging to the Cleomaceae family. Such a plant can be an annual or a biennial. In nature, it is found in every corner of the Earth, in those regions where there is a temperate and warm climate. This genus unites about seventy species.Cleoma inflorescences have a specific shape, so the Germans call it “spinenpflanze”, which translates as “spider plant”.
The racemose inflorescences are not quite common, they can be compared to a splash of champagne or an explosion. Such flowers may not be to everyone's taste, but it is simply impossible to leave them unattended.
Every year this flower culture increasingly attracts the attention of gardeners, because it has very beautiful inflorescences with an unusual smell, and also its flowering is quite long, it is observed from June to September
Cleoma has a very powerful root system. Branching strong shoots, on their surface there is a pubescence, consisting of glandular small hairs. The height of the bush can be up to 150 centimeters. Greenish alternate leaf plates in some species have small thorns on the seamy surface.
Leaves can be simple or complex: they consist of five or seven entire, elongated linear leaflets. The crown plates are small and solid. Upper racemose inflorescences consist of flowers with the correct shape and purple, pink, white or yellow color. The flowers have relatively long stamens that look like spider legs.
The fruit is a single-nested polysperm with the shape of a pod, in length it can reach about 30 millimeters. Most amateur gardeners do not like the flower smell of cleoma, however, it is absolutely impossible to feel it in a garden plot on the street, but it can drive away pests. Such an unusual aroma is necessary for this flower in order to lure small bats in the wild, which have become its pollinators.
Cleoma varieties
About 170 species of plants have been recorded in the genus of cleoma, but so far only prickly cleoma is found in Russian flower shops. This shrub is native to South America. In Russia, it is grown as an annual crop. The plant stands out with long stems with sharp thorns at the beginning of the leaves.
A spherical inflorescence is located on a peduncle 60–80 centimeters long. Small flowers of pink or purple color have long stamens that resemble spider legs. For them, glue is often called a "spider". Above the stamens there are 4 ovoid petals in a fan configuration.
The variety has become the basis of many decorative varieties, which allows gardeners to arrange a flower garden more diverse. The most popular are the following varieties:
Purple Queen - blueberry-purple flowers are above the bright green growth;
- Splashes of champagne - in July, racemose inflorescences with milky or pale pink petals open up, they consist of large flowers (up to 5 cm);
- Cherry Queen - colorful carmine-pink inflorescences bloom on a plant up to 60 centimeters in height;
- Sparkler Lavender - stands out with lavender or light purple inflorescences;
- Golden Sparkler - undersized variety with wheat buds;
- Hellen Campbell - the bush is covered with white flowers.
Landscape design
The plant is suitable for both single planting and group planting. Looks good in the middle of a flower bed. It is best to place lower flowers next to it. Similarly, cleoma is suitable for creating a background on the back plan of a flower garden. It can be used to form a low living screen, grow along the fence in a continuous row. The cut cleoma is a decoration of the interior of the home - it can stand for about ten days.
The following flowers are suitable for creating a composition:
- fragrant tobacco;
- echinacea;
- multi-colored phlox;
- iatrice;
- rudbeckia.
Cleoma is an annual plant that will transform the territory of a private estate or garden. With its help, original floristic compositions are made
The original look, ease of growing and care attract the attention of most flower growers.
Fight disease
Diseases of culture result from illiterate care of shrubs. However, it is impossible to guarantee the complete absence of problems, you need to be prepared for them. The main diseases of hydrangea are gray, white rot and powdery mildew. It is possible to cure the bush using fungicidal agents - "Topaz", "Chistotsvet", "Fitosporin-B", with a small lesion - a soap solution. Among the pests that pose a danger are aphids, nematodes, snails and slugs, spider mites. If insects appear, you can get rid of them with the help of suitable insecticides. For prophylaxis, soil treatment with copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture is used, weeds are eliminated in a timely manner.
Description
This variety is a perennial, the height of which reaches 70 cm. The diameter of the bush varies from 40 to 50 cm. The root system is powerful, the stems of the upright type are quite strong. The bloom size is about 2 cm, its color is attractive and non-trivial - a snow-white background and small strokes of a raspberry-lilac tone in the center. The inflorescence has an elongated oval and cone shape. The foliage differs from the typical phlox, not very large, narrowish, short.
Natasha blooms in early summer, blooms only by autumn. This variety does not belong to paniculate, but to spotted varieties of phlox. Among the advantages of this type of phlox are the following:
- blooms early, fades late, decorates the landscape throughout the summer;
- grows well in partial shade;
- grows actively, especially on wet soil;
- resistant to moisture;
- perfectly tolerates cold;
- multiplies easily;
- unpretentious in care;
- great aroma.
The domestic variety has significant advantages over the industrial foreign varieties, which are suitable for planting large areas. The Natasha variety stands out for its non-trivial look, beautiful flowering, and exclusivity. This is not mass production, but unique. Flowering is distinguished by enchanting luxury, exuberance, originality of forms and colors. Among the shortcomings, only relatively small inflorescences can be distinguished, so it is better not to plant it next to large plants.
