Every year, garden flower lovers create bright plant compositions. When creating a design for the territory of your own house or a summer cottage, you can plant a flower such as a lobularia. These garden plants effectively transform the look of any garden, making it more festive and elegant. Lobularia will not only delight the gardener with its picturesque flowers, but also with its unique aroma, and will also be a wonderful decoration for a garden, flower beds, even an alpine slide.
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Characteristics of lobularia
The homeland of a flowering garden flower is Canary Islands and Mediterranean... This pet belongs to the genus of flowering plants from the Cabbage family.
These are beautiful, low-growing, abundantly branching plants, their leaves are fluffy, dark green in color. The tiny, fragrant flowers are made up of four inflorescences. They are small, fragrant, collected in dense inflorescences, most often white, less often purple, purple, pink or lilac. Starting from June, lobularia blooms profusely for a long time until October, reaching a maximum height, depending on the species, up to 30 cm.
Lobularia, or it is also called alyssum, is perennial and annual, but in Russia the annual is more often used, since this garden flower does not always withstand severe frosts and dies.
Types of alissum:
Lobularia sea - its height reaches 20 cm, and the leaves of this plant species are silvery pubescent. The leaves are small, oval. The tiny flowers do not even reach 5 mm, forming a densely flowering raceme. Flowering occurs throughout the season, but if it has stopped, then the flower must be cut off. The fruits of the marine lobularia in the form of elongated pods contain 2 seeds each. Because of its small flowers, alyssum looks great along the edge of the paths, along the flower beds, they can also be beautifully combined with other garden plants.- Rock Alyssum is a beautiful perennial plant that grows 25 cm in height. This type of lobularia blooms with the same small flowers that form in dense tassels.
- Alyssum rocky refers to perennial ground cover plants. The height of alyssum can reach up to 30 cm. The stems of a garden flower are low-lying and branched. It differs from the previous species in stems that branch strongly and is a flowering plant, as it forms lush inflorescences. The leaves of the garden flower are very few, they are small and flat, gray-green in color. Alyssum blooms in spring (April-May), and with proper care, it can please again.
- White alyssum is a relatively cold-resistant plant that is undemanding to the ground, it belongs to perennials.
- The purple queen is a low-growing garden plant, reaching a height of only 15 cm, forms a dense creeping lush carpet of bright purple color, with narrow leaves. To ensure a constant inflorescence, wilted shoots of Lobularia must be removed.
Due to its unpretentiousness, the plant is easy to grow even for a novice gardener.
How to grow lobularia from seeds at home?
Garden flower seedlings can be easily obtained from seeds purchased in specialized stores or harvested independently in the fall.
There are 2 ways to grow alyssum at home:
In the spring in a seedling way. To do this, it is advisable to first germinate the seeds of lobularia in a container with a substrate: peat, humus and leafy soil. The soil mixture must be moistened and then the seeds must be poured from above, spreading over its entire surface, then sprinkled with sand, covered with a film, creating a greenhouse effect. Watering is carried out every 2 days (if the soil is still moistened, then it is possible in 3 days). Shoots of alyssum, as a rule, appear after a week, although germination does not occur simultaneously, so, for example, some may appear later by 2 weeks. After the appearance of three or four leaves on the seedlings, the container can no longer be covered. In a month, it will be possible to dive a garden plant. When the stem reaches a height of about 8 cm, the lobularia is planted in open ground, trying not to damage the roots.- You can also germinate alyssum seeds outdoors in the fall. To do this, the required amount of seeds is sown at the end of October in a flower bed and then it is covered with a film and so left until the warm spring days, when there is no longer a threat of frost. Gardeners use this method to avoid messing with seedlings in the spring. But with the second method of planting, not all seeds can sprout.
Having considered two methods of growing a plant from seeds, the gardener chooses the right one for himself and, observing all the rules, will be able to enjoy lush bloom in summer.
Planting and caring for the plant
When planting a plant, it is also important take into account the requirements of the flower... Beautiful lobularia belongs to light-loving plants, so it should be planted in a well-lit place. When planting seedlings, it must be borne in mind that the plant does not tolerate drafts and the crops must be sparse, otherwise the alissum will bloom poorly. 40 days after planting the garden plant, the grower can expect flowering.
In the heat, the beautiful lobularia should be watered abundantly. It is advisable, when the garden alyssum fades, to cut off its wilted shoots, so new growth will occur faster and the beautiful unpretentious plant will soon again please the eye with its graceful flowers.
The main secrets of successful flowering lobularia:
- Providing the necessary sunlight.
- Avoid overflow of plants and dryness.
- Pruning faded shoots.
- Carry out timely fertilizing with fertilizers during flowering and after pruning.
Some species of this plant give excellent self seeding, therefore, having sown once, garden flowers will sprout next spring, the main thing is not to destroy them in the process of spring soil cultivation.
Diseases and pests
Like all garden plants, alyssum is susceptible to disease and pests. For long-term flowering, the garden flower must be regularly inspected to avoid death.
Diseases and pests affecting lobularia:
Powdery mildew. When it appears, the leaves turn brown and the leaves of the flower fall off. To eliminate the death of the plant, it is necessary to remove the diseased parts of the lobularia, after which the flower should be treated with soapy water.- White rust and brown rot. It is urgent to remove the infected shoots and burn them to avoid widespread spread.
- When caterpillars appear on a garden flower, treatment with specialized insecticides is required.
- Aphids and leafhoppers are especially popular with alyssum. The fight against them, as a rule, is carried out by chemical means, but it is also possible to use a herbal decoction that scares them off (for example, a decoction from the peel of citrus fruits).
Collecting lobularia seeds after flowering
In the period when the garden plant has completed the flowering period (early October), it is necessary to start collecting seeds in non-rainy and calm weather. This requires take a cloth and spread it under the inflorescences of garden alissum, rubbing the flower brushes over the spread fabric with gentle hands. When all seeds are collected, they must be taken to a dry, well-ventilated area and dried. After drying, fold into a cloth bag and store until next spring.
If the seeds of lobularia have already crumbled on their own, you should collect them with a broom and then, as described above, prepare them for storage.
Preparing a plant for wintering
If the plant is perennial, you need to prepare it for wintering... Garden lobularia will be able to withstand frost of at least 15 ° C, therefore, in order to preserve the herbaceous plant, it is necessary to sprinkle the bushes with dry foliage.
Alyssum should not be cut when preparing for wintering.
Excellent lobularia is unpretentious with constant care and attention to the soil in which the alissum grows and with the timely destruction of pests, treatment for disease, you can achieve a gorgeous appearance of a garden plant. Alyssum is a unique flower, because with it, the design of your site can be made unusual. And the area where the lobularia is planted will dazzle with its excellent flowering carpet.
Marina
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