Alyssum - flowers that have a different name: marine lobularia or alyssum. They belong to the genus, which is part of the cabbage family. About 100 different species are included in this genus. The plant is often planted in pots at home. Alyssum is annual or perennial. Next, we will talk about these colors in more detail.
Alyssum - perennial flowers for the garden
Alissum flower grows in Asia, North Africa and Europe. Translated from Greek, their name means "dog rabies." There is a version that this plant was used to treat rabies in dogs. In gardening, flowers began to be used recently. However, they are gaining more and more popularity for ease of care and a pleasant honey aroma.
What alissum looks like
Annual alissum
Alyssum annual blooms beautifully and can perfectly complement other flowers in the flowerbed. It begins flowering in June and lasts until late autumn. Shades are white, pink and purple.
Annual varieties:
- Queen: small flowers of lilac-violet color.
- Snow carpet: small flowers of white color.
- Popular hybrids with raspberry, blue and lilac petals: Violet Queen, Esther Bonnet Deep Rose, Tyne Tim.
Annual flower "Snow Carpet"
Alyssum plant flower description
The buds consist of four petals and four sepals. Their location crosswise. The plant exudes a strong honey aroma, so it attracts bees. These flowers are one of the best honey plants.
All parts of alissum are small in size: leaves and buds. They can be seen due to the fact that the buds are collected in inflorescences. Most often, the color of the buds is yellow or snowy white. The leaves are dark with a grayish tint.
Important! In the landscape, alissum flowers are often grown on a flowerbed in the form of a carpet.
Before you pick up color, the leaves begin to turn green and grow. They are small in size and have a grayish color. Their shape is oblong and obovate. Above there is a slight pubescence.
When does alissum bloom? It doesn’t matter whether alissum is perennial or annual grown - it blooms anyway since June. In this flowering continues until late autumn.
Species and perennial varieties of alissum
Alyssum perennial has several types. Below is a more detailed description of them.
Nautical
Alissum marine has another name for marine lobularia. It began to grow in the Mediterranean.
Important! Formally, it is a perennial plant, but in Russia in the middle climatic zone, it is grown as an annual species.
It grows in length 20-25 cm. The stem reaches a length of 40 cm. The flower is not left in the open ground for the winter. The flowers of the seaside species are aquamarine, pink and white.
Nautical
Mountain
Alissum mountain has gray-green leaves. Its height can be from 5 to 30 cm, covered with stellate hairs. The root is thin woody. Branched stem, and shortened shoots.
The flowers have a yellow tint with a golden tint, their length is 4-5 mm.
Mountain
White
Alyssum white has another name - bimbo. He has small white flowers. The plant can grow up to 40 cm in length.
Yellow
Alyssum yellow is a shrub that grows only 10 to 20 cm. The inflorescences have a bright yellow hue.
Yellow
Purple haze
This species is a miniature plant that blooms for a long time. The flowers are small, lanceolate foliage.
Alyssum: planting and care in the open ground
Picture 6. Seedlings of alissum
The area where the plant is planned to be planted should be dry and well-drained. Poor conditions for the flower give acidic and swampy soils.
The plant can grow on sparse soil with neutral acidity. Such land will not allow moisture to stay in the soil.
There are two ways to propagate alissum: cuttings and seeds (for seedlings and in open ground). Let us consider in more detail all the ways.
A step-by-step process for planting seedlings
Many flower growers prefer to grow seedlings, since such a method is the most effective.
To plant seedlings you need:
- Buy easy and nutritious soil. It must have lime. Acidity 5.5-6.2.
- Seeds are planted in March-April. You need to take a box for landing. Fill it with soil. Lay the seeds on top. They should not be stacked very densely, as this will reduce the likelihood of seedlings. Top seeds are sprinkled with soil. Perhaps just to deepen them with your finger.
- The container is covered with film or glass. This is done in order to create a greenhouse. The box is placed in a well-lit place. Humidify the earth is necessary in moderation. It is also imperative to ventilate the seeds for a while. Subject to all conditions, the seed will germinate in a week.
- It is necessary to dive shoots when 2-3 leaves grow. If the plant will grow actively, then this procedure should not be carried out at all.
Important! In early May, seedlings must be tempered on the balcony. Then, at the end of May, it is planted in open ground on a selected site.
Alyssum: open seed cultivation
Seeds can be purchased at the store or collected on their own. It is better to purchase them in the store, as they undergo special processing.
Sow seeds must be subject to the following requirements:
- Planting material is necessary when the soil is well warmed up. This happens in late May.
- Before planting the seeds are processed. To do this, they are soaked in a weak solution of manganese. This procedure will protect them from diseases and pests.
- Small grooves are created in the ground. Their depth should be no more than 1.5 cm. You can plant often. After emergence, produce thinning.
Propagation by cuttings
Vegetative propagation of alissum is less common. For this, several cuttings are cut off from the plant. Then they are put in water.
Rooting can also be carried out in a pot of earth. In autumn, shoots are planted in open ground.
Alissum seedlings
Outdoor Care
It does not require long and laborious care for alisum. It consists in watering, feeding, loosening, removing excess litter and cutting. The flower can grow in drafts, rocky soils, arid territories, and also easily adjoins to other plants.
The bushes of the plant grow rapidly in width. In this regard, plants should be planted at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other.
With proper cultivation and care of alissum, you need to regularly trim the plant. This will enhance growth and make flowering more magnificent. Removes up to 8 cm of shoots. To conduct anti-aging pruning after the flowers have wilted, it is necessary to shorten the shoots by 1/3.
Watering the plant is necessary in moderation. The flower is sensitive to waterlogging of the soil, but also from drought, it begins to dry. If there is a lot of rainfall, then you do not need to water the plant. In dry periods, moisture is especially necessary for the plant.
Watering is required to carry out plentiful, but it is impossible to allow stagnation of moisture in the soil. To make the soil more permeable, it is necessary to carry out loosening after each watering.
Attention! To learn about whether to water the plant, you can dig the earth to a depth of 4 cm. If the earth turns out to be dry, then you can safely water it.
During the season, the plant must be fed twice. For the first time this is carried out in the spring with nitrogen-containing fertilizers. The second time the flower is fed before flowering with mineral fertilizers. Liquid formulations contribute to the root. They must not fall on flowers or leaves.
Growing difficulties
Despite the ease of care, it may be difficult to grow it:
- Alyssium does not bloom. The main reasons why alissum does not bloom are plant diseases. It can be late blight and brown rot. White plaque begins to form on them. Diseases arise due to excessive pruning or a high content of nitrogen fertilizers. Diseased specimens are dug up, washed with roots in a pink solution of potassium permanganate and planted in another place.
- Alyssium is not growing. The flower may not grow due to the presence of pests on it. The main pests: cruciferous fleas and cabbage moth. To combat them, it is necessary to treat the plant with special preparations. Suitable "Aktara", "Actellik", "Fitoverm."
Alyssium is a beautiful plant that goes well with other flowers in the garden, in the flowerbed. It can be combined with viola, roses, irises, tulips. It is easy to care for him, so this flower must be paid attention to beginning gardeners.
