Alyssum from seeds at home, planting seedlings and care in open ground. Alyssum - application, combination with other plants. The process of preparing the land and planting seeds

In the summer I was visiting a friend and saw her beautiful alyssum bushes. I couldn’t resist and asked for some seeds, they were just ripe. Tell me, is alyssum a perennial or an annual? Will plants survive our winters in the garden?

Among the short ones flowering plants It is worth highlighting alyssum - compact lush bushes up to 40 cm high, which branch heavily. It belongs to the cruciferous family and is often used as a ground cover plant. Growing rapidly and releasing into different sides their long semi-lignified shoots and bushes form beautiful carpet of small long leaves and small flowers. Alyssum blooms throughout spring, spreading a delicate aroma around. The color of the inflorescences in the form of panicles can be very diverse: from soft white to rich purple.

Today there are about 200 plant species, including both annual crops that require annual planting and renewal, and perennial varieties, capable of living for several years in open ground. All of them are quite unpretentious and do not require special care. But depending on whether it is a perennial or an annual, there are still some differences in their cultivation that are worth paying attention to.

Long-flowering annual alyssum

Annual plant species have a longer flowering period; most varieties delight with their fragrant inflorescences until mid-autumn. Their only drawback is their intolerance to low temperatures; accordingly, they will not be able to survive the winter in the open ground.

Annual alyssums are propagated by seeds, mainly through seedlings, transplanting them into a flowerbed in May. During the planting season, feed 4 times mineral fertilizers, and after flowering ends, the bushes are cut off to avoid chaotic self-seeding.

Of the annual species, lobularia or sea alyssum are most often grown - a low plant up to 40 cm in height with creeping shoots. It blooms from mid-spring to early autumn, has many hybrids, the most popular among them:

Alyssum Snow Carpet is also especially popular - the height of the bush does not exceed 30 cm, the inflorescences are white, densely covering the shoots.

Frost-resistant perennial alyssum

Perennial plant varieties are able to winter in open ground, because they are characterized by fairly good resistance to low temperatures. However, in regions with cold winters, even they need shelter.

Such alyssums are fertilized half as often as annual species, and after a short flowering the bushes are trimmed.

Among the well-known plant species, it is worth paying attention to the following varieties:

Almost all types of alyssum can also be grown as a potted plant, but it is worth considering that they automatically become annuals, since not a single variety is adapted to wintering indoors.

Alyssum (also called alyssum, or marine lobularia) is a plant belonging to the Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferous) family. An amazing decorative flowering crop whose natural habitat is the mountain slopes. These plants have now become very popular and a wonderful decoration for any landscape. The bright variegation of the garden area is due in this case to the variety of colors of the inflorescences of this plant - it can even be golden. Bright lush shrubs of yellow, purple, pink and snow-white colors stand out among other plants. A wave of the delicate scent of honey adds to the attractiveness and charm of these flowers. Of course, you can enjoy this result and breathe in the aroma while growing these plants only if you take proper care.

This perennial crop is used to decorate rock gardens, rockeries, flower beds, mixborders and flower beds. Alyssum flowers are in harmony, from a visual point of view, with Turkish carnations, pelargoniums, and heliotrope. In order to create a living contrast landscape designers It is recommended to plant them against the background of such crops, the inflorescences of which have a bluish, purple, pink, carmine-red color.

Rocky alyssum coexists harmoniously and grows well next to perennials dwarf irises, forest forget-me-nots, aubriet and red tulips that bloom in late autumn.

Alyssums, which have white inflorescences, are combined with crops such as phlox and red salvia. Those varieties with purple inflorescences look harmonious next to yellow marigolds and calendula. You can emphasize the fragrant aroma of these flowers by planting them near Iberis evergreen or Caucasian rhizome. Naturally, if you grow it yourself at home in a private home or cottage, you will get bright beautiful flowers possible only if care is performed efficiently and competently.

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This plant is divided various varieties. Each of them is distinguished by its unique beauty and originality. Varieties of this decorative culture the following.

Rocky

The main feature is that the plants bloom throughout the summer. They are perennial, highly branched plants whose height is about 30 centimeters. At the same time, the diameter of one bush is 40 centimeters. Over time, during the growth process, the stem of this variety becomes woody, and the plant needs to be renewed. The rosettes form leaves that are felt-like and bluish in color. Numerous inflorescences consist of yellow flowers, collected in brushes.

During the peak flowering period, if the plants are properly cared for, a huge number of such inflorescences are formed, as a result of which they cover the bush, and several bushes nearby already look like a solid carpet.

Flowering occurs in the spring season and lasts just over one month. In addition, under conditions of good maintenance, this crop also blooms in the autumn, and those varieties that bloom with white inflorescences form a sort of “snowy”, fragrant carpet.

Varieties

1. Golden wave. It is an unpretentious variety that blooms in the second year. Plants of this variety reach a height of about 20 centimeters, and during the flowering period they form inflorescences yellow color. This variety is wonderfully suitable and is very often used today to decorate ridges, but these plants also look beautiful when planted alone, spreading a fragrant aroma around them.
2. Citrinum. Representatives of this variety are low plants that have lemon-yellow flowers. This variety looks best and is widely used nowadays for border decoration.
3. Plenum. Such plants are golden perennials with double flowers.
4. Compactum. This variety is not very tall plants, reaching a maximum height of 18 centimeters. They bloom in small inflorescences that have a fragrant aroma.

Nautical

This species is a perennial, but it can be grown not only in warm climates, as it is unpretentious in this regard. The height of the plant ranges from 10 to 40 cm. It grows very abundantly on the ground, forming fluffy bushes with silvery oval small leaves. The flowers are collected in brushes and are fragrant with the aroma of honey. Most often this species can be found in white or lilac shades in wildlife, however, many other colors have been cultivated: pink, red and purple.

The species, in turn, is divided into the following varieties:

• Princess in Pearl. This is an ampelous alyssum with shoots up to 35 cm long and light lilac flowers;
• Tiny Tim. The plant is considered dwarf, as it reaches a height of only 8 centimeters. Flowering is abundant, during these periods it is impossible to even see leaves or stems;
• Violet Konigin. It reaches a height of 10-15 cm, has purple flowers;
• Easter Bonnet Deep Rose. A profusely flowering ornamental crop with pink flowers.

Visually they look like fluffy bushes with creeping branches and small silvery leaves. Their inflorescences are small, the flowers in them are collected in the shape of a brush and are characterized by pleasant aromas of honey.

Annual species

There is also an annual type of this plant - lobularia. There are three varieties: Golf, Vanilla Cloud and Snow Queen. Such bushes look very attractive. Various compositions often combine annual and perennial species of this crop.

Growing from seeds: place to plant

It is recommended to plant any variety in open ground in an area that is well lit. This photophilous culture is not afraid of heat and is able to delight with gorgeous inflorescences even in insufficient watering. This applies to adult plants, but until the perennial begins to grow intensively, it should be well watered. In areas characterized by mild winters, the areas in which these flowers are planned to be planted should be slightly shaded.

The process of preparing the land and planting seeds

First of all, you should prepare a light nutrient soil. In order for the soil to have a pH of 5.5–6.2, it is necessary to add a small amount of lime to it. After this, the seeds of this crop need to be scattered over the surface of the ground and lightly pressed into it, but under no circumstances should they be sprinkled with soil on top!

Boxes with seeds should be covered with glass and placed in warm and bright places. The first shoots should appear approximately on the fourth to seventh day from the moment the seeds are planted. In order for plants to develop normally, seedlings must be provided with sufficient lighting and moderate watering. When they grow 4 true leaves, you should cut the sprouts - each into a separate pot. The plant grows intensively and tolerates processes such as planting in a new place quite well.

In order to obtain lush compact shrubs experienced flower growers It is advised to pinch the tops. After a short period of time, new shoots form on the bushes, and inflorescences begin to cover them. Planting in open ground should be carried out exclusively from seedlings that are previously well hardened. To achieve this, those boxes in which plants grow from the beginning of May need to be taken out to Fresh air(both the street and the balcony are suitable). Time spent in conditions open air should be constantly increased.

Planting such hardened seedlings in flower beds is possible by the beginning of summer. Plantings should be done at a distance of 15 centimeters from each other.

After the bushes grow, this decorative crop will cover all the space that is free around, and thus forms a continuous carpet of bright, beautiful inflorescences, spreading a fragrant aroma.

It is important to know! When there is a desire to increase the flowering period, the process of growing seedlings should be carried out in several ways. The first batch of seeds should be sown at the end of February. From the middle ten days of April it must be placed on a loggia or balcony - naturally, only glassed rooms are suitable. Experienced gardeners recommend sowing the second batch of seeds in April. By the beginning of summer, the seedlings will have grown, and they can be planted in flower beds.

It is allowed to plant seeds in open ground immediately after they have been collected, or with the onset of the first warm days. early spring. The very first sprouts break through after one week from the moment the seeds were planted in open ground.

It should be remembered that plantings require regular watering and weeding. When the seedlings are finally strong, the seedlings should be thinned out - the bushes should be left at a distance of approximately 10–15 centimeters from each other. If you use this technique, and planting is done in this way, then flowering will occur in the first days of July.

Care: main rules and features

Caring for such a plant is easy. High-quality care, which will provide the opportunity to obtain luxurious flowering, should include watering, loosening the soil, regular weed control in the surrounding area and timely feeding. Plants should be watered regularly, and during dry periods, watering should be plentiful - otherwise, due to lack of moisture, there is a possibility that the plants will begin to shed inflorescences and buds.

However, it is important to know and take into account that it is possible to water the crop abundantly only when there is good soil permeability.

Otherwise, because moisture stagnates in the root system, the plants will get wet and disappear. In order to understand whether it is time to water the plant or not yet, you should dig the soil with a shovel about 4 centimeters deep - if the soil there is dry, then you can safely water it.

Proper care, in addition to watering, also involves removing weeds that appear from time to time and loosening the soil between the bushes. Regular loosening of the soil is one of the most important components for the normal development and abundant color of this ornamental crop, because thanks to this procedure, the water and air permeability of the soil increases.

In addition to the above, quality care Maintenance of such plants also includes timely application of fertilizers. When does green mass grow? perennial flower, fertilizing should be carried out using nitrogen fertilizers.

Moreover, the calculation in this case is as follows: 1 tablespoon of Agricola-7 and the same volume of urea should be dissolved in ten liters of water, and before the flowering period begins, complex fertilizer must be added to the soil.

Plant pests and diseases

Like any crop, this plant is susceptible negative influence external pests. It can often be affected by caterpillars. In this case, it is better to immediately use the tincture from laundry soap and tobacco. You can also spray it with special preparations, such as Entobacterin, Lepidocide and Kinmiks.

If you overdo it with soil moisture, there is a risk of late blight affecting the soil. In this case, the use of copper oxychloride or systemic fungicides will help.

Plant alyssum (lat. Alyssum), or alyssum, or lobularia marine, belongs to the genus of the Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferous) family and includes about 100 species of plants growing in North Africa, Asia and Europe. The word "alissum" is a Latinization of the Greek word "alisson": "a" means "without" - negation, "lyssa" translated means "dog rabies". That is, obviously, in ancient times, alyssum flowers were somehow used in the treatment of rabies. In garden culture, the alyssum flower became known not so long ago, but its popularity is growing every year, and the reason for this, in addition to its unpretentiousness and ease of care, is the strong honey aroma that the plant exudes.

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Planting and caring for alyssum (in brief)

• Landing: sowing seeds in the ground - in early May or November; sowing seeds for seedlings - in March-April, planting seedlings in the garden - in late May or early June.
• Bloom: from May to late autumn.
• Lighting: bright light or partial shade.
• The soil: light, dry, well-fertilized and drained soils with a neutral or alkaline reaction.
• Watering: regular, moderate, abundant in drought.
• Feeding: From the beginning of the growing season, the plant needs nitrogen fertilizers, and before flowering - a full mineral complex. Annuals are fed up to 4 times per season, perennials, if the first feeding is applied before flowering - 5 times.
• Trimming: after summer flowering, the shoots are shortened by 5-7 cm.
• Reproduction: seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush.
• Pests: cruciferous flea beetles, caterpillars, cabbage moths, white moths.
• Diseases: late blight, powdery mildew, peronosporosis and viral mosaic.
• Properties: Some types of alyssum are medicinal plants.

Read more about growing alyssum below.

Alyssum flowers - description

Alyssum is a low-growing, groundcover plant, reaching a height of 15 to 40 cm. On strongly branching shoots that are semi-lignified at the base, there are small, pubescent, oblong or obovate leaves. The flowers are small, white, yellow, lilac, pink, red or purple, collected in small clusters, bloom in May and fade in late autumn. The fruit is a pod with seeds that remain viable for up to three years. Alyssum is a honey plant that attracts bees with its spicy honey aroma.

In the photo: Blooming yellow alyssum

With chronic waterlogging or insufficient water permeability of the soil, alissum may develop brown rot - late blight, which affects the underground part and root collar of the plant. In this case, try treating with copper oxychloride or fungicides - Ordan, Thanos or Kuproxat.

Alyssum may become infected with viral mosaic or powdery mildew (real or false). Powdery mildew is destroyed through treatment Bordeaux mixture or Topaz. And downy mildew - with oxychome, ordan and Bordeaux mixture. Viral mosaic cannot be treated.

Alyssum after flowering

How and when to collect alyssum seeds

You can start collecting seeds in late September-early October. To do this, on a dry, windless day, spread an old blanket in the yard and rub the alyssum inflorescences over it with your hands. Large debris is then removed, but small debris will not bother you. Dry the seeds in a dry place with good ventilation, but without drafts, and store them in a fabric bag until spring. If you are late and the seeds fall off, take a broom and, lifting the branches of the alyssum, sweep the seeds from under the bushes, clean them of debris and soil and store them as mentioned above.

In the photo: Alyssum in a flowerbed

Perennial alyssum in winter

It must be said that the frost resistance of alyssum is not unlimited - the plant will not survive cold below 15 ºC. But if your winters are not so severe, sprinkle the plant with dry leaves, and when snow falls, throw a snowdrift on top of the alyssum, and the plant will overwinter normally, retaining green leaves on the bush. It is not recommended to prune alyssum before wintering. The one you did after the end of flowering is enough, especially since the alyssum will have another haircut in the spring.

Types and varieties of alyssum

Rock Alyssum (Alyssum saxatile)

Strongly branched perennial up to 30 cm tall, growing in hemispherical bushes up to 40 cm in diameter. Its branched stems become woody at the base. Obovate or oblong gray, felt-like leaves that remain on the bush even in winter time, form dense rosettes. Small yellow flowers with notched petals are collected in thick, short racemes. It blooms in the spring for about forty days; re-blooming is possible at the end of summer. Varieties:

• Citrinum– lemon-yellow alyssum of short stature;
• Compactum– a fragrant variety only 18 cm high with small flowers;
• golden wave– yellow alyssum up to 20 cm high, blooming only at the age of two years;
• Plenum– golden alyssum, terry, bush height up to 30 cm.

In the photo: Alyssum saxatile

Sea lyssum (Alyssum maritimum)

It is also known as sea lobularia - a perennial plant, but only in warm climates, from 8 to 40 cm in height, abundantly overgrown with branches creeping along the ground, forming fluffy bushes with small, fleshy, silvery oval leaves with fine pubescence. The flowers are also small, with a honey aroma, collected in brushes. In nature there are varieties of white or lilac shade, but many varieties have been cultivated with pink, purple and red flowers that bloom from spring to autumn. Varieties:

• Tiny Tim- white alyssum, dwarf, eight centimeters tall, blooming so profusely that neither stems nor leaves are visible. An excellent ground cover plant;
• Easter Bonnet Deep Rose– pink alyssum of intense shade, blooms profusely;
• Princess in Purple– ampelous alyssum, looking great in hanging planters or in flowerpots, with spreading shoots up to 35 cm long and fragrant light lilac flowers;
• Violet Konigin– purple alyssum, compact, densely branched, 10-15 cm high.

In the photo: Alyssum maritimum

Alyssum gmelinii

Or mountain alyssum (alyssum montanum) - This is a frost-resistant perennial 10-20 cm high with ascending and creeping stems and leaves densely pubescent with star-shaped hairs, which makes them appear gray. Yellow flowers, collected in clusters, bloom in April or May.

An excellent solution for decorating a flower bed would be a plant such as alyssum. Growing this flower from seeds is not difficult even for novice gardeners. In open ground, it will not become the most important “star” in the garden, but fragile and delicate flowers perfectly highlight the brightness of other plants. A soft fluffy carpet of its buds is often used by landscape designers to decorate parks and squares. The combination of alyssum with various varieties of petunias and tulips creates the effect of a floral waterfall, which scents the entire area with the wonderful aroma of cut herbs and honey.

So elegant and varied

Gardeners value alyssum (alyssum) for easy care, the ability to grow on stones, between slabs. Fencing owners fill the joints between the constituent elements with soil and plant seeds. In just a couple of months, the fence is decorated with many flowing cascades of flowers. Those who like to create compositions on the balcony often use alyssum as a border for other plants. Here you need to take into account a nuance - flowerpots can attract many bees. Gardeners use this property in their plots to pollinate various crops.

Sometimes gardeners have a problem - flower beds, compiled with all their hearts, begin to thin out. Plants with early bud formation are fading. Planting alyssum comes to the rescue. The seedlings will quickly grow leaves and young shoots that will cover the bald spots.

Alyssum can be a sea or mountain alissum, a perennial plant or an annual. In our country, they prefer not to plant perennials because they have average frost resistance and even good care does not guarantee winter survival in open ground. This variety can be grown as an annual. Marine species of alyssum attract attention with highly branched branches with dark green leaves, while mountain alyssum is more compact and elegant. The height of an adult bush varies from 15 to 20 cm, and the width reaches half a meter.


The color palette of the opened buds is varied:

• delicate cream, white;
• rich pink, raspberry;
• lily, dark purple;
• yellow, with an amber tint.

The types and varieties of alyssum (and there are more than a hundred of them) have not only external differences, but also different aromas. Experts distinguish them by the specific notes of their constituent components. Despite the many shapes and colors, plant care is the same, which is important to consider when creating flower beds.

The place for these miniature bushes should be the most illuminated. Planting the plant in a dark place will lead to elongated shoots and poor flowering. Alyssum is not picky about soil; it prefers poor soils with neutral pH values. This allows the water not to linger, but to maintain the necessary moisture in the earthen ball.

Proper cultivation of alyssum

Alyssum is considered a plant that is undemanding to weather conditions, so planting in flower beds and further care are carried out in early spring. The soil is first dug up; if it is dense, then a small amount is added. river sand. Experts advise moistening the soil before planting, but watering is also possible after work.

There are only three ways to grow.

• Planting seeds in beds.

Parallel grooves are made on the ground, and then small seeds are scattered sparsely. Bottoms up plastic cup They are easily compacted in the ground, without sprinkling with anything. After a week, the emerging sprouts are thinned out (distance –10-15 cm) and complex fertilizer is applied. The initial dose is taken two times less than indicated in the instructions.

• Pre-germination in .

When gardeners want to achieve early flowering or budding cycles, they begin planting seeds in late February. Without deepening them, they are poured sparsely over the surface and covered with glass. Grow at a temperature of 18-20°C, not forgetting to provide the sprouts with daily hourly airing. After the third strong leaf has appeared on the seedlings, they are planted in pots and further cared for.

• Propagation by cuttings.

In an adult plant, cuttings (8 cm) are cut from the shoots, dried and sprinkled with a root formation stimulant. The flower is placed in a greenhouse or directly in a flower bed.

Experienced gardeners prefer to grow alyssum from seeds. You can purchase different varieties and types of plants and combine them in flower beds, taking into account the growth in a certain color scheme.

Cuttings are used extremely rarely. Typically, this method is practiced to preserve the unique characteristics of the original sample. When strong young plants appear in the beds, the soil on the surface is loosened and mulched. You can use freshly cut grass as mulch.

What can't you do without?

You need to start caring for alyssum in open ground in mid-spring with pruning. Long and dry shoots should be shortened by at least a quarter - the plant will begin to grow many new ones, which will make its shape compact and lush. When the alissum has faded, pruning is repeated, removing the tops of the shoots along with the flower stalks. Thus experienced gardeners achieve repeated flowering, sometimes even more abundantly than the first. Despite the unpretentiousness of alyssum, it needs feeding, especially when buds are being laid. The amount of fertilizing depends on the species.

• For perennial alyssums, a couple of feedings are enough. The first is produced before flowering with complex fertilizers with a high nitrogen content. Fertilizer is applied again after pruning. Some experts recommend care using only urea (0.5 tbsp per ten liters of water).
• For lush flowering of annual bushes, 4-5 feedings per season are required. Every three weeks the plants are fed with mineral fertilizers, which are applied at the root.

The flower likes to be watered abundantly, but without excess moisture stagnating in the earthen coma. To determine when it is time to water, make a small hole in the soil. If the soil is already dry at a depth of 5 cm, then it’s time for water procedures. You should not spray water on bushes, especially flowering ones - the buds may shrink and fall off under the scorching sun.

Many gardeners like to plant alyssum not only for its decorative qualities, but also for its healing properties. A decoction of fresh leaves will help get rid of excess fluid in the body, and women use a water infusion of flowers to whiten the skin. For colds, flowers are brewed in a thermos with boiling water and taken 50 ml three times a day.

Proper care is impossible without examination appearance plants. Even if the planting of alyssum in open ground is extensive, once a week you need to inspect the bushes in search of the following pests:

• cruciferous flea beetle;
• mealybug;
• various caterpillars;
• white turnip.

Alyssum began to shed its buds, a cobweb appeared between the leaves, and the stems lost turgor? Pests have invaded the garden. Flower beds are especially often attacked cruciferous flea beetle. Modern insecticides This problem is easily dealt with with several treatments.

Flower growers like to plant these miniature bushes along garden paths. Some do not even collect the seeds in the fall, allowing them to fall freely to the ground. After overwintering, the seeds sprout in the most unexpected combinations. All that remains is to carry out further care of the plants.

Today, many people have alyssum in their flower beds. It is planted as medicinal plant, as a border for flowers, in order to attract bees. And what a scent wafts through the garden! It is certainly worth paying attention to this unusual bush.

Lobularia, alyssum, alyssum, aurinia, stoneweed - it’s not for nothing that so many different names have been invented for one unpretentious plant. Low-growing bushes of annual lobularia are covered with a lush honey cap from the beginning of summer until severe frosts. fragrant flower planted in balcony containers, boxes, used to create various compositions in flower beds, to complement rock gardens and rock gardens.