Eschscholzia planting and care in open ground, growing from seeds, photo and description of varieties. Trembling moths of delicate Eschscholzia

From June until the onset of autumn, spectacular golden flowers, strongly reminiscent of miniature poppies, can be seen in the flower beds. This is Californian eschscholzia, discovered more than two hundred years ago in the south of the North American continent and since then has become one of the favorite plants of flower growers all over the world.

European settlers arriving in America believed that the new lands hid incredible treasures. One has only to dig and the depths will reveal the wealth hidden in them. This is apparently why flowers of a bright sunny hue are still called Copa de Oro or golden cup by Spanish-speaking Americans and Mexicans. The local population believes that where the eschscholzia opens its corollas, gold nuggets can eventually be found.

Of course, this is nothing more than a beautiful legend, but in a number of regions of the United States the flower is legally protected, and in California it has been considered a living symbol of the state for more than a century.

What does the plant look like? Are there any real benefits or harms from eschscholzia, and how to grow a flower on your own plot?

California Eschscholzia (Eschscholzia californica) and its description

In nature, the plant can be found not only in California, but also in Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, other states in the south and southwest of the United States, as well as in Mexico. Thanks to the warm climate in their homeland, California poppies are herbaceous perennials, very unpretentious and forming vast fields completely covered with golden-orange flowers.

The plant, 20 to 50 cm high, forms a branching above-ground part with erect stems and dissected leaves of a light green or bluish hue, sitting on long petioles. In conditions middle zone In Russia, growing Californian eschscholzia is possible in open ground or at home, as a potted crop. Na is a spectacular annual that does not require special care and blooms throughout the warm season.

On the windowsill, provided there is autumn-winter illumination, the plant will successfully overwinter and then bloom from the very beginning of spring.

The flowers of wild Eschscholzia have a simple, bowl-like shape. The petals are colored yellow, orange, and less often red. Palette varietal plants much wider. Today, flower growers have varieties with white, purple, pink and even variegated flowers at their disposal. Terry forms of Californian Eschscholzia are incredibly popular.

The corolla, with a diameter of 5 to 7 cm, reacts sensitively to changes in weather and time of day, closing at night and when there is a threat of rain. In this case, the flower lasts no longer than 2–3 days, but the short duration of flowering is compensated by its mass distribution. In place of the faded corolla, a seed capsule appears, which, when ripe, easily opens, which leads to frequent self-seeding.

Features of growing eschsolzia

The Californian fields that have become famous, completely overgrown with golden flowers, are the result of the high adaptability and incredible unpretentiousness of the Eschscholzia.

The plant does not require particularly nutritious soil or a special watering regime.

Sun-loving flower:

• tolerates drought;
• not afraid of short-term cold spells;
• can grow in poor soils;
• Suitable for landscaping balconies, growing indoors.

These cultural qualities, as well as long, abundant flowering, influenced the spread of California poppies throughout the world. Growing Eschscholzia is available in most regions of Russia.

How to sow Eschscholzia

The plant is propagated by sowing small seeds that germinate easily in the soil and, when stored, remain viable for two years. How to sow Eschscholzia in open ground?

A well-lit area with light, moisture-permeable soil of a neutral or slightly acidic reaction is ideal for the culture. Since the seeds are small in size, they are mixed with dry sand before planting in the soil. This will simplify the work and guarantee uniform germination. Sowing is carried out on the surface of slightly compacted soil, after which the area is carefully watered so as to prevent stagnation of moisture.

Sprouts appear in 1.5–2 weeks. When the first true leaves form on young Eschscholzia, the plants can be thinned out, leaving one for every 20–25 cm.

Timing of sowing in open ground

When to plant Eschscholzia in open ground? Sow small seeds of this interesting flower Can:

• in spring, starting in mid-April, when the earth warms up enough;
• in the fall, before the onset of persistent frosts.

When sown in open ground in spring, flowering often begins only in mid-summer.

So that Californian poppies open their corollas already in the first days of summer, experienced flower growers It is recommended to carry out pre-winter sowing or use the seedling method.

Eschscholzia Californian through seedlings

When to plant Eschscholzia seedlings? This can be done in the second half of March or in April in such a way that the stronger plants get to the plant as soon as possible. permanent place. If you delay, the eschscholzia forms a long taproot, which is easily damaged when transferred to a flowerbed or edging.

When preparing the soil for sowing or planting Eschscholzia seedlings, you should not use fresh organic matter, and also be overzealous with watering the growing flowers.

Growing Eschscholzia in a pot

To landscape a balcony, terrace or decorate a window sill in a room, flower growers choose not just beautiful, but also the hardiest plants. Eschsolzia is excellent for these purposes. She's not afraid of straight lines sun rays, lack of moisture and nutrients.

At home, growing eschscholzia from seeds will not be difficult even for a beginner. It is convenient to sow seeds directly into the balcony flower box or a pot. The soil should be light, loose and sufficiently moisture-absorbing. This soil is obtained by mixing garden soil, lowland peat, sand or perlite.

With minimal care, Eschscholzia actively grows and bushes, blooming willingly even in the cold season. True, for this, the gardener will have to take care of artificially extending daylight hours to 12–14 hours. The rest of the care consists of:

• moderate watering when surface layer the soil will dry out;
• removing faded corollas;
• half dose of fertilizer for flowering plants.

Even before planting Eschscholzia in pots, you need to take into account that the flower branches and has long roots. For most varieties of California poppy, a container with a depth and width of at least 18–20 cm is suitable.

Medicinal properties of Californian eschscholzia

Flower growers are attracted by the simple planting and care of Eschscholzia in the open ground, the bright long flowering and many spectacular varieties. However, these are not all the advantages of the plant.

IN landscape design eschscholzia is used in alpine hills, in mixborders with other annuals, for formation and in traditional flower beds.

A member of the Poppy family, Eschscholzia was traditionally used by American Indians as a pain reliever and sedative. Modern research The medicinal properties of Californian Eschscholzia were fully confirmed by folk experience.

All parts of the plant have biological activity. Raw materials containing alkaloids such as chelirubin, sanguinarine and macarine, flavone glycosides and other valuable substances are collected during flowering, dried or used fresh.

For use in medicinal purposes Extracts, alcoholic tinctures and powders are prepared from California poppies, which have a calming, analgesic and antispasmodic effect.

The most common indications for use are:

• insomnia;
• anxiety and nervous tension;
• toothache and spasmodic pain;
• urinary incontinence.

For the older age group, preparations from eschscholzia will be useful for the prevention of memory disorders and improvement of intellectual well-being in general.

Consuming California poppy tincture or powder may cause unwanted reactions in the body. Therefore, before taking it, you need to consult your doctor.

The juice of the plant has analgesic properties. To relieve pain from damaged or inflamed gums, fresh Californian eschscholzia root is cut lengthwise and applied to the affected area. Thanks to its antimicrobial properties, the product facilitates and speeds up treatment:

• abrasions;
• scratches;
• irritation;
• inflammatory processes on the skin and mucous membranes.

Antispasmodic qualities help relieve:

• muscle pain and spasms;
• nervous tension after a hard day;
• attack of hacking cough.

At high temperature body decoction or infusion of eschsolzia will play the role of a natural antihistamine. A tincture from the root of the plant is used to treat the mammary glands to suppress lactation in women who are breastfeeding. And the powder is the base folk way getting rid of head lice.

Preparation and dosage of eschsolzia infusion

A water infusion can be prepared using 2 grams of dried herb and 150 ml of water. The plant material is poured with boiling water, brought to a boil and left to infuse. The finished composition is filtered and drunk 2-3 times a day at:

• insomnia;
• irritability;
• anxiety and other mild disorders.

If you have an extract or alcohol tincture of California poppy in your medicine cabinet:

• for mild pain and anxiety, drink 15 to 25 drops three times a day;
• V severe cases the dose is increased to 30–40 drops and consumed 2–5 times a day.

Unlike poppy, which requires special care, the plant does not contain opiates.

Therefore, with mass useful properties Eschsolzia has significantly fewer contraindications.

Precautions when taking Eschscholzia californica

The use of California poppy-based products is not recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Eschscholzia varieties for open ground and home

Unpretentious Eschscholzia delight all summer lush flowering. In this case, in place of fading flowers, seed pods are formed. If they are not collected in time, self-seeding occurs. And next year the plants will appear outside the flowerbed. Unfortunately, such specimens often do not retain the characteristics inherent in the parent varieties.

Therefore, flower growers who are well acquainted with the crop advise using only varietal seeds. In this case, the flowerbed with Eschscholzia will be covered with delicate flowers in orange, white, yellow, lilac and pink shades until frost.

The dark red corollas of Eschscholzia Mikado, speckled with orange strokes, look very impressive. Simple-shaped flowers captivate with their silky shine and rich color, which practically does not fade in the hot summer sun.

Double flowers of the Orange King variety or Eschscholzia Cup of Peace look even more expressive. Both plants reach a height of 50 cm, and the corollas open 10 cm at the stage of full dissolution.

Varieties with unusual colors for wild plants will help to diversify the flower garden and add new colors to it. Among these varieties:

• Eschscholzia Lilac Ray shown in the photo with simple flowers of lilac or pinkish color;
• eschscholzia Apple tree flower with double flowers combining white, yellowish, crimson and carmine pink tones.

The diameter of the corollas is 7 cm, and the plants rise 35–40 cm above the flower bed.

Interesting things about Eschsolzia - video

The vast fields of this plant, stretching across the vast expanses of the once Wild West of the North American continent, can still be seen today. This is the birthplace of Eschsholzia, which represents the Poppy family. It is so decorative and attractive, so unpretentious to grow, that it has long become popular with flower growers and settled in their flower beds.

Quite low Eschscholzia bushes branch strongly. With the beginning of summer they are covered with delicate cup-shaped flowers. The colors of the flowers are so bright and varied that it sometimes becomes difficult to give preference to one type. The main stem of the plant and the side shoots extending from it are clearly visible. In common parlance, Eschscholzia is called wormwood because of the pattern of the openwork leaf, which is somewhat reminiscent of wormwood.

The white coating covering the stem and leaves gives them a bluish tint. Simple single inflorescences resemble wild flowers or butterfly wings. This genus of plants immortalized the name of the Russian naturalist German origin Johann Eschscholz. Mainly used as decorative element. Looks good both on a meadow, Moorish lawn, and just in a flower bed.

Growing Eschscholzia from seeds in open ground When to plant

They use both spring sowing of Eschscholzia and autumn sowing before winter.

Advantages of autumn sowing

Many gardeners prefer autumn sowing for two reasons. The first is that seeds planted before winter receive natural stratification with 100% germination. The weak ones are rejected by nature itself. The second reason is the early flowering of Eschscholzia, which begins to please the eye from May.

• Sow the seeds as usual: prepare grooves up to 5 cm deep, and, pressing lightly, sow the seeds there.
• Sprinkle a 2 cm layer of loose humus mulch on top. This is done in order to prevent hardening of the soil, which, if frozen, will prevent the germination of seedlings in early spring.
• In autumn, sowing is usually carried out in October-November, depending on the region, in dry weather with the onset of cold weather and night frosts. Planting seeds in warm autumn weather will cause seed germination and freezing of young shoots in the cold autumn-winter period.

Sowing Eschscholzia in spring

Eschscholzia seeds must undergo certain preparation in the spring for good germination. Therefore, experienced gardeners pour eschscholzia seeds into a cotton bag and place them on the refrigerator shelf, preferably the bottom one. They stay in this place for about a month until sowing.

In spring, Eschscholzia begins to be sown in March - April when the earth warms up. Make the same furrows as for autumn sowing, and evenly plant the seeds there, sprinkled with sand. The top is mulched with peat. In 10-15 days the first shoots are expected.

Eschscholzia from seeds Growing seedlings at home

Plant intolerance to replanting does not stop flower growers, who are “starved” for gardening work during the long winter. At the end of February and beginning of March, they begin to grow eschsolzia seedlings on the windowsill using special method. To do this, they use peat tablets so as not to damage the delicate root when replanting.

• The peat tablet is placed in a container of water to soften it.
• As soon as the liquid is absorbed, 2-3 seeds (which have been stratified in the refrigerator) are placed into the tablet using a toothpick or a small splinter, sprinkled with peat. Then the surface is slightly moistened.
• If you cover the crops with polyethylene, then with the help of the greenhouse effect you can achieve earlier seed germination.
• When the first shoots emerge in a couple of weeks, the film is removed and the seedlings are placed in a cooler (about +20°C) but well-lit place.
• Moderate watering is necessary only when it dries out. upper layer peat
• Half a month after the appearance of the first shoots, they should be fed with special mineral mixtures for (sold in the store).
• 15 days before planting, the seedlings are hardened. When transplanting into open ground, it is placed there directly with a tablet so that the root system remains viable.

The video will tell you how to grow eschscholzia in a peat tablet:

Planting Eschscholzia in open ground When to plant

Eschscholzia is frost-resistant, so spring frosts down to – 5° C they are not afraid of it. In mid-late April you can start planting seedlings in open ground t. It only dislikes dense soil that is poor and acidic.

• By using wood ash You can reduce acidity by adding 1 faceted glass of ash per 1 m2 of land. Can also be used dolomite flour in the same proportion.
• To make the soil more loose, humus is added to the garden soil.
• With a lack of light, eschscholzia may not bloom. Therefore, for planting you need to choose the most sunny plot and place the plant on it so that the eschscholzia bushes do not interfere with each other. After all, they are very spreading. The optimal planting pattern is 30x40 cm. A peat tablet with seedlings is placed in the prepared hole, sprinkled with soil, compacted and slightly moistened.

How to care for Eschscholzia in open ground

Eschscholzia is so unpretentious that it only requires watering during the dry season and fertilizing before flowering. Watering the plant is best done in the evening, before sunset. Pour water in a thin stream under the root so as not to touch the inflorescences. Mineral fertilizers, which are dominated by nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, are considered ideal for feeding flowers.

If you feed the plant with such fertilizer, you can increase the number of inflorescences and the flowering time of eschscholzia. Feeding the flower with fresh organic fertilizers is contraindicated. Using them can destroy the plant. Access to oxygen to the roots of the plant can be ensured by loosening the soil between the rows. By removing dried flowers with seed pods in time, it will be possible to observe a longer flowering of eschscholzia and achieve improvement appearance flower beds with flowers.

Diseases and pests

The resistance of Eschscholzia to diseases of various types is highly valued by flower growers. Basically, the plant is affected by root rot, which occurs from an excess of moisture in the soil. With root rot, the flower visually appears withered. It leaves the same impression after watering. Flower growers have no choice but to dig up the withered bush and carefully examine its root.

If a gray coating with brown spots of rot is visible on it, then there is no doubt that this is root rot. Such bushes are removed from the flowerbed so that the disease does not spread to healthy plants, watering is temporarily stopped and the soil is treated with fungicides, such as Bordeaux mixture, Fundazol, Previkur, Rovralem, copper sulfate. In the future, watering is reduced to a minimum to avoid waterlogging of the soil.

The problem of dry summers is the appearance of spider mites. A sign that the plant is affected by this disease is the appearance of a cobweb that envelops it like a shawl. And small spider dots run along the leaves, sucking all the juices from the plant. If no measures are taken, the flower will soon be left with a dry skeleton. IN in this case You should turn to the acaricides “Oberon”, “Akarin”, “Agravertin”, “Nissoran” for help.
Eschscholzia is also not spared by aphids, especially its green, black or black beet variety. brown color. Such modern insecticides, like “Karate”, “Iskra”, “Fas”, “Aktellik”, aimed at pest control, will help cope with it.

The healing properties of eschsolzia

Eschsolzia photo in a flowerbed Eschsolzia growing from seeds when to plant

Since America is the homeland of Eschsolzia, then all of it medicinal properties were studied a long time ago by the indigenous inhabitants of this continent - the Indians. With the help of eschsolzia they relieved toothache, and decoctions of the petals relieved the Indians of lice. The plant's pollen gave women's skin elasticity and a fresher appearance.

Modern traditional medicine uses eschscholzia extract as an element of multicomponent medicines. First of all, the ability of eschsolzia to have a calming and analgesic effect is appreciated. And all this is supported by another indicator, and this is the absolute safety of products containing eschscholzia. This quality allows them to be used even by children, if a drug with a mild sedative effect is required.

How to collect eschscholzia seeds

If you plan not to change the place where you plant Escholzia and leave everything as it was, then you shouldn’t collect the seeds at all. The plant itself will take care of its offspring. And self-seeding will help him with this. The only thing you need to do is thin out the seedlings after they sprout.

If you have chosen a different area for planting the crop, then you should collect the seeds. It is best to tie a small bag over the drying inflorescence and when the box opens, the fully ripened seeds will not spill out, but will end up in the bag. The seeds collected from the bags will be ready to become planting material after drying for a while on an ordinary piece of cloth. They are stored in the bottom of the refrigerator for no more than 3 years. After this period, seed germination sharply decreases.

Does the plant tolerate winter?

Unfortunately, Eschscholzia is so tender that it cannot survive the winter cold. She is an annual plant. With the onset of autumn cold weather, the Eschscholzia dies. When this moment comes, the drooping tops are disposed of.

Types and varieties of Eschscholzia with photos and descriptions

There are 12 species in the genus Eschscholzia. But each of these species, thanks to breeders, also has different varieties and forms.

Eschscholzia Californian or Californian poppy Eschscholzia californica

This is the most common and popular type of eschsolzia. It is not only depicted on the emblem of the state of the same name, but is also its symbol. The shoots of this plant creeping along the ground do not exceed 45 cm in height. The flowers reach up to 8 cm in diameter. And no matter what variety of this species you take, it will be identical to any other in terms of unpretentiousness to growing conditions, but it will differ in the color of the flower and the shape of its petals.

• a very original newly bred variety “Apricot chiffon” (lat. Apricot chiffon). Leaves with shoots are bluish-green. Corrugated petals with a slight wrinkle are collected into double inflorescences of a mixture of pink orange, golden hue.
• The name of the variety “Golden glory” (lat.Golden glory) speaks for itself. This is a bright yellow flower with simple inflorescences. Its middle is bright orange.
• "Karminkoenig". A hint of pomegranate is present in the color of the simple inflorescence of this variety. The middle is white.
• variety “Strawberry fields” (lat. Strawberry fields). Semi-double inflorescences, 6 - 9 petals, have bright yellow color core. The edges of the petals are red.
• variety "Mikado". The rather simple four-petal inflorescences are a rich shade of red. In the middle part the shade of red is darker.
• variety "Orange King" (lat. Orange king) with double, semi-double or simple inflorescences of bright orange color.
• The alluring variety “Peach Ice Cream” (Latin: Pearh sorbet) amazes with its lush, pink-cream terry inflorescence.
• “Fruit explosion” (lat. Fruit crash) is a varietal mixture. Semi-double inflorescences have corrugated petals of a wide variety of colors: from soft pink to bright red and burgundy.
• The variety “Apple Flowers” ​​is characterized by either simple or double large inflorescences of a soft pink hue. The variety is hardy and light frosts are not a problem for it.

Soddy eschscholzia has the appearance of a small herbaceous bush, only up to 15 cm high. Its dissected leaves are covered with a barely noticeable white coating. The bright yellow simple inflorescences are always four-petaled.

Eschscholzia lobbi

If in the near future someone has to start decorating an alpine slide, then they should take a closer look at a look like Eschszolzia Lobby. This small plant, with a height of up to 17 cm, has an inflorescence diameter of about 3 cm. It is beautiful in its fawn (or yellow) color.

People often call Eschscholzia wormwood or California poppy. This plant owes its scientific name to the botanist, zoologist, traveler and doctor I. F. Eschscholz. Growing an eschscholzia flower will not cause any trouble for the gardener - wormwoods can survive even on depleted, moisture-deprived soils. The only thing these crops need sufficiently is sunlight.

Eschscholzia is a small plant with graceful flowers of various colors. They begin to bloom early. Eschscholzia blooms for quite a long time. Flowers open in sunny weather and are closed in the evening and at night. Loves an open sunny location. The crop refers to perennial plants that are grown as annuals.

Types and varieties of Eschscholzia: description and photo at flowering time

Eschscholzia comes with compact or creeping bushes. The leaves are carved, covered with a waxy coating and therefore have a bluish-green color. It has single, cup-shaped flowers with a diameter of 5–8 cm. It blooms in the first half of July, 40–50 days after emergence, and blooms until late autumn. When describing the effoltia plant, it is worth noting that its flowers open only in sunny weather.

There are 12 types of Eschsolzia. The most commonly grown plants are Californian Eschscholzia and Turf Eschscholzia. Varieties of these species have simple, semi-double, and double flowers. They open only in good sunlight (from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). In cloudy weather, Eschscholzia flowers remain closed.

Eschscholzia Californian is low or medium-sized (20–45 cm). Its shoots are bluish-green in color, and its intricately dissected leaves form root rosette. The flowers of this type of eschscholzia are simple, corrugated, and double. The colors are white, cream, yellow, orange, red and pink.

Eschscholzia californica is officially the symbol of California, one of the US states. Her image is placed at the entrance to the state. Every year on April 6, California hosts a holiday in honor of this plant - California Poppy Day.

The overgrown Californian Eschscholzia is very noticeable from a distance and seems to sparkle in the sun. There is a legend that where Eschscholzia grows, gold ore is formed in the ground. It is the fallen bright yellow petals of the plant that turn into gold.

Eschscholzia variety Anchantre has double flowers of raspberry-pink color. The Ballerina variety has semi-double and ruffled flowers, salmon-colored. The height of this plant is 25–30 cm.

Eschscholzia variety Bobby has yellow-orange flowers and reaches a height of 40–45 cm.

The flowers of the Eschscholzia variety Golden Glory are simple. They have smooth or wavy petals of unusual color - bright yellow with orange spots.

The Golden Orange variety has rich orange flowers.

Pay attention to the photo of Eschscholzia variety Carmine King - these plants have medium-sized crimson-pink flowers that fade in the sun in hot weather:

Varieties Mandarin, Orange King and Mikado have flowers different shades orange color.

Eschscholzia variety Milky White has cream-colored flowers..

There is even Eschscholzia with dark lilac flowers - this is the Ash Violet variety.

The Red Chief variety, also a Californian species, is distinguished by its red.

Variety Tahiti - pink flowers.

Original flowers of the Feuerflame variety– they have corrugated petals of a dark orange-red color.

Eschscholzia variety Apricot Chiffon has sea green leaves and wrinkled petals that are cream or yellow. The flowers of this plant often appear drooping due to the heavy petals.

Eschscholzia varieties Rose Chiffon with inside The petals are the same color, but the outside is pink.

Eschscholzia turf is distinguished by the elegance of its bushes. It is only 12–15 cm in height. The bushes are dense. The leaves are also complexly dissected, forming a basal rosette. The flowers are bright yellow, 3 cm in diameter.

Eschszolzia Lobba forms compact bushes 13–18 cm high. This plant has flowers of different shades of yellow and a small diameter of 2–2.5 cm.

Growing Eschscholzia flowers from seeds (with video)

Eschscholzia, or California poppy, is very easy to grow. It should be sown directly into a container in the fall or early spring. But seedlings are difficult to dive due to tap roots. Plants sown in autumn need some protection from frost, such as placing the pot under a greenhouse frame or in a greenhouse. In the sun with regular watering, the plant will bloom until late autumn. The perianth calyxes will fall off and new buds will bloom.

Eschscholzia is propagated by seeds with or without picking. When seeds fall into the soil, it germinates in the same place. It does not tolerate transplantation well, as it has a tap root, weakly fibrous.

This plant does not tolerate transplantation well, so it is immediately planted in flower beds. Seeds are planted in spring (late April or early May) and autumn (October). Before spring planting, it is recommended to keep Eschscholzia seeds in the refrigerator for several days for hardening. To grow eschscholzia, seeds are sometimes planted in the soil at a shallow depth after the first snow has fallen.

When caring for the plants, sprinkle the planting site with mulch. You can use fallen leaves to cover crops. To ensure uniform germination, the seeds are mixed with sand before planting. They are embedded in the soil to a depth of 0.5 cm. In spring, when the soil temperature rises to 16–18 °C, sprouts appear 10–14 days after sowing. The plant tolerates low temperatures environment up to 4–5 °C. When caring for Eschscholzia in open ground, as soon as after planting the seedlings grow to 7–10 cm and have 5 true leaves, the seedlings are thinned out. A distance of 20 cm is left between plants. In the warm season, eschscholzia blooms 40–45 days after planting.

At autumn planting seeds, the plant blooms more abundantly and earlier the next year. At the same time, it grows more bushy. The lifespan of an eschsolzia flower is one day. You can prolong flowering and decorativeness if you additionally plant seeds in flower beds during June.

If eschscholzia self-sows and sprouts on its own, then it is necessary to thin out the young plants. This will help them grow better and support decorative look flower garden

This video shows how to care for Eschscholzia flowers in open ground:

Caring for the Eschscholzia plant

Care for growing Eschscholzia is simple: it grows well on sandy loam soils. loose soils neutral or slightly acidic reaction. She prefers dry areas, as she cannot tolerate stagnant moisture in the soil. At the same time, the plant needs watering, especially during the flowering period, otherwise the flowers will be small. To plant this plant you need a well-lit place. In the shade it stretches out greatly and loses its attractive appearance. Eschscholzia does not tolerate the presence of fresh natural organic fertilizers in the soil.

Eschscholzia care is minimal. The main thing is to prevent the soil from drying out. It is recommended to water the plant in the evening, when the flowers are closed. If faded flowers and seed pods are promptly removed from the plant, flowering will prolong.

For more abundant flowering, Eschscholzia is fed with mineral fertilizers. The first feeding is carried out before the flowering period. To do this, pour 2 liters of solution under each bush: add 1 tsp per 10 liters of water. nitrophoska, natural organic fertilizer and universal flower fertilizer.

Excessive watering causes rot in Eschscholzia. She is also susceptible viral infections. At the beginning of summer, Eschscholzia often suffers from bean aphids. In dry weather, it may suffer from spider mites. Affected plants must be removed.

Using eschscholzia in the garden

Eschscholzia is often planted mixed with cereal plants on meadow and Moorish lawns. It is suitable for creating ridges, flower beds, rockeries, mixborders, and group plantings. The use of eschsolzia when landscaping slopes and balconies is also relevant. It can be grown in containers and cut for bouquets.

Good neighbors for Eschscholzia in the garden are bright summer plants and tall cereals. It is suitable for filling voids between large bushy plants.

The plant is used to create Moorish lawns, color spots, and for planting on alpine hills, lawns, and balconies. Terry varieties suitable for cutting.

The delicate, graceful charm of this group of poppies is evident from the moment the cone-shaped green buds open and the petals crinkle in silk until the seed heads appear. Bright flowers bloom in early summer and continue to appear until mid-autumn; they are harmoniously complemented by openwork blue-green leaves. Each flower blooms for no more than 4 days, but many new buds open on the plant every day.

Eschscholzia (lat. Eschscholzia) belongs to the Poppy family, there are up to a dozen species that are common in the western regions of North America.

According to legend, in the 16th century, Spanish conquerors, approaching the coast of America, hoping to find gold, saw a golden glow. Approaching the shores of California, the Spaniards discovered golden fields of blooming Eschscholzia. The deceived gold miners called the flower that deceived them “Copa de Ora” - the golden cup.

The flower “Eschscholzia” is named after the Russian botanist, doctor, naturalist, zoologist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz. It was he who brought the seeds of this flower to Russia.

Another lesser known name is Amarola or Dromidera, which means sleepy flower - with the onset of night and cold winds, the flowers remain closed.

Eschscholzia, or California poppy, is an annual plant that looks organic in flower beds or flower beds in combination with wildflowers.

Poppy represents heat-loving plant, preferring sunlit places. It has compact herbaceous stems creeping along the ground, up to 40 cm high.

Openwork, carved leaves are covered with a bluish waxy coating. Their shape resembles the leaves of wormwood - another name for Eschscholzia “wormwood”. Flowers up to 8 cm in size can be simple or double. In California they adorn the state emblem. The color of the corollas is bright and very varied. The buds open en masse only on a sunny day, adding color to the flower garden.

The use of eschscholzia is universal - rockeries, lawns, balcony boxes and containers, Moorish lawns, borders, ridges.

Flowering continues from June until frost. The buds open every morning, but remain closed in cloudy weather and at night.

Types and varieties with photos

In the European part of Russia, the most common species are Eschscholzia caespitosa and Californian Eschscholzia californica.

The flowers on these plants are most often bright yellow or orange. Through the efforts of breeders, the palette has been enriched with colors from white to carmine red, including cream and two-color.

The most common type. Due to its resemblance to wild poppy, it received the name “California poppy”. An annual, branching herbaceous plant, creeping shrub up to 40 cm tall. Multiple, ribbed greenish-gray shoots are straight and thin. Leaves are thrice dissected; Cup-shaped single flowers open up to 9 cm in diameter. The color of the corolla can vary from white to carmine; there are varieties with yellow, orange, and cream petals. Flowers appear from mid-May until frost.

A very graceful herbaceous annual. It does not grow higher than 15 cm. On a delicate bluish-green openwork rosette grows many flowers of a rich yellow color. Flowering continues from June until frost. Varieties with bright pink, terry and corrugated corollas have been developed.

Deep red petals form a simple inflorescence with a darker center

Apple tree flowers

Large double or single flowers are painted soft pink. Can tolerate light frosts.

Semi-double flowers have a bright yellow center gradually turning red at the edges of the petals. A semi-double flower contains from 6 to 9 petals.

Simple bright yellow flowers with an orange center.

Luxurious, soft pink double flowers appear on the bush in abundance until mid-autumn.

Karminkoenig

Large, rich garnet simple flowers are especially bright against the background of a white center.

Orange-golden inflorescences can bloom with both simple and semi-double and even double flowers.

Relatively new variety. Against the background of blue-green leaves and shoots, inflorescences in three shades of orange, gold and pink look especially attractive. Slightly ruffled petals form a double flower.

One variety has an incredible mixture of flowers of so many different shades: pink, red, burgundy, crimson and even yellow.

When to plant seeds for seedlings

To get flowering plants in early June, sowing seeds for seedlings begins in early March. When choosing a container for sowing, you need to take into account that, if it is undemanding to growing conditions, eschscholzia reacts very painfully to damage to its root system.

Eschscholzia seedlings need to be grown in individual containers or peat tablets. There is another option for growing California poppy seedlings - tea bags. It is better to use tea pyramids for sowing. They are stronger than regular double bags. It is convenient to pour soil into them and they will not get wet while growing seedlings. You can transfer the seedlings to the ground along with the bag. The roots will grow through it. Seedlings grown in such containers bloom 30 days after germination.

Preparing soil and seeds

Peat tablets in a shell are pre-soaked in water and wait until they are saturated with moisture.

When sowing seeds in tea bags, they are filled with soil and spilled with water, to which it is useful to add products containing beneficial soil microorganisms. It could be Baikal EM or Fitosporin. Tablets or sachets are placed in baths, where it is easier to maintain the moisture content of the substrate.

Sowing and caring for seedlings

When growing eschscholzia by sowing seeds, you need to remember the growth characteristics of this flower. Eschscholzia has a tap root that goes deep into the soil. When transplanting seedlings it is very difficult not to damage it root system, and taking into account the painful reaction of the flower to damage to the roots, you need to either grow seedlings in individual containers, or sow the seeds directly into the ground.

You can get friendly shoots after stratification: California poppy seeds are soaked in water at room temperature for 12 hours.

Then the seeds are mixed with sterilized sand and put in the refrigerator for 48 hours. Cold-treated seeds are sown in individual containers– cups, peat tablets or tea bags.

Soil is poured into the prepared container, and a depression is made in the tablet. A seed is placed in the soil. This is easier to do with a toothpick or thin tweezers. You can put 2 seeds in each sowing container. A layer of soil no thicker than 1 mm is poured on top. Crops moisturize warm water. The container with the crops is hermetically covered with glass or cling film. Before germination, the container is placed where it is warm and has enough light.

Caring for crops comes down to timely soil moisture and ventilation.

The emerging seedlings are gradually adapted to the less humid atmosphere of the room. It is possible to install additional lighting.

The sprouts are watered without allowing the soil to become waterlogged. After two weeks, the seedlings can be fertilized with a special fertilizer for seedlings.

Grown in room conditions Seedlings must be hardened off before planting in the flower garden. It is better to do this gradually over several times. First, 20 days before planting the seedlings in a permanent place, the container with the seedlings is transferred to a cooler place.

After 3-5 days, on a sunny day, the seedlings are taken outside for 2-3 hours and returned indoors again. A few days before transplanting the seedlings to a permanent location, the plants begin to be left outside all day, bringing them indoors only at night.

Seedlings adapted to open air conditions can survive frosts down to -5C.

Wormwood is unpretentious to soils, but blooms better and develops on loose, dry sandy or sandy loam soils. The main condition is that there should be no stagnation of water on the site. Good aeration is very important for the root system. The place should be well lit by the sun. The plant does not tolerate acidic soils, filled with fresh manure and with stagnant moisture.

Even seedlings hardened before planting can be moved into open ground only when night frosts stop.

The selected area is dug up, the roots of perennial weeds are carefully selected, the holes are leveled and prepared. There should be at least 30 cm between neighboring plants. In such conditions, the eschscholzia will bush well and bloom for a long time.

The prepared wells are shed with water. To improve survival rate, Epin, Zircon or Energen can be added to irrigation water. The seedlings are lowered into the hole along with tablets or tea bags. When growing seedlings in cups, the plants are removed without damaging the clod of earth. The plantings are watered again and sprinkled with a layer of dry soil.

Under certain conditions, it is possible to sow seeds in open ground. This can be done both in spring and autumn.

Seeds intended for sowing in spring should be stored in the refrigerator, on the bottom shelf. During storage, a kind of stratification of seeds occurs, which improves germination. In April, we prepare the area for sowing, taking into account the plant’s needs for soil, lighting and moisture. When sowing later, there is a risk that the seedlings may die from the subsequent heat. Seeds prepared for sowing can be mixed with sand to make sowing easier.

Spring shoots appear 10-12 days after reaching outside temperature 15-18 degrees Celsius. The sprouts are thinned out to 15-20 cm between flowers.

When several true leaves are formed on the seedlings, thinning is carried out - weak shoots are removed. Eschszolzia spring planting blooms in early June.

Seeds sown in the ground in autumn undergo natural stratification until spring, improving germination. The sleepy flower, sown in autumn, blooms in early May.

Sowing seeds in the fall begins shortly before frost, in mid-October. When planting, seeds are distributed over the surface of the soil and sprinkled with mulch.

Dark eschscholzia seeds are distributed over the surface of the snow and covered with dry leaves on top. Then everything is as usual. When 5 true leaves appear in the spring, we thin out the crops to 20 cm between plants.

The unpretentious California poppy flower does not require much attention at first. And when the flowers begin to bloom, it will be difficult to take your eyes off it.

All activities for caring for this flower can be reduced to several simple points:

1. Choose the right place.
2. Timely watering. Moisten the soil better evening a small amount of water.
3. Fertilizer application. Eschscholzia will be very grateful for mineral supplements. It will be especially useful before flowering begins.
4. Weeding and loosening the soil.
5. Protection from pests and diseases.
6. Trimming and removing wilted flowers. Timely removal of wilted flowers and shortening shoots will increase the number of buds that appear and save the plant energy for further flowering.
7. Flowers can grow in the same place for a long time. In subsequent years, wormwood will reproduce by self-sowing.

The discreet, non-aggressive nature of the California poppy allows it to peacefully coexist with other flowers and create attractive compositions. Eschscholzia looks good against the background of cereals.

An attractive combination of a sleepy flower with matthiola, carnation, iberis, purslane, and lobelia.

Eschscholzia clumps are planted on alpine coaster, flower beds, on lawns. Multi-colored poppy looks harmonious against the background of thuja, juniper, and boxwood.

Eschscholzia is rarely damaged by diseases and pests do not like it.

What leads to the appearance harmful insects or diseases?

• With prolonged drought, spider mites may appear on the plant. With the appearance of this pest, growth stops and there is no flowering. Any broad-spectrum insecticide is suitable to kill the pest. Timely watering and spraying of plantings with water will help reduce the number.
• Bean aphids can damage weakened seedlings. Fight with any insecticide.
• Excess moisture leads to rot on the plant. Damaged parts are removed and watering is reduced.
• Eschscholzia roses can cause powdery mildew. The disease is fought with a solution of soda, infusion of ash or whey. For prevention, all plants growing nearby are sprayed.

Except their own decorative qualities The eschscholzia plant is used for medicinal purposes.

American Indians used all parts of the plant to treat toothache, and used a decoction of the flowers to kill lice.

American pediatricians use this plant as a delicate sedative and pain reliever.

The French add eschscholzia to a sedative mixture.

The plant is very similar in appearance to poppy; it is often used as sleeping pill, sedative and analgesic.

The remedies are prepared in the form of infusions, decoctions, and teas.

Beautiful Eschscholzia - Californian poppy: video