The Lamiaceae family, to which lavender belongs, has approximately thirty species of various plants. Under natural conditions, lavender can be found in warm countries. In ancient Rome and Greece, this plant was used for washing and bathing. From here came its modern name (lava - "wash"). Now in culture, planting of narrow-leaved lavender is carried out. Care and features of reproduction are described in the article.
Description
Lavender is a perennial shrub that stays green throughout the year. Its root system is fibrous, but it leaves the ground two meters. There are quite a few shoots on the bush, they are lignified from below. In height, they can reach sixty centimeters. The shoots are covered with thin leaves, which are located opposite each other. The leaves have a silver-green hue. Lavender is known, of course, for its fragrant flowers. They are collected in beautiful blue-violet inflorescences, which are located at the very top of the stem. Lavender begins to bloom only in the second half of summer. With its aroma, it attracts bees, which characterizes it as a good honey plant. If you properly store the seeds of this plant, then they will not lose their germination for many years.
Further in the article we will learn all about how to grow perennial lavender, planting and care. Photos will also be presented later.
Landing time in open ground
The plant can be planted directly in the ground or you can engage in the cultivation of lavender seedlings. Planting and care in the open field in the form of seeds is carried out in October. But if you decide to grow seedlings, then it will be ready for the transition to fresh air in May.
Think in advance exactly how you will plant the plant, because if it is a seedling method, you need to purchase planting material in advance. This is due to the fact that the seeds must be stratified within two months. It turns out that the seeds should already be with you no later than at the beginning of December, since already at the end of winter they will need to be planted.
Seeds should be stratified at a temperature of five degrees. Usually, the bottom drawer in the refrigerator is chosen for this.
Seedlings
Before planting lavender seeds, cultivating and caring for it, you need to prepare a place and containers where seedlings will be prepared for planting in the ground. The containers must be filled with a special substrate, which includes:
- Humus - two parts.
- Coarse river sand is one part.
Lavender seeds are quite small, so the substrate should not contain any lumps. To completely get rid of them, it is worth sifting the prepared soil. After that, she must undergo heat treatment. For this purpose, containers with soil mixture for some time sent to the oven at a temperature of 130 degrees. If you do not want to engage in calcination, then prepare a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate and spill the substrate with it. Such measures are necessary in order to exclude the presence of various pests and fungal diseases in the soil. Do not forget to lay a layer of drainage on the bottom of the pots.
Planting seeds in containers
When winter begins to come to an end, you can do lavender flowers, planting and caring for planted seeds. Small seeds are carefully laid out on the surface of the substrate and do not deepen. From above it is enough to sprinkle them with a three-millimeter layer of sand. After this, the seeds need to be watered, but only warm water can be used, and it is distributed on the surface only with a sprayer so as not to deepen the planting material.
After disembarkation, the containers are placed in a bright place where the air temperature will remain at an indicator not lower than fifteen degrees, but not higher than twenty-two. Tanks must be covered with glass to create a greenhouse effect. Periodically, the coating must be removed to ventilate the seeds.
Seedling care
When the seedlings begin to appear, during this period your task is to organize additional lighting. If it is not there, then the seedlings will begin to reach up and lose their decorative value. Seedlings must be accustomed to room temperature. To do this, they remove the glass coating and increase the daily residence time without it. This procedure is repeated until the seedlings get used to being constantly uncoated. In addition, seedlings need to be planted a little, so that the distance from one to the other is five centimeters.
We plant seedlings in the ground
Seedlings will be ready for planting in open ground only at the end of May, when night frosts will not return to the ground. Typically, for lavender, places such as borders are chosen, and it is also planted on both sides of the path. Some gardeners make real alpine hills on their plots that are fully planted with lavender. The only condition is the bright sun. For planting, try to choose dry and sandy loamy soil, however, if it is loam with good drainage, then lavender will not be very indignant. The main thing is that groundwater does not stagnate in this place, since this plant is very sensitive to such things.
If your garden plot has only acidic soil, then it is necessary to add ground limestone to it, otherwise it will not work to grow lavender in such a place. Prepare the site in advance. It is necessary to dig it up and make compost or peat for digging. Earth must be very loose.
Seedlings should be approximately ninety centimeters apart. If you have chosen a tall variety, then the distance needs to be increased to one hundred and twenty centimeters. Calculate the depth in such a way that the root system can fit perfectly there. Before planting, trim the roots a little, and then place the seedling in the hole, sprinkle it with earth and firmly compact. The root neck should go underground for six centimeters. Immediately after landing, it is necessary to carry out abundant watering.
Sowing in the winter
If you live in the southern region and the winters are warm, you can skip the moment of planting lavender and leaving at home and plant the seeds directly in the open ground. October is best suited for this, when there is still no frost, but the seeds will no longer grow. Dig the soil and make peat under the dig. If the ground is too wet, you should also add some sand or fine gravel. Furrows for seeds should not be deeper than four centimeters. Planting material is sprinkled with loose earth and slightly compacted. It is necessary to water the planted lavender, but not too much. When the first snow appears, a small snowdrift should be poured into this place.
Growing
The first year is pretty difficult for lavender. This is due to the fact that its growth is very slow, and during this period the plant especially needs the attention of the gardener. He is faced with the task of always removing weeds. If they begin to develop, they will drown out the young sprouts of lavender, and all your efforts will be in vain. And also during this period, lavender should build up a powerful root system, so it is better to remove inflorescences that will appear. This is necessary so that the plant does not waste energy on their development.
If we talk about varieties, the planting and departure of lavender "Yuzhanka" is not too difficult, but attention is required. First of all, it concerns watering. It should be plentiful and regular. It is necessary to increase the amount of moisture during the period when the heat is particularly strong. After moistening the soil around the bushes in any way, it is necessary to loosen the soil and remove all available weeds, even the smallest ones. But these troubles can be avoided. It is enough to mulch the top layer of the earth after transplanting seedlings using peat, and the need for weeding and loosening will automatically disappear.
There are some features for caring for old bushes. Every autumn and spring they need to be spudded. This is necessary so that new, young ones can appear on the old shoots. In addition, lavender needs pruning and top dressing. Try not to use fresh manure and nitrogen fertilizers, since their action is aimed at building green mass, and lavender is not grown for this at all. Indeed, most of all in this plant, its flowering is valued. It will be better if you give preference to potash fertilizers.
Pruning
Growing lavender, planting and care in the open ground provide for its regular pruning. At the end of flowering, it is necessary to remove wilted inflorescences, and in autumn it is recommended to shorten the bushes. This is done in order to give the bush the desired shape. And also, if the shoots start to stretch upward strongly, a strong wind can bend them, and because of this their decorative effect will be lost. Since lavender is a perennial plant, its shoots should be updated. This is done once every ten years. The gardener should cut absolutely all shoots by about five centimeters. The same procedure can be carried out with young bushes, if their flowering is too sparse.
Breeding
We have already considered the propagation of lavender seeds, planting and seedling care. But you can also propagate this plant by cuttings, dividing the bush and even layering.
If you have been growing lavender for a long time, or if your friends kindly agreed to share one stalk, then you have a great opportunity to do propagation of the bush with cuttings. You will need a lignified shoot, which should be cut into ten-centimeter cuttings. The lower section of each must be deepened into a wet substrate by three centimeters and covered with a glass jar. It will be possible to remove the capacity only after the cuttings are well rooted. And to understand this will not be difficult, since small young leaves will begin to appear on the shoots.
Before you start dividing the bush, it must be prepared for this. In the fall, when the flowering period is completely over, you need to choose the largest bush in the garden and cut its shoots by about ten centimeters. After that, they spud it, but in such a way that all the empty spaces between the shoots are filled with earth. With the onset of spring, this procedure is repeated. Over the summer, a fairly abundant growth will appear on the bush. And with the onset of autumn, it can be safely dug up and divided into parts. Each new bush should have strong roots and several young shoots.
As for reproduction by layering, everything is quite simple here. In the spring, select a few good shoots and dig them, putting them in a hole near the bush, about four centimeters. Throughout the summer, it is necessary to ensure that the soil in this area never dries out. Next spring cuttings will take root, and they can be dug up and divided into parts. The resulting seedlings can be safely planted on the site.
Diseases and Pests
Lavender is quite rarely sick, and insects do not bother this plant too often. However, you can not be completely safe from the fact that this season your site will not be visited by a circus, rainbow beetle or drooling pennies.
The first two can simply be collected with your hands and destroyed. And after that, it is necessary to change the layer of the existing mulch on the garden bed. As for diseases, lavender can only be affected by gray rot, and then, due to certain circumstances. This problem is especially common during heavy summer rains, as well as if the owner himself was carried away by watering and waterlogging the soil. It is impossible to cure plants. Affected bushes can only be removed from the beds and burned. Such drastic measures are needed so that the disease does not spread to healthy bushes.
Beneficial features
A plant such as lavender planting and care (photos are presented in the article) also provides for the use of the beneficial properties of grown plants.
Any terrestrial part of the plant contains healthy essential oil. It is widely used not only in cosmetology and perfumery, but also in medicine. This oil is very effective in various mental disorders, stress and neurosis. It is also widely used in diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract, various colds and infections, and helps in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. You can also use greenery of lavender, it is added during the bath to stabilize the general mental state of the body, soothe the skin. Dry inflorescences are often laid out inside cabinets to get rid of moths and give the room a fresh aroma.
Contraindications
You can not use drugs containing lavender during pregnancy, especially in the first two trimesters, since it affects the contraction of the uterine muscles. In the period after the abortion, also refrain from taking it, so as not to provoke bleeding. If you take drugs that include iodine or iron, then combining lavender with them is also prohibited.
Lavender oil can not only soothe, but also cause severe depression if applied in too large doses. And also, before use, consult a doctor to exclude the presence of individual intolerance to this component.