Chamomile is a perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It includes about twenty species. Under natural conditions, daisies grow in Eurasia, America, Australia and South Africa. An interesting fact: once these flowers were grown in Central Africa, but they were destroyed by local tribes, who considered that they attract evil spirits to themselves.
The most famous type of this genus is considered to be a pharmacy chamomile, which has long been used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. From Latin, the name of the genus is translated as “uterus”. This is probably due to the fact that this type of chamomile has long been used to treat gynecological diseases. The Russian name of this plant came to us from the Polish language. The word romana is translated as "Roman".
Today for suburban areas is a mandatory attribute rock garden, a large flower bed, a lawn with decorative bushes, herbs, flowers. Among this variety, large garden daisies are very common. Caring for these flowers is uncomplicated, and beautiful baskets against the backdrop of garden greens look very attractive.
General characteristics of plants
Chamomiles are shrubs whose height varies from 15 to 60 cm. The plant has a short root, an erect faceted stem. It has small, scapular, basal leaves on long petioles, as well as oblong, serrated stalked leaves along the edges. Two of them are at the top of the stem. They are significantly reduced in size compared to the rest.
Chamomile flowers are hemispherical inflorescences-baskets, the diameter of which is from 2.5 to 6 cm (in cultivated varieties up to 20 cm). Baskets consist of yellow middle bisexual flowers and long barren marginal flowers, usually white, less often yellowish. The fruit of the plant is the achene.
Popular varieties
To enjoy the beauty of this plant, you must choose from a huge number of varieties of garden chamomile, suitable only for your site. And if you take into account that in the cut these flowers look great, regardless of the chosen variety, they stand for a long time, decorating your house with a beautiful bouquet will not be difficult throughout the summer. We present you the most attractive and popular varieties.
"Leucanthemum"
Large perennial garden daisy. With proper care and observing simple agricultural rules, the size of the flowers can reach 20 cm. The bushes are quite high - almost 70 cm. The plant likes sunny places without drafts. Looks great in a cut, for a long time keeps a fresh look.
"Princess"
A low plant, the flowering of which begins in early July and continues until frost. The height of the bush does not exceed 40 cm. With regular watering, it blooms very actively. The seeds sown since autumn germinate in the spring and delight with beautiful flowers already in the same season. The flowers are small, not more than 10 cm in diameter, but there are several on the same shoot.
"Alaska"
Garden chamomile flowers of this variety are very large (up to 20 cm in diameter). The plant has tall stems. The indisputable advantage of this variety is flowering throughout the summer season. This variety is planted in early spring seedlings or winter sowing seeds.
Colored varieties
These include red and pink feverfews, yellow doronicum. Pink feverfew grows to 60 cm, and red to 150 cm in height. It tolerates partial shade. Doronikum tolerates short drought well, is unpretentious in leaving, normally develops on any soil.
Sowing seeds
Garden chamomile is grown in seedlings and seedlings. Seeds are sown in open ground, although many gardeners consider the seedling method to be more reliable.
For seedlings, garden chamomile seeds are sown in March. To do this, fill the cell trays with a light, moist, breathable substrate. It is made up of sand and peat in equal parts. 2-3 seeds are placed in each cell and sprinkled with a thin layer of substrate on top of them. Then cover the container with transparent film and place it near the window. Do not put it on the windowsill, as the light penetrating through the window glass is too intense and can harm the germination of seeds.
Carefully monitor the condition of the soil, do not allow it to dry out. Once the top coat dries, moisten it using a spray gun.
Growing seedlings
After the first shoots appear, and this happens at room temperature after about two weeks, the film can be removed and the container moved closer to the window, but remember that the shoots must be protected from drafts. If it is impossible to do this for any reason, install a fluorescent lamp above the container with seedlings. It should work 14 hours a day.
When the garden chamomile seedlings grow to 5 cm, in each cell leave one, the most powerful seedling. Do not pull out unnecessary seedlings - they are gently nibbled above the surface of the substrate. This will save the roots of the remaining plant.
Garden chamomile seedlings are planted in the soil after a month and a half, when the risk of return frosts passes. Chamomile loves well-lit sunny areas with neutral or calcareous soil.
Planting garden chamomile
Before planting seedlings (or seeds), the site should be well prepared. Dig the soil and make it a complex fertilizer for flowering plants. Dig holes about thirty centimeters deep at a distance of half a meter from each other. As a rule, this distance can vary depending on the variety of chamomile.
Together with an earthen lump, seedlings are taken out of the cells and planted in holes. Lightly compact the soil around the stems and water the plant well.
How to care for a camomile?
This is not a moody plant - a garden daisy. Caring for it will not be difficult even for a beginner in floriculture. Until that moment, until the chamomile seedlings in the ground have settled and their growth begins, they need frequent and plentiful watering. But as soon as the plant takes root, watering is carried out only in arid weather. To keep moisture in the soil longer, mulch the surface around the bush with peat.
The rest of the care for garden chamomile consists in regular loosening of the soil, thoroughly weeding the site, feeding and preparing perennial varieties for winter. As a top dressing, peat, compost and humus are added to the soil every year. In mid-spring, it is recommended to sprinkle ammonium nitrate (20 g / m) between rows. The soil after this is not watered.
During budding under the bushes with pale leaves and stems, a urea solution must be added. Dolomite flour or slaked lime is recommended to be added to acidic soil in the fall.
Chamomile propagation
Garden daisies (we posted a photo in this article) are propagated by seed and dividing the bush. Although perennial bushes can grow in one place up to five years, after three years they become very dense, and in the center of the bush the shoots begin to die out, the size of the inflorescences decreases, and the plant loses its former attractiveness.
This can be avoided if timely to plant strong young shoots from the bush. In late September or early October, be sure to separate part from the bush on a cool cloudy day and plant it in a pre-prepared hole well spilled with settled water, and fill all voids with fertile soil. If you want to get the largest flowers on powerful stems, you should share daisy bushes every year.
Propagated by daisies and seeds
We talked about how daisies are grown from seedlings, but you can sow seeds directly into the ground in winter. They undergo natural stratification in cold soil and sprout together in early spring.
Disease
We talked about how to land and care. Garden chamomiles with irregular care are susceptible to certain diseases, and gardeners should be aware of this. Plants can be affected by gray rot, powdery mildew, rust and fusarium.
Powdery mildew is easily identified by a whitish coating on the stems and leaves of the bush. Over time, they become brown. Rust appears with dark red spots on the top of the leaves, and on the bottom you can see pads with spores of the fungus.
Another fungal disease is fusarium, in which the roots of young plants rot, the tissues turn brown, the leaves turn yellow and the stem becomes thinner. With gray rot on the shoots and leaves, rapidly increasing brown necrotic spots appear.
Do not allow excess moisture in the soil, regularly remove weeds and more often loosen the soil. This will protect the plant from fungal diseases. It is better to remove a plant infected with gray rot so that the disease does not affect neighboring shoots. To destroy fungal microflora, fungicides are used - Topaz, Fundazol, Oksikhom, Kuproksat and other drugs. Processing should be carried out two or three times in 10 days.
Pests
Of the pests for garden chamomile, thrips, aphids, wireworms, and star-winged flies pose a serious danger. Aphids and thrips are sucking insects that feed on the cell sap of plant stems and leaves. Yellow or discolored spots, streaks and strokes appear on the leaves, damaged tissues die off quickly, the leaves fall off, the flowers lose their decorative effect. In the fight against these insects, insect acaricides are used - Actellik, Karbofos or Agravertin.
The star-winged fly got its name because of the tiny star-shaped spot on the wing. The insect larvae destroy the garden chamomile, located at the base of the middle flowers. You can protect the plant by regularly destroying weeds.
A wireworm is a nutcracker beetle larva that has lived in the soil for almost four years and feeds on plant roots. To get rid of them, traps are created in the soil: they dig holes in which pieces of beets, carrots or potatoes are laid. From above, such traps must be covered with a sheet of metal. After 3 days, it is necessary to open traps and destroy the accumulated wireworms. This should be done regularly. Wireworms most often appear if there is a site with potatoes in the neighborhood.
Winter preparations
Perennial garden daisies for the winter should be covered. Before the first frost, cut the stems, leaving no more than three centimeters above the surface of the soil. After that, cover the area with sawdust, dry leaves or cover with non-woven material.