Unpretentious flowers of the original form with a long flowering period are the most coveted guests in the garden and outdoor flower beds. It is these qualities, as well as the amazing variety of colors that made snapdragon one of the most popular plants used for landscaping various territories. In this article we will talk about planting, breeding, caring for this plant.
Legend
About the flower snapdragon (antirrinum) has been known since ancient times. Mention of him can be found in the myths of Ancient Greece - in a cycle that tells about the exploits of Hercules. The myth tells about how he defeated the terrible Nemean lion, who lived near the city of Nemea, kidnapped children and animals. Admiring the heroic deed of Hercules and in memory of this event, the goddess Flora created a flower similar to the mouth of a lion, called the snapdragon. Goddess Flora gave this flower to Heracles. Since then, in Greece, it is customary for heroes to give soldiers this particular flower.
Spread
In the wild, this plant can be found in Europe, on the North American continent. It grows a lot in the Mediterranean. Currently, more than 50 species of wild antirrinum are known. In our country, in Siberia and in the middle lane, you can often see wild flax - a kind of snapdragon. It appeared for the first time in gardens in the 16th century, in 1587 there is a mention in books of the antirrinum of the large as the only cultural form of the plant.
History
The first to this plant were interested gardeners in Germany, who began to conduct breeding work. Later, their colleagues from other European countries joined them. Today, there are more than one thousand varieties of antirrinum.
Description
Antirrinum should be attributed to perennial herbaceous plants belonging to the plantain family. But in countries with frosty winters, it is grown as an annual. A highly branching plant has a pyramidal shape, can be found in the form of a single bush. Leaves are usually lanceolate in green in various shades (from light to dark). Flowers have very long inflorescences, which can range from 5 to 60 centimeters. In a number of varieties, they have the shape of a pyramid. At the beginning of flowering, the lowest pair of flowers blooms, gradually it moves up. Each subsequent pair blooms a week after the previous one. Each pair continues flowering for two weeks, and the flowering period of the entire plant is 3-4 months. The fruit of the plant is a multi-seeded box, where there are from 500 to 800 seeds.
The flowers of snapdragons can be double and simple, with an open or closed corolla, they resemble the open mouth of a lion. Flowering time is very long, lasts from early summer to late autumn. The color of the antirrinum is diverse. Almost all colors and shades are found, except for black and blue. Petals are two-tone and three-color.
Types of Antirrinum
All varieties of snapdragon are divided into four groups, which are divided by the size of the stem. The variety of varieties and colors offers gardeners a huge selection of flowers of the right size and suitable color. Their size can be from twenty centimeters to one meter.
Dwarf
The antirrinum of this species grows no more than 25 centimeters. It is used for cultivation in a cache-pot, flowerpots and on balconies. Gardeners often plant compact bright bushes in rockeries, they also look good as borders.
Short and medium
The snapdragon of these species is most often grown to decorate flower beds, to create floral arrangements with other flowers. The growth of a stunted plant is 40, and the average is 40-60 centimeters.
Tall and gigantic
A tall plant grows at least 60 centimeters. The giant view of the antirrinum has a growth of at least 80 centimeters. A feature of these species is that they practically do not branch, they need to make support.
Ampelic
The antirrinum of the ampel variety will look very impressive in a garden in which there are buildings with columns. He will be able to decorate them with unusually beautiful, flowing flower garlands falling down.
Like all flowers, antirrinum has different ripening periods:
- early flowering from June;
- medium - in early July;
- later - by the beginning of August.
Snapdragon: growing from seeds when to plant
Antirrinum is propagated by seeds and cuttings. Seeds can be sown in open ground (in warm climates) and through seedlings. In the latter case, sowing of seeds is carried out in March.
The plant does not like to grow on peaty and clay soils. For growing seedlings, it is preferable to use a mixture of fertile soil (you can compost) and river sand per one to one.
Snapdragon landing and care
For sowing, it is very convenient to use plastic containers with a lid. You can take disposable plastic cups and sow several seeds in them (no more than 2-3). When shoots appear, the seedlings do not thin out, but leave to grow a bush.
Before sowing, the tank is filled with suitable soil, well moistened. Antirrinum seeds are very small, therefore, when sowing, you can use the following methods:
- A thin layer of snow is poured onto the surface of the substrate and sown on it.
- Combine seeds with fine sand, which also simplifies the process.
Seedling Care
After sowing the seeds, they are sprinkled on top with a thin layer of earth (a sieve can be used) and moistened with a spray gun. Top cover or cover with a film. When germinated, seeds need high humidity and a temperature of 23-25 ° C. The soil must be kept moist and dry.
With proper care, snapdragon seedlings when grown from seeds appear 10-15 days after sowing. As soon as the sprouts appear, the container must be moved to a more lighted place, otherwise the seedlings may stretch out. The film should be removed a few days after emergence.
At first, the plants grow quite slowly, but do not worry. Watering at this time should be very moderate. If a black leg is found in a plant, it must be removed immediately, and it is recommended to sprinkle the soil with crushed activated carbon or wood ash. For any type of rot, you should use the drug "Fitosporin" in the amount of 10 drops per liter of water.
Pick
When the snapdragon seedlings appear in the seedlings (pictured) of the second pair of true leaves, it is time to start diving. This procedure should be carried out with extreme care so as not to damage the delicate roots. For plants, choose containers with a diameter of not more than 10 cm, focusing on the variety, it is impractical to use spacious pots. Before planting (per day) the soil is not moistened, this is necessary for easier extraction of seedlings with a good earthen lump. The seedling is first spread on a flat surface, a recess is made in the pot and the seedling is placed in it.
Experts advise to conduct two picks of snapdragon. The first - in the phase of the second pair of true leaflets, and the second - after 30 days. When plants reach 10 centimeters, experienced growers recommend pinching the top. This contributes to the emergence of new lateral shoots, which in the end will give more stems and the flower will be more magnificent.
In the event that a ready-made seedling is purchased, it is necessary to pay attention to its following qualities: the leaves should be juicy green in color, not too thin a stem. But it is especially important that the root system is developed in the plant.
Landing
Consider the features of planting and care of snapdragon (with photo) in the ground. It is necessary to know that when breeding different varieties and planting close to each other, cross-pollination is possible in which new plants for the next year (when collecting and planting these seeds) will differ significantly from their parents. The snapdragons should be planted in the ground when the threat of spring frost passes. Depending on the region, landing is performed from the first of May to mid-June.
The loam and sandy soil, which has good water and air permeability, are considered the most suitable soil for the antirrinum. If you want to get a more magnificent and long flowering, then add to the soil:
- complex fertilizer for flowers (Art. Spoon), or nitrophosphate;
- peat (1 kg per square meter);
- humus (3-4 kg);
- wood ash (1 tbsp per square meter).
The soil is dug well and loosened. In the garden for planting a flower snapdragon, the most light place is chosen, the dark does not fit at all - the plants will not bloom. In partial shade, less magnificent, sparse flowering is observed.
It is best to carry out a transplant in the evening or cloudy weather. For different varieties, when planting, different gaps between plants are provided:
- dwarf varieties - 15x15 cm;
- low grades - 20x20 cm;
- medium - 30x30 cm;
- high - from 40 centimeters.
In pre-prepared wells, plants from the pot are released along with an earthen lump. The flower should be deepened to cotyledon leaves. The earth around the plants with your hands is slightly tamped and watered.
Summer flower care
To preserve moisture in the soil and better flowering, antirrinum bushes must be mulched. As a covering material, it is best to use straw, sand, sawdust. The flower does not like drought, but when excess moisture begins to hurt. Therefore, watering should be done regularly, but in moderation. It is better to water the plant under the root in the morning: this will help to avoid diseases associated with improper watering.
25-30 days after the snapdragon flower has been planted in the ground, it must be fed with complex fertilizer for annual garden flowers. Top dressing should be done regularly throughout the summer. The interval between them should be 2-3 weeks.
When planting on heavy soil, in order to achieve good plant growth, it is necessary to carry out not only timely top dressing, but also loosening, tying up high species. Loosening protects the root system from disease and leaching. Tying can prevent the death of tall bushes in windy weather.
If you pinch the main and side shoots of the second order, the splendor of the bush will increase significantly. If the antirrinum does not bloom, it is necessary to cut off the longest shoots and its flowering will resume. To make it longer, buds that have already faded must be removed.
Cold resistance
Snapdragon is able to withstand small sub-zero temperatures (up to -4), then acquiring its original form. Therefore, you can admire the luxurious flowering until the very frost.
Cut
To use cut flowers, you need to remove them before they bloom. In this case, a bouquet of snapdragons at home can be stored for a long time.
Healing properties
Antirrinum is a very ornamental plant, but its flowers are also successfully used in folk medicine. An infusion of its flowers is used for bloating, some liver diseases. In the recovery period after hepatitis, it is good to use a mixture of immortelle flowers, snapdragons and corn stigmas. The infusion of antirrinum is used for shortness of breath, dropsy and severe headaches. Topically apply the infusion of this flower for hemorrhoids, boils, open sores on the skin.
Popular varieties of antirrinum
Breeders bred a huge number of varieties of snapdragon. Photos of flowers and a description of the most famous of them are presented below:
- Madame Butterfly. The medium-sized variety, inflorescences are large, terry, unusually bright, of all existing shades, collected in high dense brushes.
- Rainbow. It grows up to 40 centimeters. It features a large abundance of flowers in various shades.
- Scarlett. Bush up to 60 centimeters high. Inflorescences of red juicy color, collected in high pyramidal brush. The variety is frost-resistant, goes well with perennials in flower arrangements.
- Tom Tumb. Refers to a dwarf species. The original variety with colors of inflorescences of pastel colors and shades.
- Russian size. The variety is intended for cutting, reaches 160 centimeters. Large flowers, usually two or three shades, with dense inflorescences.
- Lampion F1. A completely unique variety of ampelous appearance. It is used for hanging flower pots, grown on balconies and loggias. The leaves are dark with a silver tint.
- Black Leaf. Small neat bushes. Inflorescences have a diverse color of flowers, leaves are dark, almost black.
Various mixes are popular (a set of seeds having different colors). Most varieties of snapdragon (photo) have several color options. You can buy them in the form of mixes or separately.
Seed collection
Harvesting snapdragon seeds must be done while they are not yet fully ripe. To collect you need to prepare a long paper bag. Select the desired instance, cut off its top, where the fruit has just begun ripening. A paper bag is put on the remaining stem, which is tied below the fruit, and then the stem is cut. The paper bag is turned over and stored in a dry, ventilated area until the seeds ripen. As soon as the seeds ripen, they are poured from the seed box into a bag. After that, they are laid out in boxes or bags and put away for storage in a cool room with an air temperature of 5-10 ° C.
Diseases and Pests
Antirrinum is susceptible to the following diseases: gray rot, rust, septoria, black leg. Treating a plant for these diseases is complex and time consuming. Flowering in this period completely stops and the flower does not have time to bloom again fully. Therefore, diseased plants should be pulled out of the soil and burned. Contaminated soil is treated with fungicide.
For flowers, such insects are dangerous that can lay eggs in the flowers or leaf axils. It can be various flies, scale insects, caterpillars and butterflies. To prevent this, a number of rules should be observed:
- Do not plant seedlings at close distances from each other;
- remove damaged plants immediately;
- Prevent waterlogging of the soil;
- watering under the root, preventing water from entering the leaves.
After flowering has ended, all plants are harvested and burned to remove possible pests, dig up the site.