Curly Lily ( Lily family) will not leave anyone indifferent! She is distinguished by discreet beauty, grace and grace. Slender stems with small chalmoid flowers rise above the flower beds. Graphicness of inflorescences is emphasized by dark leaves. In the evenings, your garden is filled with a delicate aroma, spicy, with a chilly note. That's why curly lilies are so popular. The article presents their botanical description, popular species, diseases and their prevention, especially the care and reproduction, as well as a beautiful legend associated with these flowers.
Curly Lily: Description
Curly Lily is also called locust, or martagon. The plant is tall, its height can reach one and a half meters, sometimes two. The leaves are located whorled, they are numerous (there are up to 20 or even more). Flowers, which are famous for curly lilies, are collected in brushes. Their petals are “curled”, in color they can be either decorated with a border or a speck, or plain. The flowering period of the Marchagon is 3 weeks, beginning in late June.
As you probably guessed, the curly lily (genus Lily) was named for the specific shape of the flowers. They resemble a Turkish turban. Translated from the Turkic language, the word "martagon" means "turban". In our country, the popular name is still popular curly lily (royal curls), which refers, rather, to the impression made by the plant as a whole.
Where better to plant Marchagon
Martagons will serve as decoration of shadow compositions. During flowering, curly lilies look very impressive against the background of large perennial species - black cohosh, Rogers, Volzhanka, aconites. Perennials at the end of summer will take the baton of decorativeness, cover the stems of lilies, which by this time are already drying up. An elegant and laconic combination is also a combination of ferns and martagonons.
Popular varieties
In our gardens, most often, curly lilies are grown, the flowers of which have a pinkish-lilac color (they can be covered with specks or plain). The white variety of marchogons (L.martagon var.album) is less common. This curly lily (photo above) has larger white flowers with a greenish throat. This noble lily is a real masterpiece!
It is necessary to note one more variety - L. martagon var. albiflorum. It is characterized by pink buds, as well as a pale pink blush, which is especially noticeable in a barely blossoming flower. On the petals of this species you will find small dark pink specks. The most striking of the natural forms of curly lilies is the Cattani variety (another name is the Dalmatian lily). It is tall (up to two meters), and its flowers are dark, wine-red in color.
Variety History
Even at the end of the 19th century, breeders were attracted by the variety of variations of the Marchagon and its extraordinary. Different forms were crossed among themselves and with related varieties of lilies. And currently breeding work is being carried out. The novelties that we managed to get significantly enriched the palette of shades that had wild curly lilies.
We list the most famous of the old varieties. Mrs RO Backhouse is a yellow variety with small raspberry specks, Brocade is pale pink. Early Bird - early flowering, pinkish-yellow, very fragrant lily curly (saranka). All these plants are tall (up to two meters), and their flowers are large.
Modern varieties
Among the Marchagon in the middle of the 20th century, genuine masterpieces appeared. For example, the darkest variety of the existing ones is Black Prince. This is a low plant with black and purple tightly swirling flowers, small and shiny. It should also be noted two elegant varieties, the flowers of which are in the form of a pagoda. The first is Rosalinda, a cold lilac-pink hue. The second is Ivorine, whose flowers are white with pink shades.
Of the modern varieties, the high multiflorous varieties are especially noteworthy, such as Terrace City (bright yellow) and Gaybird (with pink small, tightly twisted flowers). Claude Shride is one of the most interesting among the dark-colored maragons. Its flowers are large, wine-red in color. Also worth noting is the Arabian Knight. It has red-brown flowers with yellow sparks. As for the light varieties, you should pay attention to Irish Cream. He has ivory flowers when he just blossomed. Gradually they fade, becoming white.
It should be noted that in many varieties of maragons, especially yellow and pink, the flowers noticeably fade with time. There are hybrids in which this property is particularly pronounced. These are Chameleon and Attiwaw. In contrast, in a species like Bronze Medallion, flowers (bright pink with slightly bent petals) almost do not change color.
Spread in nature
In nature, now it is not so often possible to meet martagon. Curly Lily from the Red Book is distributed from Europe to North Asia. However, its habitat is torn. Its sites are found in the Carpathians, in the European part of Russia, in the south of Eastern and Western Siberia, in Transcarpathia. Curly lily lives on the fringes, meadows and clearings. It is found singly in broad-leaved, mixed and small-leaved forests, as well as in the mountains.
This species requires protection. Currently, measures are being taken to protect it. Curly lily is a rare species of the Urals flora. This plant is listed in the Red Book and is protected in several reserves.
Breeding Marchagon
These lilies are inhabitants of light forests. This means that in the garden they grow best in partial shade. However, with sufficient moisture, they may well take root in the sun. It should be noted that the soil for these plants should be fairly dense, rich, water-intensive.
Bulbs of marchogons are best planted from the second half of August to mid-September. For a large adult bulb, the planting depth is 20-25 centimeters from the bottom. You should be prepared for the fact that full flowering will have to wait 2, and sometimes 3 years. It happens that the bulb "falls asleep", therefore, it grows only after a year, and not next spring. But this lily will grow for many years in one place, and it will not need a transplant.
Plant nutrition
Martagons feed in the same way as other bulbs. To do this, in spring, full mineral fertilizer is used, and after flowering, phosphorus-potash (best of all, potassium monophosphate). It is very useful for these plants to mulch the soil with compost. Due to this, it will not be supercooling, overheating and drying out. In addition, compost is an additional food.
Diseases, their treatment and prevention
Martagons rarely get sick. As for fungal diseases, of these, botritis (gray rot) can become a problem. For treatment, it is necessary to use systemic fungicides ("Skor", "Topaz"). For prophylaxis, fitosporin is suitable. Lily fly is a very dangerous pest of these plants. The buds struck by it either turn into ugly flowers, or completely crumble. If you find these symptoms, know: treatment in this case will not help. It will be necessary to take preventive measures as early as next season. To do this, starting in May, a lily is treated with an insecticide (for example, Aktara). Processing is carried out two to three times, the interval between which is two weeks.
Reproduction of marchogons
Of course, all gardeners dream of their plants blooming with a bouquet. However, this is usually observed only if several bulbs are planted at once nearby. Martagons, unlike other types of lilies, divide extremely slowly. Therefore, you have to wait for a bouquet for years.
The most effective way of propagating with respect to these flowers is flake. Several external scales are separated from the bulb. Then they are slightly dried, disinfected (using the preparations "Vitaros", "Maxim" and others) and placed in a slightly moistened substrate (peat, moss sphagnum, perlite). Containers with flakes are stored at room temperature. In addition, they need to maintain moderate humidity. Small bulbs form at the base of the scales after about 2 months. You can plant them in the ground. In the fourth or fifth year, the first flowering begins.
Emergence of seedlings
Sowing Marchagon is an activity that also requires a lot of patience. The fact is that seedlings bloom only in the fourth or sixth year, and sometimes in the seventh. But if you sow the seeds that were collected from hybrids, there is a high probability of getting a very unexpected and diverse offspring. Seeds must be sown between September and October. They are left in containers dug in the ground. Usually seedlings appear only the next year.
The legend associated with the Marchagon
In conclusion, I would like to tell a legend associated with these colors. After reading it, you will learn how they appeared.
One merchant's wife died. Without thinking twice, he sent the matchmakers to a neighbor, a rich and young widow. She laughed at the merchant and rejected his matchmaking, explaining her decision by the fact that he was bald and old. Then the groom decided to ask the witch for help. The woman listened to the merchant and said that she could not restore his youth, however, curls on his little head still grow if he does as she tells.
Then the sorceress brought the merchant a flask containing a magic potion. She ordered him to go into the forest at midnight and sprinkle her head with this potion after the bird cries. The merchant, barely waiting for the night, went into the forest. It is very scary in it at night, but our hero, hiding behind the crowns of trees, began to wait for the cry of a bird. But, as luck would have it, there was dead silence. Gradually he began to overcome fear. When, finally, the bird cried out, the merchant dropped a bottle from fear and rushed away from the forest. Having caught his breath at home, he decided to abandon the intention to marry. Since then, flowers with curled petals resembling magical curls have appeared in the forest.