No human beauty can compare with ordinary colors. Flowers adorn our homes with gardens, inspire artists and poets to create masterpieces of art. Even a beginner gardener can easily decorate his garden. The main thing is to choose the right seedlings and grow a healthy plant. At the same time, the art of growing knows no bounds. Only very experienced professionals are able to create a true masterpiece in the form of a design landscape.
Gardens of Antiquity
In the gardens of Ancient Greece they loved to grow fragrant flowers of matthiol (the modern name is left-handed). The name itself comes from a phrase meaning "white violet." The plant was valued for its beauty and aroma.
In the Middle Ages, they loved to decorate temples. A century ago, these flowers were very popular. Over time, they began to plant less often. Today, interest in flowers grown from seeds, left-handed is reviving again. It always remains a mystery how many terry flowers will be, and how many ordinary four-petal inflorescences.
Biological description
The most famous Levkoy flower, grown from seeds in our gardens, has the scientific name Matthiola incana. The plant was first described by the Italian botanist Pietro Mattiole around the middle of the 16th century. There are options for annual and perennial plants. Height - between 20 and 80 cm. In this case, the plant can have both single stems and shrubs. The root is shallow. It has a slightly branching plant.
Elongated leaves - 5-18 cm, lanceolate, whole-cut. The shape is obovate, tapering to the petiole.
Fragrant flowers, collected in inflorescences of 10-60 pieces. On one plant there are simple and terry options. The best idea of a flower is conveyed by a photo of levkoy. Growing from plant seeds in the midland of Russia is possible using seedlings. The plant blooms from June to frost. There is a wide variety of colors.
Petals can be pure white or have a variety of shades - pink, lilac. Red, dark purple are also popular.
Distribution area
A plant originates from southern Europe. It is found throughout the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. On the territory of Russia grows in the Caucasus. To the north it can only be an alien plant. He likes steppe and forest-steppe zones.
It is grown at home from seeds. Levkoy cultivation can be successful even at the latitudes of the Moscow region and in regions located north of the capital.
Growing technology
Agricultural technology of the plant is not particularly difficult. Growing levkoy from seeds at home is available even for a beginner gardener. In the conditions of central Russia, the seedling method is used. This allows you to avoid the effects of frost, increase the flowering time and protect the flower from adverse conditions at an early stage of development.
Seed preparation
Today you can buy high-quality seeds of almost any plant. It is worth paying attention that they are adapted to the place of landing.
Large manufacturers, as a rule, enclose instructions for growing left-handed seed from seeds, but it does not hinder to know a few generally accepted rules. Planting on seedlings is carried out in the second half of March, when daylight hours already become quite long. So, the plant manages to get stronger before transplanting into open ground. For sowing take garden soil, lightweight sand. 3: 1 ratio. It is also useful to add some peat.
Pre-seeds for a day are soaked in water with the addition of a germination accelerator. After that, for stratification on wet gauze, they are placed in a cool place. It must be ensured that the substrate does not dry. Sown on the ground, not thickening, to a depth of not more than 5 mm. Cover with a film or glass, put in a shaded and warm place.
Growing seedlings
The land with crops is regularly moistened with a spray bottle. It should not dry out, but excessive moisture is not allowed. Sprouts can appear on 4-5 days. But do not worry if they are not 2 weeks. When growing left-handed seed from seed, seedlings must be dived. This happens before the development of the first two true leaves - approximately 10-12 days after the appearance of the sprouts.
For a dive, individual containers are taken - peat, paper or special from plastic. If it is not possible to purchase a ready-made garden mixture for flower crops, then you can prepare it yourself. Take 2 parts of turf land, add 2 parts of leaf or top peat and 1 part of sand.
It is important that land and sand are not infected by agricultural pests. When transplanting seedlings, the earth warms up to room temperature and moistens. Seedlings are grown in a bright place, at a temperature of about 11 ° C. If necessary, you can highlight a phytolamp.
Hardening plants
After the appearance of the second real leaf, the plant is fed with micronutrient fertilizers. 1.5 weeks before planting on open ground, left-handed seedlings grown from seeds are hardened. First, for several hours, then for the whole day they take it out into the air or put it in a greenhouse, which is opened for a day.
Outdoor planting
Like any Mediterranean plant, this flower loves well-warmed soil. At the same time, seedlings do not tolerate a sharp increase in temperature. For a transplant, you should choose a cloudy day in late May - early June. The weather itself will tell you when to plant with a levok. Growing seedlings from seeds is a fairly simple process. The main thing is to timely transplant into open ground.
The distance between undersized varieties is planned 10-15 cm. For flowers with pyramidal and bouquet inflorescences - 20-25 cm, sprawling and shrubby - not less than 30 cm.
Seedlings grown from levkoy seeds are placed in wells with well-spilled soil. To form an earthen gruel at the bottom. This allows young roots to adapt better. If peat pots were used, then the bush from them is not pulled out. Such pots themselves quickly decompose in the ground.
Where to plant flowers?
The landing site is chosen well-lit and with drained soil. The plant does not tolerate stagnation of water. Neutral or slightly alkaline soil is preferred. Excessive fertilizer is not recommended. Avoid areas where cruciferous plants used to grow, as the chance of infection with flower pests increases.
Garden Flower Varieties
Gardeners distinguish the following plant varieties:
- Single-stemmed, can be either stunted or up to 60 cm high. Most often they are grown to decorate flower beds. If you take the bouquets, then it is worth pulling out along with the root. So they will stand longer in the vase. Typical examples of such flowers are Excelsior Gigantic with a height of up to 60 cm and a Diamond not exceeding 30-50 cm in height.
- Bouquet and pyramidal are well suited for interior decoration. Bouquets made up of these flowers look great, spread a pleasant aroma. Among the representatives of the bouquet can be noted Victoria and Dwarf, not exceeding 35 cm. These are compact bushes-balls. It is worth noting that the dwarf variety grows well in the house. Another variety - Exa, refers to tall plants. He has a bush height of 60 cm. Among the low pyramidal varieties known Ten-week and Large-flowered. Among the middle-flowered - Erfurt.
- Spreading bushes with a height of about 50-60 cm or more have large fragrant flowers collected by inflorescences. They will perfectly decorate any park area and delight with their inflorescences for up to 100 days. At the same time, the method of growing from seeds of bush levkoy is no different from ordinary single-stalk flowers. Bright representatives are - Dresden, Bismarck, Bomb.
Diseases and Pests
Growing flowers in the garden, you need to be careful about the possibility of their infection or the attack of insect pests. A situation is always easier to prevent than to deal with it later. Among the main dangers, the most famous are:
- Cruciferous fleas - feed on the pulp of leaves. Often lead to the death of the whole plant. A simple way of controlling is dusting a plant with soil with wood ash.
- Rapeseed flower beetle - settles on inflorescences and damages stamens with pestles. The buds are drying.
- A common insect is cabbage fly. Her larvae damage the roots. Caterpillars eat the bottom of the leaves. It is worth fighting when the plant blooms. Sprinkle with a mixture - 1 part of tobacco dust and 1 part of wood ash. With severe infection, it is better to use chemicals.
- Fungal infection of the roots - cruciferous keel. Outwardly, it looks like the formation of growths. Affected plants must be destroyed, and the earth is covered with quicklime. You should know that the spores of the fungus can be stored in the ground for at least 5 years.
- The black leg - mainly affects seedlings. The stem begins to blacken and rot, the plant dies. You can fight by adding potassium permanganate during watering and providing good ventilation. It is worth using seeds only from reliable manufacturers.
- Verticillin wilt (viral disease) - causes root decay. Most often manifested when budding occurs. Ill plants are destroyed. As prophylaxis, agrotechnical methods of crop rotation are used.
- Levkoy mosaic is a viral disease. Stains appear on leaves with petals. The main method of struggle is the destruction of a diseased plant.
Winter season
Levkoy - a perennial plant, but does not tolerate cold. In cold winters, it is almost impossible to maintain. Therefore, the flower is cultivated as an annual plant. In the fall, before freezing, it should be removed from the ground and destroyed. The site is being dug up.
In southern Russia, shrubs can be preserved. When the temperature drops to negative values, the bushes are cut to the root, and the soil is mulched. If necessary, you can make fertilizer.
Those who wish to continue to enjoy the flower in winter can dig it out and transplant it into a flower pot. With proper maintenance, it will bloom for a long time and delight the owner with its delicate aroma with beautiful buds.