Lychnis is a perennial plant with dense foliage and bright small flowers. In common people they call dawn or adonis. Belongs to the clove family. The distribution area is southern Europe.
Description of Lychnis
A plant with an erect reddish or grayish densely lowered stem, reaching 40-100 cm.
It has a powerful root system. The leaves are long, narrowed around the edges, alternately located throughout the stem. Color - dark green.
The stem ends with an inflorescence of small tubular flowers from white to scarlet color (pink and purple are common) are collected in heads or shields. Flowering can last about a month. In one pot, the adonis can be grown for about 5 years.
Crown lichen, chalcedony and other species
In total, more than 30 varieties of lichen were bred. Only a few of them are planted in the garden:
View | Description | Leaves | Flowers Flowering period |
Chalcedony | Perennial. The stem is tall, erect, grows up to 90 cm. Strong frosts are not terrible. | Broad, oval, pointed at the end. Located in pairs. | The diameter of the buds is about 9 cm. Color - red or white. Occasionally, pink terry petals are observed with a red dot in the center. About a month starting in June. |
Crowned | Shrub up to 70-90 cm high. | Oval, medium sized. Light green. | Single. Color - white, deep pink, raspberry. The end of May - the end of September. |
Kukushkin | The trunk reaches 80 cm. It is recommended to plant along the tracks, along the edges of the reservoir, on moist soil. | Oval, shortened. | The diameter of the buds is about 4 cm, pink. Petals are divided into 4 parts that hang and twist. May June. |
Alpine | A sprawling shrub with a height of up to 20 cm. They are used to decorate alpine hills. | Light green, elongated. | Dense, pink. The end of May - the beginning of August. |
Viscari | A tall reddish stalk up to 1 m high. On top of the trunk is an adhesive mass. | They have the shape of an oval. | Panicled, color - red and white. The end of May - the beginning of August. |
Rosetta | Grungy stalk, grows up to 1 meter. Rosetta's seeds do not ripen, and this variety grows no more than 2 years. | Narrow, covered on both sides with a dense short fluff. | Saturated raspberry terry petals. May June. |
Haage | Herbaceous perennial reaching 45 cm. | Large, heart-shaped. Color - dark green. | Pistiform, color - deep orange. Diameter - 5 cm. Petals are soft, carved. The end of June - August. |
Arkwright | Maroon stalk, grows up to 40 cm. Variety Vesuvius is popular. | Narrow, greenish-bronze. | Single, diameter about 2.7 cm. Color - orange. The end of June - mid-August. |
Jupiter | A loose shrub reaching 80 cm in height is pubescent. Requires rejuvenation every 4 years. | Elongated, light green. | Light purple. The end of May - June. |
Sparkling | Shrub 40-60 cm high. | Oval, slightly elongated. | Scutellaria, diameter about 5 cm. Color - deep red. May June. |
Lychnis breeding
Lychnis is bred in three ways:
- seed;
- cuttings;
- division of the bush.
When growing from seeds, they are planted in mid-spring, when the air warms up to + 18 ... +20 ° ะก.
Planting material is placed directly in the open ground, to a depth of 1.5 cm. The bed is covered with a film, then the seeds will germinate in 2-3 weeks. With the formation of the third leaf, the seedlings are planted in permanent places. Flowering is expected next summer. For terry plant species, this method is not suitable.
Seeds are harvested from flowers when their boxes turn dark brown. They are poured into cardboard boxes or canvas bags, cleaned in a cool dark room. They do not lose germination for 4 years.
In the northern regions, seeds are sown for seedlings. To do this, at the end of January, planting material for 3-4 weeks is placed in the refrigerator for stratification. And then in March they planted in long boxes filled with loose soil. After sowing, the boxes are covered with foil, but they are ventilated daily.
The seeds are provided with a temperature of +20 ° C, the substrate is slightly moistened. In winter, seedlings are illuminated with a phytolamp. The rest of the care for seedlings does not differ from sowing seeds on the garden bed.
If the option with cuttings is selected, the processes of an adult plant are harvested in early summer, their length is about 15 cm. The sections are sprinkled with chopped coal.
Then the process is inserted into a loose substrate, which is constantly moistened. At the end of summer, the root system forms in the cuttings. In early autumn, they are transplanted to a permanent place.
When dividing the shrub, it should be remembered that annually shoots appear from the root of each plant. At the end of spring, a bush is dug up. Then a sharp shovel is cut in half, each part will have its own root and at least 3-4 kidneys. Until the rhizomes are dry, they are placed in the ground and watered.
Outdoor planting of lichens
The flower is unpretentious, but planting and care in the open ground require special attention. More abundant and longer flowering is considered when planting in a well-lit area.
Lychnis can grow on any soil, but it will develop better on loose soil. Then flowering will begin earlier, and the flowers will have larger sizes.
For planting, dawns dig a hole 3 times the size of the adonis root system.
When planting in a hole with clay soil, a little sand is added. Although adonis is a hygrophilous plant, water stagnation is harmful to it. Therefore, brick crumb or expanded clay is placed in a hole 1 cm thick for drainage. This point is especially important in the presence of swampy soil.
Dig a hole on the bayonet of a shovel. The distance between the adonis should be about 30 cm. Seedlings are watered and removed from the planting container with the ground. A little superphosphate mixed with sand is poured into the hole with a slide.
Then they plant a seedling and fill it with soil, leaving 5-6 cm to the edge. Tamp the ground around the seedling with palms. The plant is sprinkled to the edge with a layer of sawdust or crushed bark of deciduous trees.
Care and top dressing
Adonis flowers can grow in partial shade, but for abundant flowering they need a sunlit area. Only lichen lichen is better developed in the shade and in partial shade.
Water the plant weekly, with drought - every 3 days. Shrubs are sprayed every day. Use only warm and well-maintained water.
If the soil is fertile, make the finished fertilizer Agricola with the addition of superphosphate. It is used 2-4 times during the summer. If the land is poor, then it should be fed every month.
Weeds are cut off under the bushes and the topsoil is loosened. To keep the lichen flowering, wilted inflorescences are removed. At the place of pruning, new peduncles appear. In late autumn, when the stem and leaves turn dark and wilt, they cut the entire stem.
The plant can tolerate frost without shelter. But for a better wintering, they are sprinkled with dry foliage or coniferous spruce branches. Terry varieties must be covered. If there is little snow, then all the adolescents are covered.
Diseases and pests of Lychnis
The flower is resistant to insect attacks and diseases, but if it is improperly looked after, rotting of the root system is possible. Rust and stains appear on the leaves. For prevention, Campion is thinned out, the irrigation regime is controlled, and fungicides are treated.
Among common pests, a leafworm is isolated. She eats the juice of the flower and leads to its withering. For disposal use insecticides.
Experienced flower growers to control pests, such as ticks, leafworms and aphids, use a decoction of tobacco leaves or tomato tops. A little soapy solution is added to the solution so that it sticks faster.
The use of larchis in the landscape
Bright flowers of cherries will be an adornment of any garden, not without reason its name translated from Greek means "lamp", but still it is worth adhering to several recommendations:
- Tall species of adonis planted at the wall. Along the paths - undersized shrubs up to 50 cm high.
- Several plants must be planted on the banks of ponds.
- Low flower varieties will look spectacular on an alpine hill, mixborders and rockeries.
- Lychnis benefits from the neighborhood with nyvyanik, primrose, bells.
- A flower bed from different varieties and with different colors of adonis looks very colorful.
- The plant is grown not only in the garden, but also in the room, in a flower pot. In the summer months, he is moved to the street, and in the fall again to the premises.
The adonis, though small, but bright flowers. With proper care, they will decorate the garden for at least a month.