Ageratum

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Ageratum (lat. Ageratum) - flowering culture; genus of the family Compositae, or Asteraceae (lat. Asteraceae). It is found naturally in North America, as well as in the eastern regions of India. In natural conditions and in countries with warm winters, it is grown as a perennial, in Russia - as an annual. The culture got its name from the Greek word "ageratos", which translated into Russian means ageless. This name may be due to the fact that plants delight for a long time with their flowering, beauty and decorativeness. The Ageratum genus includes more than 60 species.

Characteristics of culture

Ageratum is represented by perennial and annual herbaceous plants, semi-shrubs or shrubs up to 70 cm high (in culture, specimens no more than 50-60 cm high are most often found). In the process of growth, the plants form erect, spreading or compact bushes with pubescent strongly branched stems, strewn with opposite, crenate-toothed, rough to the touch, oval or rhombic foliage equipped with petioles.

The flowers are small, fragrant, like other representatives of the Asteraceae family, or Asteraceae, are collected in small-sized inflorescences-baskets (which largely depends on the varietal affiliation), which, in turn, form thick and dense shields. The flowers are equipped with two-lobed stigmas that exceed the length of the perianth itself; this is a rather unusual feature of flower crops. Flowers can be pink, light pink, blue, white-blue, lilac-blue or snow-white.

The fruits are pentahedral wedge-shaped achenes, equipped with a filmy tuft, contain small seeds that remain viable for up to three years. Ageratum blooms from the first to the second decade of June until the onset of stable frosts. The bloom is profuse, of course, with regular maintenance. The culture bears fruit annually, the fruits ripen in September - October.

Ageratum boasts drought-resistant properties, but frost-resistance is not. In central Russia, growing ageratum is possible only as an annual plant, it does not tolerate winter, although it is not forbidden to transplant the plant into containers or pots and grow it in a greenhouse before the onset of cold weather.

Among the popular species that have won the great love of gardeners and florists, one can note the Mexican Ageratum (Latin Ageratum houstonianum), also called Dolgosvetka. It is actively used to decorate gardens in the Russian Federation and in many European countries. This species is represented by annual and perennial plants growing in the form of semi-shrubs. The species blooms profusely, the inflorescences are baskets, they have a cup-shaped shape, do not exceed 1.5-2 cm in diameter, collected in umbrella shields (thick or loose - which depends on the variety, of which there are a great many).

Growing features

Ageratum is a light and heat-loving culture; it feels great in areas open to the sun with loose, moist, nutritious, neutral soils. It is not recommended to plant a crop in areas with highly acidic, waterlogged, heavy clayey and compacted soils. Lack of moisture and nutrition negatively affects the development of the plant and its appearance. Although the culture is classified as drought-resistant, it needs sufficient moisture for abundant flowering.

Grow ageratum preferably in seedlings. Sowing of seeds is carried out in seedling containers in the second or third decade of March - the first decade of April. Since the seeds are small, they should not be planted too deeply. It is advisable to evenly scatter the seeds over the surface and sprinkle it with the mixture. The mixture, by the way, is made up of humus, river washed sand and peat, taken in a ratio of 1: 1: 1. After sowing, abundant watering is carried out. For these purposes, it is necessary to use a spray bottle filled with warm, settled water. The optimum temperature for obtaining friendly and fast seedlings is 15-18C. Before the entrances appear, the seedling boxes are covered with glass or polyethylene, which is periodically removed for watering and ventilation.

With sufficient care and favorable conditions, seedlings hatch after 1-1.5 weeks. Seedlings dive into separate pots with the appearance of two true leaves. With the departure of night frosts, ageratum seedlings are transplanted into open ground. In different regions, the timing of transplantation is different - mid-May - early June. The distance between the plants should be at least 20-25 cm. Before planting, the seedlings are abundantly moistened, and not too deep holes are prepared on the site. Further care of the crop consists in watering, weeding, fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers no more than 1 time in three weeks (otherwise, instead of dense inflorescences, the plants will increase the green mass), as well as preventive treatments and the fight against pests and diseases, which are especially do not bother ageratums.