Verbena

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Video: Verbena

Video: Verbena
Video: Обзор красивого неприхотливого долго цветущего цветка. Вербена гранатовая звезда 2024, March
Verbena
Verbena
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Verbena (lat. Verbena) - an annual or perennial plant of the Verbena family. In the wild, verbena grows in North and South America, Europe, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. Other names are pigeon grass, cast iron grass, heaving grass, iron grass. Currently, there are about 124 species, in culture - only 15 species.

Characteristics of culture

Verbena is a herb, less often a shrub, up to 1 m high. The stem is erect, tetrahedral, creeping or prostrate, pubescent over the entire surface. The leaves are dark green, dissected or pinnately incised, elongated-oval, serrated along the edge, opposite, whorled or alternating.

The flowers are small, sessile, rarely axillary, reach 1, 5-2, 5 cm in diameter, collected in paniculate, corymbose or racemose inflorescences. The calyx is five-toothed. Corolla funnel-shaped, five-lobed, almost two-lipped. The flowers can be white, yellow, pink, scarlet, salmon, red, dark red, light blue or dark blue. The fruit is a composite nut, light brown or greenish in color, splits into four parts. Verbena blooms in June-October.

Growing conditions

Verbena is a thermophilic culture, needs intense lighting, prefers open sunny areas. Soils for growing crops are desirable light, fertile, moderately moist, well-drained with a neutral or slightly acidic pH reaction. Drainage in the form of a layer of broken brick, expanded clay, crushed stone or stone fragments.

The optimum temperature for growing verbena is 16-25C, however, insignificant deviations in plant growth are not reflected. Verbena is relatively drought-resistant, although it does not tolerate drying out of the soil in cool weather.

Reproduction and planting

Verbena reproduces by seeds and cuttings. Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out in March-April. Culture seeds do not need pre-sowing treatment. It is not recommended to deeply bury the seeds in the soil mixture, they are evenly distributed over the soil surface and lightly sprinkled with garden soil.

Seedlings appear 7-8 days after sowing, after which the seedling boxes are transferred to a cool room. Planting seedlings in open ground is carried out with the onset of stable heat. The plant easily tolerates frosts down to -3C, but lower temperatures can destroy the verbena.

Reproduction of verbena by cuttings is a fairly simple and effective way. Before the onset of stable frosts, the verbena bushes are dug up and, together with a lump of earth, are placed in a cool room. Cuttings are carried out in early spring. Cuttings are cut from the tops of the shoots, each of them should have 4-6 pairs of leaves.

Sections are processed with crushed charcoal. The lower leaves are removed from the cuttings. Cuttings are rooted in a mixture of peat and sand. The cuttings are deepened to the level of the lower cut leaves. The container with cuttings is covered with plastic wrap. After 3-4 weeks, the cuttings take root and are planted in a permanent place.

Care

In general, vervains are unpretentious in care. They need moderate and regular watering, they are negative about waterlogging. The culture requires systematic weeding and light loosening of the soil in the near-stem zone. To protect the soil in plants from weeds, drying out and compaction, you can use mulching.

Verbena responds positively to feeding with complex mineral and organic fertilizers. Organic matter is applied once a season, mineral fertilizers - two or three times. To preserve decorativeness for a longer time, faded inflorescences should be periodically removed.

Verbenas are rarely affected by various diseases and pests. If you do not allow thickening of the plantings and an excess of moisture, these problems will not arise.

Application

Verbena is ideal for decorating flower beds, ridges and borders. Verbena is also grown as an ampelous plant, looks great in hanging pots, baskets, containers and flowerpots. It will be appropriate not only in the garden, but also on the balcony and terrace. It goes well with tall flower and ornamental crops. Vervain is also bred in greenhouses.