Catch The Lizard Tail

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

In most cases, plant seeds hatch where they were planted. But these rules are often violated by guttuinia, appearing where it was not expected at all. She not only can escape from the area allotted to her, but completely disappear for three years. And when they have completely forgotten about her, she will unexpectedly surprise with her sprouts. However, for the sake of her qualities, it is worth forgiving and taming the mischievous person

Smells like fish

In Southeast Asia, where guttuinia comes from, it is used in folk medicine to treat skin tumors, abscesses, poisoning, edema, snake bites and hemorrhoids. Its essential oils contain methylnonyl ketone, nettle acid, sodium chloride, mercein, potassium sulfate, quercitrin. In Japan, it is considered one of the best medicinal plants and is used both dried and fresh. By clicking on a leaf of guttuinia, you can feel the smell of fish, hence such nicknames as: "grass with the smell of fish" among the Chinese, "fish mint" - among the Vietnamese.

With its playful behavior and variegated color of leaves, the plant has earned the titles "lizard tail" and "chameleon grass" from the British. In Russia, it is often called hauttunia. The plant is perennial, coastal-aquatic, belongs to the Savrurae family. In addition to reservoirs, it takes root well in rock gardens and in garden beds. Reaches a height of 80 cm and will decorate any garden composition. Its large, yellow-red-white leaves, sometimes with a bluish tinge and medium stems with a reddish color, look very decorative. Swampy wild forms of "chameleon grass" usually have green leaves and are more tenacious.

Flowers look somewhat mundane and boring against the background of leaves. They are a bit like strawberry flowers: white bracts around a spikelet of yellowish small flowers. The most spectacular varieties are Tricolor, Chameleon, Plena and Variegata.

Tame the fugitive

Guttuinia propagates mainly by dividing the rhizome in the month of June, or by cuttings. For this, the roots are placed by 10 centimeters in ordinary soil or in a shallow body of water. The wayward plant takes root densely and quickly enough, but it springs up late enough, well "collected his thoughts" - by about mid-July. At the same time, you can find the emerged "fish grass" in an absolutely unexpected place for you, and not where it was supposed to be its permanent place. After all, the mischievous woman loves to take a walk! Gardeners sometimes complain about this behavior of her and the fact that she is able to turn from a cultivated, ornamental plant into a naughty, hard-to-eradicate weed.

To prevent such troubles, it is recommended to plant unruly grass in a well-fenced, limited

space (as, for example, it is done with horseradish). Experienced flower growers recommend digging plastic or metal strips around the entire perimeter at a distance of about 30 cm from the planted plants. Insufficiently self-confident plants with hauttunia should not be planted, so that it does not crush them with its powerful rhizome. You can also grow a "lizard tail" in a spacious pot with a nutritious loose mixture at room conditions.

Suitable for coastal decor

The most favorable for planting naughty grass is the coastal zone of shallow water bodies, because, despite its unpretentiousness, guttuinia loves moisture. She always reaches for wet soil or water. A plant grown in a certain container can be placed in a pond for the summer or removed to a dry, frost-free place, cutting off a little shoots for the winter, or they can be covered. When preparing the "lizard's tail" for wintering, special attention should be paid to gardeners from the northern regions of Russia, because the leaves of the plant may not tolerate extreme cold. In the case of a snowy, mild winter, hauttunia can do without additional shelter, perfectly enduring the frosty period.

Playful grass loves to soak up the sun. This makes the color of its leaves more variegated. They turn dull green over time if placed in too dark places. However, excessive lighting can become destructive, and therefore an area with diffused light or partial shade will become the optimal place for a plant. Using top dressing for guttunia, do not get carried away with nitrogenous fertilizers - this can adversely affect the leaves and rhizome, where rot will soon form. You can treat the green fertilizer "fishmint" at the beginning of summer and offer an extract from wood ash three weeks after germination.

In front of ornamental tall plants such as cereals, reeds or sedges, variegated varieties of guttunia will look very impressive. It is only necessary to "put it in place" in a timely manner, so as not to catch the motley and wayward traveler all over the garden.