2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Lilia Kesselringa Is a bulbous perennial herb belonging to the Liliaceae family. The Latin name sounds like this:
Lilium kesselringianum … The flower culture was named after the German botanist, director of the famous Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg - F. V. Kesselring, who introduced the presented lilies into a separate species. In its natural habitat, the plant prefers mountain slopes, meadows and meadows with a variety of different vegetation. Countries such as Georgia, Turkey are considered to be the growing habitat; on the territory of Russia, the plant can be found in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories. Due to the active absorption of the Kesselring Lily bulbs by local animals, the plant is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation as an endangered species, digging out the bulbs and cutting flowers into bouquets is strictly prohibited.
Characteristics of the species
Lily Kesselringa is a flowering ornamental herb about one meter in height. The thick dark green peduncle bears an abundant number of successive closely planted leaves, in the axils of which ground buds are located. The bright green leaves are about 10 centimeters long, have a linear-lanceolate shape and a smooth, velvety texture. Fragrant drooping yellow flowers, not exceeding 10 centimeters in diameter, are collected in voluminous racemose inflorescences. The perianth petals are strongly bent back, have an oblong shape with wide bases and narrowed edges.
In the center of the inflorescences there is a bright purple stigma surrounded by filamentous filaments with yellow-orange pollen. The fruit is presented in the form of a small dark green box, with black seeds of an irregular shape. The bulb, covered with dense leathery scales, has an elongated ovoid shape. The root system is annual and consists of many filamentous root processes. The flowering period of the presented plant species is relatively short, begins in June - July and lasts from 10 to 15 days.
Pests and the fight against them
One of the most dangerous pests that eat the foliage of the plant species in question is the so-called red lily beetle firefighter or rattle beetle. Due to its bright red color, the beetle can be spotted on the leaves with the naked eye. The lily beetle, abundantly absorbing the foliage, generally does not lead to the death of the plant, but after mating, larvae appear on the leaves, which, with their irrepressible appetite, are able to exterminate many units of this flower culture.
The best and safest method for dealing with lily beetles for plants is manual collection, but this method will be relevant if there are few plants on the site. It is best to collect beetles in the spring, while the females have not laid their eggs. This method is very painstaking and complicated, since in case of danger, the beetle makes a sound like a rattle, and falls to the ground with its belly up in order to merge with the ground. If the females still managed to lay eggs in the form of brown mucus, although this is not very pleasant, it is necessary to clean the leaves from the larvae and mucus.
If there are a lot of plants on the site, and insects multiply rapidly, you can resort to the help of such drugs as Aktara and Confidor, diluting the solution according to the instructions for use, process the foliage and inflorescences. To prevent the larvae and surviving individuals of the lily beetle in May-April, it is advisable to treat the plants with a solution of copper oxychloride in a proportion of 50 grams per 10 liters of water. Since the beetles go to winter in warmer places, tillage is absolutely pointless.
The second most popular pest of the presented type of lilies is the onion leaf beetle, its "calling card" is considered to be heavily eaten along the edge of the leaves. Beetle larvae destroy all greenery, leaving a skeleton instead of beautiful green leaves. These insects are distinguished by their great vitality, insatiable appetite and unpretentious food. The beetle has an elongated body, orange-brown color and many dark spots, the limbs are red with black dots, the abdomen and whiskers are black. The larvae are gray with black spots along the edges and many black legs.
Insect control measures are (in general) similar to the lily beetle. The onion beetle does not like to fly long distances and lives, as a rule, in one place, feeding on the remains of unharvested plants. As soon as traces of a beetle are noticed, action must be taken immediately, because the female can lay more than 200 eggs at a time, which mature within a week. In order to get rid of the insect, it is necessary to constantly loosen the beds 10 - 15 centimeters in depth, eradicate all weeds and remove the remnants of faded plants closer to winter. Beetles are harvested by hand or sprayed with a tart infusion of bitter wormwood. In this case, it is better not to use chemical methods of control, since this pest is distinguished by a strong vitality, which plants, unfortunately, do not possess.
