Lily Sargent

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

Lily Sargent (lat. Lilium sargentiae) - a beautifully flowering ornamental culture, actively used in home gardening. Representative of the genus Lilia, belonging to the Liliaceae family. Under natural conditions, it grows among thickets of grasses and low shrubs. An endemic species found in nature only in Western China.

Characteristics of culture

Lily Sargent is a plant with an erect dense stem, reaching 50-150 centimeters in height. The peduncle is naked, has a cylindrical shape, densely overgrown with numerous leaves, in the axils of which there are ground bulbs. The leaves, arranged in regular order on the stem, have a lanceolate-linear shape, a smooth and velvety texture and a bright green color. In an adult plant, foliage can be up to 20 cm long and 3 cm wide.

The flowers are fragrant, drooping, tubular, planted on horizontal pedicels, collected in an amount of 3-10 pieces in racemose inflorescences. The petals of the perianth are lanceolate, painted white on the inside, a bright yellow tint flowing closer to the center, and on the outside, as a rule, have a yellow or purple color.

The bulb of an adult plant can reach 10 centimeters in diameter, has a spherical shape with slightly uneven sides, covered with yellow or purple scaly plates. The anthers of the plant are located on filaments in the center of the inflorescence, the pollen has a bright orange color. The fruit is presented in the form of an oblong green box with seeds.

The flowering period begins in July-August (exact timing depends on environmental conditions), and lasts from 10 to 15 days. The presented plant prefers light partial shade and slightly acidic soil. The species in question belongs to unpretentious, but rather moisture-loving plants. The culture propagates mainly by dividing the bulbs, baby bulbs, rarely by seed. When propagated by seeds, seedlings begin to bloom already in the third year, which is the shortest possible period for the lily family. The culture belongs to the category of frost-resistant plants, the bulbs without additional protection can easily tolerate a drop in temperature to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Diseases and treatment

One of the most dangerous diseases of the represented plant species is called fusarium. It infects the bulb of the plant with a fungus, which, even after removing the bulbs, remains in the soil for a long time. Affects plant tissue disease. Infection occurs due to a small wound in the bulb, after which its active decay and decay begins. If the disease is not eradicated at the root, it can affect all closely growing bulbous plants. In order to identify the infection, it is enough to carefully examine the neck of the rhizome for the presence of rot and leaves, if they began to turn yellow and fall off - this is the first signal that the plant is infected.

Of course, yellowing of leaves can characterize many different diseases, but all of them often require immediate treatment. If the disease is already progressing, then upon closer examination of the cut of the stem, you can see the darkened vessels affected by the fungus. If fusarium was noticed at an early stage of development, it is possible to avoid an epidemic by treating with drugs such as Vitaros or Previkur, diluting them according to the instructions. Severely affected plants are best removed to prevent the growth of fungal infections. In order for the pathogen not to spread, it will not be superfluous to treat closely growing healthy bulbous plants and the soil with a solution of benzomil.

And the main thing! It is important to remember that factors such as excessive moisture and organic fertilization at the time of infection provoke the active development of the fungus, therefore, during the treatment period, it is advisable to reduce watering and exclude all kinds of organic fertilizing, especially with manure and humus.

Another violent disease of bulbous plants that affects the root system is called rhizuktonia or black scab. The causative agent of the infection, as in the above case, is a fungus called Rhizoctonia solani. Symptoms of the disease are the appearance of black spots, yellowing of the bulb, the appearance of dry rot, rottenness of the peduncle and twisting of the foliage. For treatment, it is necessary to introduce rotted manure, superphosphate and potash fertilizers, which can minimize the negative effect of the pathogen. When the first signs of the disease appear, it is necessary to treat the plants and soil once a week with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid or with drugs such as Fundazol, Hom or Oxyhom.