2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
It is not for nothing that these early blue-eyed flowers have been given such a formidable name. Their bulbs are dangerous to human health if you try to eat them. But gardeners grow the plant not to eat the bulbs, but to decorate the spring garden with miniature flower stars that have fallen from the sky
Rod Scylla
Several dozen perennial bulbous plants are united by the genus Scilla.
The Latin name, evoking an association with a terrible sea monster from ancient Greek myths, was replaced by the Russians with the gentle word "Proleska", which is much more harmonious than the early spring flower that appears at the edge of the forest from under the snowy tattered remains.
The racemose or corymbose inflorescences of stellate, more often blue, flowers appear on a short stem, sometimes when the lanceolate or linear leaves of the plant are still watching winter dreams, hiding under the snow. The blue color of the flowers sometimes gives way to white, pink, purple or blue.
Varieties in culture
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Scylla Mishchenkova (Scilla tubergeniana) - very early in the spring, without lifting high from the ground (plant height from 8 to 15 cm), flowering stems appear. Each bulb seeks to release several peduncles, as if competing in fertility with others. The flowers are light blue. Perianth segments are marked with greenish-blue central stripes.
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Proleska Peruvian (Scilla peruviana) is a welcome guest of the spring garden. The evergreen perennial grows wider from year to year, delighting with lilac star-shaped flowers collected in dense inflorescences-brushes. Peduncles rise above the ground to a height of 25 cm.
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Siberian Proleska (Scilla sibirica) - is considered the brightest "star" in the genus for its drooping bell-shaped flowers of pure white color, sometimes complemented by dark stripes. Breeders have bred varieties with dark blue flowers. Several peduncles up to 15 cm high give birth to one ovoid bulb. One peduncle can have from 1 to 5 flowers up to 2 cm in diameter.
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Spanish proleska (Scilla hispanica) is just a "giant" scrub compared to its sisters, rising up to 30 cm in height. Such a height simply obliges the plant to show a larger number of leaves (there are up to 5-6 pieces of them) and flowers to the world. One peduncle produces up to 10 bell-shaped flowers, which can be blue or pink-purple.
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Autumn screech (Scilla autumnalis) - the redhead pleases with its stellar appearance not only in spring. There are species that bloom their pink flowers on 10-20 centimeter flower stalks in autumn, completing the long-awaited and such a short summer with their flowering.
Growing
The place for planting Scylla bulbs is chosen under deciduous shrubs and trees, which create an ideal microclimate for the plant for life on loose soil fertilized with leaf humus. Several bulbs are buried at a time to a depth of 4 to 8 cm.
When grown at home, the bulbs are planted in pots in September-October. Soil is prepared from a mixture of earth, peat and sand in a 1: 1: 1 ratio, adding fertilizer to it. After flowering, the bulbs are relocated to open ground.
Scylla behaves beautifully in partial shade, although she also loves the sun. It is resistant to low and high temperatures, but it is still afraid of severe winter frosts.
For a spring plant, when the soil is full of moisture from melting snow, watering is not required, but when growing in pots, of course, the soil should be moderately moistened.
Reproduction
In summer and autumn, when the plant is gaining strength for the spring awakening, the bulbs are dug out to separate the formed children. They are immediately planted in the ground in order to enjoy a new bloom in a year or two.
Enemies
As for all bulbous plants, Scylla's enemies are excessive moisture and harmful nematodes. The methods of struggle for plant life are standard.
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