2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
As a decor for alpine slides or garden beds, bright, like small fireworks, aubretia flowers are great. Oddly enough, the closest relatives of this charming plant are common cabbage and radish. The aubriet got its name thanks to Claude Aubrie, a botanist and artist, and now it is a primrose and the most picturesque decoration of the garden
There are more flowers than leaves
Small bright green leaves of Aubriet are collected in fluffy, showy bushes, barely shaking off the snow, while many flowers and plants are just waking up from hibernation. The plant tolerates winter calmly without fear of frost. Having gained strength after wintering, aubretia is one of the first in the garden to "light up" with bright purple, crimson, purple, pink, blue or white flowers. They are located in racemose inflorescences on vegetative stems. Often not even the leaves of the plant can be seen under them.
Aubretia is a perennial belonging to the Cruciferous family, numbering about 12 species. Their homeland is Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. You can meet her in nature in a coniferous forest and on limestone rocks. Species differ in the length of the pistil and the structure of the fruit. The most popular is hybrid aubriet, otherwise called cultural. The more durable varieties are those whose flowers are painted in blue or purple colors, and the red and pink-flowered ones fade faster. However, they are all excellent honey plants.
Love sunny hills
Aubrieta is planted in sunny places, but an overly hot and dry summer can be destructive for her. She will not like waterlogged and acidic, peaty and oily soils. Plants take root well on drained, not very fertile soil with the inclusion of lime or chalk. The flower will not tolerate waterlogging. It is necessary to water mainly young plants. However, in drought or in southern regions, regular watering is required even for adult specimens. Planting plants on a hill will help protect against winter moisture. That is why Aubrieta is ideal for alpine slides. In the northern regions, before wintering, it is covered with dry leaves.
Aubretia cannot be called unpretentious. Without care and proper care, it can disappear. It is recommended to cut it to the very root after its first flowering, then it will be ready to "flare up" again with a bright carpet at the beginning of autumn. During the season, it is advisable to mulch the soil 2-3 times. Mineral fertilizer is applied in spring and autumn, avoiding fertilizing with nitrogen and organic matter. Spraying with diluted colloidal sulfur saves the plant from powdery mildew.
Breeding technology
Aubrieta is propagated mainly by cuttings or seeds, somewhat less often by dividing the bush. Ready cuttings are planted in early June in a greenhouse in an already prepared soil mixture of peat and river sand. After that they are covered with a film that does not transmit light. Artificial fog is often used for more effective rooting. Plants are transplanted at the end of summer, when its young roots get stronger. The distance between the shoots should be about 10-15cm. If the selected variety is rather vulnerable and valuable, then it is better to postpone planting them in the soil. The older the shaved, the more capricious it is, so cuttings should be carried out annually with all varieties.
It is worth noting that plants propagated by seeds lose varietal qualities and can bloom only the next year. The pod contains up to 2000 seeds, brown and flat in shape. They are sown as seedlings from January to April or early spring, provided that the temperature is kept around 12-15 degrees Celsius. To prevent the sprouts from getting lost among the weeds, sowing is carried out in beds. The soil, after transplanting into open ground, is mulched with sand. The Ariet picks are carried out very carefully, because the sprouts are very delicate and easily damaged.
The method of dividing the bush is extremely rarely used, because it greatly injures the plant. But in case of an urgent need to change the place, or if the cuttings were not cut off in time, then the daughter rosettes that formed on the mother bushes after flowering are carefully torn off. They are planted for free growth with an interval of 20 cm. It is better to transplant at the beginning or at the end of summer, since autumn moving has a negative effect on flowers.
On a note:
- When purchasing aubriet seedlings, do not take plants with roots that are tangled or passing through the bottom.
- Excessive nitrogen fertilization negatively affects the winter hardiness of plants.
- Before planting aubretia, hold the container with sprouts in water until the bubbles disappear.
Recommended:
So That The Cabbage Tied An Excellent Head Of Cabbage
Many vegetables in our garden are not very comfortable - they are thermophilic and would be happy to warm themselves in a greenhouse. But for cabbage in the middle lane - the very place! Moreover, this year's summer turned out to be just the right one, as culture loves - cool and rainy. But, as you know, the nature of the weather is capricious, and her mood changes quickly. What care will the cabbage require in case of the return of hot days and what else do you need to know about its cultivation?
Cabbage Why. White Cabbage. Continuation
Many questions arise about the main vegetable on our table - white cabbage. Let's find answers to some of them today. We will tell you about increasing seed germination, better neighbors, harvesting times
Cabbage Why. Chinese Cabbage
Many people like the juicy heads of Peking cabbage with an unusual taste and delicate structure, lying on the shelf in the store in winter. I would like to grow the same ones on my site. For many years we have been purchasing ready-made seedlings from sellers in the spring, but the result is zero. Some yellow flowers adorn our beds. What is the reason for these failures?
Shepherdia: A Close Relative Of The Sucker And Sea Buckthorn
Shepherdia has recently attracted the attention of gardeners. Breeders became interested in it a few more than a century ago, while in their homeland, in North America, the indigenous population for many centuries used shepherdia as a valuable nutritive and medicinal plant
Medicinal Relative Of Mallow
This plant with delicate pink flowers is very similar to mallow. It looks a little more modest than its garden relative, but it can bring much more benefits, since it belongs to the group of medicinal plants. How to settle it in the garden and prepare it for a home first-aid kit?
