A modest and unpretentious edelweiss is able to decorate with its unusual appearance even the most demanding alpine hill. Translated from Latin, its name sounds like "the lion's paw." This is due to the original form of the pubescent flower. One of the many varieties of plants of this genus is alpine edelweiss, a photo of which you see below. It is very decorative, while not so difficult to grow and care.
Plant description
As the name implies, this species grows in the subalpine and alpine zones of Europe, Asia Minor and Central Asia. You can meet the plant at a lower height relative to sea level. However, under such conditions, he loses his decorative felt pubescence. Alpine edelweiss grows on exposed limestones, gravelly slopes, rocks and cornices.
This is a herbaceous plant with slightly curved stems, forming compact bushes with a height of 20 to 30 cm. In the upper part, they sometimes branch. The leaves of the edelweiss of this variety are lanceolate, forming a beautiful basal rosette. Flowers of an unusual shape (in the form of a paw) are collected in baskets that form shields. The fruit is the achene. Flowering lasts only two weeks in the middle of summer.
The whole plant as a whole is very pubescent. Alpine edelweiss has a beautiful silver-green hue. In nature, this property serves as a special adaptation to the alpine cold climate with constant fogs. The plant is often depicted on the arms, coins, postage stamps. There are even Roman tombstones of the beginning of our millennium with the image of flowers. Edelweiss is considered a symbol of mountains, inaccessibility, survival.
Garden use
Due to its beauty and originality, edelweiss has long been used by people in gardening. It is especially relevant when creating rock gardens and slides. It looks good when landing in the foreground in small groups. High decorativeness of the plant persists even after the end of the flowering period. For a long time, a cut edelweiss can stand in the water. When dried, it does not lose its shape and silver color, therefore it is often used in winter "dry" bouquets. The best neighbors on the hills and in the rock gardens will be miniature (dwarf) rose bushes, ageratum, aquilegia, violet and alpine aster.
Choosing a place and soil for the plant
It is logical that the alpine flower edelweiss prefers well-lit sunny places. The plant is drought tolerant, moreover, it absolutely does not tolerate waterlogging and stagnation of water in the soil. For edelweiss, light, well-drained soils will be most optimal.
When planting a plant, it is advisable to add leafy soil, coarse sand or gravel. This will help create conditions as close as possible to those in which it grows in a natural environment. Do not use heavy soil, too nutritious substrates with a high content of organic matter. Together with high humidity, this will lead to a loss of decorativeness of the plant, including beautiful pubescence, a strong stretching of the shoots.
Edelweiss Alpine: growing
The plant belongs to the category of unpretentious. However, to grow it in your garden, you will have to make some efforts. At first glance, the flower seems unprepossessing. Indeed, if you plant him in a company with tall perennials, nothing good will come of it. Firstly, there will be little light for him. Secondly, he will simply be lost among them. Edelweiss must be emphasized with a suitable environment, highlighted on a hill with stones, create a small group of plants - only then it will attract eyes.
As mentioned above, the plant does not like excess moisture. Therefore, natural precipitation is quite enough for him. Moreover, if the summer is very rainy, then it should even be covered. Only in the hot and dry months does the edelweiss need to be watered additionally. The second important component of plant care is weeding, loosening (very superficial so as not to damage the roots).
A young Alpine edelweiss at the age of 1-2 years needs light shelter for the winter. You can use fallen leaves or branches of conifers. In spring, shelter should be removed as early as possible so that the shoots do not bar. The plant develops well in soils rich in lime. Therefore, do not forget to periodically feed it with all the necessary trace elements during the active growing season.
Plant propagation methods
Edelweiss can be propagated in two well-known ways: vegetative and seed. And each has its own advantages. With seed propagation, the initial characteristics of the plant, that is, those that it possessed in the natural environment of growth, are lost. This leads to the fact that the appearance of the flower is very different depending on the place of cultivation. Therefore, in order to preserve the characteristics of the variety, use the vegetative method. It is quite simple and straightforward.
Vegetatively alpine edelweiss is propagated in spring or autumn using cuttings or dividing the mother bush. In autumn, the adult specimen consists of several annual rosettes, which are very tightly intertwined with their roots and are essentially independent plants. They are carefully separated and seated in a new place. Young edelweiss will bloom next winter after summer. Tops of shoots are suitable for cuttings, but not too old. They easily root in the spring (May-June), and bloom the next summer.
Edelweiss Alpine: grow a flower from seeds
In order to grow a flower, you need to go to the store and buy a bag of seeds. Sowing is carried out in February-March in light nutrient soil. The container with crops is closed with glass to preserve moisture and heat and placed in a shaded place. The temperature of seed germination is 13-15 ° C, the first seedlings can be observed after 2-3 weeks. After they become larger, the shelter is removed and the container is transferred to a bright place. Seedlings grow quite slowly. The main thing in this period is not to flood them. Plants that have reached a height of 2 cm are planted in separate pots.