How many names does this plant have: Himalayan, Tibetan, bell-shaped! And all this is the name of the blue poppy of meconopsis. For the first time, this plant was grown as a flower on a home flowerbed in ancient England, although the flower was originally from the top regions of the Himalayan mountains. Blue Himalayan poppy meconopsis is the national symbol of Bhutan, revered as a symbol of happiness, peace, harmony.
Botanical certificate of the plant
Meconopsis is a dicotyledonous herbaceous plant. Belongs to the Poppy family. The height of the flowers varies depending on the species. The lowest plants are 10 cm high, the highest - up to 1 meter. Some perennial species grow in nature, but most poppies belong to young plants, a group of which is called monocarpics, flowering and bearing once in the entire life cycle.
Stems and leaves
Blue poppy meconopsis is a dwarf herbaceous shrub that consists of a large number of rosettes arranged alternately or opposite on the stem, formed by petiolous gray-green leaves. The part of the plant rising above the ground, except for the flowers, is completely covered with a fine pile resembling fluff, whitish or yellowish-orange. The root system is rod or fibrous, actively branched.
Flowers
The average diameter of the flowers is 5-7.5 cm, for large-flowered flowers - about 20 cm, in some cases they can reach 25 cm. The flowers are collected in brush-shaped or paniculate inflorescences of various colors: saturated blue, azure, blue, lavender, purple, white, yellow tint. Up to 4 weeks blue poppy Himalayan meconopsis blooms. Seeds ripen in a dry fruit box.
Important! The stems and leaves of plants contain milky juice, which does not have narcotic properties, but contains poisonous compounds, which is why this flower belongs to the group of poisonous plants.
Habitat
The birthplace of blue poppy meconopsis is high-mountain forests, moistened alpine meadows, located at an altitude of 3,000 m above sea level: in Bhutan, Nepal, Burma, India, China. The habitat is torn.
Types of meconopsis and their brief description
On the territory of Russia, a widespread species of mekonopsis is literalaceous, growing in the wild.
The area of distribution of cultures today has expanded slightly and covers Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand.
Wild poppy belongs to the group of rare endangered plants, therefore it is listed in the Red Book and is protected by law. About 20 Asian species of poppies are listed as endangered.
In total, scientists registered a little more than 50 species of plants belonging to this group. Some wild poppies mentioned in ancient writings did not receive a detailed description due to the inaccessibility of the places of growth. Today you have to get acquainted with the most famous types of poppy meconopsis. So, let's begin.
Meconopsis grandis
Grand large grandis is a type of Himalayan blue poppy cultivated by man and grown by agricultural technology since 1895. Joseph Hooker was the first to discover this delicate flowering plant. The British plant hunter led an expedition to the highest mountain in the world to find an amazing sky blue flower. The work of breeders, lasting more than a century, allowed the world to discover a large number of forms and hybrids of Himalayan poppies.
Mekonopsis grandiz is a semi-rosette type of plants whose flowering period lasts from May to August. The height of adult plants is up to 60 cm. The leaves are ellipsoidal, the edges are cut with denticles. Peduncles omitted, average length - 10 cm. Flowers in diameter can reach 10-13 cm. They are blue, bluish, lilac, pink, white.
Meconopsis betonicifolia (Bailey)
It is very popular among its relatives. There are more than 10 subspecies of meconopsis Bailey, differing from each other in the shape of the bush and its structure, the height of the flowers, their shape and size. The selection hybrid is the white-flowered variety of meconopsis Bailey Alb.
In a temperate climate, flowering occurs in late May and continues until early September. The plant is able to withstand sudden changes in temperature and cold up to -20 ° C.
Meconopsis cambrica
A blue poppy variety discovered by researchers one of the first. It was described and recorded at the beginning of the 19th century as a species of Cumbrian meconopsis, called the Welsh poppy. Habitat - Western Europe.
Cumbrian poppy is a European species of meconopsis with small, single scattered flowers, simple or semi-double, with a motley color of warm sunny flowers. Flowering of this plant lasts from May to the first frosts.
Mekonopsis Cumbrian - a stunted poppy with an average height of 30-35 cm. It most feels most comfortable on limestone soils. It is able to withstand frosts down to -27 ° C. Propagation occurs through self-sowing of seeds.
With agrotechnics of the Cumbrian meconopsis, there is a need to abundantly water the plant, especially in drought. It grows best on semi-shaded flower beds, alpine hills, rockeries, planted on neutral soil.
Meconopsis x sheldonii
Sheldon's poppy mekonopsis is a hybrid plant that is unpretentious in nature. Bred as a result of crossing other plant species, namely large and letter-bearing poppy. The grade is tall. Adult flowers grow to a height of 150 cm. Reproduction is vegetative.
Agriculture of Blue Poppy in the Home Garden
When growing blue poppy at home, you can use cuttings, seeds, or a propagation method by dividing the bush. Growing from seeds is popular among gardeners, therefore, read more specifically with such agricultural technology.
The procedure for growing poppy seeds
Follow the pattern to grow a strong and unsurpassed in appearance plant:
1. Purchase seeds. When growing plants from seeds collected from flowers, varietal qualities of poppy are lost.
Interesting! As an experiment, you can grow blue poppy, the seeds of which you collected from the garden. In order to preserve the variety, try to pluck all the flower stalks except one. Everything is removed from the flowers, leaving one - the largest and hardiest. The fence of planting material from flowers is carried out at the end of summer with the beginning of seed shedding. They are collected in a box, tightly closed and kept in the refrigerator until spring heat.
2. Purchased seeds are stratified. To do this, planting material is evenly spread on a piece of wet gauze or a paper towel folded in several layers, covering with a free edge from above. After that, packing the package in a plastic bag, it is placed in the refrigerator for up to 45 days and kept at a temperature from 0 to +4 ° C.
3. Sown closer to the fall. In greenhouse conditions - at the end of February. During autumn sowing, seedlings lend themselves to picking, after which they are transferred to a heated greenhouse.
4. For the cultivation of blue poppy, prepare a special soil mixture, using loose loose fertile soil with a slightly acidic or neutral pH, pre-treated to remove weed seeds, spores, larvae, and steam. Sifted peat and washed river sand, taken in equal proportions, are added to the soil.
5. Before sowing the seeds, the earth must be moistened.
Important! To increase the germination of planting material, you can cultivate the soil using root, sodium humate or novosil.
6. Seeds do not sow. They are placed neatly on the top layer of the soil, squeezing a little into the ground, only 1-2 mm, do not sprinkle with the top of the ground. Containers with seedlings on top are covered with a thin plastic film or glass, exposing in a room with sufficient, but diffused light. Through drip irrigation, the soil is always kept moist.
There is a need to maintain optimal temperature conditions. Throughout the growing period, the air temperature in the greenhouse should be kept within + 12-15 ° degrees.
Poppy planting
The germination of meconopsis seeds takes a long time, because there is a need to activate growth. To do this, once every 7 days, the soil is sprayed with "Epin", until landing on open ground in order to prevent black legs.
After 21 days, the first seedlings begin to hatch on the surface of the soil in containers. With the onset of the second leaf stage, flower seedlings are dived, placing each instance in separate containers with a drainage layer at the bottom. A few days after transplantation, young plants are fed with the same fertilizer, but in half the proportion.
Blue poppy is planted on open ground after passing the threat of frost on the soil. When planting at a constant place of growth, mature flowers are planted at a distance of 30-35 cm between units, trying not to disturb the earthen lump formed around the root system. Landing is carried out at the end of summer, at the beginning of autumn or with the onset of next spring.
When poppy is grown from purchased seeds, the flowering of the plant occurs at 24-36 months of the plant's life.
Important! It is best to grow meconopsis at home not from seeds, but from ready-made seedlings purchased in a specialized store.
Other breeding methods
According to this scheme, the cuttings are separated from the central outlet of an adult poppy. 2-3 young sockets with already formed roots are rooted in a mini-greenhouse.
When dividing, a part of the root system with 1-2 formed buds is separated from the plant. The earth is shaken off, shoots and old damaged roots are removed. Harvested planting material is placed in a reformed plastic bag, filling it with moist garden soil or other soil suitable for growing blue poppy. They store it in the refrigerator, observing the temperature regime within 2-4 ° C or in the winter they dig it deep under the snow. The division of the bushes is carried out during the dormant period, in the spring, immediately after the snow melts or in the autumn season.
In spring, the roots are transplanted, choosing for them a constant place of growth. The procedure is carried out in cool damp weather. During the first 14-21 days they shade. Poppies grown in this way bloom, rather than those grown from seeds. But remember! Vegetative propagation is not suitable for all types of meconopsis.
Plant Care Scheme
A distinctive feature in the care of poppies is the lack of fertilizer with ash. Mekonopsis respond well to the fertilizer complex used, which is used to feed azaleas.
The best place to grow is a semi-shaded area, protected from strong gusts of wind.
To avoid drying out the soil around the hole and overheating of the root system of the poppy, the soil around it is mulched using peat, sawdust, okru, compost, green mass.
Care for the Himalayan blue poppy, the photo of which is in the review, consists in regular cultivation and weeding from weeds.
Flowers are regularly watered, constantly monitoring the degree of drying of the topsoil. Otherwise, a weakened, only planted plant may die before the end of flowering.
Top dressing is carried out once per season and only if the soil is depleted and when poppies were grown from seeds purchased in a garden store.
Necessarily tied up adult tall plants. Blue poppies of perennial species are pruned. During flowering, fading peduncles and drying leaves are removed. Preparing for wintering, the flowers are cut to the base of the soil, covering from above with foliage or spruce branches.
Diseases and pests of poppy meconopsis
Powdery mildew is the main enemy of wild poppy. This hurricane developing ailment caused by fungi of the Erysiphales group is able to completely “eat” poppy flowers in a short period.
Powdery mildew can be recognized by a gray-white coating deposited on the inside of the leaves, buds, seed boxes. The area of the affected surface is constantly increasing, as a result of which the plant withers and dies.
Having discovered the manifestations of the disease, give the plant prevention:
- remove the parts affected by the fungus, prune the sprawling bushes;
- remove the topsoil, replacing it with a new one;
- treat with a special chemical preparation, ensuring the prevention of the disease.
From home remedies, soap-soda solution is used as a prophylaxis. It is prepared by taking 1 tbsp. l baking soda, 0.5 tbsp. l liquid soap. The ingredients are diluted in four liters of water. Treat the flowers 2-3 times, taking a break between spraying up to 7 days.
Landscaping and home garden with blue poppies
Blue poppies are flowers often used by landscape designers to decorate flower beds. Blue poppies, regardless of their type, look great in multi-tiered landscape compositions, slides, rockeries. Meconopsis is combined with small-sized cereal crops, sprawling bruners, fern, aquilegia, digitalis, hydrangea, clematis. A photo of blue poppies more fully characterizes their decorative properties. Blue meconopsis looks contrasting against the background of green ornamental shrubs.
Growing such a plant in your flower bed, you need to be patient. Although the flowering period is coming soon, a large number of varieties of blue poppies bloom once in their lives.