Florists today have a very difficult time: the number of flowers, their varieties and varieties that can be planted on their own plot is so large that it is difficult to imagine. Cloves alone, there are over 250 species and subspecies! The varieties that are used in floriculture are distinguished by increased decorativeness, unpretentiousness. Today we will tell you about the types and varieties of carnations, their cultivation, and features of care.
Turkish
Turkish cloves can be called the most favorite type of plant, which gardeners grow in a two-year cycle. Surprisingly bright and lush inflorescences flare up already in June, they decorate the flower beds before the summers bloom in full force. The varieties and hybrids of Turkish cloves are incredibly diverse: in the color palette are soft pink, white, cream shades, rich raspberry and red tones.
Growing Features
Planting material of Turkish cloves of all varieties can either be sent directly to the soil, and it is advisable to do this in May-June, or to grow seedlings, this should be done in March-April. Two weeks before planting, the site must be dug to a depth of about 20 centimeters, then you need to carefully water the soil and cover it with polyethylene. After 14 days, it will be possible to plant seeds. A distance of 15 cm must be observed between the rows of carnations. In one row, the distance should not be less than 2 centimeters. The optimum depth is 1 cm. After this, the seeds should be sprinkled with soil, pour water with a spray bottle, and then stretch the polyethylene. You will see the first shoots in one and a half weeks. After 20 days, you can start a dive. It is best to pick evening time or cloudy weather for a dive. Caring for Turkish cloves, which is also called bearded cloves, is simple: the bushes need watering twice a week, top dressing and timely treatment from pests and diseases.
Little willie
If you pick up Turkish carnations, which will be characterized by low growth and resistance to cooling, pay attention to Little Willy. The height of these carnations does not exceed 20 centimeters, and a variety of shades is amazing. The variety is ideal for the design of flower beds, it is resistant to cold and drought, grows well even in shaded places.
Highmatland
For gardeners, this delightful variety of carnations fell in love with early and long flowering. The first buds appear in May, the decorative bushes, whose height is about 50-55 cm, remain for 2 months. The leaves and shoots of such cloves are dark green, they are characterized by a burgundy tint. The diameter of the inflorescences is usually 12 centimeters, these are small flowers with serrated petals of dark red color. The plant is quite stable, it does not lose its decorativeness even on cloudy rainy days.
Lahskenigin
This variety of carnations is slightly more compact, its height rarely exceeds 45 cm. Green shoots and leaves are decorated with rather large flowers, whose diameter is about 20-22 millimeters. In round inflorescences are collected flowers with dense petals, a fine-toothed edge. Lakhskenigin blooms from mid-May to the very end of July. The color of the petals is salmon pink.
Chinese
The cultivation of Chinese cloves in our country is quite common. As the name implies, this species comes from the Middle Kingdom. Some varieties can be grown as an annual crop, some as a perennial. Particularly common is a subspecies called Chinese Geddeviga carnation. You can hear another name - fringed clove. The subspecies bred by a gardener from St. Petersburg in the 19th century is distinguished by the presence of a border at the edges of the petals.
Growing Chinese Carnation
The first thing you should pay attention to is the choice of place and soil. Chinese carnations grow well on the eastern and southeastern side, as well as in the western part of the site. In shaded places, the growth of carnations of this type is possible, but you will not get spectacular flowering. The soil should be loamy or sandy loam, necessarily with the addition of lime or dolomite flour. Manure as a fertilizer in Chinese cloves is contraindicated, as well as moisture stagnation.
Experienced growers recommend growing Chinese cloves with seedlings. Before sowing, the seeds must be soaked for a short time in succinic acid, and then planted in the soil to a depth of about 1.5 cm. To create a greenhouse effect, cover the container with a film or glass. In no case can you over-moisten the seedlings: seedlings of Chinese cloves are often struck by a black leg. So instead of the usual watering with a watering can, it is better to use spraying with a spray gun. In open ground, seedlings can be grown already at the end of May, when warm weather is established without cooling.
Mary
The height of Mary's carnations is about 25 centimeters, the shoots have a rich green tone, at the peak of flowering they are completely hidden by bright colors, the diameter of which is 4 centimeters. The flowers are simple, with a feathery edge. Two-color petals - a delicate white-pink hue is combined with a red center. Flowers bloom at the very beginning of July, continue to delight the eye until strong autumn cooling.
Vesuvius
For this variety of Chinese carnation, rounded bushes are characteristic, the height of which ranges from 25 to 30 cm. The leaves are green, elongated. At the shoot nodes, they have a rich burgundy shade. The diameter of the flowers is usually about 7 cm, they are densely double, with a serrated edge. The color is fiery red, very bright. Like Mary, Vesuvius blooms from early July until the first severe cooling.
Schwarzer Prince
This variety of Chinese cloves can be called one of the most spectacular. The height of its compact bushes is 22-25 cm. The leaves are green, brownish at the nodes. Terry flowers, their diameter is 5-6 centimeters. The color of the petals is maroon, sometimes black. On the serrated edges of the petals there is a snow-white border. Schwarzer Prince blossoms in mid-June and delights the gardeners' eyes before the fall of cold weather.
Dutch (garden)
This type of carnation combines large groups of perennials, among which the most common cloves are Shabo (pictured above), Margarita and Grenadines.
Margarita group is a carnation, which is characterized by a continuous flowering, continuous throughout the season. The height of the plants is 40-50 cm, the bushes are literally dotted with fragrant flowers of various colors: white, yellow or red. The group is not suitable for bouquets, as it quickly fades after cutting.
Carnations of the Grenadines group are distinguished by tall and powerful bushes - they grow up to 60 cm. The leaves of the bushes are narrow, have a bluish bloom. Inflorescences can be both simple and terry. One of the main advantages of this group is called frost resistance by gardeners. In the fall, you can simply cover them with spruce branches or other materials at hand, in the spring they will start blooming again.
However, the most popular representative of garden carnations can be called the lush beauty of Shabo. This group includes amazing decorative hybrids and varieties.
Clove shabo
In the photo you can see that this carnation is characterized by large sizes of flowers, green shoots with a bluish bloom, single or flowers collected in inflorescences. In general, all carnations of this group are biennials, however, they are grown as annuals.
When choosing a primer for Shabo, universal light substrates should be preferred. If you decide to prepare the soil yourself, in equal parts combine garden soil, humus and peat. And then add half the amount of sand. Growing Shabo cloves from seeds should begin when it is still far from the seedling season. Experienced gardeners say: in order for the flowers to bloom at least in the middle of summer, plants must be sown in the middle of winter, and speaking of early flowering, seedlings should be taken care of already in early January.
However, you just need to make small beards, plant the seeds one at a time, slightly compact the soil and cover the crops with glass or film. In order to germinate, Shabo cloves do not need bright light or any special temperature conditions. Seeds can germinate at temperatures already +15 ° C, while the substrate should not be dry. However, waterlogging is unacceptable. Florists recommend spraying the soil surface in the morning with a fine spray. Aerate the crops daily. As soon as the shoots appear, the film should be removed, plants should be placed on the south side or under the lamp, lower the temperature to + 12-13 degrees.
When the first pair of true leaves appears in the plant, the first pick can be carried out; for the second, the development of the fourth pair of true leaves is required.
Immediately after the second transplant, Shabo must begin to temper. The easiest way is to lower the night temperature to +10 degrees, on warm days, a container with seedlings can be placed on balconies or terraces. If there are no night frosts, at night Shabo can be transferred to the greenhouse. At the end of May, cloves should be planted in a permanent place. The soil should be fertile, neutral or slightly alkaline. The best option is a site in direct sunlight. The soil on which Shabo does not take root is sand and clay. Of course, in too wet areas, the clove also does not take root.
There are several varieties of Shabo, introduce them to you right now:
- Champagne The flowers of carnations of this variety are very fragrant, double, have a golden yellow hue. On one bush, about 20 flowers are formed. Champagne cloves are 50 cm high. The shoots are suitable for cutting. Flowering is quite long: it begins in June and ends in October.
- Mikado The height of these carnations reaches 60 cm, the shoots are elegant, green, the leaves are narrow. On the nodes there is a light purple hue. The flowers are quite large, terry, silky. They are characterized by a fine-toothed edge and a stunning violet-purple hue. The flowering of Mikado begins in late June and lasts until October.
- Aurora. The average height of the bushes is 65 cm, the shoots are green and have a bluish bloom. Inflorescences are very dense, densely terry, petals with a fine-toothed margin have a smooth transition from salmon to pale pink. The variety is decorative and frost-resistant. Flower beds these carnations will decorate until the October frost.
Grass
Gardeners - lovers of alpine hills are familiar with cloves perennial grass. She fell in love thanks to her compactness and stunning decorativeness. The height of this species is not more than 20 centimeters, the shoots are thin, creeping. The flowers are very small, they are characterized by bright clean shades. The flowering is rich, long: the perennial grass blooms in mid-May, with small interruptions, blooms until October.
Among the varieties, the following can be noted:
- Confetti Deep Red. Bushes of grass of this variety are spherical, their height does not exceed 15 cm. In May, saturated red flowers flash, the middle of which is darker. The name of the variety conveys the appearance of this carnation: the flowerbed is strewn with bright red confetti. Variety contraindicated stagnation of water. On light soils, Deep Red grows and blooms just fine.
- Diamond. This variety is also characterized by red flowers. The height of the bushes is slightly larger - 25 cm. The stems are branching. The leaves and shoots are characterized by a thick bluish tone, it is especially pronounced at the beginning of the season. The diameter of the flowers is from one to one and a half centimeters, the petals are split, carmine-red. Lush flowering begins in June and continues until early September.
Acicular
A rare guest in domestic gardens is needle-like carnation. In general, this species is common in the wild - sparkling cloves are often found in the southern Urals. The best place for them is pine forests and mountains. The bushes are thin, graceful. The shoots are long, the leaves are gray-green. Flowers usually consist of 5 petals, they are delicate, more like snowflakes with a delicate aroma. The height of needle needles is from 15 to 30 cm. Airy flowers and hard needle leaves can make plants the main decoration of a rock garden.
Meadow
Like acicular cloves, meadow carnation is more common in the wild. It grows on forest edges, clearings, where gravel or sand-gravel soil prevails, in flood meadows. These are the European part of Russia, the western regions of the Central Asian republics, Moldova and Ukraine. The flowers are quite small, simple and solitary. Less commonly, they are arranged in pairs. The petals are corrugated, they are characterized by a serrated edge and pink or red tones. Flowering cloves meadow begins in June and lasts until mid-August. There are no varieties; the species is regarded as wild.