Lilac can be found in many parks of cities around the world. Her large beautiful clusters of flowers, fragrant aroma and delicate colors are loved by many people. In various countries there are legends about how lilacs appeared. For example, among the ancient Greeks, she became the nymph Siringa, who turned into her, fleeing from the god of the forests of Pan.
Among the Scandinavians, the rainbow goddess Iris painted the bushes with her own colors, and so the lilac appeared. No matter how fascinating the legends are, lilacs surpass them in their beauty.
Historical reference
Persia is considered the birthplace of lilac, where it was used for medical purposes in the 4th century. Later, these flowers began to be cultivated in China, and this decorative shrub was brought to Europe from Turkey in the 16th century.
Its unpretentiousness in leaving, good adaptation, beauty and pleasant aroma made lilacs popular in the estates and parks of Russian landowners. Many Russian and foreign artists dedicated their paintings to her, for example, Vrubel, Korovin, Monet and others.
Today, lilacs decorate not only parks, but also city courtyards and streets, very often it is found in cemeteries. In the world there are more than 1600 species of this ornamental shrub, only in the Moscow Botanical Garden there are more than 300 varieties of it. Among them are breeding works by Russian scientists Michurin and Kolesnikov, such as Red Moscow and Pamyati Kirov, as well as the lilac Beauty of Moscow, the planting and care of which is so simple that it has become a favorite among many flower growers.
Differences in varieties of lilacs
The ancestor of almost all the varieties of this decorative bush existing today is the species of common lilac . The main differences between species are in their following features:
- flowering time - early varieties (end of April, May), medium (June) and late (July-August);
- the duration of flowering in different species varies from 11 days to 3 weeks;
- flower size;
- the shape of the petals and the flower as a whole;
- the number of flowers in the inflorescence;
- a form of inflorescence, for example, lush, dense, conical, oval or other;
- the color of an unopened inflorescence;
- flower color - only 7 shades of lilac in the world: white, lilac, blue, pink, lilac, purple, red-purple color.
Thus, there are 20 genera of lilacs with 400 species of bushes. Lilac Beauty of Moscow, planting and care in the open ground for which is very simple, belongs to the type of ordinary lilac in its characteristics and is in constant demand among flower growers.
The beauty of Moscow
Lilac Beauty of Moscow, whose bush height is 3-4 meters, is often found in summer cottages, in parks and city courtyards. This type of common lilac has high winter hardiness, and the only thing that badly affects it is stagnation of water and a high level of groundwater.
Otherwise, this variety is unpretentious, although it has its own requirements when choosing soil. Bred a new decorative lilac Kolesnikov L.A., which, by crossing two varieties in 1947 - Belle de Nancy and I.V. Michurin, got a new look.
Long flowering and aroma make the lilac Beauty of Moscow, the care of which will be mastered even by a beginner grower, the most recognizable in suburban areas. In addition, it is she who is recognized as one of the most beautiful in the world among other varieties.
Soil selection
Lilac Beauty of Moscow, planting and care of which does not require any special skills and knowledge, however, it is demanding on the composition of the soil and the place when planting.
This ornamental shrub loves the sun and does not tolerate drafts, so it is better to select a place in advance that is protected from the cold winter winds from the sunny side.
It is better not to use acidic soils at all or to make them neutral with the help of fertilizers, so that the lilac Beauty of Moscow will take root well. Landing in this case should be carried out in more arid places of the site, with an abundance of heat and light.
On neutral soils, this sort of lilac takes root well and gives abundant and long flowering.
On heavy soils, it is recommended to make larger pits and add 10 kg of organic fertilizers mixed with earth to them. It is better if it is compost or humus.
Planting lilacs
Lilac Beauty of Moscow - this confirms the description of the variety - it is better to plant it in late August - early autumn, in cloudy, cool weather or in the evening.
Organic fertilizers should be added to pre-prepared landing pits, the size of which depends solely on soil fertility. The worse the quality of the soil, the larger should be the size of the hole.
The distance between the lilac bushes depends solely on the variety: for large standard varieties, it can be up to 5 meters, for ordinary varieties up to 2.5 m.
The soil in the planting pit should be poured with a low mound, spread the horses of the seedling on it, sprinkle it with earth and carefully compact it. It is important to monitor when planting, so that the root neck protrudes 4-5 cm above the surface.
After the bush is planted, it is necessary to pour earth around it at a distance of 20 cm and pour water into the hole and fill the mulch. Sawdust or peat are good for mulching.
Is the Beauty of Moscow moody? Planting and care (the photo shows one of the methods of watering) for it does not require much effort, but, correctly implemented, will provide the gardener with joy during flowering.
Lilac Care
The concept of "care" consists in ridding the lilac bush of weeds, loosening the soil and watering. Also important during the growth of a young bush is the formation of a crown. Lilac Beauty of Moscow also requires feeding. Care in the spring for the bush requires leaving 5-6 main skeletal branches, and cut the rest. With such simple work, the bush will form with a beautiful crown. You should also free the trunk of the bush below the vaccine from excess shoots. If you use the root-own lilac Beauty of Moscow, planting and caring for it will be easier than for a grafted bush. It is more resistant to diseases and can bloom up to 25 years (for grafted plants the term is 15 years).
Crown formation and top dressing
The formation of a crown in a grown bush should be carried out by the correct pruning of inflorescences. To do this, cut off the inflorescences along with part of the branch that grew last year. You can not break or cut flowers on a young branch, this will lead to the fact that the lilac will bloom in a year.
In order for the lilac to gain strength for growth and development, it is necessary to remove the faded “panicles” immediately after flowering, and before it starts, part of the buds can be cut off.
To maintain the soil around the lilac, it is better to use organic fertilizers such as humus or compost. You can add potash and phosphorus mineral fertilizers to them for feeding in the fall. In the spring, you can add nitrogen substances.
For autumn top dressing on 1 m 2 fertilizers are taken in the following proportions: organics 2 buckets, superphosphate 3 tbsp. spoons, potassium sulfate - 2 tbsp. spoons. This mixture should be introduced when digging the earth in the fall around the trunk circle.
Of nitrogen fertilizers, it is better to use urea before the start of the growing season and during the formation of buds at the rate of 2 tbsp. tablespoons per 1 m 2 of the trunk circle.
Description of variety Beauty Moscow
Lilac Beauty of Moscow, the planting and care of which is simple and not burdensome, is considered one of the most beautiful varieties of this ornamental shrub.
Its distinctive properties:
- it is a short bush (3-4 m) with densely branched shoots directed upwards;
- has a spreading crown;
- blooms profusely annually;
- forms large inflorescences with double pink-white flowers.
Lilac Beauty of Moscow blooms in May, and stands out among similar bushes with large conical “panicles” with a delicate and strong aroma. This variety is very good for landscaping.