The fragrant and blooming area around the house, in the garden or in the country is the dream of everyone. It is doubly nice when plants perform not only a decorative function, but are also useful. Leadership in the degree of multifunctionality belongs to herbs. They not only benefit, but also decorate the garden with their original look and rich aroma. Among these is the hyssop herb. Planting and care, seed cultivation and other features of the cultivation of the named plant - all this will be discussed later in the article.
Distribution and ecology
Hyssop combines a whole genus of shrubs and herbs with a strong aroma from the clear family. They are characterized by a small height (up to 50-60 cm) and oblong or linear leaves, almost sessile on the stem.
Hyssop grows in Asia, the Mediterranean, and Russia (in its European part, in the Caucasus and in Western Siberia). It prefers rocky slopes, steppes and dry hills, as well as loose soil. This is a wonderful honey plant.
The medicinal properties of hyssop have been known since ancient times, the first written mention of grass is found in the Bible. In garden culture, the most common hyssop is medicinal.
Botanical Description
Hyssop officinalis (planting, care will be discussed later) is widespread in Africa and Eurasia. The plant is a shrub growing from 20 to 80 cm. It has a woody, rod-like root. Numerous lignified stems of a tetrahedral shape depart from it, slightly pubescent, or almost bare.
Leaves located opposite and almost sessile on the stem have a lanceolate shape, their edges are slightly curled down. In this case, the lower leaves are slightly larger than the apical.
Elongated spike-shaped inflorescences look decorative. The corolla in flowers is most often a blue or purple hue, less often white or pink.
The fruit has a complex structure. Zenobium consists of four equivalent nut-shaped fruitlets having a trihedral-ovoid shape. Flowering is long - from July to September.
Spicy aroma of a mixed type (camphor with turpentine), astringent taste and amazing medicinal properties - this is what hyssop is valued for. Planting and care in the open ground, as a rule, do not cause difficulties, therefore, everyone can grow a small but very useful shrub in their area.
Species and varieties
In addition to hyssop officinalis, chalk and anise are also known in the culture. It is easy enough for a non-knowledgeable person to mix them up:
- Hyssop chalk is a rare and protected species, listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and Russia. The name speaks for itself - it first appears on chalky soils from all plants.
- Anise hyssop has a characteristic odor, intensified by grinding, and the flowers of the lavender species.
Planting and caring for all three species are not fundamentally different.
Breeders bred various varieties that differ mainly in the color of their flowers. We will name the most famous:
- "Accord" - medicinal, with a silky aroma, drought-resistant and winter-hardy. The plant forms tall bushes up to 80 cm, the number of shoots - up to 25 pieces. The flowers are pink, small.
- “Pink Mist” is a medium ripening period intended for use in cooking and canning. The plant reaches a height of up to 50 cm, shoots are thin, but elastic, small flowers are painted in a pale pink color. It has high resistance to various environmental conditions. It is drought-resistant, heat- and cold-resistant hyssop (cultivation, planting and care are standard).
- "Nikitsky white" (shown in the photo below) is a medium-sized variety (up to 55 cm), the plant forms compact bushes, flowering is long (75-80 days).
- “Hoarfrost” - a shrub with a height of 40 to 70 cm with erect shoots, a compact bush. Greens has a rich aroma reminiscent of the smell of Ledum. The variety is characterized by a high yield of green mass, the flowers are small, pale purple.
Site location and soil
Hyssop, although it has long been adapted to our climatic conditions, is nevertheless a native of the warm climate of the Mediterranean, which leaves an imprint on the features of its cultivation. The plant prefers sunny areas on a small hill.
Hyssop is not particularly sensitive to soils, the basic requirements are lightness, air and moisture permeability, and the reaction of the medium from neutral to slightly alkaline. It is not advisable to plant the plant in places where cold winds and drafts are observed, water stagnation and waterlogging.
Hyssop medicinal: planting and seedling care
The seeds of the described plant retain their germination for a long time and are suitable for planting within 3-4 years after harvest. To obtain hyssop, two methods are used - seedling and seedling. Seeding dates are the first half of March and April-May, respectively.
In the case of growing seedlings, it is first necessary to prepare the soil. The best thing to use is ready-made, light and nutritious. Pour it in an even layer into shallow boxes, make grooves 1-1.5 cm deep and evenly distribute the seeds. After a few real leaves appear, you need to dive hyssop. Planting and care are further elementary.
Plants planted in separate peat-humus pots or plastic cups should be regularly watered. Place them in a sunny and warm place. Before planting, you can carry out one top dressing with complex mineral fertilizer. Seedlings are planted in the soil after 45-60 days, at the stage of 5-7 leaves.
The scheme must be observed to avoid thickening. In the first summer, a small number of peduncles will appear, but starting from the second flowering will be plentiful and massive. The bushes grow old with age, and this leaves them smaller leaves and flowers, so it is recommended to replace the plants with new ones after 4-5 years.
Hyssop seeds are sown directly in the soil in late April-early May, when the soil is warm enough. The depth of embedding is 0.5-0.7 cm, the distance between the rows is 50-60 cm. Shoots appear after 1-2 weeks. When there are six true leaves on the plants, they must be thinned out, leaving a distance between individual specimens of about 20 cm.
Growing Features
One of the unpretentious spicy-aromatic herbs in the garden is precisely hyssop. Landing and caring for him, as you have seen, are elementary. During the growing season, it is enough to weed the bed of weeds, to loosen the soil.
Watering should not be abused. Enough 2-3 times for the whole season, the norm for 1 square. m. - 15-20 liters. For abundant flowering, autumn pruning is necessary. Form a hemispherical bush, leaving shoots 12-15 cm high. If several varieties of hyssop grow on the plot, then they need to be isolated from each other, since the plants are very quickly pollinated.