It is impossible to walk calmly past the place where lavender is grown. These plants are amazing not only with a bewitching aroma, but also with a special color of inflorescences. Associated lavender with Provencal style. This is not surprising, since her homeland is parts of France. Although it is common throughout the Mediterranean. Can it grow in Russia and neighboring countries?
Plant description
Lavender is an evergreen plant. It is quite unpretentious, and due to its properties it is widely used in medicine, cosmetology, and cooking. Mistresses use dried twigs as a remedy for moths. Their aroma is able to calm the nervous system and reduce headaches.
In total there are about thirty species of plants. In the garden culture, the following varieties are used:
- Narrow-leaved - the bush grows to one meter in diameter. The name speaks for itself - the leaves are narrow, small, gray-green. The variety is quite unpretentious, blooms in mid-summer.
- Broadleaf - the founder of most decorative varieties of the flower. Bushes grow up to two meters. The smell from them is very strong. Inflorescences can be of various shades.
- Hybrid - an industrial variety with very large bushes, took the quality of narrow-leaved and broad-leaved varieties. Flowering occurs in July.
- Toothed - a very thermophilic plant that feels better indoors. The inflorescences are large, painted in all kinds of shades of purple.
In Russia, narrow-leaved lavender, which is also called English, can be grown.
Variety of shades
The narrow-leaved species has many varieties. They differ in the color of inflorescences:
- classic lilac purple;
- lilac blue;
- lilac;
- pink;
- white.
Growing lavender is possible from seeds in other ways.
Selection and planting of seeds
In order for lavender to appear in the garden, you need to sprout the seeds. This is done at home. The vitality and beauty of an adult plant depends on the quality of lavender seeds. They can be assembled on their own or purchased from reliable manufacturers.
Keep lavender seeds in an airtight container. Before sowing, it is better to prepare them. To do this, you can use the method of natural stratification, when the seeds are planted in the ground by early November. So they cool in the soil.
Stratification can also be carried out artificially. Seeds must be mixed with soil and sand. The resulting mixture is placed in a sealed container. It is put in a cool place, the air temperature there should be +5 ° C. There are similar conditions in an ordinary home refrigerator. After six to eight weeks, you can start sowing.
The best time for sowing seeds is considered the end of February and the beginning of March. Preparing a container with soil. It must be well hydrated. Each seed is placed on the ground at a distance of two centimeters from each other. Then everything is covered with sifted soil. The container is covered with a film or glass.
Seeds will germinate if the air temperature is about 15-20 ° C above zero. Lighting should be good and the ground moist. As soon as the first shoots appear, the container must be freed from the film. Will wait for the seedlings.
Transplanting
Ready lavender seedlings can be planted in open ground. This is done in March-May, depending on the region. The place should be sunny and the ground sand. Plants will develop even in soil, which is poorly suitable for most garden crops, for example, on rocky areas. Only heavy clay soil with constant moisture is not suitable for them.
A pit for a seedling should be more than 30 centimeters. The diameter is made of the same size. The distance between the pits is 40 centimeters. The seedling is removed from the container and transferred to the pit. If you grow them in peat pots, you can plant plants with them. After this, it is required to mulch the soil and water it well.
When growing lavender in this way, flowering can be expected only for the next year.
Clay soil planting
If the soil is initially light, consisting of limestone, and on top is covered with gravel or large stones, it does not need to be prepared for planting seedlings. But what if the clay soil?
In heavy soil it is necessary to make trenches. Place a soil mixture in them, which consists of two parts of leafy soil, one part of sand, a small part of humus and complex fertilizers. Lavender seedlings are placed in these filled cavities. So the conditions will be met. But what if there is no land at all?
Pot growing
The plant can be grown in a pot. Lavender will need a capacity of about two liters and a diameter of thirty centimeters. It is necessary to make good drainage. To do this, holes should be made in the bottom of the container. First expanded clay is poured. It can be replaced with shards, nutshells, pebbles.
The soil should consist of sand, peat. It can be supplemented with crushed eggshell. Seeds are planted to a depth of three millimeters. The pot should stand in a well-lit place, at an air temperature of +15 ... +21 ° C. Shoots will appear in a month. At home, lavender will grow as well as in the open ground.
Rules for caring for a potted plant
Planting lavender is not an easy task, the plant is quite whimsical. But with all the recommendations, this is quite doable.
First of all, the plant needs to provide good light. An equally important condition for growth is proper watering. Young plantings need daily watering in the morning or evening hours. The soil should remain slightly moist. It is also recommended to moisten the green parts of the plant. Water must be left standing. Adult shrubs can tolerate dry summers.
At home, lavender can suffer from dry air. It must be moistened. Nearby you can put an air humidifier, or spray cold clean water near.
In summer, the bush will be more comfortable on the balcony. Especially if it is located on the south side. Then he will receive enough light. But "accustom" him to fresh air should be phased. The first time the plant should be brought to the balcony for only an hour. Every day, you need to increase the time by one hour, until lavender is ready to stay on the balcony until the cold.
For the bush to bloom well, it needs light in the winter. This will help the fluorescent lamp. Watering should be reduced. The plant should also winter in a cool place. In an apartment, it can be a window sill away from hot radiators.
Transplant the plant into a new pot should be annually. This is done in early spring or autumn before the onset of dormancy.
Outdoor pruning and wintering
With proper care, lavender will live in the open ground for seven to ten years. But over the years, resistance to frost falls. That is why it is required to prune the shrub annually. During the procedure, even lignified parts are affected. Once every three years, spring pruning can be done. The plants leave branches only five to seven centimeters high.
Narrow-leaved varieties of lavender do not require shelter for the winter. However, some gardeners still hide shrubs under the mulch of fallen leaves, mowed grass or sawdust. If the frosts severely damaged the shrub, it will recover due to root growth.
Breeding species
Growing lavender is possible not only by seeds. Other methods are also suitable:
- By dividing - an existing bush can be divided. In the summer, it produces a lot of shoots. It is rooted, and by autumn the bush is divided.
- Cuttings - the most common way. Lignified young shoots are divided into cuttings. Each of them should have a length of not more than ten centimeters. They are rooted in the ground.
- Layering - the method is suitable even for beginner gardeners. In the spring, several shoots are bent, laid in a recess in the ground for three to five centimeters. They are fixed in this position, sprinkled with soil, watered. After a while, roots will appear on them. After a year, the shoots will be ready for separation from the mother bush.
Planting lavender is carried out in different countries. The French call it "blue gold." It can be planted along the paths, dividing the land into zones. Lavender is perfect for alpine slides. Looks great "carpet" of shrubs. But it is necessary not only to plant them in large numbers, but also to cut branches at a certain level. You can not only enjoy the bright site, but also its fragrance, which will fill the whole district. Then growing lavender will live up to expectations.