Veronica is filiform, or filamentous, - a delicate herbaceous plant. It is a perennial with airy white or bluish flowers. Many gardeners simply struggle with such a plant, expelling it from their site. It is extremely difficult to care for these flowers, let alone keep them in a certain area for growing - perennial is actively growing, becoming almost a real problem. Such energy in the growth and vitality of the plant can be directed in the right direction and used it to good use.
Veronica filamentous: features of the plant
Veronica filamentous belongs to the Norichen family. This is a herbaceous plant with creeping shoots that take root almost instantly in the ground.
The plant is spurred, low; spreads on the ground. The leaves are small, rounded, the flowers are white or blue-blue. The plant easily tolerates heat, grows in open sunny areas, but feels more comfortable in partial shade or in a completely shaded area.
For this amazing view, plants rightly hang the label of the “terrible aggressor”. Growing such a plant on the site, be prepared for the fact that it spreads around the courtyard with huge blooming spots, hides the bumps in the landscape, and grows between the tiles on the paths. So, to which group does this natural “decorator” belong: weeds or cultivated flowering plants?
As in the wild, Veronica is threadlike (the photo can be seen in the article) prefers areas where trees (forest, fruit) and berry bushes grow. She loves the shadow. This plant, actively growing, is ready to fill the whole yard, garden and beds, but if you take care of it correctly and do not give freedom to propagate flowers, then this process is quite realistic to control.
Agricultural technology is simple, because this fast-growing plant is so tenacious that it does not require the creation of special conditions for growing. But to get acquainted with the system of planting and caring for Veronica filamentous is still worth it.
The plant feels great in areas with moderately moist soil, but tolerates drought well. That is why there is no need to create special conditions for the care of flowers. Veronica filamentous is a plant that takes care of itself, and it is able to quite competitively compete with its neighbors. Even dandelions do not tolerate the onslaught of an aggressive herbaceous plant.
Agricultural technology
The plant is unpretentious, because special skills in growing these flowers are not required. Veronica filamentous (or creeping) is able to adapt to growing in any conditions. Weeds are unpretentious to soils. Most species of Veronica are moisture-loving plants, but they treat the short drought calmly and easily tolerate it.
In Russia, the plant easily survives, being frost-resistant and easily tolerating severe Russian frosts. Although some of the species are more delicate, for example, Veronica is branched. There is a need to cover them for the winter with spruce branches.
Important! Shoots are cut and removed only at the end of flowering plants.
After planting the plants, periodically weed the flowers, otherwise they will start to run wild. Fertilize Veronica twice a season.
Veronica filamentous reproduction
Several methods of plant propagation are distinguished.
Seeds
Sowing material is made in late autumn. Flowering occurs 24 months after the planting of Veronica filamentous plants. Seeds in the case of spring sowing can be stratified - a procedure that consists in creating an artificial temperature difference necessary for normal seed germination.
The process of growing a plant from seeds looks like this:
- Prepare a garden pot with drainage substrate.
- Seeds are laid out on the surface, sprinkled on top with a small amount of earth.
- Crops are sprayed with water. Top with a film with small holes that allow seeds to access oxygen.
- A pot of planting material is placed in a cooler place in order to create special conditions for seed germination (for example, in a refrigerator), where it is kept for the next 3 weeks.
- After this period, the container is moved to a well-lit warm place and wait for the first shoots, which begin to hatch after 2 weeks after changing the temperature regime. Take care of the seedlings according to the standard method.
Veronica filamentous seeds are freely available, and you can purchase them at any specialized store.
Division
Shoots with a healthy and well-developed root system are divided and planted as separate units. The procedure is usually carried out in early spring.
Cuttings
For propagation in this way, planting material in the form of young shoots is used. Cut cuttings are placed in a container with water until the root outgrowths germinate or simply placed in the ground, where they take root on their own, which usually occurs 10-14 days after transplantation. After that, the plant from the container is transplanted to an open area of ​​soil.
Of all the above methods, plants gardeners note the latter as one of the most convenient and efficient ways of propagating Veronica filamentous, planting and caring for which are not difficult.
Place of a plant in landscape design compositions
Sometimes a plant is independently sown on the territory and it does not have to be planted. Grass grows instantly. Amazingly beautiful, the most delicate plant is Veronica filiform. Grassy plants for open ground can not be bought by hand, not searched for seeds in garden shops, but brought from the usual habitat of flowers: forests or meadows. Often it is used as an element of the design of landscape compositions, especially in those cases when you have to arrange the site in a relaxed natural style.
These groundcover flowers can easily be planted under the buttocks, fruit trees. There is no reason to worry that the grass will pull all the beneficial substances from the soil and the cultivated plants themselves. Such an improvised carpet in the garden will help to keep the fruits falling from the trees safe and sound. In hot summers, the plant retains moisture in the soil longer, protecting it from overheating, because trees and bushes growing around receive more nutrients and moisture.
A grassy plant creates a living carpet underfoot, which makes it pleasant to walk barefoot. Such a lawn cover is not only practical, but also beautiful. A small herbaceous plant is easily trimmed with a lawn mower, trimmer, garden shears. It should be noted that this plant is able to inhibit the growth of weed species.
Important! The plot, abundantly overgrown with filamentous veronica, looks spectacular not only during the flowering period of the plant, but also after its completion. Light green leaves give the site a fresh look, create coziness and additional comfort.
The bundles of Veronica filamentum growing between the stones of the retaining walls of rock gardens are spectacularly looking. But such compositions must already be controlled, otherwise the grass will grow on the whole hill and simply spoil the landscape composition.
Features of care for the area where the filamentous grass grows
Veronica is easy to remove manually if the plant is too large or simply unnecessary. Problems with cleaning the lawn should not arise, except that Veronica has been growing there for more than one year and its roots are too intertwined. Then you have to use garden tools, removing flowers along with the topsoil. Carrying out such work, it is necessary to ensure that not a single shoot of Veronica filiform or creeping remains in the soil, the photo of which can be seen in the article, otherwise extremely fast-growing flowers will again fill the entire area.
The use of such a plant as a landscape decoration will give the site tenderness and ease. Such a lawn or garden will look spectacular, and individual landscape compositions - complete. Providing care and monitoring the growth of grass, you can control it, creating the amazing beauty of the composition.