Levkoy: growing from seeds, planting and care, growing features

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

No human creation can match the beauty of ordinary flowers. Flowers decorate our dwellings with gardens, inspire artists and poets to create masterpieces of art. Even a novice gardener can easily decorate his garden. The main thing is to choose the right seedlings and grow a he althy plant. At the same time, the art of growing knows no bounds. Only very experienced specialists are able to create a real masterpiece in the form of a designer landscape.

Gardens of antiquity

In the gardens of ancient Greece, they liked to grow fragrant flowers of mattiola (the modern name is levkoy). The name itself comes from the phrase meaning "white violet". The plant was prized for its beauty and fragrance.

In the Middle Ages, they liked to decorate temples. A century ago, these flowers were very popular. Over time, they began to be planted less often. Today, there is a resurgence of interest in flowers grown from seeds,levkoy. It always remains a mystery how many terry flowers will be, and how many ordinary four-petal inflorescences.

Biological Description

The most well-known flower of Levkoy, grown from seed in our gardens, has the scientific name Matthiola incana. The plant was first described by the Italian botanist Pietro Mattiole around the middle of the 16th century. There are variants of annual and perennial plants. Height - between 20 and 80 cm. In this case, the plant can have both single stems and be a shrub type. The root is shallow. It is slightly branching in the plant.

Elongated leaves - 5-18 cm each, lanceolate, whole cut. Obovate in shape, tapering towards the petiole.

The flowers are fragrant, collected in inflorescences of 10-60 pieces. On one plant there are simple and terry options. The best idea about the flower is conveyed by the photo of the Levkoy. Growing from seeds of a plant in the conditions of central Russia is possible using seedlings. The plant blooms from June until frost. There is a wide variety of colors.

Petals can be pure white or have a variety of shades - pink, lilac. Red, dark purple are also popular.

Distribution area

The plant comes from Southern Europe. Found throughout the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. On the territory of Russia grows in the Caucasus. To the north can only be as an alien plant. Likes steppe and forest-steppe zones.

Grown at home from seeds. Growing levkoy can be successfuleven at the latitudes of the Moscow region and in regions located north of the capital.

Growing Technology

Agrotechnics of the plant is not particularly difficult. Growing levkoy from seeds at home is available even for a novice gardener. In the conditions of central Russia, a seedling method is used. This avoids the effects of frost, increases the flowering period and protects the flower from adverse conditions at an early stage of development.

Seed preparation

Today you can buy quality seeds of almost any plant. It is worth paying attention that they are adapted to the landing site.

Large growers usually include instructions for growing levkoy from seeds, but it doesn't hurt to know a few generally accepted rules. Planting for seedlings is carried out in the second half of March, when daylight hours are already getting long enough. So, the plant has time to get stronger before transplanting into open ground. For sowing, take garden soil lightened with sand. Ratio 3:1. It is also useful to add some high-moor peat.

Pre-seeds are soaked for a day in water with the addition of a germination accelerator. After that, for stratification on wet gauze, they are placed in a cool place. It is necessary to ensure that the substrate does not dry out. They are sown on the ground, without thickening, to a depth of not more than 5 mm. Cover with film or glass, put in a shaded and warm place.

Growing seedlings

The land with crops is regularly moistenedfrom a spray bottle. It should not dry out, but excessive moisture is not allowed. Sprouts may appear in 4-5 days. But do not worry if they are not there for 2 weeks. When growing levkoy from seed, seedlings must be dived. This happens before the development of the first two true leaves - approximately 10-12 days after the appearance of sprouts.

For picking take individual containers - peat, paper or special plastic. If it is not possible to purchase a ready-made garden mixture for flower crops, then you can cook it yourself. Take 2 parts of soddy land, add 2 parts of leaf or high-moor peat and 1 part of sand.

It is important that the soil and sand are free from pests. When transplanting seedlings, the earth warms up to room temperature and is moistened. Seedlings are grown in a bright place, at a temperature of about 11oC. If necessary, you can highlight the phytolamp.

Hardening plants

After the appearance of the second true leaf, the plant is fed with micronutrient fertilizers. 1.5 weeks before planting on open ground, seedlings of levkoy grown from seeds are hardened. First for a few hours, then for the whole day they are taken out into the air or placed in a greenhouse, which is opened for the day.

Outdoor planting

Like any Mediterranean plant, this flower loves well-warmed soil. Seedlings do not tolerate a sharp increase in temperature. For a transplant, you should choose a cloudy day in late May - earlyJune. The weather itself will tell you when to plant levkoy. Growing seedlings from seeds is a fairly simple process. The main thing is to transplant in open ground in a timely manner.

The distance between low-growing varieties is planned to be 10-15 cm. For flowers with pyramidal and bouquet inflorescences - 20-25 cm, sprawling and shrubby - at least 30 cm.

Seedlings grown from levkoy seeds are placed in wells with well-spilled soil. To form an earthen slurry at the bottom. This allows the young roots to adapt better. If peat pots were used, then the bush is not pulled out of them. Such pots themselves quickly decompose in the ground.

Where to plant flowers?

The landing site is chosen well-lit and with drained soil. The plant does not tolerate standing water. Neutral or slightly alkaline soil is preferred. Excessive fertilization is not recommended. Areas where cruciferous plants have previously grown should be avoided, as the chance of pest infestation of the flower increases.

Garden flower varieties

Gardeners identify the following plant varieties:

• Single-stemmed, can be both undersized and up to 60 cm high. Most often they are grown to decorate flower beds. If taken for bouquets, then it is worth pulling out along with the root. This way they will last longer in the vase. Typical examples of such flowers are Giant Excelsior up to 60 cm high and Diamond, not exceeding 30-50 cm high.
• Bouquet and pyramidal are well suited for interior decoration. bouquets,composed of these flowers, they look great, spread a pleasant aroma. Among the representatives of bouquets, Victoria and Dwarf can be noted, not exceeding 35 cm. These are compact ball bushes. It is worth noting that the Dwarf variety grows well in the house. Another variety - Exa, refers to tall plants. He has a bush height of 60 cm. Among the pyramidal low varieties, Ten-weekly and Large-flowered are known. Among mid-flowered - Erfurt.
• Spreading bushes about 50-60 cm high and more have large fragrant flowers collected in inflorescences. They will perfectly decorate any park area and delight with their inflorescences for up to 100 days. At the same time, the method of growing from seeds of bush levkoy is no different from ordinary single-stemmed flowers. Prominent representatives are - Dresden, Bismarck, Bomba.

Diseases and pests

Growing flowers in the garden, you need to be careful about the possibility of their infection or the attack of insect pests. It is always easier to prevent a situation than to deal with it later. Among the main dangers, the most famous are:

• Cruciferous fleas - feed on the pulp of the leaves. Often leads to the death of the entire plant. A simple way to fight is to dust the plant with wood ash soil.
• Rape beetle - settles on inflorescences and damages stamens with pistils. The buds dry up.
• A common insect is the cabbage fly. Its larvae damage the roots. The caterpillars eat the underside of the leaves. It's worth fighting when the plantblooms. Sprinkle with a mixture of 1 part tobacco dust and 1 part wood ash. In case of severe infection, it is better to use chemicals.
• Fungal infection of the roots - cruciferous keel. Outwardly, it looks like the formation of growths. Affected plants must be destroyed, and the earth is covered with quicklime. You should be aware that fungal spores can remain in the ground for at least 5 years.
• Black leg - mainly affects seedlings. The stem begins to turn black and rot, the plant dies. You can fight by adding potassium permanganate when watering and providing good ventilation. It is worth using seeds only from reliable manufacturers.
• Verticillium wilt (viral disease) - causes root rot. Most often manifested when budding occurs. Diseased plants are destroyed. As a preventive measure, agrotechnical methods of crop rotation are used.
• Mosaic levkoy - a viral disease. Spots appear on leaves with petals. The main method of struggle is the destruction of the diseased plant.

Winter period

Levkoy is a perennial plant, but does not tolerate cold well. In cold winters, it is almost impossible to keep it. Therefore, the flower is cultivated as an annual plant. In autumn, before frost, it should be removed from the ground and destroyed. The site is being dug up.

In the south of Russia you can save shrubs. When the temperature drops to negative values, the bushes are cut off at the root, and the soil is mulched. Fertilize if necessary.

Those who wish to continue to enjoy the flower in winter can dig it up and transplant it into a flower pot. With the right content, it will bloom for a long time and delight the owner with its delicate aroma with beautiful buds.