Armeria: planting and care, cultivation

Armeria is one of the most beautiful and delicate flowers that can please a gardener's eye for more than a year. With the Celtic its name can be translated as "close to the sea". And this is not surprising, because the most common type of armies is seaside. Another version of the origin of the name of this plant says that in translation from the French "armories" - one of the varieties of cloves, which has an external resemblance to the armenia.

So, if you have an armory in your garden, cultivation, care, reproduction of this flower and its characteristics should be well known to you.

Appearance

The plant is perennial, reaches a height of 50 centimeters. Has a small root. Stem straight, can be smooth or pubescent. Flowers are small, collected in rosettes, their shades range from white to purple, collected in inflorescences. Form round spherical "pillows". Due to its low growth and brightness can act as a "carpet" of the site, if the landing is sufficiently dense. It looks good in the neighborhood with creeping plants.

Flowering of the armeria falls on May - August. There are more than 60 species of this plant, the most common are the soddy, alpine, prickly and seaside.

Cultivation from seeds

An ornament of any garden can be well-groomed armery. Planting and grooming, the characteristics of cultivation should be studied by a gardener, before he decides to acquire a blooming beauty. For those who do not want to buy ready-made seedlings, there is an opportunity to grow armenia from seeds on their own.

Seed reproduction can be carried out in seedlings and seedlings. In the open ground, the seeds are planted before the winter or early March. If it is planned to grow seedlings in greenhouses, seed sowing takes place at the end of February.

Seeds of the flower are planted in wooden or plastic containers. Keep in a dry and warm place. After the seeds have sprouted a little, they are covered with a film or gauze, creating a greenhouse effect. And only after this shoots can be transplanted into the open ground.

Reproduction of armeria is carried out by seeds or by dividing the bush. Bushes are divided in spring or early autumn, put in water and wait for the appearance of sprouts, and then planted in the ground. Each bush is best divided into small pieces that can easily and quickly take root.

Features of landing

What kind of soil does armieur like? Planting and care of this flower should be done on sites with a moist, light, not very alkaline soil. The place should be open and sunny, perhaps only a slight blackout. The soil should always be kept loose and moistened, it is better if it is sandy and stony areas.

For some plant species, a soil rich in calcium is required. During the preparation of the site for planting armies, much attention is paid to drainage, since the flower does not tolerate the accumulation of moisture at the roots.

An unpretentious plant is the armeria. Growing and caring for it can be carried out during periods of drought and frost. However, despite this, in a hot dry weather, the flower should be watered regularly.

What else can an armory demand? Planting and caring for the flower also includes fertilization. Top dressing is carried out before flowering. During the season, organic and mineral fertilizers are introduced about 2-3 times. Much attention must be paid to feeding if the armies grow on peaty, clayey and loamy soils.

Care of the plant

If your site has an armory, planting and caring for it will not take much effort and time, since this flower is quite unpretentious. In order for the plant to allocate all its forces to the formation of new buds and to enjoy long flowering, it is necessary to remove wilted flowers in time, as well as peduncles, on which new buds are not formed.

When the armeria reaches the age of five, it should be dug out, divided into several small parts and planted. In the future, this procedure should be carried out every 2-3 years, otherwise the plant will grow.

Since the armory is frost-resistant, it does not require special shelter for the winter. But the plant does not tolerate snow-white winters, ice crusts, long wet periods. Therefore, it will be correct to plant a flower on the hills, and cover it in snowless winters with leaves or fir paws.

In the heat it is recommended to moisten the leaves of the flower.

There is an opinion that Armeria should not be grown in one place for more than 7-8 years. So after this period the plant is best transplanted.

Armeria: landing and care in the open ground

In the open ground plant seeds are planted at the end of autumn or early spring. From above slightly sprinkled with earth. It is very important to keep the beds permanently moistened, but you should water very carefully, so as not to wash the seeds and do not choke them far into the soil. Before sowing seeds for about a week are kept in the refrigerator. After that, soaked in water for 6-7 hours, and then planted.

If the landing in the open ground is not seed, but seedlings, the armors are placed at a distance of 20 centimeters from each other to create a dense flower carpet. Planting is done in rows, in shallow trenches.

In the first weeks after planting, regular copious watering is necessary. However, bogging should be avoided.

Armeria are used for planting in curbs, rockeries, in crevices of walls and between slabs of paths.

Diseases and pests

Absolutely not afraid of disease, or pests of armeria. Planting and caring for it only on acidic soils with stagnation of moisture in the winter can lead to the fact that the flower becomes weak and vulnerable to aphids. Fight with this pest is a complete pruning of the plant. Also, preventive treatment of the flower early in the spring also helps.

Armory seaside

An amazingly beautiful view is the seaside armory. Planting and caring for her does not require knowledge of special agrotechnical rules. This plant is rather unpretentious and frost-resistant. In natural conditions it grows in Europe and North America on the sea dunes and coasts. Height does not exceed 20 centimeters, flowers are mauve. Flowering lasts almost all summer.

So, there are many varieties of armory. All of them are distinguished by their unpretentious temper, resistance to various weather conditions. The plant has perfectly taken root in our climate and is able to blossom throughout the summer, perfectly adjacent to other flowers. With minimal care, these gentle flowers will serve as a real decoration for any garden and delight you for more than one year.