Lily of the valley garden: planting, care, photo

This plant most of us know as a garden lily. His photo is associated with cleanliness and spring. The name of this flower comes from the Latin word combination, which translates as "lily valley".

general information

This culture is widespread in the temperate climatic zone, in the northern hemisphere, although some of its species are found in the tundra or forest-tundra zones. Lily of the valley as a genus includes some perennial plants with well-developed branching roots of cord-shaped form. They are often used for forcing in the winter.

Today, the lily of the valley garden has become quite popular with summer residents. He found his place in the secluded and slightly darkened corners of the plots. He, as a rule, is planted in large groups. Many use a garden lily of the valley as a ground cover plant under trees or shrubs. It is known that in flower gardens or mixborders this flower is rarely used, as it is somewhat aggressive and can supplant neighbors.

In the landscape

Very beautifully combined lily of the valley is a large garden with a fern, a lungwort, a catchment and anemones. In this case, you should not dig out and bring home the forest varieties of this plant. According to many, the garden lily of the valley looks much more effective. The photo of this flower can often be seen in the form of a very simple, but elite bouquet, including a wedding bouquet. To do this, half-bloomed peduncles are selected. In this case, experts recommend that they not be cut off, but simply pulled out. However, it must be remembered that almost all varieties of lily of the valley are distinguished by the isolation of milky juice, and therefore it is better not to combine them with other flowers in bouquets.

Description

The plant is very widespread not only on the territory of our country, but in Europe and in North Asia. It also occurs in North America. The genus of lily of the valley is a short culture. At its representatives creeping branched rhizomes from which the upper part - the green part departs. Pale lower leaves are located in the soil, while the terrestrial vaginal leaves have a long broad form with a pointed apex. They are arranged in four to six pieces.

The upper surface of the leaves is matte, while the lower one is shiny. The plant has a trihedral stem that grows to a height of some species up to fifteen to twenty centimeters. However, in some cases, it can reach 40 cm, such as a lily of the valley garden tall. There are white flowers on it, the corolla of which is six intergrown petals. Most often in the wild, there is a variety such as lily of the valley May.

Garden views

From the plant, by selection, several garden varieties are derived, differing not only in the characteristics of the flowers, but also in the shape of the leaves. The stem of the plant is also a peduncle, despite its height, the broad leaves are attached by means of vaginas, which are white or pink, so they tend to lean towards the ground.

The garden lily of the valley with its inflorescence resembles a brush on which small drooping flowers numbering from five to twenty are placed unilaterally. At first glance, they are very similar to miniature bells that look bottom-down. Despite such small sizes, the lily of the valley garden exudes a very pleasant and delicate aroma that can be carried far enough.

In the Caucasus, another variety is very common - Transcaucasian, or Convallaria transcaucasica. It is frosty and grows well in culture. For normal development of this species, a shaded area is necessarily required.

In the southern regions of the Far East, one can find another kind of lily of the valley, called "kazeka". It differs from the basic species with dark green large leaves, as well as larger flowers and late vegetation.

Cultivation

Despite the fact that this plant grows mainly in forests, especially in shady clearings, many amateur gardeners today widely use it as a cultivated species. The first mention of the plant dates from the middle of the sixteenth century. Already then in Europe they began to grow a lily of the valley garden. Planting and caring for him does not require special skills, however this flower should be treated very carefully, since the pleasant aroma that comes from it is very deceptive. The fact is that the lily of the valley, the garden one, is also considered a poisonous plant. It is used only in medicine and less often in cosmetology.

Although garden species and have some similarities with their "wild" relatives, however, they are distinguished by the color of the leaves - green-yellow, as well as the color of flowers. Their attractiveness lies in the fact that even having finished the blossoming, they still retain their decorative qualities provided by large green leaves. However, that they are always healthy and pleased with their magnificent flowers, when growing them should be guided by the rules that are required for a plant such as a garden lily of the valley.

Planting and care

Photos of this amazingly delicate flower can be seen in almost every gardening magazine. And this is not surprising: his snow-white, graceful miniature bells evoke a feeling of tenderness and some kind of childish delight.

In order to garden lily of the valley, care for which is not complicated, felt on the site well, initially you need to choose the right place. Landing should be carried out in semi or full shadow. The soil should be slightly loamy, rather humid and slightly acidic, although the plant feels well on neutral soil. The preparation of the landing site should begin somewhere in the middle of autumn - in October.

Ideal time for placing in an open ground is autumn (September) or spring (middle of April). And in the first case, planting should begin after the leaves on the trees turn yellow. The place should be chosen in the shade. The easiest way is to plant lily of the valley with sprouts, although breeding and seeds are often practiced.
Planting material is a small sprouts that have shoots of rhizomes and leaf rudiments or flower buds. Before you put them in the ground, carefully loosened, you need to make it grooves up to fifteen centimeters deep. In the process of landing, you must carefully ensure that the roots do not bend, and the sprouts themselves should be sprinkled with earth for two to three centimeters.

Features of planting and cultivation

Planting planting material should be in rows, at a distance of ten centimeters between the seedlings and at thirty - between the rows. If the lily of the valley was correctly placed in the ground, then on this site it will grow at least ten years.

In the first year after planting, only those shoots whose diameter is more than six millimeters and a slightly rounded apex will bloom. The rest will only have leaves.

A young garden lily of the valley, planting and caring for which were carried out in accordance with the norms of agricultural technology, it will be enough to impose overripe manure. When planted sprouts take root, and this occurs around the thirtieth day, organic fertilizers should be fed.

Dismantle

For lush flowering, lilies of the valley need a forcing. To do this, you need to dig out the plant immediately after frost. Rhizome for distillation is selected with a leaf ovary. The shortest and thickest specimens, with the presence of blunt kidneys, are planted in pots, and the rest return to the garden.

In the autumn they are kept in the soil with a nutrient composition. Pots are exhibited in a cool place, where they stand until January. The room temperature should not be more than four degrees of heat. In early February, the pots are transferred to a window sill with scattered lighting. Since that time, the lily of the valley, beginning to prepare for flowering, increases the leaf mass. To the plant blossom faster, it must be covered with snow for the night before entering the room.

Watering

The plant needs constant humidity, otherwise it will not flow well. In the dry summer, garden lilies should be watered twice a week. There are few weeds around them, as they themselves are able to survive other plants, nevertheless they are. They need to be removed manually after each watering.

For the winter, lilies of the valley do not need to be sheltered: these flowers are sufficiently frost-resistant. Once in three years, they need optimal thinning of the plantations, since with too much density, flowering can stop.

Fertilizer

In this case, dig up the ground should be deep enough - at thirty-forty centimeters. If the land on the garden plot is strongly acidic, then it must first be lime: three hundred grams per square meter. In addition, you need to add manure or compost: ten kilograms per square kilometer. M. It will not be superfluous to introduce a small volume of superphosphate with potassium salt. Fertilizers introduced into the soil should be thoroughly mixed with the soil.

And they need to be added twice a year: the first time during a thorough digging of the site - in October, and the second - in the spring. And with the onset of the summer period, when the garden lily-of-the-valley - a sweet-smelling, as it is also called, already fades, the site needs to be cleared of weeds. In addition, at this place you can plant such crops as beans or peas.

Of the diseases, garden lilies of the valley are most susceptible to gray rot, which can be disposed of with the help of special products sold in horticultural stores. Pests of this flower are the sawfly and the onion cracker. In case of infection, the diseased plant should be immediately destroyed so that it does not infect adjacent bushes.

Finally

Many of those who breed in their garden a garden lily of the valley, caring for which does not require much effort or time, once planted, never again refuse the opportunity to admire this beautiful flower. The plant multiplies rapidly, so summer residents gladly plant it on plots. And red berries of a lily of the valley, although very attractive, nevertheless they are poisonous. Therefore, you must take precautions, protecting children from them. In addition, the flowers themselves lily of the valley have a strong enough smell, so that the bouquets from them in the room can cause a headache. However, on the shady flower beds, the kitten surpasses in beauty all other plants.