Pushkin: planting and care. Pushkin (flowers): description

This miniature bulbous plant with charming flowers migrated to our gardens from the slopes of the Caucasian mountains and alpine meadows, named after him the Pygmy Hyacinth or Pushkin. Planting and caring for her are very similar to the cultivation of other bulbous garden flowers: crocuses or hyacinths. And this is a very unusual name she received not in honor of the great poet, but thanks to his namesake scientist AA. Musin-Pushkin.

The genus of Pushkin is not numerous and includes only two species: Pushkinia proleskovidnaya and Pushkinia hyacinthiform. Each species is unique and will be an ornament for any garden or flower bed.

Pushkinia proleskovidnaya

Its homeland dry slopes of the Caucasus and Iran. The plant reaches a height of 20 cm, flowers large, collected in the inflorescence, color from light blue to white, with a blue vein in the center of each petal. Leaves are dense, linear.

Pushkinia hyacinthoid

This species is distinguished by delicate blue flowers with a bright blue veinlet, the radical linear leaves are narrower than in the preceding species. This same species belongs to the Lebanese Pushkin, whose main advantage is the larger flowers of a rich blue color. In the shops most often sold prolekosovidnaya Pushkinia. Planting and care is quite simple and even a beginning floriculturist can do.

Place on the site

Pushkinia is not particularly capricious and, in principle, will get accustomed everywhere. But for good growth and annual flowering it is better to choose a sufficiently lit, sunny place or a light penumbra. The soil for cannon must be fertile and well drained. Therefore, before planting itself, it is good to introduce into the soil a mixture of humus, ash and sand. An important element of care is the removal of weeds and loosening of the soil.

Watering

The soil in which Pushkinia grows should be well moistened. But, since this primrose and the first leaflets appear, as soon as snow drifts off the soil, additional watering is very rarely required. In extreme cases, you can put snow, which will melt, moistening the soil naturally. During flowering it is desirable to water flowers with mineral fertilizer with potassium and phosphorus. This will promote abundant flowering, and then the formation of daughter bulbs.

Transfer

You do not need to spend Pushkin annually. Since the bulbs are not very large, there will be enough transplant every 4-5 years. Digging bulbs is necessary when the ground part completely withers, in terms of this it is somewhere in the middle of summer. Dug bulbs need to be sorted out, damaged or diseased ones should be thrown out immediately. A healthy planting material should be placed in a special box and put in a cool place with good ventilation. In the middle of September or October the bulbs are planted in the prepared soil. The depth of planting and the distance between bulbs of medium size (2-3 cm in diameter) should be 10 centimeters. If the soil is dry, and the weather does not foretell the rain, then it's worth pouring it a little from the watering can.

Pushkina: growing from seeds

Cultivation of cannabis from seeds is a laborious process and not always successful. Sow the seeds in a specially prepared box in September-October. With successful cultivation, the young Pushkin will bloom for the third or fourth year. Planting and caring for seeds grown from seeds is the same as for adults, only the first time you should be careful with watering, not allowing the stagnation of moisture. Growing from seeds makes sense rare varieties, as in stores for gardeners more often sell only the large-flowered form of Pushkin - this is Pushkinia Lebanese. Photos of this species are presented below.

Therefore, the main and most simple way is the reproduction of bulbs.

Diseases and pests

Pushkinia is affected by diseases typical for all bulbous ones - this is the rot of bulbs and gray rot. Of pests, most often there are root mites and rodents. Fungal diseases are most insidious. With minor damage, the bulb can be tried to save. To do this, with a sharp disinfected knife, it is necessary to cut the damaged part. The bulb should be dried and treated with a fungicidal preparation. From the root mite can be got rid only by processing bulbs with special chemicals. As a rescue from rodents, folk methods are most often used: spraying bulbs before planting with valerian solution or kerosene. You can also use special containers that have small holes and will simply restrict rodents access to flower bulbs.

Pushkin's distancing

Distillation allows to obtain beautiful flowering plants in early spring, in March-April. For this, like all bulbous, is suitable for Pushkinia. Flowers have a high decorative and are perfect for a gift, in particular, as a part of a bouquet of spring primroses.

Distillation, as a process, includes two stages: preparatory and basic. The preparatory stage is to plant the bulbs. To do this, choose the largest and healthy bulbs, put them in prepared small pots with loose, nutritious soil. Then pots with bulbs are kept in a cool room (8-10 degrees) for three or four months. At the end of this time, the pots are placed in a bright place, but not under direct sunlight, periodically sprayed. Flowering begins in about 2 weeks.

Use in the garden

For rockeries, rock gardens and in mixborders, Pushkinia is often used. Planting and care is fairly simple, and therefore it is loved by landscape designers. Good neighbors for her will be crocuses, hazel grouses, anemones and hyacinths. Pushkin's Lebanon, for example, will create an amazing carpet, if you plant it in small groups on the lawn. And the snow-white flowers of Pushkin will be the very first spring to decorate the alpine hill in the garden. It is important to remember that high decorativeness is achieved due to the mass of planting. Therefore, it will be right to purchase several dozen bulbs at once, only in such a short time you will get a magnificent carpet. With a single planting of a beautiful flower "carpet" will have to wait more than one year.