What is a violet root? The most famous types of iris: description with photo

Violet root - such an elegant name awarded some types of iris, or, as it is also called, a tango - Germanic, Florentine or pale, the rhizomes of which publish a surprisingly tender violet smell.

These plants - the natives of the Mediterranean, their species, features and preferences will be discussed in this publication.

Iris: a plant with a history

Cultivated from time immemorial iris from many peoples is a symbol of trust, loyal friendship and deep cordial disposition. It is also mentioned in ancient epics and medical treatises, since the tangent has long been known not only as a decorative flower, but also as the most valuable essential oil culture, as evidenced by its elegant name "Violet Root".

There are about 100 such species. Almost all of them are herbaceous rhizome perennials, which are widespread practically in all parts of the world, except perhaps the pole of permafrost.

Description

Kasatik pale (violet root) - decorative and at the same time a medicinal plant with a characteristic yellowish-brown, creeping, fleshy with a dense starchy structure rhizome. The unpretentiousness of the plant makes it possible to grow it in any region of our country, but it hardly ever occurs in the wild. The violet root is cultivated in gardens, pursuing two goals - decoration of the estate space and use for medicinal purposes. The rootstock contains unique chemical compounds that have healing properties. Root of iris, growing, gradually dies from below, forming young branches, which annually form leaves and peduncles.

Flowers and leaves of iris pale

The leaves of the iris are radical, they are very decorative: double-rowed, xiphoid with a light waxy coating, thin and flat, collected in a beautiful bundle-fan. Tsvetonos - a strong upright one-year-old stem, reaching 0.3-0.6 m.

Flowers, depending on the type and variety of culture, from medium to large enough. The palette of shades of flowers is surprisingly diverse. Apparently therefore the name of the plant is translated from Greek as "rainbow". Cacti flowers are correct, with an excellent delicate aroma, are located on sturdy peduncles and collected in a multiflorous inflorescence. Coloring of flowers of these species is diverse: from pale blue and lilac shades to densely-violet with bordered edges of petals. Fruit is a multi-seeded oblong box.

Features of culture

Iris - the plant is winter-hardy, resistant to short-term droughts and not demanding on the composition of the soil. However, luxurious flowering from it can be achieved if the most comfortable conditions are created. For example, it should be borne in mind that the tangents are very photophilous. Therefore, the areas for culture choose well-lit, and the ground before planting is thoroughly dig through, adding humus and mineral top dressing.

Rhizomes of iris - an excellent planting material, necessary for vegetative reproduction. Use for this purpose pieces of rhizomes or their shoots with the formed growth buds-babies.

Planting and growing iris

The optimal time for planting iris is considered to be the period from the end of August to the middle of September. For this, strong pieces of rhizomes are selected with available fibrous roots and 2-4 leaves, which are shortened to 20-30 cm. They are planted by deepening them 8-10 cm so that the growth buds are at the soil level. Care of the culture consists of propolok, loosening and feeding. In the spring, nitrogen compounds are introduced, while phosphorus-potassium compounds are in preparation for flowering. It is important not to forget that you can not feed plants during flowering.

A pallid tangle wakes up early in the spring, as soon as the soil warms up to 8-10 ° C. Flowering occurs in May-June. Irises are periodically transplanted, because, growing, the rhizomes can be forced out onto the surface, which is detrimental to the plant, reducing the area of nutrition and reducing decorativeness. Transplant irises are produced depending on the characteristics of the species. For example, garden and leafless varieties - every 3-5 years, Siberian - 6-8 years, yellow - 8-10 years.

German irises: varieties with photos and names

In addition to the tangent of the pale, the edible violet species include Germanic and Florentine irises.

Iris Germanic is a culture with dense, broad or narrow, xiphis leaves, which remain until the autumn. The flowers of these species are large violet-violet with a colorful bright yellow longitudinal beard, located on long, branched peduncles, up to 1 m high. Blossoms Germanic violet root in June.

Actually, most of the species of bearded irises grown today in the gardens are derived from the German tangent. A pure culture can be seen in botanical gardens, breeding nurseries and experimental sites. In nature it is extremely rare, but on the mountain slopes of Transcarpathia and at the foot of the Himalayas you can still see this plant. In the same gardens, the varieties obtained on its basis are leading:

• Summer night is a tall variety with fragrant bright blue flowers and a bright yellow core.
• Guards - a particularly fragrant variety with cream-yellow large inflorescences.
• Baltic Sea is a kind of Germanic tang, with spectacular corrugated blue petals and a beard of saturated ultramarine color.

Kasatik Germanic is excellent in the cut. Seeds mature by the end of summer.

Florentine iris

Iris Florentine is a bearded hybrid, which received the spoken name because of the brightly colored decorative hairs located on the bases of the outer petals. These plants are characterized by very high branched flower stems (up to 0.7 m), giving up to 5-7 flowers - white with sky-blue transitions or yellow, unusually refined and decorative. It has Florentine iris and a pleasant aroma. The leaves of the culture are bluish, large, and xiphoid. The plant is cultivated in the Mediterranean countries since the 15th century. In the moderate Russian latitudes, the Florentine coastline requires shelter for the winter, since it is distinguished by low frost resistance.

A feature of the culture is exclusively vegetative reproduction, since it does not give seeds. Flowering begins at the end of May and may continue throughout June.

A bright representative of this species is Elbrus diamond - a tall variety with a bright aroma of large white flowers with an orange core.

The listed irises (grades with photos and names) though refer to medicinal species, are still more often used for decorative purposes. Despite the short flowering, these plants are distinguished by the excellent leafyness of the leaves and do not lose it until the coldest.