Flower of the woods: cultivation, description

When the snow still lies in April, the delicate flower opens its soft petals, which is often mistakenly called the blue snowdrop. This beautiful and elegant flower has long been loved by gardeners of many countries, widely using it in the decorative design of rock gardens, rocky gardens, flower beds and flower groups.

Scallop (flower): description

Blossoming in the very first spring, the woods have another name - scylla. All the variety of species of this flower, which botanists counted more than 80, refer, according to the latest scientific data, to the family of Sparzhevs, and not Liliaceae or Hyacinths, as previously thought. It is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant with several radical narrow leaves. A single leafless flower spike produces a flower of the lichen. On it are small flowers of a star-shaped or bell-shaped form. They can be either single or grouped into brushes. Coloring of flowers can be different: blue, blue, pink, lilac and white. Flowers of the sparse - scylla - the bushes form low, their maximum height in rare cases exceeds 13-15 cm.

Botanical features

All the woods that blossom in spring and fall are ephemeroids. This means that in a very short period of time, less than a month, they manage not only to build up the above-ground part and blossom, but also to form seeds. Then the plant passes into a resting phase, and the flower of the tree clears the leaves, and its bulb under the ground falls asleep until the next season.

Variety of species

In the genus Scilla there are more than 80 different species that live mainly in regions of Asia, Europe and North Africa with a temperate and cool climate. Not all known species are used in horticulture. In the conditions of our middle strip it is quite possible to select the types and types of cildus so that they will delight with their flowering from early spring to autumn.

Mishchenko's Spillway

In the still empty after the winter garden, the first to appear are the spring flowers of the Mishchenko spillway. This miniature, with a height of only 10 cm, is blooming white, with light blue veil colors. It produces from 2 to 4 peduncles, the height of which varies between 8-12 cm. In each inflorescence there are from 3 to 5 bluish-white flowers with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm. The flower of the Mishchenko, depending on the weather conditions, dissolves In the middle - the end of April. It blossoms for 15-20 days. This species is one of the earliest and large-flowered, was described in 1927. His homeland is northwestern Iran. In gardening it has been used in Holland since 1936. This species is unpretentious and is widely used in European gardens. It prefers sunny areas with loose, but not very light earth.

Single-flowering blossom

At about the same time, a taller, about 15 cm, elegant single-flowered flower is blooming. Only having opened, its flowers are painted in a gentle blue color and lighten with time. For each petal they are decorated with a central vein of blue color and anthers of a bright blue hue.

Two-leaved plank

In the very beginning of May, the double-leafed scroll blooms even before the flowering begins. From the leaves of a rich burgundy color grows a racemose, as if braided into a scythe inflorescence. Over time, the flower stem extends upward, and the braid turns into a shield consisting of 6-9 medium-sized widely open flowers of dense blue. They can stay fresh for up to ten days. For more than five centuries this kind of sparse is known. Flowers, the cultivation of which does not cause much trouble, was cultivated in European gardens from the 16th century. Today there are forms with delicate pink, and also with white flowers.

Sparkling Siberian

Following the double-leafed scylla, the most common and unpretentious Scilla sibirica blossoms in the gardens . It produces flower stalks up to 15 cm high, on which there are two or three flowers in diameter of 2 cm. They are usually painted in azure or blue-blue color. In the gardens, this species of sparse has been grown since the 18th century. Modern breeders have created several varieties of Siberian scylla, favorably differing from the original form by larger flowers and brightly colored petals:

• Violet-blue multi-flowered Spring Beauty;
• Saturation-azure Vazlav;
• Bright cornflower blue Sapphire;
• Alba - this white wood has white flowers.

Scilla of the Pushkin

This species pleases the eye of the gardener with its flowering at about the same time as the Siberian Scylla. The homeland of Scilla puschkinioides is the mountain systems of the Pamir and Tien Shan. On its racemose peduncle there are from 5 to 7 pale blue flowers up to two centimeters in diameter.

Rosen's Forest

In the very beginning of May, the most recent spruce is blossoming - Rosen. Wide dark green leaves are located funnel-shaped around the powerful peduncles, each of which is 1-2 large, up to 4 cm in diameter flower, reminiscent of cyclamens. The leaves of the perianth are painted in a gentle, lilac-blue hue, almost white at the base, and decorated with long stamens with anthers of bright blue.

Other types

As mentioned above, except for the woods that please us with their flowering spring, there are species that blossom in summer and even in autumn. In June, reveals its small violet-blue flowers collected in the spicate inflorescence of the Scylla Italian. Somewhat later, the multi-flowered, bluish-lilac woodland Litardieu blooms. At the end of July - the beginning of August comes the flowering time of the Scythian woodlands, often called autumnal.

Creating conditions

Regardless of what kind of spruce you are going to grow on your site, you need to create at least minimal conditions for the growth and flowering of this unpretentious perennial. In the best way, the scylla exhibits its decorative qualities on a well enriched soil with an average acidity value , but most of the species of this plant are so unpretentious that it also feels fine on heavy clay soils slightly "seasoned" with foliage or foliar compost. Sparrows can grow in the sun and in the shade. To obtain a spectacular flowering, experts recommend before planting to make for each square meter one - two spoons of nitrofoss and 3-4 kg of peat mixture. Fertilizers should be laid to a depth of 10-12 cm.

How to propagate?

In one place, the glade can grow 4-5 years, forming, with proper care, thick thickets. You can propagate this plant both by planting seeds and by daughter bulb-babies. The problem of seed reproduction is that the good germination capacity of the seeds persists for only a few days, and then significantly decreases. Seedlings thus obtained will bloom after 2 to 3 years. In this respect, a simpler, and most importantly, a quick way of reproduction is babies. As a rule, each adult bulb annually forms several children.

When and how to plant?

Plant the purchased bulbs or obtained from their own plants babies need in the very beginning of autumn. At this time, the plant is at rest and painlessly tolerates all manipulations with it. Plant the planting material in the prepared soil, at a depth of 10-15 cm, keeping the distance between the plants at 5 cm. It is important that rainwater does not stagnate in the area where the growth will grow, since in conditions of high humidity of the bulb, most likely , Will perish. When properly planted on warm autumn days, the planted bulbs will take root well.