Himalayan blue poppy: cultivation and care

How many names of this plant: Himalayan, Tibetan, campanulate! And all this - the names of the blue poppy mekonopsis. For the first time this plant began to grow as a flower on a home flower bed in ancient England, although a flower comes from the apex areas of the Himalayan mountain range. The blue Himalayan poppy mekonopsis is a national symbol of Bhutan, revered as a symbol of happiness, peace, harmony.

Botanical certificate of the plant

Meconopsis is a dicotyledonous herbaceous plant. Belongs to the family of Poppies. The height of the flowers varies depending on the species. The lowest plants are 10 cm high, the tallest - up to 1 meter. In nature, some perennial species grow, but most poppies refer to juvenile plants, the group of which is called monocarpic, flowering and fruitful once for the entire life cycle.

Stems and leaves

Blue mekonopsis mackerel is a dwarf herbaceous shrub which consists of a large number of rosettes arranged alternately or oppositely on the stem, which are formed by petiolate cirrus-green leaves. The part of the plant above the ground, except the flowers, is completely covered with a small pile that resembles fluff, whitish or a yellowish-orange hue. The root system is rod-shaped or friable, actively branched.

Flowers

The average diameter of the flowers is 5-7.5 cm, in the large flowers it is about 20 cm, in some cases can reach 25 cm. The flowers are collected in racemose or paniculate inflorescences of various colors: saturated blue, azure, blue, lavender, purple, Yellow shade. Up to 4 weeks old poppy blue Himalayan mekonopsis blooms. Seeds ripen in a dry fruit-box.

Important! The stems and leaves of plants contain milky juice, which does not possess narcotic properties, but contains poisonous compounds, because of what this flower belongs to a group of poisonous plants.

Range of growth

The homeland of the blue poppy mekokopsis is a high-mountain forest, moistened alpine meadows, located at an altitude of 3,000 m above sea level: in Bhutan, Nepal, Burma, India, China. The habitat is torn.

Types of mekonopsis and their brief characteristics

On the territory of Russia, the species of mekkopsisa of an altar, which grows in the wild, is widespread.

The distribution of cultures today has expanded slightly and captures Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand.

Wild poppy belongs to a group of rare endangered plants, therefore it is listed in the Red Book and protected by law. About 20 Asian poppies are listed as endangered.

A total of just over 50 species of plants belonging to this group have been registered by scientists. Some of the wild poppies mentioned in ancient writings still have not been given a detailed description due to the inaccessibility of the places of growth. Today you will learn about the most famous species of poppy mekokopsis. So, let's begin.

Meconopsis grandis

Grandis is a big great - a kind of Himalayan blue poppy, cultivated by man and grown in agrotechnics since 1895. Joseph Hooker was the first to discover the world's most delicate flowering plant. The British plant hunter led the expedition to the highest mountain in the world to find an amazing sky-blue flower. The work of breeders, lasting more than a century, allowed the world to discover a large number of forms and hybrids of the Himalayan poppy.

Mekonopsis grandiose is a semi-rooted plant type, the flowering period of which lasts from May to August. The height of adult plants is up to 60 cm. The leaves are elliptical, the edges are cut with denticles. Peduncles down, average length - 10 cm. Flowers in diameter can reach 10-13 cm. They are blue, bluish, lilac, pink, white.

Meconopsis betonicifolia (Bailey)

He enjoys great popularity among his relatives. There are more than 10 subspecies of Baikal mekonopsis, differing in form and structure, flower height, shape and size. The breeding hybrid is a white-flowered mekopsepsis Bailey Alba.

With a mild climate, flowering occurs at the end of May and lasts until early September. The plant is able to withstand sharp temperature changes and cold to -20 ^o C.

Meconopsis cambrica

A sort of blue poppy, discovered by researchers one of the first. He was described and registered at the beginning of the XIX century as a kind of mekonopsis Cumbrian, called the Welsh poppy. Habitat - Western Europe.

The Cumbrian poppy is a European kind of mekonopsis with small, single-spaced flowers, simple or semi-double, with a mottled color of warm sunny flowers. The flowering of this plant lasts from May to the first frost.

Mekonopsis Cumbrian - a short poppy with an average height of 30-35 cm is most comfortable on limestone soils. It is able to withstand frosts down to -27 ° C. Propagation occurs by self-seeding of seeds.

With agronomy of Cumbrian mekonopsis, there is a need to water the plant abundantly, especially in drought. It grows best on semi-sunken flower beds, alpine hills, rockeries planted on neutral soil.

Meconopsis x sheldonii

Mak mekonopsis Sheldona - a hybrid plant that is unpretentious in nature. It is derived from the crossing of other species of the plant, namely, a large and an alphabetic poppy. The variety is tall. Adult flowers grow to a height of 150 cm. Reproduction is vegetative.

Agrotechnics of blue poppies in the home garden

When growing blue poppy at home, you can use cuttings, seeds or a method of propagation by dividing the bush. Growing out of seeds is popular among gardeners, so learn more precisely with this technology of agricultural technology.

The procedure for growing poppy seeds from seeds

Follow the pattern to grow a strong and unsurpassed plant:

1. Purchase seeds. When growing plants from seeds collected from flowers, varietal qualities of poppy are lost.

Interesting! As an experiment, you can grow a blue poppy, the seeds of which you collected from the bed. In order to preserve the variety, try to break all the peduncles, except one. Of the flowers removed everything, leaving one - the largest and hardy. The fence of planting material from flowers is carried out at the end of summer with the beginning of the shedding of seeds. They are collected in a box, sealed and kept in the refrigerator until the onset of spring heat.

2. Purchased seeds give stratification. For this, the planting material is evenly spread on a piece of a multi-layered, moist gauze or paper towel, topped with a free edge. After this, packing the bundle in a plastic bag, it is placed in the refrigerator for up to 45 days and kept at a temperature of 0 to +4 ^o C.

3. Sow closer to the autumn. In hothouse conditions - in late February. In the autumn planting, shoots are pickled, then moved to a heated greenhouse.

4. For the cultivation of blue poppy prepare a special ground mixture, using for this loose fruit fertile soil with slightly acidic or neutral pH, pretreated to remove weeds, spores, larvae, and steam. Add to the soil sifted peat and washed river sand, taken in equal proportions.

5. Before sowing seeds, the ground must be moistened.

Important! To increase the germination capacity of the planting material, it is possible to treat the soil using rootstorm, sodium humate or novosil.

6. Seeds do not sow. They are placed neatly on the top layer of the soil, slightly pressing into the ground, only 1-2 mm, do not sprinkle the top of the earth. Containers with seedlings from above cover with a polyethylene thin film or glass, exposing in a room with sufficient, but scattered light. Through the drip irrigation the soil is always maintained in a wet state.

There is a need to maintain optimal temperature conditions. In the greenhouse, the temperature of the air must be kept within + 12-15 ° C throughout the growing period.

Poppy planting

Germination of the seeds of mekonopsis takes place long enough, therefore there is a need to intensify growth. For this, once in 7 days, the soil is sprayed with "Epin", until the moment of landing on the open ground in order to prevent the black leg.

After 21 days on the surface of the soil in the containers begin to peck the first shoots. With the onset of the stage of the second leaf, the flower seedlings are dived, placing each specimen in separate containers with a drainage layer on the bottom. A couple of days after transplantation, young plants are fed with the same fertilizer, but in half the proportion reduced.

The blue poppy is planted on the open ground following the threat of frost on the soil. When planting on a permanent place of growth, strengthened flowers are planted at a distance of 30-35 cm between units, trying not to disturb the earth coma formed around the root system. The landing is carried out at the end of summer, in the beginning of autumn or with the coming of the next spring.

When growing poppy seeds from purchased seeds, the plant blooms for 24-36 months of plant life.

Important! It is best to grow mekonopsis at home not from seeds, but from ready-made seedlings purchased in a specialized store.

Other methods of reproduction

According to this scheme cuttings are separated from the central socket of an adult poppy. 2-3 young rosettes with already formed rootlets are rooted in a mini-greenhouse.

When dividing from the plant, a part of the root system is separated with 1-2 formed buds. The earth is shaken off, shoots and old damaged roots are removed. The harvested planting material is placed in a reshaped plastic bag, filling it with a moist garden primer or other suitable soil for growing blue poppy. Store it in the refrigerator, observing the temperature regime in the range of 2-4 ^o C or for the winter buried deep under the snow. The division of bushes is carried out at rest, in the spring, immediately after the snow melts or in the autumn season.

Spring roots are transplanted, choosing for them a permanent place of growth. The procedure is carried out in cool, moist weather. During the first 14-21 days pritenyayut. Blossoms poppies grown in this way, rather than those grown from seeds. But remember! Vegetative reproduction is not suitable for all types of mekonopsis.

The scheme of care of a plant

A distinctive feature in the care of the poppy is the lack of fertilizer with the use of ashes. Mekonopsis respond well to the fertilizer complex used to feed the azaleas.

The best place to grow is a semi-shadowed area, protected from strong gusts of wind.

To avoid drying the soil around the hole and overheating the root system of the poppy, the soil around it is mulched using peat, sawdust, surroundings, compost, green mass.

Care for the Himalayan blue poppy, the photo of which is in the review, consists of regular loosening and weeding from weeds.

Flowers are regularly watered, constantly monitoring the degree of drying of the upper layer of the soil. Otherwise, weakened, only planted plant can die before the flowering.

Feeding is carried out once per season and only if the soil is depleted and when the poppies were grown from seeds purchased from the garden store.

Adult high plants are tied up. Poppies blue perennial species are pruned. During flowering, fading flower stalks and drying leaves are removed. Preparing for wintering, the flowers are cut to the base of the soil, from above, covering with foliage or lapnika.

Diseases and pests of poppy mekonopsis

Powdery mildew is the main enemy of the wild poppy. This hurricane-developing ailment caused by fungi of the Erysiphales group is able to completely "eat" the flowers of the poppy for a short period.

To recognize powdery mildew it is possible on a gray-white raid, deposited on the inside of leaves, buds, seed capsules. The area of the affected surface is constantly increasing, as a result of which the plant withers and dies.

Having discovered the manifestations of the disease, make the plant preventive maintenance:

• Remove the parts affected by the fungus, chop the shrubbery bushes;
• Remove the top layer of the soil, replacing it with a new one;
• Treat with a special chemical, ensuring the prevention of the disease.

From home remedies use a soap-soda solution as a preventive measure. It is prepared by taking 1 tbsp. L. Baking soda, 0.5 tbsp. L. Liquid soap. Ingredients are bred in four liters of water. Treat the flowers 2-3 times, making a break between spraying up to 7 days.

Landscaping and backyard design with blue poppies

Blue poppies are flowers, often used by landscape designers to decorate flower beds. Blue poppies, regardless of their type, perfectly look as part of a multi-tiered landscape composition, slides, rockeries. Combines mekonopsis with small-sized cereal crops, sprawling brouners, ferns, aquilegia, digitalis, hydrangea, clematis. A photo of blue poppies more fully characterizes their decorative properties. Blue mekonopsis contrasts with the background of green decorative shrubs.

Growing such a plant in your flower garden, you must be patient. Although the flowering period is coming soon, a large number of varieties of blue poppies blossom once in their life.