It is impossible to walk quietly past a place where lavender is grown. These plants amaze not only with a charming aroma, but also with a special color of inflorescences. Lavender is associated with Provencal style. This is not surprising, since her homeland is some regions of France. Although it is common throughout the Mediterranean. Can it grow in Russia and neighboring countries?
Description of the plant
Lavender is an evergreen plant. It is quite unpretentious, and due to its properties it is widely used in medicine, cosmetology, and cooking. Housewives use dried twigs as a remedy for moths. Their aroma is able to calm the nervous system and reduce headaches.
There are about thirty plant species in total. The following varieties are used in horticulture:
- Narrow-leaved - the bush grows up to one meter in diameter. The name speaks for itself - the leaves are narrow, small, gray-green in color. The variety is quite unpretentious, blooms in the middle of summer.
- Broad-leaved - the ancestormost ornamental flower varieties. Bushes grow up to two meters. Their smell is very strong. Inflorescences can be of various shades.
- Hybrid - an industrial variety with very large bushes, took the qualities of narrow-leaved and broad-leaved varieties. Flowering occurs in July.
- Toothed is a very heat-loving plant that feels better indoors. The inflorescences are large, painted in various shades of purple.
In the conditions of Russia, narrow-leaved lavender, which is also called English lavender, can be grown.
Variety of shades
The narrow-leaved species has many varieties. They differ in the color of the inflorescences:
- classic lilac purple;
- purple blue;
- purple;
- pink;
- white.
Growing lavender is possible from seeds in other ways.
Seed selection and planting
In order for lavender to appear on the garden plot, it is necessary to germinate the seeds. This is done at home. The viability and beauty of an adult plant depends on the quality of lavender seeds. You can assemble them yourself or purchase them from reliable manufacturers.
Keep lavender seeds in an airtight container. Before sowing, it is better to prepare them. To do this, you can use the method of natural stratification, when the seeds are planted in the ground by the beginning of November. So they cool in the soil.
Stratification can be carried out artificially. Seeds need to be mixed with soiland sand. The resulting mixture is placed in a sealed container. It is placed in a cool place, the air temperature there should be +5 ° C. Similar conditions exist in a conventional home refrigerator. After six to eight weeks, you can start sowing.
The best time for sowing seeds is the end of February and the beginning of March. A container with soil is being prepared. It must be well hydrated. Each seed is placed on the ground at a distance of two centimeters from each other. Then everything is covered with sifted soil. The container is covered with film or glass.
Seeds will germinate if the air temperature is about 15-20 °C above zero. The lighting should be good and the soil moist. As soon as the first shoots appear, the container must be freed from the film. It remains to wait for seedlings.
Planting seedlings
Ready lavender seedlings can be planted in open ground. This is done in March-May, depending on the region. The place should be sunny and the ground sandy. Plants will thrive even in soil that is not suitable for most horticultural crops, such as rocky areas. Only heavy clay soil with constant dampness is not suitable for them.
The pit for the seedling should be more than 30 centimeters. The diameter is made the same size. The distance between the pits is 40 centimeters. The seedling is removed from the container and transferred to the pit. If you grow them in peat pots, you can plant plants with them. After that, you need to mulch the soil and water it well.
When growing lavenderin this way, flowering can only be expected next year.
Planting in clay soil
If the soil on the site is initially light, consisting of limestone, and covered with gravel or large stones on top, it does not need to be prepared for planting seedlings. But what if the ground is clayey?
Trenches must be made in heavy soil. Place a soil mixture in them, which consists of two parts of leafy soil, one part of sand, a small part of humus and complex fertilizers. In these filled recesses, lavender seedlings are placed. So the conditions will be met. But what if there is no land at all?
Growing in a pot
The plant can be grown in a pot. Lavender will need a container with a volume of about two liters and a diameter of thirty centimeters. It is necessary to make good drainage. To do this, holes must be made in the bottom of the container. First, expanded clay is poured. It can be replaced with shards, nutshells, pebbles.
The soil should consist of sand, peat. It can be supplemented with crushed eggshells. Seeds are planted to a depth of three millimeters. The pot should be in a well-lit place, at an air temperature of +15 … +21 ° С. Shoots will appear in a month. At home, lavender will grow in the same way as in the open field.
Rules for caring for a potted plant
Planting lavender is not an easy task, the plant is quite whimsical. But when all the recommendations are followed, this is the casequite doable.
First of all, the plant needs to provide good light. An equally important condition for growth is proper watering. Young plants need daily watering in the morning or evening. The soil should remain slightly moist. It is also recommended to moisten the green parts of the plant. Water must be settled. Mature shrub can endure dry summers.
At home, lavender can suffer from dry air. It needs to be moisturized. You can put a humidifier nearby, or spray cold clean water nearby.
In summer, shrubs will be more comfortable on the balcony. Especially if it is located on the south side. Then he will receive enough light. But to “accustom” him to fresh air should be gradual. The first time the plant should be taken out to the balcony for only an hour. Every day you need to increase the time by one hour until the lavender is ready to stay on the balcony until the cold weather.
In order for the shrub to bloom well, it needs light even in winter. A fluorescent lamp will help with this. Watering should be reduced. The plant should also overwinter in a cool place. In an apartment environment, this could be a window sill away from hot radiators.
Replant the plant into a new pot every year. This is done in early spring or autumn before the dormant period.
Pruning and wintering in the open field
With proper care, lavender will live in the open field for seven to ten years. But over the years, frost resistance decreases. That's whyShrubs need to be pruned annually. During the procedure, even lignified parts are affected. Spring pruning can be done every three years. Plants leave branches only five to seven centimeters high.
Narrow lavender varieties do not require shelter for the winter. However, some gardeners still hide shrubs under mulch made from fallen leaves, grass clippings, or sawdust. If the frosts have severely damaged the shrub, it will recover due to root growth.
Types of reproduction
Growing lavender is possible not only with seeds. Other methods will also work:
- By dividing - an already existing bush can be divided. In the summer, it produces a lot of overgrowth. It is rooted, and by autumn the bush is divided.
- Cuttings - the most common way. Lignified young shoots are divided into cuttings. Each of them should have a length of not more than ten centimeters. They take root in the ground.
- Layering - the method is suitable even for beginner gardeners. In the spring, several shoots are bent, placed in a recess in the ground by three to five centimeters. They are fixed in this position, sprinkled with soil, watered. After a while, roots will appear on them. In a year, the shoots will be ready to be separated from the mother bush.
Lavender is planted in different countries. The French call it "blue gold". It can be planted along the paths, dividing the land into zones. Lavender is ideal for alpine slides. Looks great "carpet" of shrubs. But not only is it necessaryplant them in large numbers, but also cut the branches to a certain level. It will be possible not only to enjoy the bright area, but also its fragrance, which will fill the entire neighborhood. Then the cultivation of lavender will meet expectations.
