There are a huge variety of plants of the genus Polevitsa in the world. They belong to the grass family and can be annual or perennial. Some of them are weeds, and some of them are very useful for people in the economy, because they are fodder or used as an ornamental plant.
In total, this genus has more than 50 species: oat bent, alpine, club-shaped, dog, giant, openwork, rock and others. A very interesting species is the thin bent, which is sometimes mistakenly called a broom among the people. It will be discussed in the article.
Description
Thin bent grass is a herbaceous plant. Belongs to the genus Polevitsa, family Cereals, or Bluegrass, department of Angiosperms. The second name is filiform bent grass. This perennial plant has a short creeping rhizome, often forming loose tufts. The height of the stem is usually from 10 to 60 cm, it is slightly rough to the touch, covered with small villi. The leaves are long and narrow, but sometimes under the influence of external factors they can curl slightly. Reach 20 cm in length and only up to 4cm wide. The stem and leaves have a juicy green color, but the inflorescence is most often brownish or lilac.
The inflorescence of the plant is inconspicuous in appearance. This is a loose panicle, sprawling during flowering, consisting of many strongly elongated thin branches, reaching a length of 15 cm, covered with small flower scales. Spikelets of bent grass thin single-flowered of the same color as the inflorescence, covered with spikelet scales. This plant is pollinated by the wind. Dust particles can be of two colors: yellow or purple-lilac. After maturation and pollination, the plant sheds its seeds into the soil. The thin bent grass begins to bloom in June and blooms until early July. And from July to August, it begins to bear fruit and multiply.
Distribution
You can meet thin bent grass in Eurasia, North Africa. Also, this plant is often noticed in the southern and western parts of Siberia and the Far East, the Caucasus, the northern part of Central Asia, Scandinavia, Iran, and the Atlantic. The bent grass grows on almost all types of soils and is quite unpretentious in choosing places. It can be found both in fields, mostly short grass, and just along the road. It adapts very easily to the terrain and grows on poor soils. It can be seen even on river sands, meadows, gravel and dry soil.
Properties
As mentioned above, there are a large number of species of this plant, but the bent grass is thin, unlike its other relatives, more stable andless whimsical to growing conditions. It can withstand drought, with prolonged heat does not fade. It tolerates frosts well, this plant is not at all afraid of the cold, it can easily endure an early cold snap and late spring. It does not rot in heavy rains and abundant irrigation, it accepts various fertilizers well. Also, this plant is quite resistant to various types of fungal diseases, to most pests and insects, and rather patiently demolishes a heavily polluted urban environment.
Use
Recently, thin bentgrass has been widely used as a fodder crop and for arranging lawns - in summer cottages, household plots, city flower beds, in parks. Often it is grown on sports fields (for example, a football field or a golf course is planted with this plant). They call it that - lawn grass.
Creating a lawn
It is quite easy to equip a lawn with a thin bent grass. This plant will help you get a beautiful, neat lawn without much effort. You can plant bent grass with the help of seeds or vegetatively. If you decide to decorate your site with a “living carpet”, then it is best to plant this plant in the spring, when the average temperatures will be at the level of + 12 … + 15 ° С.
You should separate the young shoots from the adult and cut them into pieces, however, the cutting must be carried out correctly and ensure that there are several internodes on each segment, at least three. Next, ready-cut young shoots should be laid out onplot and cover them with earth for 2-3 cm, then it is necessary to compact the soil. You will be able to observe the result of your work in a couple of days, since the thin bent grass rises in a fairly short time. Lawn grass, unlike others, does not grow up, but to the sides, forming undersized bushes. The bushes will begin to grow about a month after the first shoots appear. Over time, this plant lets out tendrils, forming a “green carpet” with their shoots. These tendrils, after a short period of time, take root and grow. New bent grasses grow from these roots, thereby compacting the grass floor. This ability to "self-propagate" is very convenient for arranging large areas, since it is not necessary to plant new plants every year.
Lawn care
This "carpet" will last about 5-6 years. However, bent lawn needs to be looked after. In the first year of the formation of the carpet after planting the bent grass, it must be mowed once, but in the second and third years of the growing season this must be done more often, namely three times per season.
Felt may form over time on a thin bezel. To avoid this unpleasant fact, the plant must be periodically combed out with a wide rake. This grass is not tall, so this process does not require much effort.
Thin bent grass: reviews
Those who have already tried to arrange a lawn of this type of grass on their plots say that the lawns are soft, pleasantly springy underfoot, and do not require much maintenance.
According to summer residents, thin bent grass is great for the lawn, because even in extreme heat it does not fade and does not fade, the lawn remains a pleasant green color.
