The flowers of the imperial hazel grouse are distinguished by their originality and unusual majesty among other representatives of their kind. It is not for nothing that the word “imperial” is present in its name, and among the people it is called the “royal crown”.
Majesty, sophistication and grace - this is how the hazel grouse plant can be characterized. These flowers have been known for a long time, they are mentioned as early as the 16th century, when their cultivation began. In the Vienna Royal Garden, a certain professor Karl Clusius planted outlandish bulbs for the first time. The mild climate of Europe relished this plant, and its worldwide triumphal procession began. Naturally, the flowers of the imperial hazel grouse came to Holland - the center of floriculture. They carried out selection work with them, and in the middle of the 18th century, the main 12 varieties of this beautiful plant appeared.
The bred varieties differed from each other in the color of the buds and the height of the shoots. We list the most popular and common of them:
- Lutea - bright yellow flowers with a subtle green pattern;
- Prolifera is an excellent variety with two tiersflowers;
- Aurora - classic orange flowers;
- Rubra - reaches a height of 1.5 m, flowers of a fiery orange, gradually turning into a red hue with internal crimson touches;
- Premier - inflorescences have a shade of mandarin pulp with a purple pattern;
- Argentovariegata - distinguished by a silvery border on the leaves, a very showy variety, but, unfortunately, not frost-resistant.
Flowers imperial hazel grouse belong to bulbous plants. The bulb of this flower is not quite ordinary. Firstly, it is quite large and can weigh 0.5 kg. Secondly, it has a through hole, which is not some kind of defect. The fact is that a shoot grows from the mother bulb and gradually forms a new bulb around itself. When the seasonal vegetation is over, the shoot itself dies and leaves a hole in the young bulb, in which 1-3 buds appear in autumn.
Flowers of imperial hazel grouse can grow up to 1.5 m, have one powerful and straight shoot. The leaves of the plant are broadly lanceolate, forming a lush bush at the bottom of the shoot. At the very top of the shoot there is also a bunch of leaves, which is commonly called the crown, although many call it a forelock. And it is under the upper bunch of leaves that the inflorescences are located, as a rule, with six flowers.
The flowers of the imperial hazel grouse from wintering wake up very early and quite rapidly. As soon as the snow melts - and the plant begins to grow rapidly. In two weeks it will already reach itsvarietal maximum growth. At this time, the primroses are just waking up, and the "emperor" has already taken its place and is preparing to bloom. Thus, hazel grouse flowers never require special attention. But if you still spend a little of your time on them, you will get a real decorative masterpiece in your flower bed. You just need to know that this flower should be protected from the north wind, and he loves partial shade, and also treats root dressing very well. It is better not to carry out foliar concentrated top dressing, it can cause a burn on the leaves of the plant. It is also undesirable to loosen the ground around it, as you can damage the roots close to the surface.
Loosening should be replaced with mulching, this will help in hot weather to protect the soil from drying out and overheating. For the winter, it is better to cover the plant with reeds, spruce branches or straw. The layer should be at least 30 cm, but do this after a steady frost sets in so that the mice do not settle in the shelter. In early spring, it can be removed, and the imperial hazel grouse will delight you with majestic flowering.
