Mezembriantemum - crystal chamomile, crystal grass, etc. - growing, planting and reproduction
Crystal chamomile-mesembriantemum: cultivation, varieties and care
The very name of this plant already scares off some inexperienced gardeners, gardeners and florists. Among ordinary people engaged in giving and horticulture as a hobby more often you can hear another name "Crystal chamomile". Mezembriantumum literally means midday flower (Mesembria - noon, anthemon - flower).
A kind of crystal chamomile from South Africa. In the areas of origin, this flower with creeping stems is grown as perennial, we, unfortunately, in the open ground it is impossible and therefore grow it as an ordinary flower-flyer.
I must say that even before blooming, the crystal chamomile is a mesembryanthemum decorative due to its beautiful leaves. When the first flowers appear, it becomes decorative already in the present - the flowers of the crystal chamomile can be red, purple, with a lilac shade, white, pink, and also bicolour (selective varieties of mesembiananthemums). The flower garden containing the crystal daisies is literally transformed.
Also on the theme of flowers: Flower kohia-bassia - planting and growing
Planting and propagating crystal chamomile - mesembryanthemum
Landing of seeds in the earth in our latitudes can be made in mid-May (with the planting of mesembrianthemum at the specified time, they will bloom in early July, not earlier). If there is a desire to approximate flowering, then you have to do seedlings - you can do it in a greenhouse, a greenhouse or directly on the windowsill.
Too early to sow the seeds of crystal (Cape) chamomile in boxes and pots does not make sense - the middle of April is the optimal period.
Planting of seeds should be superficial: after pressing, squeeze the seeds of mesembiantumum into the soil and pour. If everything is done correctly and the substrate (soil) and the seeds of the crystal chamomile are of good quality, then the shoots will appear in 5-7 days. I tried to sow the seeds before - all the same the lack of lightening affects, the seedling is stretched, becomes brittle, it does not get well in the garden.
In the open ground planting seedlings of mesembryanthemum produce only when you are all 100% sure that the frost will not return - the crystal chamomile flower is very, very thermophilic, the maximum of what it can carry is zero degrees, and even then for a short time.
Fragility of the stems and intolerance of any low temperatures are the only drawbacks of the crystal chamomile - otherwise the only advantages, the main of which, of course, is its beauty.
The fragility of the shoots of the mezembryantemum is easily compensated by their ability to propagate by propagation by cuttings - the roots of any part of the stem when cuttings come on very, very quickly.
The only thing that you need to pay attention when multiplying the crystal chamomile in this way is that this flower and the leaves and stems are very powerful and fleshy and mean the stem of a glass with water can in most cases not give roots, so it is better to place it in a container or garden box with mixture of sand and peat (proportions 2 to 1), moisten the substrate before planting, but so that the water is not squeezed out of it.
With good and proper care for the Cape Chamomile, it can completely calm down the whole season, that is, from June (if planted in April as described above) and to the middle, sometimes the end of September.
Interesting is the fact that even with the simultaneous planting of different varieties of Cape (crystal) chamomile, the first flowers are always the first to open, and the days through 7-10 begin to open flowers of other shades.
When forming a flower garden from Cape chamomile - mesembryanthemum, pay attention to the fact that among all varieties and varieties of crystal chamomile there are no blue shades, so this emptiness will have to be replaced with any other flowers with this shade.
In most of Russia, the bloom of mesembryanthemum ends in September, in southern regions it can last until October.
Conditions for growing and caring for mesembrianthome
Place in the garden for Cappuccino is easy to find - moderately fertilized soil, preferably sandy and light and above all: a sunny place!
The sunny place for mezembryantemum is not one of the measures of care, it is a necessity, because the flowers of the Cappamon camomile are always opened and only in the sun and in no other way. You will see that this is so even in cloudy weather - to decorate the garden there will be only beautiful leaves of this flower.
Mezembriantemums are ideal for planting not only in the open ground (for example, to create a background in the foreground of the flower garden) but also for planting in flower pots, containers, flowerpots. Watering the flower should be often but moderately, waterlogging affects it not for the better.
A crystal chamomile is also suitable for rockaria, Alpine slides, the main thing is not to go too far with the number of colors, they are too bright and "take the whole look at themselves."
See also: Phlegmatic phloxes: growing, planting and care
On a note:
Crystal chamomile mesembryanthemum nicknamed because of the peculiarity of this flower to hold on the hairs with which its leaves are covered with droplets of dew, fog and rain, because of what the flowers really resemble a piece of rock crystal. And chamomile, because the inflorescence in form is virtually indistinguishable from the usual garden chamomile, which gardeners love so much. Many gardeners consider the genus Mesembryanthemum to be also the most beautiful flower "delispermu", although other gardeners refer it to a separate species. There are several other very beautiful mezembriantemums, for example "mesembrianthemum margaritic" (pictured above) which competes in beauty even with the above-mentioned Cape camomile.
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