Lavender (photo) - reproduction and care
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Planting and reproduction of garden lavender
The name of this plant comes from the Latin word lava, which means "to wash". And this is true, because in the first place it was used for aromatic baths. But recently, despite its difficult disposition, it has become increasingly popular. And among English gardeners, lavender is a favorite plant.
The history of the emergence of lavender in Russia begins in the 30s of the 30th century, when Peter the Great founded the Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg. According to historians "... in the XNUMXs XVIII centuries ... among the collections of plants of this pharmaceutical garden were: chamomile, sage, mint, mustard, juniper thyme, peonies, various bulbous lavender, roses, etc. " However, further the history of all cultivation in Russia was interrupted for almost a century.
And again we mention lavender in connection with the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. It is generally believed that it was then that it was first brought to the Crimea peninsula.
In the domestic pre-revolutionary manuals are given ways of making a sachet of lavender for repelling moths and flavoring the laundry. To do this, our great-grandmothers rubbed her flowers into powder, then sifted them well and placed them in small paper or silk bags. Industrial cultivation of this culture began only in the 30-ies of the XX century in the USSR, and it remained small.
And now it is increasingly possible to meet in our gardens. The easiest way to cope with Lavender narrow-leaved (Lavandula angustifolia), and if you are just getting started with this plant, start with it.
Reference by topic: Lavender from seeds
Where to plant lavender
Picking up a place in the garden, find the most dry and sunny area for lavender. It can take root even in the shade, but in this case one should not expect a long and abundant flowering. Particular attention should be paid to
give the moisture level of the pound, as the roots of the plant are very sensitive to excess moisture. Not suitable for planting lavender wetlands and areas where groundwater flows too high.
The drought resistance of the plant is indicated by narrow, silvery, slightly pubescent leaves, designed to successfully tolerate the prolonged drought of the Mediterranean climate. At home, lavender grows in spartan conditions, on light mixtures with a neutral acidity level. Therefore, to the fertility of the soil, it is not demanding and will grow successfully even on poor sandy or clay substrates.
However, if you prepare the soil with the addition of humus, then the flowering of the shrub will be more abundant.
Sowing lavender
If you want to propagate lavender, sow (only if you have a species plant, not a variety). Its seeds require cold stratification, for which they are sown in January in small bowls and kept at a temperature of about +5 ° C in the refrigerator.
You can soak the seeds overnight in warm water to increase their germination. After 2 to 4 weeks of stratification, they are sown in seedlings with good drainage and covered with a bag to maintain moisture. Periodically, the top layer is sprayed from the spray gun. Lavender seeds germinate in the light at an air temperature of + 15 ... + 22 ° C. After the appearance of the sprouts, the containers are transferred to the sunniest place and grown as ordinary seedlings, gradually accustoming to fresh air. At the end of May, finished bushes can be planted in the garden.
Cherenkuem lavender
Lavender quite easily propagated by cuttings. If you have an adult bush, cut 8-10 cm long cuttings from it in early July. A prerequisite - the stalk should not bloom, since such branches do not give roots. It is easy to determine, during this period, flower stalks are already clearly visible among the greenery.
Slice the cut branches obliquely into the ground in a shady place under the film. After 3 to 4 weeks, they will grow - a sure sign that they have roots. Carefully dig up the rooted cuttings and transplant to the chosen place. Lavender can be propagated by rooting of lignified cuttings in the fall. Such shoots just stick into the ground in September - October. And in the spring it is a ready-made bush, which usually blooms in July.
See also: Growing lavender in the garden
Using lavender in the garden
Lavender is an excellent plant for creating a border, it is good in the composition of the solar mixborder. This “friendly” plant easily coexists with other cultures, the main thing is to choose drought tolerant partners for it.
If you plan to use lavender not only as an ornamental plant, but also as a spice, plant it near the house, preferably on the south side, so the flavor will be stronger. Collect flowers better in complete dissolution and dry in a well-ventilated, shaded place.
Top dressing of lavender
Lavender is responsive to feeding, in spring under adult bushes it is recommended to make complex mineral fertilizers at the rate of 10-15 g per plant. On peat and acidic areas, a little lime or wood ash is always added to the pit to increase the acidity level. It is also useful to regularly make compost in the spring, which will ensure air permeability and soil nutrient.
See also: Types of lavender - planting and care
Varieties of lavender: photo
GROWING LAVENDER - PLANTING AND CARE: SHARING EXPERIENCE
GROWING LAVENDER - BENEFITS AND CARE
In the spring of 2014, my wife and I bought several Crimean lavender bushes on the market. We can say that they bought a "pig in a poke", since there was no certainty that these were Crimean herbs. Now, after 2 years, there was no doubt - this is the same lavender, and I kindly recall the people who sold it to us.
Aromatic Present
A few months after planting, we collected the first "harvest" of lavender - cut young shoots. Fragrant seasoning was beyond praise - tea from this plant made a splash. Pure lavender was brewed, mixed with green tea, and combined with thyme and sage shoots. Guests invariably asked to make tea with lavender and were very happy about small presentations in the form of lavender sprouts or cut shoots for tea.
Queen of the Garden
The homeland of lavender is the Mediterranean, where it grows in the wild. We, in the steppes, also have wild lavender. In total, more than 30 species of this plant are known.
I compared 4 varieties of lavender (changed with friends saplings, and another variety purchased in the store), and the most fragrant of them turned out to be Crimean.
For me, lavender is now the queen of the garden. It is easily propagated by last year's woody shoots or seeds. Winters in Donetsk without problems - it does not freeze even without shelter, although we sometimes have frosts up to -25 ... -270.
My lavender blooms profusely from June to the end of July. If at this moment the shoots are cut to half growth, then in late summer - early autumn, lavender will delight the second crop and will bloom until the first frost. The color differs in different varieties, in some (more fragrant) the color is saturated, lilac-blue, while in others it is pale blue.
More sun!
Lavender loves sunny places, but in the shade it grows quite well. Perfectly feels on stony and clay soils. It is unpretentious to watering, but if watering and soil will be good, will thank with active growth of green shoots and abundant flowering.
Very beautiful lavender looks like a green fence. It is also suitable for decorating alpine hills and stone gardens.
For winter, I always cut lavender - to lignified shoots. If this is not done, over time the bush may lose its decorative shape - the middle will become bare, and the side shoots, on the contrary, will grow.
Cut off shoots can be dried for the winter, add to tea. used for cooking essential oil. Lavender is good as a seasoning for meat and fish dishes, it helps to improve digestion and stimulates appetite.
Only calm!
In folk medicine, teas and essential oils based on lavender are used to treat headaches, various kinds of neuroses, they help to relieve nervous overexertion and lower blood pressure. But it must be remembered that tea with lavender has a light hypnotic effect. Lavender can be packaged in tissue bags and shifted by bedding to give a pleasant aroma.
Lavender tea.
This drink is used to treat viral infections. As a doctor, I can say that this is logical from the point of view of traditional medicine. Essential oils have an antiseptic effect, reduce inflammation, and soothe the nervous system - with herpetic infections such tea is even indicated. Lavender is also used to treat skin problems. The basis of lavender essential oil are linalool, borneol and geraniol. These polyhydric alcohols are used in cosmetology as part of cosmetic creams and therapeutic antiseptic ointments.
Lavender baths.
The healing properties of lavender help to get rid of fatigue and have a beneficial effect on blood circulation. On 20 l of warm water you need to take 50 g of dry flowers or lavender grass.
Tincture of lavender.
With its help, eczema and sunburn are treated. 30 g fresh or dried flowers or shoots pour 500 ml of any vegetable {better refined) oil and warm in a water bath for 1,5 hours. The resulting essential oil can be used regularly for 30 days.
Lavender oil with honey.
In 1 tsp. natural honey, you need to add 2 drops of essential oil and take twice a day - morning and evening. You can also add honey to warm lavender tea and drink it in slow sips. This tool is good for colds.
However, all these funds are not suitable for those with an allergy to lavender, as well as women in the early stages of pregnancy.
© Author: Alexey KRIDINER, Makeevka
Lavender or royal perfume
In the design, lavender is widely used as a curb because it is compact and well tolerates a haircut, and also produces a pleasant scent when it is touched while passing by.
OUR REFERENCE
The Lavandula genus contains about 30 species distributed in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, North and East Africa, Arabia, India. Lavender belongs to the extensive family of Lubberry (Lamiaceae), which also includes a number of other well-known essential oil plants: mint, thyme, hyssop, rosemary.
Lavender English
Lavender English (Lavandula angustifolia, Lavandula officinalis) comes from Southern Europe. This is a half-shrub with a powerful root that extends into the earth to a depth of up to 2 m. The shoots are numerous, 60-80 cm in height, at the bottom of the woody ones. Leaves are narrow, dense, greenish-gray due to dense pubescence, concentrated in the lower part of the stem. Flowers are small, bluish-lilac or blue, collected on 6-10 pieces in spicate inflorescences on the tops of long hard stems. Flowering period: July-August. In the conditions of the middle zone of Russia it hibernates with an easy shelter.
There are a number of garden forms and varieties that differ in the height of the plants (dwarf forms up to 30 cm in height) and the coloration of flowers (white, pink, bright blue).
Features
French lavender smells nice, but quite dramatically.
But the English modest, though it contains less essential oil, compensates all the shortcomings with its amazing aroma: strong, fresh, with sweet notes.
English lavender oil is considered more useful.
It is used for the production of elite varieties of soap, perfumes, shampoos and other perfumes and cosmetics.
Alcohol tincture of English lavender in medicine is used as an antiseptic.
Useful properties of lavender
Lavender English became known to science in the XIII century. and since then until the end of the XVIII century. it was grown everywhere, from monastery and royal gardens to flower beds of townspeople.
First of all, the aromatic and disinfecting properties of the plant were appreciated.
To this day, the tradition has come to add dry lavender flowers in some varieties of tea.
Dry bunches are suspended in the premises, a mixture of inflorescences and flowers are placed in small wicker baskets or porcelain pots and placed near the source of heat to improve indoor air.
Pouches with inflorescences of lavender are put in linen for perfume.
Modern research has confirmed many well-known folk medicine properties of lavender. Its oil has an early healing and bactericidal properties, the aroma has a soothing effect on the psyche. Lavender, like many other labial flowers, is an excellent honeycomb.
French lavender
Lavender is French, or broadly leaved (Lavandula stoechas, = Lavandula latifolia), found in nature in southwestern Europe. The shrub is 50-80 cm in height. Flowers are small, collected in apical spikelets. The plant flaunts broad, bright bracts, which are located on the top of the inflorescence and painted in the same color as the coronals.
There are a large number of varieties of French lavender with the most varied coloring of petals and bracts. In addition to the natural blue-violet range, they can be white, greenish, yellowish, pink, burgundy.
This species blooms in April-May. The flowering period lasts until June, and in autumn it may recur.
Lavender French is more thermophilic. In the south of France, there are extensive plantations where lavender is grown to produce essential oil. It is widely used in the perfume and cosmetics industry, medicine, for obtaining a special lacquer for porcelain painting. Like English, French lavender has a number of varieties.
Garden hybrids
Hybrid lavender, or Dutch (Lavandula x intermedia, = Lavandula Vera) - under this name, garden hybrids of English lavender are combined with other narrow-leaved species. It differs in larger flowers and slightly later flowering in comparison with English lavender. Not resistant.
The legacy of the Romans
The history of lavender goes back much deeper than the early Middle Ages. This plant was known even in ancient Rome, including as a decorative one.
With the expansion of the Roman Empire, lavender spread across Europe, even penetrating the British Isles.
In the mild climate of Albion, she felt great and became very popular in the Middle Ages. Lavender water was used as a perfume, during the plague, the glovers stifled their products with lavender oil to ward off the infection.
Royal whim
Very much loved the fragrant plant English Queen Elizabeth I, on the table of which lavender sweets were always present, and her room was decorated all year round with fresh flowers. Royal caprice served as a kind of challenge to English gardeners who successfully coped with the task, along with learning how to manage the flowering of a variety of plants.
In the gardens of another English queen, Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, long ridges of rare white lavender were grown. Queen Victoria, the greatest lover of lavender among the English monarchs, for all her life remained attached to the fragrant plant, the bouquets of which were given to her by Prince Albert, while still being her fiance ...
Tips from our readers
Lavender is a plant of depleted soils, so do not abuse fertilizers, especially nitrogen fertilizers, when growing it. Lavender needs special watering only during the rooting period.
For lavender requires a warm sunny corner, protected from the wind. For the winter, a light shelter from the fir paws is recommended. The more heat-loving lavender of French in the middle zone of Russia can be grown as a container culture, for winter it is put in a cold greenhouse.
L. Ishchenko, Liski
Advice to the Florist
Lavender grows well in containers, but, having a deep root system, requires large pots with a diameter of 30-40 cm.
Drainage is placed on the bottom, then nutrient compost with an alkaline reaction.
Container plants need regular watering.
Lavender is a spectacular plant that gives the garden a Mediterranean touch. But its main advantage is a valuable essential oil. The most fragrant part of lavender is a grayish cup of flower, covered, like leaves, with thick hairs.
© Author: Marina Novoselova
CUTE LAVENDER
Lavender angustifolia is one of my favorite garden flowers. She is unpretentious, beautiful and very useful. I dry the cut inflorescences and add them to tea. This drink helps with headaches and improves immunity. And I propagate the plant in several ways, one of which is seed.
Having once grown a beauty from purchased seeds, now I am harvesting my own. After flowering, I leave the right amount of inflorescences and wait for them to ripen. Then I collect the seeds, dry them and store them in paper bags. They remain viable for up to 5 years.
Seeds need mandatory stratification within 1-1,5 months. Therefore, in December I sow them in a low bowl filled with store-bought light flower substrate or ready-made soil for seedlings. I moisten the earth from a sprayer, evenly distribute the seeds at a distance of 1-2 cm and lightly sprinkle them with soil. I wrap the container in a bag and put it in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.
After a month and a half, I rearrange the seedlings to a warm (about +20 degrees) light window sill, but still I organize illumination with phytolamps for 8-10 hours a day. During stratification, many seeds are already hatching. The remaining sprouts appear within 1-2 weeks. I do not remove the shelter immediately, gradually accustoming the plant to do without it. I monitor soil moisture, avoiding drying out or waterlogging. When the seedlings grow up a little, having formed 2-3 pairs of true leaves, I dive the kids into separate cups. At the beginning of summer, I plant the strengthened and grown bushes in open ground in a permanent place.
LAVENDER IN THE GARDEN
Lavender loves sunny places and sandy soil.
I only water it on hot days.
In autumn, I lightly spud the bushes and mulch with a small amount of humus.
I cover young plantings for the winter with spruce branches.
© Author: Anastasia ILYINA, Minsk
SECRETS OF GROWING LAVENDER IN THE GARDEN - VIDEO
© Author: Maria Karela. Photo: author.
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Wet and heavy soil is not suitable for lavender. Choose locations with dry, well-drained soil that is neutral to slightly alkaline.
Before planting seedlings, the site is dug deeply, if necessary, coarse sand is introduced, and humus is added to too poor soil. They are planted at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other and not closer than 30 cm from the path, taking into account the volume of an adult plant.
Watering - only as the soil dries up. Top dressing a maximum of two times per season - in the spring with a share of nitrogen, at the end of flowering - with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers with the addition of calcium.
Natalia
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The shoots of dry lavender perfectly complement the composition and fill the room with a delicate aroma. True, the blue-lilac color of the petals does not last long, but until mid-winter such a bouquet will stand.
Lavender is a thermophilic perennial; most of its forms can be grown only in the south of Russia, in the Crimea, in Ukraine. In the middle lane, under shelter winters narrow-leaved, or English.