Eremurus (Eremurus) is a beautiful and extraordinary perennial from the Xantoreide family. Central and Western Asia is considered to be his homeland. More than 50 varieties of this extraordinary herbaceous and perennial flower are known. Eremurus is also called shiryash or shrysh. Gardeners love it very much when unpretentiousness is combined with mesmerizing beauty, singularity and originality, this is exactly the kind of flower that eremurus is.
Description of the eremurus flower
Literally translated from Greek, Eremurus means "the tail of the desert." If you look at a flower, you will immediately understand why it has exactly such a name. There are also secondary names shiryash and shrysh, they are given to the flower because glue is extracted from its roots.
The root system of the eremurus resembles a starfish in shape, small roots extend from the main root so that a shape is obtained that is very much like a star. The bush has no main stem. Leaves and stems grow straight from the roots and form a rosette. The flower is elongated and lush, it consists of more than a hundred small flowers that look like bells.
Growing eremurus from seeds
Sowing seeds
Of course, planting eremurus seeds directly into the ground is not the best option. But some gardeners also practice this planting method. Seeds are planted in spring, when the snow has melted and the soil has warmed up. After the shoots appear, perennials will need to be planted from each other at a distance of at least 40 centimeters.
Seedlings of eremurus
Sowing seeds for seedlings should be carried out in late September or early October. Germination of an eremurus is a rather long process. In some plants, this period can last up to two or even three years. At this time, regular watering is required. For the first 2-3 years, you do not need to plant seedlings in open ground, you just need to expose the container with seedlings to fresh air in the warm season, and with the onset of cold weather, thoroughly insulate the flower with compost, peat, sawdust or dry leaves. After three years, the seedlings can be planted in open ground.
Planting eremurus in open ground
The best time for planting an eremurus in open ground is the end of September - early October. It is necessary to plant a perennial in the sunny part of the garden and in no case in the lowlands. It is best to choose a sunny place on a hill, this will help protect the plant from stagnant moisture, an excess of which it does not tolerate and may even die.
It is necessary to plant bushes of flowers at a distance of about 30 centimeters from each other. You should dig wide holes and be sure to make a drainage layer, for this you can use ordinary pebbles. Then sprinkle the drainage with soil and carefully place the Eremurus seedlings on the top, distribute the roots evenly over the hole, then cover well and tamp a little.After planting, the seedlings must be watered abundantly.
Caring for eremurus in the garden
Watering
Eremurus does not need any complex and special care. From early spring to late July, the flower needs abundant and regular watering. After flowering, watering should be reduced to once a week.
The soil
After each watering, it is necessary to loosen the soil only so as not to hurt the roots. As necessary, weeds around the bushes should be removed so that they do not take away moisture and beneficial trace elements from the eremurus.
In order for moisture to stay in the soil longer, it must be mulched with peat, sawdust or foliage.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Eremurus loves healthy feeding very much. In the fall, perennials should be fed with superphosphates. But in the spring, it is better to give preference to balanced fertilizer complexes, which are designed specifically for flowering garden plants. As for organic fertilizers, it is best to use compost and rotted manure for eremurus.
Pruning
Desert tail care is not difficult at all. But there is one peculiarity. After the flowering period is over and the leaves wither, they must be cut off, and the root of the flower must be dug out with extreme care so as not to damage and dry thoroughly. It is necessary to remove the root system in a warm and dry place for at least three weeks, this will allow the flower to rest and protect it from decay, since heavy rains often fall in the second half of summer. Due to the constant stagnation of moisture, the eremurus can die or become infected with any dangerous disease.
Less frost-resistant varieties must be insulated. To do this, after the end of the flowering period, you need to sprinkle the flowers on top with foliage, sawdust or a thin layer of manure.
Eremurus after flowering
In order to collect the seeds, it is necessary to donate several inflorescences. Eremurus has such a feature that good seeds are formed exclusively in the lower part of the inflorescence, so several of them will have to be cut a little from above. The best time to collect seeds is mid-August. You need to cut the inflorescences and leave them in a dry place until September-October, so that the inflorescences dry out and the seeds ripen. Then in the fall, dried flowers must be rubbed with your hands, then remove the husks and excess debris. The seeds are ready to plant!
After the flowering period is over, you should begin preparing the plant for wintering. Eremurus tolerates frost well, but, of course, it is better not to risk it and insulate the roots with rotted manure, peat or leaves. You can remove this layer with the onset of a warm spring, when the snow has already melted, and the probability of a return of cold weather is very small.
Reproduction of eremurus
There are two ways of propagation of this flower: vegetative and by seed. About how the Eremurus reproduces by seeds has already been said above, but the second method needs to be considered in more detail.
In the spring, sometimes small children appear next to the plant. The formed daughter buds can be separated from the main plant. Fractured places must be treated with ash so as not to introduce any infection into the plants. Let the children dry up and you can plant them in open ground. Sometimes it happens that babies are very poorly separated from the mother's outlet, it is not worth forcibly separating the plants, this can lead to their death. In this case, the division is best carried over to the next spring.
Important! You can divide the eremurus bush only once every 5 or even 6 years.
Diseases and pests
Like all garden plants, Eremurus is susceptible to disease and pest attacks. This flower affects not only aphids and thrips, but also slugs, moles and field mice.
It is not difficult to deal with aphids and thrips, it is enough to carefully treat the bushes with a special solution. But as for slugs, then everything is much more complicated. They must be collected from the bushes, or made of dark beer bait, and then destroyed in order to prevent a second attack.
Moles and mice damage the roots. The root system can rot and the entire plant will die. It is difficult to deal with such neighbors. You just need to closely monitor the plant, if there are suspicions that its roots are damaged, you need to dig them out, remove the anger and treat it with ash. After the roots are dry, they must be planted back.
As for diseases, the eremurus affects both fungal and viral infections. Fungal diseases such as rust and chlorosis immediately appear on the leaves. It is necessary to start treatment as soon as the first signs appear. If the plant is infected with a fungal disease, fungicides will help to cure it: Topaz, Fitosporin, Barrier and other similar agents.
If the plant is sick with a viral disease, then it will be impossible to cure it. There is only one way out: remove the infected bush as soon as possible and burn it to prevent infection of other trees, plants and flowers.
Types and varieties of eremurus
There are more than 50 species of this flower. Below we will talk about the most popular of them.
Eremurus Echison - this species is considered early flowering, since its flowering begins in April, but, unfortunately, does not last long. The leaves of this species are rough along the edge and smooth inside. Inflorescences grow on a smooth stem. In one inflorescence there are at least two hundred small flowers, similar to bells. Bracts in this species are white with a dark vein and pink perianths.
Eremurus Albert - this variety is most often found in Turkey. The height of the bush is about 130 centimeters. The leaves and stem are dark green in color and have a smooth surface with a slight slimy coating. The petals of the flowers are white with a brown streak. Perianths are claret.
Eremurus powerful - The roots of this variety are brown and thick. The leaves and stem are dark green, smooth in the middle and rough at the edges. The length of the flower sometimes reaches more than 130 centimeters. The flowers are burgundy with a dark vein. The perianths are slightly pink or completely white.
Eremurus Olga - the most common type of existing. It is found in various places and in large numbers. The height of the bush sometimes reaches one and a half meters. The roots of this variety are light gray and thick. The leaves are elongated, rough at the edges and smoother in the middle, covered with a slimy bloom. A very noticeable feature of this variety is the perianth. They have a burgundy color with a dark vein and a yellow speck at the base.
There are many more different types of Eremurus, but they are less common and rare.
With proper care and adherence to the rules of cultivation, the eremurus bush will grow sprawling and strong, the inflorescences will be much larger, and the flowering time will increase significantly.
