Xeranthemum is an annual flower that belongs to the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. Xerantemum flower even among the people it is sometimes called immortelle, dried flowers, dried flowers. The habitat is the countries of Asia Minor, Southern and Western Europe. It can be seen frequently in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. The culture prefers steppe expanses, sandstones and chalk deposits, low-mountain and dry slopes.
The plant has a straight stem of a silvery shade due to the fluff that covers it. The height of the arrow is about 60 cm. The leaf plates are long, wide in the middle, without petioles and covered with villi.
Growing xerantemum from seeds
Despite the fact that the plant is unpretentious and can develop on its own, good care will provide xerantemum with only positive properties and will contribute to the popularization of the culture.
The culture propagates only by seeds, which can be immediately placed in open soil or previously grown seedlings from them. The seeds of the immortelle are very small. 1 g of them contains about 700 pieces. Grains retain their germination capacity for up to 3 years. You can collect them at the end of summer. By this time, the seeds are finally ripe.
Sowing seeds
Sowing is carried out in the last week of May. In this case, flowering will begin in a month. In a dedicated area, recesses up to 3 cm are prepared, which are watered with warm water. When the moisture has been absorbed, you can decompose the seeds and sprinkle them with earth. And then the crops are covered with foil. This will speed up the germination procedure.
You need to plant when the temperature is already at least 20 degrees. With light frosts, crops may die. But even the temperature of +5 degrees is not terrible for the strengthened sprouts. If the winters are warm, then autumn sowing of seeds is possible.
Seedling preparation
- They begin to grow sprouts from seeds at the end of March. In this case, the xerantemum will bloom in July.
- For these purposes, a tray with a height of no more than 10 cm is used, filled with a nutrient mixture for crops. After moistening the soil, seeds are placed in it to a depth of about 5 mm.
- The seed tray must be covered with plastic wrap or transparent glass. Every day they are removed to air the seedlings.
- For growing seedlings, a stable temperature of 22-25 degrees is required.
- Lighting should be bright, diffused.
- Constant hydration is required.
- After the emergence of sprouts, the film is removed.
- Already when two leaves appear, the seedlings are carefully transferred into separate vessels. The root system is divided very carefully.
It remains to maintain soil moisture and bright lighting and prepare for transferring seedlings to the ground, waiting for warm nights without frost. Before this, the seedlings are hardened in the fresh air. This process takes 10-12 days. The hardened plants are planted in a pre-selected area.
Planting xerantemum in open ground
In order for the xerantemum to delight with lush flowering, when choosing a site, they focus on the following points.
- Bright sunlight throughout the day.
- Nutritious neutral soil, light and loose. These types include sandy loam and sandy lands.
The grown seedlings are transferred to the soil at the end of May, to the designated area. Saplings are transferred together with a lump of earth into holes prepared in advance. The soil around the young is tamped with palms. The root collar must be positioned at the level of the soil surface. The seedlings are distributed in such a way that the distance between them is more than 20 cm.
Xerantemum care
It is not difficult to care for the immortelle, since the culture is not picky about the conditions of existence. However, the required minimum should be observed.
Watering
At the initial stage, when the seedlings have just found themselves in the soil, they need to be watered regularly. When the plant takes root, the irrigation is reduced and carried out as needed. If the top layer of the soil dries up, then the plant needs moisture. When buds appear, watering is stopped altogether, even in dry weather.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Xerantemum may well do without feeding. However, in order to improve the germination of crops, to activate flowering, complex mineral fertilizers are used, containing a large amount of phosphorus and potassium. Instructions for use should not be disregarded.
The soil
The top layer of the soil is supposed to be loosened regularly and be sure to fight weeds. You need to take this with all seriousness and caution, so as not to injure the root planting system.
Diseases and pests
In most cases, dried flowers independently cope with such problems due to their high immunity. But there is one attack that can destroy the root system, and thereby the entire plant. This is excess moisture. Prolonged rains, improper watering can cause root rot. In this case, the plant is unlikely to be saved.
Only careful attention to soil moisture, proper watering, covering dried flowers from rain, loosening the soil for ventilation and drying out the lower layers will negate the possibility of rotting.
There are not so many pests in the Xerantemum, but it is simply necessary to fight.
Gall nematode. These are small worms that can destroy the entire root system. Small pests love moist soil, especially if the temperature is 18-25 ° C. The roots become covered with yellow nubs and cease to fulfill their functions. The plant stops growing. Its leaves are curled into a tube. If the chemical treatment of the culture is not carried out in a timely manner, it will die. To avoid this, insecticidal preparations are used. It can be Mercaptophos or Phosphamide.
Leaf aphid. Small midges of a black or greenish hue drink the sap of the plant, devour foliage, flowers and buds. Due to the rapid reproduction of aphids, they deal with the plantings of xerantemum with lightning speed, sweeping away both mature shoots and young plants from their path. It will be possible to save dried flowers if insecticides such as Tanrek, Aktar or Confidor are applied without delay.
Growing problems
Sometimes, when breeding a xerantemum, certain difficulties arise that you need to be aware of.
- If the thermal regime is violated, the seeds germinate poorly.
- With a lack of moisture at the initial stage of growth, with minimal watering, dried flowers will grow very slowly.
- With a lack of nutrients, lack of fertilizers, the plant will stretch upward, the flowers will be pale, the flowering period will be shortened.
Using xerantemum
From mid-summer to the onset of autumn, the xerantemum blooms. You can see the varied colors of the baskets. These are pinkish semi-double beauties, rainbow fluffy enchantresses, magicians purple with a metallic sheen.A lot of flowers open at once, and the eye rejoices at such beauty, and even dried inflorescences look elegant and luxurious.
It is no coincidence that since the beginning of the 19th century, xerantemum has been used for decorative purposes.
Xerantemum in landscape design
Flowers are adorned with flower beds, rockeries, lawns. They are used to decorate hedges and curbs. Not a single alpine slide is complete without the immortelle. Natural compositions with yarrow, astrantia, salvia are of great interest to gardeners and summer residents.
Xerantemum in floristry
Flower arrangements, both with live plants and dried ones, with the right approach, will delight any esthete and admirer of beauty. Usually, other dried flowers are added to the xerantemum, they complement the bouquets with wheat spikelets, decorative cereals, which gives the ensemble an even greater effect. Often a culture is grown precisely to cut it off in time, dry it, and then use it for compositions.
The inflorescences are removed when the buds are still closed, collected in a bunch and dried, placing them in baskets down. The drying room should be well ventilated, dry and shaded. To make the result brighter, the prepared inflorescences are treated with a solution of hydrochloric acid in a ratio with water: 1:12. The bunch is dipped into the composition for exactly 5 seconds, and then shaken and dried.
Xerantemum in traditional medicine
Water infusions are used to treat the heart and internal organs. Herbal extracts will help relieve toothache. Xerantemum will help with bleeding. And earlier, they resorted to tinctures when they were bitten by insects or rabid animals.
Types and varieties of xerantemum
Of the six plant species, only one of them is grown by man. This is a one-year xerantemum. Several varieties have been bred from it, among which are the following attractive specimens.
rose flower - this herbaceous variety stretches up to 0.5 m in height. Loves good watering. It has double pink inflorescences, the diameter of which is 3.5 cm. The culture blooms in July-August.
Carmine - this variety adapts to the cold better than others, although it loves the sun very much. The plant grows up to 0.6 m. Purple inflorescences do not lose their color even after drying.
Mother of pearl bouquet - uhThis variety is rich in various shades of inflorescences. Here you can see lilac, white, pink tones. The umbrellas themselves reach a diameter of 4 cm. The cold weather of this variety is not terrible.
Winter's tale- the variety was bred by domestic breeders. It is successfully used in floristry, as it is possible to choose a bright multicolor range of raspberry, pink, purple, lilac colorings of inflorescences. Plant height varies within 0.5-0.6 m. Flowers are bright, double.
Kazachok - domestic breeding variety, resistant to cold weather, loving sunlight. It pleases the eye of those around it with double flowers of pink and white tones.
