Lavatera, or hatyma, or wild rose belongs to the Malvaceae family. Locations where Lavater is found in the wild are the Mediterranean, Western Europe, North America, and Australia.
Lavatera can be either an annual or a perennial plant. In nature, there are only 25 species of this flower. An accurate description of the wild rose was given by the Austrian doctors, the Lavater brothers, who studied various plants with the aim of using them in their medical practice. Their surname later became the official name of the flowering plant.
Description of the Lavatera flower
Anyone who has ever seen how the lavater blooms will not be surprised at the popularity of this plant among flower growers. A hautma or a wild rose can decorate not only a garden, flower bed or loggia, but also a house. It grows equally well in indoor flower pots.
Lavatera is a bush that can grow up to 150 cm in height. Breeders have also bred undersized varieties. Their maximum height is 50-60 cm.
Lavatera flowers are large enough. They are funnel-shaped. Single inflorescences are 6-10 cm in diameter. The wild rose blooms from July to September. Flowers can be white, yellow, crimson, pink, or bright red.
The plant is quite unpretentious. Thanks to its developed root system, which penetrates to a depth of 1.5 meters, it easily tolerates drought and windy weather.
Lavatera flowers can be used to create bouquets, as they stay fresh for a long time and do not fade.
The wonderful plant Lavatera is a delightful representative of the flora, which can become the pride of every grower. Due to its unpretentiousness, the hautma will not cause trouble even for novice flower lovers.
Growing Lavater from seeds
Sowing seeds
Sowing seeds of lavater in open ground can be done in early May, when it gets warm enough during the day. Before digging up the ground, add humus and nitrophosphate. The soil must be warm. You can cover a plot of land with a film before sowing, and sow flowers in a day or two, when the soil warms up.
Seeds should be sown to a depth of 1 cm. Before sowing, the soil should be watered with warm settled water. It is best to collect rainwater. Then cover the flower bed with foil and leave it for a week. When shoots appear, they need to be watered. The sprouts should remain under cover until they reach 5 cm. If the flowers have sprouted well, they can be thinned out. Consider the fact that the lavatera is a bush.
Further, constant loosening of the earth is carried out so that air flows to the roots of the plants. Seedlings are sprinkled and watered. If they look weak, you can feed the lavater with any mineral fertilizer for flowering plants.
If you have chosen a tall variety of Lavater, then you should immediately take care of the support for the plants.
Lavater seeds can be purchased at the store or prepared by yourself. This is not at all difficult to do.After the flowers have faded, green boxes appear in their place. Inside them are small seeds. When the boxes turn brown, you can harvest the planting material. The boxes are carefully cut with a sharp knife and the seeds are shaken out of them, which are dried in a shaded place. It is necessary to store the seeds in a linen or paper bag in a dry place.
Growing seedlings
In order for the lavatera to bloom as early as possible, you can grow seedlings and plant already grown seedlings in a garden or flower bed.
The seedling box should be deep enough, as the root system of the lavater develops quickly enough. Drainage plays an important role for this plant. Therefore, you should put pebbles, expanded clay or crumbled foam on the bottom of the box. Gravel is often used as drainage for indoor plants, because, if necessary, it releases previously accumulated moisture into the soil. It is important that the drainage material is not sharp-edged. If the roots grow to drainage, they can injure themselves on stones.
It is best to buy a special seedling soil in the store. The soil is poured onto the drainage and watered with warm water. Seeds should be sown to a depth of no more than 1 cm. There is no need to water again. The top of the box is covered with glass or transparent film to create a greenhouse effect. It is necessary to ventilate and water the crops every day. Watering should be moderate and light diffused.
In about a week and a half, seedlings will appear. The shelter can be removed. It is not difficult to care for the seedlings: it is necessary to water it and turn the box regularly so that all the plants have enough light. If the seedlings are weak and elongated, then in the evenings it is necessary to additionally turn on fluorescent lamps.
Planting a lavater in open ground
As soon as warm weather sets in and the threat of night frosts has passed, the seedlings must be planted in open ground. If there is still a possibility of hypothermia for young plants, you can cover the lavater with spunbond. During the day, the covering material must be removed so that the flowers receive enough light.
Seedlings are planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other. Lavatera grows into a fairly voluminous bush and needs space for full development.
Lavater care
Hutma can grow on any, even the poorest, soils. However, she does not really like low places where stagnation of water is possible. But, if you want to grow beautiful and large flowers, then, of course, it is better to fertilize the ground before planting flowers. For these purposes, organic fertilizers and nitrophoska are suitable.
Lavatera loves well-lit places, but can grow in shaded corners of the garden.
Young plants should be regularly loosened, spud and watered. After a while, you can feed the wild rose with mineral fertilizer for flowers.
It is very easy to care for mature plants. Even the busiest people or those who do not like to spend a lot of time in flower beds can grow lavatera on their site.
All care is to water the flowers once or twice a week. Pour 2-3 buckets of water on one bush.
Weeds hardly grow under wide lavater bushes. If you feed the plant with mineral fertilizers twice a season, then the flowers will be larger.
To maintain the beautiful appearance of the bush, it is necessary to remove withered flowers and dried leaves. If we are talking about a tall variety of Lavatera, then it is necessary to take care of the support for the plant stems.
Lavatera after flowering
The annual lavater is removed from the flower bed in the fall. If the seeds woke up to the ground, then the next year the flowers will grow on their own. They will need to be torn apart or transplanted to the planned location.
A perennial plant requires more attention. The stems of the flower are bent to the ground and fixed. To prevent the lavater from freezing, it is covered with spruce branches or fallen leaves. If there is no such natural material on the site, spunbond can be used.But, in no case should the plants be covered with a film for the winter.
Diseases and pests
Pests very rarely attack the lavatera. The appearance of aphids on the bushes is possible, especially if flowers that like this insect grow nearby.
To avoid this problem, you should choose the right "neighbors" for the Lavater. Do not plant daisies or fruit trees in the neighborhood.
If aphids appear on the bushes, you can first simply wash them off with water from the leaves. This will give you time to buy or prepare the necessary aphid remedies. Insecticides are sold in stores to help get rid of the pest. But, if you don't want to use chemistry, then you should prepare some folk remedy. They just have to process the plant more often.
Other pests and diseases are not terrible for this plant. With proper care, Lavatera flowers will be beautiful and healthy.
Types and varieties of lavatera
Breeders are constantly developing new varieties of flowers. Lavatera is no exception. Such beautiful and hardy flowers are in demand among flower growers.
Three-month lavatera (Lavatera trimestris) - is the most common annual. With proper care, the plant grows to 120 cm in height. Large funnel-shaped flowers grow from the leaf axils. The closer to the top the flowers are, the more there are.
Popular varieties of this species include Mont Blanc, Ruby Queen, Pretty Woman, Sun Goddess and many others. Varieties differ in color and height of the bushes. Flowers delight the eye with their variety: white, pink, burgundy. They are of the same color and with veins of a different color.
Lavatera thuringiaca (Lavatera thuringiaca), or Dog rose - perennial. It differs from the annual in its size. The bush grows up to two meters in height and has many wide branches. A huge number of flowers grow on such a bush, which become a chic decoration of a flower bed for a long time.
Perennial varieties: Lilac Lady, Burgundy Vine, Bregon Springs, etc.
Lavatera arborea (Lavatera arborea) - is a biennial. It grows up to two meters and has a straight stem with large oval leaves. It blooms for a very long time: from June to mid-September.
Two-year Lavater varieties: Rosea, Candy Floss.
It is not in vain that the famous Austrian doctors studied this plant. The Lavater brothers used its beneficial properties to treat their patients for coughs, colds, joint diseases and stomach ailments. Lavater leaves are able to heal wounds and remove lichens.
A beautiful lavatera growing in a garden will not only become a worthy decoration for it, but will also be able to help in the treatment of numerous diseases.
