The poultry plant (Ornithogalum), or ornithogalum, is a herbaceous bulbous perennial belonging to the Asparagus family and numbering almost 150 species and varieties. Some of them contain toxic substances in their composition, but there are also those whose sprouts and bulbs are eaten and used as medicinal raw materials.
In different countries, in the folk language, the plant is called "bird's milk", "milk star", "star of Bethlehem", "Indian onion" and is considered a very useful plant. In natural conditions, perennials prefer to grow in areas with a temperate and subtropical climate. These unusual flowers can be found in the countries of Africa, America, Asia and Eurasia.
Description of the flower poultry
The average height of the poultry farm is from 30 to 80 cm, the diameter of the bulb is 3-5 cm. The culture consists of basal leaf plates, numerous flower arrows, racemose or corymbose inflorescences of white, pink or yellow odorless flowers and fruits with flat black seeds. The flowering period begins in the first days of May and lasts 3-4 weeks.
Planting a poultry farm in open ground
Even a beginner in floriculture can grow a poultry farm in a garden or flower bed. This does not require special experience, since the plant is quite unpretentious and care does not take much time and effort.
Seeds and bulbs can be used as planting material. With seed reproduction, the flowering period will only occur in the fourth or fifth season, therefore bulbs are preferable.
The bulbs should be planted outdoors in late summer or early fall. The bulbs are planted in prepared holes to a depth of 6-10 cm, sprinkled with earth, watered. The distance between plantings is about 20 cm. The first shoots should appear in early spring.
Poultry care in the garden
Location
For favorable growth and full development of the poultry farm, both sunny and partial shade areas are suitable. It is very important that the soil is permeable to moisture. Clay soil is undesirable, but sandy soil will be ideal for a poultry farm.
Watering
It is necessary to water the poultry farm regularly, but in moderate amounts, because the bulbs cannot tolerate an excess of moisture and their rotting may begin. Excess water during watering will affect the appearance of the plants: yellowness will appear on the leaves, and the buds will fall off without opening. During the period of flowering and the formation of fruit-boxes, it is necessary to water the flowers in minimal volumes.
Top dressing and fertilizers
If there is fertile nutritious soil in the garden area or in the flowerbed, then no additional fertilizing is required for the plants. In other cases, organic fertilizers can be applied after flowering ends or with the arrival of autumn (once a season).
Transfer
It is necessary to transplant a culture to a new place every 5-6 years.During this time, a large number of daughter bulbs appear on the main bulbs, which negatively affect the appearance of the plants. The flower is dug up in late August or early spring, the children are separated and planted separately on open beds.
Preparing for the winter period
Plant species with high cold resistance, after flowering, get rid of the leaf mass and leave to winter in the open field. Heat-loving varieties of poultry, as well as in regions with cold and snowless winters, it is recommended to cover plants with a mulch layer of fallen leaves or spruce branches. In a harsh climate, it is not worth risking crops; it is advisable to dig up the bulbs with the arrival of autumn and store them in a basement or cellar. It is recommended to plant each onion in an individual pot with a nutrient mixture of peat and sand. In early spring, planting material can be transferred to a flower bed.
Reproduction of the poultry farm
The most popular and effective way to propagate a poultry farm is to use daughter bulbs for planting. Some gardeners also successfully use seeds for sowing in open ground or for growing seedlings. This method has its own characteristics and rules, and will also require more time and trouble.
The seedless method involves sowing the seeds of the poultry farm for the winter in open ground in order for them to undergo natural stratification. In spring, friendly shoots will go from seeds.
For growing seedlings, seeds are sown in early spring in planting boxes or individual cups. The soil mixture should be light and loose. Care consists in regular moistening of the soil and sufficient lighting. When 3-4 full-fledged leaves appear, hardening procedures can be started. To do this, containers with young plants are daily taken out into the open air, gradually increasing the "walk" time. When the seedlings can spend on the street around the clock without negative consequences, then they can be transferred to a flower garden or flower bed for independent existence.
Diseases and pests
Root rot, one of the probable diseases of perennials, occurs only as a result of improper watering. Other diseases are not terrible for the poultry farm. Possible pests are spider mites and aphids. When they appear, flower plantations are recommended to be treated with special preparations - for example, "Aktofit", "STOP mite", "Biotlin".
Useful properties of the poultry farm
The crested bird poultry is considered one of the famous species in folk medicine, since all parts of the plant are endowed with numerous useful and healing properties already in the second year of life. For treatment, use bulbs, flowers, leaves, juice. This flowering perennial kills germs, viruses and bacteria, heals small cuts and cracks, relieves swelling, reduces pain with bruises, relieves headache and joint pain, removes salts and fights inflammation of the joints, and also purifies and disinfects the air in the room.
Types and varieties of poultry with photos and names
All species and varieties have their own characteristics and individual attractiveness, but still one can single out the most popular and well-known of them among flower growers.
Poultry poultry large - found in the Caucasus, consists of loose racemose inflorescences of a white shade and light green leaves.
Drooping poultry - the view reaches half a meter in height, has been known in culture since the sixteenth century. Features - leaves of a gray-green shade, inflorescences of a light shade of 5-12 flowers.
Poultry arabic - a species known in culture since the second half of the sixteenth century and popularly called "hawk milk", most often can be found in the natural environment of Israel. The plant consists of basal leaves of a light green shade, collected in a rosette, a long peduncle more than eighty centimeters high and inflorescences of a white shade of small flowers about 5 cm in diameter.
Tailed bird poultry - a healing species with spreading leaves up to eighty centimeters long and racemose white fragrant inflorescences.
Pyramidal birdhouse - the species has been known in culture since the second half of the sixteenth century. Consists of lush inflorescences - brushes, in which there are up to a hundred flowers. Plant height - 30-100 cm.
Poultry Boucher - named after a famous German botanist and distributed on the banks of rivers in Moldova, in the Balkans, in Asia Minor and in Russia. The average height is 40-50 cm. It consists of bright green leaves up to one and a half centimeters wide and racemose inflorescences of 20-50 small flowers.
Pyrenean birdhouse - is able to grow on solid rocky soils, it is found on slopes and forest edges, in fields and along the route on the Crimean peninsula and in the Caucasus. Average height - about 1 m. Features - leafy plates of a gray-green hue, lush white inflorescences, consisting of several dozen small flowers (from 3 to 9).
Umbrella poultry - a species consisting of flowering umbrellas of a white shade and reaching a height of about 20 cm. Popular in many European countries.
Fischer's birdhouse - the plant is named after a botanist who was popular in the nineteenth century. It is found naturally in Kazakhstan, in some Russian regions, as well as in West Siberian regions. The average height is 50-60 cm. It blooms with white flowers, collected in racemose inflorescences over 20 cm in length.
Poultry garden of Narbonne - a species that prefers areas with clay soil. Features - blooms in early summer, linear light green leaves, inflorescences - brushes of 40-50 white flowers.
Doubtful birdhouse - a species of South African origin, characterized by pyramidal racemose inflorescences of small flowers of bright yellow, orange, white and red shades. It is used for festive bouquets and room decoration, as the flowers remain fresh and attractive for a long time. Popular varieties - "Sunshine", "Ballerina".
Birdhouse Balances - undersized species, reaching no more than 10 cm in height. It consists of olive-colored leaves, a peduncle about 5 cm in length and three small white flowers.
Saunders' birdhouse - a heat-loving and moisture-loving species of African origin with dark green or grayish leaves about 50 cm in length, meter-long stems and pyramidal inflorescences of a white or cream shade. Used for drawing up flower arrangements.
