Useful information

Arctotis magnificent, or magnificent venidium

Arctotis the magnificent (Arctotis fastuosa) Orange Prince

This plant, fragile in appearance, blooms until early October, until the very cold. There are not many of them. Most people know him by the outdated name. lush venidium(Venidium fustuosum). It looks like a miniature sunflower.

Now this representative of the Aster family is more correctly called the magnificent arctotis (Arctotis fastuosa), and only one species remained in the genus Venidium. The genus Arctotis, on the contrary, has replenished, and now there are 70 species in it. The taxonomy was revised back in 1997, but until now, you will most likely find seeds on sale under the name Lush Venidium.

The name Venidium is derived from the Latin vena and indicates the protruding veins of the stems. And the current arctotis means "bear's ear" (from the Greek arktos - bear and otos - ear), which is due to the dense pubescence of the plant.

Species name fastuosa comes from the Latin word fastuosus - arrogant, proud, showy, or ostentatious. It was given to the plant by Nikolaus von Jacquin (1727-1817), who first described the species, the author of several botanical publications with excellent illustrations of cultivated plants. Many of them were sent from South Africa to Europe by collectors Georg Scholl and Frans Boos in the late 1780s. Most of the plants were grown in the Royal Gardens in Schönbrunn, Austria. Illustration A. fastuosa was published in the botanical work "Plantarum rariorum horti caesarei schoenbrunnensis" between 1797 and 1804.

Arctotis magnificent (Arctotis fastuosa) in the province of Namaqualand. Photo: Irkhan Udulag (South Africa)

Arctotis splendid is a perennial herb, winter-growing from zone 9, where winter temperatures do not drop below -6 ° C. But mostly grown as an annual. Comes from the Cape Floristic Kingdom, for which it received the English-language names Cape Daisy, Namaqualand daisy and Monarch-of-the-veld, and also grows in the north of neighboring Namibia and further along the Doorn River valley ... It is one of the most common plants in the Cape.

The plant is densely branched at the base, forming a lush, squat bush of many rosettes. By the beginning of the flowering period in June, tall, 35-90 cm tall, leafy stems, bearing single baskets, rise above them. The leaves of the plant reach 15 cm in length, on flat petioles, concentrated mainly at the base. Stems are smaller, arranged alternately, unequal-lobed, lower - lyre-shaped, upper - from linear to lanceolate, sessile or stalk-embracing. Stems and leaves are glaucous on both sides due to dense pubescence with white cobweb hairs. Baskets from 5 to 10-12 cm in diameter. A purple-brown, violet or black disc of tubular bisexual flowers with prominent white or yellow stamens surrounds glossy ligate flowers that range in color from bright orange, red-orange, yellow to creamy white. The tongues of the flower are located in 2 circles, the upper ones of which are bent upwards, and the lower ones, alternating downwards. At the base of about a quarter of the tongue there is a dark smear, as if someone had touched it with a brush. There is a smear only on the tongues of the upper circle, together they form a purple-black ring, very decorating the baskets, often bordered along the edge with a white stripe. Flowers close in the afternoon and in cloudy weather. Seeds - numerous black-brown, faceted glabrous achenes with fine hairs on top for spreading. They ripen one month after the end of flowering and, unlike other species of arctotis, have not two, but one cavity. When the seeds are poured out, the disc of the flower looks very much like an empty sunflower.

Under suitable warm, sunny, not too dry weather, some plants can bloom up to 15-20 flowers at a time, and twice as many in buds. But this does not happen often, and in late summer and early autumn, flowering often becomes rare, separate flowers. However, there is one trick that allows you to preserve more abundant flowering - you need to remove the faded baskets.

Venidium flowers are loved by bees because they produce a lot of pollen. These are the main pollinators of flowers.

Popular varieties of arctotis magnificent

  • Orange Prince - an old variety from 1933, 30-70 cm tall, with silky foliage and bright orange tongues, black at the base, and a black central disc.
  • Zulu Prince - up to 60-70 cm in height, with creamy-white tongues with violet-black marks at the base, and the same center. It grows 50-60 in width.
Arctotis the magnificent (Arctotis fastuosa) Orange PrinceArctotis the magnificent (Arctotis fastuosa) Zulu Prince

It should be noted that the flowers of modern varieties remain open longer, and not only in sunny weather.

Growing arctotis splendid

Sowing seeds for seedlings... At home, in South Africa, the plant emerges after the rainy season. We have to sow it for seedlings, taking into account that flowering will occur 3.5 months after sowing, optimally in March. When sown in April, flowering will move towards the end of summer.

Seeds are planted shallowly, about 3-5 mm deep. Germinated at a temperature of + 16 ... + 22оС. Seedlings appear spontaneously, from 4-7 days to 2-3 weeks. Germination is usually not very high, so it is worth taking more seeds. For reliability, you can try to germinate the seeds on a damp cloth, and then sow. Their ability to germinate lasts for 2-3 years. 1 g - 1300 seeds.

Seedlings are planted in flower beds and flower beds in early June, when return frosts are over. They maintain a distance of 25-30 cm. Usually at this time the plants already have a height of 20-25 cm.

Growing conditions... Venidium is thermophilic, it must be planted in the sun, on well-drained, fertilized soils. The acidity of the soil does not matter - it can be from acidic to alkaline, but, of course, not peaty.

Watering... Venidium is an easy-care plant. It should be watered in moderation, excess moisture can lead to damping and death. At the same time, the plant is drought-resistant, capable of withstanding short-term drought without watering. However, this should not be abused, the plant usually perceives a long dry period as a signal to the end of flowering.

 

Arctotis magnificent (Arctotis fastuosa)

 

Use in garden design

Even before flowering, the lobed foliage of the plant, covered with a silvery downy, looks very decorative. The bushes shine with silver, and the borders from this plant look especially good, for them there are shorter varieties (20-40 cm). The buds of the plant are also very attractive, cobweb like burdock buds.

The flowering of the magnificent arctotis is very lush under favorable weather conditions, but it has one drawback - the flowers are often closed. Therefore, in the design of the garden, this must be taken into account, and it is advisable to combine this plant with other flowers, for example, white gypsophila graceful, prominent sedum, yarrow, etc. Moreover, high varieties need stem support.

There are other uses for this plant, especially its undersized varieties - slides, gravel gardens, flowerpots and containers. Even if the flowering of arctis splendid is interrupted, filled with rugged foliage, the flowerpot remains magnificent. Its size must be at least 25 cm wide.

The plant is exclusively for cutting, and, not only flowers, but also the beautiful silvery-pubescent leaves of the plant go to cut.

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