Rare perennials in our garden (continued)

The ending. The beginning is in the article Rare perennials in our garden

Podophylls (Podophyllum) for the gardener, first of all, they are interesting as ornamental plants of unusual appearance. These are herbaceous plants 50-70 cm high with large, beautiful palm leaves. Under favorable conditions, the podophyll forms unusually picturesque dense thickets.

Genus podophyllus(Podophyillum) belongs to the barberry family and includes about 10 species, only one of which is thyroid podophyll (Podophyillumpeltatum) grows in North America, the rest - in the mountains of Central Asia. The presence of plants from the same botanical genus on different continents is a sure evidence of their ancient origin. Indeed, podophylls are the oldest representatives of the barberry family, relics of the Tertiary period.

There are two types of podophyll growing in our garden: thyroid podophyll and Emoda podophyll (Podophyllumemodii)is an Asian species from Central China. Despite the geographical remoteness of their ranges, these plants are very similar, and differ mainly in the number of lobes on the leaves. In the thyroid, they are usually 5-7, and in Emod - three.

The flowers of both podophylls are very large, up to 6 cm in diameter, pinkish-white. But they are so skillfully hidden under the leaves that you can not even guess about their presence. Therefore, the main decorative advantage of both podophylls is undoubtedly the leaves. With a rather insignificant, half-meter height of the plant itself, they look unusually large. In the thyroid podophila, for example, the diameter of the leaf blade sometimes reaches 40 cm; in Emod, it is somewhat more modest - up to 25 cm. The leaves of podophiles are relatively few, but they stick tightly to each other, forming even shields. The thyroid podophyll is especially good in this sense. Its thickets are so dense that they suppress any other vegetation with their shadow. The use of this podophyll in landscaping not only gives the garden a landscape, but to a certain extent eliminates weeding.

The podophyll also has another, and for some, perhaps more attractive "side of the coin". Thyroid podophyllum is a medicinal plant. It is included in the official pharmacopoeias of several countries. The plant's medicinal raw materials are roots. Podophyllum preparations have antitumor activity and can inhibit the growth of neoplasms. In folk medicine, podophyllum is also used as an anthelmintic and laxative. However, it should be remembered that all parts of the plant, excluding ripe fruits, are poisonous.

Podophylls are not at all difficult in agricultural technology. They can grow in full sun, but prefer intermittent, temporary partial shade. They love the soil rich in humus, but at the same time loose and moist. Plants are propagated by dividing rhizomes. The best time for this is early September. The thick cord-like roots of the podophyll are removed with a garden pitchfork and cut into pieces so that there is at least one renewal bud on each plot. Seed propagation is possible but requires a lot of patience. Seeds must be sown before winter on sufficiently moist fertile soil. They emerge only after two winters and are very uneven. Seedlings grow slowly and need constant attention.

Rue (Rutagraveolens). To begin with, in ancient times, rue was considered a miraculous medicinal plant, with which it was possible to heal almost all known diseases. The plant was not only respected by doctors, but also considered one of the most effective means against witchcraft. Ancient literature "captured" several cases of the use of rue. But even more popular rue becomes in the Middle Ages, when numerous scholarly "treatises" appeared, praising the properties of this plant.

The fame of the rue was so great that with the development of botanical science, the family of rutae was named after her, to which, in addition to her, are much more noticeable and important plants for humans: orange, lemon, tangerine, cork ...

In essence, the exaltation of the rue was based on "objective" reasons. In ancient times, all extraordinary plants were endowed with miraculous properties. And the rue stood out against the general background with at least two qualities. First, rue leaves differ from the leaves of the bulk of plants in their unusual bluish-gray color. Secondly, they have a strong characteristic odor. It is enough to hold a sprig of rue in your hands so that its aroma sticks firmly to your palm.

Ruta is a small, woody in the lower part, half-shrub 50-80 cm high. Leaves are pinnately dissected twice or three times, with obovate lobes. The flowers are medium-sized, greenish-yellow, collected in loose umbellate inflorescences. The natural habitat of rue is in the east of the Mediterranean. But already in the early Middle Ages, the plant spread widely throughout Western Europe and the Middle East.

Ruta is undeservedly considered not a winter-hardy plant. In central Russia, it does chronically freeze, but it rarely freezes completely. In some winters (but not more often than once a decade), the plants freeze so thoroughly that at first they seem lifeless. But thanks to the surviving roots, the bushes are quickly restored. Experience shows that elevated places and southern slopes are the most favorable for rue. The soil should be simultaneously light, fertile, loose and well-drained, with a pH of 7.0-7.5.

It should be noted that rue bushes can be quite durable. On our urban site, several specimens of rue have been growing in one place for over 20 years. Plants served us as uterine testes. We used to collect rue seeds in October and sow them straight away. But it happened that they forgot to do this, and then the plant sowed on its own.

Marsh cinquefoil (Comarumpalustre)... When one of my not too self-possessed counterparts heard that I was growing saber in an ordinary garden bed, the first thing I did was scream indignantly: “Let it lie to you! Sabelnik is a marsh plant. And it will not grow in the garden! "

By this, she exposed herself, as a spy would betray himself if he accidentally stumbled and swore in her native language. After all, the cinquefoil has really grown in our garden for a long time, and practically without outside interference. And the specific epithet "marsh" does not mean at all that a plant can grow exclusively in water. Our other guests could act as guarantors: iris, marigold, wild rosemary - all "swamp", but they grow and prosper in the garden. And despite the fact that our garden is located on a slope, its soil has a sandy loam base and, as a result, it looks more like a dry steppe than a swamp.

In what she was right, it is that in nature the cinquefoil most often grows along the shores of oxbows and lakes, and in general all sorts of swampy places. That is, it has a coastal, semi-aquatic ecological niche. Sabelnik takes an active part in the process of overgrowing of water bodies, both shallow and deep. He is among the first, along with sedges and a three-leaf watch, settles on rafters - "floating" shores of overgrown lakes. But sometimes the cinquefoil settles in swampy meadows and in drying out reeds. And these are already different types of habitat, because no one has canceled the drought yet. Survival science teaches plants to overcome "temporary" difficulties. So the cinquefoil has been taught this.

In the garden, the cinquefoil agrees to grow on the usual fertilized soil for years. It does not flourish, of course, but wow - it grows, and even blooms. If the soil is "fertilized" with large doses of peat - peat and watered more often, then it is quite possible to collect medicinal raw materials from the garden cinquefoil.

Sanguinaria canadian (Sanguinariacanadensis) - monotypic perennial herb, endemic to the Atlantic region of North America. Americans call sanguinaria the bloody root, because when injured, it releases an abundant orange-red juice.

At first glance, you would never recognize a relative of a poppy in a sanguinarium. This is a stemless plant - flowers and leaves grow in sanguinaria directly from the rhizome, but separately from each other. The leaves are very large, up to 15 cm in diameter, on erect petioles up to 20 cm high. Flowers grow singly on thin straight peduncles. Sanguinaria is unusually decorative, and oddly enough, it is completely simple in agricultural technology and unpretentious. Its current rarity is nothing more than a misunderstanding.

The main breeding method for sanguinaria is the division of the rhizome. It is desirable to carry out it during a period of relative rest - in late August and early September. The seed method is usually ignored by gardeners as more tedious. The plant grows slowly but reliably. In the absence of competitors, ten years after planting, the sanguinaria deline grows into a dense "lawn" with a diameter of 60-80 cm.

Read more in the article Sanguinaria - Queen of the Poppy

Sleep grass, or common lumbago (Pulsatillavulgaris) - the genus of lumbago of the buttercup family includes about 30 species. All of them are unusually decorative, for which they have long been loved by people. And this goes sideways for them - many of the shots were in the Red Book. Common lumbago is found in Western Europe, but it is grown in gardens far beyond its natural distribution.

Shots are not difficult in agricultural technology, although they require a certain accuracy. Properly planted, lumbago can grow for decades without any maintenance. On the contrary, he does not like to be disturbed. Transplanting a young seedling is still all right, but adult plants cannot be transplanted at all. This bookish statement is worth hacking down on the nose: the plant must be planted immediately in a permanent place, and then it should not be disturbed.

If so, it is very important to choose the right location. First, it must be completely open. As the soil shakes, for all its unpretentiousness, lumbago grows better on light, deeply fertile substrates of a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction, pH 7.0-7.5. Last but not least, the soil must have good natural drainage.

Spring chilomekon, forest poppy (Hylomecon vernalis). Chilomekon is a monotypic genus of the poppy family. The natural area of ​​the plant is the Far East and Japan. It is a low, up to 25-30 cm, stemless perennial herb that develops a dense network of roots - sod. The leaves of chilomekon are complex, consist of 5-7 irregularly serrate along the edge, oval leaves pointed on both sides. Flowers develop on separate, flush with leaves, flower arrows. Corolla is simple, about 4 cm in diameter, of four golden-yellow petals.

The rarity of chilomekon is not related to the difficulty of its cultivation. Rather, it is not popular with gardeners. It happens. After all, there are many beautiful plants, and all of them simply do not fit in the head of a gardener. But if you want to create a natural garden - the garden is not only beautiful, but also environmentally friendly, then you cannot do without such as chilomekon.

The biology of chilomekon is specific and closely related to the life of the deciduous forest, under the canopy of which it lives in nature. The rhythm of its seasonal development is subordinated to the growth of leaves on trees. Chilomekon is a half-ephemeral. He wakes up early, rapidly develops a leaf apparatus, blooms and bears fruit among the very first plants. Then the active phase of its annual cycle ends, and it goes into a state of relative rest.

Growth processes start in the plant even before the snow melts completely - under the snow. This happens especially early in years when the soil does not freeze in winter, or does not freeze slightly.The first sprouts of chilomekon make their way to the soil surface through the remnants of granular snow, often in March, when it melts intensively during the day and freezes at night. Remarkably, chilomekon seedlings are colored in an unusual orange hue - this is due to the presence of milky sap of the corresponding color in the tissues of the plant.

Taking advantage of the first, still unstable heat, chilomekon rapidly expels the leaves, and immediately proceeds to flowering. It blooms very early, at the same time as the first flowers: crocus, liverwort, spleen, galanthus. Flowering lasts 2-3 weeks and ends with full unfolding of leaves on the trees. This is where the active phase of the development of chilomekon ends, it stops developing new leaves, and the old ones begin to thin out and wither gradually. By the beginning of July, the visible life of the plant finally dies down until the next spring.

Chilomekon agrotechnics is not difficult. It is shade-tolerant, picky about moisture and soil fertility. When choosing soil conditions, it should be remembered that the worst version of the soil is dry sandy, and the most favorable for the plant are medium loamy, rich in leaf humus, constantly moderately moist soils. As for the relief, the chilomekon grows better on level ground, and will agree to the slope only if it is northern and sufficiently humid.

When looking for a place in the garden for chilomekon, one should remember its biology. It grows best when surrounded by deciduous trees and shrubs under their thin, transparent shade.

Read more in the article Chilomekon - forest poppy

Skewer (gladiolus) tiled (Gladiolusimbricatus) - the most that neither is a real gladiolus. Only wild. In the Russian flora, by the way, there are several species. The tiled one is considered one of the most beautiful. It is a perennial corm plant with a height of 40-70 cm (sometimes up to 100 cm). The leaves characteristic of all gladioli are xiphoid, that is, long and flat. The flowers are rather large, funnel-shaped, lilac-red, purple or pinkish in a one-sided short and dense inflorescence. Blooms in May-June for up to a month.

Skewer is sun-loving, but grows well in lateral or light mesh penumbra, prefers constantly moist fertile soils. It can grow in one place for many years. In favorable conditions, it gives self-seeding.

Dittany (Dictamnusalbus) and Caucasian ash tree (Dictamnuscaucasicus)... An ash-tree, even if perceived only as an ornamental plant, is just a godsend for a gardener. It is beautiful, durable and rather unpretentious. In our country garden, a group of several ash trees have been growing in one place since the late 1990s. All of them, in turn, were grown from seeds of their own generation, collected from a mother plant growing in the front garden of a city house. And where he came from, no one even remembers. In general, the biography of our Yasenets (there are now more than twenty of them) is hidden by a historical fog. And no Investigative Committee will be able to get the truth anymore - even if you interrogate with a polygraph.

I confess that I am not indifferent to the ash tree. And precisely for the reasons mentioned six lines earlier. And how can you not love a flower that, in addition to its attractive appearance, has been growing in one place for 20 years and does not spread rot at the same time with hard work and worries. If everyone were like that, you could walk around the garden as a guest, rather than crawl on all fours like now. In general, the ash tree for me is “persona grata” and its “area” in our garden will only expand. Moreover, there are still many places in the garden where it would be more than appropriate.

Rod diktamnus, or ash tree(Dictamnus) belongs to the Rutaceae family and, according to botanists, has 6 species. Ash trees are perennial herbaceous plants whose habitat in an intermittent strip crosses Eurasia from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean approximately at the latitude of the Caspian Sea.

Yasenets received the Russian name because of the similarity of the leaves of the plant with the leaves of the ash. They are imparipinnate, with a total length of 15-25 cm, and consist of 7-13 ovoid glossy leaves.On the lower surface of the leaves, you can see numerous small dots - these are glands through which the plant secretes volatile essential oils.

The flowers of ash trees do not spoil either in size (about 4 cm in diameter) or in color variety. They are either white or pinkish-lilac; in the latter case, the flower petals are additionally decorated with a network of dark lilac veins. The corolla has five petals, but they are located slightly asymmetrically "with a twist", or as they sometimes say - arachnid.

The fruits of ash trees look like bristled boxes with short, stiff thorns, each of which contains two shiny black seeds. When ripe, the shutters of the capsules crack, throwing the seeds aside. So for reproduction, the fruits should be picked as soon as they are full and just start to dry out. This usually happens at the end of July.

In gardens, more often than others, you can find two similar species - Caucasian ash tree (D. caucasicus) - with the Caspian-Siberian area and dittany (D. albus) - growing in the south of Europe. They both grow well in culture.

Why is ash-tree so rare, the question arises? Personally, I have no other explanation than the difficulty of its reproduction. The difficulty, by the way, is relative. The easiest way to propagate an ash tree is by seed. But, since one plant produces relatively few seeds, and their real germination is far from 100 percent, the seed method does not allow the plant to multiply quickly and in large quantities. The ash can also be cut by cuttings. But this method is even less productive. Cuttings should be cut at the beginning of growth, if you just miss the time - they will not take root. In addition, cutting cuttings significantly weakens the strength of the plant - they hardly bloom, or do not bloom at all.

What does a plant need for well-being? Sufficiently light, permeable soil and full sun. What he does not tolerate is a combination of dryness and sterility of the soil. Ash also does not like strong shade and underground competition with other plants. Based on the foregoing, it is advisable to plant an ash tree in the sun itself, separately from other plants, in a group, and if possible, in an array. The soil substrate can be prepared on the basis of leafy earth, humus and sand: 1: 1: 2. The optimum pH is 7-7.5, so acidic soils should be limed.

The ash tree has another attractive feature. He is a prototype of the "burning bush" - a burning and unburning thorn bush, from among which God communicated with his chosen one Moses. Some people believe that the ash tree is the very bush. But this is unlikely, although there is one, but a very weighty prerequisite for such a statement.

Ash trees emit volatile ether compounds that can ignite spontaneously under certain conditions (in hot weather). The burning temperature of ash-tree ethers is not high, and the "burning" itself lasts a few seconds, so this does not harm the plant itself. The middle zone of Russia, however, is not the place where one can count on such a miracle. Be that as it may, Christians throughout Europe venerate the ash tree as a symbol of the biblical "burning bush", and as such they plant it in monastic gardens and temples.

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