Perennial gravel is a herbaceous plant that belongs to the family of Rosaceae. Decorability and undemanding care are the main reasons for the popularity of this plant. In nature, you can find about fifty species of perennial gravel that prefers to grow in meadows, along the shoreline of rivers and lakes, in forests. However, no more than two dozen species are cultivated in our latitudes. Flowers of gravel are excellent in group compositions, in rabatkah , on lawns and alpine hills . They are used to decorate the banks of water.
Short description
This perennial belongs to the rhizome plants, the stems of which can reach seventy centimeters in height. In the landscape design, the optimal height of the gravel does not exceed 20-30 centimeters. The leaves of this plant are textured, with small grooves, have a saturated bright green color. The most common curb grades of gravel, which form from leaves knocked down rosette rosettes. In early June over rosettes appear stiff peduncles, on which cup-shaped bright flowers are formed. The diameter of terry or simple flowers reaches four centimeters, and the color can be any - all shades of yellow, orange and red. Inflorescences of the gravel are paniculate, in some varieties - corymbose. After flowering, a large fruit appears on the top of the stem, resembling walnut in appearance.
Blossoms gravelite long enough, from May to mid-July. Under favorable conditions, new peduncles may appear in August-September. There are several types of gravel, the representatives of which can all the summer delight the eye with incessant flowering.
Reproduction of gravel
If you want to plant the gravel with the division of the mother's bush, then it is necessary to do this before the beginning of active growth in spring or after flowering, that is, in autumn.
Reproduction of gravel with seeds is possible only in the spring. In early March, the seeds are sown in a container filled with a nutrient substrate, immersing them to a depth of 2-2.5 centimeters. The earth is tamped from above and covered with a transparent film. After emergence of the shoots, the film is removed for several hours a day, gradually increasing the time spent in the open air. The first picking is done only in the greenhouse! After the appearance of the third real leaf, the seedlings are ready for planting into the soil, heated to 15 degrees and fertilized with compost. Cultivation of gravel from seeds requires aging, since planted in spring saplings only in a year will please with the first flowering.
As already mentioned, the requirements for growth conditions for this plant are minimal. Cultivation of gravel is possible both in the lighted areas and in the penumbra. The soil suits him any, but with good drainage. If the soil is overmoistened or acidified, wood ash and sand should be applied before planting.
Watering gravel is needed abundant and regular, for winter young plants need shelter. Pests of the plant are not terrible, but
As you can see, planting and caring for gravel is fairly simple, and thanks to the species diversity, it is always possible to choose exactly the kind that will well accrue in a particular locality. So, rocky soils of the Caucasus and Central Asia are ideally suited for urban gravel, and as a ground cover plant on the same type of soil it is better to plant a mountain gravel. If you want to grow a high curb plant, pay attention to the Chilean gravel, which grows to 70 centimeters, and blooms all summer.