Liatris is a beautifully flowering herbaceous plant that can become an excellent decoration of a flower bed thanks to long inflorescences similar to fluffy candles. It belongs to the Astrov family and comes from North America. Also, the lyatris is called "deer tongue", "funny feather", "flaming star." No less interesting is the aroma of lyatris. It is slightly sweet, close to vanilla, but complemented by tart notes of fresh hay. Surprisingly, this enchanting smell is unpleasant to moths, so the flowers are laid out in a wardrobe to scare away the pest. It has a lyatris and healing properties. No wonder his name can be translated as "doctor".
Plant description
Liatris is a perennial herb with a fibrous, corm-covered root system. A dense turf quite quickly forms above the ground with upright stems 0.3-1 m high. The shoots are densely covered with bright green linear foliage without petioles. Leaves grow whorls or singly, located next to each other. On the leaves are the glands that secrete coumarins - aromatic substances used to create essential oils.
In summer, abundant flowering begins. At the ends of the shoots, lush, bright inflorescences bloom up to 40 cm long. They last 30-40 days. A long spike consists of several tiers of miniature inflorescences of baskets, in which 3-9 tubular flowers of white, pink, purple or purple color are collected. Inflorescences begin to bloom from above, and the bottom buds last open.
Corollas consist of long narrow petals, so the whole spike seems fluffy. A wonderful odor attracts many beneficial insects to the site. After their work, the fruits ripen - oval omitted achenes with pronounced vertical ribs.
Types of Liatris
The genus includes about 50 plant species, but only 3 of them are most often found in culture.
Spikelet Liatris (spicata). A low grassy plant with erect, densely leafy stems. Their length does not exceed 50 cm. Linear smooth leaves are painted in bright green color. In June-July, a dense spikelet blooms 30-35 cm long. Varieties:
- Kobold - pink-purple inflorescences bloom on shoots up to 40 cm high;
- Florian Weiss - stems about 90 cm high end with large snow-white candles;
- Floristan Violet is a group of varieties that blooms in different shades of purple.
Rough Liatris (aspera). It forms thickets of upright shoots up to 1.5-2 m high and leaves. Leaflets are painted in a juicy green color. The tops of the sprouts are decorated with shorter rounded or triangular panicle inflorescences of a dark lavender or purple hue. White spire variety (white) is decorated with snow-white fluffy flowers.
Liatris membranous (scariosa). Wider bluish-green leaves are located on dense stems with whorls. The tops are decorated with lush panicle inflorescences resembling pompons. They consist of small pink and purple flowers. Varieties:
- Alba - dense white inflorescence with soft fragrant flowers;
- September Glory is a tall plant with large bright pink flowers.
Breeding
Lyatris propagates by seeds, division of the bush and tubers. Most often, sowing of seeds is carried out immediately in open ground at the end of March or in November. Only in the northern regions it is advisable to pre-grow seedlings in a cold greenhouse. To do this, grooves 1-1.5 cm deep are made in a well-lit, open area and seeds are distributed in them. From above, the crops are sprinkled with earth, and for the winter they are additionally covered with peat.
Shoots appear after 1-2 weeks and do not cause much trouble to the gardener. The grown plants are thinned, watered and weed. In September, they can be transplanted to various parts of the garden, where they form a dense green turf. Flowers on the bushes will appear only after 2 years.
More often, gardeners propagate the lyatris vegetatively, dividing a large bush into several parts. Moreover, every 3-4 years this procedure is necessary to rejuvenate the thickets. In autumn or early spring, the bush is dug up, cleaned of the ground and disassembled by hand with parts. The resulting delenki are immediately planted in the ground to a depth of 8-15 cm with a distance of 25-40 cm. It is important not to deepen the root neck when planting.
Tubers form on the rhizome of adult lyatris. If their size exceeds 2 cm in diameter, in April-June, the nodules can be separated and planted. Landing is done in open ground, in a small hole sprout up. Tubers germinate in 3-4 weeks.
Landing and care
Liatris is planted in an open, well-lit area. Normal garden soils of neutral or weak acidity are suitable for it. Heavy and moist soils are contraindicated for plants, so they are not planted in beams, lowlands or near water bodies. Care for the lithatrix is negligible. Plants tolerate drought well and rarely need watering, only if there has been no rainfall for more than 10 days.
In April-May, the first mineral top dressing is carried out with a complex with a high content of phosphorus and potassium. In summer, during the flowering period, it is recommended to water the bushes with a solution of rotted manure. You should regularly weed the soil near the flower bed to remove weeds and improve air access to the roots. At the same time, loosening is carried out very carefully, since the tubers on the rhizomes lie close to the surface of the earth.
Withered inflorescences are pruned so that they do not reduce the decorativeness of the plantings. Green bushes with narrow leaves in themselves perfectly decorate a garden. Although the flowers of the lyatris are perennials, in autumn the entire ground part dies. It is cut to the ground.
Liatris is resistant to any changes in temperature; it grows well in sultry summers and in wet, rainy weather. Roots can freeze only in severe snowless winters at temperatures below -25 ° C. In this case, it is better to cover the flower garden with fallen leaves, peat and spruce branches to a height of 10-15 cm. Straw is not used for these purposes, because rodents settled in it can gnaw the tubers.
Liatris suffers from rotting corms, as well as powdery mildew. The fungus develops with frequent flooding of the soil and dampness. Dense thickets also attract snails, slugs, bear cubs, nutcrackers and mice. To protect plantings, plants are sprayed with an insecticide, and the soil is etched. When infected with fungal diseases, fungicides are used. Leaves and shoots affected by mold or rot must be ruthlessly cut and destroyed.
Using
Landscape designers use lyatris to decorate a mixborder, alpine slide, rockery and mixed flower garden. The plant perfectly complements the composition of succulent thick greens and unusually beautiful inflorescences. They are usually planted closer to places of rest or windows to enjoy an amazing aroma. Ferns, hydrangeas, decorative onions, cereals, roses, geraniums and stonecrops will become partners for the lyatris in the flower garden.
Inflorescences can be dried and used to make flower arrangements. They are also used to scare away moths and other harmful insects in the house.
A decoction of the leaves of lyatris has a tonic, diuretic, healing and bactericidal action. It is used internally, and is also used to wash problem skin.
