Armeria is a herbaceous perennial plant that is very popular among gardeners. Thanks to the combination of dense green leaves and a bright floral hat, it will be the perfect complement to any flower garden, flowerbed or alpine hill.
Features of growing armeria as a garden culture
The plant has a shortened core root and dense, narrow, linear leaves from bright green to bluish tint, forming a kind of pillow over the soil. Long erect stems rise from its center, with inflorescences similar to a perfect ball consisting of many tiny flowers on short pedicels. After pollination, dry single-seed capsules appear - fruits.
Armeria looks impressive even in the form of a single landing
Being a plant unpretentious and hardy, it does not need any special care. Primary requirements:
- Choosing the most suitable place for landing.
- Cutting off inflorescences immediately after flowering.
- Shelter plants for the period of winter cold.
- Plant rejuvenation every 5-6 years by dividing the bushes.
Armeria, as a rule, easily adapts to living conditions and, with appropriate care, pleases with its bloom from late spring to autumn. It can be grown both in open ground and in a tub, because the plant survives fairly well anywhere.
But nevertheless, it is the soil cultivation method that is considered more preferable, since the plant loves the abundance of space and light.
Role in landscape design with examples in the photo
Lush green leaves and delicate charm of flowers allows landscape designers to realize even the most incredible ideas. Most often, a flower is used for:
- design alpine slides;
Armeria will add the missing colors and volume to the Alpine slide
- decorations of stony gardens, flower beds and rabatka;
Armeria will be a great addition to the rocky garden
- borders of larger flowers and plants;
Also, armeria will perfectly complement artificial reservoirs.
- concealment of the transition between paths, gravel pads and other garden objects;
- creating a "living" border or border for a flower bed;
Armeria will harmoniously fit into a sleek design
- additions of front gardens with conifers in the background;
If you want to plant armeria separately from other plants, choose juicy colors, otherwise the flowerbed will look dull
- giving zest to a strict lawn pattern.
Dense foliage forms a continuous green carpet with a colorful pattern of various inflorescences. You can create a flower garden exclusively from different kinds of armeria or supplement it with suitable neighbors - creeping thyme, stunted phlox, saxifrages, stalks, Carpathian bells.
The eastern slope of the alpine hill is an ideal place for an armeria
What climate is this plant suitable for?
Under natural conditions, different species are found in the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, North America, Mongolia. Mostly it "lives" on the slopes of the mountains near the sea. Due to its unpretentiousness, endurance and resistance to drought and frost, armeria perfectly tolerates even a temperate climate, which is characterized by cold winters, hot summers and low rainfall.
Armeria planted on an alpine hill looks incredibly picturesque
Popular varieties with photos
In nature, there are more than ninety species of perennial plants of the Piggy family, of which only a few are actively grown in garden culture.
Alpine
The variety most commonly found in the garden. Its homeland is alpine mountain meadows. It has a dense foliage pillow up to 30 cm in diameter and soft pink blossoms that bloom throughout June.
Armeria looks good both in simple flower beds and in complex flower arrangements
Seaside
The only species in need of landing near a pond. It has narrow leaves of a bluish-green hue and pink-purple flowers, collected in dense rounded heads of inflorescences. Flowering occurs in May and lasts up to ten weeks, with a possible repetition in the fall.
Long-flowering Armeria actively used in landscape design
Turfy
A short plant, with a height of not more than 15 cm. It has narrow linear leaves and capitate inflorescences of red or pink color. It blooms in July and continues to decorate the garden for about 40-50 days.
The only moody kind of armeria is turfy
Beautiful (pseudoarmeria)
The plant reaches a height of about 40 cm and blooms for almost the entire summer season with flowers of white, pink or reddish hues.
Armeria beautiful pleases with a variety of colors
Ordinary (garden)
A fairly large plant, reaching up to 60 cm in height. Has long linear leaves and a large (up to 40 heads) number of inflorescences at the same time.
In certain plant locations, continuous thickets from the common armeria are found
Beautiful
A plant whose flowering begins in June and lasts until the month of October. In height reaches about 12-18 cm. Capitate inflorescences are pink, white and carmine-red. The most popular variety: abundantly and lushly flowering Anna Maria.
Types of armeria differ in the color of inflorescences and structural features of the foliage
Louisiana
A species with large saturated pink flowers (up to 4 cm in diameter) that bloom all summer.
Armeria Louisiana winters well, but does not like dampness
Methods of planting a herb in open ground
The most important point in breeding perennial flowering grass is planting, which is preceded by several important stages.
Choosing a place, time and soil preparation
Plant armeria in well-lit garden areas
For a comfortable stay, the plant needs a fairly sunny, but without direct rays, plot. An ideal place would be the eastern side of a slope or hill.
Shadow of the plant is strictly contraindicated, this can cause a lack of flowers.
The timing is directly related to how the planting will be carried out (by seeds, cuttings or shares):
- From late February to early March, it is time to sow seeds in a greenhouse. Transplant sprouted seedlings in open ground only with the onset of steady heat.
- From early March to November, time for sowing seeds in open ground.
- From March to September, the suitable period for cuttings.
- The warm period after flowering ceases is suitable for planting divisions.
14 days before planting, the soil should be loosened (twice) and enriched with organic fertilizers.
It is important that the soil for armeria does not contain an admixture of lime.
A plant needs turf or sandy soil. It can be done independently by mixing greenhouse soil, turf soil and river sand (1: 2: 2). To increase the friability of the soil without compacting it, you can add hay, sawdust, chopped dry grass, rotted needles.
Seedling and planting
Armeria seedlings can be purchased at the store, and then it will take root in the garden without your participation
Mostly seedlings grown in a greenhouse or at home are obtained from flower seeds. To do this, you need:
- Keep the selected seeds on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for a week.
- Soak the seeds in warm water for 6-8 hours before sowing.
- Sow seeds to a depth of not more than 0.5 cm.
- Sprinkle with a thin layer of sand and pour over.
When the sprouted stalk reaches a few centimeters, home seedlings are moved to a greenhouse for further growth.
Flowering of armeria grown from seeds begins in the second year of life
After the plant has released full leaves, it is placed in open ground:
- A seedling is placed in the dug hole in the way that it used to grow in a box or a pot, making sure that the leaves do not fall into the ground.
- Gently cover with earth, without crushing the leaves.
- Watered.
The distance between the seedlings directly depends on the intended "pattern":
- if a plot is supposed to grow a flower in single bushes, it is necessary to maintain a distance of about 30-40 cm;
- if "carpet" planting is planned, seedlings are planted at a distance of no more than 15-20 cm from each other.
In the spring, seeds are planted in open ground in the same way. Autumn planting differs in that it is not necessary to soak the seeds and water the crops.
In addition to seeds, a plant can reproduce in two other ways:
- Cuttings for which small rosettes are taken and take root in open ground or under a film in a container.
- Dividers - parts of a faded bush that is dug up and divided by planting into the ground at a distance of about 20 cm from each other.
Video: Armeria Flower Sowing Secrets
Garden care
If the landing site of the armeria was chosen correctly and all the nuances of the landing were observed, there will be no difficulties in caring for it.
How to care during growth and flowering
Caring for armeria after planting consists in observing the conditions of irrigation, regular fertilizing, timely pruning and rejuvenation of the bushes.
Watering
The plant needs moderate watering. During the rainy season, natural moisture is enough for him. And on hot summer days, irrigation of bushes by sprinkling is recommended.
It is important that in the intervals between watering the soil must dry out.
Fertilizer and fertilizing
Armeria does not need obligatory regular fertilizers. But the plant will bloom much brighter, more plentiful and longer, if once a month - one and a half (just before flowering) enrich the soil with mineral fertilizers intended for flowering plants. In this case, the solution must be used instead of the next watering.
Pruning
An important stage of care is pruning immediately after flowering. This technique allows you to achieve the likelihood of repeated flowering in the autumn.
Rejuvenation
The main feature of the care is the need for regular rejuvenation of the bushes.
It is carried out every 5-6 years (necessarily in the warm season after the plant fades) by digging a bush and then dividing it into parts (divide), ready for planting in the ground.
Care after flowering
After the active flowering phase has ended, the inflorescences beginning to fade should be removed as soon as possible.
This is done using a pruner by pruning long peduncles. These manipulations allow to ennoble the flowering plant, freeing its juicy greens, and also stimulate the re-flowering in the autumn.
Armeria is quite resistant to frost and successfully saves most of its foliage under the snow, without needing any shelter.
The only exception is soddy, which must be wrapped with dry peat and covered with spruce branches or non-woven material. If winter is expected to be snowy with frequent periods of warming, the same should be done with all other species in order to protect them from frost.
Different varieties of armeria are used to design borders
Possible problems when growing at home
Armeria is a plant quite resistant to various diseases and pests. And yet, there are two main problems that gardeners occasionally encounter:
- The appearance on the leaves of spots, accompanied by a slowdown in plant growth and the cessation of flowering. If the disease is detected at an early stage, careful treatment of the plant with a fungicide is necessary. If spotting has spread greatly, cutting under the root of all affected elements is recommended.
- Aphid attack, due to which the leaves become very dry. To avoid this, in order to prevent early spring, it is possible to treat plants with special preparations (Intavir, Kinmiks), repeating the procedure if necessary.
Useful growing reviews
A few years ago, it sowed directly into the open ground in the spring, and two bushes turned out - one large, the other a catch. Both lived without problems for a couple of years, bloomed almost all of June, plus autumn re-flowering. But this spring, she discovered that a larger bush was dead. The castle also rotted after a snowy winter. I thought it was a problem-free flower. The remaining transplanted on a mini-hill. She made it in the place of the sandbox, adding more broken bricks to the sand. I hope this drainage will save the life of my armeria.
Veronica
//fialka.tomsk.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18859
Seaside armeria is easily propagated by seeds. My 4 plants are grown from Russian Seeds. Bloomed in the second year. With age, the bushes became larger and taller. They all sit side by side on the same soil, not too nutritious, but they are all developed differently. Now I’m not too lazy - I went, measured their height from the ground. To my surprise, it was 40 - 55 cm. According to the literature, they should not be so high. The flower heads are also very large, bright pink, with a diameter of about 4 cm. Previously, it grew its natural appearance. Her flowers are much smaller and paler. In culture, she began to weed and I had to get rid of it.
sveta
//www.websad.ru/archdis.php?code=44215
I grew armeria from seeds: seaside and broadleaf. Grows and grows well and without problems. The plant does not like zamyvaniya, in excessively wet places can vypryvat. But in general, a completely hassle-free plant.
Impala
//www.vestnik-sadovoda.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=187&start=30
I myself first sowed armeria. But first, I put the seeds on a wet cotton pad. In a plastic jar with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. I looked. As it dries, the disk moisturizes. And then into the ground and also put it on the lower shelf in the refrigerator. Let them stand there for about 2 weeks. Well, then I'll put it on the window and wait for the shoots. And it will turn out or not, I don’t know yet. Well, I used to grow perennials that needed stratification. Everything seemed to work out. Seeds on the disk just superficially laid out.
Tatyana
//rudachnik.ru/opyt-vyrashchiviviya-armerii-otzyvy-ob-armerii
Incredibly beautiful, with lush foliage and delicate inflorescences of armeria, it will be an excellent decoration of any garden or flower garden. And thanks to its unpretentiousness and adaptability to any conditions, care for it will be possible even for beginners taking their first steps in the field of floriculture.
