Alyssum (Alýssum) - a representative of the genus of ornamental plants belonging to the vast family Cabbage. The numerous genus Burachok includes about two hundred species that are widely distributed in several European countries, in North Africa and Asia. In the post-Soviet space, about forty plant species grow.
Features of growing in the garden
Alissum, very well known in decorative floriculture, is widely used in landscape design. Annual species are characterized by a longer flowering period, and the difference between perennial species is their good resistance to low temperature conditions. Decorative culture is actively used in landscaping in the Mediterranean region, but is well adapted for cultivation in the middle lane of our country.
In areas with warm climatic conditions, alissum is grown as a perennial that blooms for a very long time - until late autumn
Alyssum in a tub or garden flowerpot is a frost-resistant summer and autumn flowering perennial, easy to care for.
Alyssum is perfect for use in home gardening, has a lot of flowers and an elegant, very delicate aroma
Fans of creating flower arrangements on the loggia very often use such a decorative culture as a beautiful and unpretentious border decoration for other plants.
Alyssum is actively grown on the balcony
What climate is the plant suitable for?
Planting of decorative culture in the harsh northern climate is carried out only by seedlings with sowing of seed material in early February. In regions with warm weather, an abundantly flowering plant is able to develop over many years, while it blooms almost constantly.
From the moment of germination of the seed material to the first flowering, as a rule, one and a half to two months pass, and the most favorable for the culture is a temperature regime of at least 15-18 ° C.
Color palette
In wild conditions, plant varieties are found that form lilac and white flowers, but for gardening and growing on balconies, loggias and terraces, most often flower growers prefer more decorative species:
- white, including Little Dorrit, Big Gem, Weiss Riesen, Primavera Princess and Snow Crystals;
- pink or purple, including Salmon and Royal Carpet;
- pale lilac, purple and lilac, Easter Bonnet Deep Pink, Wonderland Blue, Variegatum and Oriental Night varieties;
- yellow, Easter Bonnet Pastel Mixture and Compactum Gold Dust.
Especially popular are multicolor varieties, for example, Paletta, which combines several original colors
Short description and photos of popular varieties
Now there are many varieties of alissum, which differ in terms of flowering, height and size of the ground part, color of the flower. All of them belong to several main varieties. There are over a hundred popular species. In addition, regularly domestic and foreign breeders are working to obtain new products.
Alyssum rocky (Al. Saxatile)
The height of the stem part ranges from 28-30 cm, and the foliage persists even in the cold winter period. Panicle type flowers. Flowering early, but short (April - May).
Low-growing grade Compactum with a height of aerial parts not more than 17-18 cm
- A medium-sized variety of Plenum with a stalk height of just over a quarter meter, with double flowers of a golden yellow color.
- Variety Dudley Neville with a maximum height of 15-30 cm, with flowers of yellowish-brown color.
- The variety "Golden placer" is a highly branched ornamental plant with a height of the aerial part of not more than a quarter meter, with dense and racemose type inflorescences.
Alyssum Sea (Al. Maritium)
In the conditions of central Russia, it is grown in an annual culture. The height of the aerial part does not exceed a quarter meter with a shoot length of not more than 40 cm. The stem part of the plant forms compact and stunted rosettes.
Flowering occurs from May to frost
- A variety of Bentham variety "Weiss Riesen" with a maximum height of 30-35 cm, with large flowers of white color.
- Variety "Shneeshturm" varieties of Bentham with a maximum height of 22-25 cm with white and large flowers.
- Variety "Purple haze" refers to miniature and blooming species for a long time.
"Purple haze" forms small flowers and lanceolate foliage on shoots up to 15 cm long
- Variety "Ester Bonnet" is characterized by unpretentiousness, cold resistance and drought tolerance, with a height of 20-25 cm, with snow-white or lilac-pinkish flowers.
Ampel Alissum
It belongs to the most decorative species, forming highly branched and long shoots that look spectacular in hanging flower pots. Inflorescences form a large and fragrant "blooming ball."
- The variety "Snow / White Carpet" is a miniature annual with a very bright and pronounced honey aroma.
Flowering is observed from July to October
- Alyssum white “Snow Princesses” blooms all summer, tolerates low-temperature regimes well, has uniform growth and is easy to shape.
Alyssum Gmelin or Mountain (Al. Gmelinii)
Perennial and frost-resistant ornamental plant. Branches of creeping and ascending type. Leaves with dense pubescence. The racemose type of inflorescences bloom for a couple of months, with the beginning of flowering in the last decade of spring.
It blooms from May and a half months, then at the end of August
- The variety "Honey Dessert" is a highly branched perennial with a height of up to 23-25 cm, with hemispherical bushes, elongated gray-felt leaves, small yellow flowers.
- Variety "Golden Wave" - forms highly branched perennial hemispherical bushes with a diameter of up to 30-40 cm, with yellow flowers. Flowering occurs in the spring for a month and a half, and sometimes secondary - in the last decade of August.
Landing methods
Sowing seed material or planting seedlings is carried out in fertile soil with organic fertilizers previously applied. For cultivation, the sunniest areas are allocated, without stagnation of water, with a neutral or slightly alkaline soil reaction in the flower garden.
Open sowing
- In contrast to greenhouse cultivation, sowing of seed material in open flower gardens is carried out not earlier than May, when the top 8-10 cm of soil is well warmed up and the threat of damage to crops by spring return frosts passes. It is allowed to sow seed in November. Such winter sowing allows seeds to go through the natural process of stratification, as well as to receive powerful and healthy seedlings in spring.
- Seeds are buried in the ground by about 0.5 cm. With a deeper planting, the sprouts do not have enough strength to break through the soil layer.
- To get faster and more friendly shoots, crops after watering should be covered with ordinary plastic film.
- Thickened plantings can cause the development of various fungal diseases, so it is better to sow seeds with a distance of at least a quarter meter from each other.
- If necessary, thinning of seedlings or seeding of already grown plants is performed.
- Alissum grown from seeds blooms about a month and a half after the emergence of mass seedlings.
Seedlings
Engaged in growing seedlings should not be earlier than mid-March.
- For sowing, you need to prepare a nutritious and light soil with a slightly acidic environment (pH 5.5-6.2). Seedling method is used to obtain early flowering, and is also popular in regions with insufficient climate.
Hardened seedlings should be planted with a distance of 30-35 cm from each other, but the optimal values depend on the species and varietal characteristics of the plant
- Crops should provide good lighting and greenhouse conditions, as well as a temperature regime of 10-15ºC.
- It is also necessary to take care of moderate hydration and ventilation.
- After the first true leaf appears on the seedlings, you need to feed the plants with complex fertilizer.
- You can dive flower seedlings in the presence of two or three real leaves.
Care in the garden from the moment of planting in the open ground until the fall
Growing and annual maintenance of garden alissum is very simple and consists of watering the ornamental culture, regularly loosening the soil, periodically removing all weed vegetation, as well as pruning and standard top dressing.
How to care during growth and flowering
At the stage of active growth processes and the development of the aerial part of the decorative culture, competent care should be provided. Irrigation is carried out by standing water with drying of 40-45 mm of the upper soil layer. After irrigation, cultivation is recommended. Mulch allows you to make watering more rare.
You can use the autowatering system
Top dressing is carried out at the stage of active build-up by decorative culture of green mass. Perennial alissums are fed with nitrogen fertilizers like "Agricola-7" and urea at the rate of a tablespoon of each product in a bucket of settled clean water. Before mass flowering, the plant is fed with complex fertilizer. Annual varieties require more frequent top dressing.
Full-fledged growth processes and abundant long flowering of alissum require the implementation of correct and timely pruning. In the spring, dried leaves, as well as diseased or weakened branches, are removed from perennials.
After summer flowering, pruning is repeated, and all branches of plants are shortened by 50-80 cm, which will stimulate the re-flowering of some varieties of alissum.
Care after flowering: how to collect seeds
After flowering, it is necessary to properly prepare the ornamental plant for winter, and, if necessary, collect seed material from the bushes. Alyssum is a frost-resistant flower, therefore, does not need to create a special shelter for the winter. In the northern regions, it is allowed to slightly mulch the soil near the plants with fir branches or fallen foliage.
Pre-winter alissum pruning is not recommended
Proceed to the collection of seeds should be in the last decade of September or early October. For this purpose, in dry and calm weather, inflorescences are collected and ground. The collected alissum seeds are dried and stored until planted in a labeled tissue bag.
What problems do gardeners with growing
Alyssum belongs to the decorative crops, which are perfect for growing even inexperienced and novice flower growers. Some possible problems:
- the decorative culture does not bloom well enough - disturbances in the feeding or watering regime, low level of sun exposure;
- the aboveground part of the plant turns yellow - low soil aeration, lack of sufficient irrigation measures;
- a garden flower does not grow well or fades - rotting of the roots as a result of waterlogging, improper feeding regimen.
Due to its unpretentiousness, problems with such a plant arise quite rarely, but only subject to strict observance of the rules of care.
Diseases and pests: a table of signs and control measures
Alyssum is susceptible to some diseases and pests. To choose the right and most effective treatment and treatment regimen, you should correctly determine the type of damaging factor.
| Risk factor | Signs of defeat | Methods of struggle |
| Brown rot (late blight) | Numerous brownish-gray spots on the foliage appear on the third or fourth day of infection and are the result of a fungal infection | Treatment with copper oxychloride and Ordan, Thanos, or Kuproksat fungicides |
| Viral Mosaic | The foliage quickly enough covered with characteristic mosaic spots, the plant quickly weakens and as a result dies | Destruction of infected bushes, soil restoration |
| Powdery mildew (peronosporosis) | On fresh foliage, small spots of indeterminate shape, reddish-brown or faint purple, appear | Processing the aerial parts of the plant with Oksikhom, Ordan and Bordeaux mixture |
| Powdery Mildew | Fungal disease manifests itself not only on foliage and stems, but also on flowers, where a very characteristic white powdery coating appears | Treatment of the aerial part of the plant with Bordeaux liquid or Topaz |
| Cruciferous flea | Small black bugs with a greenish tint cause leaf skeletonization, gnawing numerous holes in them | Spraying the aerial parts with Actellik or Karate insecticides |
| Mealybug | The plant is covered with a white powdery coating, a pad appears on the foliage, shoots and buds, and a large number of white insects are noted on the aerial part | Treatment of affected parts of the plant with Fitoverm, Aktara, Confidor or Actellik |
| Belyanka turnip | Insects of a pale green color penetrate the plant, cause lethargy of leaves and shoots | Processing plants with preparations of "Entobacterin" or "Lepidocide" |
| Cabbage Moth | Garden pest, damaging the crop, quickly causes the leaves to dry and stop the growth of the plant | Processing plants with preparations of "Entobacterin" or "Lepidocide" |
| Caterpillars | A large number of plant pests can destroy a significant part of the green mass | Spraying plants with chamomile infusion or tobacco-soap solution |
Video: alissum from sowing to flowering
Useful reviews
I sow alissum in several stages, it emerges quite quickly, the first seedlings appear on day 5, massively for 7-10 days.
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//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/424706/
I have a second wave of flowering alissum ... planted with seeds. It grew quickly, bloomed. How fragrant it is. Now I will plant it every year.
Victorovna
//forum-flower.ru/showthread.php?t=1040
I sow allisum on my first visit to the country house - somewhere in late April or early May - in a nursery (any barrel, drawer, bucket), pour water with boiling water, sow, cover with a film, seedlings appear quickly when they reach a height of 5 cm planted in the ground, as a rule this is the end of May. That’s all wisdom.
Elvi
//fialka.tomsk.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16573
I sow alissum in a 250 cell with small cassettes, cut into parts of the cassette (it’s more convenient for me). I fill it with light soil, spread the seeds and that's it. They can grow in it for a very long time (with a lack of time and space). And then I transfer to the 6th cartridge. From it already for permanent residence.
frosik
//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/424706/
In the conditions of horticultural culture, the decorative plant alissum became known relatively recently, but its popularity is growing annually. The reason for the demand for such a beautiful flower is represented by unpretentiousness and extreme ease of care, a strong and bright honey aroma that exudes this plant.
