A bright yellow or even an orange leotard is very attractive in its own way, although it does not differ in its special richness of shapes and colors. The garden is good because it blooms for a long time, but does not require special care.
What does a flower swimsuit look like
This plant is also called a spark in everyday life. This is not surprising, since it is distinguished by spherical flowers of fiery shades. The structure of the flower is very interesting: it consists of a perianth, resembling a corolla, and bright sepals, which can be from five to 20. Stamens in different species can vary in length. Nectaries in this plant are modified petals. The honey pit is located at their base. The sweet aroma of the lights attracts bees.
European swimsuit
The fruits of this plant are leaflets that form a spherical fruit. Seeds have an oval shape, they have a shiny black surface.
For your information! This perennial herb belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. Only it does not look more like garden ranunculi, but rather more modest billets.
Briefly about the history of the appearance
In the wild, lights have been common throughout Eurasia since ancient times. Their brief history must begin with the fact that they have been grown in gardens for more than 500 years and mainly for decorative purposes (while in the East, lights are considered medicinal plants). Planting and caring for the leotard did not require much effort, and this contributed to their popularity. But in those days, they bred mainly the European variety, all the rest appeared much later.
Note! The flower of the Chinese swimsuit first appeared in Europe only 200 years after the cultivation of local varieties began. But they were used to breed many modern hybrid varieties.
Why is the troll flower called
The Latin name for this flower is "Trollius". Many researchers believe that this name comes from "Trollblume", which translates as "troll flower". Indeed, the swimsuit plant develops well in humid places, where, according to legend, these fairy-tale characters love to settle. In many legends, both Scandinavian and German, this plant is a favorite flower of trolls, supposedly in its spherical flowers, these creatures brew a healing drink.
However, there is another version of this name. Perhaps, given the spherical shape of the flower, the name comes from the Latin word "trulleus", meaning "round vessel".
Plant characteristics
In the wild, types of culture can grow in a variety of conditions, which influenced their characteristics. For example, in Eastern Europe, swimsuits grow in the forest, as well as in river valleys and near ponds, so they prefer high humidity. In Western Europe and partly in Asia, lights grow in the mountains. These species are relatively drought tolerant. Regardless of whether they grow on the edge of the forest or in the mountains, all of these species are very viable and unpretentious.
Types of bathers and their characteristics
There are many varieties of this plant, which differ even in external characteristics.
Ledebour's Trollius (Trollius Ledebourii)
This is one of the most interesting species. Ledebur's trollius is distinguished by a fairly high peduncle (up to 1 m). Her large flowers reach 6 cm in diameter with bright orange petals. In culture, they can also have large sizes up to 8 cm. Moreover, the length of nectaries is at least 1.5 cm. In gardening, its various varieties are used, which may differ in the coloring of both the petals and sepals.
Asian Swimsuit (Trollius Asiaticus)
This species is widespread in landscape design. It is distinguished by bright orange flowers with spaced sepals and clearly visible stamens.
For your information! In everyday life, this species is called frying, not a swimsuit. There are many varieties of it, including with double flowers.
Asian swimsuit
In the wild, the height of the peduncle is about 40 cm, but at home it grows more noticeable - up to 70 cm.
European Swimsuit (Trollius Europaeus)
This species is also called common swimsuit. Her description says that in the height of her stems can reach 100 cm, and this makes her one of the most noticeable varieties. The flowers are large in size and have a pleasant aroma. The color of the petals varies from light yellow to golden. The stamens are longer than the petals. It blooms in late spring - the first half of June.
Note! This plant is less and less common in the wild. It is listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus. In Poland, it is also protected by the state.
The highest swimsuit (Trollius Altissimus)
The main difference between this species is the height of the peduncle, it is 1.3-1.5 m. At the same time, the plant has quite beautiful openwork leaves. But the flowers of the highest swimsuit are not too bright. They reach a diameter of 6 cm, but differ in a pale greenish-yellow hue.
Dwarf leotard (Trollius Pumilus)
As the name implies, this species is modest in size. The rosette of the plant is formed by carved leaves with a serrated edge. From there, around mid-May, direct peduncles grow, reaching a height of 15-30 cm. But at the same time, their flowers are quite large, at least 2-3 cm in diameter. They differ in a beautiful golden shade of sepals.
Bathing suit Altai (Trollius Altaicus)
This is a fairly tall variety. Its stem grows to 90 cm in height. It features ajar flowers. Sepals have a red tint on the outside. Inside the flower, black pistils and anthers of dark red or purple color are noticeable. Flowers appear at the end of May and delight the eye for a whole month.
Cultural swimsuit (Trollius Cultorum)
It differs from other species in that it is a hybrid. Its botanical "ancestors" are plants of four species at once. These are the above swimsuits Asian, European, Altai and large petals. As a result, the garden leaves obtained have a brighter, juicy green hue. Peduncles grow to 60-90 cm in height. The flowers are large, their diameter averages 7 cm.
Important! The color of this hybrid species can be different, including cream, and a pale yellowish tint, and orange-red. There are many varieties of it with terry flowers.
A feature of this plant is also that its varieties differ in terms of flowering, you can even find those that will bloom until mid-July.
Paper-sepals swimsuit (Trollius Chartosepalus)
This species is found in the wild in the northern regions. It is listed in the Red Book. This is a miniature plant, its height is only 15 cm. Its flowers are pale, most often cream-colored. Diameter is about 3 cm.
Half-open leotard (Troilius Patulus)
A feature of this species are low and almost non-branching stems. They rarely grow to a height of more than 35 cm. Her flowers are not large, up to 30 cm in diameter, and have a golden hue. After flowering, the plant stem adds in length.
Trollius Lilacinus
If most varieties have yellow or orange flowers, less often cream, then this species has a very unusual lilac color. But his nectaries are greenish-yellow, like other "relatives" growing in the Far East. And in everything else, it looks almost like an Asian variety. Unless the flowers are smaller, a maximum of 5 cm in diameter.
The leotard is lilac
Large leotard (Trollius Macropetalus)
This variety has powerful peduncles that can reach a height of 100 cm. But the diameter of the flower is up to 5 cm. The usual color is yellow and orange. The leaves of this species are large, up to 15 cm wide.
The most popular varieties among gardeners
The most common varieties at the moment are:
- Goliath. This variety is distinguished by very large flowers, reaching a diameter of 7 cm. They attract attention not only in size, but also in the beautiful light orange hue of nectaries;
- Orange king. Dark orange sepals are the main characteristic of this variety. In this case, the plant has an average size;
- Lemon Queen In full accordance with its name, this variety has lemon-yellow flowers;
- Lightball. The stems of this variety reach a height of 60 cm. The flowers have a beautiful light orange hue;
- Orange Princesses. This leotard is orange with wide open flowers and high stamens;
- Fire Globe. The variety is distinguished by orange nectaries and orange-red sepals, and the rest looks very much like Orange Princesses;
Lemon queen swimsuit
- Orange Globe. The flowers of this variety are large, bright orange, and the sepals are compact;
- Canary Bird - a variety of yellow cultural cultivated, that is, a hybrid variety with light colors;
- Alabaster. Another hybrid variety, just a variation of the cultivated white culture. It differs in relatively low bushes up to 60 cm in height;
- Elista of All. This is an early variety with bright yellow flowers reaching a diameter of 7 cm. But the flower stalks themselves are relatively low, up to 50 cm;
- Goal Cross. This variety looks very unusual: its sepals are yellow and the nectaries are orange, so it looks beautiful, despite the fact that the flowers themselves are quite small;
- Goldquel. A beautiful variety with spectacular and large bright yellow flowers, the diameter of which can reach 6 cm.
Seed propagation
It is better to use seeds for propagation of almost all types of swimsuit, although grafting is theoretically possible, but it is considered a more complex way.
Important! This plant does not have to be grown through seedlings. It can be sown in open ground. But, to ensure high germination, seeds need long-term stratification.
Seeds are harvested in July-August, depending on the flowering time of a particular variety.
Landing time
Most often, seeds are sown in the soil after stratification, this happens already at the end of October or in November.
Mandatory seed stratification
Experienced gardeners mix the seeds collected in August or July with slightly moistened sand, transfer this mixture to a bag and store it in the refrigerator in a box designed for vegetables at a temperature of 2-4 ° C. There, the seeds should stay for three months to achieve the desired performance.
Soil preparation
It is necessary to grow a leotard in loose soil, which has good breathability. Therefore, most often they make a mixture of two parts of peat, the same amount of land and one part of sand.
Pick
Shoots begin to appear in the first half of May. If hot weather sets in, they will develop actively, especially if they are provided with abundant watering and protection from the sun. They should be dived after a couple of full leaflets appear on the seedlings. Sprouts are planted at a distance of 7-10 cm from each other. As a rule, a year after this, already grown and overgrown plants are planted in a permanent place in the garden.
Is it possible to transplant from a pot
As a rule, this perennial is immediately planted in open ground. But many gardeners plant it in a container for the first year. Then in the second year the question arises, how to plant a leotard from a pot. In this case, you must act carefully so as not to damage the roots.
Important! The procedure is best carried out after flowering, when a period of rest begins in the lights. This happens in August.
Description of reproduction by division
A leotard can breed and division of bushes. This method is suitable for experienced gardeners. Such a procedure is carried out only in relation to healthy, well-developed five-year bushes. They are dug up, after which they try to gently rinse the roots, and then divide the rhizome with a sharp knife so that they are divided into at least three buds for recovery. Plant them immediately to prevent drying out
Features of gardening
Growing a flower of a leotard is not a problem even for a beginner grower.
What conditions do the leotard enjoy?
Much depends on in which climatic zone this perennial is grown. But over much of Russia, lights prefer subtle shading. In open areas, unless the soil is too dry, this perennial feels good.
What is the plant afraid of?
During the growth period, the plant is afraid of a lack of moisture, so you need to provide regular watering to the trolls flower. In addition, the light does not like transplanting, bushes can grow in one place for at least 10 years. He also does not like digging the earth around the bush, since the root system is growing rapidly. These perennials give a lot of side stones, and digging can damage them.
Watering
To grow a healthy and beautifully flowering plant, the light must be regularly watered from March to July so that the soil is moist. In the period from August to September, the frequency and intensity of irrigation is reduced.
Mulching
This technique is optional when growing lights. But it saves the owner of the garden and garden from weeding at least this area, and even protects the soil from drying out, so do not refuse it.
Important! The rules are the same as for other plants. Humus or a mixture of sand and peat is added to the bush.
Loosening
The weak point of this plant is that it does not like stagnation of groundwater, which is why it requires regular cultivation and good drainage of the soil.
Top dressing
All varieties of European swimsuit develop well, without requiring special care. Nevertheless, in order to improve the resistance of the troll flower to adverse environmental factors, experts advise to carry out processing with ash. This is done in early spring. Then, at the beginning of active growth, fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers will be required. And only then, for better flowering, complex fertilizers are used.
Transfer
This perennial does not like transplants, and unless absolutely necessary, you should not disturb it. But if the bushes grow too fast, they are divided into several parts and transplanted.
When and how it blooms
Whether the leotard is white, yellow or orange, this plant blooms very beautifully. However, most varieties have a light sweetish aroma.
Types of flowers
In culture, there are varieties with ordinary or double flowers, consisting of five or 9-10 petals.
Alabaster cultivar
Flower shapes
Grass perennial leotard has only one flower shape - spherical. But the flowers can be half open or open.
Flowering period
When a garden leotard blooms, it depends on the particular variety. Most of them reveal flowers in the second half of May. In general, the flowering period lasts 3-4 weeks. Some varieties are pleasing to the eye until the end of July.
Changes in flowering care
This plant is distinguished by its unpretentiousness, but when the leotard blooms, it does not require special care, with the exception of one nuance.
Important! Experienced gardeners recommend spraying the plant with epin at the very beginning of this period.It is a universal adaptogen.
Possible problems in growing
The leotard is a marsh grass. It does not grow in the most favorable conditions, therefore it is distinguished by great vitality and does not require special care.
Pests
This plant is toxic to insects, so it is not susceptible to pest attacks.
Disease
The leotard is highly immune to most diseases. However, the fungus may threaten the troll flower. To prevent infection, it is enough to pick off dried leaves in time and observe the irrigation regime.
However, in the garden there is always a risk of picking up a fungus. Therefore, if this still happened, you must certainly destroy the infected parts of the plant and treat it with fungicide.
Signs of improper care
Premature yellowing of the leaves may indicate that the plant needs shading, as it receives an excess of sunlight.
Use in landscape design
This perennial plant is widely used in landscape design. Basically, it is planted during the creation of rock gardens, as well as rockeries, that is, rocky gardens.
Important! Given the ability of a leotard to grow in areas with high humidity, this flower can be grown on the shores of artificial ponds.
This plant is beautifully combined in rockeries with edelweiss and stalk. But for this, miniature varieties are selected. For example, a dwarf bathing suit is suitable. Since, after flowering, the plant loses its decorative effect, and only by the autumn a basal rosette grows at the barn, it needs magnificent neighbors like Siberian iris and daylilies. Of the shrubs, it coexists well with the magonia of the hollow and Japanese spirea.
Chinese leotard
Thus, this is a universal flower that is unpretentious in care, is not afraid of parasites, and infection rarely catches. Growing it is easy and simple. And its flowering is unforgettable.
