Veronikastrum is a perennial flowering plant that lovers of natural gardens and those who cannot care for the front garden every day will love. It releases beautiful arrows of inflorescences and fills the garden with a pleasant aroma.
Description
Veronikastrum stands out as a separate genus of the Norichnikov family, although some scientists still consider it a variety of Veronica. The native land of the plant is the prairies of North America and the middle latitudes of Eurasia. Representatives of the genus are very tall, individual individuals are able to grow up to 2-2.5 m during flowering. The stems branch in the upper part, so Veronikastrum forms a bush in the form of a column, 50-60 cm wide. Despite its impressive size, the plant does not need support and garter.
In order to saturate such a tall and strong shoot, a powerful, over time numbing root system develops. She goes much deeper.
The stems are very strong, erect, covered with leaves over the entire length. Whorled bright green leaves are evenly arranged in tiers of 4-7 pieces along the entire length of the stem. The foliage is smooth, lanceolate with a strongly narrowed, pointed edge and serrated sides.
In early June, beautiful spikelets of inflorescences, more than 15 cm high, bloom at the ends of the stems of the veronikastrum. They consist of several upright branches densely covered with miniature flowers. This creates the effect of hairy elastic branches. The color of the flowers is diverse, there are varieties with snow-white, pink, violet, purple, red flowers. Flowering continues until August.
In autumn, the inflorescence abounds with miniature seed bolls. At first they are colored green, but gradually turn brown. Seeds are small, black, have an oblong shape and are slightly flattened on the sides.
Varieties
In culture, there are only two varieties of veronikastrum: Virgin and Siberian.
Veronikastrum Virgin
It is a stable plant with a powerful root system and erect stems. The height of the bushes reaches 1.5 m. Their tops are decorated with large and very beautiful inflorescences, up to 30 cm long. The color depends on the variety, flowering begins in mid-July and lasts more than a month. Green or dark green leaves abundantly cover the stems, which gives them an elegant look. The variety is resistant to severe frosts, without shelter can withstand temperatures down to -28 ° C. Known such varieties of Veronikastrum Virginia:
- Album - snow-white panicles of inflorescences are crowned with dark green, highly leafy stems up to 1.3 m high;
- Apollo is a compact plant up to 100 cm tall with fluffy lilac inflorescences, long leaves (15-20 cm) are perpendicular and densely cover strong stems;
- Erica - a plant 120 cm high is crowned with narrow pink inflorescences, at the base the petals are lighter than the tops;
- Fascination - very decorative bushes up to 1.3 m high have a bluish color of leaves and large pink-lilac inflorescences;
- Red Arrow is the newest and smallest variety up to 80 cm tall. In the color of young shoots, purple tones are present, and bright, lush inflorescences are painted in raspberry color. Flowering begins in mid-July and lasts until September;
- Templeplay - an unpretentious plant 130 cm high has light green foliage and lilac or light blue inflorescences.
Veronikastrum Siberian
Distributed from the northern part of Russia to a temperate climate. Very unpretentious and resistant to frost up to -34 ° C. The root system is more powerful in comparison with the previous species, and the height of the stems easily exceeds 1.8 m. The stems do not branch, so the plant forms upright, not spreading thickets. The leaves are oblong, large, tiered along the entire length. The upper leaflets are slightly smaller than the lower ones.
At the top of the stems, long (about 30 cm), spike-shaped inflorescences bloom. They are densely covered with small, delicate colors. The most common species are those with blue petals.
Breeding
It is convenient to propagate perennial by cuttings or dividing the bush. The procedure is carried out in early spring or autumn. During flowering, the plant does not tolerate transplantation. For this, the rhizome is dug up and cut into several parts with separate shoots. Since the roots are very strong and powerful, efforts must be made when digging and dividing. The rhizome cannot be overdried, so the delenki are immediately buried in the ground. If transportation is necessary, then it with a lump of moistened earth is placed in a package.
Basal cuttings are cut in the spring and immediately instilled in the open ground. Before planting, you should well loosen the earth and apply organic fertilizers. After rooting, young seedlings are moved to a permanent place. Although veronikastrum is resistant to frost, near young plants the earth is mulched with foliage for the winter. Flowering is expected 2 years after planting.
When propagated by seeds, seedlings are pre-grown. It is convenient to use large, shallow boxes with fertile soil. Seeds are placed on the surface and slightly pressed, then the container is covered with glass. Shoots appear within 1-2 weeks. They must be left in a heated room in a well-lit place. By the end of May, seedlings can be planted in open ground.
Cultivation and care
Veronikastrum grows well in the open sun or in a small shade. The plant prefers light, fertile soils with the addition of peat. On sandy, clay and loamy soils it develops poorly and blooms less abundantly. Bushes respond well to organic and complex mineral fertilizers. However, too frequent feeding is not needed, 2-3 times a season are enough. In excessively fertilized veronikastrum stems are greatly lengthened, which prevents them from maintaining an upright position.
High thickets are resistant even to strong winds and do not need support. However, in the damp and rainy summer, inflorescences are heavily typed by water and droop. Special supports will help stalks to stand. Powerful roots extract moisture from the depths of the soil, so the plant tolerates drought and insufficient watering, but does not like stagnation of moisture.
In late autumn, it is necessary to cut a significant part of the shoots so that they do not freeze. The soil at the roots is mulched with organic matter (fallen leaves or mowed grass). More serious shelter is not required, since all varieties are resistant to frost.
Plant parasites do not attack, it also has a good immunity to garden diseases. During the flowering period, it fills the garden with a pleasant aroma that attracts honey insects and butterflies.
Using
With the help of slender rows of veronikastrum it is convenient to create green hedges or to zon the territory of the garden, also suitable for decorating low outbuildings. Less high grades are suitable for decorating coastal areas and borders.
In the flower garden, high thickets in the background will become a good background for lower and brightly flowering plants. Veronikastrum begins to bloom immediately after the delphinium, which allows in combination with it to achieve constant flowering. Looks good in the neighborhood of phlox, cereals, rudbeckia, echinacea.
