Aubration: planting and care in the open field, growing from seeds at home

Perennial ground cover plants are deservedly popular in landscaping. With their help, not only a beautiful green carpet is created, but also the growth of weeds that cannot break through dense plantings is prevented. One of these ground covers is aubration, planting and caring for which in the open field are not particularly difficult.

Description and characteristics of the flower shaving

Obriet, as the plant is also called, belongs to the Cabbage family. Its natural habitat is the regions of Asia Minor and Latin America, as well as the southern regions of Europe.Despite the fact that the flowers of aubration are very small, this is compensated by their myriad. During the flowering periods - and this happens twice (in early summer and early autumn) - the ground is covered with a picturesque carpet, from which it is impossible to look away.

Buds in aubration have a different color, which depends on the variety - there are white, blue, purple, blue specimens. After the end of flowering, a fruit appears in place of the buds, which is a pod with elongated seeds. The leaves of the aubration are also small, covered with light pubescence. In shape, they are obovate or rounded, characterized by serrated or solid edges. In height, the bush of the plant grows up to 25-30 cm.

Varieties and types of aubration

The flower has several species and a large number of hybrids. Among them, the most popular among gardeners are:

• Deltoid. It does not exceed 15 cm in height, has bluish-green leaf blades. Racemes appear on the deltoid aubration at the end of May and last for about a month. The diameter of the buds is about 1 cm, and the color palette is lilac and dark blue.
• Xenia. Aubration has branched creeping shoots not exceeding 10 cm in height. The leaves are small, oval in shape, the flowers have a dark purple hue, 1 cm in size.
• Cascading. Belongs to hybrid varieties. Shoots of a gray-green hue have a strong pubescence. Turquoise, blue or purple buds appear on a cascading shaving in May. They have a neat yellow eye. This hybrid is ideal for vertical gardening.
• The Red King. Aubrecia is characterized by a spherical bush, not exceeding 15 cm in height. Quite large (up to 5 cm) bright red flowers appear on it.
• Cote d'Azur. Aubrieta with dark green dense foliage. During the flowering period, the carpet is covered with flowers of a pale blue hue.

Pros and cons

Advantages and disadvantages of ground cover crops - the point that gardeners first of all pay attention to when choosing a variety for their site.

The advantages of the flower include:

• Effective appearance of a flowering carpet.
• Low maintenance.
• The richness of the color palette.
• Resistant to low and high temperatures.
• Easy to breed.

There are practically no drawbacks to aubration:

• Demanding on lighting.
• Need to repot every two years.

Growing from seeds

To speed up the flowering process of aubration, first, seeds are sown at home for seedlings, and only then the grown seedlings are transferred to a permanent place of growth.

Sowing

It is better to purchase aubration seed material in a flower shop where there are certificates of conformity of varieties.It must be remembered that the shaving grown from seeds will bloom only next year.Start planting seeds at the end of February, when 2-2.5 months remain before the onset of heat. These dates may vary slightly in different regions.

The best options for planting a flower are peat tablets, then you don’t have to dive seedlings from a common container and transfer them to flower beds. It is enough to plant together with a peat pot, this will prevent injury to the delicate roots of aubration.

First, the tablets are filled with water and waiting for them to swell. After that, 2-3 flower seeds are laid out on the surface of each. A layer of steamed river sand 3-4 mm thick is poured on top. Spray on top with warm water from a spray bottle with small holes and cover with plastic wrap and glass. The most suitable temperature for the germination of aubration seeds is considered to be in the range from 18 to 21 degrees.

Seedling care

After the appearance of green sprouts, the film or glass is removed daily for several hours so that the flowers are ventilated. As soon as they get a little stronger, the coating can generally be removed. With watering seedlings, you must be very careful, aubration does not like stagnation of liquid and can get sick. 2-3 weeks before planting seedlings in a permanent place, plants are fed with complex mineral fertilizer, but they make a weak concentration. If the sprouts look strong and grow quickly, skip this step altogether.

Picking

The aubration tolerates the process of seating in separate containers extremely negatively. If, nevertheless, the seeds were sown not in separate peat pots, but in a common container, picking is carried out with extreme caution. First, the soil is shed, and then the seedlings are carefully taken out with a teaspoon and placed in separate cups.

When and how to plant in open ground

The time of transferring seedlings in each region varies depending on climatic conditions. On average, this occurs at the beginning - mid-May, when stable warm weather sets in and the threat of return frosts passes. In the northern regions, it is better to do this at the end of May.

The place planned for planting seedlings of aubration should be well lit by the sun. In the shade, the gardener will not see that abundant flowering of shaving, which the plant is capable of. But in relation to the soil, the flower does not impose increased requirements. Rather, on the contrary, the poorer the soil, the more aubration likes it. The main thing is that the soil passes moisture well and is loose. A small amount of wood ash or peat will not interfere. The acidity of the soil is preferably neutral or weak.

When digging holes for seedlings, take into account that their width should be twice as large as that of a peat tablet in which the flower is located.The depth of the hole is determined by the length of the roots. Place the plants at a distance of 5 cm from one another. After landing, they crush the soil with their hands and mulch the surface with a 5-centimeter layer of sand, after which they moisten it abundantly.

Further care of ornamental crops

The further care of the plant depends on how lush the aubration carpet will turn out.

Irrigation

With moisturizing, aubrations are careful. The flower does not like too wet soil and will react with root rot or lack of flowering. With a sufficient amount of natural precipitation, this procedure is abandoned, and watering is carried out only in especially dry periods. Moreover, the best option for a plant is the sprinkling method.

Fertilizer

Feeding is the key to abundant and long flowering aubration.Carry it out twice a season, using mineral compounds.The flowers are fertilized for the first time in the spring, at the stage of bud formation. A second top dressing is necessary when you shave in the summer, after the pruning procedure, to stimulate a second wave of flowering.

Cutting

This procedure is necessary for the plant to re-bloom. It is carried out after the first wave, which lasts up to 7 weeks. All stems are cut at the root and mineral supplement is applied. After that, the flower actively begins to grow and by the fall pleases the owners of the site with a new wave of abundant flowering. In autumn, before preparing for winter, pruning is no longer carried out, otherwise the plant may die in the cold season.

Preparing for wintering

Aubretia is famous for its increased frost resistance and winters without problems in the open field. Only in the northern regions dry leaves are thrown on top of the bushes and covered with spruce branches.

Diseases and pests

Powdery mildew is considered the most dangerous disease for aubration. A characteristic feature is the appearance of a brown coating on the flower. Treatment begins when the first symptoms appear, otherwise it will not be possible to save the plant.

Colloidal sulfur solution is used for spraying.

From pests, aphid colonies cause great damage to flowers. If there are few pests, a concentrated nettle infusion is used to fight. With a strong infection of plants, insecticidal preparations such as Aktara cannot be dispensed with.

Reproduction methods

The following methods are used to breed aubration in a garden plot:

• Seed. Sowed in pre-prepared soil, watered and waiting for the seedlings of the flower.
• Shanks. After pruning, cuttings remain without flowers, which are used to breed aubration. Peat and sand are mixed in equal proportions and cuttings are planted in this mixture. By the end of summer, they will take root and become stronger, then the flowers are transferred to a permanent place of growth.
• Dividing the root. Carry out this procedure in autumn or spring. The method is quite risky for plants, so it is rarely used by gardeners.
• Layers. The lodging shoots of the flower are sprinkled with soil and wait for them to take root. Then the plants are planted in a permanent place.

Aubrieta in landscape design

Aubration flower is widely used in landscaping. A flower is indispensable in decorating fences and vertical surfaces. The best companions for a plant in a flower garden are alissum, irises, spurge and soapwort. Aubrecia also found its place in the design of rockeries and mixborders.

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