Pushkinia: planting and caring for a flower in the open field, propagation methods, the best types and varieties

Representatives of the Hyacinth family look spectacular in gardens and home gardens. Those who love delicate and attractive primroses will be interested to know how to properly plant pushkinia and what care this flower, often called dwarf hyacinth, requires. This flower was first discovered by the famous Russian chemist, botanist and mineralogist Apollos Apollosovich Musin-Pushkin.

Description and features

Pushkinia is a very beautiful small flower belonging to the Hyacinth subfamily and the Asparagus family. According to some sources, it is also included in the Liliaceae family.

In the wild, Pushkinia mainly grows in the Caucasus, Asia Minor and Asia Minor. The most favorable for it are rocky moist slopes, as well as mountain meadows with an abundance of shrubs.

The average height of this primrose is 15-20 centimeters. This culture belongs to the category of ephemeroids - herbaceous perennials with a short growing season. Bulbs are egg-shaped, on top they are covered with thin brown scales. At the base of the stem are 2 or 3 dark green belt-shaped leaves. Bell-shaped flowers of white or pale blue color form racemose inflorescences. They appear a few days after the formation of the leaves. At the end of the flowering period, fruits are formed in the form of boxes filled with round, light brown seeds.

The size of Pushkinia is miniature, but this early spring flower has pronounced decorative properties. The flowering period begins in April or May, depending on the region, and lasts up to three weeks.

Outdoor cultivation

To successfully grow Pushkinia, you need to choose the right place and prepare the nutrient soil.

Date of planting

Sowing seeds in open ground should be from mid-September to the twentieth of October. Thus, after going through the procedure of natural stratification, they will germinate by next spring.

Seed selection and preparation

Seeds or bulbs of a plant are used as seed material.

Pushkinia seeds should be collected for subsequent sowing in June, immediately after the completion of the flowering period. Since the soil is too dry at this time, the sowing process itself should be postponed until autumn. Until then, it is necessary to protect the seeds from drying out by placing them in the refrigerator for storage.

The bulbs should be dug up in autumn, when the leaves of the plant turn yellow and begin to dry. Carefully separate the child bulbs from the mother bulbs and dry in a shaded and ventilated place. Until the very moment of planting, they should be stored in a box made of cardboard or wood. At its bottom, you must first lay a nutrient layer of slightly moistened sawdust or peat.

Soil preparation

The soil for planting the plant should be well drained, that is, rid of excess water. If the soil has a too dense structure, it is necessary to loosen it by mixing it with leaf humus, peat or river sand. The site for planting the plant should be sufficiently illuminated by the sun, but light shade is allowed. Moisture stagnation must be avoided.

Plant pattern

Seeds should be sown to a depth of at least 5 centimeters, and bulbs should be planted to a depth of 7 centimeters. Between them, a distance of up to 10 centimeters must be observed - this will allow the flowers to develop comfortably without constraining each other.

Care

Proper watering and feeding of Pushkinia, as well as pest and disease control, will ensure he althy development and attractive appearance of the plant.

Irrigation

If dry weather prevails in spring, Pushkinia requires intensive watering. Especially this plant needs life-giving moisture during the growth of leaves and peduncles.

Loosening and weeding

You need to loosen and weed the soil after the Pushkinia has faded. It is necessary to remove all weeds in time, drowning out the growth of a miniature flower.

Mulching

By mulching the soil where pushkinia grows, you can reduce the amount of watering and weeding.

It is recommended to use peat as mulch. This procedure is carried out immediately after planting a flower.

Feeding

At the beginning of spring, Pushkinia is especially in dire need of nutrients, so you need to feed it with dry mineral fertilizer. For one square meter of the plot, 50-60 grams of the product will be required - sprinkle its granules evenly around each flower and leave until completely dissolved. Then, in order for the valuable substances to reach the roots, loosen the earth between the rows.

Diseases and pests

Pushkinia is relatively resistant to pests and diseases, but in some cases it is affected by rodents, gray mold and Achelenchoides. For every problem there is a solution and preventive methods.

Grey Rot

Grey rot, also known as botrytis, is a dangerous and rapidly spreading fungal disease. Its first symptom is the appearance of gray spots on any ground part of the plant.As an emergency, you need to treat the infected plant with a solution with fungicidal properties.

Recommended for this purpose:

• Bordeaux liquid;
• "Topaz";
• Previkur;
• "Kuproksat";
• Quick.

For prevention, you need to ensure that water does not fall on the leaves of the plant when watering, and also avoid excess nitrogen-based fertilizers.

Achelenhoides

Ahelenchoides is a disease that manifests itself in ring rot and the appearance of a brown tint on the scales of the bulbs. In the affected plant, natural growth slows down and external attractiveness is lost. The solution to the problem will be the complete destruction of diseased bulbs.

To prevent infection with Achelenchoides, you need to keep the bulbs in warm water with a temperature of +43 degrees for 15 minutes before planting.

Rodents

Mice and other rodents love to eat juicy bulbs of Pushkinia. Therefore, you need to take care of reliable traps in advance.

Another enemy of this flower is the meadow mite. It gnaws through the bottom and moves through the middle of the bulb, as a result of which it begins to rot or dry out. Treating the plant with an insecticidal preparation will help get rid of the problem. For preventive purposes, such treatment should be carried out before planting.

Transfer

From time to time Pushkinia needs a transplant. It is advisable to carry it out every 4-5 years. During this period, each bulb has 5-7 daughter shoots. Plants become crowded on the site, as a result of which their aesthetic appearance deteriorates.

After flowering

Bulbs for transplantation should be dug up in the middle of summer, when the aerial part of the plant dries out significantly.Planting material must be carefully sorted out, getting rid of rotten or damaged specimens. Transfer he althy onions to a cardboard box and place in a cool ventilated place. Landing in the ground as usual, in mid-September or October.

Collection and storage of seeds

The best time to collect Pushkinia seeds is June. They need to be dried and poured into a cardboard box. It is recommended to store in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, where optimal temperature conditions are provided.

Preparing for winter

It is recommended to cover the soil where Pushkinia was transplanted with a layer of straw or peat before wintering.

Forcing at home

Forcing accelerates the vegetative process of Pushkinia by changing the light, humidity, temperature and other factors that positively affect its growth and flowering.

For distillation at home you need:

1. Choose some he althy bulbs of pushkinia.
2. Prepare a pot up to 7 cm high and 12-15 cm in diameter.
3. Fill the pot with nutrient soil, consisting of leaf humus, river sand and soddy soil in the ratio 1:1:2.
4. Plant the bulbs.
5. Hide the container in a dark, cool place with a temperature not higher than +10 degrees and a humidity of 85-90%.
6. After 8-10 weeks, move the container to a lighted room with an air temperature not exceeding +15 degrees.
7. Water as needed.
8. After 2 weeks, the flowering period will begin.

Views

There are several varieties of Pushkinia.

Hyacinthoid

Hyacinth-like Pushkinia in wildlife is mainly found in the mountains of Eastern Transcaucasia and Northern Iran. This is a miniature plant with rather fleshy plump leaves. Oval inflorescences have a dense structure and pale blue, as close as possible to white, color.

Proleskovidnaya

This variety of Pushkinia is common in the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran. Prefers to grow on forest edges and meadows among shrubs. The bell-shaped flowers have a nice blue hue.

Lebanese

One of the subspecies of the proleskovidny plant variety is called Lebanese Pushkinia. The main difference is that it has larger flowers with two-pronged crowns.

Bilgineri

Pushkinia Bilgineri was discovered in 2014 by Turkish botanist Hasan Yaldirim. It is characterized by an almost white color and a refined shape of the petals.

Pishmena

Pushkinia Pishmena is distinguished from other species by the yellow-green color of the perianth. This plant is widespread in Iran and Turkey.

Popular varieties

Among the large number of varieties, the following are popular.

Alba

One of the rare varieties of Lebanese Pushkinia is called Alba. Its distinctive features are the snow-white color and the presence of an expressive blue line on the vein of the petal. The inflorescences are oval, and the leaves are thin, linear.

Libanotica

Another subspecies of the Lebanese Pushkinia - Libanotica. This plant attracts attention with large flowers of a beautiful blue hue.

Reproduction

Seeds or daughter bulbs of the plant are used for propagation.

Seeds

Seeds for propagation of Pushkinia are harvested at the end of the flowering period. They must be dried in the fresh air and stored until autumn in a cool, dark place. Landing in the ground is carried out to a depth of at least 5 cm, at a similar distance from each other, so that the plants can grow and develop freely.

Bulbs

Bulbs are harvested from Pushkinia, which has reached 4-5 years of age. This is done after flowering, usually in the middle of summer. For planting, beautiful, he althy specimens are selected without damage and signs of illness. All material must be dried and stored in a cool and dark place.

Pushkinia bulbs are planted to a depth of 7 cm. The distance between the holes is 10 cm.

Partners

The best partners of Pushkinia in the garden are plants such as:

• tulips;
• short daffodils;
• primroses;
• chionodoxes;
• scilla;
• muscari;
• survivor;
• sedum.

Landscape use

Pushkinia is an indispensable element that harmoniously looks in alpine slides, flower beds, mixborders and borders. In spring, pale blue flowers attract attention, giving a feeling of lightness and freshness. In summer, the emphasis is on the juicy dark green leaves of Pushkinia.

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