Armeria - planting and care in the open field, photo. Armeria - mountain grass with bright inflorescences

Planting and caring for armeria (in short)

Landing: sowing seeds in the ground - before winter or in early March; sowing seeds for seedlings - at the end of February or at the beginning of March, planting seedlings in the ground - from the second half of May.
Lighting: bright sunlight, for soddy armeria - partial shade or bright diffused light.
The soil: moist and light, sandy loamy, acid reaction.
Watering: moderate, more frequent in dry seasons.
Top dressing: before flowering with full mineral fertilizer.
Reproduction: seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush.
Pests: aphid.
Diseases: spotting.

Armeria flower - description

The armeria plant reaches a height of 15 to 60 cm. It has a short taproot, and numerous linear-lanceolate sessile whole-leaf leaves, collected in a basal rosette, form dense curtains - pillows. The stem is straight, smooth or pubescent. Small flowers of white, pink, purple flowers and their shades are collected in capitate inflorescences. The fruit is single-seeded. The flowering of armeria begins in May and ends at the end of summer. The most popular species in culture is the seaside armeria (Armeria maritima). The cultivation of coastal armeria is carried out in the same way as the cultivation of any other type of armeria, the only difference is that it is preferable for coastal armeria to grow near a reservoir.

Growing armeria from seeds

Sowing armeria.

Seed propagation of armeria is carried out both in seedlings and in seedlings. Armeria seeds are sown in open ground at the end of autumn (so that they undergo natural stratification during the winter) or in spring, at the beginning of March. Armeria seeds are sown for seedlings in greenhouses in late February or early March. In addition, armeria reproduces well by self-sowing. Wherever you sow the seeds of armeria - immediately into the ground or into a container for seedlings - close them up shallowly, sprinkling half a centimeter of earth on top. Seed germination is high.

Seedling of army.

If you want to get friendly shoots, keep the seeds of armeria in the refrigerator for a week, and before sowing, soak them for 6-8 hours in warm water. Armeria seeds sown in boxes and lightly sprinkled with soil are kept in a warm, bright place. When the seedlings reach a height of several centimeters and they have a pair of true leaves, the seedlings dive into greenhouses and grow until they get stronger.

Planting armeria in open ground

When to plant armeria.

As soon as you make sure that the leaves of the armeria in the greenhouse have become strong and strong, and the frosts have completely receded, you can start transplanting seedlings into open ground. Determine for the armeria the warmest and sunniest site with a light, slightly moist, sour soil - sandy or rocky soils are most suitable. If the soil is lime, try to fix it before planting, as the armeria does not tolerate lime. To neutralize, add ammonium nitrate to the soil for digging or spill the area with a solution of acetic acid.

How to plant armeria.

Two weeks before planting, carefully loosen the soil on the site and apply organic fertilizers. If you decide to grow armeria as solo plants, they are planted in holes at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other and from other plants, setting the seedling in such a way that the rosette of leaves is not lowered into the ground and root neck was shallow. The holes are covered with earth, the soil is tamped around the seedlings and the planting is watered. If you want the armeria to grow in a continuous carpet, then you need to plant seedlings densely so that there is a distance of no more than 15-20 cm between specimens, and not in holes, but in shallow trenches. For the first three weeks, try to water the armeria often, but let the soil dry out between waterings. Armeria from seeds usually blooms on next year after landing. Seaside Armeria is grown from seeds according to the same rules as any other species.

Armeria - care

How to grow armeria.

Caring for an army is not difficult. Before it blooms, apply a full mineral fertilizer to the soil as top dressing, and then repeat the top dressing one more time or two. Remove in time withered flowers and cut off flower stalks that will no longer have flowers, so that the plant directs all its forces to the formation of new buds. If the summer turns out to be dry, water the armeria, but try not to overdo it with moisture. When the plant reaches the age of five, it must be dug up, divided into parts and planted, and then do this every 2-3 years, otherwise the armeria will grow. This is how armeria is planted and cared for. Everything is simple.

Pests and diseases of armeria.

Armeria is not afraid of either diseases or pests, but if it grows in insufficiently acidic soil, problems with aphids or spotting may arise, which are best dealt with by radical pruning of the shoots.

Armeria after flowering

How and when to collect armeria seeds.

Perennial army in winter.

Armeria is a frost-resistant plant and may well overwinter without shelter, especially if there is a lot of snow in winter. The only exception is the soddy armeria, which must be covered. Use for shelter dry peat, spruce branches and nonwovens. If, according to forecasts, winter is expected to be snowless, it is better to cover other types of armeria with spruce branches: they will be warm and calm.

Types and varieties of armeria

About ten types of armeria have become widespread in culture. They are used in group plantings, discounts, rock gardens, rocky gardens, and also as colored borders.

Armeria alpine (Armeria alpina)

- a perennial plant that forms dense cushions up to 30 cm in diameter and about 15 cm in height. Many of the linear-lanceolate leaves endure winter. The flowers are light pink, collected in axillary capitate inflorescences up to three centimeters in diameter. Peduncles up to 30 cm tall. Blooms for three to four weeks from June. Varieties:

– Alba- white armeria;
– Laucheana- armeria with carmine-red flowers;
– Rosea- a variety with bright pink flowers.

Pseudoarmeria, or beautiful armeria (Armeria pseudarmeria)

- a plant reaching a height of 40 cm with rosettes of evergreen leaves and inflorescences of white or pink flowers. Blooms from early to late summer. Varieties:

– Joystick White- a variety with white spherical inflorescences, can be grown as an annual;
– Thrift – undersized variety only up to 20 cm high;
– Red Planet- perennial with red balls of inflorescences on peduncles up to 35 cm tall;
– Bees Ruby- Armeria bright pink up to 60 cm tall.

Seaside armeria (Armeria maritima)

grows naturally on sea coasts. Its height is not more than 20 cm, the diameter of the outlet is the same. The leaves are narrow, linear, flat, blue-green. The flowers in capitate inflorescences are pink-lilac, covered with filmy bracts. Blooms in May and fades after about seventy days. Sometimes re-blooms in autumn. Varieties:

– armeria louisiana- a variety of seaside armeria with pink flowers;
– Dusseldorf Stolz- a variety with dark red flowers;
– Vindictive- red armeria;
– Bloodstone- armeria dark red.

Soddy armeria, or juniper leaf armeria (Armeria juniperifolia = Armeria cespitosa)

comes from the highlands of Spain and Portugal, it is a perennial up to 15 cm high with narrow linear leaves collected in a rosette up to 20 cm in diameter. Red or pink flowers in capitate inflorescences are framed by membranous bracts, peduncles up to 6 cm tall. The flowering is so plentiful that sometimes because of the flowers with bracts, the leaves of the armeria are not visible. Blooms for forty to fifty days from July. Does not tolerate stagnant moisture in the roots. A hybrid of soddy armeria and seaside armeria called Zunderman's armeria is popular. Varieties of armeria soddy:

– Brno- undersized variety with purple double flowers;
– Bevanz Variety- Terry flowers, pale pink.

Armeria welwitschii (Armeria welwitschii)

- one of the tallest types of armeria - up to 35 cm in height. The leaves are large, reach a length of 10, and a width of 5 cm. pink flowers up to 2 cm in diameter make up the capitate inflorescence. Flowering is plentiful and long from June to the beginning of winter. This species requires calcium-enriched soil.

Armeria ordinary, garden (Armeria vulgaris)

grows up to 60 cm in height, linear entire leaves reach 12.5 cm in length and 1 cm in width. Bare peduncles are crowned with capitate inflorescences of carmine-pink fragrant flowers, which can be up to 40 on one plant.

Armeria beautiful (Armeria formosa)

forms compact rosettes of narrow-linear evergreen leaves. Stems are rigid, rounded, erect. Inflorescences up to 5 cm in diameter, white, red or pink, bloom profusely until October.

In addition to the listed types of armeria, Japanese, Siberian, prickly, onion-shaped, arctic and others are also known.

At first glance, armeria can be easily confused with cloves. This resemblance is reflected in the very name of the plant. According to one version, the name comes from French word"armoires", which translates as bearded carnation. Another version says that the word "Armeria" is formed from a pair of Celtic words, which in translation mean "near the sea." This is possible because in natural conditions some types of armeria have chosen the seaside dunes.

The genus Armeria has up to ninety plant species. They grow in the coastal and mountainous regions of Europe, the Mediterranean, Mongolia, Siberia and the southern regions of South America.

Description of armeria

Armeria - low perennial grass family Plumbaginaceae, forming thickets. Its height is 15-60 cm, depending on the species. Root - rod, short. Smooth erect stem. Sometimes it can be pubescent. The leaves forming a basal rosette look like dark green grass. They are collected in dense curtains (pillows). Inflorescences of red, white, pink or purple. The flowers are small, connected in inflorescences in the form of a ball. The flower is photophilous, tolerates drought well. Blooms throughout the summer.

Armeria planting methods

There are several traditional ways to do this:

planting seeds in open ground;
growing with seedlings;
reproduction by dividing the bush.

To germinate as many seeds as possible, a week before sowing, they should be placed on the vegetable shelf of the refrigerator. And then, immediately before sowing, soak in warm water with the addition of "Zircon" or another similar preparation for 7-9 hours. This manipulation must be carried out both for seeds that will be sown in open ground, and for seeds from which seedlings will be grown.

How to plant armeria for seedlings

Armeria growing from seeds

In prepared soil, covered in shallow containers, sow seeds to a depth of two centimeters.
Place the containers in a warm, bright place and wait for seedlings. After the seedlings rise and they have two true leaves, they must be planted in separate pots or in a greenhouse and grown.
Sowing seeds directly into the ground is possible in spring, but it does not give good germination even from prepared and treated seeds.
Grown, strengthened seedlings can be planted on personal plot as soon as the threat has passed spring frosts. First you need to decide on a place in the garden where your perennial will grow. It should be with soil in which there is a lot of sand and stones. Warm and not shaded. Ideal - an alpine slide or a flower bed near a reservoir.

For reference: armeria flowers do not like alkaline soil. Planted in such soil, they get sick and lose their decorative effect. If your garden has limestone soil, you need to neutralize the lime by watering with a solution of vinegar. Or adding to the soil, when preparing the site for planting, ammonium nitrate.

Add organic matter to the soil a few days before planting.. If you, as a landscape designer, have decided that the armeria will grow in a group and cover the ground with a carpet, you need to plant the plants in a checkerboard pattern in increments of 15-20 cm. To do this, you can divide the planting site with lines, and plant seedlings at their intersection. If the plants should stand out, they are planted one at a time at a distance of up to forty cm.
When planting armeria, it is impossible to deepen the root neck y. Compact the soil around the seedlings and water them. For the next three weeks, you need to remember to water the "beginners", preventing the soil from completely drying out.

Planting by dividing the bush is performed in the spring when young shoots begin to break through the ground. A young plant under the age of five years is dug up and divided into several parts. Then the plants are planted in the holes. It is desirable to make the size of the holes larger than the diameter of the "beginner" roots. This is necessary to spread and spread the roots well. Be sure to tamp the earth and water the flower.
In all the cases described above, it is desirable to mulch. This will protect them from drying out and limit the growth of weeds, which are very inconvenient to choose from a thick leaf rosette of armeria.
Plants obtained from seeds bloom, usually in the second year., and those that are part of an adult bush may bloom this summer.

Armeria care

Armeria is undemanding in care. It is necessary to perform a number of simple procedures, and your plant will always look attractive.

Before flowering, it is necessary to feed it with mineral fertilizers.
Feed a couple more times during abundant flowering.
It is necessary to remove wilted flowers so that the armeria does not waste strength on them. And sent them to the birth of the next buds.
In dry summers, regular watering should be done, but the plant cannot be flooded.
After the armeria has been growing in one place for five years, it needs to be updated. To do this, the flower is dug up, divided into parts and seated. That is, transplantation by dividing the bush compulsory procedure for armeria.
The plant is not afraid of disease or pests. Only alkaline soil poses a threat. In it, the plant can become weakened and then aphids appear on it.

Collection of armeria seeds carried out, probably, only breeders. If you need seeds for what purposes, then you need to do the following:

tie a wilted flower with a cloth so that the ripened seeds do not fall out;
wait for it to dry completely and cut it off;
untie the fabric over a sheet of paper, remove excess;
dry the seeds;
pour them into a paper bag, sign the date and name.

Wintering army

It is worth focusing your attention on another important issue. Namely: how does the army winter?
If the winter is snowy, then the plant can overwinter without shelter. It is necessary to cover only one variety - soddy armeria. For covering material, you can take: spruce branches, overripe leaves, etc.

Both ordinary gardeners and experienced landscape designers have at their disposal a dozen types of armeria flower to decorate rock gardens, rocky gardens, flower borders. Alpine Armeria, Beautiful Armeria, Seaside Armeria, Soddy Armeria, Common Armeria, Beautiful Armeria, Japanese Armeria, Siberian Armeria, Arctic Armeria and others. Even just reading the name of the species, I want to buy a flower and plant it in my house.