Lavatera Mont Blanc planting and care. Lavatera: planting and care

There are thousands of ways to decorate your garden. Flower growers are interested in such plants that require minimal effort, energy and finance. Plants that are beautiful and do not require special care are welcome.

These are the types that belong to lavatera flowers, that meet all the requirements can be either annual or perennial crops.

With the help of these beautiful flowers, you can monotonously landscape areas, and also use them as group cultivations along with other flowers and green crops.

These wonderful flowers can ideally decorate not only a flower bed on a personal plot, but also balconies with loggias. If to growing lavatera flower If you approach it with complete seriousness and responsibility, you can grow it in your room without any problems.

Description and features of lavater

Lavatera garden rose flower belongs to the malt varieties. For the first time, doctors named Lavatera described all the charm and beauty of this plant.

This surname belonged to two doctor brothers who, in addition to practicing traditional medicine, loved to explore and study representatives of the diverse flora of the whole earth. They also practiced traditional medicine, in particular they studied the medicinal properties of certain plants.

It was these two brothers who first discovered this wonderful flower in Europe, near Zurich. A little later, these same flowers were discovered in North America and Australia.

After these events, breeders worked a little on Lavatera. Thanks to their work, the flower was divided into two types - perennial and annual.

Currently, perennial lavatory plants are very popular, since in the first year they grow a powerful root system that goes 1-1.5 meters deep.

This property helps the flower to easily endure the most severe tests in difficult climatic conditions. The appearance of the first flower shoots is observed within a minimally short time after the snow melts.

Lavatera begins to bloom as soon as the soil temperature rises above 10-15 degrees. So Lavatera flowers perennial delight with their beauty before the onset of frost. People also call this plant “Dog rose”, wild rose or khatma. Plant varieties are distinguished by the color of the buds and size.

Another variety of this plant is annual flowers of lavatera. This type of flower, like the previous one, can grow in height from 50 to 150 cm, has not only a strong root system, but also branches with a crown.

Mostly the leaves of Lavater are spade, with hairs on the surface. The flowers of the plant are rather large, reaching up to 10 cm in diameter. Their buds, both single and paired, create spikelet or racemose inflorescences.

The colors are dominated by pink tones. They also come in crimson, yellow, purple and white. All the charm and beauty can be seen on Lavatera photo of flowers. In real life, the colors are even brighter and the flowers more beautiful.

They also love lavatera because it has a long flowering period - it begins in early summer and ends in mid-autumn. Cut flowers retain all their charm and beauty for a week, or even more.

The whole superiority of this flower is that it is not picky, resistant to drought, strong winds, and not demanding on the quality of the soil. Flower growers jokingly call Lavatera a flower for lazy people who have little extra time.

This is indeed true. For those people who dream of beauty in their personal plot, but do not have free time for all this, Lavatera comes to the rescue, which with its generous flowering will delight everyone around until the first frost, without requiring much effort on their part.

Planting, propagation and care of lavatera

Planting a lavatera flower It is advisable to plan after spring frosts. In warm regions this occurs at the end of April. In cooler regions, the time is delayed a month later.

In order for the flower to quickly grow, feel good and develop, it is advisable to find a warm, well-lit place for it. The soil should be loose and light. Preliminary fertilization of the soil with rotted manure is welcome. Tall lavatera need support for their stems.

The easiest way to grow this plant is to plant it using seeds. When to plant lavatera flowers? The most favorable time for this is the end of spring. Seeds are sown in the ground and watered with warm water.

If the soil has become compacted over the winter, it must be loosened. It is advisable to thin out plant sprouts that have sprouted too densely. The distance between them should not be less than 15 cm.

If you wish, you can get early lavateru flowers in a flowerbed. This can be done using seedlings. To do this, seeds must be sown in the soil of the container or greenhouse to a depth of approximately 1 cm.

In just a week, their first shoots will be visible. In May, seedlings can be taken out and planted in open ground. The distance between flowers should be at least 20 cm and between their rows at least 25 cm.

Collect lavatera flower seeds at the beginning of autumn. Already after dry brown boxes appeared in place of the inflorescences. In frequent cases, these boxes open on their own, and spontaneous propagation of lavatera occurs, which makes the work of flower growers easier.

During the period when the flower begins to delight with its inflorescence, it needs to be fertilized with mineral fertilizers. This makes it even more beautiful and stronger. The flower is frost-resistant and can tolerate temperatures of -3 without problems.

It is important to know one thing - if a flower does not have enough lighting, it stretches and it is difficult for it to withstand the wind. The flower needs constant watering; one or two waterings per week will be enough.

You can loosen the soil around the flower until it reaches a height of 1 m. After this, there is a high risk of damaging its overgrown root system.The best option for the good development of lavatera is to remove its faded flowers or those that have deteriorated due to rain.

If they are left on the plant, they can turn into an unpleasant slimy mass, which, in addition to looking quite ugly and untidy, can also cause a burn on the flower. As seen, growing lavatera flower do not require any additional costs or effort. Everything is simple and without much hassle.

Types and varieties of lavatera

If you choose the right type and variety of lavatera, you can greatly facilitate subsequent care for them. Florists use three types of this flower:

Lavatera annual can reach up to 120 cm in height. Her entire bush is buried in bright flowers, which brings a constant feeling of celebration. You can admire this beauty from mid-summer until the first frost. The most popular varieties of this species:

Pink Beauty have bright pink buds.

Ruby Queen has carmine-colored flowers.

Sun goddess, this variety has a wide palette.

Lavatera perennial is divided into the following varieties:

Lilac Lady with orange flower colors.

Bregon Springs has pink buds.

Burgundy Vine is decorated with pink flowers.

IKatcher also blooms pink.

Two year old lavatera can grow up to 2 meters.

Its varieties:

Candy Floss is crowned with light pink flowers.

Rosea has flowers in salmon tones.

In warmer regions, three more species of this beautiful flower are grown:

Primorsky lavatera, it has flowers of lilac colors.

Cretan with purple or lilac flowers and stems with fluff.

Mauritanian also has a pubescent stem and purple flowers.

Diseases and pests of Lavatera

The big advantage of lavatera is that it is less susceptible to disease. Prolonged high humidity is fraught with rust for the plant. Under the influence of this fungus, the plant begins to hurt.

It is quite easy to recognize it. In this case, usually the underside of the leaf is covered with pads. They have different areas and are yellow or orange in color.

How does rust appear on leaves?

When the pads crack, fungal spores come out and move to the rest of the flower. As a result, the flower’s photosynthesis process is disrupted and the plant’s moisture evaporates intensely, which leads to the leaves drying out and falling off.

The early stage of the disease can be defeated without much effort. There are sheets for this. Those damaged by the disease must be picked and burned, and the flower itself must be treated with fungicides containing copper.

“Topaz” or “Hom” copes with this task perfectly. After treatment, you need to monitor the condition of the plant. If these measures do not help, it is better to completely remove it from the site in order to avoid infecting other plants. It is best to burn the flower.

Aphids that appear on the garden plot will certainly affect the lavatera. The aphids are washed off with a solution of water and laundry soap. There are excellent remedies for this pest: Biotlin, Aktara, Actellik, Akarin.

It is enough to treat the entire plant with preparations. You can also get rid of pennies on a flower using this method. It is advisable to process before the flowers appear.

This plant is beautiful not only for its appearance, but also for its healing properties. There are many medications that contain Lavatera that treat coughs, colds, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, problems with joints and muscles, and gynecological ailments.

In folk medicine, fresh leaves of the plant are valued. They do an excellent job of healing wounds, boils, lichens and ulcers. You can combine it - grow a beautiful flower and an excellent doctor in one person called Lavatera garden flower.

The dream of many gardeners is an elegant flower bed that does not require any hassle. A real find in this case is Lavatera, or garden rose. The flower is as visually attractive as it is unpretentious, does not require complex care, and is undemanding to living conditions. Growing Lavatera, a garden rose, is possible even for a beginner and an extremely busy gardener.

It’s worth taking a closer look at this garden flower – charming, unassuming and diverse.

Varieties and advantages

Lavatera belongs to the malvaceae family. Found naturally in southwestern Europe. It has different popular and semi-official names - garden, wild or dog rose, botanical name - khatma, some gardeners call it stock rose. Perennial and annual varieties of the flower are grown in culture.

Variety of varieties and types

Herbaceous, shrubby species and small trees are known. Stems are erect, sometimes pubescent. The corollas of funnel-shaped flowers are from 6 to 10 cm in diameter. The colors of the flowers are varied, from white and soft cream to carmine and salmon pink, with some varieties having contrasting veins.

Low-growing varieties of plants do not grow higher than 60 cm, some shrubs and trees reach a height of 2 m. This, as well as the extensive color palette of flowers, allows you to create spectacular compositions both in company with other garden plants and in mono-ensembles.

Compositions in the center of which is Lavatera, a garden rose, are presented in photographs by designers and amateur gardeners.

Why choose Lavatera

All Lavaters have a number of common advantages:

• they are exclusively decorative throughout the warm summer season, and some species can be grown in pots and brought indoors for the winter;
• plants are resistant to adverse weather conditions - wind and rain, and quickly restore a neat, elegant appearance after bad weather;
• each plant is literally showered with flowers, many buds are simultaneously formed on the bush at different stages of flowering, so it blooms continuously and profusely from the beginning of summer until the first serious frost (below -5 0 C);
• they grow on any soil, and don’t even like excess humus;
• they prefer the sun, and bloom brighter in sunny flower beds, but they also perform quite well in partial shade;
• do not require abundant watering, can withstand moderate short-term drought, but cannot tolerate stagnant moisture;
• rarely get sick, are endowed with immunity to fungal diseases and high resistance to insect pests.

Attention! Lavatera blooms brighter and more abundantly on soils with average fertility.

Regardless of the variety, the Lavatera garden rose invariably captivates with its touching flowers of pure, delicate shades.

Annual plant varieties

More often found in domestic gardens is the annual, also known as three-month-old, Lavatera. Varieties from short-growing (up to half a meter) to quite impressive tall ones - up to 1.5 m. The following flower varieties have gained popularity among domestic gardeners:

• Silver Cup is distinguished by the complex salmon shade of its petals;
• Mont Blanc is memorable for lovers of snow-white flowers;
• Lovelines and Pink Beauty - owners of traditional mallow buds in pink tones;
• The ruby ​​queen blazes with carmine;
• Sun Goddess is a varietal blend of Lavatera, a garden rose, that includes a wide range of shades.

This photo shows another version of the Lavatera garden rose mixture - “Silk and Cashmere”, a piquant harmonious composition of intense pink and salmon shades.

No less interesting varieties for gardeners:

Annual varieties of garden roses are herbaceous plants, usually no higher than 120 cm.

Perennial flower species

The perennial Lavatera is known under the common name Thuringian. Common varieties:

• Lilac Lady with unique lilac buds;
• Bregon Springs features interesting shades of pink;
• Burgundy Vine with deep pink flowers;
• Eyecatcher stands out with complex shades of pink.

These varieties grow up to 2 m in height, the stems are strong and woody. The root system is powerful and developed, sometimes reaching a depth of 10 m.

Photos of flowers of the garden rose Lavatera demonstrate the varied splendor of the palette and forms of this stunning garden plant.

Important! The perennial Thuringian Lavatera is not only an elegant ornamental, but also a medicinal plant, extracts of which are used to treat colds, gynecological, intestinal diseases, coughs, joint, muscle and headaches.

Agricultural technology of culture

The flower is grown from seeds. Use the seedling method or direct sowing in the ground. Growing garden rose Lavatera from seeds begins with sowing in early spring.

To obtain early flowering, sow seedlings at the end or in March.

Growing Lavatera seedlings

A drainage layer (sand, fine gravel) is poured into the seedling container, then soil is added. The seeds are planted to a depth of 0.5–1 cm. The container is covered with film, and after the seedlings appear, the cover is removed.

Advice! To avoid having to thin out the plant seedlings, place the seeds in furrows at a distance of 2–3 cm.

Wild rose seedlings need additional intense lighting. This way they will not stretch out and will be stocky and healthy. The photo shows the stage of growing Lavatera (garden rose) from seeds:

Seedlings are planted in flower beds in May, when serious frosts have passed. Leave at least 20–25 cm between plants.

To get a beautiful curtain, proceed as follows:

• make small holes in a circle with a distance of about 20 cm;
• 5–6 plants are planted in each hole.

For tall varieties of Lavatera, it is useful to install a support: grown plants can be tied to a peg, so it is easier for them to withstand bad weather and maintain their decorative appearance.

This flower is grown by sowing the seeds directly into open ground. When to plant a garden rose Lavatera depends on the climate zone and the characteristics of the variety, but usually it is the second half of March - early April.

Caring for Lavatera

Agrotechnical measures are very simple and not burdensome:

• watering plants moderately, infrequently; Do not allow water to stagnate in the soil;
• feeding no more than once every 1.5–2 months; after rooting of seedlings, apply nitroammophoska and urea (30 g per bucket of water), when buds appear - potassium and phosphorus fertilizers (30–40 g per bucket);
• loosening the soil - as necessary, to ensure breathability;
• removing old buds, this helps to prolong flowering and protects the plant from burns by the decay products of faded “boxes”.

Lavatera in the garden

Lavatera looks great in group plantings and flower beds, in accent and solitaire groups of plants.

Low-growing Lavatera varieties are planted in borders and in the foreground of flower beds. Varieties of medium height are used to design paths and the center of ridges.

Tall Lavaters decorate the backgrounds of mixborders.

Planting and caring for annual lavatera is simple, so you can plant it in clay soil, where you add humus and sand. The seeds are not soaked - they can be sown immediately dry in the ground to a depth of no more than 1 cm. If you want Lavatera to bloom earlier, then it is advisable to plant it through seedlings. To make the plant grow more luxuriantly, the bushes are planted in lighted areas, watering once a week as the soil dries. By regularly feeding the plant, you can significantly improve its flowering and promote faster bud formation.

...or seedlings

To quickly get seedlings, you can plant them in a greenhouse or directly into the ground, but cover them with film. This should be done towards the end of April. The soil is prepared in advance - it is mineralized with fertilizers based on phosphates and potassium, humus or urea. Then the soil is lightly watered with warm water, and the seeds are sown to a depth of about 1 cm. The top of the planting is mulched and covered with peat. After 1.5 weeks, the first shoots appear, and already in May the seedlings can be planted in a permanent place. It is noteworthy that the annual lavatera, the planting and care of which is so simple, can transform any garden in a short time.

Reproduction

Lavatera self-sows in the fall, so next spring you will be provided with seeds of this bright, beautiful plant. Lavatera blooms for almost a month, after which the formation of the seed capsule begins. The seeds are formed in a green box at the place where the flower dies. They can be collected after the box is completely dry - this means that the seeds are completely ready for collection. If suddenly the seeds turn out to be wet, they should be dried and stored in a paper bag until the next planting.

For bouquets and more

Many gardeners believe that lavatera is a plant for those who do not want to worry too much about the condition of their suburban area. Firstly, it grows on any soil. Secondly, the flowers do not require close attention - it is enough to water them as the soil dries. Thirdly, they can be planted on the sunny side of the site. This beautiful plant can be used to create a single planting or group compositions, especially when there are tall trees or shrubs nearby. A special effect is achieved when combining lavatera with other colors of the same palette - your flowerbed will simply sparkle with bright colors! Floral compositions based on lavatera look very interesting.

Which variety should I choose?

As we have already said, Lavatera is represented by more than 25 varieties that are equally loved by gardeners. With the right choice, plant care will be simple, they will be distinguished by lush and, most importantly, long-lasting flowering. Three varieties are considered the most popular due to their spectacular appearance: Silver Cap, Mont Blanc, and Beauty. The first plants are distinguished by bright pink flowers, the second ones are pure white, and the third ones immediately attract attention with huge inflorescences. The most beautiful, cold-resistant variety is rightfully the “Krasotka” variety, which pleases with its rapid growth, bright and lush flowering. It is better to grow it as seedlings.

Lavatera "Barnsley" is a mixture of colors and bud shapes, when buds of different sizes and shapes appear on one plant. Many people love the Khatma variety, which allows you to grow an entire bush more than a meter high, with powerful roots and branching. The beautiful leaves look like hearts, and the flowers look like funnels, sometimes up to 10 cm in diameter. Another interesting arsthenia is the Thuringian lavatera, which is also called dog rose. It is a perennial plant that can grow up to 2 m tall. The inflorescence resembles a spike, strewn with flowers 5 cm in diameter, white or dark pink.

The “Tanagra” variety allows you to grow low-growing flowers, which are relevant when decorating borders. They grow up to 0.5 m in height with a bud diameter of 5 cm. Traditionally, the plants turn out to be a rich red color. Whatever variety of lavatera you choose, you have a great opportunity to transform the landscape of your suburban area and give it an original and bright look. Lavatera is a truly resilient plant that can withstand frost and is practically unaffected by pests.

Flowers Lavatera (lat. Lavatera), or hatma, or wild Rose, belong to the genus of trees, shrubs and herbs of the Malvaceae family. The genus is small, with only about 25 species, growing mostly in Australia, East Asia and the Mediterranean. The Lavater plant received its name in honor of the Lavater brothers, famous naturalists and doctors from Switzerland in the 17th century. The plant has been known in garden culture since the 16th century, but it became a trend about twenty years ago - these tall beauties with bright and delicate flowers did not grow in a rare yard at that time. Lavatera is as popular in the garden today as it was two decades ago.

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Planting and caring for lavatera

• Landing: sowing seeds in the ground - at the end of April or early May: sowing seeds for seedlings - in early March, planting seedlings in the ground - from mid to late May.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: loose, light, well-drained, not too fertile.
• Watering: moderate, but in drought - regular and abundant.
• Garter: tall varieties need to be tied to supports that are installed during planting.
• Feeding: only when grown in very poor soils once every 4-8 weeks with complex mineral fertilizer.
• Reproduction: seed.
• Pests: aphid.
• Diseases: rust.

Read more about growing lavatera below.

Lavatera flower - description

Thanks to the ongoing work of breeders, today among the representatives of the Lavater genus there are many annual and perennial herbaceous plants, reaching a height of 50 to 150 cm, with a well-developed root system, powerful crown and strong branches. The leaves of most species are lobed, covered with hairs and arranged in an alternate order. The flowers are large - up to 10 cm in diameter, yellow, white, crimson, purple or pink, growing singly or in several pieces from the axils of the bracts and forming spicate or racemose terminal inflorescences, bloom in early summer and bloom until mid-autumn.

They say that the lavatera flower is a plant for the lazy or for those who never have time, and to some extent this statement is true - the lavatera is unpretentious in care, undemanding to the soil, drought-resistant and not afraid of strong winds. Lavatera flowers look fresh when cut for more than a week.

Growing lavatera from seeds

Sowing lavatera

Lavatera flowers are planted in open ground in regions with warm climates in late April or early May. Before planting lavatera, add a bucket of compost or humus and 2 tablespoons of nitrophoska per square meter into the soil for digging. Then the soil is leveled, furrows 1 cm deep are made in it, they are spilled with warm water and dry lavatera seeds are sown, and then they are sprinkled on top with a mixture of garden soil and humus in equal proportions, they are sealed and the sowing is immediately covered with a transparent film.

Lavatera from seeds usually germinates within a week, and when the seedlings reach 5 cm in height, the cover is removed, the seedlings are thinned out and the area is loosened with light hilling. If you did not have the opportunity to add fertilizer to the garden soil before sowing the seeds, the first fertilizing in the form of a complex mineral fertilizer is applied after removing the covering material.

Lavatera seedlings

To achieve the earliest possible flowering, there is a seedling method for growing lavatera. When to sow lavatera? If you plan to plant seedlings in open ground in May, lavatera seedlings are planted in early March. Before sowing lavatera, you need to place drainage on the bottom of the seedling boxes, and on top - soil for seedlings purchased at a flower shop. Then you need to water the soil with warm water and, having buried the dry seeds literally one centimeter into it, cover the crops with glass or film and place them in a bright place. Remove condensation from the glass and moisten the soil as needed.

In two weeks, seedlings will appear, which may need additional lighting for successful growth - with insufficient lighting, the seedlings become too elongated and thin. As soon as the seeds germinate, the glass can be removed. Caring for lavatera before transplanting it into open ground will consist of periodically moistening the soil and turning the container with seedlings around its axis to achieve uniform development of seedlings.

Lavatera pick

Growing lavatera flowers by seed does not involve picking seedlings - grown and strengthened seedlings are immediately planted in open ground.

Planting lavatera

When to plant lavatera

Lavatera is planted in the ground when the threat of frost has passed - from the end of April in areas with a warm climate and at the end of May in areas with cooler conditions. For lavatera, a sunny place with light, loose, well-drained soil is preferable. If you are planning to plant a tall lavatera variety, you will need to immediately install supports for the stems.

How to plant lavatera

To plant lavatera, use a 20x25 pattern - this distance between seedlings and rows will be enough so that the plants look compact when fully developed.

Lavatera care

How to grow lavatera

Lavatera care consists of watering the plant as needed. Lavatera is a drought-resistant plant, but it still needs to drink - in dry times, once a week at the rate of 2-3 buckets per large bush, and if the summer is not too hot, then less often.

Secure large, spreading bushes to supports to prevent them from looking untidy. The soil near tall plants can only be loosened until the plants reach a meter in height, because the superficial root system of the plants can be damaged. Promptly remove wilted flowers, which become limp after rain, turning into a slimy mass that leaves burns on the leaves.

As for fertilizers for lavatera, the first time it is fed as soon as it gets stronger after planting, with a solution of a tablespoon of nitrophoska and a tablespoon of urea in 10 liters of water, but this is only if you did not fertilize the soil before planting. If you dug up soil with fertilizers, then you can skip the first fertilizing. The second time you will need to apply fertilizer is at the very beginning of the bud formation process. Ingredients: one tablespoon of sodium sulfate and potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water - this is the norm for one large bush.

That, perhaps, is all the trouble with lavatera.

Pests and diseases of Lavatera

As you have already seen, planting and caring for lavatera can be done even by a beginner. The fight against pests and diseases will not exhaust you, since Lavatera is affected by both extremely rarely. Sometimes there is an invasion of a garden plot by aphids, and then the lavatera also gets it. You can get rid of this problem by treating plants with systemic drugs Aktara, rust, or combined action drugs with rust or rust.

Lavatera sometimes suffers from rust infection, which appears as brown, brown or yellow spots on the undersides of the leaves. It is necessary to remove all parts affected by the disease, and treat the plants with Bordeaux mixture, Kuproxate or Topaz. It is better to remove severely rusted specimens from the area and burn them.

Lavatera after flowering

How and when to collect lavatera seeds

After the lavatera flowers wither and fall off, green boxes with seeds are found in their place, which need to be allowed to ripen. An indicator of seed maturity is a dried capsule that has changed color from green to brown. Open one of them: if the seeds are gray-brown and easily fall out of the box, you can start collecting them. This usually happens in early autumn. The pods are carefully cut off, the seeds are poured out of them onto paper, which are dried in a dry, ventilated room on newspaper, and then stored in a paper bag or linen bag.

Annual lavatera in winter

One-year-old lavatera must be disposed of, and the area under it must be dug up. Keep in mind that lavatera reproduces by self-seeding, and next spring a flowerbed may form in this place without your participation.

Wintering of perennial lavatera

Perennial lavatera overwinters in the ground. You need to bend its stems as low as possible to the ground, secure them in this position and cover them with dry leaves, spruce branches or covering material.

Types and varieties of lavatera

Three types of lavatera are grown in culture: annual lavatera, which is represented by the three-month-old lavatera species, perennial lavatera, represented by Thuringian lavatera, and biennial lavatera, the only representative of which is tree-like lavatera.

Lavatera trimestris

Annual up to 120 cm high. The lower leaves are heart-shaped or rounded with teeth along the edges, the upper leaves are three- or five-lobed. The flowers are solitary, funnel-shaped, up to 10 cm in diameter, growing from the axils of the leaves. The closer to the top of the plant, the denser the flowers grow and the shorter the flower stalks. The five-lobed corolla is carmine, white or pink. Cultivated since 1620. It blooms very profusely from July. Varieties:

• Silver Cup– pink lavatera with burgundy veins and a silvery tint, up to 70 cm high;
• Mont Blanc– white flowers with dark veins 60 cm high;
• Lavatera Ruby Queen– a variety with powerful, branched stems up to one meter high and with flowers of a rich carmine color;
• Lavatera Beauty– a mighty bush with large sparkling inflorescences of white, carmine or pink color;
• Lavatera Sun Goddess- a mixture of tall lavatera seeds. The height of the bush is 110 cm, beautiful dark green leaves, flower diameter is 6 cm. Lavatera The sun goddess is represented by a wide palette of colors;
• Novella– pink low-growing lavatera up to 20 cm high, which can be grown in containers, but in the garden it grows to a more significant size;
• White Sherub– a low-growing variety up to 35 cm tall with large white flowers. Suitable for growing in containers and pots.

Lavatera thuringiaca, or Dog rose (Lavatera thuringiaca)

A powerful branched perennial up to two meters high with heart-shaped and rounded, hard-pubescent leaves of gray-green color. The lower leaves are lobed, the upper leaves are entire. Single pink flowers up to 10 cm in diameter appear on long stalks from the leaf axils. Varieties:

• Lilac Lady– lilac lavatera;
• Eye Catcher– lavatera with deep pink flowers;
• Burgundy Vine– pink flowers with dark purple veins;
• Barnsley Baby– a variety with delicate white-pink flowers;
• Bregon Springs- a tall, luxurious variety up to 130 cm in height with powerful, highly branched bushes with dense three-lobed leaves of gray-green color. Blooms profusely and for a long time with pink-purple flowers with crimson veins. Drought-resistant, winters under light cover.

Lavatera arborea

A two-year-old lavatera with a straight, slender stem up to two meters high, oval leaves up to 20 cm long. The reddish-purple flowers with darker veins are similar to hibiscus flowers, and the spherical fruits that form in their place after flowering look like heads of cheese. Blooms from early June to mid-September. There are variegated forms. Varieties.

If you are wondering what flowers to plant on your property to make it both beautiful and easy to care for, then you won’t find a better place for lavatera. The plant blooms from June until frost. It is extraordinarily beautiful, easy to care for, requires minimal labor, and is drought-resistant: in a word, a godsend for very busy gardeners. This article will tell you how to grow lavatera in open ground without hassle.

Lavatera got its name from the word of Latin origin “lavatum” - to wash, since the color of the flowers is very pure. Lavatera is popularly called khatma or dog rose.

Three types of lavatera are used in gardening:

Lavatera annual or in another way it is called Lavatera three months. It grows up to 120 cm in height and the entire bush is abundantly covered with flowers, which makes it especially decorative. Blooms from July until frost.

Lavatera annual

The most popular varieties in our latitudes:

• Silver Cap with salmon-colored flowers;
• Mont Blanc is a white flowered variety;
• Lovelines blooms with pink flowers;
• Pink Beauty has bright pink buds;
• The Ruby Queen features carmine-colored flowers;
• Sun Goddess is a mixture of lavatera seeds with a wide range of flower colors.

Lavatera perennial

Lavatera perennial or Thuringian. The most popular varieties:

• Lilac Lady - has lilac flowers;
• Bregon Springs – with pink buds;
• Burgundy Vine - blooms with pink flowers;
• IKatcher is a variety with beautiful pink flowers.

Two year old lavatera

Two year old lavatera or tree lavatera. It grows up to two meters in height and has a slender stem with reddish-purple flowers similar to hibiscus inflorescences. Varieties:

• Candy Floss - has light pink flowers;
• Rosea - with beautiful salmon-colored flowers.

There are three more types of lavatera, which are intended for warm latitudes, but can also be grown here:

• Lavatera seaside, which has lilac flowers in two shades;

Lavatera maritima

• Cretan lavatera has pubescent tomentose stems and purple or lilac flowers;

Cretan Lavatera

• Moorish lavatera is the most heat-loving with pubescent stems and purple flowers.

Moorish Lavatera

Attention! Lavatera is not only an ornamental plant. The perennial Thuringian lavatera is a medicinal crop.

Reproduction and planting of lavatera

Lavatera propagates by seeds. The seeds are collected in early autumn, by which time the plant's inflorescences have turned into brown boxes. If you shake the box, the contents will rustle, which means the seeds are ripe and ready for harvesting.

Lavatera seeds

The plant is grown in two ways:

1. Seeds are sown immediately in open ground in May. Before planting, dig up the soil, adding a bucket of humus and a spoonful of nitroammophoska per square meter. Then the seeds are sown to a depth of 1 cm. After a couple of weeks, seedlings appear.
2. Seedlings. First you need to decide on the timing of planting seeds for seedlings. If the flower garden is to be decorated in May, then the seeds should be sown in early March. Earlier sowing will produce larger plants. Before sowing lavatera seeds, drainage must be poured onto the bottom of the boxes and soil on top. The seeds must be buried 1 cm in moist soil, then covered with glass. When the seeds germinate, the glass should be removed. Further care of the seedlings consists of moistening the soil. Grown plants are planted in the ground in rows with a distance of 20 x 25 cm and watered regularly.

Lavatera seedlings

Lavatera reproduces excellently by self-sowing, which greatly simplifies the gardener’s task.

Advice. To get one large bush of lavatera, seedlings or seeds need to be planted in a circle at a distance of 20 - 25 cm between holes, placing five seedlings in each hole.

Plant care, fertilizers and feeding

Lavatera prefers to grow in sunny areas, but also develops well in partial shade. It can grow in any soil, but develops better in soils rich in organic matter. Drought-resistant, watering is necessary as the soil dries out once a week in extreme heat. Frost-resistant, tolerates temperatures down to -3 degrees. Tall varieties require additional support and garter of stems.

Do not water Lavatera too often. Once a week will be enough

At the beginning of growth, it is necessary to remove weeds and loosen the soil; when the lavatera reaches vegetative maturity, it will cope with the weeds itself, taking its place in the sun. By promptly removing faded inflorescences and seed pods, you will simultaneously stimulate the plant to continue flowering for a long time, and also replenish your seed fund for future years, since the seeds do not lose their viability for up to five years.

Nutrient feeding of lavatera is necessary only if the crop grows on very nutrient-poor soil. Feed the plant no more than once a month. The first feeding is done at the beginning of the growing season with a solution of urea and nitroammophoska: a tablespoon per 10 liters of water. The second time the lavatera is fertilized when flower buds appear with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers.

Attention. The older the plant, the darker its foliage becomes. Pale green leaves indicate a lack of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Diseases and pests

Fortunately, lavatera is one of those plants that practically does not get sick and is not damaged by pests. Sometimes the plant may be favored by aphids. It is enough to wash it off with water with the addition of laundry soap, or spray it with a systemic preparation.

Rust on lavatera leaves

Can be affected by a fungal disease - rust. Yellow or orange swellings (pustules) appear on the leaves on the underside, which darken when ripe, crack, and spores spill out of them, which infect healthy plants. The fungus feeds on living tissues and leads to the death of the plant. If you find a diseased plant, remove the infected parts, and the remaining parts should be sprayed with fungicides, such as Topaz or Hom. If the damage is significant, then it is better to get rid of such plants completely.

Advice. Maintain crop rotation to prevent diseases. Do not plant lavatera in its original place for 4 years.

Combination with other plants

Lavatera can be combined with a huge number of other plants that grow in traditional flower beds. Lavatera with pink flowers looks good in combination with crops that bloom with blue and purple flowers:

• verbena;

Lavatera on a personal plot

• brachycoma;
• delphinium.

White varieties of lavater are universal and go with almost any color, but look especially good with lilac petunia and blue ageratum. But the Lavatera variety “Ruby Carpet” looks great with Lanstera

In landscape design

Lavatera is often used in landscape design in single or group plantings; it looks good as a bright spot on a grassy lawn, at the foot of large trees and shrubs. Tall varieties of perennial lavatera can be used as a screen for decorating a fence or outbuildings on the site.

Lavatera looks great in mono plantings

In group compositions it is incredibly beautiful if you plant plants according to a certain color palette. For example, first plant a group of lavatera with white flowers, then a group with pink ones, and the next group with a mix of pink and white flowers. It is also good to combine plants in height, using different varieties. Perfect for cutting into bouquets. Lavatera is capable of transforming the most dull landscape with its lush flowering until frost.

Other uses of lavatera

The perennial Thuringian Lavatera is used as a medicinal plant in folk medicine. The roots of the plant contain a lot of mucus and vitamin C, so in terms of its pharmacological properties, Lavatera is close to marshmallow.

Lavatera is also grown for use in folk medicine

A decoction of the roots is used for colds, coughs, hoarseness, various gastrointestinal ailments and women's diseases. An infusion of the root is used as an anti-inflammatory agent for dermatitis. For rheumatic and neuralgic pain, the leaves of the plant are used. Poultices from the leaves are used for purulent skin lesions, boils, and lichen.

Caring for lavatera in the garden: video