Lavatera cultivation. Lavatera flowers

From our article you will learn a lot of interesting things about the lavatera flower: how to grow the crop from seeds, when to plant and how to care for it.

Lavatera is a bushy plant that blooms all summer. By selecting varieties of different colors, you can transform your flower garden, decorate your flower bed, and give your lawn a well-groomed appearance.

Description

Lavatera belongs to the malvaceae family. It is represented by only 25 species, including herbs, shrubs and even trees.

The leaves of the plant are lobed, the flowers are single or collected in inflorescences. Breeders have developed varieties with a wide variety of corolla colors - purple, yellow, pink, crimson, white. They bloom in June and continue flowering until the first frost in October.

Some types of lavatera are perennial plants; they are covered for the winter. Annuals are planted annually in the spring using seeds or seedlings.

This is interesting: lavatera flowers do not lose freshness after cutting for more than seven days.

Growing from seeds

In order to obtain seedlings, the seeds are planted in boxes with soil. They start doing this in March.

Sowing

Place drainage at the bottom of the boxes, fill them with light soil from a flower shop and sow the seeds, deepening them no more than 1 centimeter. The soil is moistened and covered with glass or oilcloth. After two weeks, shoots should appear. The soil is moistened as needed.

Picking

Seedlings dive when two pairs of true leaves appear. The root is pinched, leaving 2/3 of the length, and the bushes are planted in separate pots.

When the soil warms up enough, the seedlings are planted in an open flowerbed. In the southern regions this is the end of April, the beginning of May, and in the northern regions - the end of May.

Seedling

To ensure that the seedlings grow healthy and strong, they are placed in a well-lit window.

Use additional lighting; without it, plants can become very elongated and grow weak.

Landing dates

Lavatera is planted in a flowerbed in May, when persistent warming sets in. For this, seedlings or seeds are used. A plant grown from seedlings blooms earlier and pleases with its flowering for a long time.

Step-by-step description of the process:

Before planting, the soil is dug up and cleared of weeds;
add humus or compost (1 bucket per 1 square meter) and nitrophoska (50 g);
The seedlings are planted at a distance of 20 centimeters between the bushes; if the variety is tall, a support for the seedlings is installed.

Planting seeds in open ground

Seeds are planted in open ground in May. The procedure for preparing the soil is the same as when planting seedlings. Dry seeds are sown in furrows 1 centimeter deep, watered with water.

The seeds are covered with earth mixed with humus in equal proportions and covered with transparent oilcloth. Shoots appear after seven days. After another week, the film is removed, the seedlings are thinned out and hilled.

Flower care

This light-loving and drought-resistant plant will not bore you with complex care. Lavatera only needs to be fertilized twice during the entire growing season: before planting in a flowerbed and before flowering begins. When the first buds appear, add a bucket of water with sodium sulfate and potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon each) under each bush.

During flowering, remove faded buds and water the bushes once every seven days in dry weather. The lavatera bush does not require pruning or shaping. In the fall, seeds are collected and perennial plants are prepared for frost.

Please note: Lavatera does not like excess moisture and tolerates drought more easily than waterlogging.

Diseases and pests

The plant is resistant to diseases and is rarely affected by garden pests. Has strong immunity. Sometimes bushes can suffer from aphid or rust infestations.

When leaves are damaged by aphids, the bushes are treated with Akarin, Aktara, Actellik or Biotlin. In case of severe rust infection, leaves or even whole plants are removed from the site and burned, the remaining ones are treated with Topaz or Bordeaux mixture.

Please note: to prevent diseases, it is recommended to plant lavatera every year in a new place.

After flowering

In autumn, when flowering ends, seed pods remain on the plant. Ripe seeds in them have a grayish-brown color. They are collected, dried indoors and stored in linen or paper bags.

When to collect seeds

Green seed pods gradually turn brown after the flower wilts. When the seeds from the ripened capsules easily fall out onto your hand when pressed, they can be collected. The shelf life of collected seeds is quite long - up to 5 years.

Please note: lavatera can grow next year in a self-sowing area; to prevent this, the seed pods are tied with gauze or removed before ripening.

perennial plant in winter

Before the onset of cold weather, perennial plants are removed from their support and bent to the ground, covered with spruce branches or other covering material.

Types and varieties with descriptions

Most often, for cultivation in the middle zone, Lavatera three-month or Thuringian is used. The first species is an annual, and the second is a perennial.

Lavatera trimestris

The height of plants of this species is from 20 centimeters to a meter. Flowers appear at the end of the stems; thanks to their abundance, the bushes look very elegant.

Lavatera trimestris

Popular varieties:

"Novella", bushes about 25 centimeters in height, have large pink flowers. Perfect for growing on loggias and balconies, as well as in rooms with windows facing south.

“Ruby Queen”, tall bushes about 1 meter, flowers are red, large, up to 10 centimeters in diameter.

"Moonlight", a tall plant, up to 1.2 m with silver-pink flowers, blooms all summer until frost.

“Bride”, the height of the bushes is about 70 centimeters, the flowers are white and large.

Lavatera thuringiaca

Powerful plant up to two meters in height. Flowers of different varieties are presented in all shades of pink.

Lavatera thuringiaca

Popular varieties:

"I Catcher" has large flowers of rich pink color.

'Barnsley Baby' produces large pink and white flowers.

"Lilak Lady" has flowers of a delicate lilac color.

Reproduction methods

The plant is propagated by seeds or purchased seedlings. Seedlings are also grown independently from seeds in order to obtain flowering bushes as early as June.

Lavatera does not propagate by cuttings. Seedlings, like seeds, are planted in open ground at the end of spring.

It is as easy to grow perennial lavatera from seeds as annual ones. Ripe seeds collected on the site in the fall remain viable for a long time.

Note: seedlings are planted in a flowerbed when the air temperature is at least 15 degrees.

You will love Lavatera for its beauty and unpretentiousness. And those who are interested in traditional medicine will be interested in the fact that the leaves of this plant are used to treat wounds and purulent boils, and are used to make tinctures for coughs and headaches, and for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

These flowers are excellent honey plants, and bees happily use them to make honey.

How to care for lavatera, watch the following video:

Lavatera or wild rose, among the abundance of cultivated flowering plants, manifests itself as a modest and lovely flower. Lavatera belongs to the Malvaceae family. A huge number of Lavatera varieties demonstrate the richness and brightness of colors. The different heights of the stems allow it to be grown both in the garden and indoors. Brilliant, delicate, marvelous flowers are used to create spectacular garden compositions.

Lavatera is a perennial or annual plant that grows throughout southern Europe and the African continent. In addition to the basic species, a huge number of wonderful varieties of lavatera with a wide variety of petal colors are cultivated. A completely undemanding plant forms dense thickets, densely sprinkled with voluminous flowers reminiscent of gramophones. The popular name of Lavatera is “khatma” or “wild rose”. Lavatera bushes look amazing and natural in the garden plot and in the home greenhouse on the windowsill.

Lavatera is distinguished by a powerful branched rhizome. The shoots are straight, spreading, up to 150 cm high, lined with velvety dark olive bark. Large branches are dotted with lobed leaves. Between the veins, the dark olive leaf blade is quite soft, rough or covered with tiny hairs. The upper leaves are much smaller than the basal leaves and grow opposite each other along the entire length of the stem.

Lavatera is popular due to its long, generous, marvelous flowering, which lasts from June to October. The corolla, shaped like a funnel, up to 10 cm long, is formed by five voluminous petals. The petals are painted either in one color or are endowed with a smooth transition of color from one shade to another. The petal becomes narrower closer to the center and has a grooved surface. Bisexual flowers, in the axils of the leaves and at the top of the stem, are collected in fleshy inflorescences, shaped like brushes. The inflorescences bloom in several copies and successively replace each other. In the center of the flower there is a short, rather dense column covered with long thread-like stamens and an ovary. Accompanying flowering is a sweet, tart aroma that attracts insects. Lavatera flower is an excellent honey plant.

After pollen is transferred from the stamens of the flower to the stigma of the pistil, fertilization occurs, then flat, cylinder-like seed pods ripen. Inside are elongated gray-resin seeds, which, when shaken, rattle, hitting the walls of the box. Ripe seeds have a gray-brown color; they do not stick to the walls of the box, but are easily shaken out of it. The time for wild rose seeds to ripen is at the beginning of autumn.

In order to collect lavatera seeds, you need to carefully cut off the capsules, scatter the seeds on a surface covered with paper, then dry them in a well-ventilated room. Store lavatera seeds in a canvas bag or paper bag.

Wild rose is used to decorate illuminated and shaded garden areas. Miniature lavatera bushes look very picturesque together with tall plants, for example, gladioli or park roses.

Types and varieties

The genus includes 25 plant species; in culture - two types. The most widespread is the three-month-old lavatera, another frequently used species is the perennial lavatera (Thuringian).

Perennial Lavatera actively develops its root system in the first year of life. It blooms in the second year - in spring or early summer. Pleases with enchanting flowers until late autumn. To preserve decorativeness, faded buds are cut off.

Annual varieties are completely removed in the fall and the soil is dug up. Next year in the spring, self-seeding seedlings will appear in this place, which, after thinning, will form a new flowerbed. Perennial varieties are covered with spruce branches for successful overwintering. The stems are carefully pressed to the soil and pinned.

Lavatera varieties are distinguished by a riot of colors: everyone will find a variety that suits them in everything. Also, many gardeners create a mixture of lavatera species and varieties in their flowerbeds.

Three-month-old Lavatera: varieties

Three-month-old Lavatera is a plant with luxurious bushes up to 120 cm high. Lobed light turquoise leaves are located along the entire length of the shoots, becoming smaller and smaller closer to the top. In July, single flowers up to 10 cm in diameter, shaped like small gramophones, bloom in the leaf axils. Flowering is quite long and generous.

Lavatera "Pretty Woman"

Lavatera beauty red is a variety that is a tall, spreading bush with large bright crimson, snow-white, pearlescent flowers.

Lavatera "Silver Cup"

Lavatera Silver Cup is a bush up to 70 cm high, covered with silver-crimson flowers with scarlet stripes. The flowers are large, funnel-shaped, open, approximately 10 cm in diameter. Representatives of this variety are cold-resistant and drought-resistant.

Lavatera Melange

The plant is strong, highly branched, reaches a height of 90 cm. The diameter of the flowers varies from 6 to 9 cm, their shape is funnel-shaped, the color is snow-white, scarlet, and the color of strawberries. The buds appear in mid-summer and fade with the onset of cold weather. Lavatera melange is a cold-resistant variety that tolerates heat well and grows in almost any type of soil.

Lavatera Silver Cap

A plant with lush bushes. Lavatera Silver Cap is distinguished by salmon-colored flowers.

Lavatera "Mont Blanc"

The bush is medium, up to 75 cm, densely leafy. Lavatera Mont Blanc is distinguished by numerous voluminous snow-white flowers without veins. Plant experts use this variety in group plantings to create hedges. Representatives of this variety do not require a garter.

Lavatera ruby queen

Lavatera ruby is a variety characterized by scarlet colored flowers.

Lavatera New World

Lavatera new light is a strong, branched, unpretentious plant, up to 120 cm high. It blooms for a long time, abundantly and brightly, from the end of June until late frosts. The flowers are funnel-shaped, large, up to 10 cm in diameter. The shades of the flowers are snow-white, pale salmon and crimson. The plant is cold-resistant, light-loving and drought-resistant; there are no soil requirements. Grow by direct sowing in the ground or by seedlings. Representatives of the variety are attracted for planting in groups, rose gardens, and flower beds.

Lavatera "Novella"

Annual. The first flowers appear on the plant when it grows to only 20 cm. During this period of time, the flower is excellent for pots, patios, and flowerpots. Lavatera novella is distinguished by voluminous flowers with a diameter of up to 10 cm, which retain their freshness for a long time, regardless of weather conditions. The plant has different heights depending on the place of cultivation: 20 cm - in pots, 60 cm - in open ground.

Lavatera Girlfriend

Lavatera girlfriend is a branched plant, 80-100 cm high. A variety with funnel-shaped, expressive, extraordinary flowers up to 10 cm in diameter, snow-white, salmon and pearlescent in color. Used for flower beds and cuttings, they look wonderful in row plantings.

Lavatera Thuringian

Lavatera Thuringiana is a shrub up to 2 m high. Lavatera perennial (Thuringiana) is a species with straight, spreading shoots covered with leaves shaped like a round heart. Lavatera is a perennial plant with leaves and stems covered with hard, smoky hairs. Fleshy racemose inflorescences bloom by mid-June. The leaves of this species have healing properties.

Varieties:

Mystic Marilyn - a bush up to 180 cm high, covered with scarlet or purple flowers;
Bregon springs - pearlescent flowers with strawberry-colored stripes bloom on large shoots 1.3 m high;
Barnsley Baby - a bush of medium height, covered with mother-of-pearl buds;
Lilac Lady - has purple flowers;
Bregon Springs - with salmon-colored buds;
Burgundy Vine - blooms with pale pink flowers;
Eye Catcher is a variety with crimson-pink flowers.

Exists biennial or tree-like lavatera. It grows up to two meters high and has a graceful stem with scarlet flowers, shaped like hibiscus inflorescences.

Tree lavatera

Varieties:

Candy Floss - has flowers of a light ruddy hue;
Rosea - distinguished by beautiful pale crimson flowers.

Lavatera care

Sometimes beautiful summer flowers do not please the eye with the beauty that was expected. The error most likely lies in improper care. With insufficient nutrition, the beauty of flowers soon disappears, so care must be taken to provide sufficient fertilizer. Lack of water, pests and diseases can also cause poor flowering. Therefore, it is so important to pay attention to proper plant care.

Rules for planting and caring for lavatera quite simple.

Periodic watering: the soil should not dry out completely, otherwise the seedlings may die.
Providing lighting: due to lack of light, seedlings stretch out and their stems become weak. To obtain a sufficient amount of light, containers with seedlings are periodically turned towards the sun.
Hardening: a couple of weeks before the expected date of planting the seedlings in a permanent place, the seedlings begin to be taken outside. First, the containers are left in shaded areas so that they do not burn in the sun, and then they are placed in a lighted area, constantly increasing the time the seedlings spend outside.
Weed the lavatera if necessary. To avoid this unpleasant procedure, the soil between the lavatera bushes can be covered with a layer of mulching material.
Mulching (or covering the soil) protects the soil surface from drying out, cracking, washing away, and reduces exposure to wind, sunlight and extreme temperatures.

Watering

Water supply to plants in the garden is necessary for the full development of the crop. Proper watering determines whether plants will sufficiently receive and absorb nutrients. However, if there is too much water, nutrients can be washed out of the soil. With superficial and insufficient watering, water will not be able to reach the roots. The consequence of this will be a delay in plant growth, since the water will evaporate already on the surface. With constant insufficient watering, plants will try to raise their roots closer to the surface, as a result of which they may suffer in dry weather or severe drought.

Important factors for determining the intensity of irrigation are the quality of the soil and the degree of its cultivation. Lavatera should be watered regularly, but even on hot days, one watering every seven days is enough. The top layer of soil must be allowed to dry out between waterings. You can water with a simple watering can: it is much more economical than using a hose. From the watering can, water flows specifically to the places where it is needed, and in the right quantity.

Top dressing

Wild roses can grow in poor soils, but it is better to enrich the soil with different types of fertilizers. This will allow the flowers to remain beautiful and the plant to remain strong. Flowers grown in rich soils produce more buds than those grown in poor soil. Typically, lavaters use organic additives to fertilize them, but on poor soils, mineral fertilizers can also be added to the soil. Crops are fed once a month. Use urea and nitroammophoska, dissolving them in water for irrigation. For abundant flowering, preparations with potassium and phosphorus are used.

Wild rose leaves are a dark olive hue, so as soon as they lighten, it becomes clear that the soil needs nitrogen and phosphorus. Fertilization is only necessary for extremely poor soils. As a rule, the nutrients added when planting flowers are enough for the plant to last for the entire period of flowering and growth. In the case when no fertilizers were applied when planting wild roses, complex fertilizers are added during watering.

Diseases and pests

Lavatera Thuringian

Adult representatives of wild roses are extremely rarely affected by fungal or bacterial diseases. Sometimes wild rose plantings can become infected with rust. For healing, the affected leaves are removed, burned, and the bush is treated with fungicides. If the plant is affected by more than 60%, then it is better to remove it from the site and burn it.

Wild roses are also rarely damaged by pests, but aphid attacks are possible. In case of plant diseases or pests, chemicals or folk remedies are used. For example, to kill aphids, many flower lovers use a mixture of soapy water and hot pepper.

When to plant lavatera?

Lavatera in the garden is an amazing and charming plant that becomes more beautiful every day and blooms luxuriantly. Lavatera is planted with seeds or seedlings. The time to plant garden roses is at the end of April. Any loose soil structure is suitable for the crop. The premature joy of a compact and lush flower bed fades due to too close planting. Garden roses need a fairly light and warm place and should not be too close to each other when planted.

Landing

Planting lavatera does not require much effort. Any site for planting wild roses is suitable, the main thing is that after heavy rains, water does not stagnate in this place. Due to excess moisture, the root system of the lavatera will rot. Sunny places are preferable; at least several hours a day, the place should be in direct sunlight and also be well ventilated.

The soil for rapid and long-lasting flowering of wild roses is best suited to be light and fertilized. Good ventilation of the plant's root area is important, while at the same time having sufficient water retention capacity - a condition that almost any well-kept garden soil fulfills.

Before planting flowers, it is advisable to dig up the soil, add humus, sand, ash and a complex of nutrients. Humus must be added at 2–3 liters per square meter, sand and ash are added in equal parts, depending on the type of soil. Mineral fertilizers for flowers are applied according to the instructions. When plants become crowded, thinning is required.

How to grow lavatera?

Lavatera is grown by planting seeds in open ground or seedlings. Flowers grown from seedlings bloom much earlier.

Growing lavatera from seeds: how and when to sow lavatera?

Fresh lavatera seeds have excellent germination, and the growing process is quite simple. Any novice gardener can master growing lavatera from seeds. Wild rose seeds can be sown directly into the ground or grown through seedlings. Sowing seeds in open ground occurs at the end of April, when the soil temperature reaches 18 degrees. Holes are made in the soil up to 4 cm deep, the distance between them is 25 cm. One or two lavatera seeds are sown in each hole, and after germination one of the strongest flowers is left.

After 14 days, the first seedlings, sensitive to low temperatures, appear. At night, to protect from freezing, the sprouts must be covered. When sowing wild rose seeds, you need to remember that they quickly lose their ability to germinate, so seeds that are more than three years old are unlikely to sprout well.

In order for the plant to produce buds before mid-summer, plant experts grow seedlings from seeds in mid-March. Prepare containers with drainage holes. Pots and cups are first doused with boiling water or water with the addition of manganese to disinfect them, then they are washed and dried. Pour drainage into the pots, then a mixture of deciduous soil and peat, water. Next, the seeds are planted, immersing them 1 cm into the soil. In general, the depth and frequency of sowing are very important. In too dense plantings, due to lack of air and light, fungal diseases develop especially intensively.

Before emergence, containers are covered with glass or transparent film to maintain a constant microclimate. Periodically, condensate is removed from the surface of the coating material. The first shoots may hatch in 10-12 days. As soon as they rise by 1-2 cm, the covering material is removed.

If some specimens of lavatera seeds take too long to germinate or the sprouts are weak, then such seedlings are thrown away; they will no longer please with abundant flowering. For full development, wild rose seedlings need a lot of sunlight. The air temperature should be about 20 degrees.

A month after emergence, if there is no threat of frost, the seedlings can be planted in open ground.

Transfer

Lavatera tolerates replanting well before flowering.

Reproduction

Wild roses reproduce well by seeds; a few pieces are enough for planting. The seeds germinate quickly and in the future, with proper sowing and care, provide good seed material. In subsequent years, you can plant your own seeds on the site. Lavatera can be grown either by direct sowing in open ground or by seedlings.

Some secrets of growing lavatera

Wild rose is not capricious, but, nevertheless, it is advisable to take into account some nuances of care. In the process of planting young specimens of the lavatera flower in open ground, you need to remember the need to leave a distance of about 30 cm between plants. The more magnificent the perennial grows in the future, the more space it will need.

For June flowering of wild roses, seeds should be planted on seedlings in March-April. If you plant the seeds in the ground at the beginning of May, you will be able to admire the buds in 2.5 months. To prolong flowering, lavaters periodically collect ripe, undried seeds. The process of collecting seeds is not a troublesome task: the buds fade and seed boxes appear in their place. It is recommended to remove the boxes from the bush when they acquire a brown tint, and when tapped, the seeds spill out. Store the seeds in a dry place, this will extend their germination up to 5 years.

Lavatera in landscape design

It is very important what flowers grow on the site, because the garden also reflects the personality of the owner, just like his house. Nothing has the power to change the appearance of a home like a green, blooming environment. The variety of lavatera varieties allows connoisseurs of these beautiful flowers to choose and plant specimens according to their taste in the flowerbed. Lavatera in landscape design is used as a luxurious decoration for borders, flower beds, and garden gazebos. Wild rose goes amazingly with irises, sage, verbena, phlox, and dahlias.

Application in medicine

Traditional healers actively use the beneficial properties of wild roses, which help against many ailments. The medicinal raw materials are leaves, roots and flowers. The leaves are collected at the budding stage of the plant. Dry outdoors under a canopy or in a well-ventilated area. The roots are dug up in the fall. Dry in an oven or dryer at a temperature of 50-60 degrees. Leaves and flowers are stored for 2 years in a closed glass container, and roots are stored in boxes or bags.

Lavatera leaves contain vitamin C and are used to treat skin diseases and rashes. A decoction of lavatera roots helps patients with lung diseases, relieves cold symptoms, and helps solve problems of the digestive system. An ointment prepared using dried lavatera leaves relieves acute pain in joint and muscle diseases or peripheral nerve damage.

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.

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 sprinkled on top with a mixture of garden soil and humus in equal proportions, sealed and 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.

And worries. There are great plants that require minimal care. These species include lavatera flowers (khatma), which are grown as annual and perennial crops. There are a lot of different varieties on sale, which may differ in stem height and bud color.

Botanical description

Lavatera is a flowering plant that has received recognition from gardeners for its beautiful appearance, constant lush flowering, variety of varieties, easy care and unpretentiousness.

Abundantly flowering bushes of various colors will decorate any garden or flower bed for a long time.

In height, depending on the species, the plant grows from 30 cm to 3 meters. The root system is strong and has many branches. The shoots are erect, covered with rough green bark. The leaves are usually dark green with veins, ranging in size from 15 to 30 cm, covering the entire branch, increasing closer to the root.

Khatma blooms throughout the summer season until the end of autumn. The flowers have a pleasant aroma with notes of spice. After pollination, the seeds ripen in seed pods.

Types and varieties

Lavatera belongs to the Malvaceae family. The first description of Lavatera was given by doctors with the surname Lavatera - two brothers who were fond of traditional medicine methods and studied the medicinal properties of various plants. They discovered the culture in the wild on the European continent, not far from Zurich. However, later biologists found similar flowers in North America and on the coast of Australia.

Lavatera has 25 species, which, in turn, are divided into annual and perennial.

The most popular in gardening are 3 types:

Annual (Lavatera trimestris).
Perennial (Lavatera thuringiaca) or dog rose, Thuringian's robe.
Biennial (Lavatera arborea) or tree-like.

The annual is a lush bush with large single flowers (up to 80 mm in diameter) in the shape of gramophones. In appearance it resembles a hibiscus flower and is white, red, purple or pink in different shades.

The green mass is thick, the lower leaves are in the shape of hearts, the upper ones look like elongated triangles.

Flowering is very active, starting in mid-June and continuing until late autumn.

Popular varieties of annual lavatera:

Variety	Appearance
Mont Blanc	Large white inflorescences cover the bush, up to 1 meter high.
Silver Cup	Height – up to 70 cm, pink flowers with dark veins.
Barnsley	It is distinguished by the presence on one bush of flowers of different stages of opening - from buds to a full-fledged gramophone.
Twins Hot Pink	Height – up to 40 cm, petal color – rich pink. Used to decorate park borders.
Gorgeous	The bush grows up to 60 cm. It blooms in pink shades.
tanager	Grows up to 50 cm in height, with bright red large flowers.
Novella	The shortest representative of the variety is up to 20 cm, the flowers are large and pink.

One-year-old Lavatera in the photo:

Perennial khatma looks a little simpler and is similar to mallow. A plant of this species can reach a height of up to 2.5 meters. The flowers are collected in small inflorescences and are smaller in size. The density of the bush is significantly inferior to the annual species; the leaves are smaller, light in color, and practically absent at the top of the bush.

Although the dog rose (the second name of the species) is inferior to its annual relative in beauty, it has other advantages: it reproduces by self-sowing and has healing properties. A medicine is prepared from its flowers to relieve stomach pain, and from its leaves - compresses for boils, abscesses, and purulent wounds. Decoctions of Lavatera roots are used to treat coughs, colds, joint diseases, and rheumatism.

Varieties of Lavatera thuringiaca differ in flower color:

Ai Ketcher - pink flowers, brighter in the middle, lighter at the edges of the petals;
Mystic Merlin is a very bright, popular variety with flowers from lilac-raspberry to purple shades;
Lilac Lady - lilac flowers of varying saturation;
Barnsley Baby is light pink with a brighter center.

Perennial lavatera in the photo:

The biennial lavatera is a rare species, more common in Mediterranean countries. The plant is large, powerful (up to 3 m in height), the leaves are large (15 - 22 cm), the trunk is tree-like. Flowers can be arranged singly or collected in bunches of 3–7 pieces, 4–5 cm in diameter. The petals are colored purple, crimson, and pink.

Varieties of tree lavatera:

Rosea - flowers of coral or rich salmon color;
Mallow Linnaea - the stems of the plant are strewn with pink or purple single flowers;
Candy Floss - flowers with light pink petals;
Mauritanian - purple inflorescences.

Tree-like lavatera in the photo:

Each type of lavatera has its own individuality and peculiarity, but they all have a unique quality for plants - ease of care and resistance to diseases.

Growing lavatera from seeds at home

All varieties of khama are capable of propagation by seeds; in addition, in open ground they actively sow on their own. It is enough to plant a plant on the site once and you will not have to worry about its reproduction in all subsequent years.

When you can plant lavatera seeds at home is determined depending on the climate. If you plan to plant in a flowerbed in May, the material is sown in March. In colder climates and transplanting to the site in early summer, the seeds are sown in April.

Wooden or special plastic trays are chosen as containers for planting, separately for each variety. Use purchased universal soil or prepare it yourself by mixing soil with compost and nitrogen fertilizers. Drainage is placed at the bottom of the containers - expanded clay or crushed tree bark, prepared soil is poured on top and it is well moistened.

On the surface of the soil, grooves are made 1 cm deep at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Dry seeds are placed at the bottom of the groove, covered with soil and the trays are covered with film or glass, creating a greenhouse effect.

The first shoots appear 8 - 12 days after sowing. The shelter is removed for a short time, providing the sprouts with access to fresh air, then the trays are covered again. When the seedlings are strong enough, the film is removed.

It is necessary to constantly monitor the soil moisture, water it with slightly warm, settled water from a sprayer so as not to damage the delicate sprouts.

If sunlight hits the box with seedlings only from one side, it must be periodically turned over to the light with the other side. In case of insufficient lighting or cloudy weather, additional lighting is installed next to the tray, placing it at a distance of at least 30 cm from the seedlings.

After the formation of 4 true leaves, the lavatera needs to be pruned. Each sprout is transplanted into a separate glass or seedling form. If picking is carried out into a mold, the distance between the sprouts should be 25 cm.

The soil is poured on top of the drainage, then a plant is placed in it, the root of which is pinched by 1/3, and watered.

Many gardeners prefer not to pick, but to thin out the seedlings directly in the box and plant directly from it into flower beds.

Planting lavatera in open ground and care

When transplanting a garden rose (as lavatera is sometimes called) into flower beds, carry out the necessary preparation:

dig up the ground to a depth of 25–30 cm;
fertilize the soil - add ½ bucket of humus or other organic fertilizer for each square meter;
a mineral mixture of urea, potassium sulfate, nitrophoska and superphosphate is scattered on the surface;
the soil is well loosened and watered.

Lavatera seedlings are planted at the rate of 4 pieces per 1 square meter. It is recommended to carry out the first fertilizing a week after planting in the ground with the addition of a composition based on potassium and phosphorus. The plant begins to bloom 2.5 - 3 months after the seeds germinate.

Throughout the season, the hutma is fed 2–3 times. Before flowering, during the growth of the crown, nitrogen- and potassium-containing fertilizers are useful; during the period of bud release and flower blooming, it is necessary to add phosphorus mixtures to the soil.

Young roses are regularly weeded, weeds are removed near them, and the soil is loosened to provide oxygen to the roots.

Proper watering is important for lavatera - you need to ensure that the plant is sufficiently moistened. In hot summer weather, it is enough to water the plant once every 4-6 days, directing a stream of water to the root. Moisture deficiency reduces the number of buds on a rose and leads to wilting of the leaves.

Choose a place for the flower garden that is well-lit and windless. Such conditions ensure active and full flowering of lavatera. It is recommended to trim off faded buds; such actions increase the number of new flower buds on the shoots.

The lavatera bush has a neat, beautiful shape, so it does not need pruning or crown shaping.

Ripe seeds are sown in the soil on their own, overwinter in it and germinate in April - May after it has warmed up sufficiently.

To collect seeds for seedlings, they are collected in the fall from faded buds and stored at room temperature in a place protected from light.

At the end of autumn, before the onset of cold weather, perennial lavatera is prepared for the winter period. Before covering, dry branches and remnants of flower stalks are removed from it. The shoots are carefully bent to the ground, secured and covered with straw, pine branches, dry leaves or covered with peat. In this form, the plant is protected from frost and wind. In spring, the covering material is removed and damaged branches are pruned.

Annual varieties of rose bushes are cut off before winter and the soil is dug up.

Video from the series “Marina Flowers”:

Diseases and pests

One of the advantages of khatma is its resistance to diseases and garden pests.

If the damage to the rose bush is extensive, it is better to get rid of the plant - dig it up and burn it, and treat the ground with a disinfectant solution of potassium permanganate.

Lavatera is an ornamental plant; it is rarely combined in a flower garden with other types of flowers. Tall varieties look beautiful alone; low rose bushes are planted to decorate park paths, flower beds, gardens or other areas. Lavatera looks especially beautiful in group plantings of garden flowers, selected by color.

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.