Syrian quilt: useful and amazing. New problematic weed species - syrian milkwort

Swallow, asklepias, milky grass or Syrian milkwort belongs to the kutrov family of North America. In Russia, the plant was brought in the nineteenth century, both for decoration and for industrial purposes.

By botanical description, the Syrian milkweed is represented by a bush that grows up to two meters in height. Inside the biological structure of the plant, there is a white liquid, which is popularly called milky juice. The lanceolate leaves of asclepias are green in color, with pronounced veins of beige and reddish tones. They are located opposite, have an oblong appearance, a wavy edge, as well as a size, up to thirty centimeters in length and twelve centimeters in width. At the top of the shoots are umbrella-shaped inflorescences, on which fragrant flowers of pink, red and purple tone. The flowering phase is observed in the summer and autumn season. After the flowering period, a seed box is formed in the form of a green shell (8 -10 centimeters), as it has beautiful surface and similarity upon opening. The ripening of brown seeds, which cover the box in clusters and have white pubescence, can occur in warm climates. The aroma of a flowering shrub resembles the smell of a candy store, in particular chocolate. Due to the presence of a white fluff on the seeds, the plant received the name - vatochnik.

Asklepias Cornuti is another name for the milkwort, which appeared in honor of the Italian botanist. Kornuti, seeing the vatnik, mistook it for another culture.

The root system of the plant is represented by shoots that take root vertically and horizontally in the soil. It is difficult to call them powerful, therefore it is better not to carry out reproduction by root division, since when digging up a bush, the roots are damaged.

The genus of milkweed has several species that differ in botanical structure, climatic conditions growth and care. The most adapted to our climate are Syrian milkweed and Asklepias meat - red (incarnate color).

Meat - the red milkweed is a little smaller in size than the Syrian, and grows up to one and a half meters in height. The shape of the bushes, leaves, stems and inflorescences is similar to the Syrian milkwort, only the color of the umbrellas differs in purple, red or burgundy. The smell during flowering is not too saturated.

Syrian milkweed and red meat are perennial plants that withstand frost well. In more severe winters, both species, like others garden plants, need shelter and soil mulching.

The flowering phase is observed from mid-June, as well as in July, August and September. The duration of this phase can reach more than a month. After the end of this period, the next one begins - fruit ripening, which is especially active in warm autumn weather.

Properties and application

seed hairs white color and tender to the touch, quite abundantly cover the ripened seeds inside the fruit. When you open the fruit, a decent ball of cotton is placed in your hand, which prompted the biological industry to use the plant as an analogue of cotton. Such material can be used in the manufacture of fabric, adding fibers to silk, cotton and wool. The beauty and naturalness of the material obtained, for some time, created great popularity for the quilt. It has been propagated, nurtured and cared for in many areas of land, both private and public. As time passed, the quilting machine ceased to be in demand in the spinning industry, since the woven hairs were not strong enough, which negatively affected the quality of the fabric obtained.

AT modern times The plant's cotton raw material is well used in the furniture industry, but emerging synthetic alternative materials are pushing the cotton wool into a thing of the past.

For medicinal purposes, some healers use the milky juice secreted by the plant. According to its ability to cleanse and heal the skin, it can remove some growths, warts and papillomas. When large areas of the epidermis are affected, as in psoriasis, milkweed juice can be added to bath water. For the preparation of infusions and decoctions of the plant, flowers, leaves and roots are collected. The chemical composition of the milkweed contains amino acids and other organic compounds, which can strengthen the immune system, maintain cardiotonus, that is, stabilize cardiovascular disorders. The composition of some herbal teas for the treatment of arrhythmia, angina pectoris, includes the Syrian milkwort. The cosmetology industry also uses raw materials for the manufacture of regenerating and anti-aging creams. Some traditional medicine recipes recommend adding the leaves of the plant to the salad in the spring.

The milky juice of Asclepias in the old days was used as rubber, since its constituents are elastomers. To obtain vegetable raw materials, plantations for growing milkwort occupied large areas of land, and to provide care, they hired workers. In the process of juice processing, the elastic properties of the milkwort did not correspond to the high quality in the products, so the plant could not be compared with other rubber plants. In the process of producing latex synthetically, the need for a vat disappeared.

The umbellate inflorescences of the milkwort contain a large amount of essential oil. The rest is also accumulated in other parts of the plant. It is the aroma of this oil that spreads over long distances during the flowering period of the milkweed. The smell is compared with chocolate, floral, vanilla, and does not leave indifferent people with different taste. For this reason, the vatnik is widely used in cosmetology for the manufacture of perfumes. To do this, carry out the cultivation, collection and proper care of inflorescences in which the largest number cavities and excretory glands of essential oil.

If you plant a honeycomb and it grows over an area of ​​one hectare, you can collect a considerable amount of honey. Bees and other insects are very fond of collecting nectar during the flowering period of the honeydew. Under conditions of proper care when growing a plant, its flower will be large and honey-bearing. The resulting bee product is considered especially useful for the human body if it contains a milkweed. He acquires specific color, taste, smell and usefulness.

Cultivation and care

You can plant a cotton plant in the garden near the fence, as well as on an empty piece of land, which is located in the backyard. Close to garden and annual ornamental crops, it is not worth planting, as it can survive neighboring plants. Some perennials blend well and create a picture of decorativeness, among them are: bluebells, meadows, barley, reed grass, pike, miscanthus, physostegia, echinocea and aconites.

In order for its root system not to shoot over long distances, the planting of the milkweed is carried out with a spatial restriction. This technique is done to prevent the growth of horizontal roots and the formation of a bush. You can use a large container, a tire or other material that will provide walls in the ground. In this case, the milkweed grows into a large, lush and fragrant bush that does not affect neighboring plants. To grow a milkweed, you need to know that it propagates by seeds and cuttings. You can also split the root, but this is difficult, as it is quite fragile. Like many plants, the cotton plant loves light, loose and fertilized soil, but if such qualities are not at the highest level, then the survival of the culture does not suffer. The seeds of the milkwort are harvested in September or October and, subject to sufficient maturation, are planted in the substrate. At the same time, you can cut the shoots and propagate the milkweed with cuttings. Planting cuttings is also carried out in the spring. In this breeding practice, it is difficult to remember the case when the milkwort does not grow. Flowering shrub occurs after three years.

The main thing for a vatochnik is the sun, water and Fresh air. sunlight participates in plant photosynthesis and even scorching rays do not cause burns on the leaves and do not dry out the soil. Planting a shrub in open sunny areas will not be a violation of the rules for caring for a plant.

Watering for the cotton plant does not need plentiful and not too frequent. According to observations, heavy rains and The groundwater moisten the bush enough, and it can survive the drought for a long time in a beautiful flowering form. You can drink a milkweed once a week, or even ten days, it depends on the type of crop.

It tolerates cotton wool and pruning well. This procedure is carried out in the fall, while cutting off the internal branches and overgrown shoots to form the crown of the plant, make it decorative and ensure breathability.

The climate of our region is quite satisfied with the vatnik, both hot summers and frosty winters. The plant for several years can withstand all weather. Some gardeners remain unchanged in the schedule of caring for the plants in their garden, so they mulch the soil of all crops, and also shelter them from frost and heat, which does not interfere with the cotton plant.

Of the eighty species of Asclepias, which are noted both in Africa and in South America, can be distinguished:

• tuberose;
• Kurasavskiy;
• fruticose;
• Tuberous.

These species can sometimes be grown in our latitudes, but the plants may not be as unpretentious as their relatives and not withstand the winter. Such species require certain care in planting, providing temperature conditions, watering, pruning, fertilizing and other techniques. By outward signs, varieties have different size bush, the shape of branches, leaves, flowers, as well as their color. Orange, yellow and pink inflorescences of the milkweed are noted.

Syrian squid
The Syrian milkweed belongs to the Lastovnev family (Asclepiadaceae), a genus of milkwort, (Asclepias.L.). The genus of the weeder (Asclepias.) includes about a hundred perennial herbs, semi-bushes and shrubs common in North and South America, Africa. Among them are both evergreen and those in which the leaves fall off. Plant tissues secrete poisonous milky juice, which can cause skin irritation, especially when exposed to sunlight. Some types of milkwort are cultivated as ornamental plants. The strong scent of the flowers attracts many insects.

The Latin name of the genus - Asclepias - indicates that the plant was also used with therapeutic purpose(named after the god of healing Asclepius, or Aesculapius: Greek - Asclepios, lat. - Aesculapus), since some of its species have medicinal properties. Ripened seeds are covered with fibrous cotton-like fluff, for which the plant got its name - the cottonwort. In Syria, he has nothing to do, because he comes from North America. And the specific name "Syrian" remained, despite the error in taxonomy, which was later pointed out by Carl Linnaeus. A false specific name was introduced by the Italian traveler and naturalist Cornuti, who mistook another plant for the yoghurt - a kendir grown in Syria. Carl Linnaeus established that these are different, albeit similar, plants and assigned it to the genus Asklepias, but left the definition of "Syrian" behind it. Sometimes in memory of Kornuti he is called: Asklepias Kornuti.

When ripe, the leaves burst, revealing seeds with white downy hairs. Thanks to the hairs, the seeds are easily scattered, as we see in dandelions. And also, if you tear off a piece of a leaf or break the stem of a milkweed, milky juice will appear, which contains a small amount of rubber, which also finds its application. Thanks to the juice, which also contains strong essential oils, the milkweed is practically not subject to pest attacks.

The plant originates from North America, grows everywhere and on all continents, including Ukraine and Russia, where it manifests itself as a segetal and ruderal species. Syriac weed is one of the most common weeds in all provinces of Canada, Midwest, North and South America, Europe: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, England, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and other European countries, as well as in Turkey. In total, the Syrian milkwort was found in almost 70 countries of the world, where it pollutes the crops of about 40 crops, including: grain crops, etc.

The Syrian quilt was brought to Europe in the 17th century. as a technical culture and quickly spread to Germany, France and other European countries. Around the same time, he came to Russia. how decorative culture At that time, the Syrian quilting machine did not arouse interest: it was used mainly for the production of coarse fabrics, furniture upholstery, and the manufacture of twine. Fluffy hairs from seeds were added in the manufacture of silk, cotton and woolen fabrics, which gave them a slight attractive sheen. Later, they tried to get rubber from the cotton wool, since rubber components and were found in its white juice. But its production turned out to be high-cost, labor-intensive, and the rubber came out of poor quality.

Quite successfully grows vatochnik in middle lane Russia. In the territory former USSR found as a wild naturalized plant in the forest-steppe and steppe regions of Ukraine, the North Caucasus, Belarus, Kazakhstan.

In Russia, the Syrian fleece (other names: American fleece, wild cotton, lastiven, lastoven, swallowtail, wild silk, ordinary seam, seam) is becoming more and more widespread. With the beginning of the production of artificial rubber, the cottonwort remained on our fields like a perennial weed. Considering that the Syrian cottonwort is a very malicious weed that is not amenable to either chemical or mechanical destruction, due to which it multiplies rapidly, this poses a serious threat to Russian fields. It is assumed that earlier on the crops the cottonwort did not appear due to excessive chemicalization. The current pesticides are considered to be friendly to environment. Agronomists noticed that the Syrian cottonwort appears on the fields around May, when all agricultural crops. Whether it rains or not, this weed grows up to 2.5 m.

Biology of the Syrian milkweed
This is perennial up to 150 cm tall. Stems erect, herbaceous, simple, thick, sparsely pubescent with short curly hairs. The upper internodes are whitish. On the cut, a thick milky juice with bad smell. It contains the glucoside asklepiadin, which is used in medicine. Leaves with a short stem, long and elliptical in shape, 13-20 cm long, 7-9.5 cm wide, rounded or slightly heart-shaped at the base, with a pointed end, a thick midrib, whitish from below due to dense felt pubescence, from above - with scattered hairs. Umbrellas are many-flowered, located on peduncles 4-8 cm long. Peduncles are pubescent and placed between the cuttings in the upper part of the plant. Pedicels are fluffy, 2.5 times longer than the flower. The flowers are large, up to 1 cm in diameter, light pink, pinkish-lilac, fragrant, collected in large umbellate inflorescences. The calyx lobes are rejected, ovoid, 3-4 mm long, pointed, downy. They have a strong nectar smell.

Blooms in July for 30-35 days. The corolla is incised almost to the base, its lobes are oval, 6-7 mm long, slightly narrowed towards the apex, obtuse, outwardly pubescent with curly white hairs. The crown of the stamens consists of five lobes with two teeth with inside at the corners with a horn-shaped flat appendage in the upper cavity of the cap.

Anthers are expanded at the base. Perianth double. The calyx is five-parted, wheel-shaped, with five lobes, has five stamens, the filaments of which are expanded, grow together into a tube, the anthers with appendices form a small crown, the pollen of each anther is combined into a continuous pollen mass. The ovary is superior, the pistil consists of two free carpels, with two columns, which fuse into a five-pointed stigma. The fruit is a multi-seeded leaflet with a pointed tip and a long stalk. Seeds with a tuft of hairs are placed on the surface of a silky receptacle.

On one plant there can be up to twenty boxes, each of which contains 60-250 seeds. Seeds ovoid, 0.9-1 cm long, flattened, brown, with a wide wrinkled margin and longitudinal dark tubercles on both sides. It bears fruit in September. Seeds can ripen after the onset of the first frost, while maintaining similarity. Pollinated by insects. The root system is pivotal, deep (up to 100-120 cm). Two or three tiers of horizontal (at a depth of 10-15 cm) roots depart from the vertical part of the root, from which new shoots grow during the growing season. Especially actively this process occurs damage to the root system.

Propagated by seeds and vegetatively: with the help of root shoots, rhizomes and their shoots. Extremely competitive: in places of mass distribution
can easily crowd out other plant species. It is very poisonous to animals, like other types of milkwort. It is considered a good honey plant: it attracts a large number of bees, wasps, butterflies and other insects. Recently, it has been widely used in landscaping as ornamental plant. Usually found in open, well-lit areas or in light partial shade. Its distribution is limited by the average July temperature from 18 to 32 °C. It grows in moderately humid places, does not withstand strong, but strong moisture also does not contribute to its development.

Advantage provides fertile, well-structured soil. Tolerant to soil pH, grows even on highly alkaline and acidic (pH 4-5) soils. Winters in places with medium and heavy snow accumulation with moderate freezing of the soil.

Spread by wind: the fruits and seeds of the plant have numerous sailing appendages in the form of bangs on the top of the seeds or on its entire surface. The seeds of the milkweed spread due to such appendages. Leaflets of weeds after ripening crack, and the seeds are carried by the wind.

Seed germination occurs in spring when the soil warms up to 15°C. Optimum temperature soil for the germination of seeds of the Syrian milkwort - from 20 to 30 °C. Optimal depth germination of its seeds is 0.5-1 cm, although germination is also observed at a seed depth of up to 6 cm.

The seeds of the Syrian milkweed have a relatively high viability. Freshly harvested seeds have a similarity of 90%, for storing it in glassware for a year at a temperature of 21 ° C - 71% for seven years - 68%. Seed that was stored for nine years had a germination rate of 46%. In the soil, the seeds of the Syrian milkwort can remain viable for three years.

One plant of the Syrian milkwort can form up to 2-3 thousand or more seeds. Based on many years of research, scientists have found that the size of leaflets and the number of seeds in them depends on the conditions of growth and development.

Ways to control plants of the Syrian milkwort
The studies were carried out in the zone of unstable moisture. Herbicides were applied according to the scheme. Option 1 - control: the plants of the milkwort were not treated with herbicides and no other control measures were applied; option 2: Roundup, c. g. (isopropylamine salt of glyphosate) - 6 l / ha (standard) option 3: banvela, c. g. to. (dicamba dimethylamine salt, 480 g / l) - 0.8 l / ha; option 4: banvela, c. city ​​of c. + Raudap, c. p 0.8 l/ha + 6 l/ha.

According to the scheme of studies, in the plots of option 1, where weed plants were not treated with herbicides and no other control measures were applied, the plants of the Syrian milkwort successfully passed the stages of ontogenesis and bloomed. In the plots of option 2, due to the action of the Roundup herbicide at an application rate of 6 l/ha, the aerial part of the plants completely died out (100%). In option 3, after the introduction of the herbicide banvel, c. g. to., with a norm of 0.8 l / ha, weed plants had a suppressed appearance, the leaves were twisted. Application of banvel herbicide mixtures, c. g. k. + Roundup with norms of 0.8 l/ha + 6 l/ha (option 4) ensured the complete withering away of the aboveground parts of the plants of the Syrian milkwort.

spring next year in the plots of option 1, where no means of plant control were used, the Syrian milkweed actively continued to grow and develop, and by May 31, 2011, its height was 30-40 cm. In the plots of option 2, plants, algae, were suppressed and lagged behind in growth , their height was 10-17 cm. In the plots of option 3, in the state of plants, a slight lag in growth was noted, but they continued their vegetation. The plots of option 4 were characterized by a significant lag in growth of weeds, the leaves of the plants twisted and deformed, their height was 10-15 cm.

However, none of the tank compositions in the experiment ensured the complete death of the plants of the Syrian milkwort. A high level of control of Syrian milkwort plants - after the application of the tank composition of option 4: banvela, c. g. to. + Roundup (0.8 + 6 l / ha), which ensured the death of the above-ground part of the weeds and partial damage to the underground.

At the same time, the honey-bearing properties of the Syrian milkwort were determined. The experiments were carried out in the phase of mass flowering of plants in dry, warm, calm weather. It has been established that the life of a flower in Syrian milkweed plants lasts up to eight days. Favorable for the release of nectar - warm, dry weather with temperature regime 20 ... 30 ° C at a relative humidity of 60-80%. soil moisture - 50-60%.

A sharp fluctuation in temperature indicators slows down the release of nectar: ​​too hot dry weather causes a high viscosity of nectar, serves as a barrier to insects, and cool wet weather causes a decrease in nectar production by the plant. At a temperature of 10 ... 12 ° C, this process stops altogether.
The nectar content of one flower was about 4.7 mg.

A few years ago, I bought a bag of milkwort seeds simply out of curiosity and did not expect that this plant would soon become an ornament to my garden.

Culture features

Of all the seeds that were in the bag, I managed to grow only one plant, and I planted it in an area open to the sun. Vatochnik grew slowly, stretched out only twenty centimeters in a year, and bloomed in the second year with lilac flowers with a pleasant smell.

Every year this plant adds one or two shoots, so I appreciated all its beauty only in the sixth year. A chic shrub with straight branches has formed. First, he releases branches, on which small red balls begin to swell, then these balls open, creating a skirt, and now a flower blooms amazing in shape and color. This is a very beautiful sight.

The flowerpot blooms for 30-35 days, but remains decorative for a long time after flowering, instead of a whole inflorescence, one or two fruits form on the plant in the form of an inflated bubble covered with thick bundles. The color of this original box is somewhat darker than the leaves, and its presence only increases the decorativeness of the plant itself. By the time of ripening, the box is filled with black-brown seeds with long white or yellowish silky threads. The pod cracks when the seeds are ripe, and they can be carried by the wind over long distances. During the flowering of the milkweed, you can explore the world of insects. Different types bees and bumblebees fly from flower to flower from early morning until late in the evening, collecting nectar.

- an excellent honey plant, it is especially valuable because in many regions its flowering occurs at a time when there are few flowering plants. In terms of the amount of nectar, it has no equal. Milkwort honey has a delicate aroma and excellent taste. According to American authors, a strong bee family brings up to 6-8 kg of excellent honey per day from flowering arrays of this plant. But the most amazing thing is that during the blooming of the butterflies, I saw monarch butterflies on it several times and it’s still incredible beautiful butterfly with large wings, its name is the sailboat Podaliriy. So it is named after Podalirium ( Greek mythology) - the son of Asclepius (Aesculapius), a military doctor. The Latin name of the quilt is Asclepias incarnata L.. So he was named in honor of the already named healer Asclepius for medicinal properties kind. This is how an amazing connection happened between the milkweed (Asclepius) and the butterfly (his son Podalius). Botanists have determined that many butterflies use milkwort as a medicinal plant to cure their ailments.

The vatochnik also has other names - this is pleural root, swallow grass, Aesculapius grass, swallowtail.

Species and varieties

- This is a genus of plants with about 140 species, from perennial herbs to shrubs. In the 17th century, the seeds of the milkwort were brought to Europe by sailors who returned from America. But then it was used mainly for industrial purposes. Blankets, pillows were stuffed with soft hairs, they were used in the production of fabrics.

Veterinarian meat-red, or incarnate (Asclepias incarnata L.)- a perennial plant up to 100-150 cm tall, originally from North America. Stems erect, leafy. The stem is very juicy. When broken, it releases a large amount of milky juice. This juice is poisonous, so you need to be careful when working with the plant. Leaves are oblong-elliptical. The flowers are red or pink-purple with a pleasant vanilla aroma, collected in an umbrella-shaped inflorescence up to 6 cm in diameter. There are varieties with white flowers. Milkweed plants are not demanding on soil and care. It will melt well not only on chernozems, but also on loamy soils. Grows well in open, moist areas, but can also grow in partial shade. It grows slowly, so it is advisable to plant several plants at once in a group. For the winter, mulching and light shelter with dry leaves are desirable. For six years, my vatochnik never froze, even in snowy and frosty winters.

In one place, milkweeds can be grown up to 10 years or more. The ripened seeds of the sorrel are similar to the seeds of horse sorrel both in color and in size, but only they are covered with fibrous cotton-like fluff, for which the plants got their name - the sorrel.

how medicinal plant it is used in homeopathy.

Syrian squid (Asclepias syriaca L.). Homeland - the eastern states of North America. In culture since 1629. In a wild form, it is found in Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, the Caucasus and in some areas of the Black Earth Zone.

The stalk is dense, hollow, erect. Plant height up to two meters. The lower part of the stem is tetrahedral, approximately from the middle the stem becomes rounded.

The leaves of the Syrian milkweed are dark green, leathery. Flowers up to 1 cm in diameter, light pink, fragrant, collected in large umbellate inflorescences. Blossoms in July 30-35 days. Winters without shelter. Drought tolerant. It grows rapidly, but it does not form a dense curtain, new shoots can grow at a distance of almost a meter from mother plant. Therefore, in order to have a compact bush, the plant should be limited by digging a border around it.

An aqueous extract from the seeds of the Syrian milkwort is used for washing, dressings, compresses for various skin diseases, for wound healing and cessation of inflammatory processes; aqueous extract from inflorescences - for the treatment of ulcers, purulent wounds and insect bites.

Tuberous tuber (Asclepias tuberosa L.). Low (50-70 cm) perennial plant from North America with bright yellow flowers, collected in corymbose inflorescences, decorating the plant from mid-summer to autumn. Very beautiful perennial drought tolerant plant. Attracts butterflies. It differs from other milkweeds in that it does not contain poisonous milky juice. The plant was traditionally eaten by the Indians. The flower buds and young ovaries taste like peas, and the young sprouts are used like asparagus. In hot weather, the flowers produce so much nectar that it crystallizes and can be consumed as a sweet. Edible oil is obtained from the seeds. The roots are also edible and have a nutty flavor, and were also used by the Indians to make a decoction that was used as an expectorant for colds and pneumonia. The first European settlers in North America considered the plant medicine from all diseases. Requires shelter for the winter.

Reproduction of the milkweed

Vatochnik is easily propagated by fresh seeds. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked for a day in warm water, and then sown in containers, lightly sprinkled with planting mixture. Crops contain at a temperature of 18 ... 25 ° C. Shoots appear in 10-15 days. When two true leaves appear, the plants should be carefully seated in separate cups. And then plant in the ground when the threat of frost has passed. Non-picked plants do not take root well. After the sprout grows up to 15 cm, the sprout needs to be pinched. spring mature plant can be propagated by dividing the bush.

Veterinarian partners: it is not recommended to plant it together with small perennials - it has powerful, large plants, and not everyone will endure such a neighborhood. Quite well, milkweeds are combined with high cereals, such as high barley (Melica altissima), miscanthus, reed grass (Karl Foerester variety), high grades meadow grasses, or pike (Deshampsia). Aconites, echinacea, physostegia, veronicastrums, high types of bells also look good next to them.

The vatochnik is herbaceous plant having horizontal rhizomes, which are located at a great distance from the stem. The stem itself is thick, the leaves are large, oblong in shape. Most often, the leaves are located opposite each other, in rare cases they have an order similar to an ellipse.

The plant is native to the Americas. In nature, there are a little less than 90 species. It should be noted that at home this plant belongs to the wild, is a malicious weed. The photo of the vatnik is widely presented on the site.

Why grow a vatochnik?

Europeans got acquainted with the plant in the 17th century. It was technical culture . Especially wide use received a vatochnik in France and Germany. From Europe, the plant soon enters Russia. The Russian people found a use for all parts:

• The stems were used, they were used for the production of coarse fabrics, ropes. Crushed parts of the stem stuffed furniture, soft toys.
• From the tufts, which almost do not get wet, they made a film for cinema, life-saving equipment.
• The hairs sticking out of the tufts went into the production of silk, cotton, woolen threads. The fabrics woven from them were beautiful and shone. But it soon became clear that they did not last long. There was a time when hairs were used like cotton wool.
• The milkweed juice, containing rubber components and resin, was even used to produce rubber. Under the plant took a large area. At first it was Petersburg Botanical Garden, and then Kyiv, Belotserkovsky. Soon the idea was abandoned, due to the laboriousness and low-quality rubber.

Syrian squid

The homeland of the Syrian milkweed is North America. This plant has other names.

We note right away that only the name connects with Syria, and nothing more. It just so happened that during the trip, the scientist Cornuti, who was born in Italy, simply mixed up the plants, mistaking the Middle Eastern kendyr for a cottonwort. The error was fixed by Carl Linnaeus. After conducting research, he found out that plants are, but he did not change the name. In some sources, the milkweed is called "asclepias cornuti", perpetuating the discovery of the Italian scientist.

The Syrian milkwort belongs to tall plants, usually it is 1.5 meters in height. There are many oblong, elliptical-shaped leaves on straight stems. Width of dark green, leathery sheets 5 to 7 centimeters. Outwardly, they are similar to rhododendron. The lower leaves often live until mid-summer.

The flowers are medium in size, about one centimeter in diameter. These are umbellate inflorescences of light pink color. Flowering time - July, flowers delight the eye for more than a month.

The fruit is quite large, up to 12 cm, similar to a swollen sickle, the surface is unusual, corrugated. When ripe, the sides separate, and a large number of dark brown seeds peek out of them. Each seed has hairs. They are white and feel like silk. There is a resemblance to cotton.

Ripe seeds are able to scatter far from the mother plant. In Russia, the fruits rarely ripen, because in autumn they often it's cold and damp. Such weather does not allow the fruits to reach the desired condition.

One planting is enough for a Syrian milkwort to delight with its flowers for a long time (numerous photos are available on the site) and the aroma characteristic of a cake in which chocolate is added. The plant is not afraid of winter, it feels good.

Tuberose tuberose is a low plant. It has bright orange flowers. This flower is best planted to plants where there is a lot of greenery. Such compositions especially attract attention. Umbrellas of the milkweed until late autumn adorn the garden with their large size.

The plant is perennial, frost-resistant, but it may not endure the harsh Russian winters without additional shelter. There are times when even this does not help, you have to deal with landing again.

If you use when boarding variety mix Gay Butteflies, then from the middle of summer your garden will be decorated with flowers not only orange, but also yellow, red. This variety must be covered for the winter.

Choosing a place to land

Catching up on planting a quilt, you need to take into account the size and rapid growth. It must be planted separately, otherwise it will ruin the surrounding plants. There is nothing surprising in this, since the shoots branch from the main stem by one and a half meters. It is best to plant this amazing plant in tanks that do not have a bottom, deepening by half a meter. In that case, you can get a lush bush that will not harm neighboring undersized plants.

Under the plant you need divert fertile soil, it is better if it is loam. In no case can not be planted in the shade, only in the sun. ground water should be far from the vatochnik. If the sun is not enough, that the curtains are less attractive, and the plant will bloom later.

A powerful, branchy plant is obtained if planted one at a time at a great distance from each other and other flowers. The best place is the background

mixborders, next to outbuildings. This method of planting does not complicate care, and it is more convenient to cover for the winter. After 15 years, the milkweed needs to be given a new place, otherwise it will grind, lose its attractiveness.

How does a perennial plant reproduce?

There are several ways to propagate the weed. Let's consider them in more detail.

Sowing seeds

If you decide to get a plant from seeds, then they will have to be planted back in April. Seeds close up to a depth of one and a half centimeters. As soon as the first shoots appear, the container must be installed in a bright place. Temperature can not be raised above 18 degrees. Monitor soil moisture, do not overdo it with watering.

As soon as the weather settles, frosts will no longer disturb, plant a vatnik in the place of your choice. Here it will grow for several years. If you purchased seeds from a store, you probably won't get a lot of seedlings. You can, of course, sow the seeds in the fall. All varieties of milkwort, with the exception of tuberose, bloom for the first time three years after planting. If you planted the seeds of a tuberose worm for seedlings in early February, then you can get flowering plants in the summer. Only seedlings will need additional lighting.

The second method of reproduction is cuttings.

In the first days of June, cuttings up to 15 cm long are made from young shoots. In order for the cuttings to take root, you do not need to wait for the milky juice to dry, but immediately place it in wet sand to form roots. For taking root take up to 20 days.

Reproduction by rhizomes

Spring or late autumn, when there are no flowers on the plants, is the best time to propagate the rhizomes with rhizomes. They are divided into pieces, 10-15 cm in size, but always with kidneys. These parts need to land on permanent place. The plant not only takes root quickly, but will delight with its flowers next summer.

Features of care

It is easy to take care of the batt:

When you work with a plant, you need to be extremely careful, because it secretes milky juice which contains poison. It is unrealistic to poison them, but irritation at the place of contact with the juice is guaranteed.

What plants are combined with vatochnik?

Vatochnik, regardless of variety, feels good next to many garden plants. But best of all, it gets along with miscanthus, high barley, tall meadows. If you plant a cotton plant with aconites, echinacea, physostegia, veronicastrums, high bells, then your garden will shine with amazing colors. You can take beautiful photos and admire them for a long time.

Planting and caring for a flower

The Syrian milkweed is a noticeable plant, if not prominent. The size of a man, with large ornamental leaves and flowers of a color between rose and cocoa, in hanging lateral racemes. The catchy appearance was the reason for the unchanging attention that people have given to the quilt for centuries. A variety of useful qualities and tried to put them at the service of man. Over time, however, it turned out that some of his useful properties exaggerated, and fall short of practical returns.

Botanist mistake.

The botanical names of plants often contain different kind incidents. Syrian fleece (Asclepiassyriaca), - a herbaceous perennial of the lastovnevy family, is a native of North America, and certainly not Syria. Due to an oversight by a botanist, the vatnik was first described as a Syrian kendyr similar to it. This misunderstanding was noticed by Linnaeus, but he left the specific epithet - Syrian, unchanged, as well-established.

It has deep-seated, long, white, cord-like rhizomes, from which straight rhizomes rise high from below, and slightly cranked above, rounded, hollow inside, unbranched stems, pubescent, like leaves, with short white hairs. Leaves, short-petiolate, elliptical, up to 30 cm long, with a well-marked network of veins, giving the plant a special appeal. They are attached to the shoots in pairs-opposite (rarely three), and the plane sheet plates are parallel to the ground. It is characteristic that all the vegetative organs of the plant secrete abundant milky juice.

It blooms in mid-June, with small five-membered beige-pinkish flowers on long thin pedicels, collected in multi-flowered racemose umbrellas. Blooms until mid-August. The beginning of September is the time of fruit ripening, but in the middle lane they rarely ripen, only in fairly hot years. But when the fruits nevertheless ripen, one of the popular nicknames of the plant becomes clear - the swallow, since with their spindle-shaped form, they really resemble the body of a swallow.

A failed opponent of cotton.

The first thing that the Europeans noticed at the milkweed was cotton wool, or rather seed hairs, densely protruding from the seedlings when they ripen. Fully ripened fruits, and their length reaches 10 cm, and their width is up to 7 cm, are literally stuffed with “cotton wool”. This prompted the idea to try the plant as a source of raw materials for spinning. Independent tissue, however, did not work out of the plant. Then his hairs began to be mixed with fine wool, cotton, silk, thus obtaining fabrics that resembled flannel, cloth, and velvet. It was the golden age of the quilt in Europe, but it was short-lived. It turned out that due to their brittleness, the hairs of the milkweed only reduced the quality of the fabrics. Then it was quite Long story using a vatochnik in furniture production, as a stuffing material. By the way, it ended quite recently under the onslaught of foam rubber and other modern materials.

Doctor.

Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States have long used the cottonwort in folk medicine. However, there is only indirect information about this, and nothing concrete, they say, the plant was used for many diseases. In Russian books about this talent of a quilted man - silence. The use of the milkweed for food purposes is also mentioned in passing: the young shoots of the plant were used in salads, the flowers were turned into a confectionery dish by sugaring.

Rubber.

If you break the stem, or tear off the petiole of the leaf, then a thick creamy milky juice will instantly appear from the damage, which dries quickly in the air. This was at one time the reason to introduce the cotton wool into the culture as a source of raw materials for natural rubber. Soon, however, it became clear that the quality of rubber is low, and the technology for its production is not economically viable. And to the plant as a rubber plant, interest was also lost.

Etheronos.

As an ether-carrier, the vadochnik was more fortunate. Essential oils found in all organs of the plant, but in industry only flowers are used as raw materials. When the thickets of the milkweed are covered with many flowers, their aroma spreads for tens of meters around, leaving no one indifferent. The essential oils of the milkweed have a bright, pleasant, perfumery aroma. Personally, the smell of the flowers of the milkwort seems surprisingly familiar to me, it often seems to me in the aromas emanating from perfumed people. The vatochnik is really used by modern perfumery.

Honey plant.

What you certainly cannot take away from a milkweed is its honey content. When planted on the field, the cotton plant is capable of producing at least 600 kg of honey from a conditionally continuous hectare. The honey collected from the honeycomb has a high taste condition, it is white or light yellow in color, with a pleasant delicate fruity aroma. The honey collection from the milkweed lasts at least one and a half months, covering July and August. Bees visit the plant all daylight hours.

Decorative plant.

Decorativeness, perhaps, is the most indisputable and unreviewable quality of a quilted quilt. The beauty of the milkweed is primarily associated with its leaves and general appearance. Flowering, of course, is the peak of its decorative effect.

The fleece is good for mixed backgrounds flower arrangements. It can be planted in a dense group in a vacant lot or off-site no man's land to ennoble the view from your garden. It can be used as a screen blocking an ugly view or an unsuccessful structure.

On the suburban area vatochnik is best grown with an underground restriction. Experience shows that the restriction should be deep enough, for example, a dug-in KAMAZ tire is not enough. It is better to use an enameled tank with undamaged walls that has served its purpose. By the way, such a decision in the appropriate place can look extremely extraordinary. Imagine that the walls of the tank rising above the soil (by about 5 cm) are masked by a pile of small boulders. The cottonwort, crammed into a small underground space, grows at the same time in a thick sheaf and looks like a colorful exotic bouquet.

Planted and forgotten.

The undoubted advantage of the vatochnik is its unpretentiousness. He is sun-loving, drought-resistant, relatively undemanding to soil fertility. At right choice planting sites and appropriate soil preparation, can grow for a decade without care, except for weeding. In the summer of 2010, hot from the heat of the summer, the milkweed, with its numerous large leaves, showed enviable vivacity, while many plants, despite watering, burned and hung their leaves. All you need is an open, dry place with fairly light soil. Fertility is not of decisive importance, although the presence of humus in the soil is certainly useful for the plant. It is most realistic to propagate the milkweed vegetatively, using segments of rhizomes. The best time for this is the beginning of spring and the end of summer.

It was once said that one true talent is better than seven unreliable ones. As we have noted, the worker has six talents, but if you work hard, you can find all seven, so judge for yourself which one of them would be useful to you personally. Or maybe not one?