Matthiola is also called levka. The plant received its name thanks to the Italian botanist P. Mattiola. Flowers delight their owners with a pleasant aroma and the beauty of blooming.
Honey-bearing inflorescences attract bees. The height of mattiola reaches a meter.
The stem is straight, highly branched, sometimes with a pubescent edge. There are many oblong leaves, and the pleasant-smelling flowers are pink, purple or yellow. After flowering, the inflorescences produce a fruit with many seeds.
Night violet Matiola pink - photo, planting and care
General description of the genus
This genus includes annual and perennial herbaceous plants of the Cruciferous family. In nature, representatives of this genus are distributed throughout Southern Europe, the Mediterranean and surrounding regions.
All species and varieties belonging to the genus Matthiola have a number of common characteristics:
- plants have a single stem or form woody bushes covered with a felt edge;
- foliage is dense, pubescent, lanceolate, edge entire or serrated;
- flowers with four petals are available in a wide range of colors from white to yellow or lilac tones. Characterized by a sweet aroma. The flowers are collected in inflorescences - spike-shaped panicles;
- the fruit is a dry, flat pod with protruding tubercles from the seeds.
The evening smell attracts a large number of nocturnal insects that pollinate the flowers of the gillyflower.
Varieties
About 50 species of matthiola are known in nature . Thanks to breeding work, they gave rise to several hundred varieties.
The species that are most often used in ornamental gardening include the following.
Two-horned or night violet
Double-horned violet is an annual plant with an erect or branching stem, which is popularly called night violet .
Cold-resistant, unpretentious plant, can grow in partial shade.
Matthiola bicornuum pink.
Its features include:
- thin branched lodging stems reaching a length of up to 50 cm;
- inconspicuous flowers with a pale pink or purple color.
They are closed during the day and open only at night and in cloudy weather.
Gray-haired or left-haired
Cold-resistant annual , characterized by the following features:
- erect branched stem;
- flowers are simple or double, 3-7 cm in diameter, the inflorescence is a loose raceme;
- Fruit with seeds is produced only by non-double varieties of gillyflower. Terry varieties lack stamens and pistil, so no fruit is formed.
Mattiola gray-haired pink.
Important! In terms of the strength of the aroma, matthiola gray is significantly inferior to matthiola bicornuum.
Like night violet, gillyflower flowers are excellent honey plants.
Preparing for sowing matthiola bicornuum for seedlings
Before you start planting matthiola bicornuum seeds for seedlings, you need to perform some activities and prepare certain equipment:
- Purchasing seeds. This annual plant is quite popular, so you can probably buy it in almost any store specializing in garden goods or online stores. There are no strict rules for choosing seed: they must have an unexpired shelf life, the packaging must be intact and undamaged.
- Soil preparation. It should be light, loose, moderately nutritious, that is, any universal soil mixture for flower seedlings will do; you can buy it at almost any garden center or specialty store. You can prepare the soil with your own hands at home: mix garden soil (2 parts), low-lying non-acidic peat (2 parts) and river sand (1 part). It is also recommended to disinfect the soil 2-4 weeks before sowing; you can steam it over steam or bake it in the oven, and then spill it with Fitosporin solution.
- Selection of landing containers . It is very convenient to plant seeds in a wide and low (about 5-7 cm) container. It can be a wooden or plastic box, a food container. The most important condition is that there must be drainage holes at the bottom of the container.
- Seed preparation. It cannot be said that matthiola bicorn seeds require mandatory pre-sowing preparation. However, it will help to get more friendly and faster shoots. It is effective to cover the seeds with a cotton cloth on both sides, sprinkle them with plenty of water, and then put them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Or you can simply soak it in a solution of a growth stimulator according to the instructions (for example, Zircon).
Features and landing conditions
After picking, matthiola bicornuum seedlings do not take root well , so it is preferable for them to be grown from seeds immediately in a permanent place. But gillyflower is grown using the seedling method.
What do the seeds look like?
Matthiola seeds are small , black, brown or greenish in color and have a light membranous border, flattened . When properly stored, the seeds remain viable for 2-3 years.
Preparing for sowing
Night violet seedlings do not tolerate picking well, so it is better to plant them in the garden right away. Mattiola loves sunny places and does not tolerate stagnant water . Only very depleted soil needs to be fertilized.
In order for the seeds to germinate together, they are first prepared for sowing:
- Soak for 24 hours in water at room temperature, change the water several times;
- The water is drained, the seeds are wrapped in a moistened cloth and placed in the refrigerator for several days.
Seeds are sown in beds in April after a two-week period of stable above-zero temperatures. Light frost down to -5℃ is not scary for seeds:
- Before sowing, for convenience, the seeds are mixed with sand and sown in furrows to a depth of 0.5 cm;
- The first seedlings will appear in 5-7 days. When the seedlings develop 2-3 true leaves, they are thinned out at intervals of about 20 cm;
- To ensure flowering continues until late autumn, seeds are sown every 10-12 days.
Of all the varieties of gillyflower, only the seeds of summer gillyflower can be sown in open ground.
Growing through seedlings
It is preferable to grow Levka seedlings , planting seeds in late winter-early March:
- the substrate is prepared from a mixture of turf soil and sand (3:1);
- the cups are filled with the prepared mixture, the seeds are planted to a depth of half a centimeter;
- leave a small distance between the seeds to make it easier to plant later;
- the cups are covered with film and placed in a cool place until the seedlings appear;
- after this, the seedlings are exposed to light and cultivated at a temperature not exceeding 15℃, this stimulates the formation of flower buds.
Levkoy shoots.
Flowerbeds are planted at the end of April, keeping an interval of 16-20 cm between seedlings. The main thing is that there are no severe frosts during this period.
When to plant matthiola bicornuum for seedlings, in what month
The annual plant is completely unpretentious in cultivation, however, when choosing the time for sowing, it shows some capriciousness, like other flower crops. When planting seeds at the right time, stronger and more viable plants can be grown. So, when is it better to plant matthiola bicornuum for seedlings? It is better to sow it in mid-March .
However, it is important to understand that the conditions are not the same everywhere, therefore, the timing is not universal. For example, in the southern regions, the procedure can be completed at the end of February or at the beginning of March, in the Moscow region (and other regions of the central zone) - it is better to do this in mid-March, but in the Urals or Siberia it is better not to rush and plant the seeds at the end of March or early April.
By the way, there are certain time periods when the procedure can be most or least successful. The 2022 Lunar calendar will help determine the most accurate timing for planting matthiola bicornuum
- Favorable days for the procedure: in January: 1, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 20;
- in February: 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15;
- in March: 10, 11, 15, 20, 21, 24, 25.
- in January: 2, 18th;
Summer care
Proper care will ensure long-term flowering of matthiola:
- watering. There is no need to water matthiola regularly; short-term drought is not dangerous for it. Watering is required in case of prolonged drought;
- loosening and weeding. To prevent the appearance of a dense crust after watering, the soil must be loosened; it is also recommended to weed;
- feeding Matthiola does not need to be fed with organic matter; it is enough to water it in the spring with mineral fertilizer for flowering plants containing a complex of microelements. If the soil is fertile, then fertilizing is not necessary.
Succinic acid can be used as a plant growth biostimulator It promotes the development of soil microflora, strengthens the plant’s immunity, and does not accumulate in the soil.
Scheme for sowing matthiola bicornuum for seedlings at home
So, have you waited for the optimal timing, prepared the necessary equipment and prepared the seeds? It's time to start the procedure! You can plant matthiola bicornuum for seedlings according to the following scheme:
- First of all, you need to put a centimeter drainage layer on the bottom of the planting container; the following materials are suitable: perlite, expanded clay of small fractions, broken brick. Also, if there are no drainage holes, you need to make them in advance.
- Now you should fill the container with soil mixture. It must be applied evenly so that there are no air gaps between the layers. It is recommended to leave a small distance (about 1 cm) between the edges of the container and the ground surface.
- Moisten the soil surface with a spray bottle.
- Matthiola bicornuum seeds should be sown evenly over the soil surface.
- Then you need to sprinkle the seeds with sand or soil in a layer of 0.3 centimeters. And then moisten it generously with a spray bottle.
Damage by diseases and pests
If lesions of any nature are found on the leaves, they are removed to prevent further spread:
- if fungal diseases , the plant is removed and burned;
- when cabbage , treat with valerian (1 teaspoon per liter of water);
Cabbage butterfly.
- Treating the plant with powdered ash will help prevent the appearance of cruciferous flea beetle
Important! Prevention consists of maintaining a distance between plants, regular weeding and avoiding stagnation of water in the soil.
What to consider when choosing the site where the plant will be planted
Under no circumstances should you plant in a place where there were previously cruciferous crops. They leave behind flea beetles, which are a deadly threat to Levkoya.
It should be exposed to a large amount of sunlight.
The soil should not contribute to the formation of puddles or accumulation of water. The liquid should drain at a moderate speed, and its accumulation in the roots of the plant can seriously damage it.
Ideally, the soil should be sod-loam or sod-sandy loam. But a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction and fertility will suffice. If the last point is missing, fertilizers should be used.
Below is the algorithm for planting in the ground:
- Dig several holes of the appropriate size
- Fill them with water
- Plant the plant in the earthen slurry for better adaptation to the new soil
Provided that you are planting flowers of different varieties, maintain a distance of 15-30 centimeters between them.
As for how to water, everything is quite simple. Stick to the golden mean: do not let the plants dry out for a long time, but do not water them too much. By moisturizing with levka in time and in the right amount, you will avoid many problems. After each such procedure, loosen and weed the soil.
Bloom
It is not necessary to remove fading flowers on gillyflowers ; the procedure is more of an aesthetic nature. Withering of flowers and formation of fruits does not affect the duration of matthiola flowering.
Deadlines
Among the decorative varieties of gillyflower there are:
- summer gillyflower , annual, flowering July-August;
- autumn , can be one- or perennial, flowering from the last ten days of August to November;
- winter biennial , blooms in April-May.
Autumn and winter varieties in the middle zone are cultivated only as greenhouse plants.
Peculiarities
Simple matthiola flowers are characterized by short flowering, no more than five days .
Terry varieties bloom for 15-20 days.
Fertilizers
It is better not to give preference to organic products at all, with the only exception being wood ash. It is still recommended to use mineral ones, and in the spring this is absolutely necessary.
