Content
- 1 General description of the coin loosestrife
- 2 Types and varieties of monolithic loosestrife
- 3 Coin loosestrife in landscape design + photo
- 4 Features of the reproduction of the coin loosestrife
- 5 Landing rules
- 6 Follow-up care
- 7 Application of the coin loosestrife
- 8 Collection, procurement, storage of raw materials
- 9 Conclusion
Monet loam is a perennial plant that is ubiquitous in nature and has decorative value. Growing it in the garden is not at all difficult if you know the basic rules for caring for a crop.
General description of the coin loosestrife
Coin loosestrife, or meadow tea, comes from the Primroses family and grows wild in moist soils, mainly in western Eurasia, as well as in Japan and North America. The stem of the plant is smooth, knotty and creeping along the ground, densely covered with green rounded leaves with an uncut edge. The stem can grow up to 60 cm in length, but at the same time it practically does not rise above the ground.
Coin loosestrife is a creeping groundcover
Small yellow flowers have 5 pointed petals. In the heart of the flowers there are large corollas. The bright yellow, rounded flowers vaguely resemble coins, which explains the name of the plant.
Perennial flowers are a bit like gold coins.
Blossoming of the coin loosestrife occurs in the period from early June to August, depending on the terrain and weather, it takes about 3 weeks in total.
Where and how does the coin loosestrife grow
The wild plant is found in the southern and temperate latitudes of Eurasia, and can also be seen in Japan and North America. For growth, the monotonous loosestrife selects places with high humidity - damp meadows and ravines, forest glades, the banks of reservoirs and swamps.
The ground cover plant forms a dense carpet directly on the ground, and it can grow on horizontal surfaces and on slopes. Perennial is very unpretentious and frost-resistant, takes root well on any soil.
In nature, the plant can often be seen near water bodies.
Types and varieties of monolithic loosestrife
The coin loosestrife is distinguished by its beautiful flowering, therefore it is appreciated as a cultivated plant. There are decorative perennial varieties, they retain low crop requirements for growing conditions, but they look more attractive than the usual coin loosestrife.
Loose mint Aurea (Aurea)
The Aurea variety is an ornamental plant with yellow-light green and golden leaves. A perennial is capable of forming a low cover on the soil up to 5-15 cm above the ground level and up to 30 cm wide. Aurea has a typical yellow flowering that lasts about 20 days from June to August.
The Aurea variety is intended for cultivation in the sun
Unlike common loosestrife, Aurea grows best in sunny areas. It is also possible to plant the variety in the shade, but it will develop more slowly, in addition, the leaves will acquire a darker and not so beautiful shade.The variety is frost-resistant and unpretentious, prefers moist fertile soils. It reacts well to abundant watering, but it also tolerates drought calmly.
Loose mint Goldilocks (Goldilocks)
Goldilox is another ornamental perennial loosestrife variety. It differs from Aurea in a more saturated golden color of the leaves, and in general the varieties are very similar to each other. Goldilox thrives on lighted areas of the garden and fertile soils, grows up to 30 cm wide and about 15 cm in height.
Goldilox has a very bright golden foliage
Goldilox also blooms with yellow flowers 2.5 cm in diameter, and the size of the opened buds can be larger than the leaves. Flowering takes about 20 days from the end of May to August, but even after flowering, the variety retains its decorative effect due to the beautiful shade of the foliage.
Coin loosestrife in landscape design + photo
When decorating garden plots, the monochromatic loosestrife plant is very popular, since it is a fast-growing and unpretentious ground cover crop. Perennial is used:
- to form a decorative flowering carpet on unoccupied areas;
With the help of meadow tea, you can decorate an empty area of the garden
- for decorating slopes, curbs and stone gardens;
Meadow tea looks beautiful in stone gardens
- for decorating gazebos, fences and low buildings;
Long stems of the plant adorn hedges and walls of buildings
- for decorating the shores of natural and artificial reservoirs;
Meadow tea revives the shores of water bodies
- for growing in pots in gazebos or on the veranda of the house - the ampelous monochromatic loosestrife looks very beautiful if you leave long leafy stems hanging freely.
You can grow a crop in pots and pots.
Among the advantages of culture can be noted not only endurance, but also very rapid growth. Usually, gardeners have no problems decorating the desired areas with perennials. On the contrary, more often it is necessary to artificially restrain the plant so that it does not go beyond the allotted area and does not begin to suppress neighboring plantings.
In compositions and on flower beds, perennials are often combined with ferns, phloxes, irises, bells and other plants that have similar requirements for conditions.
Meadow tea looks beautiful in flower beds
Features of the reproduction of the coin loosestrife
It is very simple to propagate a mono-chained loosestrife at a summer cottage. They do it in vegetative ways:
- dividing the bush - adult perennials at the end of spring are dug out of the ground, divided into several parts and planted in new areas;
By dividing the bush, meadow tea reproduces very readily.
- cuttings, shoots and branches taken from an adult bush in spring take root very quickly and begin to bloom in the next season.
Meadow tea cuttings take root quickly
Both methods are highly effective, although dividing the bush to root a monotonous loosestrife is easier and faster. But the culture is propagated by seeds very rarely, even with successful germination, you have to wait at least 2 years for flowering, and most often meadow tea simply does not emerge.
Seeds of meadow tea are rarely propagated.
Landing rules
It is very easy to plant a coin loosestrife in a summer cottage. It is only necessary to familiarize yourself with the preferences of the crop regarding the location and growing conditions.
Recommended timing
The herbaceous plant is planted for open ground throughout the season. This is usually done in mid-spring, after the ground has finally thawed and the last frosts have passed.
It is also possible to plant meadow tea in autumn, although this method is usually used in the southern regions. In this case, the procedure is carried out in October after leaf fall.
Site selection and soil preparation
It is necessary to plant meadow tea on loose and moist soil, preferably near a body of water or near groundwater. It is better to choose the land fertile and loose. Although the perennial tolerates drought well and is able to grow on heavy soil, it will not be able to please with abundant flowering in this case.
You can plant meadow tea in the sun and in the shade.
If we are talking about a decorative loosestrife with a golden tint of leaves, then it should be planted in well-lit areas. The common monotonous loosestrife grows well in the shade.
To achieve beautiful flowering from a perennial, it is advisable to fertilize the soil before planting. The selected area is dug up and introduced into the soil with manure or rotted compost, peat; if the soil is scarce, complex mineral fertilizers are also added.
How to plant correctly
For planting on the site, it is necessary to dig a small hole, in depth it should be twice the root system of the loosestrife. When several plants are planted at the same time, a space of 50 cm is left between them.
No need to dig a deep hole for a creeping perennial
The hole is half-sprinkled with a mixture of garden soil, compost and peat, and then the seedling is lowered into the hole and covered with earth to the top. The perennial is watered abundantly and the soil is slightly compacted.
Many gardeners already at the time of planting fence off the plot with meadow tea, digging slate or stone around the perimeter into the ground. This prevents overgrowth and makes it easier to care for the plant.
Follow-up care
The coin loosestrife is a hardy and undemanding decorative culture. When growing, you only need to remember a few rules.
Watering and feeding schedule
If a perennial grows in the sun, then it must be watered - twice or thrice a week. It is necessary that the soil at the roots of the coin loosestrife always remains moist.
When growing crops in the shade or near water, irrigation can be done only on dry summer days. Gardeners should be guided by the actual state of the soil.
The soil at the roots of meadow tea should always be moist.
Fertilizing the loosestrife is recommended only if the perennial grows on poor soil. In this case, in the spring, when watering, a complex mineral fertilizing with a nitrogen content is added to the water. You can also mulch the area with loosestrife with peat or humus - this stimulates the rapid growth of the crop.
Loosestrife in the ground and in pots is looked after equally
Pruning rules
The pruning of the ground cover mint loosestrife is carried out mainly in order to prevent its excessive growth. As the culture develops, it is necessary to cut off excess shoots, this will not allow the loosestrife to go beyond the allotted area.
A haircut is usually carried out in the fall or after the end of flowering. In the latter case, it is recommended to remove all inflorescences, and also cut off dried stems to preserve decorativeness.
Transplant tips
The loosestrife should be transplanted from place to place no more than once every 10 years. This is usually done in October, after the autumn leaf fall, but spring transplantation is also allowed immediately after the snow melts. The plant can be transplanted in whole or in part. In the latter case, young shoots are separated from the loosestrife or the rhizome is divided into several parts and the cuttings are transferred to a new place.
The culture grows rapidly and needs to be replanted every 10 years.
Preparing for winter
The frost-hardy loosestrife tolerates cold winters and can grow even in Siberia. The aboveground part of the plant dies off for the winter, therefore, shortly before the onset of frost, the shoots are cut flush with the ground.
It is not necessary to cover the plant thoroughly for the winter. As part of the preparation, it is enough to mulch the area with the coin loosestrife with peat or humus, and then throw it with straw or spruce branches. When growing a loosestrife of a coin house on an open balcony, dry shoots of the plant itself can be used as a winter shelter.
For winter, cut meadow tea can be mulched
Diseases and pests
A hardy perennial rarely suffers from insects and diseases. The only danger for him is:
- powdery mildew, usually plaque on the leaves appears in a damp and humid summer; copper sulfate or Fundazol is used to combat the disease;
Meadow tea can suffer from powdery mildew in damp summers.
- aphid - if green insects appear on the leaves, the loosestrife is treated with insecticides, for example, Biotlin or Antitlin.
Of insects, only aphids are dangerous for culture
Very rarely, the leaves of the creeping loosestrife are affected by slugs. In this case, pests are collected by hand, and then the plantings are sprayed with copper preparations.
Slugs can seriously harm the growth of meadow tea
Application of the coin loosestrife
The flower of the monotonous loosestrife has not only decorative, but also medicinal value. The plant helps well:
- with coughing and shortness of breath;
- with rheumatism;
- with gastrointestinal disorders;
- with inflammatory diseases of the throat and oral cavity;
- with headaches and anemia;
- with vitamin deficiency and convulsions;
- with skin ailments and thrush.
Perennial leaves, stems and roots are used in folk medicine
Infusions and decoctions with anti-inflammatory and strengthening effects are prepared from the leaves, the powder from the roots helps with bleeding and pain. The leaves of the plant can be applied with a compress to irritations and wounds on the skin, and it is allowed to lubricate insect bites with fresh juice. Loose-leaf drops help stop nosebleeds.
Collection, procurement, storage of raw materials
For medicinal use, it is customary to harvest a perennial entirely, along with roots and shoots. The collection is usually carried out during flowering, since during this period meadow tea contains the maximum amount of vitamin C.
Raw materials for treatment are harvested during the flowering period
The bush of the coin loosestrife must be carefully dug up and removed from the ground, shaken off the lumps of earth, thoroughly washed and dried under a canopy in the open air. Raw materials are stored in a paper bag in a dark and warm place with low humidity, and the plant retains its beneficial properties for up to 3 years.
Conclusion
Monet loam is a beautiful and unpretentious ground cover plant. You can plant a culture in the garden, in closed containers and at home, with regular moisture, the perennial grows very quickly.
