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Every owner of a country house would like to have a blooming corner in his garden that will delight the eye for many months. Felt shingle is an ornamental plant that landscape designers and gardeners use as a carpet crop. From it, magnificent curtains are made, completely covered with flowers.
Description of felt and characteristics
The plant is a member of the Clove class. The length of the stems of an adult tomentose chickweed reaches 30-45 cm. When the plantings grow, the stems intertwine, forming islands that visually resemble pillows.
The felt chickweed got its name due to its unusual coating. On the leaves there is abundant pubescence, to the touch reminiscent of natural material. They have a characteristic narrow shape, the length rarely exceeds 3 cm.
During the active budding of the chickweed, the felt resembles a blooming carpet
The most important feature of the chrysalis is its flowers. Multiple buds are collected in corymbose inflorescences. The diameter of each does not exceed 1 cm, however, due to the abundant amount, there is an impression of a blooming carpet. The period of active budding lasts from May to the end of June. Under a favorable climate, the plant can retain flowers until mid-July.
There are several of the most popular varieties of ornamental chippings. The main differences are habitat, appearance and flowering duration. In modern landscape design, the following varieties of jaskolka are most often used:
- Felt field... The plant belongs to the weeds growing in fields with perennial grasses. Distributed throughout Russia from the Far East to the European region. The decorative value is low, therefore it is most often found in the wild or as an addition to English gardens. The height of the stems of an adult plant can reach 40 cm.
- Felted alpine... Most common in the Altai region. Small bushes up to 15-20 cm high with a short flowering period of 20-30 days in May. Quite a whimsical plant to care for with poor survival rate at home. Obligatory annual spring rejuvenation by cuttings or complete transplantation. In cold winters, with poor snow cover, it most often perishes.
- Felted large-flowered... The peculiarity of the plant is the enlarged size of the buds compared to relatives. The flower can reach a diameter of more than 3 cm with a stem height of 20 cm. The native land of the species is the countries of the Balkan region - Albania and North Macedonia. This felt chick is most often used to create alpine slides and lush flower beds.
- Felt Bieberstein... Crimean species listed in the Red Book of Europe. The length of the stems does not exceed 25 cm. A feature is the rather early period of budding - from early April to mid-May. Due to the special conservation status, it is quite rare among landscape designers.
- Terry stem... A type of felt louse, which is native to the southern regions of Italy. The most decorative member of the family.Active budding lasts up to 2 full months. Most often used to create alpine slides and flower beds.
A huge number of varieties of felt chickweed allows you to choose the ideal plant based on the goals of landscape design, as well as personal preferences. Almost all representatives will provide a bright flowering carpet that will delight the eye for a long time of budding.
Reproduction methods
One of the most significant features of the felt chick in landscape design is its incredible survivability. In this matter, the plant is similar to weeds. A large number of seeds allows you to easily increase the planting area. If there is a need for self-breeding of chickweed, you can use:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush.
Reproduction of chippings is carried out both by seeds and using cuttings.
Both methods are quite simple to implement and do not require strict adherence to algorithms. Even an inexperienced gardener can handle both collecting seeds and dividing the bush into several parts.
Reproduction of chickweed by felt seeds
Immediately after the end of budding, small bolls filled with fine pollen are formed in place of the former flowers. To grow a felted crystal waterfall from seeds, it must be carefully collected and placed in an airtight container.
The collected planting material is removed in a dark place. It is important to provide protection from sunlight and moisture. The seeds will be stored in such conditions until next spring.
Cuttings of felt chippings
The process is carried out immediately after the end of active budding - in late June or early July. Before the procedure, it is necessary to water the plantings abundantly with water, for sufficient moisture saturation. The lateral stem with 2-3 leaf blades is cut off and immediately planted in fertilizer-rich soil. A cut plastic bottle is installed on top as a temporary greenhouse. The chrysalis takes root rather quickly, after which it begins to grow actively.
Reproduction by dividing the bush
The operation of extracting a plant and its subsequent division is carried out either in early spring or in late autumn. Once every couple of years, a felt piece is dug up, divided into several parts and seated in new places. Before the procedure, it is recommended to remove the above-ground part of the bushes.
Planting and caring for felt felt
One of the reasons for choosing this plant for your personal plot is unpretentious care and ease of planting. Yaskolka is incredibly popular not only among landscape designers, but also among ordinary people. Compliance with simple rules of agricultural technology will allow you to get lush healthy bushes that will bloom profusely, making the site more pleasing to the eye.
Seed sowing dates
Self-planting of chickweed requires preliminary germination of seedlings. At the beginning, felt seeds are planted in boxes with soil. Considering the duration of the process, diving and vegetation before transplanting into open ground, the 2nd decade of March is considered the ideal time for rooting seedlings.
Site and soil requirements
Considering the incredible love of the chickweed for sunlight and its endurance to temperature extremes, it is better to pick up hills in open places for planting it. The plant develops most rapidly on alpine hills.
The plant requires a sufficient amount of sunlight.
The soil for a plant can be almost any, with the exception of soils with high acidity. Experienced gardeners have adapted the shingle to sandy and even rocky lands. The most important detail when choosing a soil is the absence of nearby groundwater. Even a slight waterlogging will lead to instant death of the plant.
Sowing seeds
Chick seedlings sprouted from seeds are planted in open ground when stable warm weather is established without night frosts. For each seedling, dig a small hole 20x20x20 cm in size. The distance between each plant is chosen based on the desired density of plantings, but not less than 20 cm between the bushes. A small layer of drainage is poured at the bottom of the pit, then a felt seedling is placed and sprinkled with earth.
Follow-up care
Bright photos of the felt felt can be obtained not only through proper planting, but also through high-quality subsequent care. Watering is necessary only when planting seedlings. Further moistening is carried out only during prolonged droughts. Fertilizers are also applied as needed - with too slow growth and lack of budding.
Periodic pruning of the bushes and rejuvenating transplant are mandatory steps in growing. Once every couple of years, the root system of the chick bush is divided into several parts and each is planted in a new place.
Diseases and pests
The only ailment that gardeners may encounter when growing felt chickweed is root and stem rot. This is due to waterlogging of the soil. No other diseases are found in the shrub. Pests do not cause any damage to flowering plantings.
Wintering
Yaskolka is not afraid of frost and easily endures winter even in the Siberian region. The only problem can be a temperature below -20 degrees in the complete absence of snow cover. In such cases, it is necessary to cover the plantings with spruce branches and roofing material.
What plants is combined with
Despite the long flowering period, the shrub is represented by a lush green carpet for most of the growing season. Other flowering plants, whose budding periods differ significantly, will be an ideal addition to it - this will ensure the constant presence of flowers on the alpine slides.
When combining chickweed with other plants, the main goal is to contrast shades.
Heuchera, cacti, bells and ornamental cabbage are considered the best neighbors. Many landscape designers combine them with bulbous plants - tulips or hyacinths.
Conclusion
The felt yaskolka will allow you to create a lush blooming carpet on the site, which will delight the eye during the entire period of active budding. Ease of agricultural technology and minimal maintenance requirements will allow even inexperienced gardeners to get a healthy plant that is not susceptible to diseases and pests.
Testimonials
I first purchased the seeds of these beautiful flowers in a large supermarket and immediately planted them on seedlings. The seedlings easily survived the picking and rooting at their summer cottage. Flowers appeared already in the first year of life. And how they bloom! Lush, thick carpet. It is best to combine planting chicks with higher flowers - the effect is simply incredible. All my neighbors were jealous of me, and the next year they bought the same flowers.
