Perennial verbaskum. Growing from seeds. Planting and care in the open field

Verbascum (Verbascum) - refers to perennial herbaceous plants of the Scorch family. This flower can live for 2 or more years. This plant is also called golden flower, bear ear, archer and mullein. The scientific name is translated from Latin as "bearded".

The root of the verbascum plant is pivotal and goes deep enough into the ground. Its straight stem can grow up to 2 meters in height. Dark green leaves with a leathery surface are oblong and pointed at the top. On the stem, they are arranged alternately. Verbascum inflorescences resemble the shape of an ear. They are collected from the most delicate five-leafed flowers, which can be yellow, pink, purple, purple. They open and gradually, starting from the base and rising up, the corolla that opens in the morning, closes in the evening and crumbles, and the next morning the flower gives out a new one. The shape of the fruit of the verbascum flower resembles a small box in which the seeds are stored.

Verbascum flower: photo of a plant

Verbascum flower: description and characteristics of the plant

These fluffy, spike-like inflorescences continue to bloom throughout the summer season.

Verbascum is native to the Mediterranean countries and the temperate subtropical Asian zone.

Perennial verbaskum is very valuable among landscape designers. It is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and does not require special care and attention, so even the busiest person can cope with its cultivation. It feels great in hot and arid climates, and can grow in the garden under the scorching rays of the sun. If you plant it in a place with a little shade, then the flowers will not fall off longer. The verbascum plant is not afraid of sudden temperature fluctuations and long dry periods. As soon as it stops blooming, the stem also dies off.

Verbascum: planting and care

Seed material must only be purchased from nurseries, garden centers or collected from plants. Please note that hybrid plants do not propagate by seed. Sowing of perennial verbascum can be carried out immediately in the garden in an open area.

Sowing activities

Purple verbascum: photo of a plant

Sowing activities can be carried out from March to May. Seedlings are not afraid of recurrent frosts, their sowing should begin with the maturation of the soil. Before planting, you need to dig up the ground, level it and, after that, randomly sow verbascum seeds. Next, you need to use a rake to lightly dig them in no deeper than 1 centimeter. As soon as the first shoots appear, the plant must be thinned out, leaving a distance of 30 centimeters between them.

In the first year of life, rosettes of leaf plates will form, and next year you can enjoy flowering.

High-quality verbasums are able to reproduce independently, but self-seeding of hybrid varieties does not allow preserving the characteristics of the mother plant, therefore they are considered weeds that must be removed.

Vegetative breeding methods for perennial verbascum

Some rare and therefore very valuable varieties and hybrids are best propagated vegetatively.

Root cuttings of perennial verbascum

This procedure should begin in the fall. To do this, you need to cut root cuttings, the length of which will be about 7 centimeters, while the cut should be even on top, and at an angle from below.Next, the stalk is placed in a container with a previously prepared earthen mixture for which garden soil, sand and peat are used in proportions of 2: 1: 1, leaving the stalk one and a half centimeters above the surface. Before the spring season arrives, the container must be placed in a cool room, and after the soil warms up, the young plant can be transplanted to an open area in the garden.

It is possible to use root cuttings, the length of which will be longer. Then it will be enough to lay them on top of the ground and slightly press inward.

Reproduction by division

Reproduction by dividing the bush also begins in the autumn. The procedure begins at the very beginning of autumn so that the plant has time to adapt in a new place and take root before the onset of winter cold.

Green cuttings

The harvesting of green cuttings begins in the spring. They are cut from last year's shoots and rooted in cups with loose soil. But before that, they must be placed in a solution to stimulate root growth. Containers with cuttings should be placed in a well-lit place with a high level of humidity. It is necessary to ventilate daily and water as soon as the soil dries up. Rooted cuttings are planted in the garden in August, before the beginning of winter they must be spud and covered with dry leaves with a layer of 15 centimeters. With the onset of spring, the shelter must be removed and the earth should be slightly raked off.

Verbascum flowers: photo

Choosing a place for planting verbascum

Verbascum can grow in the same place for many years, so it should not be transplanted, as it can damage the root system, which will lead to the death of the flower. That is why you should immediately take a responsible approach to the choice of a suitable site.

Perennial verbaskum loves to grow in open sunlight, but it can also develop in shaded areas. The site must be protected from draft and wind.

The verbascum flower loves sandy loam, well-drained, neutral or low-acid soil. It can develop in areas with depleted soil, but will die on loams with a high level of moisture, heavy and clayey soils.

Requirements for caring for verbascum

Taking care of this flower is quite simple even for a novice gardener. Due to the fact that the root system goes far into the depths of the earth, the plant can easily extract moisture and nutrients for itself. Watering is necessary only in case of a long dry period. Excessive moisture can only harm.

Fertilizing the verbascum plant is also not required. If you wish, you can feed it before flowering with fertilizers based on potassium and phosphorus.

It is necessary to regularly clear the land from weeds and loosen it.

Purple verbascum: photo of a flower

Disease and pest resistance:

• Verbaskum has a strong immune system that copes well with various pests and diseases.
• Due to the excessive amount of moisture, putrefactive diseases may begin to develop.
• In order for the plant not to be harmed by insects eating leaves, it is necessary to carry out treatment with insecticides.

Preparing for winter

Verbaskum grown in central Russia does not need additional shelter for the winter. This is necessary only for young plants, for the reproduction of which green cuttings were used.

Landscape design using Verbascum

Verbascum: photo of a flower

Verbascum can be used as a single garden plant and for planting in groups. Any walls, fences, can be decorated with Verbascum belonging to tall species and varieties. You can also decorate the mixboxer with them by landing them in the background or make a hedge out of them. Low-growing plants are perfect for the foreground or middle ground in flower beds, they can be a wonderful decoration for garden paths and borders.

Since verbascum is prone to self-seeding, it can appear where it was not expected to be seen.But, this only makes the garden more natural.

Plants such as phlox, veronica, delphinium, ornamental cereals, lupine, lavender, catnip and sage are perfect as neighbors. They will all look great together. You can plant them on one flowerbed together with perennial poppies, aquilegia, lychnis, next to which verbascum will look spectacular at the beginning of flowering and with geyher, Siberian irises, which will continue to decorate the flowerbed after flowering is complete. The purple verbascum flowers will look good in contrast to the yellow and orange flowers of the dahlia and escholzia.

Types and varieties of verbascum

Verbascum flower: photo

At the moment, verbascum has about 250 species, in addition to this, scientists have bred a huge number of varieties. The most popular among gardeners are:

• Verbascum purple (Verbascum phoeniceum) -This variety reaches 50 centimeters in height, and it was named so because of the color of its flowers.
• Verbascum charm (Southern Charm) -This variety, at the time of flowering, is covered with delicate pink flowers
• Verbascum nettle leaf - the variety reaches 90 centimeters in height. The flowers are yellow in color and look gorgeous together with purple stamens with a red tint.
• Verbascum long-leaved (Verbascum longiflorum) -variety grows up to one and a half meters in length. Its flowers are colored yellow like gold.
• Verbaskum olympic (Verbascum olympicum) -the variety is capable of reaching two meters in height. The flowers are colored yellow like the sun, and the leaf plates are covered in silver.
• Verbascum black (Verbascum nigrum) -variety grows up to 1 meter in height. The flowers are bright yellow, and brownish spots decorate the throat of the corolla.
• Verbascum dark (Verbascum blattaria) -the height of this variety is one and a half meters. Flowers can be yellow and white.
• Verbascum orbit (Verbascum hapsus) - the cultivar grows 2 meters or more. The inflorescences are spike-shaped and are collected from many small yellow flowers.
• Silk-bearing verbaskum (Verbascum bombyciferum) -the height of the plant is about 2 meters. The flowers are painted in delicate yellow colors. Leaves covered with a silvery color have a slight tomentose pubescence. Among this species, the variety is especially popular: Polar Summer, Arctic Summer, K.L. Adams.
• Scepter verbascum (Verbascum densiflorum) -the plant of this variety reaches two meters in height. Large yellow flowers are collected in spike-shaped inflorescences and gradually open in 4 pieces.
• Verbascum hybrid (Verbascum hybridum) -Here are combined varieties with beautiful flowering of various colors. The flowers of the hybrid verbascum are snow-white, yellow, pink and apricot shades. They can combine shades of pink and yellow. The centrally located peephole is colored purple.

Verbascum flower: photo

Hybrid varieties of verbascum include:

• Verbascum Jackie (Verbascum hybridum 'Jackie') - its flowers are beautiful pink.
• Mont Blanc, Miss Willmott, Bredol Beech - have flowers as white as snow.
• Gainsborough - its flowers are painted in pale yellow shades.
• Kostvold queen - has an apricot corolla color
• Pink Domino - The flowers are pink, wine-like and have a slight copper tint.
• Harry helen - the diameter of its large pink flowers is about 10 centimeters.
• Helen Johnson– flowers have a smoky pink hue and a brown-purple core in the center.
• Jackie - house plant 40 centimeters in height. Flowers same as Helen Johnmon

The height of such varieties as: Flower of Scotland, Buttercup, Sugar Plum, Summer sorbet, Summer sorbet, White candles, Jackie variety - does not exceed 50 centimeters.

The height of such varieties as: Blue Lagoon, Cherry Helen, Copper Rose, Clementine, Helen Johnson, Mont Blanc, Pink Domino does not exceed one and a half meters.

Densiflorum, Miss Willmott, Wega, C.L. Adams - these varieties reach two meters in height.

Purple verbascum: photo of a plant

Useful properties of the plant:

• Verbascum has many medicinal properties, therefore, traditional healers often use it to prepare tinctures.
• Strained tea from this plant helps with shortness of breath, bronchitis and catarrh. It can be mixed with herbs that have the same effect on the upper respiratory tract. It is done to relieve symptoms of the disease and relieve asthmatic spasms. It can also serve as an expectorant during tuberculosis.
• Infusions made from flowers help with neurological abnormalities, with skin diseases. Its use will be useful for abscesses, lichen, eczema. In case of heat burns and purulent manifestations on the skin, you can use the leaves of the plant for application to the damaged area. If boiled in milk, the leaves will help relieve pain.
• For constipation and hemorrhoids, infusions made from leaves will help.
• Powdered dry flowers can be used for open wounds.
• A decoction made from verbascum flowers will help eliminate dandruff and enhance hair growth. It will also help relieve severe itching during childhood diathesis. To do this, add a little decoction to the medicinal bath. A decoction made from the rhizome of the plant will help with gout and kidney diseases. To prepare it, you need to chop it finely, boil it, insist and use 100 grams before meals in the morning and afternoon.

Verbascum: photo of flowers

Olive oils and verbascum extract are used to make royal oil. To do this, you need to take a handful of flowers, pour them with 100 grams of olive oil and let it brew for 30 days in the sun. After the oil is filtered and can be used for ear inflammation, eczema, and furuncles in the ears.

It is important to know that only flowers with yellow or orange pubescent stamens have medicinal properties. Purple hairs make the plant decorative, but useless for treatment.

Collecting verbascum flowers should be carried out as soon as flowering begins, during the period of their heady honey aroma. After collecting, they must be allowed to dry. To do this, they must be spread out on any newspaper in a well-ventilated place and protected from the sun. In order for the collected flowers to become fragile, they must be placed in the oven for a short time. When cooked, the collection will emit a delicate aroma of honey. Store in a glass container with a tightly closed lid.

The harvesting of verbascum leaves and roots can take place at any time.

The use of the verbascum flower for medicinal purposes is contraindicated for people suffering from allergic reactions, pregnant and breastfeeding women.