Mattiola two-horned - night violet with a charming aroma

Each person tries to make their vacation spot unique and cozy. It is largely thanks to flowers that our apartments, houses and summer cottages are transformed.

But not only bright buds and lush inflorescences can create a unique environment - the expressive aroma of plants also plays an important role in this difficult work.

One of the most famous representatives of the flora with a delicate bright aroma is matthiola bicornata, better known as night violet . It has long been used by flower growers to create green corners on plots and balconies.

Peculiarities

Matthiola, otherwise known as gillyflower, belongs to the Brassicaceae (Cruciferous) family . Double-horned matthiola is an annual plant with a bright, rich, pleasant aroma.

It should be noted that the plant does not have any bright decorative qualities, and during daylight hours its corollas are completely closed.

Therefore, experienced flower growers recommend planting night violets among a flowering flowerbed in order to balance the decorative qualities of the flower garden and a pleasant aroma.

During the daytime, the aroma of matthiola bicorne is felt very weakly, but closer to night, when the buds open their petals, the smell becomes much more intense.

The stems of the plant are oriented vertically, but in some varieties they are spreading. The average height of shoots can reach half a meter in height, but taller plants are also found - up to 0.8 m.

The leaves are elongated oval in shape, have a serrated edge and are distinguished by a pleasant to the touch, velvety surface.

Flowering occurs in the first half of summer and can last until frost . But with such a long flowering period, you most likely won’t be able to admire the flowers of the night violet.

The fact is that the flowers of Matthiola bicornuum are quite small and do not have a rich color.

After flowering, in place of the buds, a seed box is formed, filled with a large number of small grayish seeds. their germination for 2–4 years .

Varieties

The wealth of forms and varieties of gray-haired left-handed grass is varied. When purchasing seeds, you need to pay attention to the flowering period. You can choose varieties with double or simple flowers, tall or short. Low varieties (Elegance and Cinderella series) can be used for growing in all types of containers. Varieties also differ in flowering time; flowers can develop on shoots from June to the end of August.

Varieties are divided into 2 groups:

1. The first group includes varieties that produce branched shoots, that is, multi-stemmed. They are great for flower beds.
2. The second group includes varieties with one shoot, tall and short. Such shoots end in inflorescences on which a double or simple flower is located.

The double flower of the gillyflower is sterile, since its stamens and pistil have turned into additional petals; it does not produce seeds. Therefore, seeds are collected only from simple flowers. From such seeds, plants with double and simple flowers develop, approximately 50% each (for some varieties this proportion is different). Flowers can be white, pink, yellowish.

Depending on the variety, plants may vary in color, plant shape, and flower shape. Height can fluctuate in the range of 60-70 centimeters. There are dwarf varieties that reach only 20 centimeters. The leaves are mostly lanceolate, slightly pubescent and have a rounded tip.

The group that unites single-stem varieties of gillyflower includes Excelsior. Examples of varieties:

• "Rawa" Rawa is a cherry-colored variety.
• “Bara” Bara is a variety with double, beige flowers.
• "Opal" Opal - white flowers.
• "Antar" Antar is a variety with double lilac-pink flowers.
• "Weiss" Weiss - double, white flowers.
• "Kanu" Kanu - red flowers.
• "Yucca" Juka is an interesting plum-colored variety.
• “Khash” Hasz is a variety with bright pink flowers.
• "Hena" Hena - light yellow flowers.

Another group of single-stem varieties is Varsovia, which includes:

• "Bona" Bona - with double, bright yellow flowers.
• "Yaga" Jaga - pink flower.
• "Olga" Olga - plum-colored flowers.
• "Mera" Mera - has white flowers.

Multi-stemmed varieties of gillyflower include:

• The “Dresden” group of varieties - plants reach 60 centimeters in height, are highly branched, compact, and capable of repeated flowering.
• “Bomb” group – characterized by high height and colorful variations.
• The Erfurt group are small plants that look good on the balcony.

The duration of growing gillyflower depends on the temperature and length of the day:

• In order for the plant to reach the desired height and number of leaves, it needs a temperature between 8° and 23° Celsius.
• Lower temperatures affect the growth of plants, which become shorter, have fewer leaves, and also affect the length of the inflorescences.

Therefore, during the growth period it is necessary to ensure the correct temperature. This can be done in greenhouses where they grow gillyflower for sale for bouquets.

The most interesting varieties of gillyflower with double flowers:

• white: Opal, Mera, Maribell White, Regal White, Noble White;
• cream: Centum Cream, Mid Cheerful Yellow, Noble Cream;
• pink: Khash, Yaga, Maribell Rose, Maribell Dark Rose;
• purple: Kanu, Mawa, Hala, Opera Deborah, Jordyn Lavender, Aida Blue;
• burgundy: Kama, Maribell Red, Opera Francesca, Jordyn Red.

Popular varieties with photos

About 50 varieties are found in the natural environment , many of them are grown as ornamental plants. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, many varieties of night violet have been developed.

Star Light

A mix of several varieties, differing in different colors and shades of smell. The average height of plants is up to half a meter.

Evening scent

The color of the small flowers is a delicate shade of lilac. The dimensions of a highly branched, erect bush do not exceed half a meter.

Starry sky sensation

The variety of English selection is suitable both for open ground and for growing on a balcony, since the height of the plant does not exceed 30 cm.

Mattiola rosea

The variety refers to varieties that can be grown on the balcony. The height of the bush does not exceed 25 cm. The color of the petals is soft purple, the light aroma of the plant is not irritating.

Lilac

The variety has a very pleasant, unobtrusive aroma and belongs to the group of frost-resistant varieties. For cultivation, you should choose only well-lit areas.

Summer evening

This variety is characterized by a pronounced bright aroma and a beautiful pale purple color of the petals. The bush is quite tall, it can reach half a meter in height.

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.

Growing seedlings

Due to the fact that gillyflower does not have a very strong root system, its seeds should be immediately sown in the ground in a permanent place .

But in regions with a cold climate, this method of planting does not always give good results, because due to the late spring, matthiola will begin to bloom 2 or even 3 weeks later than for plants grown by seedlings.

Growing from seeds: when to plant

The standard time for sowing seeds for seedlings (late February - early March) is also suitable for night violet seeds.

However, some gardeners sow in both February and March in order to increase the flowering time of matthiola by a couple of weeks.

Preparing for sowing seedlings

Pre-sowing preparation requires not only seeds, but also soil and growing containers .

The container must be prepared several days before planting: it is thoroughly washed, rinsed with a solution of potassium permanganate and dried well.

Loose nutrient soil must be calcined in the oven to exclude the presence of harmful insect larvae and fungal spores.

Attention! Plan about three days for pre-sowing preparation - this will be enough time to process the seeds and prepare the soil and container.

Seeds are also prepared in advance:

1. Soak the seeds for 24 hours in warm boiled water. This will allow the seed coat to swell, making it easier for the sprout to break through.
2. The soaked seeds are placed on a damp cloth, wrapped, and put in the refrigerator for another two days.

This preparation will allow seedlings to appear earlier.

Important! Be sure to place a drainage layer on the bottom of the container - it will help remove excess moisture from the roots of the sprouts.

Sowing scheme for seedlings at home

The soil filling the container is slightly moistened with a spray bottle. There is no need to water abundantly: the soil is moistened at this stage so that the seed furrows do not crumble and keep their shape well.

The seed furrows are drawn at a distance of 40 mm from each other. Night violet seeds are placed in them in 3 cm increments and sprinkled with soil. After planting, you can water the soil well .

The container is covered with film or glass and placed in a warm, shaded place. The plantings are left there for about a week.

After this period, the container must be moved to a well-lit place, but with a lower temperature (optimal mode - 12...14 ° C). This temperature difference allows you to accelerate the formation of flower buds.

After emergence of seedlings, the cover is removed from the container.

Reproduction and planting

Sowing seeds, growing seedlings

Levy seeds can be sown as early as March in greenhouses or boxes. It is quite difficult to propagate levkonia from seeds yourself (plants expect different temperatures and conditions during germination), so it is often grown from ready-made seedlings purchased from the manufacturer and planted in the ground in the second half of May.

To decide when to sow gillyflower seeds, you need to decide when you need to get flowers and whether there are conditions for proper cultivation of seedlings.

The flowering time of gillyflower depends on the sowing time:

• from sowing in a greenhouse in early December, flowering gilly leaves are obtained in the second half of April, after approximately 130-136 days (17-19 weeks);
• when sown in mid-December, flowering occurs in mid-May, after 115-120 days (16.5-17 weeks);
• from sowing in late December - early January, flowering occurs at the end of May, after 110 days (15.5 weeks);
• sown at the end of January - bloom in mid-June, after 130 days (18.5 weeks);
• when sowing seeds in March, they will bloom in June-July;
• When sown in May in open ground, flowering will occur after mid-August.

1 gram contains 350-600 levkonia seeds (depending on the variety and growing conditions of the mother plants). To produce 1000 seedlings with full flowers, 6-8 g of seeds are required. Seeds remain viable for 4 years - three-year-old seeds produce more seedlings with double flowers than shorter ones, since seeds with a gene associated with ordinary flowers lose their viability faster.

Before sowing, it is recommended to disinfect the seeds, for example, with the fungicide Funaben T, soaking them for 30 minutes in a solution of this product. It is also necessary to disinfect boxes, pallets and soil.

The substrate for sowing seeds should be light and permeable. You can add 1 part sand to 2 parts compost or universal soil. In an excessively moist substrate that retains water for a long time, seedlings can quickly be affected by pathogens (Pythium sp., Fusarium culmorum, Rhizoctonia solani) - mass plant death occurs. The seeds are sown on the surface of the prepared substrate, lightly pressed down, and then sprinkled with a thin layer of disinfected sand, against which the color of the cotyledons will be clearly visible. Then carefully water, or better yet, spray with a spray bottle.

At a temperature of about 18-20 degrees C, seedlings will appear in 10-14 days.

While growing seedlings, we can decide what kind of flowers we want to have in our garden - with double or simple inflorescences. It is enough to place the seedlings in a shady place for a day and reduce the temperature to about 7 degrees. It is necessary to provide the seedlings with 7–9 hours of daylight. Let's look at the shoots:

• Some seedlings will acquire a lighter cotyledon color. When these seedlings grow, they will produce clusters of double flowers. The light green color of the cotyledons is caused by a gene associated with the double flower gene.
• Seedlings with dark green cotyledons will produce simple flowers that can reproduce.

If we only need seedlings with double flowers, seedlings with dark cotyledons can be removed. Seedlings with double flowers are planted in boxes at a distance of 4 x 4 cm or multi-cell trays and the temperature is raised to 15-18°C.

There are 4 stages of growing young gillyflower seedlings in greenhouse conditions:

1. Cultivation at a temperature of 18-21 °C and a relative air humidity of 95-100% continues for 7-14 days, the root increases, the cotyledons are released from the seed coats.
2. The first correct leaves appear (at a temperature of 15-17 °C this lasts 8 days - during this time the greenhouse should be ventilated and ensure that the substrate moisture is not too high).
3. The first true leaves develop, about 80% of the seedlings are suitable for picking - for 8 days the seedlings should be grown at a temperature of 4-8 °C, creating a 7-hour day (this promotes bud induction and lush flowering).
4. At a temperature of 12-15 °C, seedlings are hardened for 7-8 days, after which they are suitable for planting in a permanent place. The juvenile phase - up to the stage of 2-4 pairs of true leaves in early flowering varieties of gillyflower is shorter than in late ones.

The development of plants after they reach the 4th stage is favored by a long 16-hour day. You can turn on the lighting with lamps with an intensity of 150 W/m².

For plants to reach the appropriate height (about 60 cm) and number of leaves, a temperature of 8 °C to 23 °C is required - the lower it is, the shorter the plants and the fewer leaves they have. In the same way, temperature affects the length of inflorescences. The growing period is shortest when at the end of the flower formation period the temperature is 15-18 °C.

Of course, not everyone has such greenhouses; similar regimes for growing gillyflower seedlings are used when growing flowers for sale. For home growing, seedlings are first germinated at 8 degrees, for example, on a balcony. Then the seedlings are planted at a distance of 2 × 3 cm into boxes filled with fresh soil, preferably steamed. The plants are watered very moderately and the temperature is maintained at 12-15 °C, and when they grow about 5 cm, they are planted in greenhouses.

At the end of May, gillyflower seedlings can be transplanted into soil or a pot. Some varieties grow so quickly that it takes only 10 weeks to develop from seed to full bloom.

Seedlings should be pinched - manually remove the tops of the shoots to stimulate tillering.

Landing in the ground

Levkoy is very sensitive to frost. Seedlings need to be hardened off in advance. Levy can be planted in open ground when it becomes warm enough outside.

The plant has certain requirements for mineral nutrition. Before planting, the soil should be mixed with a full strength fertilizer. In the future, it is worth enriching the planting area with potassium.

When planting gillyflower in open ground or greenhouses, you should pay attention to the plants of your neighbors. Levkoy does not like the substrate after other brassicas and is susceptible to pathogens characteristic of this family (cabbage clubroot). The break between planting plants from the cabbage family should be at least 4 years.

Levka is planted in flower beds at the end of May at intervals that depend on the specific variety.

The distance between plants should be:

• for varieties with a large number of shoots - 30 × 30 cm;
• for varieties with one stem - 15x15 centimeters.

After planting in the garden, you need to take special care of the seedlings, not forgetting about watering.

Caring for seedlings and planting in the ground

In general, caring for matthiola bicornuum seedlings does not cause any difficulties. The only operation that may raise questions for a beginner is picking , since the root system of the sprouts is superficial and weak, and can be easily damaged.

Picking seedlings

When the sprouts have formed 2-3 true leaves, the seedlings must be planted into individual pots.

Give preference to pots that will allow you to plant the plant in the ground without damaging its root system. These can be plastic pots with a removable bottom, peat or paper pots.

Abundant watering helps facilitate the replanting process. Some gardeners generally recommend placing a container with seedlings in a basin filled with water so that the soil is saturated with moisture and the sprouts are easier to remove from the soil.

For replanting, prepare a substrate from a mixture of loose turf soil, peat and sand.

Timing for planting seedlings in the ground

To plant seedlings in the ground, you need to choose a time when the threat of return frosts has completely passed. The optimal time for planting will be the second half of May - early June .

Soil requirements

Preference should be given to loose nutrient soils . On the one hand, it is necessary for the soil to retain moisture, preventing it from immediately seeping into the deep layers, but, on the other hand, retaining moisture in the soil for too long will lead to rotting of the root system.

Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend choosing soils with good drainage qualities , and filling the space between plantings with mulch. Mulching helps reduce natural moisture loss through evaporation.

Selecting a location

Matthiola bicornuum is a light-loving plant, but can also grow in a slightly shaded area.

You can choose a corner of the garden where there will be enough sunlight in the morning and evening hours, but in the midday heat the area will be in the shade .

In the first week and a half, young seedlings will need to be shaded from direct sunlight, especially at midday. Excessive amounts of ultraviolet radiation will lead to burns on the leaves of the sprouts and even death of the plants.

Specifics of growing matthiola bicornuum from seeds in open ground

Among flower growers there are many adherents of sowing seeds of flowering plants directly into the ground. Mattiola bicorne will not be an exception to this rule - it sprouts quite successfully when planted directly in the ridge.

Before planting, prepare the area:

• dig up;
• remove weed roots and stones;
• the soil is spilled with a weak solution of potassium permanganate to kill parasite larvae and fungal spores;
• the soil is enriched with humus and watered with a solution of complex fertilizer for flowering crops.

Then planting furrows are marked on the flowerbed (their depth should not be more than half a centimeter, and the distance between them should be about 30 cm).

The seeds are not planted too often, but they are guided by the need for further thinning of the plantings, so a distance of 5 cm between the seeds will be quite enough.

The furrows are sprinkled with soil and watered. The flowerbed can be covered with covering material, but you don’t have to do this. The first shoots will appear by the end of the second week .

Attention! If the seeds were sown in the ground in the fall, then seedlings should be expected only in the second spring after planting.

Seedling care

Caring for plantings consists of weeding, watering and regularly loosening the soil after the moisture has been completely absorbed.

Night violet Lyubka

In the photo below, Lyubka bifolia is a plant from the Orchidáceae family. But due to its external similarity with some types of matthiola, Lyubka is also called night violet.

Lyubka feels better in the shade, away from the sun's rays, but the flower is unpretentious and easily tolerates heat and drought.

Characteristics:

• height of an adult specimen - up to 50 cm;
• flowers are small, with a pleasant aroma;
• color - uniformly white, very delicate;
• inflorescences - collected at the tops of shoots into a cylindrical spike;
• flowering - from June to July;
• prefers moderately moist, fertile soil;
• although it grows normally on depleted soils, in this case the plant requires fertilizing.

Garden care rules

Although matthiola does not raise any questions as a houseplant, when planted in a flowerbed it requires some procedures .

Features of watering

Matthiola bicorne is a moisture-loving plant, so you need to make sure that the soil does not dry out .

But it must be borne in mind that excessive soil moisture is just as harmful as lack of watering. Therefore, focus on the condition of the top layer of soil: if it is dry, it’s time to water.

The best time to water is early morning or an hour before sunset .

Top dressing

Feed the night violet with mineral complexes for flowering plants three times a season . The first application of fertilizing should be done approximately 21 days after planting, then fertilizing should be done once a month.

Loosening and weeding

To prevent the formation of a hard, airtight crust on the surface of the flowerbed, the soil must be loosened after watering .

There is no point in loosening still wet soil - you need to wait until the moisture is absorbed. Along with loosening, it is convenient to weed out weeds that have crept into the flowerbed.

Matthiola two-horned planting

1. Sowing of seeds is carried out in early February. You can sow in March, but then the flowering time will be different.
2. Sowing should be carried out on prepared soil with a distance of 4 centimeters from each other. The seeds do not need to be pressed into the soil; just sprinkle them lightly with soil. Next, you need to carefully pour water at room temperature and cover with film or glass.
3. Containers with seeds should be placed in a well-lit place. You should not water until the first shoots appear.

In order for seedlings to grow well, certain conditions must be met. As soon as the first shoots appear, it is necessary to provide the plant with good lighting, and the air temperature should drop to +12 degrees, otherwise the seedlings will begin to stretch.

If seedlings are grown in seedling boxes, then planting should be done every 14 days. It is important to remember that matthiol has a very fragile root system, so the seedlings will die when transplanted, no matter how careful you are.

Well-moistened soil into which you plan to replant will help protect the roots from damage. You need to take out the plant one at a time, protecting its fragile roots. Before this, it is necessary to make planting holes in a new container into which the seedlings are transplanted. Next, they need to be covered with a layer of soil up to the leaves, carefully, using the pads of your fingers, compacted around each plant and watered well.

Gardeners with experience in growing matthiola do not pick seedlings. To grow without picking, you can use a box where eggs or chocolates were previously stored. These cells are filled with soil and 3 seeds are planted in each. When they all grow up, you can choose the strongest one and remove the rest.

Transplanting a flower to a place where the plant will grow permanently is carried out together with a lump of earth and with the onset of constantly warm weather. It is best to carry out these activities in the last days of spring or in the first days of summer. When planting, it is important to leave a distance of 20 centimeters or a little more between plants, it depends on what varieties are planted. For better adaptation and faster rooting, the young plant needs to create shade.

Rules for planting in the garden:

First of all, you need to treat the land with manganese. Next, loosen and form furrows, the depth of which will not exceed 50 mm. If the distance is deeper, the sprouts will not be able to appear above the surface of the soil.

In order for the seeds to be evenly distributed, they must be mixed with sand in equal parts and scattered along the furrows.

Next they need to be sprinkled 50 mm. layer of earth. In this case, compaction is not required; light spraying with water is necessary.

A flower planted in February will be able to please with its colors and aroma at the very beginning of summer.

Selecting a location:

Mattiola likes to grow in open sunny areas; in the shade it will stretch out and take on a sickly appearance. The site must be protected from strong winds. If you follow all these simple rules, then in a short time you will be able to enjoy the magnificent aroma of flower brushes.

The flower prefers loose and fertile soil, but applying organic fertilizers in the form of mullein is not recommended due to the content of late blight spores in it. Loamy and sandy loam soils are a good option. The acidity level in the soil should be neutral.

You should not choose a site where plants belonging to the cruciferous family were previously grown. This legacy is often dangerous and the flowers can become susceptible to diseases such as clubroot and fungal infections.

Preparation of the site for planting is carried out in the autumn. The soil must be dug 50 centimeters deep and cow dung must be added at the same time. Thanks to digging, you can destroy fungal spores in the ground and prevent the further development of blackleg.

Reproduction methods

Night violet is propagated by seeds. The procedure is carried out in two ways:

• planting in the ground;
• growing seedlings.

Read about other annual plants:

Mallow flower: lovely gramophones

Phlox Drummond - the star of any garden

Diascia - types and photos of long-flowering exotic

When and how to collect night violet seeds

If desired, you can collect seeds from an adult two-horned matthiola on the site for subsequent cultivation. Harvesting is carried out in September or early October. It is necessary to wait until the plant pods turn brown.

After this, the two-horned matthiola bushes are dug up entirely and dried in a warm, ventilated room. After a few days, the pods are broken off, the ripe seeds are opened and the ripe seeds are shaken out. The material must be stored in a paper bag in a dry and dark place until planting next season.

Attention! Seeds of two-horned matthiola remain suitable for cultivation for 4-6 years.

Diseases and pests

Night violet has high immunity, but can suffer from diseases such as clubroot and fusarium .

In case of isolated manifestations of the disease, you can try to save the flower by treating it with fusarium, but in case of mass disease, the flower bed will have to be destroyed.

Among the pests that are dangerous for matthiola bicornuum are:

• caterpillars;
• slugs;
• cruciferous flea.

While fleas can be killed using insecticides, slugs and caterpillars are collected by hand. These pests are attracted to high humidity, which must be taken into account when planting night violets.

Matthiola bicornuosa reproduction

The best way to plant matthiol is considered to be seed; seedlings are grown extremely rarely. The fact is that the root system of the flower is quite weak and may not survive replanting. However, enjoying all the beauty and aromas of these flowers at the very beginning of summer is only possible through seedlings.

First you need to prepare the container and fill it with a suitable mixture before sowing. The soil should be loose, nutritious, water- and breathable. Before planting, it is necessary to treat the container and soil with manganese.

In landscape design

Since matthiola bicornus cannot boast of bright flowers, and during the day its buds are completely closed, it will not be possible to use the plant as a decorative one.

The flowerbed is arranged in such a way that the delicate aroma of night violet complements the bright composition .

What flowers goes with matthiola bicornuum?

Night violet goes well with herbs; it can be accompanied by:

• thyme;
• verbena;
• sage;
• basil;
• mint;
• Melissa.

From decorative flowering plants, choose:

• petunias;
• nasturtiums;
• tea rose.

Mattiola - features and description

In the last century, Mattiola (Night Violet/Levy) grew in many gardens and parks. Today the flower is not at all in fashion. But some flower lovers find old enthusiastic notes about the plant and begin to become interested in the unusual flower.

Matthiola ancient Greek flower

Mattiola is one of the plants that most closely corresponds to the classic park style; it can be either an annual plant or a perennial. It grows, as a rule, as rectilinear shrubs that have bare, fleecy branched stems.

The height of the stems sometimes reaches 80 cm, but more often they are somewhat lower. The leaves on the stem have entire or serrated edges, lanceolate and oblong.

Flowers can have a wide variety of colors:

• white,
• pink,
• purple,
• yellow.

The inflorescences are simple, there are also double ones, which are collected in ears.

The flowering period falls on June-November - depends on the growing conditions and the specific species.

After flowering, fruit pods are formed in the inflorescence, containing narrow-winged and flat seeds.

Important! A special feature of the plant is its smell, which cannot be confused with anything else.

Non-terry varieties of matthiola are excellent melliferous plants, but terry varieties are exquisite and modest decorations for a flower garden.

You can grow this beautiful plant in your garden, as the flower is unpretentious and easy to care for.

The history of the appearance of the Levka flower

An incredibly modest, beautiful and fragrant flower native to ancient Greece.

The name Levkoy means “white, light.” The plant began to be called Mattiola later - in the first half of the 18th century.

The name "Matthiola" is borrowed from the name of the famous botanist Pietro Andrea Gregorio Mattioli. He deserved such an honor because during his lifetime he was engaged in a detailed description of plants and published several books.

Mattiola got its name from the famous botanist

Common varieties

Today, matthiola has more than 50 species, of which 600 varieties have been bred, which are conventionally divided into:

• dwarf,
• average,
• tall.

You can also divide plants into double and simple.

Among the most popular varieties of matthiola:

• Two-horned matthiola. Perennial.
• Gray night violet. Perennial.
• Sweet-scented leftover. Annual plant.

Interesting! It is worth noting that it was the two-horned night violet that was loved in ancient Greece. It was used to decorate the room, wine cups and other items.

Matthiola or Levkoy is an incredibly fragrant plant

Analogue flowers

If for some reason it was not possible to plant matthiola bicornuum on the site, then it can be replaced by its closest relative - grey-haired left-handed grass. The noctule, otherwise hesperis, is also suitable as a replacement .

You can plant lupine, clove or clover on the site. These plants have a less pronounced but pleasant odor.

Matthiola bicornuum is a modest plant, but once planted on the site, it is difficult to refuse the rich aroma that accompanies the plant.