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.
How and where to plant matthiola in the garden
How to plant matthiola in the ground
Choose a well-lit, open place for planting. It is advisable that other representatives of the Cruciferous family are not previously grown in this place, since the soil may be contaminated with fungal infections and pests.
Transfer the seedlings along with the earthen ball to the depth of the root system. Maintain a distance of 20 cm between the bushes: if planted very densely, blackleg damage may occur. It is better to plant in the evening or in cloudy weather. The soil must be fertile, loose, neutral. Heavy soils are destructive.
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.
Types and varieties of matthiola, their description and photo
The genus includes about fifty species, many of them have long been cultivated and are successfully grown in warm climatic zones. In our gardens, matthiola is usually planted every year, growing seedlings from seeds at home or by direct sowing into garden soil. Only two varieties of the crop are suitable for this, two-horned and gray-haired, with their numerous varieties.
Matthiola bicornuum
An annual variety about half a meter high. Forms a spreading, highly branched bush. The shoots and oval-lanceolate leaves are pubescent with thick felt. The racemose, vertically arranged inflorescences begin flowering in June and continue to open buds throughout the summer as the peduncle grows upward. The base species is white, yellow or mauve in color. Matthiola of this type can be planted with seeds in open ground before winter. The best varieties presented on the Russian horticultural market:
- "Evening scent" The variety is valued for its thick sweet-spicy aroma. The bushes are highly branched, erect, slightly higher than 40 cm. It blooms in a lilac tone, long and profusely. Tolerates partial shade well.
- "Star Light". This is not a separate variety, but a mixture of varieties, which is an assortment of compact flowering bushes of different colors. The height of the varieties included in the mixture is no higher than 30 cm. A cold-resistant varietal species that can withstand short-term drops in open ground temperatures down to -5C.
- "Night Violet" An even shorter growing gillyflower, forming a clump up to 25 cm in height. Photophilous, cold-resistant. Blooms profusely and for a long time in pink and purple tones.
- "Lilak." Cold-resistant summer plant up to half a meter and higher. Loves sunny locations, branches densely, leaves are large, with a serrated edge. The color of the inflorescences is light purple, the flowering is early, the first buds open 2 months after planting and for another 2 months they delight with their delicate color and strong pleasant aroma, which intensifies with sunset.
Mattiola gray
Just like the two-horned one, it lives a one-year life cycle. In contrast, it has weakly branched stems. The height of the bush varies from 20 cm to 1 m. The leaves are oval or lanceolate-linear, the pubescence is short. There are simple and double varietal varieties, the color is classic, there are blue and dark purple species. Fruiting is observed only in matthiola with simple flowers; double varieties are not propagated by seeds at home. The apical racemose inflorescences can be admired from early June to late summer. In regions with warm climates it can bloom even in winter.
Important! Matthiola should not be planted in places where other crops from the Cruciferous family grew. They are affected by the same diseases, the pathogens of which remain active in the soil for a long time.
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.
Mattiola care
The culture is unpretentious and caring for it is easy. It comes down to regular watering, but in small portions so that the soil is not flooded, weeding and fertilizing. Weeding should not be neglected; the night violet can suffer greatly from weeds. Levka does not need organic matter; you only need to add mineral complex compounds under it, and this is enough to do once in the spring. If the soil on the site is fertile and humus, then the plant does not need to be fed. However, too fertile soil is undesirable for this crop, so that the bush does not grow to the detriment of flowering. Light requirements are low; gillyflower can grow well in partial shade.
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.
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.
Use in landscape design
Despite the fact that the aroma of the plant primarily attracts gardeners, the decorative value of the flowers is also quite high, especially since they last a long time when cut.
This flower looks luxurious in different containers - baskets, pots.
Mattiola planted along the paths looks very advantageous.
In the flowerbed, matthiola grows well with lavender, wormwood, mignonette, phlox, thyme, and rosemary.
Growing this plant near houses, terraces, and gazebos allows you to enjoy a luxurious aroma.
To learn how to sow matthiola, see the following video.
