Description of the white flower plant, recommendations for planting and care in the open field, breeding methods, the fight against possible harmful insects and diseases, facts to note, types. The white flower (Leucojum) is included by botanists in the Amaryllidaceae family. Its distribution can cover the temperate zones of European lands, as well as the northern regions of the African continent. In Europe, this plant is found in territories stretching from Ireland to the Crimea and the Caucasus, passing through Central and Southern Europe. Prefers meadows and forests, where the soil is in constant moisture, can grow on mountain slopes. There are up to 10 varieties in the genus.
| Family name | Amaryllidaceae |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Growth features | Herbaceous |
| Reproduction | Seed and using bulbs |
| Landing period in open ground | Midsummer to September |
| Disembarkation scheme | Depth of bulbs up to 5 cm |
| Substrate | Nutritious, drained and non-acidic |
| Illumination | Penumbra |
| Moisture indicators | Drought-resistant, watering is recommended during the activation of the growth of bulbs |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | Up to 0.4 m |
| Color of flowers | Milky white, snow-white, rarely pinkish |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Solitary or occasionally few-flowered umbrella |
| Flowering time | Spring Summer Autumn |
| Decorative time | Spring-autumn |
| Place of application | Landscaping of curbs, rock gardens and rocky gardens |
| USDA zone | 3, 4, 5 |
This delicate plant has its scientific name in Latin thanks to the translation of the word "leukos", which means "milky white" and indicates the color of the buds and "ion", which bears the designation "violet", since the shape of the corolla resembled such a flower. There is evidence that at first there was the name "leucocion", which gave the phrase "white violet". Well, in Russian, the reason for the name was the whitish petals of the corolla - that is, "white flower".
All Leucojum are herbaceous perennials not exceeding 40 cm in height with a bulb. Its surface is covered with multiple scales, which are closed to each other and look like membranes. All scales are divided into two parts: the lower foliage and the bases of the leaf plates (assimilating), assimilating nutrients. The shape of the bulbs is ovoid. They reach 3–5 cm in height with a diameter of about 2–4 cm. Root processes are thickened, living for many years, and dying off only when the part of the thickened, flat, short stem (bottom) from which they originate begins to die off.
The leaves of the white flower have linear and belt-like outlines. They begin to form together with flowers (if the species blooms in spring) or after flowering is over (in autumn-flowering plants). The leaf, which will precede the formation of the inflorescence, has an open sheath. Usually, 2-3 units of lower scales are formed per year, and after that the laying of the same number of ordinary leaf plates (from two to four) begins, in which one leaf has an open base, others with such a closed part. In the axil of that single leaf plate, the development of the flowering stem takes place. A new bud of renewal begins its formation at the base of the peduncle.
The arrow is slightly flattened, it can be rounded or double-edged. It grows upright, but when the fruit ripens, it begins to droop. It ends with a formation resembling a wing, the sinus of which is the place for the formation of pedicels with buds. The wing has a webbed structure, has a pair of green-colored keels that have assimilation cells. The green color of the wing is preserved not only when the flowers are open, but also when they wilt, even when fruits appear. The wing dries out completely, with the full ripening of the fruits of the white flower.
The form of the perianth is broadly bell-shaped, composed of three pairs of separated leaves, which are decorated with a greenish or yellow speck at the top. The length of the petals is 3 cm. The color of the flowers is snow-white or milky white, occasionally it is pinkish. Flowers grow mainly singly, only in rare cases does inflorescence form from buds in the form of a small-flowered umbrella. The filaments are shortened, the shape of the anthers is oblong and straight, with dullness, they open at the apex. The flowering process occurs during April-May, but there are species that bloom in autumn days.
The fruit is a fleshy capsule, which, when fully ripe, opens from the top with valves. Seeds are formed inside, in which the outlines are oblong or rounded. The color of the seeds is black or light brown; a large fleshy appendage may be present on them or they are devoid of it.
Since the growth conditions for white flowers and snowdrops are almost the same, then you can plant them in flower beds, decorating curbs, rockeries or alpine slides. It is interesting when tender flowers are formed on the lawn, which has not yet been covered with young grass in spring and the soil on it is wet, and then wither by summer, and then the lawn is suitable for walking on it without harm to these plants.
Recommendations for planting and caring for a white flower in the open field
- Tips for choosing a landing site. A flowerbed in partial shade is most suitable. A place near shrubbery or near water bodies is suitable.
- Priming. Leucojum requires a humus-rich substrate that is moist and well-drained. For looseness, when the soil is being prepared, sand or tiny gravel is mixed into it, the nutritional value of the depleted soil will be provided by rotted manure mixed with soil from under deciduous trees and sand. The organic matter is peat and a little bit of lime, since the "white violet" does not like high acidity.
- Landing. The time suitable for the acquisition and planting of white flower bulbs is from mid-summer to September, as this is the period when the "white violet" is at rest. If warm autumn days stretch out, then this time can reach the beginning of the last autumn month. When planting the bulbs, a hole is prepared with a depth of 5 cm. Usually, in a drained substrate, the hole is equal to the size of two bulbs, in heavy soil its depth is one. If the bulbs are not too deeply buried, then over time they grind, and the build-up of children will occur.
- Watering. When the time for the activation of growth comes for a white flower, it needs a large amount of water. Usually, the plant has enough natural moisture, but if the winter turned out to be little or snowless, and in the spring months there was practically no precipitation, then it will be necessary to independently moisten the soil. Such small-bulbous representatives of the flora tolerate drought quite persistently, only with a small amount of moisture, the stems and foliage of these flowers will be low.
- Fertilizers for white flowers. If the flower begins to activate vegetative processes, it is recommended to use inorganic dressings. However, you should not use drugs with a high nitrogen content. In such products, it is necessary that the amount of potassium and phosphates exceeds nitrogen. All due to the fact that the latter substance contributes to the growth of deciduous mass, which, if it is damp weather, begins to suffer from fungal infections. Potassium will guarantee that the bulbs of the "white violet" will be formed healthy and will be able to overwinter peacefully, while phosphorus will provide abundant flowering in this case. Such fertilizers can be "Autumn", nitrophoska, "AVA" or similar with a similar spectrum of action.
- Tips for the use of white flower in garden design. Since the plant is distinguished by early flowering, it is used for landscaping flower beds with primroses, snowdrops or groves, peonies can look decorative next to them. You can use "white violets" for cutting or forcing for seedlings. The most commonly used variety is Leucojum aestivum, which decorates the coastal areas of ponds, streams or artificial reservoirs.
- General advice on care. If it is decided to carry out any actions with the "white violet": transplanting a bush, selling or dividing the "nests" of bulbs, it is recommended to perform them when the white flower has passed into a state of dormancy, falling from June to September. If the bulbs have already been dug out, they need to be dried a little, carefully remove the old processes of the roots and spoiled scales. If a mechanical violation of integrity is found, they are immediately sprinkled with ash. Sick bulbous formations should be discarded.
White flower breeding methods
You can get a new "white violet" by sowing seeds or by conducting vegetative propagation.
Usually the second method is chosen when the babies (daughter bulbs) are disembarked. Such bulbous formations are formed from buds embedded in the scale sinuses. Only one or two such children will grow up per season. To accelerate reproduction, the mother bulb of the white flower is not buried much into the substrate, only slightly covering it with a layer. Then its size will not be so large, but the number of children will increase. When 5 to 7 years have passed, such "nests" (group associations of related bulbs) can be planted when they grow quite well.
In the case of seed reproduction of the white flower, sowing is carried out immediately after the seeds are collected, since the germination capacity during storage disappears altogether. Sowing is carried out in summer or autumn days, so that the sowing material undergoes natural stratification (exposure for a long period at low temperatures) in spring or autumn. This will guarantee their normal development. Florists recommend using pots or seedlings, as small seedlings can get lost. In order for the planting tanks to be protected from weeds, it is necessary to provide shelter with special agromaterial. But at the same time, you will need to monitor and in no case prevent the substrate from drying out. Such a covering agent is black spunbond or roundup spraying. The last actions are possible only if the foliage on the seedlings of the "white violet" dries up completely. Such plants will please with flowering only after a period of 6-7 years.
Fight against possible pests and diseases of the white flower
The plant can be affected by both pests and diseases. Among the first, there are:
- Mice and moles usually spoil the bulbs, then the plant grows poorly and looks depressed. In order to prevent this from happening, it is not recommended to leave clumps of perennial plants or sod from grass near the planting closer than three meters. Traps that are placed in the garden will help against moles.
- Shovel butterflies and their caterpillars. To combat these pests, both folk remedies (chopped wormwood 300 grams, 250 grams of wood ash, 1 tablespoon of liquid soap, diluted in a 10 liter bucket and insisted for 5-6 hours) and chemical (Deces, Arrivo or Sherpa) are used.
- Slugs usually settle on nutritious or heavy and clayey soil, eating bulbs. For the fight, metaldehyde (methiocarb) or drugs such as "MetaGroza" are used.
- Bulbous nematode. Alas, there is no salvation, only if the plant is not too affected, then it is removed from the soil and soaked in water with a temperature of 40–45 degrees. They try not to plant the place where the affected white flowers grew for another 4–5 years.
Among the diseases, the main ones are manifested:
- Viral, such diseases are not cured, the plant should be dug up and destroyed or sown with new seed material.
- Gray rot due to warm but damp weather. Apply a fungicide - Topaz, Cuproxat or Champion for spraying the bushes, after the affected parts have been removed;
- Rust manifests itself as red spots. Sulfur treatment is recommended (for example, colloidal), and 1% Bordeaux liquid or other approved fungicides are used, among which are Abiga-Peak, Cumulus, Poliram, Strobi.
- Chlorosis occurs due to poor drainage, growing conditions, damaged planting material (bulbs) or lack of iron. You can carry out top dressing with the preparation "Mister-Tsvet".
Facts to note about the white flower
Since the plant is somewhat similar to a snowdrop, it can be planted in rabatkas and rock gardens, form group plantings with similar early flowering flora representatives, and arrange coastal water bodies. Florists use it in cut to create small bouquets.
Variety Spring white flower (Leucojum vernum) contains in its parts the alkaloid galantamine, which serves as a raw material for drugs intended for the treatment of the nervous system.
Due to the reduction in the plantings of the Summer White Flower (Leucojum aestivum) in nature, the plant is listed in the Red Book.
Calla species
Spring white flower (Leucojum vernum). In nature, such flowers are found in Central Europe and the Carpathians, where beech forests are common in the mountains. Perennial, with an ovoid bulb. The height of the stems, which does not exceed 20 cm, and the diameter of the bulb is equal to 2 cm with a height of up to 3–3, 5 cm. The shape of the leaf plates is broadly lanceolate. Their length is approaching 25 cm, with a width of up to 1, 2 cm. After flowering is completed, their length will increase to 30 cm, and by July they die off. The height of the flower-bearing stems is about 20 cm. The flowers grow singly, occasionally in pairs, crowning with elongated pedicels. At the base there is a bracts. The color of the petals is white, and there is a green or yellow ending at the top. The flowers look drooping and have a pleasant aroma. Sepals can be up to 25 mm long. The flowering process takes place in mid-spring and lasts 25-30 days. The fruit is a fleshy capsule, the shape of which is almost spherical with three nests. This species is grown in culture in the 20s of the 15th century. A popular variety is Carpaticum, which has a larger flower size than that of the wild form and the petals have yellow spots.
Summer white flower (Leucojum aestivum). In natural conditions, it can be found on the territory of Western Europe, in the Crimea and the lands of the Mediterranean, the plant is not uncommon in Asia Minor and Western Asia, as well as in the regions of Western Transcaucasia. Most of all he prefers places with damp soils, which can be on flooded meadows or along the banks of streams, rivers and rivulets. Perennial bulbous, which can be measured in height up to 40 cm. The length of the bulb varies within 4–5 cm with a diameter of about 3–4 cm. The membranous sheath is measured between 3–6 cm in length. Leaves are formed 2-5 pieces.
The length of the leaf plates is 25–40 (60) cm with a width of almost 1–1, 5 cm. Their color is greenish-gray. The flowering stem extends to a height of 40 cm. From 3–10 buds, inflorescences of umbrella outlines are collected, which take on drooping forms. The flowering process begins in the second half of May or early summer, and can take up to 20 days. The fruit is a fleshy capsule filled with black seeds. Its length is 1.5–2 cm, with diameters of almost 1.5 cm. In seeds, the seed coat may lag behind, and there are air pockets. Grown in culture since the end of the 16th century.
Video about the white flower:
