Distinctive features of the plant, tips for caring for scutellaria, recommendations for breeding skullcap, difficulties in growing and ways to solve them, notes, types. Scutellaria is also often referred to as Shlemnik and belongs to the genus of herbaceous flora that belong to the Lamiaceae family or, according to another version, to the Labiatae family. It is curious that all the plants that scientists have assigned to these groups are found throughout the globe, excluding only the lands of Antarctica. However, the native territories are the regions of Costa Rica and Mexico.
The representative of the flora bears its scientific name thanks to the translation of the word from Latin "scutellum", meaning "shield" or "helmet". This is due to the structure of the flower shape, which was noticed in ancient times.
Almost all scutellaria are perennials, but in rare cases, some species have a life cycle of only one year. Also rare are the varieties that have a semi-shrub or shrub form of growth, basically all skullcaps are grass-like. Their height fluctuates in the range of 40-60 cm, although in natural conditions it can reach a meter.
The plant has stems, pubescent with simple hairs, over time they become lignified at the base, but in the upper part they remain herbaceous. The leaf plates are attached to the stems by means of petioles, the shape of the leaf is very diverse, it can be either serrated or crenate, occasionally whole-edged or practically dissected. The color of the leaves is bright green.
In the process of flowering in the leaf axils, one or two buds are formed, but flowers can also be collected in inflorescences that take a racemose or spike-like shape, then they crown the tops of the stems. The flower has a bell-shaped calyx with two lips. These labial formations in scutellaria are entire, widely rounded, and the upper lip has a transverse ridge characterized by concavity. The back part, after the fruits are fully ripe, tends to fall off.
The long rim has a tube bent to the outside, with a two-lipped bend. Moreover, in this case, the upper lip looks like a helmet, it is concave and has a pair of lateral blades located at the base, the size of the lower lip can be much longer or shorter than the upper lip, its shape is flat. There are two pairs of stamens, they grow ascending, have pairwise close anthers with ciliate edges. Those stamens that are in front are longer in size than the hind ones, unilocular. The hind ones have a pair of spread-out finger-like sacs. The column is distinguished by a stigma with two lobes.
Scutellaria fruits, when ripe, take on an ovoid shape or a flattened ball. The entire surface is predominantly covered with warty outgrowths, occasionally pubescence may appear on it. In extremely rare cases, the fruits look like smooth nuts. When the fruits are fully ripe, then if you touch them, they shoot sharply, scattering the seed material around. Thus, the skullcap populates all large areas around it. The embryo of the seed has a curved root.
Scutellaria has a high growth rate, is often prone to elongation of shoots, and if the plant is purchased, then it is usually treated with retardants, due to which, with further care, there is a sharp activation of its growth. Indoors, skullcap can be grown for up to three years, and then it is recommended to carry out renewal or very strong pruning of the stems. The plant is easy to grow, but with some of the difficulties described below.
Scutellaria care for indoor cultivation, watering
- Lighting and location selection. It is best for the skullcap to find a place with bright, but diffused lighting. This can be the sill of a window facing the east or west side of the world. If the lighting level is not enough, then the color of the leaves of the plant will begin to change (they will turn pale), the shoots will be strongly extended, and flowering will not occur. Therefore, if the pot with scutellaria is on the north window, it will have to be supplemented with phytolamps.
- Content temperature. For this plant with helmeted flowers, temperature indicators are highly dependent on the season. So in the spring-summer period, the thermometer should not go beyond the range of 20-25 units, and when autumn comes and throughout the winter, the temperature indicators usually fluctuate between 13-15 degrees.
- Air humidity when growing scutellaria in room conditions, it is constantly maintained elevated. Such conditions are created by constantly spraying the deciduous mass and wiping the leaf plates with a damp sponge or cloth. Some gardeners recommend placing the skullcap pot in a tray filled with expanded clay, into which a little water is poured. Only here it is important to ensure that the bottom of the flowerpot does not touch the liquid level. When spraying, the water should not be cold, its room temperature is suitable, and it is also desirable that the liquid is well settled, otherwise white spots from lime deposits will form on the leaves.
- Watering skullcap directly depends on the season of the year. So for scutellaria, from the beginning of spring days to October, abundant and regular moistening of the soil is recommended, but it is important to prevent waterlogging. Then the frequency of watering is gradually reduced, but make sure that the soil in the pot does not dry out completely. A well-settled and soft liquid is used, with temperature indicators of 20-24 degrees. They use rain or river water, in winter they heat and heat the snow, and watered with distilled water.
- Top dressing are carried out during the period of increased growth. Complex liquid preparations are used, with a frequency of 3 times a week.
- Pruning Scutellaria is needed every year with the arrival of spring. Shoots remain only 10-15 cm long.
- Transfer and selection of soil. You only need to transplant once every 2-3 years. A drainage layer is placed in the new pot. The substrate is composed of sod and leafy soil and coarse sand (in a ratio of 2: 2: 1).
Reproduction of scutellaria when grown indoors
Basically, to obtain a new plant of skullcap, its seeds are sown or cuttings are carried out.
If the first reproduction method is chosen, then the seeds are sown in pots filled with loose and nutritious material, such as a mixture of peat and sand (parts are taken equal) or peat is combined with perlite in equal proportions. The soil is slightly moistened and the seed is embedded shallowly. Then a piece of glass is placed on a container with crops, or it is wrapped in plastic wrap. This is necessary to create greenhouse conditions that will guarantee successful seed germination. Until the shoots appear, the pot should be in a warm place (temperature about 20-24 degrees) with shading. Also, daily airing and watering of the substrate are needed when it dries out.
When the steams hatch, the shelter is removed, and the pot with them is transferred to a bright place, but shaded from direct sunlight. When a pair of true leaf plates forms on the seedlings, the first pick can be carried out in separate pots with more fertile soil.
When grafting on blanks in the summer, the apical parts of the branches, on which flowers have not yet formed, are cut, with a length of at least 10 cm. There should be 2-3 leaves on the graft. Planting is carried out with a peat-perlite substrate, which is slightly moistened beforehand. Before planting, cuttings are recommended to be treated with heteroauxin or another root formation stimulator. The rooting temperature should be 25 degrees. In this case, the cuttings are recommended to be wrapped in a plastic transparent bag or placed under a glass cover. A cut plastic bottle is often used. Also, when caring for cuttings, it is necessary to regularly ventilate and moisten the soil. You can perform bottom heating of the substrate - this will help the workpieces take root faster.
After 20 days, the shelter can be removed and young skullcaps can be transplanted into separate containers. In one pot, you need to place 2–4 cuttings, so that later the bush is more lush. Then, when the plants have adapted, the first pinching is done.
Difficulties in growing scutellaria at home
A big problem for skullcap is aphid, which is clearly visible, since the pest is represented by small green bugs. Also, if you do not take measures to get rid of the pest for a long time, then the foliage and stems will begin to be covered with a sugary sticky bloom - the pad, the product of the insect's vital activity. This sticky substance is the root cause of the next disease that appears later - soot fungus. Then the parts of the plant will already be covered with a gray or blackish bloom, which, when touched, leaves dark marks on the fingers.
Sooty fungus affects the plant in such a way that it contributes to the complete clogging of the pores on the leaves and stems, thereby making it difficult or completely stopping breathing. It shades foliage with its cover and interferes with the process of photosynthesis, so the leaf plates turn yellow over time and completely die off. This type of fungus is able to endure wintering on leaves in order to resume its destructive activity in the spring. Based on this, it is recommended to timely rid scutellaria of harmful insects by treatment with insecticidal preparations.
With frequent violation of the conditions of detention, attacks by spider mites, whiteflies and scabies are also possible. To combat, the foliage is also sprayed with an insecticide of systemic action and an acaricidal agent.
If watering becomes frequent and too abundant, then the soil begins to acidify and this provokes fungal diseases. In this case, it is recommended to remove the diseased skullcap from the pot, if there are affected areas, remove them and treat with a fungicide. Then the plant is planted in a disinfected new container and sterile soil. In this case, watering should be adjusted.
With low humidity in the room, the tips of the leaves of the scutellaria begin to dry out. If the light level is low, then the plant will not bloom, but in direct sunlight in the midday hours, especially in summer, sunburn on the leaf plates is possible, which appear as yellow or brown spots.
Curious notes about scutellaria
Despite the fact that the scutellaria is a member of the lamb family, it is not an essential oil plant. Most varieties of skullcap are among the representatives of the flora with dyeing properties.
Such a species as Scutellaria baicalensis or as it is called the Baikal Scutellaria, although not included in the pharmacopoeial lists, but it is widely used by traditional healers and homeopaths. For example, in China, this species is one of the half-century most important representatives of the flora, since it can slow down the growth of tumor cells, often has a beneficial effect on the central nervous system, or helps relieve the symptoms of epilepsy.
A variety of Scutellaria galericulata has long been used by folk healers to cure malaria. For this, the aerial part of the plant, called Herba Tertianariae, is used. Also, on the basis of the plant, preparations are prepared for stopping blood or for other bleeding.
Types of scutellaria
- Costa Rican scutellaria (Scutellaria costaricana) is the most common indoor crop and has a semi-shrub form of growth. The plant has slightly lignified stems, which can reach 20-60 cm in length, in cross-section shoots with four edges. The color of the leaf plates is bright green. The shape of the leaf is elliptical or heart-elliptical, the leaves are located oppositely on the stem. There is a comb along the edge. When flowering, a spike-shaped inflorescence is collected from the buds. Flowers mainly originate from the leaf axils. The length of the corolla is 5–6 cm. The tube of the two-lipped flower is colored orange-red, it is characterized by compression on the sides, and in the upper part, the contours resemble an angle. The corolla has almost completely closed yellowish limbs. It is they who resemble the outlines of a helmet due to their special addition.
- Scutellaria baicalensis also called the Baikal Shlemnik. Under the conditions of natural growth, the plant is found in the area of Lake Baikal, on the lands of Mongolia, Korea, in the northern regions of China, in the Amur Region and the Primorsky Territory. Perennial of herbaceous growth, characterized by small leaf plates and two-lipped flowers, which in shape resemble bells painted in purple color.
- Alpine scutellaria (Scutellaria alpina) often referred to as the Alpine skullcap. This perennial can reach 10–30 cm in height. Stems are tetrahedral in cross-section, can be either descending or ascending, are branched, lignified at the base and covered along the entire length with hairy pubescence. The leaf plates are arranged in pairs opposite, their surface is pubescent, the shape is oval, rounded or cordate at the base. The length of the leaf plate reaches 2–3 cm, it is distinguished by a short petiole. When blooming, an inflorescence is formed, composed of blue-violet or purple-white flowers. Corolla length is 2, 5-3 cm. The flowering process takes place from June to August. The native growing area extends to the lands of Central and Southern Europe, as well as to the territory of Russia. He prefers to settle in rocky areas, on rather high limestone mountains, the indicators of which are about 1400-2500 meters above sea level.
- Common scutellaria (Scutellaria galericulata) It can be found under the name of the Common Scoop, the Cap-Bearer Scoop or the Cock Squad. It is a perennial plant with a herbaceous form of growth. The native territories in which it is found in natural nature fall on the lands of Eurasia and North America. It prefers to settle along the banks of river arteries, next to swamps, in highly moistened floodplain meadows, in forests and shrub plantations with waterlogging, as well as along ditches. The variety is widely used in traditional medicine. Perennial with a height of 15–50 cm, occasionally reaching 70 cm. Rhizome is thin, branching, creeping. Stems are tetrahedral, can grow erect or ascending, branching or simple. Usually the color of the stems is green, but occasionally there is a lilac color. Pubescence is sometimes present. The leaf plates are opposite, heart-shaped at the base, elliptical. The color is dark green above, and the lower part is a lighter shade. The flowers in the inflorescence are blue, violet-blue, bluish-purple or pink.
