Distinctive features of the cuff plant, recommendations for planting and care in the open field, advice on reproduction, diseases and pests during cultivation, curious notes, properties and application, types.
Cuff (Alchemilla) is part of the herbaceous flora, which scientists have included in the Rosaceae family. All species of the genus grow in the North American lands, as well as in Greenland and in eastern Africa. Such plants are not uncommon in almost all European regions, except for those in the Far North, as well as in regions of Asia, where a tropical and arid climate prevails. At the same time, in nature, the cuff can be seen growing on road shoulders and forest edges, in meadows and woodlands consisting of mixed species or pines. It is considered a weed plant. The genus is quite extensive, since today its number reaches six hundred varieties.
| Family name | Pink |
| Growth duration | Perennials |
| Life form | Herbaceous |
| Breeding methods | Seed and vegetative (cuttings and cuttings of an overgrown bush) |
| Open ground transplant time | In the period April-May, after the termination of return frosts |
| Landing scheme | The distance between seedlings is at least 30 cm |
| Priming | Nutritious, light, possibly low clay content, sandy loam or loamy |
| Indicators of soil acidity, pH | Neutral (6, 5-7) or slightly acidic (5-6) |
| Lighting level | Open location and sunny spot or shade at noon |
| Required humidity | Watering is moderate, abundant in heat and drought |
| Growing features | Timely removal of faded buds and yellowed foliage |
| Height values | 45-50 cm |
| Inflorescences or type of flowers | Axillary umbellate inflorescences |
| Flower color | Whitish or greenish yellow |
| Flowering period | June to September |
| Decorative time | Spring-Autumn |
| Application in landscape design | Mixed flower beds, decoration of the coastal zone of water bodies, in compositions of dried flowers |
| USDA zone | 4–8 |
The name of the cuff genus received from scientists is due to the Latin word "Alchemilla", which has the translation "the herb of the alchemists". This is because the plant was prescribed truly miraculous properties and healers have used it for the preparation of potions for a long time. In Russian, the term "cuff" was given because of the folded surface of the leaves, reminiscent of the cuffs of old clothes, which were decorated with scallops. There are also more magical versions, according to which, to obtain a wonderful philosopher's stone, alchemists introduced dew accumulating in the foliage into their recipes. Apparently, this was also the source of another synonym name - dew grass or, as the Latvians call the cuff, the dew chair. Among the people, due to the medicinal properties and outlines, you can also hear nicknames: ram and goose foot, intercrista and God's tear, breast grass and bear paw, as well as ailment.
All representatives of the genus are characterized by a long-term growth cycle and a herbaceous form. The stems of the cuffs grow straight and tend to bush or spread over the soil surface. The height of such plants can fluctuate in the range of 45-50 cm. The stems have a greenish tint, their surface is covered with thin whitish hairs. The rhizome is shortened and is located horizontally in the soil.
Leaf plates can take either finger-dissected or finger-lobed outlines, but in general, their contours are rounded. The leaf has 7-11 lobes with a concave surface, which gives the plant a special decorative effect. The color of the leaves is a rich herbaceous, bright green or yellowish green color scheme. In the root zone of the shoots, the leaves are larger in size, crowning with dense petioles. Those leaves that originate from internodes are already somewhat smaller. But all the foliage together gives a spherical shape to the bush.
The surface of the leaf segments is embossed and folded, due to the radially running veins. Often, the dissection on the leaves is poorly expressed and then the leaf blade seems completely rounded or there is a strong separation. Foliage edge with fine teeth. Since the surface of the leaves has small villi, it is they who serve as protection against droplets of moisture entering. Such a coating also prevents dew from rolling off the foliage and pearls that shine in the sun are collected from it.
When flowering, which falls on the cuff from June to September, completely nondescript flowers are revealed, which have a whitish or greenish-yellow tint of the petals. Umbrella inflorescences of small sizes take their origin from internodes, crowning with elongated straight flowering stems. Although the flowers are not at all decorative, when they are open, they fill the entire surrounding space with the scent of honey.
When the inflorescences are pollinated by insects, the ripening of fruits will begin, which resemble elongated nuts. The nuts are filled with a lot of seed. Fruiting is timed to the end of July.
I would like to note that the bear's paw plant can grow in one place for quite a long time, there are specimens whose lifespan reaches 60 years. At the same time, caring for them is completely simple and does not require much effort.
Tips for cuff fit and outdoor care
- Landing place Bear grass in the garden should be chosen deliberately, as too much shading can lead to fungal diseases and other problems. Best of all, the cuff will be in a location where the light level is high, but the rays will be diffused or shading will be provided at lunchtime, when the sun is most aggressive. However, when planting in a sunny area, the ram will delight with excellent growth and flowering.
- Primer for the cuff. Bear grass needs fresh soil, carefully enriched with humus. It can also grow on a substrate with a low clay content. The best indicators of acidity are pH 6, 5–7 (neutral soil) or pH about 6 (slightly acidic). You can use sandy loam or loamy. If the soil is poor, then the intercrista will not grow on it.
- Cuff fit. The most appropriate time will be the time when return frosts will completely stop. This usually falls in the period of late April or early May. Before planting, the soil is dug up and flavored with humus. The distance between the seedlings should not be less than 30 cm. If you plant the seedlings or cuttings closer, they, growing, will interfere with each other, they will not have enough light and nutrients in the soil.
- Watering. If the plant is planted in a sunny location, then during dry periods, abundant watering will be required. Moisturization of the soil should be moderate, since moisture stagnation will negatively affect the root system of the sickle.
- General care instructions. The cuff, like any garden plant, requires some attention from the grower. Here it is necessary to remove wilted flowers and leaves that have changed color to yellow. When it is noticed that the wilting of the foliage has increased, then it is likely that there is a lack of moisture or feeding - if this is not the cause of fungal diseases. Then young leaf plates will begin to grow, and the likelihood of a second wave of flowering will increase. After irrigation and precipitation, it is recommended to loosen the soil so that its top is not taken by a crust that does not give access to the roots of air and moisture. In one place, the cuff can grow for quite a long time. Despite good weed resistance, regular weeding is best. Since the stems have the peculiarity of spreading over the site, it is recommended to limit their rapid growth so that the ram does not aggressively capture other territories. After the flowers change color, it is necessary to remove them not only because of their ugly appearance, but also to exclude self-seeding.
- Wintering cuffs are not a problem, since when cultivated in the middle lane, the plant copes well with cold weather. But if the type of soft cuff or other thermophilic varieties is grown, it is recommended to carry out mulching for the winter. Such mulch can be spruce branches, peat, dried foliage, or non-woven material, such as spunbond, can be used for shelter. With the arrival of spring, the shelter is removed and the bushes are examined. If there are damaged or broken shoots, then they are removed. Pruning is also done for shaping, so you don't have to worry about cutting off the stems too much, as they will recover pretty quickly.
- Procurement of raw materials for the cuff. It is recommended to harvest the herb of the interdigital in the middle of summer, when the flowering process is in full swing. In this case, all parts are subject to preparation. The cut green mass must be placed in the open air under a canopy on a cloth. It can be used for drying in the attic or pantry, where there is good ventilation. If the cuff grass has been dried according to all the rules, then it retains its rich green color. You can store dried cuff herb throughout the year. At the same time, it is folded into linen or paper bags.
- Fertilizers for a plant such as a sickle is usually not a constant necessity that many garden flowers require. It is recommended simply at the beginning of the spring period to carry out top dressing with the use of organic matter (for example, humus or humus). Some people fertilize clumps of bear grass 2-3 times during the growing season using a solution based on mullein or chicken droppings or chopped grass that has already thoroughly fermented.
- Use of the cuff in landscaping. Since the foliage of the bear's grass is distinguished by its delicacy, the designers have long turned their attention to the plant and use it in decorating garden plots. The stems will serve as a beautiful green carpet creation and will give the site a unique shape. Usually, it is recommended to plant the cuff on the slopes or plant paths and curbs with such bushes, you can cover empty spaces next to the masonry. It is possible to decorate mixed flower beds and compositions next to water bodies.
The foliage of the cuff serves as a perfect backdrop for other more colorful garden flora. The inflorescences may not compete with many garden dwellers such as roses or lilies, but they provide a wonderful honey aroma when blooming and a sophisticated beauty with their greenish-yellow flowers. Delphiniums and thyme are recognized neighbors of the cuff, astilbe and daylilies, red heucheras, white daisies and blue cornflowers look good next to them.
But even in the cut, the inflorescences of bear grass look unique because of their airiness. They will successfully add volume to both summer and winter bouquet. In order to carry out the drying of the peduncles with inflorescences, after cutting, they are tied into a bunch and hung in a dark place with flowers down. Usually, an attic or shed is used for drying, where high-quality ventilation is provided.
Breeding tips for cuffs
In order to reproduce such an unpretentious plant as a bear's paw, both seed and vegetative methods are suitable. The latter includes rooting cuttings or dividing a bush that has grown too much.
- Reproduction of the cuff by seeds. At the same time, it is recommended to place seed in November in a planting box filled with peat-sandy soil or a substrate for growing seedlings. Before this, a drainage layer should be poured onto the bottom, which can be small expanded clay, crushed stone or pebbles. Since the seeds are small, the seeding depth is maintained no more than 7–10 mm. Two weeks later, the containers with crops are transferred to a greenhouse without heating or placed outside, but in this case it will be necessary to organize protection from bad weather, gusts of cold wind (draft) or direct rays of the sun. Thus, the seeds will undergo natural stratification, and when spring comes, the boxes are transferred back to the room, and soon you can see the friendly shoots of bear grass. After another 20 days, the cuff seedlings are dived into separate pots with peat-sandy soil. Usually an indicator of readiness for a pick is the presence of 2–4 leaves in plants. It is best to use pots made of pressed peat, then transplanting to a flower bed will not bring the slightest difficulty. When there is a sufficient growth of the root system of the sickle seedlings, they are transplanted into open ground. Usually this moment comes in April-May. Sowing can be carried out in March, but with such a decision, it is necessary to independently withstand the seed material at a temperature of 0-5 degrees for a long time, at least a month - to carry out stratification. And only after that, with the arrival of April-May, sow seeds on the prepared bed. In any case, the resulting plants will bloom in the same year.
- Reproduction of the cuff by cuttings. When the flowering of the ram is over, it is possible to separate the blanks for rooting from its shoots. Such cuttings in a plant are daughter rosettes with a heel. Cuttings are planted in open ground, but you should take care of shading (such a place can be a projection of the crown of a tree). In such a place, young plants of bear grass will spend at least 14 days, while constant watering is required. After the end of the specified time, you can transplant the interpersonal to a permanent place in the garden.
- Reproduction of the cuff by dividing. Over time, the bushes begin to grow too much, which reduces the overall decorative effect of the curtain. For separation, it is recommended to carefully divide the rosettes of bear grass with their rhizomes into several parts. Do not make the parts too small, otherwise the adaptation process will be longer. The planting of the cut is carried out in a previously prepared place, the soil in which is enriched with peat crumbs. The distance between plants is kept at least 0.3 m. The division is carried out throughout the growing season (from spring to early autumn). After planting the delenka, it is recommended to water generously.
See also recommendations for breeding delosperm.
Diseases and pests arising from the cultivation of the cuff in the open field
Although the bear's paw is a fairly resistant plant, it is also not immune from diseases and attacks of harmful insects when the rules for its cultivation are violated. The main problem is:
- Powdery mildew or, as it is also called - ash … The appearance of this fungal disease is provoked by high humidity, low level of lighting, ill-considered and poor substrate, low temperatures. Then the beautiful leaves of the cuff become whitish in color, as if lime mortar had been spilled on them. The best solution to eliminate this problem is the cutting off of all damaged parts and subsequent treatment with fungicidal agents. Among them, Fundazol, Topaz or Bordeaux liquid are distinguished. After that, you should transplant to a more suitable place.
- Rust, striking the crow's feet when the bushes are planted in strong shade, for example, under the crown of a dense tree or bush. In this case, spots of a reddish-brown hue appear on the leaves. The leaf tissue in these places begins to die off over time. Treatment with fungicides is also recommended in the early stages. In a neglected case, the plants will have to be destroyed. Of the pests that can cause real damage to the cuff bushes, snails and slugs are. These gastropods love to feed on young foliage and bear grass shoots. To combat them, you can use both folk remedies (crushed egg husks or drunk coffee, which are scattered between the bushes), and chemical preparations. The latter can be Meta-Thunderstorm, Antislice or Ulicid and Agrozin.
Read also how to deal with pests and diseases when caring for a delphinium.
Curious notes about the cuff, plant properties and applications
Since ancient times, bear grass has been characterized not only as an ornamental and medicinal plant, but it has also been actively used for food.
Varieties of common cuff (Alchemilla vulgaris) have long been considered not only a medicinal plant, but also endowed with witchcraft features. It was believed that washing with dew taken from the foliage of the bear grass, makes it possible to return youth and beauty. For example, Swiss women to this day continue to wipe their face with sheet plates that retain dew drops. If you make an aqueous infusion from the foliage of a crow's foot, you can successfully defeat an acne rash on the skin of the face.
All these beliefs carry a scientific basis, since the plant carries a large amount of phytosterols that promote the production of hormones that help neutralize toxins accumulated in the skin. At the same time, immunity increases, and not only physical, but also mental activity increases.
If you prepare an infusion on the basis of an ordinary cuff, then it has long been prescribed by folk healers to patients suffering from bronchial asthma, cough or pulmonary tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases. But a similar remedy is also applicable for problems associated with the urinary and gallbladder, whitening of the liver ducts that excrete bile and other diseases are also included.
Bear grass has properties to stop blood and therefore can be used in the presence of ulcers in the stomach and intestines, can stop internal bleeding. If the patient has hemorrhoids, then the tampons moistened with the infusion of the sickle are used externally. In the west, folk healers have used infusions from this plant since antiquity for bleeding of the lungs and uterine, constipation and obesity, they removed the manifestations and pains of rheumatism and gout, and fought with it with diabetes mellitus. There is a possibility of relief of the course of varicose veins.
Interesting
If in the west, folk healers and official medicine have long used the properties of the cuff in the treatment of various diseases, then in Russia the plant does not have such a distribution both among the healers from the people and among official doctors.
Although, according to many sources, there are no contraindications to the use of an ordinary cuff, nevertheless, drugs will have to be prepared from it at your own peril and risk, because such means cannot be used by the following categories of persons:
- pregnant and lactating women;
- patients with individual plant intolerance;
- children under the age of five.
If we talk about the culinary use of the cuff, then its young leaves and stems can be used not only in salads, they are flavored with soups and fermented, like cabbage. Flowers are also used in cooking dishes such as okroshka and pasta for sandwiches, cottage cheese dishes.
Important
It should be remembered that if the bushes of bear grass grew in the sun, then parts of the plant become unsuitable for food, since their taste becomes bitter and astringent.
Common cuff (Alchemilla vulgaris)
may occur under the name Cuff yellow-green … It spreads almost throughout the entire European territory. On the lands of Russia, it is not uncommon, not only in the European part, but also in Siberia, excluding only too southern regions. Perennial herbaceous species with one stem, creeping along the soil surface or several rising when the time of flowering comes. The rhizome is thick, located horizontally in the ground, due to which the plant is quite tenacious. The height in rare cases can exceed 0.3 m. The foliage in the root zone is attached to long petioles, has a semi-rounded shape and is divided into arcuate lobes.
In this case, the entire surface of the leaves is characterized by pubescence, and serration along the edge. Leaves unfolding in the upper part of the shoots are devoid of petioles (sessile). Since the base of the leaf plate is rolled up into a funnel and a surface with villi, the drops of moisture are firmly held on the leaf. There is also the property of releasing a substance in the form of droplets from specific glands located at the edges of the sheet plate. The glands are called guides, and the process itself is called gutation.
Due to the dense pubescence, even after heavy rain, the foliage of the cuff remains practically dry. The color of the leaves is bright green or greenish-yellow. Flowering often occurs twice a year. The first wave occurs at the beginning of summer, the second one is timed to September. From small flowers, corymbose-paniculate or pseudo-umbellate narrowed inflorescences are collected, originating in internodes. The size of the flowers is small, the color of the petals in them is greenish or can be yellowish-green. Seeds ripen in September.
Soft cuff (Alchemilla mollis)
The regions of distribution fall on the lands of Turkey, Ukraine and Moldova. In some English-speaking countries, it bears a synonym name “Lady’s-mantle”, which translates as “lady's cape”. The height of the branched stem can be 45-50 cm, but adult bushes stretch in height and up to 0.6 m. Shoots can be upright or erect. The outlines of the leaves are rounded, the surface is densely pubescent. There is a division into 9-11 blades with a concave contour. The color of the leaves is bright green. Due to the large number of leaves, the bush takes on a spherical shape.
When flowering, stretched throughout the summer, paniculate inflorescences of small buds are formed. The flower diameter when fully expanded is only 3 mm. Petals with a greenish-yellow tint. Nuts ripen in early autumn.
Red cuff (Alchemilla erythropoda)
The first description of the species was made in 1934 by a botanist from Russia Yuzepchukov S. V. This perennial herb will not grow higher than 0.15 m in height. The color of the foliage is bluish-green or gray-greenish. There is a division into 7-9 leaf blades. The outlines of the leaves are rounded, they are located both along the entire length of the shoot and at its base, or they can be collected in a rosette in the root zone. The stem is colored reddish. In summer, a peduncle extends from the internodes, carrying a panicle inflorescence composed of yellowish-green flowers. Their size is no more than 1 cm in diameter. After flowering and pollination at the end of summer, the fruit ripens in the form of a nut.
The variety is widespread in the Caucasus and in the Carpathian mountains, it can be found in the Balkan Peninsula, in the Georgian and Armenian lands, as well as in Turkey and in the northern regions of Iran.
The cuff is connected (Alchemilla conjuncta)
Native lands are in Europe, or rather in the Alps. Perennials of a herbaceous species, capable of forming sods in a group arrangement, not exceeding 0.2 m in height. The creeping rhizome is thinner than other species, woody. Stems grow sprawling or can lie down, are characterized by abundant branching. They themselves are thin and harsh, the surface is covered with thick and silky hairs to the touch. The foliage in the root zone is 5 cm across, its outlines are rounded, but there is a dissection to the very base. These leaves are crowned with rigid petioles with the same pubescence.
The number of segments per leaf can vary from 7-9 units. The outlines of the leaf lobes can be elliptical or lanceolate. At the same time, they are characterized by longitudinal folding. The segments are narrow-wedge-shaped at the base, and blunt at the apex. In the upper part there is a thin serrated serration, which is almost entirely covered with silky hairs on the edge of the leaves, or the teeth are hardly noticeable. The lower leaf segments are formed by diverging. The number of leaves on the stems is small, their size is much smaller. All foliage on the upper side has a dense green tint, glossy, on the back there is a dense pubescence, giving a silvery color.
During flowering, which can last all summer, flowers are formed, collected in compacted glomeruli of a yellowish-green color. When opened, the flower is measured at 40 mm. Inflorescences, formed by buds, are multiple, decorate with long and branched peduncles. The shape of the inflorescences is corymbose-paniculate.
Video about growing a cuff in the garden:
