General description of the poultry farm, tips for cultivation, recommendations for watering, feeding and replanting, breeding methods for ornithogalum, species. The poultry plant (Ornithogalum) belongs to the subfamily Hyacinths (Hyacinthaceae), which is part of the Asparagaceae family, previously referred to the Liliaceae family. This subfamily includes about 130 representatives of the flora. These flowers mainly grow in natural conditions in the Mediterranean, West Asian and South African areas and also in Eurasia, where the subtropical and temperate climate prevails. Although one species of poultry is found in the South American regions, and four in the northern part of the American continent. Basically, this plant was grown as a horticultural crop, but now it is increasingly being cultivated indoors.
This flower takes its name from the fusion of two Greek principles "ornitos", which means bird and "gala" - milk. And this is usually translated as "bird's milk", as this shade corresponds to the color of the buds of the plant. But in European countries the birdhouse is called the "Star of Bethlehem" because of the buds that open in the form of stars, in Germany it is also called the "Milky Star". You can also find this flower called "Indian bow".
Ornithogalum is a perennial plant that has a bulbous root and can be round or ovoid. The size of this root is 3–5 cm. The bulb is an intergrown scaly formations, which sometimes simply adhere freely to each other. The roots of the bulb are both perennial and current year, and they change each other over time. The height of the plant can vary from 30 to 85 cm. The leaf plates extend to a length of 30 cm and are distinguished by a white stripe along the entire plane. Their shape is elongated, in the form of elongated belts. The color of the leaves is rich malachite or gray-blue-green. A rosette is assembled from the leaves, which originates from the root. This leafy arrangement appears much earlier than the flowering stems, immediately after the snow melts. In many varieties, leaf plates can begin to grow in the autumn months, then they hibernate and only after that they begin to die off, and this process ends by July.
Peduncles stretch later, and their height ranges from 10 cm to 70 cm. The flowers that crown it, when opened, can reach 1–3 cm in diameter. The shade of the buds, as already mentioned, casts a snow-white or slightly yellowish tint. But some species have a completely different color: rich yellow or ocher. The outer petals are flaunted with a green stripe in the center. From the flowers, inflorescences are collected, which are located at the top of the peduncle and take the form of a loose brush or shield. An interesting feature of the poultry farm is that it can delight with its flowers only in sunny weather, if it is cloudy or raining outside, then the buds are very tightly closed.
If the poultry farm grows in the garden, then the flowering process begins from mid-spring to its end. After the flowers fall off, a capsule fruit is formed, containing many black flat or rounded seeds. Many species are grown in greenhouse conditions.
In one season, the mother bulb can form many baby bulbs, with which the ornithogalum can be propagated. Usually it stays in one place for up to 5 years and actively grows around.
It is important to remember that the bulbs of the poultry farm are quite poisonous, and it is necessary to wear gloves to care for the plant (to transplant or separate the children). It must also be remembered if there are small children or pets in the house. But there are types that are used for medical purposes. Bulbs of some varieties of ornithogalum are actively used as food after frying or pickling. And also used in cooking sprouts that resemble asparagus.
Poultry cultivation in the garden and indoors
The plant is initially not picky and does not require any special conditions.
- Lighting. Ornithogalum loves good lighting, does not suffer from direct sunlight. Therefore, in the garden and indoors, you can choose places with rich illumination. In the rooms, windows facing the south-west or south-east sides may come up; the window sills of the southern exposure windows are also used to install a pot with a birdhouse on them. If the plant is grown in a garden, then flower beds in the shade of fruit trees or shrubs may be suitable, but in the bright sun the flowering of ornithogalum will be more intense and multiple. As soon as the ambient temperatures begin to allow, it is preferable to put the pot with the plant on the balcony, terrace or garden, since the poultry farm loves fresh air, if this is not possible, then it is necessary to arrange frequent ventilation for the plant.
- Content temperature. It is clear that for a plant growing in the garden, it is impossible to influence the outdoor temperature, especially knowing that ornithogalum is frost-hardy enough. But there are some species that are thermophilic and for them it is necessary that the temperatures fluctuate between 20-30 degrees in the summer months and with the arrival of autumn they should be reduced to 13 degrees. If such a plant grows in a flower bed, then it should be covered for the winter.
- Air humidity for ornithogalum. The plant is completely undemanding to moisture indicators. Therefore, it perfectly takes root both in the garden and in living quarters. Since the poultry farm grows in climatic zones from temperate to tropical latitudes, it prefers humidity values in the range of 50-70%. When cultivated as a pot culture, if the plant grows in too dry air, it can provoke deformation and damage to leaf plates, the development of diseases or damage by harmful insects. Therefore, with the arrival of the hot months of the year, spraying is necessary for the poultry farm. For this procedure, the morning hours are chosen, since the moisture on the leaf plates will have time to dry out by the time the sun's rays can harm them. It is also recommended to arrange shower procedures that will clean the leaves of accumulated dust. Damp sponges or cloths can be used to remove dust, which will speed up photosynthesis and gas exchange.
- Watering the plant. Waterlogging of the soil has a very detrimental effect on ornithogalum. This will directly depend on the diameter of the bulb and the volume of the pot in which it is planted. In the autumn-winter period, it is necessary to moisten the substrate in the pot when the top layer of the soil dries out. If the poultry house is planted in a plastic pot, then its humidification will not be as frequent as for those plants that grow in ceramic or clay pots. This is characterized by the fact that water evaporates faster from dishes made of natural materials. Since at the end of July the plant begins a dormant period and at this time the ground parts begin to die off, therefore, the moisture of the bulbous root becomes minimal.
- Top dressing. To support the poultry farm at the time of its growth, it is necessary to fertilize the soil in a pot twice a month. At the same time, fertilizing with a complex of minerals is selected for plants that have roots in the form of bulbs and bloom in room conditions. It would be a mistake to believe that a poultry farm that is grown in a flower bed, in a garden, does not need feeding. For abundant flowering, these flowers need to be fertilized, like those that grow indoors in pots.
- Rest period. Ornithogalum has a pronounced dormancy mode, which begins as soon as the flowering period passes. This applies not only to an adult specimen, but also to baby bulbs. As soon as the summer solstice passes, the poultry farm slows down its growth, its leaves die off. In this case, watering of the plant is reduced, there is no need to apply fertilizers.
- Transplantation and selection of soil for the poultry farm. In order to plant a plant, you need to take ordinary garden soil, it can also be poorly nutritious (add a little humus soil). You can make it looser and lighter by adding river sand to the substrate. Clayy, heavy soils are not suitable for the plant.
The soil is also used commercially available universal, but it is facilitated by the addition of coarse sand and for nutritional value - humus. The acidity of the soil should be neutral or slightly acidic. It is best to replant the poultry house with the arrival of May. When flowering ends and peduncles with leaves die off.
For planting plants in the fresh air, the time of the beginning or middle of autumn is selected. When planting a poultry farm in a flower bed, it is necessary to choose a place with sufficient lighting, since in a strong shade the soil will slowly dry out, moisture can stagnate and the bulbs can begin to rot. Overgrown bushes in about 5 years will require separation and replanting. If the bulb is large enough, then it can be planted to a depth of 10 cm with a distance between the plant rhizomes of 8 cm.
If the plant grows in a pot, then the transplant must be carried out during the growth of the bulb - when it grows, it is necessary to change the pot. A new container is chosen more than 5 cm in diameter than the bulb itself. When planting in a new flowerpot, only 1/3 of the bulbs are set aside under the surface of the soil. When choosing a pot, you must try to take containers from natural materials. Firstly, such a flowerpot is heavy enough and will not be able to turn over under the weight of the grown onion. Secondly, the natural materials that were used in the manufacture will facilitate the rapid evaporation of moisture and help the plant breathe. A good drainage layer is necessarily laid out on the bottom (of any porous material - small expanded clay or pebbles). He will absorb excess moisture, and then gradually give it to the plant.
Poultry breeding methods
You can propagate the plant using seed and baby bulbs.
A large number of small bulbs, which are called "babies", can form on the mother's ornithogalum. The place of their origin is at the bottom of the bulb under a layer of scales. As soon as the plant begins a dormant period and the leaf plates dry out, then you can proceed to the procedure for separating the children. After separation, the onion babies are transplanted into a separate pot without deep deepening. Young plants quickly begin to release the first leaves.
The collected seeds are recommended to be planted during the winter period, as they need to be stratified within 3-4 months. Seed material is placed in a container or placed in a bag with a moistened peat-sand mixture. Then the container or bag is covered with paper or plastic and placed in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment. After the above-mentioned time has elapsed, they can be planted in the soil for further growth. However, plants that are grown in this way will begin to bloom only after 4–6 years of growth.
Difficulties in the process of cultivating a poultry farm
The problems that a florist who grows ornithogalum may face are as follows:
- with low humidity in the plant, leaf plates turn yellow and curl;
- with poorly adjusted temperature conditions, the leaves will deform, dry out and fall off.
Can be affected by harmful insects such as scale insects, aphids and spider mites. All these pests are clearly visible on the plant, they are characterized by the appearance of sticky plaque on the leaves and brown small plaques on the back of the leaf plate (scale), small green or black larvae and adults on the stems and leaf plates of the plant (aphid), thin cobwebs on the leaves and their yellowing (spider mite). At an early stage, you can prepare a soapy or oil solution and spray it with ornithogalum, being careful not to get on the flowers. If this method did not produce the desired effect, then it is worth using insecticides that are used for spraying the affected plants.
Types of poultry
There are a large variety of types of this flower, the most popular are given here:
- Fringed bird poultry (Ornithogalum fimbriatum) … A plant that has a bulb root and has been growing for many years. Differs in pubescence with short hairs. The height of the peduncle arrow is not more than 15 cm and it is shorter than the leaf plates, which are spread out. The shape of the inflorescences is corymbose. The buds bloom into white, star-shaped flowers that have a green streak on the outside of the outer petals. Flowering begins in the first days of May.
- Umbrella poultry (Ornithogalum umbellatum). The second name is "white branushek" and this is the most common type for growing flowers. This plant is famous for the formation of a large number of baby bulbs. Also, rich green glossy sheet plates with a whitish strip are folded into thick curtains. The lower pedicels in the inflorescence, which lengthen in the process of growth, give the impression that the inflorescence itself is corymbose. Flowering time falls on the end of May.
- Large poultry garden (Ornithogalum magnum). The plant can stretch to a height of one and a half meters. It has a bulbous rhizome and grows for many years. The leaf plates are much shorter than the stem and reach a width of 4 cm. The flowers, which measure 3 cm in diameter, gather in elongated racemose inflorescences. There are up to 30 of them. On the perianth there is a green stripe on the leaves, which in rare cases is almost invisible.
- Poultry tailed bird (Ornithogalum caudatum). It has a synonym for its name - Indian bow. The leaf plates are wide enough and flat in shape. The bulb root is colored green and reaches a diameter of up to 8 cm. Usually bulbous babies are attached to the bottom of the mother bulb and, at the very beginning of ripening, appear as bulges on the body of the rhizome. The flowering stem can reach up to a meter in height. It contains a large number of flowers, which are painted in pale green shades. The flowering process takes the last month of autumn and the first winter. The fruit of ripening flowers is a capsule with a lot of seeds.
- Doubtful bird poultry (Ornithogalum dubium). The main difference is the beautiful shades of flowers: yellow, orange, red or whitish. The segments at the base of the perianth are greenish or pale brown with a bronze tint. The cluster of the inflorescence is in the shape of a pyramid. Green leaf plates with yellowness go down a little and are distinguished by marginal pubescence. This type of poultry farm is used in floristry for drawing up flower arrangements, since it has the property of not fading for a long time if it is placed in water.
- Fisher's birdhouse (Ornithogalum fischerianum). The height is just over 50 cm. The leaves are painted in blue-green shades. The inflorescence is racemose, consists of 10–20 buds, which are located on short pedicels. The flowering process occurs at the beginning of summer.
For more information on growing a poultry farm, see here:
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