Common features of beshorneriya, agricultural technology during cultivation, transplantation and reproduction, recommendations for combating pests and diseases, interesting facts, species. Not so long ago, plants began to appear on personal plots, so similar to the well-known yucca (a flower with long belt-like leaves and white-cream buds on tall flowering stems). But this representative of the flora still differs from the yucca in its appearance, and most importantly in the shade of the petals in the flowers. Multiple bell-shaped formations, bright fireworks grow from a green bunch of foliage - what kind of new exotic plant is this that has so successfully begun to grow on our lands. So, a relative of the yucca is Beschorneria.
It belongs to the genus of plants of the Agavoideae subfamily, and they, in turn, are representatives of the Asparagaceae family. The homeland of this interesting green inhabitant of the planet is the land of Mexico. The subfamily also includes up to 7 species. In its native territories, the plant is so cute that passing tourists strive to be photographed with bright arrows of flowers, especially if the number of plants growing nearby is large. Beshorneria does not bloom too decoratively, but with the contrast of green leaves and bright crimson large buds, it perfectly sets a person up for a festive mood.
The plant got its name in honor of an amateur who was engaged in botany - Fridrich Wilhelm Christian Beschorner, who lived in the 19th century. He was not only fond of studying plants on his own, but also had a medical practice in Germany. Often this representative of the agave family is called the "Mexican lily", although it is also popularly called shprakelia (her flowers are more similar to lily flowers).
Beshorneriya is a succulent perennial (that is, a plant that accumulates liquid in its shoots in order to survive unfavorable dry periods). From its leaves, it forms not only rosettes reaching a width of 65 cm, but also has shoots. The stem of the "lily of Mexico" is small - its height is only 10–12 cm. Large leaf plates (the length is measured at 30–50 cm), differing in linear and broad-lanceolate outlines, their tops are bent and sharpened towards the end of the plate. The surface of the sheet is rough to the touch on both sides. Its color changes from pale green to rich herbal. The entire plate is covered with a gray-bluish bloom formed by silvery strokes. Along the keel, they are fleshy (where there is a depressed midrib, clearly visible from the reverse side of the leaf), along the edge there is a rather thin serration up to 3 mm. A basal rosette is assembled from these sessile leaves.
In the month of May and July, an expressive inflorescence appears, which has the size of a flowering stem, sometimes up to a meter in height. But some species have leafless springy peduncles reaching up to 2 meters, gradually tilting towards the ground. Their color is greenish-crimson. Inflorescences are racemes or panicles that surround pinkish, coral, or red bracts. Inflorescence groups are pendant bell-shaped flowers, in which the bud is in the shape of a tube. Flowers are painted in red-greenish tones. Their number in the inflorescence reaches hundreds of units. When blooming, the color of the buds changes to yellow.
In ornamental gardening, beshorneriya occupies a pretty good place today, but southern regions are better suited for growing in open ground. This is due to the fact that the culture is almost universal and a florist who does not have sufficient gardening experience can cope with its cultivation. Due to its property of releasing daughter sockets on the sides of the mother, it is possible to always have a beautiful bush, even if the parent plant begins to die off. "Children" simply cover it over time and do not allow the bush to look withered.
Beshorneria is often used by landscape designers to decorate rotary or stone gardens, planting "Mexican lily" next to plants with bright green leafy: dracaena, cordelina, agave and the like.
Agrotechnics in the cultivation of beshorneria
- Lighting. "Mexican Lily" feels great in the bright sun, like everyone from the Agave family. Therefore, growing it in the house, you can put the pot on the windows of the south, south-east and south-west direction. Find a spot in your garden for the plant to bask in the sunlight. The main thing is that there is no stagnation of spring and rainwater in this area.
- Content temperature. It is best to grow beshorneria indoors with heat values in the range of 22-25 degrees, but with the arrival of autumn, a cold winter will have to be provided. Under conditions of cultivation in open ground, the plant can withstand frost down to -10 degrees.
- Air humidity. Naturally, what is being said about a plant cultivated in rooms - on the street beshorneriya and so good, there is a constant air circulation. The plant, although it loves high humidity up to 50%, also grows well in indoor conditions with dry air. In the most intense heat, foliage spraying can be carried out.
- Watering beshorneriya. Like all humidification succulent plants, the Mexican Lily loves regular but moderate moisture. The topsoil should dry out in the pot between waterings. In winter, especially if the plant is kept at low heat indices, watering is reduced. However, a prolonged drought is not terrible either. When grown in a flower bed, beshorneriya is not watered, it has enough rainfall.
- Fertilizers for a plant, they are applied every two weeks with preparations for succulents and cacti. You can also use the complete mineral complex.
- Transfer. A flower on the site can grow for several years without transplants, since young rosettes of leaves cover the old ones and the plant does not look ugly. If beshorneria grows in a pot, then it will be necessary to change the pot and soil every 2-3 years, while it is important that the root collar is not covered with substrate.
The soil for transplanting is taken universal for indoor plants or compiled on the basis of leafy soil, sod, humus earth and river sand (all parts are taken equal).
After transplanting, beshorneriya is watered abundantly - there are up to 10-12 buckets of water per bush, later (if it grows on the site) watering is not carried out. When the "Mexican lily" is placed in a pot, the soil is also thoroughly moistened after transplanting.
Breeding rules for "Mexican lily"
You can get a new beshorneria by separating the children or by separating the bush and rhizomes.
You can also propagate with seed, which is sown in peat-sandy soil to a depth of about 5 mm, in a separate small container with a diameter of no more than 7 cm. After that, the planting is placed in a shaded place, without direct sunlight. Usually seeds germinate very slowly and not amicably. It is important to maintain the temperature during germination within 23-25 degrees and high humidity - this can be provided in a mini-greenhouse or put the seedlings under a glass cover (wrapped in a plastic bag). You will need daily ventilation and spraying of the soil so that it is always slightly damp. Once the plants have developed, transplanting to a permanent growth site can be carried out. At the same time, young beshorneria are abundantly moisturized, and then care is carried out as usual.
When dividing a bush, the plant is dug up and the rhizome is divided so that the division has a sufficient number of leaves and points of growth (nodes). Then there is a planting, in a permanent place of growth in ordinary soil, but it is important, until the plant takes root, then keep it in a shaded place, devoid of direct solar streams. After planting, the cut should be watered abundantly. Since multiple daughter plants are formed on the side shoots, they can also be carefully separated and planted to obtain a new Beshorneria bush in a permanent place in open ground or in a pot with suitable soil. After that, abundant hydration is carried out. A young plant, until good enough growth signs appear, is kept in an openwork shade for about 1–1.5 months. The flower bud is removed to enhance leaf growth.
Difficulties in cultivating beshorneria
The plant is rarely affected by pests and diseases, it is quite resistant. May be attacked by spider mites or mealybugs. Insecticides are used to combat.
Also, beshorneria can suffer from root rot with strong waterlogging of the soil, then the leaves wither and turn yellow. You will need to transplant, remove rotten roots, and treat the rest with a systemic fungicide.
Interesting facts about beshorneriya
Like all agave plants, beshorneria has medicinal properties, but so far they have been little studied.
Flowering can only be expected 4–5 years after planting, and then it will bloom annually.
Types of beshorneria
- Beshorneria white-flowered (Beschorneria albiflora). The native area is in the Mexican lands. Only in this species from the whole genus, when growing, it forms a trunk, which is measured 80 cm in height. Rosettes are formed from the leaves. The leaf plates have a shiny surface with a rich green color. From small whitish buds, upright inflorescences are collected on a long flowering stem.
- Beshorneria tubular (Beschorneria tubiflora). Succulent perennial plant, which has the following dimensions: up to a meter in height with a leaf outlet width of up to 65 cm. The leaves are distinguished by slender outlines and lanceolate shape, fleshy along the keel (vein at the bottom of the leaf). Their color is grayish green. The length of the sheet reaches 30 cm. On the surface, roughness is felt on both sides of the sheet, and its edge is decorated with jaggedness. Inflorescences-brushes are located along the entire flowering stem, which is measured 1 m in height. Its top can be bent towards the soil, under the weight of the buds. The flowers are surrounded by bracts with a purple-reddish color scheme, but the petals of the buds are painted in red-greenish soft tones. The length of the bud reaches 4 cm. The flowering process begins in May. The plant was first described by Carl Kunth and Carl David Bouch in 1850 and has been reclassified as a separate genus in today's flora taxonomy.
- Beschorneria yuccoides. It is a succulent agave plant with a long life cycle. With growth, a compact basal rosette of leaves is formed with parameters one and a half meters in height and one meter wide. The leaf plates have a lanceolate shape and fleshy outlines, mainly in the region of the keel below the leaf. Their color is grayish-green, in length they reach half a meter. The entire surface is covered with a pale blue-gray bloom. Inflorescence panicles are 1–1.5 meters long, sometimes even larger. The bracts are colored red, and the flowers are yellowish, bright green. The length of the bud can be measured 7 cm, and sometimes more. The lobes of the flower are wide. The flowering process takes place in the summer.
- Beschorneria wrightii. The variety is very rare. Likes to settle in inaccessibility to humans on the rocky outcrops of mountains, which are mostly located in the central part of Mexico. The root sockets are wide enough and take up a lot of space. They are formed by leaf plates painted in blue color with wide and fleshy outlines. The peduncle is tall and slender, with rather branched inflorescences. They are painted in bright red tones and contain a large number of bell-shaped flowers with a greenish-yellow color. In culture, this variety is little known, but it can grow well in the garden.
- Beschorneria rigida or as it is also called Beshorneriya Reygida. This property (rigidity) is characteristic of the leaves of the plant. Has a small barrel. Upright-growing leaf plates are numerous and form a basal rosette. Their surface is rough on both sides. The shape is lanceolate-elongated in length, measuring 30 cm in length and up to 2 cm in width. There is a sharpening at the apex. Flowers are measured 4, 5 cm in length and are arranged in clusters of 2-4 units. The petals are dark in color, usually greenish yellow. The stamens in the bud are shorter than the petals. After flowering, capsules appear with a length of up to 3 cm, containing black seeds. This variety is grown in the states of Mexico: Guanajuato, Puebla, as well as in San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas. The plant was first described by Joseph Nelson Rose in a work published in 1909. In culture, a little-known variety.
- North Beshorneria (Beschorneria septentrianalis) or Beshorneria siptentrionalis. Naturally, from the name it is clear that the plant prefers to settle in the northern lands of Mexico. It originates from the petiole of the stem and rhizome. The rosette is formed by twenty backward-curved leaf plates. Their outlines are lanceolate-elongated, narrowed towards the base and naked on both sides. The color of the leaves is bright green, saturated. Their sizes vary between 70–90 cm (rarely a little more than a meter) in length and up to 5–9 cm in width (the maximum value can be up to 13 cm). At the base, they are narrower, with parameters 1, 8–2, 5 (rarely up to 3, 3 cm). The apex is shortly pointed. The edge is serrated - 1-3 mm in height. The height of the panicles reaches 150–250 cm. The peduncle is carmine-colored, the bracts are 30 cm long and are ruby-colored. The petals of the flowers are crimson, up to 25-30 mm in length, resembling a spatula in shape, yellowish at the ends. Ripening fruits reach a length of 25–50 mm, sometimes up to 65, with a width of up to 2–35 mm. Inside are glossy black dyed seeds. The variety is widespread in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, where it grows in tropical forests at an altitude of 1400 meters. The first description was made in 1988 by Garcia-Mendoza.
- Doubtful Beschorneria (Beschorneria dubia). Likes to settle apart, reaching a length of 20–40 cm. The flowering inflorescence is curved and measuring 2 m in length. The flowers are tubular, gather in groups of 2–4 units, on short pedicels. They grow from the middle of the inflorescence and reach its top. Most often found in Mexico, Tamaulipas state.
- Beshorneria calcicola (Beschorneria calcicola). As the name implies, it shows the favorite habitat of this variety - calcareous rocks, which are located in Mexico at heights of 1900-2400 meters above sea level, which includes lands in the southeast of Puebla, and the northwest side of Oaxaca and Veracruz … The plant is very rare in culture, but it grows well in temperate and warm climates.
A basal rosette is assembled from narrowly elongated linear leaf plates. The color of the foliage is grayish green. The flowers located on the peduncle have colors ranging from yellowish to pink. The plant was first described by Garcia-Mendoza in 1986.
For more details on beshorneria, see this video:
