Description of the traits of heliotrope, requirements for cultivation, recommendations for flower reproduction, difficulties in growing and ways to solve them, interesting facts, types. There are many representatives of the "green" world of the planet, who follow the movement of the Sun with their "gaze". We are well aware of the property of a sunflower, to turn its flower following a change in the position of our luminary in the sky, but very few people decide to grow such a flower in rooms. But there is one of the same sunshine lovers who gets along well at home - this is Heliotropium.
The plant belongs to the Boraginaceae family, which also includes up to 300 varieties of angiosperms dicotyledonous flora. For their growth, they "chose" the territory of the Mediterranean and the entire American continent, where a temperate, subtropical and tropical climate prevails. In the southern lands of Russia, only the Heliotropium lasiocarpum variety is found as a weed.
The plant got its name in Latin due to the fusion of two ancient Greek derivatives - "helios", translated as "sun" and "tropein", which means "to rotate" or "to turn". This name emphasizes the property of flowers to turn following the movement of a star in the sky throughout the day. And heliotrope carries its Russian name from a simple transliteration of the scientific name. However, due to its aroma, which is very reminiscent of vanilla, the plant has had extraordinary popularity since the 18th century. In our open spaces it was called "dye litmus" or, not very poetically, "lichen grass." On the lands of France, the name of the heliotrope had a more sonorous interpretation - "the grass of love", but in the old woman of Britain it was called "cherry pie", even the Germans called it "the grass of God."
Species of this genus mainly have a herbal, semi-shrub or shrub form of growth. Its leaf plates have short petioles and obovate outlines. There is also pubescence, their color is dark, rich emerald, the surface is wrinkled and wavy.
When blooming, small buds bloom, which are collected in curls that have a white or purple corolla.
After flowering, a nut-like fruit ripens - a coenobium, consisting of a pair of dry carpels, which in a peculiar way disintegrate into 4 single-seeded particles called erem.
To achieve flowering heliotrope in your garden or room, you need to make some effort.
Growing heliotrope, planting and care
- Lighting when growing "grass of love" should be good, but without direct sunlight. It is better to place the plant on the windowsills of the windows of the east and west locations. In full shade, the heliotrope gets sick and dies.
- Content temperature. Heliotrope is quite thermophilic, the thermometer indicators in the spring-summer period should vary within 20-24 degrees, but with the arrival of autumn they are gradually reduced to 16.
- Air humidity. "Lishayeva grass" also grows in a dry room, but at the same time the ends of the leaves will dry out, and pests can also attack. Therefore, regular year-round spraying is used.
- Watering. As soon as the growing season begins to activate and until the end of flowering, it will be necessary to abundantly and regularly moisturize the substrate. The top layer of the soil should always be moist. But it is important to prevent the flooding of the soil, preventing water from stagnating in the pot holder, especially in the winter period, since the root system can rot. Overdrying is strictly prohibited. Only soft and warm water is used.
- Fertilizers are introduced starting in March and continue to feed until the end of flowering. The regularity of adding dressings every 14 days, complex mineral preparations are used.
- Transfer heliotrope is carried out annually in the month of March. The plant is removed from the container, the spoiled roots are cut off and planted in a new pot, several centimeters larger than the previous one. Drainage is laid on the bottom, and then the soil. Then the plant is placed in a pot, watered and pinched. The substrate must be light and nutritious, otherwise the heliotrope will not develop. You can compose the soil yourself from a sod substrate, deciduous soil, peat and coarse sand (in proportions 4: 2: 2: 1). It is mixed with crushed charcoal and granular complex fertilizer.
Since the root system is prone to decay, it will be necessary to pre-sterilize the substrate before planting.
Tips for breeding heliotrope at home
It is possible to get a new heliotrope bush by sowing seeds, as well as by cuttings.
The grafting process begins at the end of winter and lasts all spring. Cutting is carried out from plants that have reached 3 years of age. The top is cut off from the branch, which should have 3-4 internodes. The lower leaves are removed, and the rest will be halved (this will reduce the area of moisture loss).
Sections are treated with a root stimulant. Planting is carried out in a humus-sandy substrate (equal parts), which is well compacted in a pot and moistened. The cuttings are planted in the ground and covered with a glass jar or plastic bag to create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse. The pot is placed in a well-lit place with a heat reading of 22-25 degrees. The seedlings are ventilated daily, and the soil is moistened if necessary. The cuttings take root in a month. After that, they are transplanted in separate containers with a suitable substrate. At first, they are placed in a shaded place and sprayed several times a day.
The seeds are sown in March. Peat-sandy soil is poured into planting pots, and the seed material is not sealed, but poured onto its surface. The container is covered with glass or foil. They put the container in a place with diffused illumination with a heat indicator of 22 degrees. Supplementary lighting can be carried out so that daylight hours are equal to 10 hours.
It will be necessary to conduct airing, and as soon as the seedlings appear, they are sprayed from a spray bottle. When a pair of leaves develops on the seedlings, a pick is carried out (after 1, 5–2 months from sowing). 6-9 sprouts are placed in one pot. After a month, you can re-plant in separate containers. By autumn, heliotropes will already bloom.
Difficulties in cultivating heliotrope
From pests annoying "grass of love" can be distinguished scabbard, whitefly, aphids and spider mites. If harmful insects are found, the entire plant is wiped with soapy water, followed by treatment with insecticides.
Of the most common problems that occur with heliotrope, there are:
- Gray rot - gray spot on leaves and shoots. For the fight, fungicides are used after removing all the affected parts.
- Rust - the foliage is covered with stripes and spots of a rusty-brown color or bumpy formations (pustules), when ripe, a rusty powder pours out of them. Treatment too.
- The plant does not bloom if the illumination is low, the temperature is high in winter.
- When the edge of the leaves dries up, over time they turn yellow and fade, and subsequently fly around, then this was the reason for the low humidity.
- If the leaves fall from the bottom of the stem, then this is due to an excess of moisture and acidification of the substrate.
- In case of a lack of light, the shoots become thinner and elongated, the leaves lose their color.
Interesting facts about heliotrope
It is important to remember that some of the plants contain poisonous alkaloids in the above-soil parts (stems and leaves), and heliotropin, cinoglossin and laziocarpine are included in the seeds. If such substances enter the human body, then because of them, the nervous system and liver are damaged (heliotropic hepatitis is provoked). Therefore, when growing this flower in your home, it is necessary to prevent contact with the "cherry pie" of small children and pets, as this can be fatal.
However, with all this, heliotrope is actively used in perfumery (due to its delicate aroma similar to vanilla and cinnamon), in floriculture and medicine. This mainly concerns the varieties that grow in Peru - the Peruvian and thyroid Heliotrope. The essential oil of this plant is still very popular today.
Since the heliotrope is a "worshiper" of the Sun, it suits people born under the sign of Leo and Libra. It is believed that the plant will bring good luck, glory and prosperity to its owners in business. It will also help owners gain strength, become influential and authoritative, while not losing the subtlety and sophistication of taste.
If we consider its action for a couple, then it is not for nothing that it is called the "herb of love" as heliotrope helps to create harmonious and strong relationships that are so necessary in the family. It is especially recommended by specialists in the field of energy that if troubles and quarrels begin in the family, then it is necessary to bring a heliotrope to this house, which will become imperceptible for the owners to establish peace and harmony, and will also be able to revive extinct feelings and love.
Even in ancient times, heliotrope was used as a magic flower in various rituals. There was even such a sign that if a flower of the "grass of God" is placed in a church, then it will not let out of the temple women who are unfaithful to their spouses. Also, according to legends, if a heliotrope, together with a bay leaf, is wrapped in cloth and hidden on your body under clothes, then this will protect the owner from envious people and ill-wishers, will help to win the love and respect of others. And there was a belief that a plant growing in a house could scare off thieves.
If, on the basis of heliotrope, a decoction or tincture is prepared, then the fight against helminths is carried out and the pain caused by urolithiasis is eliminated. The plant has not yet been recognized by official medicine.
Types of heliotrope
- Heliotrope Peruvian (Heliotropium peruvianum) or as it is also called Peruvian Heliotrope or Treelike Heliotrope. This variety is the most common among indoor crop lovers. The plant has a shrubby form of growth and a fairly spreading crown, reaching a height of 40-60 cm. Leaf plates with obovate contours, wrinkles are present along the entire surface, the leaf petioles are short. Flowers of this variety take on dark purple or deep blue colors. They have a strong pleasant aroma and gather in inflorescences up to 15 cm in diameter. The flowering process is very long (begins in the middle of summer and lasts until frost) and is quite abundant. Popular varieties are Marine, Black Beauty and White Lady.
- Heliotrope corymbosum (Heliotropium corymbosum). The height of this variety is the most impressive - 120 cm. The leaf blades have lanceolate outlines and have the contours of a boat. The color of the upper part of the leaf is slightly darker than that of the reverse side. The flowers take on a blue or blue color. They gather in inflorescences, the length of which reaches 10 cm. The flowering period extends from early June and lasts until late autumn.
- European heliotrope (Heliotropium europaeum) has the synonymous name of Steven's Heliotrope or lichen herb. Although, based on the name, this variety should be found purely in the Mediterranean, but it perfectly took root in the lands of South America. A perennial plant that starts branching from the very base of its trunk. Usually the height does not exceed 30-40 cm. The leaf plates are large, oblong or wedge-shaped, with long petioles, their color varies from light to yellow-green. Flowers at the very beginning form small curls, which, as they grow, transform into thick and lush inflorescences. The color of the petals is white and the buds take their beginning in the leaf axils or at the ends of the stems. The corolla does not exceed 0.5 mm in length. The flowering process stretches from May to late summer. When ripe, a nut-shaped fruit with ovoid contours is formed. Its surface is lumpy-wrinkled. Seed material is very small and in one gram their number can be 1500 units. The plant is poisonous and application must be extremely careful.
- Heliotrope Kurassavsky (Heliotropium curassavicum). The native territories of growth are in the lands of North and South America. A perennial shrub plant with an upright stem and broad outlines. In height, it rarely exceeds 0.5–1 meters with a width of up to 1–3 meters. It happens that its branches begin to lie down, pressing against the soil. The color of the stems and leaf plates is deep green. The leaves are arranged oppositely on the branches. Their shape is oblong, the surface is fleshy. On the tops of juicy flowering stems, one-sided racemose inflorescences are formed, in which flowers with whitish-blue petals are collected. The number of petals in a bud is 5 units.
- Heliotrope stalk (Heliotropium amplexicaulus) respects the territories of South America as his true homeland. The variety is short, reaching a height of only 30 cm. The stem of the plant is upright, branched. The leaf plates are oblong elongated, lanceolate, waviness is present along the edge. Their length rarely exceeds 8 cm. Flowers bloom with a tubular corolla and purple petals or yellowish with a lilac corolla (this is the name of the corolla of a flower in English).
- Pubescent heliotrope (Heliotropium lasiocarpun) or as it is also called Heliotropium dasycarpum. This plant is an annual with herbaceous growth and poisonous properties. Its height rarely rises above one and a half meters. Hard pubescence is present on all parts. The stem of this variety is well-branched and has leaf blades that take rounded or elliptical contours. Each leaf has a long petiole. Small flowers consist of yellowish or whitish petals. Curls are collected from them. The flowering process takes place throughout the summer.
- Oval heliotrope (Heliotropium ovalifolium), which can be found under the name Heliotrope oval-leaved. The homeland of this variety is considered to be the lands of the Australian continent. The plant is an annual, reaching meter height. The stem is branched; it is crowned with a peduncle with buds that have a tubular corolla. The leaf plates acquire lanceolate or oval outlines, the length of which rarely exceeds 3 cm. The flower has 5 petals in the form of prominent lobes. The color of the bud is lilac or snow-white. Such a plant begins to bloom, starting from April days until th autumn.
- Heliotrope Sea Breeze is a hybrid bred variety. Its height indicators reach 45 cm, and the inflorescences measure 12 cm in diameter. Small buds with blue petals are connected to the inflorescence. The foliage has obovate contours and a dark green color. The flowering process stretches from the beginning of summer days and lasts until October.
You will learn how to grow heliotrope from the video below:
