Muscari, planting and care. Flower care in winter

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We send out invitations to the spring ball in the fall.

The weather has recently given us a challenge: when to plant bulbs; so that they don’t rise before the New Year?

For example, my landing dates have been delayed by a month. I follow this logic: the bulbs need two weeks to take root, so I look at the weather forecast - when stable cold weather is promised, I count two weeks and plant.

For the last two years, the time of planting bulbs has been shifted by at least a month. If earlier I planted tulips, daffodils, and muscari in September, now it is not too late in October, or even in November.

Last year, everything didn’t go according to plan: it was December, but the tulips sprouted, they came out 10 cm. What to do? I simply covered it with spruce branches, hay, fallen leaves, in short, with everything that was at hand.

It happens that everything develops according to a different scenario. I haven’t planted the bulbs yet, but the frosts have hit. What to do? Plant anyway. Firstly, the ground has not yet frozen from two or three frosts, and secondly, there are still several thaws ahead, the bulbs will have time to take root in any case.

Excellent gardeners dig up tulip bulbs every year, I used to do this too, and then I noticed...

I know that the bulbs that I didn’t dig up overwinter better for me. That’s why I haven’t touched them for the last 3-4 years, and they bloom beautifully. Sometimes I dig it up, but only to separate the children and plant them. Groups of tulips have been tested that are unpretentious and do not require digging for 3-6 years (these are groups Kaufman, Foster, Greig, species, as well as Darwinian hybrids, Triumph, Simple early and Simple late).

For good flowering preparing a good place

In order for bulbous plants to grow well in one place for several years, this place must be very good: sunny, windless, but most importantly, they should not stand high groundwater, no stagnation of water! And under no circumstances should the soil be acidic. Bulbous plants love slightly acidic or neutral soils.

If I’m planting bulbs for the first time, I prepare the soil in advance. Ideally, within a month you need to dig it up, select the weeds, break up the clods and level it, there should be no holes on the surface. Water will stagnate in them in spring and winter.

But this is a theory; in practice, there are a lot of other things to do in the garden, so I prepare the holes right before planting. It’s okay, just let the soil sit for a few days before planting, settle and compact.

I plant the bulbs in grooves or holes, at the bottom it is obligatory sand cushion so that the roots do not rot.

Last year I adapted a vegetable bed into a flower garden. Tulips bloomed beautifully after potatoes, cabbage, and legumes. But it’s better not to plant them after tomatoes and asters.

And now the most important thing is the planting depth. Of course, it can be found in any encyclopedia: these are three heights of the onion. But I noticed that this scheme only works well on loose soil.

If I plant it densely, then the depth is two times the size of the bulb.

I used to think that loose soil was preferable for bulbs, but with experience I realized that the soil settles under the influence of rain and then melt water, so the roots rise upward. In general, now I try to plant so that the roots rest not on loose soil, but on dense soil.

The distance between the bulbs depends on the planting method. If carpet planting is planned, then per 1 sq. m – 50-70 tulips. And if in a flower garden between perennials, then the distance is 2-3 cm between the bulbs.

How to fill the void?

It usually forms after the bulbs have flowered. Of course, you can plant annuals, but good neighbors There will also be perennials: hostas, astilbes, daylilies.

Plant in the fall, enjoy the spring!

Tulips
The most popular group of autumn bulbous plants. Thousands of varieties plus many new ones hybrid varieties! With their help, you can turn the most inconspicuous corner of the garden into a bright flowerbed.
Remember: you need to buy a lot of tulips at once; they look impressive only in a large group.
Daffodils
The most trouble-free bulbous ones. Once planted, you can forget about them for a long time. Every year the daffodils grow, and very soon a whole clump will grow from one bulb. In spring they will delight the white-yellow-
orange tones. You can plant daffodil bulbs anywhere.
Crocuses
They are one of the first to bloom as soon as the snow melts. Mass flowering of crocuses usually lasts about 2-3 weeks.
Very unpretentious plants. They look great on the spring lawn, in the foreground of flower beds, under the crowns of trees and shrubs. They winter well and are highly frost-resistant.
Hyacinth
A versatile bulbous plant. Blooms at the very beginning of the season. According to the timing of flowering, hyacinths are divided into early, middle and late. In this case, as a rule, blue varieties of hyacinths bloom first, then white, pink, red, lilac, and later than all – yellow and orange hyacinths. Flowering usually lasts 7-12 days, for some varieties - 12-15 days, and at a temperature of 10-15 ° C - up to 25 days.
Allium
Decorative onion - perennial unpretentious plant, close relative regular edible onions and garlic. It blooms very beautifully and is very impressive in appearance. Starts
blooms at the end of spring and lasts a long time. Unpretentious and requires almost no attention, drought-resistant and cold-resistant. Under- ; goes for dry bouquets.
Muscari
This flower received this name due to its smell, similar to the smell of musk. The second name – “mouse hyacinth” – is due to the similarity of the peduncle to hyacinth. Very unpretentious, color - from white to dark blue. In spring, with the help of muscari, you can create a spectacular “blue sea” under the trees and in the flowerbed.
Chionodoxa
Charming stars are among the first to bloom, often even when the snow has not melted. This is why hionodok-su is often called the “snowman.” It grows without much hassle, requires no care and grows quickly. This is a very miniature plant, it comes in various shades: blue, pink, white, lilac.

Muscari is a spring-flowering bulbous plant. It blooms in late April - May, with blue, blue or white flowers, which are located on spike-shaped inflorescences. They, like many other bulbous plants, are perfect for forcing. To make muscari bloom ahead of time (in room conditions), it is necessary to create conditions for them that are close to natural ones. One of the most important stages preparing muscari for forcing is proper cooling of the bulbs. It is at this time that they are laid flower buds. If you don’t wait for flowers to bloom during this period, only leaves will grow.

How to choose planting material(bulbs for forcing)? Of the many types and varieties of muscari, all are suitable for distillation. But still, choose the variety that is right for you. For winter forcing choose early-flowering varieties; for spring forcing, choose late-flowering varieties. Please note that during forcing, the color of the flowers may differ from the photograph in the picture. It depends largely on insufficient lighting or high temperature during distillation. Therefore, we recommend choosing varieties with dark blue or white flowers.

It is better to buy planting material (it has already gone through all the stages of drying and cooling), but you can also use your own. But for this, the bulbs need to be dug up in time, dried properly and stored until planting time.

Purchase planting material in August-September. The bulbs should be large, elastic, without visible damage. A mixture of bulbs is not suitable for forcing, since the flowering period different varieties different. We recommend planting each variety in a separate container, and during flowering you can already collect them into a single composition (muscari tolerate transplantation well with a large lump of earth).

Time to cool the bulbs. One of the most important stages of muscari distillation. In order for the flower buds to ripen in the bulbs, they must undergo a cooling period, which is 14-16 weeks. Based on this, you can calculate when to plant the bulbs. For example, if you want to have flowering muscari by March 8th, start cooling as early as October 1st. To these recommended 14-16 weeks of cooling, add two more weeks of forcing itself, and you will find out exact date muscari flowering.

The cooling period should be dry and wet. For example, cool Armenian muscari for 12 weeks in a paper bag in the refrigerator at a temperature of +4-+8°C (dry cooling), and 4 weeks already planted in pots with soil (wet cooling).

When and how to plant muscari for forcing? Now start preparing the planting substrate. For forcing, you can use an earthen mixture consisting of garden soil and river sand(1:1), or just one component that is capable of retaining moisture (sand, peat, sawdust, hydrogel). The content of nutrients in the substrate during forcing does not play a special role. But still, so that the bulbs are not too depleted and can be used in the future, we recommend using a universal soil mixture consisting of fertile garden soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 1:1:1. It is important that the planting mixture is not acidic; to do this, add wood ash or dolomite flour to the already prepared mixture.

Choose pots that are not high, but wide enough to plant several bulbs in it. For example, 8-12 pieces can be planted in a pot with a diameter of 11-12 cm. muscari bulb. Make drainage holes in the planting containers, cover each of them with a clay shard. Fill the pots with a 1-2 cm layer of coarse river sand, followed by the prepared soil mixture (but only two-thirds). Plant the bulbs by lightly pressing them into the soil. Keep a distance of 0.5-1 cm between them. Make sure that the bulbs do not touch the walls of the pot. Cover the plantings with soil so that only the tops remain on the surface. Lightly compact the soil. Water the pots with plantings generously and place them in the cold again for rooting.

When to bring muscari to warm room for forcing? Pots with plantings can be brought into a warm room at the end of the cooling period. By this time, the sprouts should have grown and the roots will be visible through the drainage holes. Place the muscari in a warm place 12 days before the intended flowering date. For the first two to four days, keep the pots in a cool (+7-10°C) and bright room. Afterwards, move the pots to the lightest windowsill, raise the temperature to +15°C. If sunlight not enough, supplement the pots with fluorescent lamps. Under such conditions, the plants develop well and bloom within 10-12 days. More high temperatures, are unacceptable. Since the leaves are strongly elongated, the flower stalks grow weak and the inflorescences are loose. During forcing, water the plants, but do not allow the water to stagnate.

Once the lower flowers on the inflorescence have bloomed, move the pots to a cool, bright room. In a cool room, flowering will last longer (up to 2 weeks).

What to do with muscari bulbs after flowering? After flowering, do not throw away the muscari bulb. Cut off the wilted flower stalks, continue to water and feed with fertilizer for bulbous plants. Until the leaves turn yellow, keep the plants in the same conditions as during forcing (temperature +15°C and good lighting). When the leaves turn yellow, stop watering and fertilizing, move the pots to a warmer place and leave until the leaves die completely. After the leaves die, remove the bulbs from the pot, dry them well, and until the time of planting in the garden (September), store them in dry sawdust or peat in a well-ventilated area. In the fall, plant them in a separate bed for growing.

Delivery of muscari in Ukraine (Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kremenchug, Ternopil, Uzhgorod, Krivoy Rog, Lugansk, Odessa, Kherson, Sumy, Chernigov, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Poltava, Lutsk, Kirovograd, Cherkasy, Khmelnitsky, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Vinnitsa, Zhitomir, Nikolaev, Rivne, Yalta, Melitopol, Bila Tserkva).

Everyone loves spring in their own way...for its tenderness, warm air, gentle sun rays, first and very modest flowers. Muscari is one of the first to be ready to give people their beauty and charm. How much joy they bring us, emerging from the cold land early spring, replacing primroses. White, sky blue, dark blue, pink bell-shaped flowers, forming a small pyramid, like porcelain, pressed closely together. This is what cheerful and touching muscari looks like.

Muscari - because it has an alluring, strong aroma of musk. And mouse hyacinth is due to its miniature size, as if for small mice, and its close relationship with real hyacinth. Viper onion - for the bulb that looks like a real onion and its toxicity. Near the clumps of these flowers you can often meet a whole family of vipers; they bask in warm meadows where muscari often grow.

Birds avoid pecking the viper onion - it is poisonous to them. Its English name means grape hyacinth - for the inflorescences, which in appearance resemble a bunch of grapes. The French call muscari earthen lilac. The variety of affectionate names hints that muscari viper onion has long been loved by many peoples of different countries.

Muscari came to Europe by chance back in the 17th century. In ancient times, off the coast of the Netherlands, during a storm, a merchant ship carrying strange goods from warm countries crashed on the reefs. The ship sank, and the bulbs were washed ashore by the waves and they sprouted. Thus, the inhabitants of Europe learned about unusual flowers, which can be grown from a tiny onion.

These primroses look incredibly beautiful in the awakening garden, following the curves of the paths with cheerful streams. Curtains of muscari, like bouquets of small ones on long branches, like pieces of the sky, appear in flower beds here and there. Arrangers happily use them to compose their compositions.

Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants belonging to the Asparagus family, which includes 44 species. Some are cultivated as ornamental plants, and there are many varieties of muscari with a variety of flower colors. Their bulbs are small, ovoid, up to 2 cm in diameter.

The plant is an ephemeroid; it is in a dormant state for more than half the year, only awakening briefly to decorate the world around us. In the bulb, covered with light outer scales, they accumulate during growth. nutrients, which she uses to start flowering in early spring. In spring, narrow linear leaves appear, collected in a basal rosette and low peduncles. Some species have leaves that appear in the fall and remain overwintered under the snow.

Muscari yellow Golden Fragrance Muscari macrocarpum ‘Golden Fragrance’ photo

Flowers with a barrel-shaped, cylindrical or tubular perianth, consisting of 6 fused petals, are collected in a racemose inflorescence, which has a subtle stimulating aroma. 6 stamens are attached to the perianth in two rows, the fruit is a three-locular capsule with wrinkled, dark seeds, which are used for seed propagation within a year after collection. Distributed throughout Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, and the Mediterranean. Some climb high into the mountains.

Growing conditions How to plant and care for muscari

Muscari multiply very quickly, forming luxurious flower carpets. Over the course of a season, one mother bulb forms an entire nest. One rule for everyone garden species should be observed - they do not tolerate stagnation of melt water and lowlands. Otherwise, muscari grows without problems in any area. Has nothing to do with the sun's rays of great importance, since the period of their active growing season occurs at a time when the rest of the green fellows in the neighborhood are just about to wake up from hibernation and in no way interfere with our upstarts.

When planting, you should expect that mouse hyacinth will grow without replanting for several years in one place, and it is good to fill the soil with organic matter and compost.
Add a little sand to the bottom of the planting holes.
The bulbs are buried to a height equal to three of their diameters.
Watering is not relevant for viper onions - there is enough moisture in the ground after the snow melts.
If the plants have not been replanted for several years, they should be fed with complex fertilizer during the flowering period, after thoroughly moistening the soil.

Why don't muscari bloom?

If there is a deterioration in flowering or its complete cessation– the plant is just putting out leaves, this is the impetus that it’s time to replant and divide the clump.

It should be borne in mind that the place in muscari may already be empty at the beginning of summer; it can be occupied by annual representatives of the natural kingdom or combined plantings with other perennial plants, which bloom much later.

Do I need to dig up the muscari? How mouse hyacinth overwinters

Winter-hardy ones do not require special treatment when preparing for wintering. If you are not sure that the planted variety is winter-hardy, it is enough to cover the planting site with spruce branches, fallen leaves or any covering material. There is no need to dig up viper onions, unless you are going to force flowers at home.

Mouse hyacinth at home

Muscari flowers planting and care at home photo Muscari at home in a pot

Muscari is actively used for distillation. Only the healthiest, largest bulbs are suitable for this. They are dug up after the leaves have disappeared from the surface of the earth, cleaned of soil residues, sorted out, dried at room temperature and stored until September. Purchased bulbs do not need to be processed - they are already ready for planting.

The main condition when growing mouse hyacinth on windowsills is the correct temperature.
First, they are stored in dry sawdust or wrapped in paper or cotton wool.
Muscari are kept at low temperatures for 3-4 months.
They are kept in cool conditions with a temperature of 9 degrees for 35 days, then the temperature is reduced to 5 degrees.
Two weeks before the end of the cold period, dense planting is placed in pots with a regular earthen substrate, deepening the bulbs by 2 cm, so that the top of the head sees the light.
After the allotted time, the pots are transferred to a warm, bright windowsill.
The soil is watered moderately. Flowering will occur in 15 days– the lower the temperature in the room where the muscari are located, the longer the flowering will continue.
After forcing the plants, they can be buried in the garden.

When to replant muscari? Reproduction by children

Muscari is very simple. Usually this operation is combined with a transplant. First of all, you should use pegs to mark the place from where you will transplant the plants. Since by the time of transplantation there will be no traces of them on the ground, the plants are dormant. When to plant muscari? They've been doing this since mid-summer so that the bulbs have time to take root before wintering.

Carefully dig up a lump of earth with a shovel in the noticed place and break it, separating the bulbs. They are carefully sorted, removing diseased and dry ones.
The bulbs are sorted by size; large ones can be left for forcing; the smaller the bulb, the closer they are located to each other.
Very small ones can be placed next to each other, several at a time.
Planting muscari looks more attractive if the plants are arranged in groups. To do this, you can make grooves in the shape of a circle, or lay out the bulbs in flocks, for example, 3 pieces side by side, 10 cm 3 more, etc.

Plant in prepared soil to which humus is added. They make grooves, pour a 2 cm layer of sand onto the bottom and spill it with water. The bulbs are laid out along the furrow, covered with compost on top. The more nutritious the soil at the planting site, the faster the muscari will grow and the more colorful the flowering will be.

Planting muscari in spring

Sometimes you have to replant muscari at the wrong time - during flowering, in the spring. They sometimes actively grow and interfere with other crops. Carefully dig up a flock of muscari with a shovel and transfer it to a more convenient place, which is prepared in advance by adding organic fertilizers. A hole is made according to the size of an earthen lump with muscari, which is carefully transferred directly on a shovel, sprinkled with soil around the circumference. After this, water the plants thoroughly. Usually, with this method of transplantation, muscari bloom again next spring no problem.

The video will tell you how to plant muscari in the spring:

For all unplanned transplants, so that the plants suffer less, it is better to replant them in the evening, watering them abundantly. If possible, it is better to shade the planting in the first week.

Growing muscari from seeds

Most muscari species reproduce by self-sowing. With cultural maintenance, this type of propagation is rarely used - flowering will occur only after 4 years.

You can use your own seed material.
The seeds are allowed to ripen and in the fall, after harvesting, they are sown in the garden.
When using the seedling method, stratification is used (the seeds are kept in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months before planting, be sure to moisten them and wrap them in a wet cloth, placing it in a bag). A good time to start stratification is October. In February, carefully plant the seeds in containers.
Seeds are planted to a depth of 1 cm.
Caring for seedlings requires careful attention - weeds, soil crust, and poor soil are unacceptable. All this negatively affects their development.
Watering is moderate to prevent root rot.
At the end of March, hardening is carried out, leaving the seedlings outside to get used to normal conditions. In early to mid-April, when the soil is ripe, the seedlings are planted in a permanent place.

Diseases and pests

Sometimes they can be affected by diseases and pests. Aphids are familiar to all gardeners. The primary source of aphids are garden ants, which spread them throughout the area and create entire colonies of these pests. Fighting ants is the key to the absence of aphids. To combat aphids, use a soap solution. It forms and adheres to plants, forming protective film which prevents the spread of aphids.

The soap solution can be used as a preventative against any pests. To do this, rub a piece of laundry soap on a fine grater, dry it, pour the resulting powder into a container and use it as needed. It is added to water 1 tbsp. spoon onto a bucket, stir thoroughly and irrigate any plants from a watering can after watering. For greater effect, you can use tar soap or add birch tar to the composition. If you use this product constantly, the pests will forget the way to your site.

Spider mites leave a thin network of cobwebs on the leaves. An insecticide is used to combat it.

Field mice love to eat mouse hyacinth bulbs. To deter them, you can plant strong-smelling or thorny plants nearby.

Aphids and spider mite can carry diseases. Most dangerous diseases– mosaic or onion yellow dwarf virus. The leaves of such plants turn yellow over time, have a depressed appearance, and have whitish stripes and specks. Affected flowers cannot be treated. They are dug up and destroyed so that the disease does not spread further.

Application

Muscari is not used in official medicine. They have many beneficial properties, but are used due to their toxicity traditional medicine only externally. In some Asian countries they are used as a wound-healing, analgesic, and rejuvenating agent. Essential oil used in cosmetology as an antiseptic, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, disinfectant. Effective as an aphrodisiac.

With the arrival of spring, these tiny plants fill our gardens and plots, delighting with graceful inflorescences that repeat the azure of the spring sky. Muscari are great in mass plantings in flower beds. They are unusually combined with beautiful flowering shrubs in mixborders. They should be planted under large trees to revive tree trunk circles. Their blue color makes a wonderful addition to daffodils, tulips, primroses, and irises in miniature flower arrangements.

Muscari in vases look elegant and bright. TO New Year's holidays are used for forcing. Blue tassels of earthen lilac fit perfectly between large plants, they are very effective in multi-tiered compositions. Many people consider muscari a shabby plant that does not deserve any attention. But there are a great many such plants in our gardens, and when good care they serve the best decoration than many newfangled flowers that still need to be accustomed to our conditions. And muscari bloom and delight the eye every spring, without causing any problems to their owners.

Types and varieties of muscari with photos and descriptions

Armenian Muscari Muscari armeniacum

Grows on the plains of Transcaucasia and Turkey. The bulb is 2.5 cm in diameter and produces linear leaves, narrowed at the top. The 20 cm long peduncle bears a multi-flowered, almost spherical inflorescence with several sterile flowers at the top. The perianth with a constriction at the throat is bright blue with white teeth. The upper sterile flowers are lighter. Blooms in spring, overwinters without foliage, winter-hardy without shelter. Most common among amateur gardeners. Breeders have worked for several centuries to create many varieties with various shapes and the color of the flower - their labors were crowned with success.

Variety Blue Spike– bred in Holland at the end of the last century. The cluster-shaped inflorescences contain 150–180 blue fragrant flowers. Blooms two weeks later than usual, does not bear fruit. When emerging from the ground it looks like a dark lump. Propagated by daughter bulbs. An unusually beautiful and unpretentious plant, used both for decorative decoration gardens, and for making compositions from cut flowers. If the weather is cool, then you can enjoy the blooming of terry bouquets around three weeks. Suitable for . Winters well.

Variety Cantab- miniature form with bright blue flowers. A wintering variety that is very popular among gardeners.

Variety Christmas Pearl, Christmas pearl– garden mouse hyacinth with dark purple flowers. An amazing fresh musky scent accompanies long-lasting flowering.

Armenicum muscari fantasy creation muscari fantasy creation photo in a flower bed

Fantasy Creation variety– is distinguished by the segmented color of the perianth, smoothly changing from green to blue. Flowering continues for a long time. The flowers are double and fragrant.

Variety Dark Eyes– amazingly dark, cornflower blue color with white splashes. Looks great mixed with lighter types.

Muscari Oshe or Tubergen Muscari aucheri = Muscari tubergenianum

It grows in the North-West of Iran. Blue peduncles with a pale jagged edge are collected in inflorescences up to 18 cm high. Overwinters without shelter. Does not tolerate stagnation of melt water. The 'Tubergenianum' variety is distinguished by crescent-shaped leaves and lighter buds at the top.

Muscari botryoides

Muscari flowers are perennial Muscari variety botryoides ‘Album’ photo

Known since 1576. Small sky blue, blue-violet or white flowers are collected in large inflorescences with a delicate aroma. On loose, rich soils it develops into lush bushes. Variation Album resembles a scattering of pearls, Corneum is a pink cloud swaying on a stem.

Muscari crested Muscari comosum

Original from Southern Europe, North Africa, is considered a weed in the places where it grows. The peduncle arrow appears in June from a rosette with 3-4 strap-shaped leaves. The flowers are collected in a loose cluster with a tuft, which is a bunch of sterile bright purple bells on long stalks. Fruiting pitcher-shaped flowers are light brown with a cream edging. The height of the plant at full flowering is about 70 cm. Daughter bulbs are poorly formed - it reproduces due to abundant fruiting and self-seeding.

This type of muscari looks great on lawns, in flower beds with perennial flowers, against the background of a lawn. A popular variety is ‘Plumosum’, which is distinguished by purple inflorescences on highly branched stems.

Muscari latifolium latifolium

Inhabitant of forest edges of Asia Minor. An oval bulb with lanceolate leaves and a peduncle about 22 cm long. Multi-flowered inflorescence with purple flowers below and blue flowers at the top of a dense cluster. This heat-loving species blooms from the beginning of May. The leaves of this specimen look like tulips.

Long-flowered Muscari Muscari dolichanthum

It blooms at the end of April with azure flowers. The ovoid bulb bears 4-6 ribbon-like leaves and a flower arrow 14-16 cm high. The perianth has white cylindrical teeth. Originally from the mountain belt of Western Transcaucasia.

A native of the low-lying areas of the Black Sea region and Iran. It blooms in April with an inflorescence consisting of 40 ultramarine flowers edged with whitish teeth.

Muscari macrocarpum

The species is distinguished by its rather large flowers. There are blue, yellow, brown varieties. He is originally from Greece and Western Turkey. In our latitude it is recommended for growing in pots brought to winter time into a living space.

Muscari pale Muscari paiitns

The most elegant and miniature muscaricus comes from the subalpine meadows of the Caucasus. A pale blue perianth with white teeth adorns the plant. It winters well even in the northwestern territories of our country. The white-flowered variety ‘White-rose Beautu’ with white-pink flowers is known in cultivation. In Latvia, the ‘Sky Blue’ variety was developed with a sky-blue bottom and a white top of the inflorescence.

Muscari racemosum or unnoticed Muscari Rasemosum = Muscari neglectum

Muscari primroses blue cultivation and care When to plant Viper onion unnoticed photo

It differs little from its other brethren, except that its flowers are slightly larger and tightly pressed to the peduncle. Propagated by self-sowing and children.

The plant with the elegant name “muscari” also has much less pleasant nicknames - “viper onion” and “mouse hyacinth”. This is actually a very nice plant that blooms earlier than others. From a small bulb grows several long, plump leaves and a peduncle with bright blue flowers.

Features of growing muscari in open ground

With its unpretentiousness and ability to grow over any area, muscari resembles weeds. They are much more difficult to limit or remove than to grow and propagate.

Planting muscari in the ground

When choosing bulbs in a store or nursery, buy only truly healthy plants, which are free of suspicious stains, dried parts and mold. Before planting them in the soil, disinfect them first in 2% concentration of karbofos, then in 1% potassium permanganate. Leave in each solution for 20-35 minutes.

Planting methods

The traditional way of planting muscari is to plant dormant bulbs in prepared holes. Less effective method- planting already flowering plants.

Large bulbs are placed at a distance of 7-11 cm, buried 8-9 cm down, and the interval between small ones should be approximately 2.5-4 cm; they should be buried less, maintaining a distance of 3-5 cm.

Optimal time for planting

As with other early flowering plants, best time disembarkation - autumn until severe cold weather. The deadline is the last days of October. Flowering muscari are planted in the spring, immediately after purchase. It is recommended to plant plants before the onset of heat to speed up acclimatization.

Soil for the plant

Viper onions can be planted in almost any soil. The only requirement for it is the absence of constant humidity and stagnation of water, from which the bulbs will simply rot. To ensure good water permeability, river alluvial sand can be poured into the hole, which will serve good drainage. The bottom should be covered with a layer of pebbles - brick fragments, pebbles, expanded clay.

Planting in autumn

Muscari can be planted even in cold October without fear for the safety of the bulbs. It winters wonderfully in a new place, calmly surviving even severe frosts without any shelter other than snow.

ADVICE! If a very cold winter is expected, you can make a cap of humus or compost for the plants.

If mouse hyacinth is provided with excellent conditions for existence, it will occupy a large area in just one summer, growing in all directions.

Location and lighting

Muscari grows well in sun or partial shade. Finding a place for mouse hyacinth is not difficult - it blooms at a time when there is still no foliage on the trees and there are no other plants obscuring it.

It is better to plant viper onions next to later herbs and shrubs, which will cover the yellowing and drying leaves.

ADVICE! Muscari, which can live in one area for a long time, should be placed next to perennial plants.

Humidity

Mouse hyacinth makes no demands on humidity, being content with what it has. During the period of its growth, the atmosphere is quite humid because the snow has just melted.

How to water correctly?

While muscari is in bloom, it loves to drink. Therefore, it is recommended to moisten the soil more often, replenishing water supplies regularly. When flowering ends and the leaves begin to change color and dry out, watering is gradually reduced. During dormancy, the viper onion does not need water at all. Even in extreme heat, you can avoid watering the bulbs.

Feeding and fertilizing the flower

During planting and replanting, organic fertilizers - humus or compost - are added to the soil. In the future, you need to feed muscari only in the fall, preparing the plant for wintering. You can only use organic matter; the plant cannot tolerate mineral substances at all.

ATTENTION! The approximate amount of fertilizer is 6 kg per 1 m´ of planting.

Do I need to prune the plant?

Cleansing haircuts are carried out twice a year. After flowering, the spent peduncles, which are already drying up, are cut off. If you want to get seeds, leave the flower stalks until the planting material has matured. In the fall, before the plant goes into hibernation, all leaves are removed by cutting them off with garden shears.

A plant can constantly grow in one place, but over time the plantings lose their beauty, the flowers become smaller, and the shoots become deformed. Therefore, the muscari is transplanted to a new area, removing rotten and dried bulbs.

Replanting mouse hyacinth is not at all difficult; the plant quickly takes root, easily enduring the process.

Transplant methods

The procedure is carried out every 4-6 years, at the same time the plant can be propagated, separating the children. It is necessary to cut off the leaves, dig up the bulbs, wash them in cool water and inspect them. Cut out rotten and affected areas, and keep the bulbs in potassium permanganate of medium concentration for 25-40 minutes. Then dry them and transplant them to the chosen location.

Transplantation in autumn and spring

The suitable period for the operation is September and October. At this time, the bulbs are at rest and can be transported to another location painlessly.

If you decide to move the muscari during the spring, do it early. It is advisable to transplant the bulbs before they wake up and begin to develop the above-ground part.

Reproduction of muscari

Easy to care for, mouse hyacinth is also easy to propagate. However, usually the flower reproduces well on its own, growing in all directions. In addition, it also self-sows, scattering seeds around itself.

Reproduction methods

Seeds. After flowering, muscari forms boxes filled with small grains. Ripened seeds can be collected and sown immediately.

IMPORTANT! The collected seeds are not stored at all, immediately losing their germination capacity.

Planting material is sown in open soil, in a specially prepared small bed. They are placed in small grooves of 1-1.5 cm and covered with soil. No need to water! In the spring, small shoots should appear from the seeds, which will bloom in a couple of years.

Children of bulbs. During transplantation, small children can be disconnected from the mother bulb and planted separately. One adult bulb can produce up to 35 children!

When the snow melts and the black earth opens, the muscari blooms, forming bright spots against the overall dull background.

When does it bloom and flower shape?

The viper onion begins to bloom when other plants are still sleeping underground, and the trees are just filling their buds. At the same time, daffodils, crocuses and tulips bloom. A straight and long flower-bearing arrow appears from a rosette of leaves, on which dense racemose or pyramidal inflorescences appear. They consist of many small barrel-shaped flowers. The color can be white, blue, purple or light blue.

The fruit capsule with seeds has the shape of a ball or heart.

Problems, diseases and pests of a flower

Due to the fact that muscari grows and blooms in early spring, it practically does not suffer from diseases. Only a viral mosaic can attack him. In this case, the viper onion stops growing and throws out very narrowed leaves and a shortened peduncle. The leaves are “decorated” with a pattern of green hexagons. The carrier of the infection is aphids; no treatment has yet been invented.

IMPORTANT! All plants affected by this disease must be immediately eliminated so as not to infect others.

Pests wake up later than the muscari, so they are not able to harm it much. Unlike voles, which gnaw on bulbs even in winter. Garlic planted nearby can repel rodents.

Leaves in the process of wilting can be damaged by slugs if the muscari is in constant dampness. They cannot cause serious harm to dying greenery.

The same cannot be said about aphids, which suck out the juice and thereby weaken the bulbs. They wither and do not tolerate wintering well, and can freeze completely. At the first sign of attack, plants must be treated with insecticides. Decis, Intavir, Actellik, Hostakvik, Cypermethrin help against aphids.

Popular types and varieties

More than 40 species of this flower are known. In addition, each species includes many varieties and variegates. So, the Muscari genus is quite numerous.

Muscari Colchis (Armenian)

One of the most undemanding and cold-resistant species. It has small bulbs and long herbaceous green leaves. Many flowers are formed on the peduncle, collected in a ball. The perianths are cylindrical in shape with a constriction near the pharynx. The flowers in the upper part are sterile, usually lighter than the rest.

Sapphire (Sapphire) - inflorescences have a deep dark blue color. This variety is propagated only by children, since all its flowers are sterile.
Bluespike - very beautiful variety, each inflorescence includes up to 200 flowers. The pedicels tend to branch, resulting in very lush and large caps. Coloring - different shades blue color.
Cantab is a dwarf plant that blooms later than others, blooming with bright blue inflorescences.
Fantasycreation is a spectacular original variety. Each flower has a two-color color - blue fades smoothly into green.

Blooms for more than a month

Muscari crested

Features atypical appearance. The inflorescence, resembling a disheveled panicle, consists of elongated perianths.

The pedicels are bent into an arc.

Muscari plumosum - the stems branch profusely, the inflorescences look shaggy due to the abundance of elongated lilac flowers.

Muscari pale

A miniature species up to 13 cm high. 35-50 flowers similar to small bells are formed on the peduncle. It blooms for about two weeks, the color of the inflorescences is pale blue.

WiteroseBeaty - bred through selective breeding, the inflorescences are pinkish-white.

Muscari grapevine

A popular species in demand in floriculture. The perianths are small, collected in small narrow cone-shaped brushes. The flowers resemble thick barrels and balls.

The initial color is blue-violet, there are pink and white variegates.

Muscari is pretty (beautiful)

It is distinguished by very narrow leaves, the edges of which are also curved inward. It begins to bloom in winter, producing erect peduncles with oval inflorescences. The bright blue perianths are ball-shaped and decorated with white teeth on the throat.

Difficulties in growing the plant. Useful tips(note to the florist).

Healthy bulbs are completely dry, elastic and dense to the touch. If there are wet surfaces, then the bulbs are rotting. It is not worth purchasing such planting material.
Heavily dense thickets need to be thinned out so that the muscari do not “strangle” each other.
To prevent or reduce self-seeding, flower stalks should be cut off immediately after flowering.
Viper onion bulbs can be stored in slightly damp sand or peat at a temperature of 15-18°.
If muscari suddenly begins to sprout in the fall, do not be alarmed. Cover the leaves with a layer of peat or spruce branches and leave to overwinter under cover.
Viper onions can be domesticated and grown in pots.

Answers to readers' questions

What is the lifespan of a plant?

Muscari are long-livers who, with timely transplants, can live 5 or 10 years.

Why doesn't the flower bloom?

Most likely, the viper onion was damaged by mice by eating the top of the onion. In addition, the plant could simply freeze in winter.

Flower care in winter.

In the fall, they help the plant prepare for winter. Cut off all above-ground parts and replant the bulbs if the time has come. Young, weakened or sprouted flowers are covered with peat or coniferous spruce branches.

When and how to plant bulbs correctly? Do they need to be replanted and how often? How to dig and store bulbs? Is it possible to plant tulips and hyacinths from containers in a flower garden? We answer exciting questions about planting and growing bulbous flowers

Spring bulbs decorate the garden long before other autumn and summer flowers bloom in the flowerbeds. Flowers that grow from bulbs are attractive for their beauty, unusual shape and color of inflorescences. Growing them in your flower garden is not so difficult.

We answer the most frequently asked questions problems that novice gardeners experience when growing these plants.

1. When to plant bulbs?

Planting time is key when growing bulbous flowers. Of course, you are well aware that spring bulbs are planted in the fall, and summer and autumn bulbs in the spring. But not only the season matters, but also the specific month of planting. For example, both galanthus and crocus bloom in early spring, but the first is planted in the ground from July to September, and the second from September to early November.

Anyway, universal rule states that bulbs should never be planted in frozen ground.

How well the bulbs are planted depends on whether you follow the correct timing of planting the plant will take root, and whether it will bloom at all.

2. How deep to plant bulbs?

Another important question. If you bury the bulb too deeply, the plant may not reach the surface at all. Don't deepen it enough - the bulb may dry out or get sunburn and die.

The smaller the tuber or bulb, the closer to the surface of the earth they are planted. Small bulbous flowers, for example, are most often buried by 5-10 cm, flowers with a large bulb or corm - by 15-20 cm. When planting some exotic summer-flowering plants (amaryllis, hymenocallis, etc. top part The bulbs are left on the surface.

Most often, gardeners use this rule: the planting depth is equal to the height of the bulb multiplied by three.

3. At what distance should I plant the bulbs?

Some bulbous plants do well in group plantings. For example, a miniature crocus is definitely “not a warrior alone in the field.” But among the bulbous there are also real “introverts” who prefer solitude. For example, crinums, amaryllis, and lilies are planted at a distance of 20-40 cm from each other.

To prevent the plants from being crowded in the flowerbed, it is necessary to clearly maintain the recommended distance between them. On average, the distance between large onions or corms should be at least 5 cm.

4. Which side should I bury the bulbs on?

Naturally, bulbs, tubers and corms are buried with the bottom, from which the roots grow, down, and the top, from which the sprout emerges, upward. It would seem nothing complicated. But in the case of small-bulbed flowers, it is often difficult to determine where the top is and where the bottom is.

What to do in such a situation? It is best to lay the onion on its side. So she will still find her way to a place in the sun. But if you plant it upside down, you won’t have to count on germination.

5. How to feed bulbous plants?

Advice from gardeners regarding feeding bulbs varies.

Some add bone meal or complex fertilizer prolonged action immediately landing hole. Others add rotted compost or manure during flowering. Still others feed the bulbous plants with complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizer in early spring.

Be that as it may, all these agricultural techniques give good results. All you have to do is choose the option that is most convenient for you.

6. When to replant bulbous plants?

Bulbs cannot grow in one place forever - after several seasons they appearance deteriorates noticeably, they may stop blooming. To bring the plant back to life, it is necessary to transplant it to a new place.

Small bulbous plants (muscari, white flower, chionodoxa, pushkinia, etc.) are replanted every 5-8 years. Crocuses and daffodils should change their “registration” every 3-5 years. The frequency of replanting tulips depends on their “pedigree”: it is enough to replant wild ones after 3-5 years, but “pedigreed” varietal tulips are replanted annually.

Some wild bulbs, for example, galanthus, do not tolerate transplantation, so it is not advisable to dig them up.

7. When to dig up bulbous plants?

If you are faced with the need to transplant bulbous flowers, it is important to correctly determine the moment when they can be dug up.

A prerequisite is that the above-ground part of the plants must completely wither. After flowering has finished, gradually stop watering the bulbs and wait until the leaves and stems have completely died off. When the plant turns yellow, it means it has finally stopped growing and is ready to be dug up. It is impossible to cut, tear off, or bend the above-ground part of the bulbs to the ground until this moment - this weakens the bulbs.

If the sight of wilted, yellowed foliage does not inspire you, and your hand just reaches for the garden shears, try planting bulbous plants next season in mixborders or containers with perennial or annual flowers. Then the wilting of spring primroses will not be so noticeable.

It is also important to consider that digging is carried out only in dry weather. If you remove the bulbs from wet soil, they may rot during storage.

8. How to store bulbs before planting?

First of all, immediately after you have dug up the bulbs, you need to sort them out and discard all diseased and damaged specimens.

After this, the bulbs are washed under running water and dipped in a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate or Fundazol for 20-30 minutes.

Next, the bulbs are dried on fresh air, after covering them with tulle or gauze so that insects cannot lay eggs on them. Then the bulbs are laid out in a single layer in boxes or baskets, where they will be stored.

During the period between digging and planting, the bulbs should be dormant. To do this, you must constantly maintain the recommended storage conditions.

For 3-5 days, the boxes are moved into the house or placed in any warm, dry room with a temperature of 20-25°C. After this, the bulbs should be stored in a room with good ventilation, temperature 17-20°C and humidity 60-70%.

9. What to do if the bulbs sprouted during frost?

If spring has not yet arrived, and the first sprouts of flowers appear from under a layer of snow, do not panic - everything is going according to plan! Many bulbous primroses (snowdrops, erantis, crocuses) often bloom at the end of winter.

There is no need to insulate them additionally. Spring bulbs have excellent resistance to low temperatures, and they are not afraid of frost. But additional cover can only do harm: during the spring melting of snow, the mulch will retain water, and bulbous plants, as you know, really do not like waterlogging.

One of the few bulbous plants that feels good on wet soils– camassia.

10. Is it possible to plant bulbs from containers in the garden?

If in the spring you bought expelled tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses or muscari in containers, you can transfer them to your flower garden, but only if certain conditions are met.

It is important to consider that such flowers were forced to bloom ahead of schedule artificially. Therefore, by the end of flowering they are greatly weakened and need increased care.

The wilted inflorescences of the expelled flowers are removed, and the leaves and peduncles are allowed to turn yellow and wither on their own.

To strengthen the bulbs, feed them with liquid complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizer, making the solution 2 times less concentrated than recommended in the instructions. Water the flowers when the soil in the pots is dry to a depth of 2.5 cm.

When the risk of return spring frosts subsides, transplant the plants into open ground to the same depth to which they were planted in containers. There is no need to remove the above-ground part.

Perhaps next year the bulbs will not bloom, but in the third year they will most likely delight you lush flowering. In any case, it's worth a try.

11. Why didn’t the bulbous plants bloom?

There may be several reasons why bulbous plants do not bloom. We have already described some of them above.

1. Flowers need replanting. Perhaps you haven’t replanted the bulbs for a long time, or the flowers have grown greatly and are simply cramped. Return to point #6 and follow the transplant recommendations.

2. You have transplanted bulbs from containers. As we already explained above, bulbous plants do not always bloom the next year after forcing.

3. Bulbous plants grow in the shade. Most bulbous flowers for good growth And beautiful flowering need good lighting. Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that the plantings are shaded big tree or shrub.

4. Plants lack nutrients. Probably, the soil in your area is poor, and without fertilizing the flowers are starving.

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