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The herbaceous plant splendid colchicum (colchicum), Latin name Colchicum speciosum, is a hardy perennial with large lilac or pink flowers. The culture tolerates autumn frosts well. Early specimens bloom in late summer, others in September and even October. In the wild, colchicum is found in Asia, Iran, and the Caucasus. The cultivated species take root well in the gardens of the European part of Russia, winter without shelter in Siberia. The magnificent colchicum is listed in the Red Book of the Krasnodar Territory.
Description of the magnificent crocus
This bulbous perennial plant with a slender, tall stem belongs to the Liliaceae family. Its length can be up to 40 cm. On the stem are attached 3 pairs of wide oblong leaves, which develop in spring. In mature colchicum, they are small at the top, their length does not exceed 3-4 cm. The lower leaf plates are large, grow up to 7 cm.
Following the leaves, an oval, polyspermous capsule appears. The length of the fruit can vary from 3 to 5 cm. By July, the leaves die off and the seeds are fully ripe.
Flowers bloom in late August and early September. As you can see in the photo, the gorgeous autumn crocus produces pale lilac or bright pink buds in the shape of a bell. There can be from 1 to 4 of them on each stem.
Late, bright colchicum flowers decorate flower beds, rockeries, rock gardens, and are also suitable for cutting
Delicate buds appear in the fall, at a time when other flower beds have already wilted. The flowers of the beautiful crocus are similar to crocuses or large snowdrops.
After pollination, the bud dies, the young ovary develops underground in winter. For this unique quality the culture got its name - Columnar.
The corm is oblong, its length is 7 cm, diameter is 6 cm, from above it is covered with a dark brown shell. Its inner part is white, fleshy, with slight yellowish dots.
Colchicum seeds are formed from the ovaries of last year, ripen by May, after the capsule opens, the wind carries them around the garden
The ground part of the plant is renewed annually. It is composed of juicy, herbaceous shoots.
Colchicum beautiful is registered as a medicinal plant in the State Register of the Russian Federation.
Where grows
The homeland of the magnificent crocus is the Caucasus, Turkey, Iran. The plant lives at an altitude of 150-3000 m above sea level. Prefers chestnut, hornbeam or beech forests, elevated meadows. In the mountains, culture is found in the lower and middle zones. In the highlands, the magnificent crochet grows among the alpine meadows. In Russia, colchicum beautiful grows well in a subtropical climate, it can often be found in the steppes and meadows of the Krasnodar Territory. This light-loving culture does not tolerate waterlogging and moisture stagnation.
Plant species
There are more than 100 species of colchicum. Not all of them are cultivated plants. Decorative types of colchicum are used in modern landscape designs and in floristry.
Popular garden crops:
- Colchicum Corsican - blooms with lilac-pink small buds, there are no more than 2 of them on the plant.
The native land of the Corsican species is the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, the culture is found in dry meadows and silicate rock
- Colchicum yellow... It produces buds at the same time as leaves, flowering starts from April to June. The ovaries are small, with thin bright yellow petals.
In the wild, the yellow species grows in the mountains near the glaciers, now it is a decoration of flower beds and gardens
- Colchicum autumn (Alboplenum) is distinguished by white, large, up to 10 cm in diameter, buds. They are creamy white in color, densely doubled.
Up to 8 ovaries can form on each stem of colchicum Alboplenum
- Colchicum Hungarian - a rare representative of the species, blooming in early spring. The buds of the culture are pink-purple or white, with bright yellow anthers in the center. The upper surface of the leaf plate is covered with a light fluff.
The Hungarian species was recently found in the mountains of Croatia and is now successfully cultivated in Latvia.
All types of crocus are extraordinarily beautiful, bloom in late autumn, in September-October, painting empty flower beds. For florists and landscape designers, this quality is irreplaceable; culture is often included in the project of a garden, a country house.
Reproduction methods
Colchicum beautiful is propagated by corms. They are planted in the fall at a sufficient distance to ensure the growth of young underground shoots. Sometimes a lot of babies are formed, in this case the magnificent crocus stops blooming. To prevent this from happening, the tubers are dug up, divided and planted immediately after the leaves turn yellow. This period falls on the end of July and the beginning of August.
The culture grows well and develops in areas well-lit by the sun
Also, the beautiful crocus can be propagated by seeds. This method is laborious, the first flowers will appear after 6 years. Sowing is done in the spring, immediately after collecting the seeds. The soil is preliminarily loosened, moistened, shallow furrows are cut. The seed is placed in the grooves at a sufficient distance. Subsequent care is reduced to loosening and weeding.
Growing and care
The planting (transplanting) of the beautiful crocus is carried out in August. At this time, the plant is dormant. For planting, the earth is carefully loosened and shed. As soon as all the moisture is absorbed, shallow furrows are cut. Small bulbs are rooted to a depth of 6 cm, the distance between them is 10 cm.Large tubers are deepened by 12 cm, indenting by 20 cm.
Colchicum beautiful is transplanted every 2-3 years. Old tubers should be removed, new small onions are set aside for reproduction. If the transplantation procedure is not carried out regularly, the maternal underground shoot will grow overgrown with children, the nutrients will not be enough, the culture will cease to bloom.
Colchicum is magnificent - an unpretentious plant, does not require special care. But there are some nuances in growing it.
The beautiful crocus does not need pruning. Gardeners remove dry leaves and buds, but experienced growers do not recommend doing this. For the onion of the beautiful colchicum to ripen, strength is needed, and pruning weakens it.
To hide an unclean bush that looks unsightly in summer, other flowering crops are planted nearby
The beautiful crocus is watered during the flowering period, if the weather is warm, dry. During the rainy season and off-season, the plant does not need irrigation, since it does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil.
Top dressing is applied when rooting the bulbs. Humus, wood ash, superphosphate are embedded in the soil when digging a planting site. Then the beautiful autumn crocus is fed 2 more times - in spring and summer. Fertilizers with nitrogen are suitable for these purposes.
The beautiful crocus is not susceptible to pests, thanks to the poisonous juice that is contained in the ground part of the plant and in the bulbs.
Useful properties and application
Pharmacognosy studies the beneficial properties of the splendid colchicum - one of the branches of pharmaceuticals. The plant contains colhamin and colchacin. These substances are referred to as karyoclastic poisons. They are able to interfere with cell division. This property of colhamin and colchacin is used to treat cancer.
In the process of processing flowers, sugars, acids, and other active substances are obtained that have a proven curative effect.
Preparations based on colchicum are used in homeopathy
An infusion of seeds and tubers is used as a medicine for gout, rheumatism, neuralgia, and is drunk as a diuretic.
Contraindications
In some publications devoted to traditional medicine, it is mentioned that the crocus is used to treat joints. Pharmacologists do not recommend preparing medicinal preparations from colchicum at home. Scientists explain this by the fact that the culture is toxic and requires special conditions for processing.
The bulbs and seeds of the plant are especially poisonous. When poisons enter the body, they can cause hyperemia of the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, they inhibit the work of the kidneys, and reduce the production of histamine and insulin. The poison is not destroyed even under the influence of high temperatures.
Collection and procurement
For medical purposes, only large crocus tubers are used. They are carefully removed from the ground without damaging the roots and body of the bulb. It is important to get the tuber as a whole, as it will quickly become moldy with cuts.
The roots are cleaned of soil residues, laid out on newspaper or paper in one layer in a well-ventilated, light, dry room. In the process of work, hands are protected with thick rubber gloves.
To preserve the plantings and reproduction of the colchicum beautiful, after harvesting the bulbs, up to a dozen young plants are left in the flower bed. Subsequent collection on this bed is carried out no earlier than 5 years later.
Conclusion
Colchicum magnificent - a perennial flowering plant with excellent decorative qualities. The culture is unpretentious, does not require special care. She is not afraid of frost and drought, suitable for growing in the northern and southern regions. Perennial is one of the medicinal plants, the first information about it appeared in the ancient written sources of India and Greece.
