Content
- 1 What does a crop plant look like?
- 2 The difference between crocus and crocus
- 3 When autumn crocus blooms
- 4 How the colchicum reproduces
- 5 Types and varieties
- 6 Planting and caring for flowers in the open field
- 7 Diseases and pests
- 8 Medicinal properties of colchicum and contraindications
- 9 What plants is combined with
- 10 Conclusion
The crocus flower is a beautiful and rather unpretentious plant that can decorate the garden in late autumn just before the onset of winter. Breeding it is not difficult if you know the basic rules.
What does the crocus look like
Colchicum is a perennial plant from the Colchicum family. It has short stems, 3-4 large elongated green leaves rise from the underground bulb in spring. The plates of the plant are erect, and due to them, it can rise 40 cm above the ground. Other names for colchicum are osennik (Colchicum) or colchicum.
Some plant species release leaves and buds at the same time in early spring, just after the snow melts. Others, at the beginning of the growing season, bring only greenery, which withers with the onset of summer, and the crocus flowers bloom from August.
In both cases, 3-4 stems up to 30 cm in height grow from the bulbous part of the autumn garden. Each of them is decorated with a funnel-shaped bud with double or simple petals. The flowers are most often purple or brownish, but there are also yellow, pink or white crocus flowers. The decorative period of the plant lasts up to three weeks.
During flowering, the perennial autumn tree emits a delicate pleasant aroma.
Autumnal spread throughout the world. You can meet him in the Mediterranean and Asian countries, in Africa. In Russia, it grows naturally in the southern regions - in the Krasnodar Territory and the Caucasus.
The difference between crocus and crocus
From the photo and description of the crocus flower, it is noticeable that outwardly it is very similar to a crocus. But plants have differences in structure and features:
- The bud of resumption of growth in crocuses is located at the top of the corm, and in autumn plants, at the base.
- The crocus flower has three stamens and one pistil. Colchicum has six stamens and three pistils.
- The autumnal is able to bloom within a couple of weeks after planting, while the crocus enters the decorative phase only after a month and, moreover, rarely blooms in autumn.
An important difference is that colchicum is a poisonous flower containing the dangerous alkaloid colchicine. Harmless crocus, meanwhile, serves as raw material for the production of saffron spice.
In color, many types of crocus are much brighter than autumn
When autumn crocus blooms
Some croplands bloom in spring, while other species are characterized by autumn flowering. It starts at the end of September and lasts about a month until the last days of October.
How the colchicum reproduces
You can propagate a garden flower crocus flower in two ways - by bulbs and seeds. They mainly use the first method, since it is easier and more accessible even for beginners.
Bulb propagation
Healthy adult crocus crops produce miniature daughter bulbs growing from the main tuber in the underground part. You can find out about their presence by the appearance of a large number of stems and leaves above the ground during the growing season of the autumn garden.
Selected "children" in the summer, after the crocus will finally fade. The tubers of the plant are dug out at the end of July, taking care not to damage the roots, and carefully separate the small bulbs from the main part. For a month or two, the planting material is kept in a cool place to strengthen its endurance, and then planted in the ground.
Seed propagation
Seed propagation of crocus is a rather long and laborious task. Planting material is harvested from adult plants in June. The boxes of the autumn garden are cut off even before they darken and open, dried in the shade, and when they reach brittleness, the seeds are removed.
To increase the endurance of future plants, planting material must be held in a cold place in a moist substrate for at least a month. After that, the seeds of the autumn garden can be sown in boxes and germinated at home, or buried immediately in the ground in August. It should be borne in mind that the crocus is growing very slowly. The first greens can appear only in the fall of the next season. It will take about five years for seeds to fully develop. Only after such a period of time the crocus will be able to give mature flower stalks with beautiful buds.
Types and varieties
The decorative autumn garden is represented by a wide variety of species. There are several of the most popular varieties of crocus with photos and names.
Yellow (Colchicum luteum)
The yellow crocus is found naturally in the stony glacial regions of Tibet, the Himalayas and the Tien Shan. The height does not exceed 15 cm. The flat, dark green leaves of the plant appear simultaneously with miniature bright yellow flowers immediately after the snow melts.
Yellow crocus has been artificially cultivated since 1882
Hungarian (Colchicum hungaricum)
The species is found in Greece, Albania and Hungary, enters the period of decorativeness in non-standard terms for the crocus - early spring or late winter. Gives white or purple-pink buds with maroon anthers, leaf plates in the upper part are densely covered with hairs.
Hungarian columbus blooms at the same time as the leaves appear
Ankara (Colchicum ancyrense)
Ankara colchicum is one of the earliest and can bloom from the end of December to April. Under natural conditions, it grows in the Crimea and in the south-west of Ukraine, in Moldova and Turkey. Brings pink-lilac buds, narrow grooved leaves of the columbine have a bluish tint.
Ankara colchicum blooms for about two weeks.
Regel (Colchicum regelii)
Colchicum of Regel is distributed in alpine and subalpine areas at an altitude of 2000 m above sea level. Brings several grooved blunt-pointed leaf plates with a smooth or finely toothed edge, gives white buds. Purple stripes can be seen on the seamy side of the flower lobes.
The bloom of the Colchicum Regel begins immediately after the snow melts
Autumn (Colchicum autumnale)
One of the most popular species rises up to 40 cm above the ground, is widespread in Europe and is actively cultivated in Russia. In the spring, the crocus gives up erect oblong leaves that wither by early summer. The autumn flower brings buds from mid-September, they are light or pale lilac in shade, often with a lush structure.White terry crocus is of the greatest decorative value.
The diameter of the flowers of autumn columbus reaches 7 cm
Magnificent (Colchicum speciosum)
The gorgeous pink crocus can be seen in the wild in Iran, Transcaucasia and Turkey. In height, it can rise up to 50 cm, has long leaves with a wavy edge. It blooms in September, the buds of the plant are lilac or pale pink. The length of the leaf plates of the autumn garden reaches 30 cm.
In the middle of the flower, the magnificent autumnal has a white bell
Bornmüller (Colchicum bornmuelleri)
Bornmüller's colchicum grows in the mountains of Asia Minor. It has long leaves up to 35 cm, the buds of the species are pale purple in color. The autumnal is able to maintain decorativeness from September until the very frosts.
Bornmüller's Colchicum prefers well-lit areas
Byzantine (Colchicum buzatinum)
The Byzantine colchicum is widespread in the Mediterranean and Southern Europe. In the spring it produces long lanceolate leaves up to 30 cm, and at the end of August it brings purple buds. Autumnal remains attractive until cold weather.
One Byzantine autumn flower is capable of producing more than 12 buds
Planting and caring for flowers in the open field
Autumnal plants are quite simple to grow, but they require compliance with some rules. First of all, you need to know the preferences of the plant and the optimal timing of planting.
When to plant crocus bulbs
For species with autumn flowering, crop planting is practiced in August no later than the middle of the month. If the perennial corm is large and healthy, then the buds can be expected already in the current season.
Site and soil requirements
The autumn plant feels best in well-lit or slightly shaded areas. The plant needs moisture, but on swampy ground, its roots can rot. Therefore, the soil is required to be well-drained and without the occurrence of groundwater close to the surface. Colchicum develops on alkaline and acidic soils, loves loam.
How to plant a crocus
Immediately before planting the bulbs, it is necessary to dig up the area and, if necessary, improve the soil, add 0.5 buckets of sand and a bucket of humus per square meter to it. You should also prepare holes, about 8 cm deep for small tubers and 20 cm for large ones. Wood ash and superphosphate are preliminarily introduced into the pits and mixed with the soil.
The planting material of the autumn garden is lowered into the holes, leaving scaly tubes above the surface of the earth, from which peduncles will subsequently appear. The soil around the crocus is slightly compacted and the plant is immediately watered by irrigation.
Follow-up care
Plant care is mainly reduced to timely watering and feeding. It is necessary to moisturize the crocus during the flowering period, subject to dry weather. The rest of the time, the autumn man will have enough natural precipitation.
Top dressing of crocus is carried out three times per season, with the growth of leaves, before flowering and during the period of maximum decorativeness. Complex minerals are used in the amount of 30 g per square meter of soil.
It is recommended to apply mineral fertilizers for the autumn gardener together with watering
So that weeds do not appear near the plant, from time to time the soil must be loosened. They do this carefully, trying not to damage the bulbs located at the surface of the ground. You can also mulch the crocus, a layer of peat or fallen leaves will slow down the evaporation of moisture and prevent weeds from growing.
When to dig the crocus
It is not customary to dig an autumn garden for the winter. It tolerates well the cold period in the ground. As for transplanting to a new place and dividing an adult plant, these procedures are carried out at the end of summer in August. But it is recommended to dig up the bulbs in both cases in advance, at the end of June, when the leaves of the crocus leaves turn yellow.
When to plant a crocus
If the autumn garden has grown a lot, it can be planted in several new places on the site. The bulbs of the plant are dug out of the ground at standard times, in late June or early July. The tubers are washed, the dead roots are cut, and the scales are left in place.
For half an hour, the planting material is soaked in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection, after which it is removed for drying in a warm place with a low level of humidity. Then the autumn bulbs must be placed in a cool cellar before being transferred to a new site.
When to transplant croplands that bloom in autumn
When leaving, it is recommended to transplant a crocus flower once every three years so that it does not grow too much, otherwise the buds will begin to shrink. Autumn bulbs are dug up in the middle of summer or a little earlier, at the time of yellowing of the leaves, after which they are washed, disinfected and stored until August in a dark place.
Thoroughly dried bulbs are kept at a temperature of about 24 ° C until planting.
Shortly before the onset of autumn, the perennial is transplanted to a new place. If the bulbs are healthy and strong, the buds will appear within a few weeks.
Diseases and pests
With proper cultivation and care, the crocus relatively rarely suffers from diseases. The greatest danger for him is gray rot. With this fungal disease, a light fluffy bloom, reminiscent of mold, appears on the leaves of the plant and on the stems.
Gray rot develops due to waterlogging of the soil
In the first stages, you can fight the gray rot of the autumn tree. Colchicum is treated with Topaz, Champion or Cuproxat fungicides, and the irrigation schedule is also being revised. All affected parts must be removed and burned. If the autumn garden is too badly affected, and an underground bulb has suffered from rot, the specimen can only be destroyed so as not to infect neighboring plants.
Of the pests for the crocus, snails and slugs are the most dangerous. Gastropods often appear on the wide leaves of the plant when grown in the shade. If untreated, they can completely devour the autumn garden at the beginning of summer and disrupt its vegetation cycle.
Slugs and snails are dangerous for the autumn gardener in cloudy and rainy summers
The fight against gastropods is, first of all, in preventive measures. It is advisable to mulch the soil around the plant with eggshells, fine gravel or at least straw. It is difficult for snails and slugs to walk on rough and sharp surfaces. From the leaves of the plant, pests can be collected by hand or use copper preparations for spraying.
Medicinal properties of colchicum and contraindications
Colchicum is a poisonous plant because its tubers contain colchicine and colchamine. Despite this, the perennial is often used by traditional medicine. For medicinal purposes, the autumn garden is used:
- for the treatment and prevention of arthritis, rheumatism and gout;
- with phlebitis of the veins;
- with dental inflammations;
- with bacterial processes in the throat;
- with excessive deposition of calcium salts in the joints;
- with oncology of the stomach and skin cancer;
- with hypertension;
- with edema;
- for the healing of skin lesions;
- with constipation.
On the basis of colchicum in medicine, decoctions, infusions and ointments for external use are prepared. When using such funds, you must carefully observe the dosages indicated in the recipes.
The garden autumn garden has a number of strict contraindications. It is necessary to completely abandon its use:
- with renal and hepatic insufficiency;
- with diseases of the bone marrow;
- with purulent inflammation;
- with a tendency to diarrhea;
- with frequent urination;
- with neutropenia;
- with any internal bleeding;
- with hypotension;
- with stomach ulcers and pancreatitis.
The use of any type of herbal medicine is prohibited during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The autumnal is not offered to children and adolescents; allergies are also a strict contraindication for it.
Colchicum cure for gout
Ointment from the osennik plant has pronounced anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. It is used for gout, rheumatism, arthritis and other joint diseases. Prepare the drug as follows:
- dry or fresh onions are chopped in a volume of 300 g;
- raw materials are poured with 500 ml of water;
- simmer for half an hour in a water bath over low heat;
- filter the finished product.
The osennik broth must be mixed with petroleum jelly or butter to obtain a viscous consistency. The product is removed to the refrigerator for solidification, and then sore joints are treated up to three times a day.
A good effect is also given by rubbing with a tincture of colchicum. They do it like this:
- 100 g of dry roots are crushed;
- mixed with 1.2 liters of vinegar 9%;
- in a dark place, insist under the lid for two weeks;
- passed through cheesecloth for filtration.
The agent is applied externally to the affected areas to relieve pain and improve mobility.
What plants is combined with
You can plant an autumn garden in your summer cottage together with other perennials in flower beds and in artistic compositions. The best neighbors for the shady crocus will be:
- thuja and junipers;
- cypresses and boxwood;
- sedge;
- creeping tenacious;
- variegated periwinkle;
- peonies;
- hosts;
- badans.
Autumnal looks organically in low compositions among stones
Conclusion
The crocus flower can decorate the site after all other perennials wither and get ready for winter. It is quite simple to grow it in the country, the requirements for the care of the plant are moderate. Autumnal has many useful properties and is used for medicinal purposes.
