Daisy

Useful properties and application of daisies

Description daisies

Daisy is a unique genus of perennial plants belonging to the Astrov family. They grow in Europe and in the Mediterranean countries. In Latin, they are called Bellis, which means pearl, because the flowers are very reminiscent of a precious stone. This flower has a very interesting property – it anticipates the weather. Before the rain approaches, they close and lean towards the ground.

Daisy looks like a small herbaceous plant. It has a short rhizome and obtuse basal leaves of an unpointed oblong shape. The stem above the ground is almost always leafless. The receptacle of the plant has a shape resembling a cone. Graceful flowers develop on it – white or pink, having a reed shape. And in the middle there is always a flower – yellow and tubular, and the achene is always flattened.

This delightful plant forms interesting bushes up to 20 cm high. They are decorated with a very large number of inflorescences that resemble peculiar baskets. Since the daisy is a perennial plant, it blooms after sowing the following year. In the third year, many plants die, or shape deformations occur, the flowers become smaller, their texture changes. Thus, in order for the fantastic daisy to be beautiful and large, it is better to grow it as a biennial plant.

Daisies during planting and care are completely unpretentious plants. They bloom for a long time – from spring to late autumn. Such a chic plant is quite frost-resistant. In winter, both leaves and buds remain, which persist until early spring. The plant has the following forms of reproduction: sowing from seeds, self-sowing, dividing bushes, cuttings.

Useful properties of daisies

Daisy is widely used in medicine, as it has a number of exceptional medicinal properties. Usually, flowering baskets with leaves are used to treat various diseases. In this plant, and especially in inflorescences, scientists have found a lot of unique biologically active compounds. These include various acids of organic origin, the most aromatic essential oil, and substances such as saponin and inulin.

Before beneficial substances were scientifically discovered in the daisy, it was prescribed for a long time to cleanse the blood, with feverish conditions, rheumatism, with a high concentration of uric acid in the human body, dropsy. And in our time, numerous preparations from the perennial daisy are recommended for serious diseases of the endocrine system, causing violations of an important metabolism, as well as in the initial stage of hypertension.

In folk medicine, daisy is used for acute and chronic diseases of the respiratory tract, for example, bronchitis, liver disease, gout, pathological processes in the lining of the heart, diseases of the kidneys and bladder. In these cases, it is necessary to apply infusions of the plant inside. And external use – in the form of compresses from a decoction is indicated for bruises with open wounds, furunculosis, abscesses, purulent lesions of skin areas, hemorrhoids. For cosmetic purposes, the plant is an excellent astringent.

The use of daisies

In order to use the herb of daisies for oral administration, it is necessary to prepare a healing infusion according to a special recipe. You need to take two tablespoons with a slide of dried inflorescences of the plant and pour 500 ml of boiling water over them. Allow to cool to room temperature, and then be sure to strain. It is recommended to take this remedy half a cup at least 3 times a day, preferably before meals. For external use, the same infusion is prepared, but the concentration of the herb increases – up to 3 tablespoons of raw materials.

It is necessary to pay special attention to the technology of harvesting daisies. There are several key features here. The plant is harvested throughout the flowering period, but it dries very slowly. Grass should not be dried in the sun or in a gas oven, otherwise it will lose its unique beneficial properties. Closed balconies and loggias, ventilated attics are best suited for drying, but on condition that the temperature there does not exceed 35 ° C. In warm summer weather, it is better to dry the herbs under special sheds.

Growing daisies

Today, flowers such as daisies can be found in almost every gardener on the site. With their help, exclusive landscape designs of lawns, flower beds and terraces are created, due to their low growth, compactness and intensity of flowering in the design of flower beds, borders. Also, florists often use daisy inflorescences to make bouquets and compositions.

Daisies are quite unpretentious, can grow in sunny places, but also tolerate shading well. Soils for them are better to choose loose, sufficiently fertilized with humus, with a moderate content of organic compounds. Daisies need watering during dry periods and during the hot season, as well as in windy weather. If there is not enough moisture, then the inflorescences become quite small, and eventually stop blooming altogether.

Daisies are very fond of feeding with organic and mineral fertilizers, and this is best done in May, when the flowering period begins. It is better to apply liquid fertilizers to the soil, such as nitrophoska and Agricola-Fantasy. For the winter, it is better to cover the plant with dry leaves for a more comfortable transfer of frost. If the soil is not very suitable for growing daisies, then they rise above the ground. This process is called bulging. To prevent this from happening in the future, sand, humus and compost must be added to the soil.

It should be noted that bulging can occur due to sudden changes in temperature. To prevent this, you need to cover the soil with mulch to improve its properties. To do this, you can use humus, sawdust and peat, the thickness of their layer should be up to 8 cm. But if the bulging still does not stop, it is better to transplant your plants to another place more convenient for them.

Sowing daisy seeds should be at the end of June. It is better to initially plant them in special boxes for seedlings. The first shoots will appear in two weeks. Even after the same period of time, it is necessary to dive them and pour water with mineral fertilizers. Next, in August, it will be necessary to transfer the seedlings to open ground. The distance between plants should be at least 15 cm.

Also, a spectacular daisy can be propagated by dividing the bushes. To do this, they need to be dug up at the end of the summer of the second year of their life and divided into separate bushes in such a way that each has a root. Despite the fact that daisies are resistant to diseases and pests, they can still be affected by septoria or cercosporosis. The main signs of these diseases are spots on the leaves, first brown, then white.

Root rot can also occur. To combat these phenomena, special chemicals are used. Daisies can also be attacked by caterpillars and slugs. In this case metaldehyde is used.

And despite this, it does not take much effort to grow this flower. And the possibilities of using daisies are quite large.

Varieties of daisies

The division of the presented plants into specific species and varieties is determined by the size, texture of the inflorescences and the shape of the petals. The following varieties are the most common.

Rosa gigantea is a flower with very large flowers that have a pink tint. This variety flowers from May to June. Schneebel is a daisy with large snow-white flowers. Up to 20 inflorescences can bloom at the same time. Flowering period – late spring – early summer.

Another equally common variety is Etna. It has dark, burgundy flowers with a bright orange core, may include over 20 inflorescences. More fluffy variety – Snowball. It has more than 25 inflorescences at the same time, and each of its inflorescences is very large. And the smallest daisies are Pompoms. In their bushes, the number of inflorescences sometimes reaches 40 pieces, with a diameter of more than 2 cm. The petals of this variety have an interesting feather shape. Such a daisy blooms from April to the end of July. There are also other popular types.

Perennial Daisy. Perennial daisy is a herbaceous plant that blooms for more than one year. In botany, it is always cultivated as a biennial plant. In height, it can reach up to 30 cm. The leaves of such a daisy are oblong and elongated, resembling an egg in shape. Numerous leaves form a basal rosette; they are absent on the stem of the plant.

Inflorescences form single baskets, with tubular flowers and a yellow core. Flowers come in a variety of colors – white, pinkish or red. It blooms in late spring or early summer, and sometimes blooms throughout the summer and autumn.

Daisy garden. The garden daisy is an unparalleled perennial, but gardeners usually grow it as a biennial. Coloring can be white or red. Garden daisies are tender terry. This flower is very versatile and gardeners are very fond of using it to cover the soil, for planting along the edges of the flower bed. Also, the presented species can be grown on balconies in special flower boxes, used to decorate alpine slides.

Daisy terry. This plant is quite frost-resistant, reaches a height of 20 cm. It has very numerous flower stalks. The inflorescences look like terry baskets, and their color is different – white, red, pink. The flowers of this species are usually quite large, reaching up to 4 cm in width. To date, they have found their application in the design of flower beds, flower beds, alpine slides.

To get a flowering plant in the first year of life, the seeds must be sown in early March. But usually planted in late June – early July in the beds. This daisy prefers light fertile soil.

Contraindications daisies

No side effects have been identified with long-term use of the plant. However, various drugs and medicinal products containing daisies are contraindicated during pregnancy.