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Many summer residents and gardeners would really like to have some super unpretentious small-sized flowers on their site, which, if possible, could be sown in the spring directly into the ground, so as not to bother with growing seedlings, and then transporting them to their future permanent habitat . And if these flowers also had an attractive aroma, then they would not have a price. But such flowers exist and they look very attractive, although for some unknown reason they are still little known to summer residents and flower lovers. This is a limnantes, which even a beginner in floriculture can easily cope with growing from seeds.
Limnantes has a very original color of flowers, which cannot but attract attention – a bright yellow lemon core with a small white edging. It is thanks to this coloring that he received the popular name in the British Isles – fried eggs. Despite this appetizing culinary name, the flower itself and all of its parts are inedible. But from the seeds of one of the varieties of limnantes, a vegetable oil that is unique in its composition is obtained, which can cope with many cosmetic problems and even have a healing effect on the human body.
In May, the coastal valleys of the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States are covered with white airy foam.
This is how the flowering of one of the most valuable representatives of the limnanthus family for the cosmetic industry, white limnanthus, or alba limnanthus, looks like.
It is for the abundance of flowering that the Americans called these flowers “meadow foam.” In Our Country, limnantes is often called simply pennik.
Description
The genus Limnantes belongs to the family of the same name and consists of only 8 species of annual plants. Two Greek words – “limna” – swamp and “anthos” – flower – served to form the name of this genus. Indeed, under natural conditions, limnantes can often be found in mountain lowland valleys and in wetlands that are flooded in winter and dry up in summer. But, given that the flower is an annual, the entire main growing season of Limnantes falls on a relatively dry season. And in humid conditions, only its seeds overwinter. This fact must be taken into account, since, as it turned out later, in a garden, limnantes does not like to grow in a swamp at all and can only withstand short-term flooding.
In garden culture, only one species is known and popular – Douglas limnantes.
Limnantes Douglas is an annual herbaceous plant, reaching a height of no more than 20-30 cm. The stems can grow straight, but they can also lie down and branch out strongly in different directions. The bush can grow so large that one plant will take up to 40-45 cm of space in diameter. Therefore, Limnantes is ideally suited as a groundcover flowering annual, capable of forming elegant carpets of flowers. The leaves are very elegant and attractive in themselves – they have a pale green color, openwork pinnately dissected.
The pedicels tend upward and carry cheerful medium-sized flowers (about 3 cm in diameter), consisting of five petals. Despite the small size of Limnantes flowers, there can be so many of them that they often completely hide the entire foliage behind them. The flowers have a very attractive sweetish aroma, so bees and butterflies often circle around them.
Limnantes flowering in favorable conditions can be very long – from June to the very frost. The flower is very unpretentious and can withstand light frosts down to -2°-3°C.
Limnantes seeds ripen by the end of summer and are enclosed in fruits – nuts with 4-5 almost spherical lobes, which can be either smooth or tuberculate. The seeds themselves are quite small in size, in one gram they contain up to 150 pieces. In shape, they are a bit like apple seeds. Germination is good, stored for three years.
Despite the fact that two-tone flowers are most often found in gardens, there are several varieties of Douglas limnanthes with plain white, yellow and pinkish flowers.
Rarely, but the flowers also have a dashed-speckled color.
Cultivation from seeds
The seed method of reproduction is the main one in Limnantes, as, indeed, in most annuals. It is best to sow the seeds immediately in a permanent place in the flower beds or in outdoor flowerpots. Seedlings can survive light frosts provided they are covered with non-woven materials.
Typically, such conditions develop in middle latitudes in the region of the middle or second half of May.
Sowing seeds in the ground
In outdoor conditions, sowing seeds of limnantes is carried out to a depth of about 2 cm, in nests of 2-3 seeds, since seed germination is not one hundred percent. To get a continuous carpet of flowers, plants should grow from each other at a distance of 10-20 cm. But under favorable conditions for growth, one limnanthes plant can, in principle, fill a small outdoor vase, 40×40 cm in size.
After planting, it is important to constantly keep the soil moist. Seedlings usually do not keep themselves waiting long – they appear in 6-15 days, depending on temperature conditions. Limnantes blooms, as a rule, 1,5-2 months after germination.
Limnantes usually regenerates easily by self-sowing, so planting it on the site only once, you can breed this flower as a permanent inhabitant of your garden. In addition, its seeds can be sown before winter, unless there are frequent and prolonged winter thaws in your area.
If you want to enjoy the flowering of limnantes earlier, then you need to sow it for seedlings in March or April. If you sow the seeds of limnantes in March, then in May you will be able to plant seedlings with buds in the ground.
Growing with seedlings
Most often, seedlings are grown in a greenhouse or greenhouse – in these conditions of abundance of light and low temperatures, it turns out to be stronger and healthier, but you can try to grow limnantes from seeds at home. The plant is not very good at transplanting – it can hurt for several weeks and recover after picking – therefore it is better to sow the seeds immediately in separate pots. In order to plant them immediately on the flower beds in May by transshipment, minimally disturbing the root system of the limnantes.
When using them, it is enough just to separate the walls of the cup and place an earthen lump, ready for planting, braided with roots, into a depression in the soil.
So, for sowing limnantes for seedlings at home, you need to prepare:
- A number of homemade cups without a bottom according to the number of limnantes seeds prepared for planting. Just like in a flower bed, 2-3 seeds can be sown at once in one cup.
- A deep tray large enough to fit all the prepared cups.
- Light permeable soil.
- The seeds of limnates themselves.
- An aqueous solution of any growth stimulant (Epin, Zircon, Humates, Energen, HB-101 and others) is desirable, but not necessary. You can use plain water at room temperature.
Gently fill the cups with earth and lightly tamp the top. At home, it is enough to deepen the seeds of limnantes into the soil to a depth of 0,7-1,0 mm. If you are not ready to constantly monitor the humidity in the cups during germination and add water regularly, then it is better to fix a large plastic bag on top of the pallet. Put all this anywhere in the room, because the seeds do not need light before germination, and ordinary room temperature will be more than enough.
At home, seedlings may appear faster – after 5-7 days. Try not to miss this moment and immediately place the tray with cups on the lightest window sill so that the sprouts do not have time to stretch out. In the future, caring for seedlings of limnantes consists only in regularly maintaining the soil in a moist state. It is advisable to place the seedlings in the coolest and at the same time bright place in the house.
Gradually accustom the seedlings to outdoor conditions, taking them to the balcony or outside throughout the day, if possible. And already in May, you can plant limnantes plants in a permanent place.
If you want the limnantes to bloom early, but there is no desire and opportunity to fiddle with seedlings, you can try sowing seeds in open ground in April, pulling several layers of lutrasil or spunbond on top. Even after the emergence of seedlings, it is not necessary to remove the covering material; you can water it directly through it until stable warm weather is established outside.
Features of care
Limnantes is a very undemanding plant. It will grow well in almost any conditions that are usually provided to annuals. Of course, the most abundant and bright flowering can be expected from it only in sunny places. It is better not to plant limnanthes in partial shade, because although it will survive there, flowering will disappoint you, and the stems will stretch out and look untidy.
The big plus of this flower is that it adapts well to any type of soil: from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, from sandy to heavy loam.
The only thing he needs is regular and sufficient watering. Despite its name, limnantes does not like stagnant water at the roots, but it tolerates dry conditions even worse – it may stop blooming and developing. In the middle lane with heavy rains, it is unlikely that the roots will dry out, but in the southern regions special attention should be paid to this. It is better, if possible, to immediately mulch the root zone of the limnantes with any organic material: straw, sawdust, mowed grass.
In order for the flowering of limnantes to continue until autumn, wilted flowers must be removed, and the shoots themselves should be pinched regularly. In the same period, it would be useful to fertilize the limnantes with complex fertilizer.
And you can do it in another way. Sow Limnantes seeds again in June. In this case, the peak of flowering will come at the end of summer – the beginning of autumn, and you will be able to admire the juicy optimistic colors of this flower until the very first frost.
Limnantes will perfectly decorate alpine slides and rocky gardens with artificial ponds. In flowerbeds, he can go well with his fellow countrymen: Nemophila and Eschscholzia. It is also suitable as an ampelous plant, for planting in flowerpots and for decorating balconies and loggias.
Get to know this lovely flower better and, most likely, it will charm you and settle in your garden for a long time.
