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Planting and caring for the annual iberis is distinguished by simple and affordable agricultural technology. The culture is a popular ornamental plant of the Cruciferous family. Annual herbaceous iberis (iberis) – unpretentious, stress-resistant culture, prefers a warm climate.
In the people, the plant is called Iberian, heterogeneous, stennik
Description of the annual Iberis
The annual plant Iberis is characterized by the following features:
- the root system is pivotal, consists of the main root and adventitious lateral ones;
- sprawling bushes, up to 1 m in diameter;
- stems branched, erect or creeping;
- stem length up to 30 cm;
- leaves are elongated, oblong or dissected;
- the arrangement of the leaves is alternate;
- leaf length from 4 cm to 7 cm;
- the color of the leaves is brilliant, rich green, or dark green;
- inflorescences umbellate;
- the color of the inflorescences is white, various shades of pink, lilac, lilac, purple, red;
- the fruit is a pod with small seeds.
Flowering begins in May or August (depending on the timing of sowing seeds).
When flowering, beautiful caps of inflorescences completely cover the foliage and exude a magnificent, rich aroma.
Popular types and varieties
For the design of the local area, two main types of annual iberis are used:
- bitter;
- umbrella.
Each species includes a large number of unique varieties that differ in the shape of the foliage, the color of the inflorescences.
Annual attracts landscape designers with beautiful and long flowering
Bitter
The countries of the Mediterranean are considered the birthplace of bitter iberis. For ornamental purposes, the plant has been grown since the 16th century. Culture is characterized by the following properties:
- shoots branched, slightly pubescent;
- shoot height up to 30 cm;
- leaves lanceolate, alternate;
- inflorescences are columnar, in the form of brushes;
- the color of the inflorescences is various shades of white, lilac.
Flowering bitter annual ornamental lasts almost all summer
The most popular varieties of bitter iberis are:
- Crowned (I. coronaria) – garden culture, up to 30 cm high, with large white inflorescences.
The snow-white flowers of the crowned annual are in perfect harmony with other “inhabitants” of the flower bed
- Tom Tumblr – a unique variety, which is characterized by a bush height of up to 15 cm, white color of inflorescences.
The bitter annual variety Tom Tumb is distinguished by a simple structure of inflorescences
- Weiss Riesen (Weiße Riesen) – an attractive variety, the height of the bushes is up to 30 cm, the color of the inflorescences is snow-white.
The bitter annual Weiss Riesen looks great as the main decor of dry streams, rockeries
- Hyazintenblütige Risen (hyazintenblütige Risen) – an extravagant variety, the height of the bushes is up to 35 cm, the color of the inflorescences is white and lilac tint.
Hyacintenblütige is a beautifully flowering variety of a bitter annual.
Umbrella
The birthplace of the umbrella (I. umbellata) species of Iberis is Southern Europe. An annual culture is characterized by the following properties:
- shoot height from 25 cm to 40 cm;
- branched shoots, with a smooth structure;
- leaves lanceolate;
- leaf color is dark green;
- the shape of the inflorescences is corymbose, spike-shaped;
- diameter of inflorescences up to 6 cm;
- the color of the inflorescences varies depending on the variety: various shades of white, pink, purple.
The duration of flowering of umbrella varieties is about two months.
The most common varieties are:
- Fairy Mixed (Fairy Mixed) – decorative umbrella variety, which is characterized by a height of bushes up to 25 cm, a variety of colors of inflorescences.
Blooming corymbose inflorescences of the Fairy Mikstche variety delight with smooth transitions: from pure white to various shades of lilac and violet
- Red Rash is an attractive cultivar of the umbrella-shaped annual Iberis. The height of the bushes is up to 30 cm, the color of the inflorescences is rich red interspersed with pale pink.
The carmine-red color of the inflorescences of the umbrella variety Red Rash is in perfect harmony with other varieties of ornamental culture
- Confetti is a variety of Iberis umbrella annual, which is characterized by a height of shoots up to 35 cm. The color of the thyroid inflorescences is varied: white, purple, lilac, purple, carmine.
The sun-loving variety of Confetti looks original on the borders, the front line of mixborders
- Pink dream is a beautifully flowering variety of umbrella iberis. The culture is distinguished by the pale pink color of the inflorescences.
Flowering bush Pink dream exudes a pleasant, lasting aroma
Application in landscape design
Recently, decorative varieties of Iberis have enjoyed well-deserved popularity among landscape designers. Low-growing varieties of annual culture look original:
- in the foreground, flower beds, flower beds;
- on alpine slides and rockeries;
- on curbs and lawns.
Iberis is a universal culture that succinctly combines with spring bulbous (tulips), marigolds, night violet, saxifrage, alyssum, petunia, phlox.
One-year-old iberis can be placed near dwarf pine, juniper, cypress
Growing annual iberis from seeds
Iberis is not propagated vegetatively due to the core structure of the root system, which complicates the process of separating adult bushes.
Plants are grown from seeds using two main methods:
- direct sowing of seeds in the ground;
- sowing seedlings.
High quality seeds can be purchased at specialized stores or collected at home.
Direct sowing into the ground
Direct sowing of seeds of the annual flower Iberis in open ground is carried out in April. To obtain a flowering flower bed in May and August, they are embedded in the soil with a 2-3-week break.
You can sow seeds in the ground at the end of autumn when stable cold weather is established (to prevent premature germination).
Agrotechnics of sowing seeds in open ground:
- the bed is dug up, leveled;
- grooves are formed at a distance of up to 5 cm from each other;
- seeds are sown in grooves, lightly sprinkled with earth;
- crops are moistened.
If there is a possibility of a night drop in temperature, the crops are covered with a film. 2 weeks after germination, the bushes are thinned out at a distance of 15 cm from each other.
With direct sowing of seeds of annual Iberis in open ground, seedlings appear in 10-12 days
Growing seedlings
The seeds of the annual Iberis are sown for seedlings in February-March. As a soil mixture, equal parts of peat, sawdust, sand are mixed. Soil and containers are disinfected.
Algorithm for obtaining seedlings:
- grooves up to 1 mm deep are formed in containers;
- seeds are placed in grooves without deepening, sprinkled with river sand;
- crops are moistened with a spray bottle and covered with a film.
A box with seedlings is placed in a warm place with diffused natural light. Crops are moistened with a spray gun as the soil dries. Iberis shoots do not dive. It is best to plant seedlings in disposable cups or peat tablets.
Before moving to open ground, seedlings of the annual Iberis are hardened for 2 weeks.
Planting and caring for annual iberis
Annual varieties of Iberis do not need complex care. It is enough to observe the agrotechnics of planting, ensure proper watering, top dressing and inspect the bushes in a timely manner for the detection of diseases and pests.
Iberis decorative annual – unpretentious garden culture
Recommended dates
Iberis seedlings are moved to open ground when the threat of spring frosts has passed. Experienced gardeners recommend transplanting it in May.
After sufficient warming up of the air and soil, you can move the seedlings of Iberis to a “permanent place of residence”
Site Preparation
Iberis annual prefers soil without close groundwater, not prone to stagnant water. It can be:
- well-lit areas;
- loamy, sandy or rocky soil;
- soil fertilized with organic fertilizers since autumn (manure).
Even with a slight shade, the plants bloom not plentifully enough.
Landing algorithm
Since Iberis seedlings are tender, thin sprouts with a rather vulnerable root system, moving to open ground is carried out by transshipment.
Landing rules:
- planting pits are formed on the bed at a distance of 12-15 cm from each other;
- seedlings are moved to planting holes along with a clod of earth;
- the bushes are carefully pressed to the ground, the soil is rammed;
- seedlings are carefully watered under the root.
When moving into open ground, seedlings of different varieties of annual Iberis take into account that the distance between the bushes should be increased to prevent cross-pollination
Watering and top dressing
Iberis is an unpretentious plant that requires minimal care:
- moderate watering no more than 1 time per week;
- loosening and removal of weeds;
- top dressing 2 times during the vegetative season.
For abundant flowering, complex mineral fertilizers should be applied.
Trimming
Pruning of overgrown bushes is carried out to give the plant a well-groomed, neat appearance. In addition, faded inflorescences should be removed in time.
Pests and diseases
The annual Iberis is endowed with a fairly strong immunity to pests and pathogens of fungal diseases. In some cases, the annual flower iberis is exposed to pathogens:
- Cruciferous keel attacks the roots.
Affected bushes should be destroyed, the landing site should be treated with lime
- Black scab, or rhizoctonis, appears as gray, brown spots on foliage, inflorescences.
Bushes infected with black scab should be burned, treated with copper oxychloride.
Among the pests attacking iberis plantations, the following can be mentioned:
- The appearance of a mealybug is accompanied by the formation of a white coating on the shoots.
To get rid of the mealybug, Aktara, Mospilan, and garlic infusion are used.
- The cabbage aphid sucks juices from young shoots. As a result of exposure to parasites, leaves and flowers turn yellow and fall off.
To combat cabbage aphids, liquid potassium soap, Neoron, Aktellik solutions are used.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for annual iberis are available even to novice gardeners. An unpretentious plant develops quickly even with minimal care, blooms profusely and attractively all summer. You can sow the seeds of the annual Iberis in the ground with an interval of 2-3 weeks and twice during the summer season enjoy the magnificent and fragrant flowering of delicious umbrella-shaped inflorescences of white, pink, purple, lilac tones.
