The first spring honey plant is the forest beauty lungwort. It is so unpretentious, looks so harmonious in the garden that it has become popular with flower growers.
The lungwort blooms first among all forest and garden flowers, gathering bees around it. The beauty of this flower is amazing. Its buds, at first pink or crimson, gradually change color to blue, lilac or violet, so at the same time there are bells of different shades on the flowering bush.
The lungwort surprises with buds of different colors and shades on one bush
Herbaceous lungwort grows no higher than 50 cm, although some hybrid varieties reach 80 cm. It has a recognizable appearance:
- the stem and wedge-shaped leaves are covered with vellus hairs;
- decorative leaves with spots of various shapes and sizes;
- paired flowers at the top of the stem;
- the petals are collected in a beautiful bud, the sizes of the stamens and pistils are not the same for different varieties;
- rhizome in the form of tubers;
- the fruit is oblong, with one seed.
Hybrid varieties of melliferous herbs tend to grow gradually. Therefore, you need to choose a spacious place for the plant. The flower does not tolerate the heat and the scorching rays of the sun, so shady areas where other plants refuse to bloom are suitable for it. Moreover, it is in the shade that the melliferous grass blooms especially magnificently, gains juicy green of the stem, and reveals a bright pattern of leaves.
The composition of the soil for planting a plant does not really matter, it feels great on loose, loamy, sandy soil. Nevertheless, the place chosen for the flower garden must be dug up and fertilized with humus. It is easier for a plant to take root in a nutrient medium, it will bloom faster after adaptation. Apply fertilizer 1-1,5 weeks before planting.
An easy way to plant new plants is by dividing the mother bush. Experienced gardeners recommend doing this in the spring, in the first half of May, before the start of the active growing season.
- Dig out a bush, divide a large root into several parts, cut short filiform roots.
- Dig planting holes at the same depth as the mother bush grew. The distance between the holes is 30-40 cm.
- Plant root, water.
It is good if there is a bud on a part of the planted root. Such a plant will bloom immediately. If there is no kidney, it doesn’t matter. It will form in late summer, and the first flowers will appear next year.
Do not allow stagnant water, do not flood the roots of the plant. It loves abundant watering, but in the absence of drainage, the root system of the flower rots easily. Slugs that appear in flooded areas are dangerous to leaves.
Otherwise, caring for a hybrid beauty is simple:
- water regularly during bud formation and flowering;
- mulch the soil in the spring;
- apply humus fertilizer in May, mineral fertilizer in June;
- remove faded buds and dried stems;
- remove weeds.
Ornamental grass lungwort does not grow in one place for more than 4 years. In order for the bush to continue to delight with abundant flowering, it must be divided and planted in another area.
The beautiful hybrid lungwort surprises with multi-colored buds. It is unpretentious, fits well into the landscape.