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Colchicum planting and care. Colchicum cheerful: the gentle smile of the passing summer

Colchicum laetum – bright plant, which blooms in autumn, is listed in the Red Book. In cloudy weather, the culture lifts the mood with rich colors. In nature, the plant is found in Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean. The flowers are similar to, but they bloom in the fall, when most plants wither.

This perennial, which can reach 15-40 cm in height. The culture bulb has a conical shape and reaches 3 cm in diameter. It is covered with black-brown scales. The plant has 3-4 oblong leaves. In this case, the lower ones have a blunt edge, and the upper ones have a sharp edge.

The plant usually produces 1-3 flowers. They have a pink or light purple tint. The perianth lobes have a blunt shape and reach 4 cm. The columns are very thin and thread-like. At the top they remain almost straight. Flowering of the crop occurs in summer and autumn, while leaf development occurs in spring.

The key advantage of Colchicum is its ease of care. The plant has an attractive appearance and is actively used in landscape design.

The disadvantages of the culture include its toxic properties. Therefore, you need to work with it very carefully. In addition, the plant does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil.

Landing

The crop can be planted in the shade of trees. It also grows well on open areas. The flower loves loamy soil, which is moderately moist. The soil should be neutral or close to this acidity.

When to plant?

The ideal time for planting and transplanting is August. During this period, the bulb is maximally saturated useful elements and is in a calm state.

How to plant?

The crop should be planted according to the following scheme:

On 1 square meter Each area is filled with a bucket of coarse sand and humus. You also need to use 100 g of mineral fertilizer.
The soil should be dug up to a depth of at least 50 cm. The bed should be leveled and holes should be made. In this case, you need to maintain an interval of at least 30 cm. The depth of the holes depends on the size of the bulbs. It should be 10-20 cm.
Each bulb should be planted in a separate hole, sprinkled with earth and compacted a little. The soil needs to be watered and sprinkled with mulch.
Don't expect leaves to appear in the fall. They won't grow until next spring.

Features of care

Colchicum cheerful is considered an unpretentious plant that does not require high costs care The crop remains dormant all summer. When working with a plant, you need to take into account that it has poisonous properties. Therefore, all manipulations should be performed with gloves.

It is important to ensure that the flower juice does not get on the skin or mucous membranes, as this can cause a serious burn. You should not plant the crop in places where children play or pets roam.

Colchicum should be watered only when hot weather. The plant does not respond well to waterlogged soil. It has enough moisture, which is present in the bulbs. When the leaves dry out, stop watering the plant.

In the spring, when the first leaves appear, you need to apply. This will help strengthen the culture and improve its appearance. Large quantity leaves improves nutrition of the bulbs. This helps the culture to bloom brightly and abundantly.

The second time the plant should be fed after the formation of buds, the third time it is done after flowering has completed. Fertilizers based on potassium and are suitable for this purpose.

With the appearance of leaves, you need to systematically loosen and weed the soil. Then it is mulched with peat and sawdust. In this case, there is no need to trim foliage or flower stalks before winter. They protect the bulbs from freezing. It is worth removing everything unnecessary in the spring.

Preparing for winter

After flowering is completed, the crop is prepared for winter. To do this, the area should be cleared of weeds, loosened and sprinkled with peat. In warm regions this is enough for a comfortable winter. If severe frosts are expected, dry leaves and spruce branches should be placed on the peat.

The cheerful colchicum blooms at a time when the grass has already withered

Reproduction

The plant propagates easily. Moreover, this is done both by seeds and by dividing the bush. It is worth considering that the seed method is considered the most problematic. In addition, in this situation it is not possible to preserve the varietal characteristics of the crop.

The bulb of Colchicum merry forms several shoots. In summer, during dormancy, it can be dug up and divided into several parts. This method helps stimulate the plant to bloom.

Diseases and pests

With proper care, colchicum is practically not susceptible to disease. If you constantly over-moisten the soil, there is a risk of development. This disease is accompanied by the appearance brown spots on stems and leaves. After some time, they become covered with a white coating and rot.

To prevent excessive soil moisture, drainage is required. In order to cure the affected plant, you need to remove the diseased leaves. After this, the crop is treated with strong fungicides. For this purpose, you can use drugs such as Champion or Topaz.

With proper care, colchicums almost never encounter pest attacks. At the same time, their succulent leaves are often eaten by snails and slugs. Deal with them using chemicals very problematic. To eliminate the problem, you should use special traps or collect pests manually.

Medicinal properties

Colchicum has a unique chemical composition and has a lot medicinal properties. Thanks to the use of the product, it is possible to achieve analgesic, antioxidant, and diuretic effects. The substance has antiemetic properties and is used as a laxative.

All kinds of ointments and tinctures can be prepared from the flowers, bulbs and leaves of the plant. They are actively used for pathologies of the musculoskeletal system and swelling.

Colchicum cheerful - beautiful plant, which is popular with many gardeners. To get a strong and viable culture, you need to adhere to the basic recommendations of experts.

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Colchicum cheerful is also known as Colchicum flamboyant. It is a perennial herbaceous plant from the genus Colchicum and the Colchicum family.

It can exist only in steppes and meadows, namely in forest clearings or among bushes located in the interval from the lower to middle mountain zones, which is why almost the entire species is found in the Ciscaucasia, as well as in the lower reaches of the Volga and Don. It blooms from August to October, but can bear fruit only in April. The leaves fall off by winter, and the fruits tolerate the cold season well. In spring they move out and new leaves appear.

Botanical description

First of all, it is worth considering that the cheerful colchicum is decorative, but poisonous plant, which is also characterized by:

bulb - has an ovoid shape and is quite large in size, so its diameter can reach about 3 centimeters;
The vagina is a leathery and black-brown surface. It also extends into a long and oblong tube;
leaves - there are only 4 of them. The first is ligulate, the second is greenish, the lower one is blunt, but somewhat wider than all the leaves, upper leaves– pointed;
the flowers are quite large. They are found in numbers from 1 to 3. Color varies from lavender to purple. The leaves reach up to 4 centimeters in length, and the stamens are half as long;
anthers – linear in shape with a yellowish tint, length can vary from 6 to 8 centimeters;
the columns are thread-like and extremely thin. Almost completely straight. They may thicken slightly towards the top. Slightly bent and much larger in size than the stamens;
capsule – has an ovoid shape and a length of up to 20 millimeters. Its leg is short and blunt at the base, and becomes slightly sharper towards the apex.

The main prerequisite for a reduction in numbers is extermination for bouquets, against the background of which the depletion of its bulbs occurs. This happens even against the background of the fact that the crocus is poisonous, since it contains alkaloids, and improper handling of them can be harmful.

Medicinal properties

At the same time the poison makes him and medicine, since it also includes:

sugar and flavonoids;
lipids;
tannins;
aromatic acids;
many minerals, including iron and potassium, magnesium and zinc.

Can be used as ointments for local application, as well as healing drinks for internal use.

To protect the population, a strict ban on sale by private individuals is necessary.

Autumn is the time when most plants have finished blooming and the garden is getting ready for... hibernation. You can liven up a dull landscape with the help of colchicum, better known as colchicum or autumn flower. Amazing flower, with a fragile and touching beauty, is valued not only for its appearance, but also for its unpretentiousness and atypically late flowering.

Description

The colchicum flower is one of the perennial bulbous ephemeral plants. This means that the growing season of the autumn plant is short in time. The dark green leaves have an elongated lanceolate shape. The period of their development occurs in the spring, and in the summer the vegetation dies off and goes into a dormant state.

The most interesting thing begins with the onset of the first frost: funnel-shaped buds with a diameter of up to 3 cm emerge from the soil. At the same time, the height of the above-ground part is only 10-30 cm, and most perianth is hidden underground.

Although there are varieties that bloom in the spring along with primroses, it is the late varieties that have gained popular recognition. An oblong corm 3-5 cm long, covered with brown scales.

After flowering, colchicum manages to form a seed pod located in the ground. She will be born only with the first spring leaves.

Colchicum is one of the most poisonous inhabitants of the garden. Dangerous substances that cause skin irritation and burns are contained in all its parts. Even the water in which the flowers stood can cause harm.

Basic safety rules say that you should not touch a flower without gloves, and garden tool and equipment must be washed after completion of work.

Colchicum varieties

Among the whole variety of colchicums, there are luxurious specimens with yellow, pink, purple, snow-white or mixed colors. All the beauty and color richness are conveyed by the photos of colchicums presented below.

The following types are most popular among summer residents:

Autumn colchicum. Habitat: west and south of Russia, Europe. On one side the corm is convex, and on the other it is rather flat, the top is tubular. In the spring season the plant grows up to 40 cm.

Like all colchicums, the leaves die back in June or July. Traditional shades of inflorescences are white and soft lilac. But today more decorative forms have been obtained: dark red, purple flowers with a white center.

Colchicum is magnificent. Found in nature in Western and Eastern Transcaucasia, it prefers light forest edges. Reaches a considerable height, up to half a meter.

Flowers develop in autumn, on average there are 4-5 leaves and 1-3 flowers per bulb. Based on this type, breeders have developed new varieties with dark red, purple, and lilac inflorescences.

Colchicum variegated. Flowering begins in late autumn. The luxurious pink and purple speckled inflorescences are of value. One bulb produces 3 to 6 flowers.

Home growing rules

Colchicum can be grown in almost any area of the garden. But illuminated southern locations are best suited. The flower is not afraid of proximity to larger ones herbaceous plants, does not degenerate and pleases owners every season.

To create beauty you need to follow several simple recommendations on planting, replanting and pest control.

How and when to plant colchicum

Planting crocus will not take much effort and time. Practice has established that the ideal month for planting is August. The soil is not prepared in a special way; it is enough to carry out standard measures of digging and loosening the top layer. This will protect the roots from rotting. The optimal composition is a well-drained sandy soil mixture.

Before being placed in open ground, colchicum bulbs are subjected to thorough inspection. They should not show signs of rotting, cuts or damage. The distance between the holes is chosen from the range of 10-20 cm; for the comfortable well-being of adult plants, it is better not to save space.

The planting depth depends on the dimensions: large specimens can be deepened by 20 cm, and small onions by 8 cm.

Gardeners have come up with an approximate formula: the depth is equal to twice the height of the bulb. The top of the tube should be exposed from the ground.

Colchicum transplantation

Colchicums can live 5-7 years in the same place, but then they need to be replanted. Transplantation can be carried out more often - once a couple of years. One of the signals that autumn trees have become crowded is the growth of bulbs and the shrinking of flowers.

It is better to replant the flower in August, but preparations begin in June. As soon as the leaves turn yellow, the bulbs are removed from the ground, cleaned and the material suitable for planting is separated.

The washed corms are immersed in aqueous solution potassium permanganate and leave for 30 minutes, after which it is taken out and dried well.

Before August, the prepared material is placed in a dry, dark place. Temperature storage no more than 25 degrees.

Disease and pest control

Colchicum's worst enemies are slugs and snails that encroach on sheet plates and flowers. You can deal with them using traps that make access to the flower difficult. To do this, the space between the plantings is filled with gravel. More effective way- application chemicals, the so-called molluscicides.

When overwatering, gray rot may appear. It can be identified by the presence of brown spots on the leaves. At the first signs of damage, the plants are treated with “Topaz”, “Kuproksat”, and the infected parts are removed.