Content
Photos and descriptions of the Santolin bush deserve careful consideration. Decorative crops can decorate a garden, but require good care.
Description of the santolina bush with photo
Photos of santolina in a flowerbed show a low evergreen shrub with beautiful buds. The plant is represented by many varieties, but all types have similar features.
What does santolina look like?
Santolina is an evergreen shrub of the Asteraceae family. It rises up to 60 cm above the ground, spreads up to 1 m in diameter. It has flexible and thin stems, partially woody at the bottom. Shoots of a shrub can be either vertical or lodging. The leaves are pinnate or simple elongated, covered with silvery pubescence.
When does Santolina bloom?
In open ground, the perennial begins to bloom in July and remains decorative until autumn. The buds of the plant are small, yellow, white or cream in color, up to 1.5 cm in diameter. Collected in spherical inflorescences of 5 cm at the tops of the shoots.
During the decorative period, santolina emits a pronounced pleasant aroma.
Frost resistance of santolina
Santolina's winter hardiness is not very high. The heat-loving plant reacts negatively to extreme cold. In open ground, the shrub can withstand temperatures down to an average of -10 °C. In regions with a harsh climate, it is recommended to dig up the plant for the winter and put it in a cool room until spring.
Types and varieties of santolina
The types of santolina with photos and names deserve careful consideration. The shrub is represented by a large number of varieties, the differences between which lie in external features and flowering times.
Santolina pinnate
The feathery variety (Santolina pinnata) reaches 60 cm above the ground. It has narrow small leaves up to 4 cm long; it produces flower stalks in mid-summer. Blooms in spherical inflorescences of a cream color.
When rubbed, the plates of feathery santolina emit an olive-spicy odor.
Santolina neapolitan
Neapolitan santolina (Santolina neapolitana) is a tall plant up to 1 m above the ground. It has green dissected leaves and bears spherical inflorescences of a yellow hue.
Neapolitan Santolina is particularly thermophilic
Santolina greenish
The verdant or verdant variety of the plant (Santolina virens) is distinguished by feathery, lacy leaves of a rich green hue. Blooms in milky white inflorescences at the tops of the stems. The leaves and young shoots of the variety can be eaten as a seasoning - they have a good spicy taste and a pleasant aroma.
Greenish santolina has relatively high frost resistance and can withstand cold temperatures down to -7 ° C
Santolina graceful
The graceful variety (Santolina elegans) is a capricious but very beautiful plant for greenhouse or indoor cultivation. It is small in size and produces long peduncles in summer, on which yellow spherical inflorescences bloom.
In open ground, the graceful santolina does not take root well because it does not tolerate cold.
Santolina rosmarinifolia
Rosemarinifolia (Santolina rosmarinifolia) is a beautiful plant with a spicy aroma. The leaves of the species are long and thin, pinnately dissected. In July, the plant blooms with yellow or cream inflorescences up to 2 cm in diameter.
Rosemary leaf santolina reaches an average height of 30-60 cm
Planting santolina in open ground
Planting silver santolina and caring for it in the open ground are associated with certain difficulties. It is necessary, first of all, to select a suitable site for the crop. It is necessary to plant the shrub in an open sunny place, while providing protection from strong winds. The crop should not be placed in the shade, as it stretches out and loses its attractive outline.
The bush needs loose soil, with good water and air permeability, and moderately moist.It is better not to plant the crop on fertile soil - it will grow quickly, but will not bloom. Sandy loam or loamy poor soil with a neutral reaction is optimal for shrubs. The crop should not be placed on clay or in swampy lowlands. If the soil in the area is heavy, you should first carefully dig it up and dilute it with sand or small crushed stone.
For planting in open soil, perennials are usually grown at home from seeds. The material is pre-stratified and then sown at the end of February in shallow containers. After the seedlings have formed, the box is placed on a light windowsill and the seedlings are cared for until the end of spring.
In late May or early June, the perennial is transferred to open ground. Planting is done as follows:
- Moisten the prepared area generously.
- Dig holes twice the size of the plant's root system.
- Drainage is poured into the bottom of the recesses, and a loose substrate is placed on top.
- Place the seedlings in the center of the holes and sprinkle with soil.
- Water with a small amount of warm water.
To ensure that moisture evaporates from the soil more slowly, the perennial can be immediately mulched with sawdust or peat.
How to care for Santolina
The perennial does not like cold, but is otherwise quite hardy. When caring for shrubs in your summer cottage, you need to pay attention to several points.
Watering and fertilizing
After planting green santolina, when caring for it, watering should be done as needed. In rainy weather, the shrub does not require additional moisture. But during drought, it needs to be watered about twice a week when the top layer of soil dries out.
After each watering, the soil at the roots of the bush needs to be loosened
The perennial needs feeding during the period of active growth. From late spring to August, the bush is fertilized weekly with a weak solution of complex minerals. It is necessary to ensure that the nitrogen content in nutrient mixtures is minimal. This substance is required by the crop only during the period of green mass growth. During flowering, it is better to pay attention to phosphorus and potassium.
How to trim santolina
The formation of the santolina crown should be carried out twice a year. Without this procedure, the culture grows and loses its attractive outline. During the cutting process, the shoots are shortened at the tops to maintain the spherical silhouette of the bush.
Pruning Santolina in spring is sanitary in nature. In the middle or at the end of May, the shoots of the plant are shortened to 20 cm above the ground, frozen and dry branches are completely removed. After proper pruning, the perennial will quickly grow new healthy stems.
Is a transplant necessary?
In one place the culture can grow for 5-6 years. After this, the bush begins to degenerate and requires replanting. The procedure is carried out in early spring, the scheme looks like this:
- The flowerbed with shrubs is moistened abundantly on the eve of replanting.
- Carefully remove the plant from the soil.
- Using a sharp tool, divide the perennial along the rhizome into several parts.
- Treat the cuts with crushed coal or wood ash.
- The divisions are planted in pre-prepared holes.
- Sprinkle with soil and water generously.
When planting, the cuttings should be deepened to the branching point of the stem.
Wintering
Wintering Santolina in the Moscow region is associated with certain difficulties. At the end of flowering, some gardeners prefer to dig up the entire shrub and put it in a cool cellar until spring.
If you decide to leave the plant in the ground, it is necessary to provide it with high-quality insulation. Preparation for wintering is carried out as follows:
- At the end of the decorative period, the shoots are shortened by 2/3 of their length.
- A rigid frame is installed over the remains of the bush.
- Cover the root area with pine needles or dry leaves.
- Throw spunbond or lutrasil onto the frame on top.
- Press the insulating material with bricks along the edges.
- Cover the structure on top with spruce branches.
If there is high-quality insulation, the perennial will be able to survive the winter. Even if frost damages the plant, it will quickly recover with the onset of spring.
When growing santolina in Siberia and the Urals, it is imperative to dig up the bush in the fall
How to propagate santolina
The evergreen shrub Santolina green reproduces well by vegetative methods. Most often, the crop is grown from cuttings - a method that allows you to fully preserve the unique characteristics of rare varieties.
Santolina cuttings
It is necessary to cut Santolina in early spring. The procedure is carried out according to the following scheme:
- In March, several young shoots up to 10 cm long are cut from the plant.
- The cuttings are treated with a growth stimulator.
- Planted in loose wet sand.
- Cover the cuttings with cut plastic bottles or film.
- The shoots are watered from time to time and ventilated daily.
After new leaves appear on the cuttings, the coverings will need to be removed. The shoots will need to be planted in individual pots and grown in a warm place.The cuttings are transferred to open ground in early June.
Diseases and pests
The perennial has a fairly high immunity to fungi and insects. But the threat to the plant is:
- root rot - with this disease, the shoots and leaves turn yellow and begin to soften, the bush quickly dies;
Root rot develops due to excessive moisture
- spider mite - in dry, hot weather, cobwebs appear on the stems of the plant, small ulcers and holes form on the plates.
Spider mites attack shrubs at temperatures above 25 °C during periods of prolonged absence of rain.
For symptoms of fungal diseases, it is recommended to treat the shrub with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture. The drug Fitosporin also has a good effect. Actellic and Aktara products help against pests. If there are few insects, you can simply spray the bush with a soap solution.
Santolina in landscape design
Photos of silver santolina in landscape design show that the shrub is widely used in summer cottages. Most often, the crop is planted in rocky gardens and ridges, in Mediterranean flower beds and in flower beds made in Provence style. Good neighbors for the shrub are lavender and Buenos Aires verbena, immortelle and sage.
Low varieties of santolina are used to form beautiful hedges
The perennial looks attractive against the background of the lush greenery of conifers. You can plant it together with garden geraniums and tansy, as well as near bright marigolds.
Conclusion
Photos and descriptions of the santolina bush represent a very beautiful evergreen plant with long flowering.The culture does not tolerate cold well, but otherwise has modest care requirements.
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