Content
Planting and caring for annual Iberis is characterized by simple and affordable agricultural technology. The culture is a popular ornamental plant of the Cruciferous family. The annual herbaceous iberis is an unpretentious, stress-resistant crop that prefers a warm climate.
The plant is popularly called Iberian, variegated, or stennik
Description of the annual Iberis
The annual plant Iberis is characterized by the following characteristics:
- The root system is taproot, consists of the main root and adventitious laterals;
- spreading bushes, up to 1 m in diameter;
- stems are branched, erect or creeping;
- stem length up to 30 cm;
- leaves are elongated, oblong or dissected;
- the leaves are arranged alternately;
- leaf length from 4 cm to 7 cm;
- the color of the leaves is shiny, rich green, or dark green;
- umbellate inflorescences;
- the color of the inflorescences is white, various shades of pink, lilac, lilac, violet, red;
- The fruit is a pod with small seeds.
Flowering begins in May or August (depending on the timing of sowing the seeds).
When flowering, the beautiful caps of inflorescences completely cover the foliage and emit a magnificent, rich aroma
Popular types and varieties
To decorate 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 and the color of the inflorescences.
The annual attracts landscape designers with its beautiful and long-lasting flowering
Bitter
The Mediterranean countries are considered the homeland of bitter iberis. The plant has been grown for decorative purposes since the 16th century. Culture is characterized by the following properties:
- shoots are branched, slightly pubescent;
- shoot height up to 30 cm;
- leaves lanceolate, alternate;
- inflorescences columnar, in the form of racemes;
- the color of the inflorescences is various shades of white and lilac.
The flowering of the decorative bitter annual lasts almost all summer
The most popular varieties of bitter Iberis are:
- Crowned (I. coronaria) is a garden crop, up to 30 cm high, with large white inflorescences.
The snow-white flowers of the crowned annual are in perfect harmony with the other “residents” of the flowerbed
- Tom Tumblr is a unique variety, which is characterized by a bush height of up to 15 cm, white color of inflorescences.
The bitter annual variety Tom Thumb has a simple inflorescence structure
- Weiße Riesen is 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 Risen looks great as the main decoration of dry streams and rockeries
- Hyazintenblütige Risen is an extravagant variety, the height of the bushes is up to 35 cm, the color of the inflorescences is white and has a lilac tint.
Hyacintenblütige - a beautifully flowering variety of bitter annual
Umbrella
The homeland of the umbrella (I. umbellata) species of Iberis is Southern Europe. An annual crop is characterized by the following properties:
- shoot height from 25 cm to 40 cm;
- shoots are branched, 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 flowering time of umbrella varieties is about two months.
The most common varieties are:
- Fairy Mixed is a decorative umbrella variety characterized by bush heights of up to 25 cm and varied colors of inflorescences.
The blooming corymbose inflorescences of the Fairy Mixtche variety delight with smooth transitions: from pure white to various shades of lilac and violet
- Red Rash is an attractive variety of umbellate annual Iberis. The height of the bushes is up to 30 cm, the color of the inflorescences is deep red interspersed with pale pink.
The carmine-red color of the inflorescences of the umbrella variety Red Rash harmonizes perfectly with other varieties of ornamental crops
- Confetti is a variety of Iberis umbellata annual, which is characterized by a shoot height of up to 35 cm. The color of the thyroid inflorescences is varied: white, lilac, lilac, violet, carmine.
The sun-loving variety Confetti looks original on borders, the front line of mixborders
- Pink Dream is a beautifully flowering variety of umbrella iberis.The culture is distinguished by the soft pink color of its inflorescences.
The flowering bush Pink Dream exudes a pleasant, lasting aroma
Application in landscape design
Recently, decorative varieties of Iberis have enjoyed deserved popularity among landscape designers. Low-growing varieties of annual crops look original:
- in the foreground of flower beds, flower beds;
- on alpine slides and rockeries;
- on borders and lawns.
Iberis is a universal crop that succinctly combines with spring bulbs (tulips), marigolds, night violet, saxifrage, alyssum, petunia, and phlox.
Annual Iberis can be placed near dwarf pine, juniper, cypress
Growing annual Iberis from seeds
Iberis is not propagated vegetatively due to the taproot structure of the root system, which complicates the process of dividing adult bushes.
Plants are grown from seeds using two main methods:
- direct sowing of seeds into the ground;
- sowing for seedlings.
High quality seeds can be purchased in specialized stores or collected at home
Direct sowing into the ground
Direct sowing of seeds of the annual Iberis flower 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 sets in (to prevent premature germination).
Agricultural technology for sowing seeds in open ground:
- the bed is dug up and leveled;
- form grooves at a distance of up to 5 cm from each other;
- seeds are sown in furrows, lightly sprinkled with earth;
- crops are moistened.
If there is a possibility of a drop in temperature at night, the crops are covered with film. 2 weeks after emergence, the bushes are thinned out at a distance of 15 cm from each other.
When direct sowing of annual Iberis seeds in open ground, seedlings appear in 10-12 days
Growing seedlings
Seeds of annual Iberis are sown for seedlings in February-March. Equal parts of peat, sawdust, and sand are mixed as a soil mixture. The soil and containers are disinfected.
Algorithm for obtaining seedlings:
- grooves up to 1 mm deep are formed in containers;
- the seeds are placed in grooves without a depression, sprinkled with river sand;
- The crops are moistened with a spray bottle and covered with film.
The box with seedlings is placed in a warm place with diffused natural light. The crops are moistened with a spray bottle as the soil dries. Iberis seedlings do not dive. It is best to plant seedlings in disposable cups or peat tablets.
Before moving into open ground, Iberis annual seedlings are hardened off for 2 weeks.
Planting and caring for annual Iberis
Annual varieties of Iberis do not require complex care. It is enough to follow the agricultural planting techniques, ensure proper watering, fertilizing and promptly inspect the bushes for diseases and pests.
Iberis ornamental annual - an unpretentious garden crop
Recommended timing
Iberis seedlings are moved into open ground once the threat of spring frosts has passed. Experienced gardeners recommend replanting it in May.
After sufficient heating of the air and soil, you can move the Iberis seedlings to a “permanent place of residence”
Site preparation
Iberis annual prefers soil without close groundwater, not prone to stagnation of water. It can be:
- well-lit areas;
- loamy, sandy or rocky soil;
- soil fertilized with organic fertilizers in the fall (manure).
Even with slight shade, the plants do not bloom profusely
Landing algorithm
Since Iberis seedlings are tender, thin sprouts with a rather vulnerable root system, they are moved to open ground by transshipment.
Landing rules:
- planting holes are formed in the garden bed at a distance of 12-15 cm from each other;
- the seedlings are moved into the planting holes along with a lump of earth;
- the bushes are carefully pressed to the ground, the soil is compacted;
- seedlings are carefully watered at the root.
When moving seedlings of different varieties of annual Iberis into open ground, take into account that the distance between the bushes should be increased to prevent cross-pollination
Watering and fertilizing
Iberis is an unpretentious plant that requires minimal care:
- moderate watering no more than once a week;
- loosening and removal of weeds;
- fertilizing 2 times during the growing season.
For abundant flowering, complex mineral fertilizers should be applied.
Trimming
Overgrown bushes are pruned to give the plant a well-groomed, neat appearance. In addition, faded inflorescences should be removed in a timely manner.
Pests and diseases
One-year-old Iberis is endowed with fairly stable immunity to pests and fungal pathogens. In some cases, the annual Iberis flower is exposed to pathogens:
- Cruciferous clubroot attacks the roots.
Affected bushes should be destroyed and the planting site should be treated with lime.
- Black scab, or rhizoctonia, appears as gray, brown spots on foliage and inflorescences.
Bushes infected with black scab should be burned and the bed should be treated with copper oxychloride
Among the pests that attack Iberis plantings are the following:
- The appearance of a mealybug is accompanied by the formation of a white coating on the shoots.
To get rid of mealybugs, the drugs Aktara, Mospilan, as well as garlic infusion are used
- Cabbage aphids suck juices from young shoots. As a result of the influence of parasites, leaves and flowers turn yellow and fall off.
To combat cabbage aphids, use liquid potassium soap, Neoron, Actellik solutions
Conclusion
Planting and caring for annual Iberis is accessible even to novice gardeners. This unpretentious plant develops quickly even with minimal care and blooms profusely and attractively all summer long. You can sow the seeds of Iberis annua in the ground at intervals of 2-3 weeks and twice during the summer season enjoy the magnificent and fragrant flowering of delightful umbrella-shaped inflorescences in white, pink, purple, lilac tones.
