Loose mint

The coin loosestrife is an unusual hardy plant that is often used by landscape designers for landscaping problematic backyards. This perennial easily takes root in the shade, feels good in damp areas with poor soils. The article will discuss the peculiarities of the culture, popular varieties, and how to grow and care for a coin loosestrife.

Loose leaf, or coin (the official botanical name of the plant in Latin is Lysimachia nummularia, or lysimachia nummularia), is a vigorous herbaceous perennial, which is a representative of the primrose family. In height, an adult plant rarely exceeds 8-10 centimeters, however, the length of its strong creeping shoots can be 50-80 centimeters. This feature of the coin loosestrife led to its use in landscape design as a ground cover and ampel plant.

Stems are juicy, pale green, densely leafy, knotty in places. The leaves are rounded, heart-shaped at the base, darker than the stem, in color, arranged in pairs on small petioles. It is noteworthy that this type of loosestrife got its name precisely because of the rounded shape of the leaves, which makes them look like coins. The leaves can reach 2.5-3 centimeters in diameter.

The plant blooms in May-June. Flowering lasts until about August. Thus, for a significant part of the summer, the rich green stems of loosestrife are decorated with numerous, but small (up to 3 centimeters in diameter) flowers, effectively contrasting with the dense and lush foliage. The formula of the flower is H (5) L (5) T (5) P (1) (where H is the number of sections of the cups, L - petals, T - stamens and P - pistils).

In late summer - early autumn, the plant fades and begins to form fruits - rounded five-leafed capsules. The seeds are very small, brownish or pale yellow in color. Despite the fact that this variety of loosestrife is wild, and on the territory of Eurasia (in particular, Russia) it can be found everywhere in the floodplains of rivers and in shady forests, many gardeners successfully grow it as an ornamental crop in their personal plots. In fact, the coin loosestrife is worthy of such attention - it is unpretentious, winter-hardy and very decorative.

However, when planning to plant this plant on your site, you should take into account the fact that its root system tends to grow rapidly. Due to this feature, without proper control, the loosestrife is able to displace adjacent cultivated plants, which have weaker roots, from the site. At the same time, gardeners and landscape designers highly value this perennial for its ability to take root in not the most prosperous places. It thrives well in the shade, grows quickly in waterlogged soils, which are not suitable for very many ornamental crops.

The leaves, stems and roots of this interesting plant contain a large amount of vitamin C, useful biologically active substances, anthocyanins and antioxidants. Such a unique chemical composition led to the use of moneta loosestrife as a raw material for the preparation of tonic herbal teas (hence another name for the plant - meadow tea).

To date, breeders have managed to obtain a number of very interesting cultural forms of the coin loosestrife, which quickly became in demand among gardeners and landscape designers. Below are the names and descriptions of the most popular plant varieties of this species.

• "Aurea" - a compact and very effective variety of the coin loosestrife, grown both as a ground cover and as an ampelous plant. The height of the bush does not exceed 4-6 centimeters. Creeping stems, densely covered with round pale green leaves, which, when grown in the light, acquire a bright salad or rich golden yellow color.
• Goldilox - another undersized (up to 15 centimeters in height) cold-resistant variety with moderately long, creeping shoots. The color of the foliage depends on where it is grown (in the shade or in the sun) and can range from bottle green to lemon yellow. The stems can reach 25-30 centimeters in length.

A shady or semi-shaded place with loose and damp soil is optimal for planting a monochromatic loosestrife. You can plant it next to an ornamental pond, and under the canopy of tall plants. At the same time, when planting yellow-leaved varieties of loosestrife, experienced gardeners recommend not bypassing sunny places - observations show that it is under the open bright sun that their foliage acquires a unique golden color.

The soil at the planting site should be well-drained, since this plant does not take root well on heavy clay soils. If the soil is heavy and dense, it must first be mixed with river sand, and a drainage layer (expanded clay, crushed stone, broken brick) must be laid on the bottom of the planting pit. Next, a mixture of compost and peat is poured over the drainage, after which a pre-prepared seedling or rooted cutting is planted.

After planting, the young plant is watered abundantly. The optimal time for planting loosestrife is early spring. During this period, the plant is still in a semi-dormant state, which makes it easier for it to tolerate adaptation. If the seedlings or rooted cuttings of the Lostweed were purchased in the nursery in late summer or autumn, it is recommended to transfer them to a cool place for the winter. Until spring, young plants should be at rest, being buried in a container with loose, breathable soil. It is impossible to feed plants that are in the dormant phase. They can be transplanted only in the spring, at the end of the frost.

It is not for nothing that the coin loosestrife is considered a very unpretentious and unpretentious decorative culture, since it needs minimal maintenance. The main activities that a gardener should carry out in relation to this plant are associated only with watering, dressing, periodic pruning and proper preparation for winter.

The described culture refers to moisture-loving and hardy plants. A lack of soil moisture can negatively affect the decorativeness of the loosestrife. At the same time, experienced gardeners remind that a coin-shaped loosestrife, planted in a damp shady place, will practically not need watering. Given this fact, this crop should be watered only if absolutely necessary (this is usually evidenced by the drying of the surface in the near-stem circle).

Looseweed also does not need regular feeding. However, if the plant lags behind in development, forms rare and small stems and leaves, planting loosestrife should be fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Top dressing is usually carried out in the spring - at this time of the year, the loosestrife is actively increasing its vegetative (green) mass.

With a moisture-loving and unpretentious loosestrife, all kinds of weeds get along pretty quickly, which suppress its development and growth. For this reason, a procedure such as weeding near the loosestrife should be carried out regularly, at least once every 2-3 weeks. It is undesirable to allow excessive growth of weeds in the area with loosestrife, since this can negatively affect both its decorative effect and the health of crops close to it.

It is advisable to loosen the earth in the near-trunk circle 2-3 days after the next watering. If the plant was originally planted in a damp place, then loosening is carried out less often, about 1-2 times a month. In the process of work, special tools are used - garden rake-rippers, with which they carefully process the soil surface around the plant stems. The rake teeth must not be buried unnecessarily in the soil.

At the end of the growing season, the monochromatic loosestrife is allowed to be slightly trimmed. A radical haircut is not recommended for this plant. Pruning with sharp scissors or pruning shears removes dry, old or damaged stems and leaves. And it is also allowed to remove excess shoots and stems in the process of work, which give the plant an untidy appearance.

Before leaving for wintering, it is recommended to feed the loosestrife with humus and mineral fertilizers. Top dressing in a small amount is applied to slightly loosened moist soil. You should not shelter the monochromatic loosestrife in warm southern regions for the winter. This unpretentious ornamental culture needs shelter only if grown in regions with a harsh and frosty climate. Spruce branches, agrofibre and other materials at hand are used to shelter the plant.

If the loosestrife in the country was grown in a tub or pots, then you can save it until the next growing season at home. To do this, simply transfer the container with the plant to any home room with a low temperature and relatively high humidity. It is not allowed to leave the loosestrife near batteries, radiators or other heating devices for the winter.

The simplest and easiest way to propagate a monotonous loosestrife is to divide the mother bush. Only adult and healthy plants over 3 years old are suitable for this procedure. Before dividing, the bush is carefully dug up, and then, using a pruner or a sharp shovel, it is divided into 2-4 parts, keeping the roots and apical shoots on each part. The separated parts are planted in the usual way, being careful not to damage the small roots.

Despite the fact that the monotonous loosestrife is a moisture-loving plant, many novice gardeners often "flood" it. Excessive soil moisture in this case inevitably leads to the development of powdery mildew. This very famous fungal disease of ornamental plants manifests itself as gray, off-yellow or off-white spots on the leaves and stems of affected crops. The main method for the destruction of fungal infection is spraying plants with fungicides and copper-containing agents (preparations "Fundazol", "HOM", "Kuprozan").

One of the main pests of loosestrife is the common aphid. This pest appears on plants most often in very dense plantings.Aphids are also capable of spreading over the site from neighboring dachas, where other cultural plantings have already suffered from it.

The coin loosestrife looks great both in single plantings and in group compositions. Its original curved lashes are able to adequately decorate any artificial reservoir - be it a small pond or a mini-pool. Experienced gardeners recommend planting this unusual plant with other shade and moisture-loving crops - for example, variegated hosts. At the same time, with light-loving cultures, such as Coleus, the coin loosestrife can also create an effective and bright composition.

Do not forget that this is an ideal ampelous culture. Against the background of the monetary loosestrife, such unpretentious potted plants as petunias, violets, lobelles, and lobelias will look many times brighter.