What does the spotted loosestrife look like and how to care for it?

Spotted verbein is a well-known favorite of landscape designers and gardeners who value not only an attractive appearance in ornamental plants, but also unpretentiousness, abundant long flowering.

This original plant looks great both in single and in group plantings. What is a loosestrife and what are the nuances of growing it in the open field, we will consider in the article.

Verbeynik point (the second name of the plant is lysimachia) is a type of flowering ornamental shrubs. The plant belongs to the Primroses family. The height of adult bushes can reach 80, and in some specimens - 100 centimeters. The bush has a compact and well-branched crown, consisting of many thin, densely leafy shoots directed upwards. Leaves of uniform green color (variegated varieties also exist), pointed, lanceolate.

The shrub enters the flowering phase in the second half or end of June. The plant fades in late summer - early autumn. During this period, drying flowers with ovaries form seed pods. During the flowering period, the loosestrife is covered with numerous large bells of a golden yellow color, collected in loose spike-shaped inflorescences about 40-45 centimeters long. Due to the large number of flowers that cover a significant part of the foliage, the shrub appears almost completely yellow at the height of summer.

The shrub has a well-developed and actively growing root system... The average seasonal growth of each root shoot can reach 10 centimeters or more. Given this feature of the plant, experienced gardeners do not recommend growing spotted loosestrife in the vicinity of crops that have a weaker root system. Otherwise, the shrub can displace them from the site, taking away light, food and moisture.

At a time when the plant is not blooming, it looks rather modest and simple, but at the same time elegant. In many respects, the visual appeal of the dotted loosestrife is facilitated by its neat and compact crown... In general, the dotted loosestrife is characterized by unpretentiousness, endurance, and undemanding care. It is able to withstand short-term drought, frost and lack of lighting.

Consider several interesting varieties of culture.

• Alexander variegata - variegated variety, notable for its original foliage. The leaves of a shrub are grayish-green in color, with a narrow light cream border along the edges. Thanks to this interesting feature, the plant retains its decorative effect even outside the flowering period.

• Alexander Golden - another variegated (variegated) variety of loosestrife, the leaves of which are framed by a golden border of arbitrary width and shape. The foliage of the bush looks very impressive and organic during the flowering period against the background of numerous sunny yellow bells.

It is recommended to plant a loosestrife in partial shade or in not too lit areas. If you plant a shrub in a place that is in direct sunlight for most of the day, then in the future you may encounter such a problem as burning out the leaves and flowers of the plant. The soil at the planting site should be loose, fertile, well-drained.In areas with heavy clay soils, clean coarse sand should first be added to the planting site. Additionally, it is recommended to add humus or compost to the planting pit: this will accelerate the adaptation of the young plant to new conditions.

Planting a seedling is carried out according to the same scheme as in the case of other ornamental crops. The size of the planting pit should slightly exceed the size of the root ball. It is advisable to transplant by the transshipment method, without shaking off the earth from the roots of the seedling. After planting the plant, the ground in the near-stem circle is lightly tamped, watered abundantly and mulched with compost, needles or sawdust.

The main measures that should be taken when growing a spot loosestrife in the open field are watering, top dressing and periodic simple agrotechnical procedures (removing weeds, loosening the soil in the near-trunk circle).

This shrub tolerates a short drought quite firmly, however, it is impossible to leave it without watering for a long time, otherwise the decorativeness of the plant will suffer. The optimal frequency of watering in a cold summer is 1 time in 3-5 days. In spring and rainy autumn, as well as in wet weather, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1 time per week or two (with very high air humidity, it is generally advisable to exclude watering for a while). It is recommended to feed healthy and well-developing seedlings 1-2 times per season. Mullein or humus is used for feeding.

Ready-made complex fertilizers designed specifically for flowering ornamental shrubs are also suitable. At the beginning of the growing season, the shrubs are fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizers that stimulate the active growth of green and root mass.

The dotted loosestrife, which has a powerful root system, is able to displace any plants with weak roots from the site, including many rhizome weeds. However, this feature of it does not negate the fact that the near-stem circle near the plant and the area next to it should be cleared of weeds. An excess of weed shoots growing next to the loosestrife can cause shredding of its flowers, and in some cases the development of fungal, bacterial diseases, the causative agents of which actively multiply in the dense green of the weed.

Thus, weeds near the spot loosestrife should be weeded regularly (at least once every 1-2 weeks), trying to manually remove weed rhizomes to their maximum length. In order for the roots of the bush to receive a sufficient amount of air, it is necessary to periodically loosen the ground in the trunk circle. Loosening is carried out using a special tool with fine rounded teeth. It is advisable to deepen the teeth of the tool into the ground by no more than 1-1.5 centimeters.

Before the arrival of stable frosts, the dotted loosestrife is shortened by cutting off its flowering stems to a height of about 20 centimeters (counting from the surface of the earth). Then the shortened bush is insulated using agrofibre, sawdust, compost, humus or any other mulching material. With the arrival of spring, the insulating base is removed in order to avoid the plant damping out.

One of the most popular breeding methods for spotted loosestrife is by dividing the mother bush. To do this, in the fall, they dig out the strongest and healthiest bush, after which they divide it with a sharp shovel into 2-4 parts (depending on the diameter of the root ball and the age of the plant), leaving several shoots and roots on each of the parts. The resulting parts are planted in the holes and spilled abundantly with water.

Good results are also obtained by cuttings of the plant. The technology for obtaining planting material and its further rooting is no different from that recommended for the propagation of other ornamental shrubs. For rooting, cuttings are used, which are cut in spring or autumn. The length of the cuttings should be at least 15-20 centimeters. Planting material is rooted in home containers (in winter) or in protected ground (in spring) under a film cover.

The seed method of reproduction of the dotted loosestrife is considered the most troublesome... In this case, seeds obtained in the fall from a faded plant are used. The seeds are stratified in a cool place for 45-60 days, after which they are planted in containers with loose fertile soil or in open ground in a permanent place under the film. Young seedlings obtained by germinating seeds at home are transferred to open ground in the spring, after the threat of recurrent frosts has passed. Caring for young plants in the future is almost no different from caring for adult bushes.

Most often, spotted loosestrife is affected aphids - a tiny translucent parasite, the colonies of which can be found on the seamy side of the leaves. The main signs of aphid damage to loosestrife are gradual drying, yellowing and wilting of leaves. To combat the parasite, spraying with insecticidal preparations is used. You can use "Fufanon Nova" or "Fitoverm".

These same drugs are great in the fight against another popular garden pest - spider mites. This parasite is microscopic in size, so it usually cannot be detected with the naked eye. However, the fact that the plant is affected by the spider mite is usually evidenced by the characteristic accumulations of cobwebs on the leaves and shoots of the shrub.

High moisture content in the air and soil can cause root rot to develop. When this disease is affected, the bush begins to weaken sharply, thin out, turn yellow and dry. On close examination of the root collar of the bush, you can find spots of brownish-brown or black color at its base. These are the main foci of damage to the plant by a putrefactive fungus.

• The dotted loosestrife looks great both as a solo (single growing bush) and as a representative of group flower arrangements. It is usually planted in groups with plants that have similar colors and requirements for growing conditions.

• Hosts, mallows, various ferns look very impressive in combination with loosestrife... By organizing such a neighborhood, you can easily decorate any unsightly or shaded area of ​​the garden.

• Experienced gardeners often use a dotted loosestrife to create hedges, planting it in rows along fences and site boundaries... In this case, marigolds, marigolds, bells, undersized daisies, short asters, fiery red nasturtiums and other catchy one- and biennials help to shade the charm of a blooming golden-sunny loosestrife.