Verbeynik: Cultivation, Types And Varieties, Application

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Description of loosestrife

Many of my friends, knowing about my hobby for flowers, bring me various plants from their travels or business trips. This is how one day I received a gift of a flower, which, as I was told, is called verbena. Since verbena did not grow in my garden before, I planted this plant with pleasure.

Then I read something about vervain in encyclopedias, learned something from the Internet. As it grew, my "verbena" less and less resembled the plant I read about, and when in the middle of summer the plant bloomed, I was finally convinced that it was definitely not verbena.

To tell you the truth, the plant was very attractive. Its golden-yellow bell-shaped flowers, located along the entire stem, were a decoration of the flower bed. I did not immediately recognize the name of this plant, but when I found it in the encyclopedia, I immediately understood why the confusion occurred. My golden yellow plant was called loosestrife, because it sounds very much like verbena. But since I already knew a lot about vervain, and my desire to see it in my flower garden was great, in the spring of next year I bought several bags of seeds and sowed them. So, thanks to a mistake in my summer cottage, two more beautiful plants are now growing and delighting me with their flowering.

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Loafers (Lysimachia) of the primrose family (Primulaceae) are herbaceous perennials, rarely annuals or biennials. This plant was nicknamed the verbeinik for the external resemblance of its leaves to pussy willow leaves. In total, there are from 150 to 200 types of loosestrife. This plant grows wild in Europe in the Mediterranean. Some loosestrife grows in East Asia and North America. On the territory of Russia, there are about 10 species.

Verbains have predominantly erect or creeping leafy shoots. Flowers are yellow or white, less often pink or purple, collected in spike-racemose or corymbose inflorescences, sometimes single or several pieces in the leaf axils.

Conditions for growing loosestrife

Loosestrife is unpretentious in leaving. Their root system is located shallowly, therefore, a cultivated layer of 10-15 cm is sufficient for growing. In autumn, the aboveground parts of erect plants are cut off and compost is added, the ground cover loosestrife is not cut off.

In frosty winters with little snow, they require shelter. Almost all loosestrife reproduces well by dividing the bush. They can also be cut by rooting young shoots. These plants are shade-tolerant, but sun-loving, in the shade they bloom worse. With a lack of lighting, in the shade of the loosestrife, small, non-opening, self-pollinating flowers that do not form seeds develop.

In comfortable conditions, almost all loosestrife grows rapidly and even need to be limited. In nature, they grow along swampy banks of streams and rivers, among shrubs in river floodplains, in wet meadows, therefore additional watering is required in the garden in dry summers. Verbains speckled, lily of the valley, ciliate prefer a moderately damp zone, but they also tolerate waterlogging. Loose loam can grow in shallow water on the shores of water bodies.

The common loosestrife and the bristle grass can be planted even in water to a depth of 10 cm. I noticed that if the loosestrife is uncomfortable in the area where it was planted, it crawls to a more favorable place for it. This is exactly what my loosestrife did, because I thought that I had planted a sun-loving and drought-resistant verbena, and the moisture-loving loosestrider did not like the sunny flower bed, and it gradually crawled to a more humid place, in partial shade.

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The main types and varieties of loosestrife

Common loosestrife or lysimachia (Lysimachis vulgaris) is a herbaceous perennial medicinal plant about 60-100 cm high. Its rhizome is creeping with tetrahedral and erect stems.

Leaves are oblong-lanceolate, opposite. Flowers - yellow, bell-shaped, small, collected in inflorescences at the top. The loosestrife fruit is a box with seeds. Common loosestrife blooms from June to July. It grows almost throughout the territory of Russia, here, in Kazakhstan, it is found in the northern regions.

Loose leaf or meadow tea (Lysimachia nummularia) is a herbaceous perennial medicinal plant with a creeping stem up to 60 cm long. Leaves with small dark glands are located oppositely on short petioles. The shape of the leaves is oval, about 2.5 cm long; this type of loosestrife got its name monotonous precisely because of the shape of its leaves. The leaves and stems are light green in color.

The flowers are star-bell-shaped, up to 3 cm in diameter, five-petal, golden yellow. Flowering period from May to late July. Monet loam is grown as an ampel and ground cover plant. The flowers are poorly pollinated, especially if they grow in the shade, therefore, normally developed seeds are rarely formed. Reproduces mainly vegetatively.

The variety of this species Aurea, with numerous branched stems, easily rooted in the place of contact with the soil, grows rapidly. The flowers are round, yellow, about 2 cm in diameter. Blooms in summer for 2-3 weeks. It grows well in an open sunny place, does not lose its decorative effect in dense shade. Drought-resistant. It can grow on light poor soil, but is responsive to increasing soil nutrition and timely watering.

Point loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata) - is a perennial plant has long light brown rhizome and slightly branched straight shoots, forming a dense, 60-80 cm tall bushes. Leaves are oblong-ovate, up to 6-8 cm long, whorls of 4 pieces tightly adjoin the stems.

The flowers are star-bell-shaped with five golden-yellow petals and an orange spot in the center, collected in axillary bunches, forming a spike-shaped inflorescence. The plant blooms in late June and blooms until mid-August. Spotted loaf is widespread. It was this type of loosestrife that a friend gave me. This loosestrife has several varieties: Alexander - with white- bordered leaves, Golden Alexander - with a yellow border.

Ciliated Looseweed (Lysimachia ciliata) - comes from North America. It has several decorative varieties, the most common of which is the purple-leaved Firecracker. This perennial has straight tetrahedral shoots up to 60-70 cm high, branching from the base. Leaves are ovate-elongated, opposite to 12 cm long. Their color depends on the light and varies from dark chocolate to red-purple, in the shade it becomes less decorative. The flowers are small, yellow. Grows well in lighted areas with moist soil.

Cage or lily of the valley (Lysimachia clethroides). In nature, it grows in the south of Primorye, in Japan and northeastern China in mountain forests and on meadow slopes. This is a perennial plant with straight, weakly branched shoots reaching a height of 90-120 cm. Branched large whitish-pink roots require a more powerful cultural layer than other loosestrife. The rhizome is similar to the rhizome of a lily of the valley.

The leaves are quite large, up to 15 cm in length, ovate-spatulate with a sharp tip and a wedge-shaped base, it is in this species that the leaves resemble willow leaves. The flowers of this species are about one centimeter in diameter, pure white, star-shaped, collected in dense pyramidal inflorescences up to 30 cm long with a beautifully drooping top. Blooms from the end of June for about a month. This species does not grow as fast as other loosestrife. Very decorative during flowering. Flowers are good for bouquets. The Lady Jane variety is popular - plants with a height of 60–90 cm.

Dark purple loosestrife (Lysimachia atropurpurea) variety Beaujolais grows as a bunch of erect stems up to 90 cm high. In summer it blooms with numerous small dark purple, almost black flowers, collected in apical spikelet inflorescences. The leaves are silvery green, corrugated along the edge. It is characterized by good winter hardiness and high drought resistance. When grown in a sunny place, the flowers become brighter. Blooms from July to August.

There are other types of loosestrife: brush-colored, oak, ephemerum, crowded-flowered …

Reproduction of loosestrife

The loosestrife is propagated by seeds and vegetatively. For better germination, seeds are stratified (frozen) before sowing for 1-2 months at a temperature of 0 to + 5 ° C. Seeds can also be sown in the fall (before winter), then natural stratification will occur.

After stratification, loosestrife seeds are sown on the surface of a moist substrate, since light is needed for germination. Cover with glass or foil to maintain moisture. At a temperature of + 13 … + 15 ° C, seedlings appear within 10-15 days. The grown seedlings are planted in a permanent place. Such plants will bloom in 2-3 years. All loosestrife reproduce very well vegetatively by dividing bushes, segments of rhizomes, basal offspring and cuttings.

Dividing the bushes and replanting can be done in early spring, before the leaves appear, or in early autumn. Monet loam is propagated by individual shoots 10-20 cm long or by already rooted side shoots with a well-developed root system.

Pests and diseases

These plants have no specific diseases and pests. The leaves can be damaged by slugs.

Application in horticulture

Spotted loaf looks good in curbs and in groups; it is used as a ground cover plant on alpine hills and near water bodies.

Verbains are planted in small and large groups near trees and shrubs, along the banks of reservoirs, on rabatkas, along the edges of lawns. Some varieties are used for cutting. Loafers go well with loosestrife, cuff, various geraniums and astilba.

Other application

Loafers have found applications in dyeing. The dyes extracted from it dye wool and plant fibers in brown and black tones. The dye is fixed in a solution of ferrous sulfate. Looseweed extracts can be used to dye hair in dark colors.

Read part 2. Medicinal properties of loosestrife →

Tatyana Lybina, gardener

Zhezkazgan, Republic of Kazakhstan

Photo by the author