Hare (Lagurus ovatus) is a miniature cereal plant. It got its name due to the external similarity of spikelets with hare tails. Lagurus is used in landscaping and floristry to design flower beds, garden plots and create floral arrangements.
Brief description of lagurus
The stem of the plant and its leaves have a silver-green color. The length of the stem reaches 60 cm. The leaves are attached to it at the very base and reach a length of 20 cm. Spikelets have a lush, elongated structure. Their length is 2-3 cm. Spikelets are covered with a light edge.
The birthplace of the plant is the Mediterranean coast. For this reason, it takes root well in regions with a warm climate, on stony, dry soil. In colder areas with harsh winters, the plant may not survive until spring.
Spikelets usually appear in July, but in warm regions they can be observed in early May.
The hare can be grown both in pots on the balcony and in the garden.
This plant is unpretentious in care. Any soil is suitable for it. The hare is photophilous, but a small shadow will not hurt him. Frequent watering is recommended, especially at high air temperatures and the lack of natural moisture in the form of rain.
Haretail in a cultural environment
This plant is spread all over the world and is actively used in floristry and landscape design.
Where grows
In our country, lagurus is best established in regions with a warm climate, in which it can survive a relatively warm winter:
- Krasnodar region,
- Volgograd region,
- Rostov region,
- Stavropol region,
- Republic of Kalmykia, etc.
In the world, it is distributed in the temperate, subtropical, tropical zones: Egypt, Israel, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Croatia, Italy, etc.
In the wild, the hare grows on sandy coastal soils.
In a number of countries, these fluffy spikelets are cultivated.
Areas of application of dried flowers
Most often, lagurus is involved in bouquets of dried flowers
The pharmacological properties inherent in the plant are unknown, therefore, in official medicine, in alternative treatment, it is not used. The main areas of use of this fluffy grass are:
- landscape design (landscaping using various natural components - stones, ponds and plants);
- floristry (creation of bouquets, compositions, crafts from flowers).
Landscape design
The hare is very popular among landscape designers. It looks favorably on an alpine hill, in mixed flower beds, mixborders (flower beds on which plants are planted in multi-row or multi-tier), as well as in a single planting.
Planting in a standard flowerbed of ornamental cereal is an original technique that gives a twist to any composition. Spikelets of lagurus help to shade yellow chrysanthemums, asters, and other bright flowers.
The combination of white, lilac and burgundy flowers with light green spikelets of a hare tail looks very impressive
The ease of care and the long-term preservation of the decorative properties of the spikelet make this plant a real godsend for any landscape designer.
The best solution is to plant it together with unpretentious crops, which also do not differ in requirements to the composition of the soil. Often it is planted in a group with perennial herbaceous crops, in which the foliage has a dark saturated shade. Such a neighborhood gives the site contrast, brightness. An example of such a composition is the combination of a lagurus with Iresine Herbst, Coleus Blume.
The use of the hare in landscape design: photo
- In combination with Coleus, the hare forms a bright flower bed
- In flower pots, the hare forms beautiful compositions
- The combination of different herbs and dried flowers creates the effect of a colored and fluffy group.
- Haretail islands add tenderness
- In the approximation, these fluffy spikelets look very decorative
Landing and care
This plant is grown in two ways: by seeds and seedlings, depending on how early flowering the gardener needs.
Seeds
Plant seeds can be planted in the ground only after establishing the necessary weather conditions.
Typically, hare seeds are planted in May.
It is advisable to choose a sunny place, since the plant belongs to the photophilous. A small diffused shadow does not hurt, but the most magnificent and large spikelets appear when landing in the sun.
Planting a plant with seeds consists of the following steps.
- Choose a suitable place.
- Push up the ground.
- Immerse planting material a couple of centimeters.
- To water.
- Wait for the first shoots (after about two weeks).
- Thin out the landing so that only the strongest stems remain at a distance of 10 centimeters from each other.
Seedlings
Hare sowing seedlings are sown in March-April in nutritious loose soil
The use of seedlings allows you to get results in a short time. To plant a plant with this method, you must do the following:
- Plant the seeds in pots.
- Two weeks later, put a box with sprouts on a warm windowsill, closer to the light.
- Thin out seedlings if they grow too densely.
- After establishing suitable weather, plant seedlings in the ground at a distance of 10 cm from each other.
- Water the beds abundantly.
How to care
In the absence of rain, water the plant at least twice a week
Plant care is not difficult, but some nuances should still be considered:
- the flower loves water and does not feel well in dry weather, so you always need to monitor the level of soil moisture;
- top dressing before flowering - with nitrogen-based fertilizers twice with a difference of about 10 days - ensures that the inflorescences are as lush as possible;
- for decorative use, the spikelets after cutting, they must be hung freely until they are completely dry.
Floristic use
If this plant is grown for the purpose of its further use in floristry, it is necessary to cut the spikelets immediately after the beginning of flowering, since during this period they are the lightest and most beautiful.
Gentle shades of colored lagurus give a bouquet of dried flowers of beauty, tenderness and "fluffiness"
A light shade of panicles is an additional advantage, because in this case they are easily painted in any colors.
After cutting, the spikelets are suspended in a drying room. Timely collected, properly dried inflorescences can be stored for several years and used to create various compositions.
The number of options for their use is not limited and depends solely on the imagination of the florist. Spikelets can be composed in an independent multi-colored bouquet or complement the finished flower group.
Beautiful compositions of painted rabbit tails in the photo
- A pink hare with cotton and lavender creates a very delicate composition.
- From the hare tail you can form charming bouquets of the bride
- In combination with pine cones and cotton, the hare tail fits perfectly into the winter bouquet
- Multi-colored spikelets of lagurus pastel colors look good in such an original bouquet
- Unpainted hare looks great in combination with bright dried flowers
- Red lagurus blends beautifully with lavender and white cotton
- A delicate hare can be added to bridal bouquets.
- Lagurus in combination with cotton and floral decor creates a beautiful composition
How to Paint a Haretail at Home
Dry spikelets of the plant can be painted in various shades. Such a technique allows you to create unique and spectacular compositions. Such fun colorful bouquets can please the eye all winter.
Coloring can be done at home. You can buy a special floristic spray in shops for creativity or flower, but it is not cheap.
While floristic paint is usually quite bright and has a sharp chemical smell remaining on the spikelet, the same food coloring solution or decoction of a coloring plant, poured into a spray bottle, gives the plant a more delicate shade and eliminates the need to "breathe chemistry"
A simple alternative is to stain the inflorescences with food coloring, watercolors, gouache, diluted with water. The use of natural dyes is also allowed - a decoction of cornflower, linden, sage, chamomile, potato tops, onion husks, etc.
It is most convenient to act with a conventional spray gun, spraying the composition onto the spikelets. In order not to stain the environment, it is better to carry out the procedure on the street. In extreme cases, this can be done in the bathroom.
Painted spikelets are suspended spikelets down and dried for two days.
Reviews on the cultivation and use of plants
Sow this year - unfortunately, did not sprout. Indeed, a very nice plant, looks beautiful in any desktop compositions, I once used a hare tail in bouquets of sweets.
Marina
//dachnoe-carstvo.ru/cveti/zaytsehvost-yaytsevidnyiy-ili-lagurus
A very nice plant, for the winter I cover it quite a bit, with hairspray, it lasts much longer in the bouquet and there is no litter.
Alevtina
//dachnoe-carstvo.ru/cveti/zaytsehvost-yaytsevidnyiy-ili-lagurus
The hare is an absolutely unpretentious plant, has 100% germination. They are planted with seeds immediately in the ground in May, and after two weeks shoots appear. I notice it can easily be grown in a cache-pot, in room conditions. It grows in my garden flower beds, planters and ceramic pots. Tails are not demanding on conditions, but if you want to grow large specimens you need to periodically feed the plants with flower fertilizer. Flowering begins in June and it is necessary to cut off the tails at the stage of a greenish tint. Since later it will just roll in. It is dried in bunches in a dark room, after about two three weeks it can be decorated. Lagurus can be dyed with ordinary food coloring. Dry for two days after coloring and the bright tails are ready) This is a wonderful dried flower for children's crafts, floral decorations and just a cutest decoration. Most importantly, it is always available for sale and there are seeds in many garden stores. I immediately acquired a few packs of plant seeds to decorate the flower garden. The most delicate silk leaves do not tolerate heavy lingering rain. They begin to fail, but with the sun he is again beautiful and decorative.
Yulia
//irecommend.ru/content/eto-chudo-prirody-zayachi-khvosty-rastut-v-moem-sadu-i-domalyubimyi-sukhotsvet-floristov-i-d
Thus, the hare is a universal plant for landscape designers and florists. Unpretentious care, the possibility of artificial coloring and a long shelf life of cut spikelets make lagurus a truly unique culture.
