The heliotrope belongs to the Burachnikov family. Homeland - Mediterranean coast and tropics, subtropics, zones with a temperate climate of America. In total there are about 300 varieties, but not all of them are cultivated.
Heliotrope flower, features, benefits and harms
The people nicknamed: litmus dye, grass of God. The flower found its application in the design of landscapes, medicine, the perfume industry.
Reaches 20-60 cm, with erect shoots. Emerald leaves with a bluish tint obovate, with a fluff. Located on shortened petioles. They are wavy or wrinkled.
Flowers of violet or dark blue tone. Varieties are also bred with snow-white, pale blue buds. They contain aromatic substances used by perfumers in their constituent components. Flowering can be observed for about 4 weeks. After it, in place of inflorescences, a fruit arises - coenobium. When ripe, it decomposes into 4 parts containing seeds.
Some varieties are poisonous and can paralyze the central nervous system. They are not grown as garden or indoor crops. Poisons (cinoglossin, laziokarpin, heliotropin) are used in alternative medicine to heal from:
- worms;
- prostate adenomas;
- urolithiasis;
- depriving;
- benign neoplasms;
- open wounds;
- warts.
In traditional medicine, this tool is not used. Any treatment should be agreed with the doctor so as not to harm the body.
In greenhouses, a flower can grow for several years. In the gardens they plant it like an annual, because it does not differ in winter hardiness.
Varieties and varieties of heliotropes
Despite the variety of species, only 3 of them are cultivated:
| Title | Description | Varieties |
| Peruvian (tree-like) | Up to 0.6 m. With wrinkled, wide plates. The flowers are blue or purple in dark tones (except for the White Lady). |
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| Stubble | Short, about 40 cm. The leaves are wavy around the perimeter. The flowers are pale lilac with a yellow dot in the middle. The aroma is less pronounced than in the previous species. Usually planted in pots. | |
| Shabby | Tall, approximately 120 cm. The lower part of the plates is lighter than the outer one. It blooms until October. |
Growing heliotrope from seeds
Seeds must be purchased at flower shops. Manufacturers give a guarantee of high quality and grade. Flowering occurs after 12-16 weeks.
When growing from seeds collected independently from the bush, you need to be prepared that most of them will not sprout. Plants will be stunted with small inflorescences. The buds will begin forming in August.
Proper sowing of seeds
The heliotrope is sown on seedlings in late winter and early spring:
- Mix peat and sand (4: 1).
- Disinfect the mixture to prevent disease (for example, warm in the oven).
- Pour it into the container, seal.
- Soak the seeds for a day in Zircon, silver (6 drops) or Kornevin.
- Spread them over the surface and sprinkle with a thin layer of earth.
- Cover with a glass jar to create greenhouse conditions and put in a temperature of + 19 ... +21 ° C.
- When the first shoots appear, remove the shelter and put the seedlings to the window. The room should be + 20 ... +22 ° C. Bright lighting is not necessary.
Seedling care
After the formation of 2 pairs of true leaves, you need to perform the following steps:
- Seedled in separate pots with a circumference of 9 cm, filled with the same soil mixture.
- Water abundantly.
- After half a month, make fertilizing for seedlings.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Young bushes need to be tempered. A week before landing, take out for a couple of hours.
Optimal landing times
Young bushes are planted in the spring, when at night the earth ceases to freeze. In central Russia, this happens in May.
Site selection and soil preparation
For planting, choose a well-lit place, without stagnation of water. Litmus tincture grows on nutritious soil, with a large amount of humus. The earth should be loose, crumbly. If the substrate is poor, lay humus or rotted manure at the bottom of the planting pits.
Proper fit
Between the holes leave 30-40 cm. Step-by-step landing:
- Add humus to the pit
- Cross the bush with an earthen lump. This method of transplantation will help the litmus dye to pass adaptation faster and accelerate growth.
- Leave the root neck at the same level.
- Use your palms on the trunk circle.
- Pour a little warm water.
Outdoor heliotrope care
Planting and caring for a flower is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. The most important thing is to comply with some rules, to perform all actions in a timely manner.
Moisturizing
Excessive amounts of water will harm, as will lack of moisture. It is necessary to control that the substrate is always moderately moist, to prevent its drying. Spraying will help create conditions close to the natural habitat.
Mulching and loosening the soil
Good soil requires airy soil. Therefore, loosening should be done regularly so that a hard crust does not occur.
The trunk circle can be mulched with compost or peat. Thanks to this, weed grass grows more slowly, the soil retains fluid well.
Top dressing
Before flowering, mineral fertilizers are applied every 2 weeks (for example, Ideal). After the appearance of buds, top dressing is stopped.
Heliotrope pinch
It is necessary that the bush was lush, retaining decorativeness. Removing the upper growth point stimulates active growth of the lateral branches.
Pinch the flower when it reaches 10 cm. This is done over 5-6 leaves. The shrub will stop growing for a week, but then it will begin to develop in an accelerated mode.
Winter plant maintenance
When litmus dyeing is grown as an annual, in the autumn the bushes are destroyed. The land on which they grew is fertilized and dug up.
If you decide to keep the plant, you need to transfer it to a warm room. The bush is dug up, placed in a container and brought home until freezing occurs. Lighting should be bright, daylight hours are prolonged with fitolamps. The temperature in the room is maintained at + 16 ... +18 ° C.
When and how to collect seeds
Seeds are harvested after flowering before winter dormancy. Seeds are ready to harvest when the inflorescence withers, withers and darkens.
Seed is removed carefully, as it is small and easy to scatter. Seeds are sorted, dried, transferred to a cardboard box for subsequent storage.
Propagation of heliotropes by cuttings
Cuttings are taken from queen-perennials that are kept indoors in winter. Reproduction is carried out from late February to May:
- Cut the cuttings with 3-4 nodes (the places of attachment of the plates to the stem).
- Remove the leaves, the ends of the shoots to process with Kornevin.
- Plant in containers with humus and sand (2: 1).
- Sprinkle with grains of sand, pour with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- Cover with foil.
- Maintain temperature + 21 ... +24 ° С.
- Clean the shelter daily for ventilation and watering.
- After rooting (after 2-3 weeks), plant in pots with peat, turf and sand (4: 2: 1).
- Add mineral mixes.
- Protect the first week from direct ultraviolet rays and spray twice-thrice a day.
- When the seedlings get stronger, plant them on the street.
Plant diseases and pests
Like any other garden flower, litmus tincture can infect insects and infections:
| Disease / pest | Signs | Prevention / Control |
| Spider mite |
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| Aphid |
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| Whitefly |
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| Gray rot |
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