Lithodora

Family. Boraginaceae.

Origin. Africa, North and South America, Mediterranean.

Description. Lithodora is a small but very beautiful evergreen groundcover plant. The stems are drooping or recumbent. The leaves are narrowly triangular, dark green, only up to 2.5 cm long, covered with delicate pubescence. Beautiful, funnel-shaped, white, blue, greenish or blue flowers with 5 petals, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, abundantly cover this wonderful bush. There are varieties with buds painted in 1 different shades.

Height. Up to 20 cm in height. 

Planting and care

Temperature of the flower content

Tolerates a very wide range of temperatures - from normal room temperature to frost -15° C. In spring and summer, a temperature of 20° C is suitable; in winter, a cool dormant period is required at a temperature of about 5 - 10° C. 

Lighting

A well-lit place with access to direct sunlight in the morning and evening hours. On hot afternoons, shading is necessary. When grown in partial shade, flowering will be less abundant.

Cultivation

After flowering, trim weak, diseased or overly long shoots to rejuvenate the bush and form lateral branches. Regularly pinch the tips of young stems. The plant will appreciate being outdoors in the summer.

Soil

Tolerates most types of soil with good drainage, but prefers substrates with a slightly acidic pH. To improve drainage, add organic matter to the soil in the form of leaf humus, peat and coarse river sand.

When blooms 

The buds appear in abundance in the spring and then periodically throughout the summer. Flowering is long lasting. 

Feeding

During the growing season, feed 2 times a month with complex fertilizers in half concentration. 

Reproduction, growing from seeds

By seeds sown in spring or by dividing large plants when transplanting. 

Purpose

Lithodora is used as a ground cover and spreads quickly over a very large area. Looks great when grown in hanging baskets, as well as in rock gardens. 

Air humidity

There is no need to spray; it tolerates normal residential air well.

Watering

Young bushes require regular watering during spring and summer. Mature specimens acquire some drought resistance. In autumn, the frequency of watering is reduced, and in winter, the soil is simply protected from drying out.

Transfer

Every year, in spring, before flowering. 

Pests and diseases

Does not like waterlogging - it can rot. When there is an excess of nutrients in the soil, it grows abundantly in green mass to the detriment of flowering. Among the pests that can settle on plants are spider mites and aphids.