Armeria

Family. Plumbaginaceae.

Origin. In natural conditions, they most often grow in rocky areas - in alpine meadows or on sea coasts in Europe and North America. Some species have been found in Siberia.

Description. Armeria are attractive flowering low growing herbaceous plants. This genus includes about 90 species with spectacular flowering.

The root system is taprooted and lies shallow.

The leaves are linear, dark green or bluish green, reach a length of 10 cm, collected in a basal leaf rosette. The leaf blades are entire, sessile, rigid, slightly bent along the central vein.

During the flowering period, the bushes throw out erect, leafless peduncles, at the tops of which there are rounded inflorescences with small bell-shaped flowers. The surface of the peduncles may be smooth and glossy, or may have short silvery pubescence.

The buds can be painted in white, pink or lilac shades and reach a diameter of 5 mm. Varieties with blue flowers are rare. 

Height. This attractive flowering perennial reaches a height of only 15-50 cm and develops quite slowly.

When does bloom?

The buds form during the spring months - most often in April. It is difficult to indicate specific flowering dates - they will depend on external factors. Interestingly, individual inflorescences can appear throughout the summer.

With proper and timely pruning, re-blooming often occurs in the autumn months. 

Planting and care in open ground

When and how to plant

To grow outdoors, you should choose an open, sunny location. Flooded lowlands and places with surface groundwater are not suitable for planting. The perennial will feel best on hills and hills. It is better to place coastal varieties in close proximity to any artificial or natural body of water - such plants need high air humidity. However, in this case, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the area should not be flooded.

Armeria seedlings are planted in mid-May, when the last night frosts are behind us. 

First, the area is dug up and some well-rotted organic matter is added to the soil as fertilizer. The holes for planting are prepared and placed according to the diagram. When planting, a distance of 20-40 cm should be left between the armeria bushes. The fact is that the flower loves ventilated areas, and if placed too close, rot may occur.

The depth and width of the planting holes should be slightly larger than the root ball. The day before planting, the seedlings are watered abundantly and they try to transplant them to a new place of residence using the transshipment method - keeping the root ball intact.

When planting, the bushes should remain at the same depth at which they were in the cups. Deepening the root collar can lead to rotting. After transplanting, the soil around the bushes is lightly tamped with fingertips and watered.

The base of the flowers can be mulched with a thin layer of sawdust or bark - this measure will delay the development of weeds. Instead of sawdust, you can use pine needles - it will make the soil pH slightly acidic and will serve as additional nutrition. The mulch layer should not exceed 2 - 3 cm, otherwise it will prevent moisture evaporation and the root system may rot.

With proper planting, the first buds may appear already in the current year, but most bushes will decorate themselves with flowers next season.

Soil

Armeria is extremely undemanding to the composition of the soil, since in nature it often grows in rock crevices, where there are very few nutrients. It prefers slightly acidic or neutral soil that does not contain lime. To acidify the substrate, you should water it with a solution of acetic or citric acid, add ammonium nitrate or mix in pine needles.

Before planting, it is worth mixing a sufficient amount of river sand or even small pebbles into the soil - this will help improve the drainage of excess moisture.

Care

In the first days after planting, the soil is periodically moistened so that the seedlings can quickly adapt to the new conditions.

Plants that have already taken root in a new place require minimal attention and care. Armeria tolerates drought better than excess moisture - water it only in case of prolonged hot and dry weather. After watering, the soil surface should be carefully loosened, and weeds under the bushes should be removed.

The flower easily tolerates soils poor in nutrients and practically does not need additional feeding. Excess fertilizers, on the contrary, can cause negative changes in appearance - foliage will form, and flowering will become sparse. In addition, overfed bushes will become more vulnerable to harmful insects and fungal diseases.

Fertilizer

Representatives of the genus in their natural habitat are content with rocky areas and do not require a large amount of nutrients, so fertilizing is carried out extremely carefully. In the first year after planting, the nutrients that were added to the planting holes will be sufficient.

In the second and subsequent years, it is enough to fertilize once a month with mineral fertilizers for flowering plants or well-rotted organic matter. Mineral fertilizers should be diluted to half the dose recommended on the package.

As organic fertilizers, you can use leaf and turf humus, cow or horse manure, a solution of chicken manure.

Wintering, pruning

First of all, when pruning, it is worth promptly removing fading inflorescences, cutting them off at the base with a sharp sterile pruner. This measure will not only maintain an attractive appearance, but will also direct the plants’ forces to form new buds, and therefore the flowering period will be longer.

In the second half of summer - in autumn, the leaves will dry out - they also need to be cut off.

Wintering in open ground, even in a fairly harsh climate, is easy, often without shelter. Additionally, it is worth preparing the bushes for the onset of the first frosts in harsh regions with little snow. It is also necessary to organize a shelter for the turf armeria - representatives of this species may not withstand severe frosts.

In autumn, the bushes are hilled, sprinkling the root system with earth and covering it with fallen leaves or spruce branches on top. Instead of spruce branches and dry leaves, you can use ordinary non-woven agricultural material as a shelter. The shelter is removed as soon as the first spring sun warms up.

The main danger during wintering is not the frosts themselves, but the abundant moisture that appears in the spring when the snow cover melts - the bushes at this moment can simply get wet.

Reproduction

Growing from seeds

This perennial can be grown quite easily from seeds. When kept in a garden plot under mature plants, self-seeding often occurs.

You can use planting material that you have collected yourself. To form seeds, leave one of the largest and brightly colored peduncles until it is fully ripe. To prevent the seeds from leaving the inflorescence on their own, wrap it in non-woven material.

After ripening, collect the seeds and dry them slightly in a warm and well-ventilated room for 2-3 days. Store the seeds in cloth bags or paper bags in a dry place.

When propagating varietal plants, seedlings may not inherit all the attractiveness of their parents - they should be propagated vegetatively - by division or cuttings. Species specimens are successfully propagated using seeds and completely retain their appearance.

Planting material can be planted either directly in open ground or as seedlings at home. Before sowing, armeria seeds are soaked in warm water with the addition of growth stimulants overnight.

Sowing in open ground in autumn

When sown directly outside, the seeds will undergo additional stratification under natural conditions. For sowing, it is worth choosing a time so that the first shoots do not have time to appear before the onset of frost. 

A small plot of land is loosened and shallow furrows are prepared, where the seeds are sown. The planting material is covered with a small layer of soil on top and watered. 

In the first warm weeks of the following spring, you will notice shoots. When such plants have become a little stronger, they are replanted.

You can try planting seeds in the spring - however, without stratification, their germination will be low.

Growing seedlings at home

Sowing of seeds for seedlings is carried out in late winter or early spring - in early March. First, the seeds are placed in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for a couple of weeks so that they undergo a period of cool stratification.

The germination rate of fresh planting material is high, the bushes germinate together. The first shoots, subject to certain agricultural practices, can be seen in 2-3 weeks.

For sowing, small cups or peat pots are prepared, drainage holes are made at the bottom and a layer of expanded clay or other drainage material is laid. You can sow in seedling boxes.

The pots are filled with a mixture of peat and river sand, taken in equal proportions. The surface of the substrate is thoroughly moistened with warm water using a spray bottle. The seeds are sown on the surface of the earth and covered with a layer of soil about 5 mm thick.

The containers with seedlings are covered with a transparent cap to maintain high humidity and placed in a warm place with good lighting. The air temperature in the room should be about 16 - 20 degrees. Direct sunlight should not fall on young bushes - only reflected light is necessary. The cover is removed daily and the condensation that has accumulated on its surface during the day is removed. Gradually, the time of such ventilation is increased. With the appearance of the first shoots, the cover is removed completely. When growing in a greenhouse or container, picking is carried out with the appearance of the first 2-3 true leaves. The seedlings are transferred carefully, together with a lump of earth. After planting in open ground, the first flowering will occur in the same year, although it will not be very abundant.

Dividing the bush

Adult armerias are periodically rejuvenated by division - the fact is that overgrown specimens can eventually bare the middle and become unattractive. Division is the simplest and most effective method of propagation, carried out on average every 3 - 5 years.

Division is carried out after the buds have faded - the bushes are dug up together with a lump of earth, then the root system is shaken off the remaining soil. The roots are carefully inspected and old and diseased areas are removed, while the wound surface is sprinkled with coal powder or wood ash. The plants are cut into parts in such a way that as a result of this procedure, strong seedlings with their own roots and a well-developed above-ground part are obtained.

Then the bushes are planted and they begin to be cared for, like other armerias. Division can also be carried out in early spring - however, this can affect flowering in the current year. In the spring months, the flower will take root in a new place, and the first buds will appear only in the fall.

Propagation by cuttings

Young root rosettes, which will form from time to time near the mother bushes, are used as cuttings. Such rosettes can be carefully separated even when they do not have their own roots.

The rosettes are planted in small cups with soil or directly into the ground, but in the first weeks before the root system is formed, such specimens will require careful care. The soil near the rosettes is kept uniformly moist, but not waterlogged over the entire surface.

To create a greenhouse effect, the plants are covered with a plastic cap, which is removed daily and aired.

After some time, the first signs of new growth can be seen on such specimens - this will mean that the first roots have appeared underground.

Transplant

In the same place, armeria can develop for a long period of time - bushes can reach 7 - 10 years. Over time, the bush loses its decorative properties - flowering becomes less abundant, and the middle can simply become bare.

Transplantation and division are carried out every 3 - 5 years, in the last weeks of summer or in the fall - after flowering.

When working with the flower, you should be careful - the sharp edges of the leaves can easily injure your hands. When transplanting, protect your hands with gloves in advance.

Use in landscape design

When grown in the garden, armeria can be used as a border or ground cover species. The flower can decorate the rocky slopes of alpine slides and form a beautiful border on a flower bed or in a flower garden.

When grown as a ground cover, armeria bushes are located quite densely - in this case, it forms a continuous grassy carpet.

It will look great in combination with low perennials such as saxifrage, arabis, aubrieta, cotula. Daisies, outdoor varieties of sedum and thyme, subulate phlox can be planted nearby.

Evergreen armeria appears from under the snow already with leaves, so it can decorate a garden plot during all warm months - from the melting of the snow cover to the snowfall.

Diseases and pests

With abundant watering and insufficient drainage, the bushes can rot. Leaf spotting.

Harmful insects can include aphids, sometimes slugs and snails attack the flower.

Note, interesting facts

In people prone to allergic reactions, armeria pollen can cause an attack.

Early and abundant flowering will attract bees and other beneficial insects to the site - in this case, the bushes will become excellent honey plants.

Flower stalks with attractive buds can be cut and placed in a vase with water - they will not lose their attractiveness for 7-10 days. Dried flowers obtained from this species will decorate the interior for 1-2 years.

To use as dried flowers, flower stalks are cut when about half of the buds open, collected in small bunches and tied with twine. The stems are hung upside down under a canopy or placed in a warm, well-ventilated place. It is worth ensuring that direct sunlight does not fall on the leaves and shoots - in this case, the buds can lose color and fade.

The compact size of the flower allows you to grow it not only in the garden and in the country, but also at home - in ordinary flower pots.

It is interesting that the name is associated with the place of its growth in nature - it comes from the Celtic phrase "ar" and "mor" - near the sea. Some botanists believe that the generic name comes from the French language, where the word "armoires" meant a bearded carnation, similar in appearance to our flower.

Varieties and types:

Armeria alpina

 An alpine species that prefers to settle on alpine slopes, at an altitude of 1500 to 3000 meters above sea level. These compact herbaceous plants reach a height of only 10 - 25 cm and during the flowering period, which occurs in late spring or in the summer months, they decorate themselves with large and bright inflorescences with pink buds.

Armeria pseudarmeria

 Plants of this species reach a height of 30–35 cm and have fairly wide, hard leaf blades. Peduncles are strong, vertical. The inflorescences are very large and bright - they begin to appear in the spring and again in the autumn. The buds can be colored purple, white, red or pink. Some cultivated varieties have been bred based on this variety.

Armeria maritima

 The most common type of armeria in floriculture is a flowering perennial that grows naturally in the coastal zone of Europe and North America. The bushes reach a height of 15 - 30 cm and form a basal rosette of dark green, hard leaves at the base. Numerous flower stalks appear in spring.

Armeria alliacea

 A Mediterranean plant of compact size - often the bushes do not exceed 15 - 20 cm in height. This variety will decorate the garden not only during flowering - after the flower stalks are cut off, attractive round-shaped herbaceous hummocks remain in the flowerbed.

Armeria welwitschii

 An interesting feature of these plants is that in nature they are located no further than 250 m from the sea coast. The bushes reach a height of 30 cm, have soft, green leaves at the base and thin peduncles. The inflorescences are small and graceful.

Armeria pungens

 The tallest species - this herbaceous perennial can grow up to 80 cm and forms large, lushly flowering bushes. The leaf blades are linear, reach a length of 15 cm, and are colored dark green. Large inflorescences bear several dozen bright pink flowers.

Armeria juniperifolia, Armeria cespitosa

 Evergreen perennials have a compact, round shape, 15–30 cm in height. The variety is distinguished by very abundant flowering - in late spring or early summer, the inflorescences can completely hide the foliage.