Agrostemma. All about the plant. Description, cultivation and care

Agrostemma / Agrostemma githago / is an annual from the Carnation family, also called Kukol - a romantic plant, touchingly pretty and modest, transports somewhere back in time on the one hand and touches all the strings of emotions with its picturesqueness and elegance on the other. Pure colors and smooth transitions in the color of the petals are touching. This plant is designed to shine in the company of companion plants and create beautiful color spots in your garden.

Agrostemma: photo of flowers

Agrostemma: flower description

The second name of the agrostemma - "kukol" (field wreath / Greek /) fully reflects its name. An elegant and graceful doll can be safely attributed to the brightest and most beautiful annuals.

Due to the fact that the agrostemma reaches 0.5-0.8 meters in height, it forms bright and lush clumps. And even the tallest of them look gentle, light and effective. The secret of the airiness of the agrostemma lies in its bushiness: even long and not thin shoots look elegant. The leaves are planted in such a way that the general appearance of the plant has a harmonious, lacy appearance. The quivering flowers of the cockle of the correct shape, they seem to float in the air, located at the ends of the shoots, in shape slightly resembling the flowers of cosmos or phlox. The size of the flowers is large enough, up to 5 cm in diameter. Due to the color transition in each petal, the bush looks like a large watercolor flower.

The cockle begins to bloom from the middle of the first summer month, making a vivid impression. Interestingly, the flowers of the cockle are very dependent on the sun, and they demonstrate their dependence every day, opening in the morning and closing in the evening.

In Soviet times, the kukol had a second name "adonis", but nowadays adonis is better known by the second name of the spring adonis.

The agrostemma cannot boast of a color scheme, because it is characterized by only two colors - white and crimson. But the shades of these flowers make the plant bright and memorable.

Agrostemma is a poisonous plant, so you should protect yourself with gloves and wash your hands after work.

Agrostemma: photo of flowers

About the types and varieties of cockle, and how it is used by gardeners

For a dainty doll or agrostemma graceful / agrostemma gracile and gracilis or agrostemma brachyloba / reaching a height of up to half a meter are characterized by a light pink watercolor color with a white central part of the flower, as well as five rounded petals resembling phlox. Single bright flowers flaunt on the densely spaced stems to each other. During flowering (July-September), sun-loving flowers wake up in the morning, after 16-00 they smoothly close. In the cut state, the flowers of the cockle stand up to a week.

Agrostemma sowing / agrostemma githago / is grown not only as an annual, but also as a biennial plant. This type of cockle grows no higher than half a meter. The flower is up to 2 cm in diameter, placed on a long, branchy, thin stem. The color of the flower is from all shades of purple to pink with a light central part and veins on the petals.

Its rather aggressive nature leads to its spread as a weed among cereals. The sowing agrostemma blooms from July to September.

Agrostemma ordinary has several varieties:

• "Milas" (with a lilac flower and gray leaves);
• "Milas Serise" (with dark lilac flowers);
• "Milas Pinky" (with pink-crimson flowers);
• "Ocean Pearl" (with white flowers).

Agrostemma is usually planted with bushes, and then this beauty sparkles with all its advantages.The more magnificent the landing is, the greater the effect. The soft watercolors of the colors and the delicate shape of the plant do their job: a beautiful textural spot is created, decorating the overall floral arrangement.

Agrostemma is planted in different ways, not only in a group (bushes) on a lawn or glade, or in spots on mixed flower beds. It also looks great in separate containers (pots, containers), however, it is necessary in these cases to use a support. Cut-off cockle is also popular, and stands in bouquets for up to a week.

Best of all, the agrostemma flower feels together with kaleria, forget-me-not, shaker, marigolds, fescue and calendula, that is, with those who emphasize its light and airy forms.

Planting Agrostemma and caring for it

As mentioned above, agrostemma is a very sun-loving plant, it does not tolerate shade. An exceptionally sunny place is suitable for her, since with even slight shading and diffused light, its shoots are strongly stretched, and flowering may be weak or absent altogether. Interestingly, the cool air temperature will not affect its growth, development and flowering.

She is not at all afraid of the wind and draft, moreover, it is on the windy side that she trembles beautifully, as if floating in weightlessness, and gracefully fluttering flowers create a vivid spectacle. Experienced gardeners recommend using supports for high varieties of agrostemma in the wind.

The soil for the cockle needs fertile, light in structure, calcareous, well-drained, permeable. Moreover, the last property is key, since this plant does not tolerate waterlogging.

Agrostema no longer requires systemic care, but a timely response to changes in the weather.

Best of all, it behaves during a drought period, during this period, maximum watering is required compared to other periods. Moreover, most of all in a drought, she prefers a deep drink of the soil to frequent watering. In the classic summer, watering depends on the amount of precipitation, mostly rare.

If the soil for the doll is selected correctly, then top dressing can be omitted. It should be borne in mind that with excess nutrition, the plant is strongly stretched and does not give proper flowering.

High varieties of cockle require support, since thin elongated stems can bend strongly to the ground in rain and wind. With the slightest adverse weather forecasts, it is better to use at least light supports.

The main danger in growing a cockle is aggressive self-seeding. Agrostemma is capable of spreading instantly and abundantly by self-seeding. This process is difficult enough to stop, easier to prevent, holding back even for landscape compositions. It is worth controlling the process by removing wilted flowers and unripe seed pods, as well as collecting seeds in a timely manner.

Agrostemma is quite resistant to many diseases in garden conditions and is not afraid of pests under proper growing and care conditions.

Agrostemma: photo of flowers

Agrostemma: growing from seeds

Seeds are the only way to reproduce agrostemma. In planting, the agrostemma is not whimsical: it shows excellent seed germination when sown both in open ground and in a planting tank.

Time for planting agrostemma:

• April (when the soil warms up to 13-15 degrees);
• October-November (at the time of light freezing of the soil).

When sowing, the seeds of the agrostemma are laid in nests of 3-4 seeds practically on the surface without burying into the soil. In the spring, immediately after sowing, it is easy to water and maintain a constant low humidity. Seedlings are thinned out so that one plant is left about 15 cm apart.

Autumn sowing is done in a standard way: the seeds are placed along the grooves, covered with a soil layer and mulching is carried out.