Kind Daisies (Bellis) of the family Compositae includes 80 species of perennial herbaceous plants native to Eurasia and North America, of which the most common perennial daisy (Bellis perennis), grown as a two-year-old plant. She begins to bloom in early spring, and stops flowering only in autumn. The division of daisies into groups and varieties is determined by the diameter, terry of inflorescences and the shape of the corolla of reed marginal flowers.
Gardeners most often prefer terry varieties with white, pink, red, carmine and other shades of red flowers. Although, for example, the flowers of daisy rotundifolia (B. rotundifolia) are white with a blue tint.
Today, daisies can be found in every garden. They are decorated with lawns, flowerbeds, terraces, etc .; due to their low growth and abundant flowering, they are actively used in spring and early summer decoration of flower beds, borders, and rabatka; inflorescences of daisies look very beautiful in miniature bouquets.
Daisies - growing and care
Daisies grow best in open sunny places, but tolerate partial shading well, especially in the summer heat. They are also distinguished by high winter hardiness.
Soils for them should be selected loamy, loose, with a large amount of humus, but not oily, with a moderate content of organic matter.
In dry and hot times, daisies need watering, otherwise their inflorescences will begin to grow smaller, lose their terry and stop flowering. They also need watering in windy weather.
Daisies are very responsive to the application of organic and mineral fertilizers. They should be fed in May, when they begin to bloom, by applying liquid fertilizer, for the preparation of which 2 tablespoons of nitrophoska and 2 tablespoons of Agricola Fantasy are diluted in 10 liters of water and 1 liter of solution is poured under each bush of the plant.
Since these plants retain leaves and buds in winter, they must be covered with dry leaves.
Daisies that land on heavy lands can suffer from bulging in the spring. This is the name of the process when they rise on the roots above the ground. To prevent this from happening, before sowing or planting, the soil should be fertilized with humus and good compost, as well as coarse sand. The cause of bulging bushes can also be a sharp change in temperature, which at night drops to minus and during the day rises above zero. Especially such temperature differences are dangerous in the absence of snow cover. To avoid this phenomenon, planting should be mulched, using peat, humus, sawdust and other materials, the layer of which should be about 8 cm. If it is evident in the spring that bulging did occur, then plants should be transplanted to a new place .
Daisies - transplantation and reproduction
Daisies are propagated using seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush.
Seeding is usually done at the end of June. The emergence of seedlings should be expected in 10-12 days. After another 2 weeks, you should pick the seedlings and water them with the addition of full mineral fertilizer (per bucket from 20 gr. To 30 gr.), And in August - plant the seedlings in open ground so that the distance between plants is from 15 up to 20 cm. Here they can already winter, in order to bloom by next spring. Every year daisies give abundant self-seeding. However, in order to preserve the most beautiful terry varieties, plants are propagated by dividing bushes. They are dug up in August of the second year and are divided into separate sockets with roots. One plant can produce up to 10 new bushes. The daisy can be successfully transplanted in a flowering state.
Daisies - Diseases and Pests
Daisies are very resistant to disease and pests. However, they can be affected by daisy septoria or cercosporosis, which can be identified by the spots on the leaves. Also, the plants may rot the roots due to exposure to Texas root rot. To combat all these diseases, appropriate fungicides are used.
In addition to fungal diseases, daisies can be exposed to scoop and slug caterpillars. In this case, the metaldehyde preparation is laid out (per 10 sq. M. It is necessary to use 30 grams of the drug).
And yet, compared with the delicate beauty of this flower, the efforts to grow it are simply scanty. The possibilities for using daisies in decorative gardening are truly endless. It can be used as a carpet plant in semi-shaded areas of large size with moderate humidity. Such conditions allow not only to keep its bright inflorescences beautiful, but also fresh - leaves until late autumn. You can plant daisies in a group composed according to certain composition rules. You can create spectacular groups of daisies in combination with stunted conifers. You can use them to frame decorative ponds along with fern. In a word, any of your fantasies can be embodied with the help of this small, but surprisingly hardy and beautiful flower.
