Laurentia is a low grassy plant of the bellflower family. She will decorate the lawn or front garden with a lush green carpet strewn with delicate flower stars. In addition to the official name, the plant is known to many gardeners as an isotome.
Botanical Description
Australia is considered the birthplace of this herbaceous perennial. The height of the shoots is from 10 to 30 cm. Thanks to the lateral processes, the plant has the shape of a dense bush. Small carved leaves of bright green color cover the stems along the entire length. The shape of the leaves is pinnate or ovoid with a sharp point at the end and carved edges.
The tops of the stems are covered with small single flowers from 7 mm to 3 cm in diameter. In different varieties, the color of the petals can be pink, blue, purple, lilac or white. The petals are narrow and long, the open bud has the shape of a five-pointed star. Flowering lasts from June to September, in warm autumn can affect the beginning of October. In the fall, fruits in the form of a box with a large number of small seeds ripen.
In laurentia, milky juice has toxic properties and is able to leave burns on the skin. Therefore, work in the garden is carried out with gloves and animals are not allowed into this territory.
Varieties
Laurentia axillary differs in plentiful color with a small annual increase in green mass. The stems are dense, rising, form spherical bushes about 10-30 cm high. Lilac apical flowers in diameter reach 3 cm. They delight gardeners from June until the frosts. The variety is not adapted to cold, therefore, in open ground of the middle strip, it is grown as an annual.
Breeders bred the following hybrid varieties based on axillary laurentia:
- BlueStars - with flowers of blue color;
- StarlightPink - with pale pink petals.
Laurentia river has softer creeping stems that completely cover the surrounding area. Very small lilac flowers in diameter are only 7-10 cm and cover the green crown abundantly. The leaves are elongated, carved, with pointed lateral branches. The variety is able to withstand short-term freezing up to -10 0C. Prefers partial shade and well-moistened soil. However, it does not tolerate wetlands. It blooms in June-September. The most popular among this species was the highly decorative CountryPark variety, covered with small (up to 1.5 cm) lavender-blue flowers.
Laurentia Hybrid descended from two previous species. The plant very quickly goes into the flowering phase after spring awakening. It is covered with a solid hat of lush flowers. Thanks to erect, highly branched stems, it forms a dense spherical bush 40-45 cm high. It grows much faster than maternal species. Flowering begins in late May and continues until mid-September. The first flowers appear on a bush with a height of only 18 cm, gradually the plant grows and acquires new flowers. The advantage of the variety is that it does not reduce the number of buds even in wet and cold summers. The size of the opened flower is 1.5-3 cm. It does not tolerate frost, therefore it is often grown as an annual. The species has a variety with snow-white flowers - WhiteStar.
Another popular hybrid of Laurentia is called Vanguard Blue. The bushes are elastic, very decorative, characterized by small growth. In total, they reach a height of 25-30 cm. The stems are densely covered with carved dark green foliage. Light blue large flowers with a diameter of 3-3.5 cm thickly cover the tops of the shoots. The plant is thermophilic and suitable for growing in flowerpots.
Breeding methods
Laurentia propagated by seeds and vegetatively (division of roots and cuttings). The seed method is good in that it allows you to grow a large number of plants at once, and it is in group massive plantings that laurentia is fully revealed. In the axillary and river species, the development of shoots is very slow, so it is recommended to grow them for seedlings. It is optimal to produce crops in early December.
The soil for planting is chosen fertile, garden, without large fractions. Neutral, non-acidified substrates are required. At the bottom of the tank lay drainage to avoid stagnation of water. In moistened soil, the seeds are deepened by 5-10 cm. The container is covered with a transparent material to create a greenhouse effect. The optimum temperature for seedlings is 15-18 ° C. The first sprouts appear within 1-2 weeks. A month later, stronger seedlings are dug in separate pots, but continue to be kept in the greenhouse. In open ground, planting is carried out at the end of May, and in a month the first flowers will appear.
To avoid all procedures for growing seedlings, you can opt for a hybrid laurentia. She has a very short period from planting to the first flowering. The plants sown in May will bloom in mid-summer.
A bush that has reached the age of 2-3 years can be propagated by simple division. True, in this way you can get no more than three shares. But the shoots will develop faster and more likely to bloom. They begin to divide in the middle of autumn, when the bulk of the flowers have already faded. The bush is dug up and carefully cut so that each delenka has its own section of rhizome and several ground processes.
The resulting bushes are planted in pots and kept until spring in a well-lit room at a temperature of + 18 ° C. In the spring, stronger laurentia can be left in a pot and simply taken out into the garden or transplanted into the open ground. Cuttings are cut from the same bushes. Young shoots are soaked in stimulants for root growth, and after a few hours, they are added to moistened perlite or sand.
Care Features
Laurentia refers to unpretentious plants. Even a beginner grower will cope with it. It is only necessary to choose a suitable place for landing. This Australian guest prefers bright sunshine or slight shading. She needs regular, but not plentiful watering. In a drought, the leaves begin to turn yellow and curl, and stagnation of moisture leads to decay of the rhizome.
Both sandy soils and fertile loams are suitable for isotomes. At the beginning of growth, regular top dressing is necessary in the form of organic fertilizers (hardwood humus, rotted manure, chopped ash). You should not get carried away with chemical fertilizers, otherwise the number of buds will decrease, and the plant will stretch very much.
Trimming and shaping the crown is not necessary. All varieties are quite compact. Lateral shoots also appear on their own, so pinching the tops of young stems is not necessary.
Thanks to the poisonous juice, the plant is not afraid of parasites. Even after eating all the neighbors, they will not touch her. Good immunity is observed for diseases.
How to effectively use in the garden?
Despite the abundant and prolonged flowering, laurentia is not very bright. Most varieties have pastel-colored petals. To create a pleasant composition, it is recommended to use massive plantings from several bushes. Then the territory will be covered with a lush blanket of flowers. River Laurentia is suitable for growing in hanging flowerpots, from where it hangs with openwork shoots. They can be hung in the gazebo or along the railing.
In various flower beds, the isotome is suitable for cultivation in the neighborhood of brighter flowering plants. For example, with petunias, marigolds, peonies or dolphiniums.
