Alyssum Scented Rug. Growing From Seeds. Planting And Leaving. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:50

Alyssum is remembered not so much by the brightness of flowering as by its thick honey aroma, perceptible even from a distance. Alyssum is a light-loving, cold-resistant, unpretentious plant, it tolerates both soil poverty and partial shade, stoically tolerates the lack of watering. However, alyssum blooms more abundantly and for a long time on light, fertile, moderately moist soils with a neutral reaction.

Growing alissum from seeds

Alyssum can be sown directly into the ground in early spring, covering the crops with a film on top. Shoots appear in a week. And if there is a place on a light windowsill and you want to see flowering early, you can sow seeds in a bowl in early April.

After 1.5 months after germination, alyssum will bloom and will bloom until the very cold. In the middle of summer, when the sunshine is at its best, flowering fades and resumes with renewed vigor with the onset of cooler weather. At this time, alyssum is most fragrant, attracting many butterflies and bees.

Alyssum "Snow Carpet"

During flowering, the variety of annual alyssum "Snow Carpet" looks like a white cloud of small flowers in numerous dense clusters, under which small narrow leaves are completely hidden. The plants of this variety have dense branchy bushes of recumbent strong shoots 20-30 cm long.

Alyssum variety "Snow Carpet" grows among my lilies. In the fall, removing old bushes, I shake off the seeds from them, shoots appear in the spring. While the lilies are blooming, I forget about the existence of alyssum, and in August I notice the "undergrowth" - a blooming white carpet. Lilies are grateful to this ground cover plant for protecting the soil from overheating, the flower garden remains attractive for a long time.

In my friend's garden, I saw a charming corner: a blooming rose bush in a clearing of white-foam alyssum. And imagine how elegant pink petunia or diastia will look surrounded by a white "cloud". Lovers of blue can be offered compositions of alissum and Carpathian bell or lobelia. It can be several islands in a mixborder or a curb along the path.

Alyssum "Aphrodite"

Another variety of alyssum - summer, which I love very much, is "Aphrodite". It has compact bushes up to 10 cm in diameter, and the flowers are predominantly purple. I remove plants with pink or red flowers. I grow this Alyssum variety in seedlings, sowing seeds at the end of March. Seedlings appear on the 4-5th day. A pick is desirable, but I do without it. I plant alissum in a permanent place in mid-May, framing flower beds. Combinations of this variety with sanvitalia, pink pillow-shaped saxifrage, gray stonecrop are successful.

Aphrodite blooms in early June, but the bushes are still too miniature and require constant attention. They need fertile soil, moderate constant moisture. They feel more comfortable with light shading. Alyssum Aphrodite will appear in full glory in August and September, when the summer heat subsides. The plant loves feeding with universal fertilizers (20 g of fertilizer per 10 l of water). At the time of full flowering, appetite increases, and it receives 40 g of complex fertilizer per 10 liters of water.

Alyssum "Golden Wave"

Long-term alissum rocky "Golden Wave" settled in my rockery next to the creeping juniper and lilac-blue phlox spread out. This variety of alyssum has wide cushion-shaped bushes up to 20 cm high, leaves are silvery-gray from pubescence, a yellow cloud of inflorescences appears in late spring - early summer. The plant is drought-resistant, blooms in the second year after sowing. In my opinion, it is better to grow it in a two-year culture.

Alissums - cute creatures with a honey scent - are asking for your gardens. Don't forget to invite them to your place in the spring.