Isotoma or Laurentia (lat. Laurentia ) is an ornamental herbaceous perennial that belongs to the Bellflower family. He is a native of Australia. This is a rather unpretentious culture to the environment, which, even with minimal care, will feel comfortable and actively form buds.
Description
Laurentia or isotoma is a lush or compact shrub, consisting of several thin lateral branching shoots. Plant height is 10 – 40 cm, depending on the variety. The roots of this culture are strong, powerful, go far deep into the earth, extracting moisture from the lower layers. For this reason, the plant can do without watering for a long time.
The leaves are elongated, with carved edges, bright green or variegated. Thickly cover the stems. According to the botanical description, isotoma (Laurentia) flowers are star-shaped, about 2–3.5 cm in diameter, white, lilac, purple, light blue in color. The plant blooms from May to September. At the end of flowering, boxes with seed material inside are formed on the bushes.
When breeding laurenia, it should be borne in mind that the juice of this plant is poisonous. Gloves must be used to protect the skin when handling it.
Kinds
In ornamental gardening, only four varieties of this crop are used. Their characteristics are given below.
Dill isotoma ( Isotoma anethifolia ). Perennial, which is a lush bush with a large number of side branches. Its height reaches 40 cm. The leaves are narrow, elongated, carved, divided into several segments, reminiscent of dill leaves. The flowers are star-shaped, with white or pale blue petals.
River isotoma ( Isotoma fluviatilis ). Differs in decumbent stems, which, growing, form a lush carpet on the site. Shoots are long, densely leafy. The leaves are small, with openwork edges, rich green color. The flowers are five-petal, star-shaped, lilac.
Axillary isotoma ( Isotoma axillaris ). Low-growing perennial, whose height does not exceed 30 cm. The bush grows very slowly, but blooms profusely from June to September. The flowers are star-shaped, lilac, 3 cm in diameter. Formed at the tops of the stems. In regions with a warm climate, this species is grown as a perennial, in mid-latitudes – as an annual.
Isotoma hybrid ( Isotoma hybrida ). Forms a dense compact bush, consisting of a large number of thin lateral branched stems. The plant reaches 40 cm in height. The flowers are wide open, with narrow pointed blue petals. The diameter of the buds in diameter is 1.5 – 2.5 cm. Flowering occurs in May, lasts until frost. This culture is resistant to harsh conditions, can tolerate heat, drought, cold.
Varieties
Varieties of Laurentia differ in the size of bushes and buds, as well as in the color of the petals. The most beautiful of them are described here.
“Mill Toy” – a compact undersized variety with creeping stems, reaching 25 cm. The flowers are star-shaped, up to 4 cm in diameter, of a bright purple color.
“Blue Star” – river Laurentia, which is a ground cover plant with creeping shoots, about 5 cm high, up to 30 cm wide. The flowers resemble small blue stars in shape.
“Vanguard Blue” – a lush plant about 30 cm high. It consists of many thin branching stems covered with openwork foliage. Flowers are five-petalled, lilac. Flowering of this variety can be observed throughout the summer months.
“Fantasy Blue” – an ornamental plant with lush carved foliage of a rich green color. Reaches 30 cm. The flowers are small, blue.
Tristar – a variety of isotoma, which is an elegant compact bush of a rounded shape. Its height is 20 cm. The flowers are blue and white.
Cultivation
To grow Laurentia (isotomes), you will need seeds that are planted in early March for seedlings. For planting, containers filled with peat are taken and the seed is evenly distributed over its surface. From above they fall asleep with a small peat layer. After sowing, the soil is moistened from the sprayer, the pots are covered with a film.
Crops contain at a temperature of 15 – 17 degrees. Shoots will appear in 4 weeks. After they grow up a little, they pick them up in disposable glasses, planting them separately. Transplanted into open ground in mid or late May.
Seeds of varieties of Laurentia hybrid can be immediately planted on the site without first growing seedlings.
To do this, you need to choose a place for sowing, enrich the soil with fertilizers. Landing can be done in the spring in May, or in mid-October. The best place for this culture will be an open moist area. The soil must be well drained.
Care
After planting isotoma seedlings, care should be taken, which should consist of moderate watering. The gardener will need to monitor the soil moisture, as the rhizome will rot if waterlogged, and the foliage will dry out if there is a lack of moisture.
As for top dressing, it is enough to apply fertilizer during planting of seedlings, using a mixture of ash and humus. You can re-feed the flower after a month, using a small dosage of compost.
In order for the bush to remain beautiful and well-groomed for a long time, faded buds, damaged leaves and stems are removed in a timely manner. Annual species and varieties are dug up and burned with the onset of autumn. Perennials, which are bred mainly in the southern part of Russia, are cut off, leaving 10 cm of the above-ground part and covered with a layer of mulch. With the onset of spring, the mulch is removed.
Applying
Compact isotome bushes are often grown in containers, which, with the onset of the warm season, are put outside to decorate arbors, recreation areas, and a plot near the entrance to the house. Also, this culture looks beautiful in group plantings, in flower beds with other ornamental plants.
The most interesting compositions are obtained by planting Laurentia with eustoma, violets, dichondra. Given that this crop does not tolerate excess moisture in the soil, it is not recommended to plant it with moisture-loving flowers such as petunias or begonias.