Anagalis ( Anagallis ) or blue-eye is an elegant, beautifully flowering plant, often found in the flower beds of domestic gardeners. It is a perennial in its natural environment and an annual in Russian latitudes. It belongs to the Primrose family. The bush during flowering is completely covered with blue flowers, representing a very beautiful sight. This is a heat-loving plant, but there are no difficulties in caring for it. It is enough to follow the basic cultivation rules given in the article.
Description
Anagalis blue-eyed is a shrub about 20 cm high with single or slightly branching creeping shoots, completely covered with foliage. Leaf blades are sessile, oval, entire, with a pointed apex, dark green, densely spaced to each other. The leaf surface is smooth and shiny.
During flowering, the diameter of the bush reaches 50 cm.
The photo below shows that the blue-eyed anagalis flowers are wide open, consist of five regular-shaped petals, 2.5 cm in diameter:
Their color is most often blue, but some varieties may have other shades of buds. The flowers bloom on sunny days; on cloudy days, the buds are closed. Blossom anagalis blue-eye begins in early summer. The buds stay on the bush until frost.
Kinds
Below is a description of some types of this culture.
Anagalis grandiflora ( Anagallis grandiflora ). It is a low ampelous shrub with thin long weakly branching shoots. From this species, breeders have obtained many varieties with orange, deep blue, sky blue flowers.
Angalis field ( Anagallis arvensis ). It is a low shrub with creeping stems covered with opposite small dark green leaves. The flowers are mostly blue, but some varieties of this variety have scarlet buds.
Anagallis Monelli (Anagallis Monelli). Reaches about 25 cm in height, consists of creeping shoots, which are densely covered with bright green foliage. The flowers are five-petalled, wide open, blue. The species is valued for its abundant flowering, lasting for 3 months.
Anagalis tender ( Anagallis tenella ). An ampelous plant, rarely found in Russia. It has soft pink buds. Due to its thermophilicity, it can be grown in the southern regions.
Despite the variety of species in ornamental gardening, only one of them is used – large-flowered.
Cultivation
The annual anagalis blue-eyed large-flowered when grown from seeds gives high germination, so this method of obtaining a plant is most popular among gardeners. The seed can be planted in the spring after the soil has warmed up, or it can be sown as seedlings in containers to obtain strong seedlings, which, after they grow up, are placed in a permanent place in the garden.
Before sowing seeds in open ground, standard work is performed: the site is dug up, weeds are eliminated. Seeds are scattered over the surface of the ridges, then covered with a rake. Sprouts will appear in a couple of weeks, after which they need to be thinned out, leaving at a distance of 15 cm from each other. Flowering of plants obtained by this method can be observed in July.
With the seedling method, small containers (wooden or plastic) are taken. Sowing is carried out in the last days of February – the first half of March. For ease of planting, seeds are mixed with sand, then distributed on the surface of the soil mixture. The substrate for growing seedlings should be light, loose. The soil is moistened before sowing. The container with crops is covered with polyethylene or a glass lid. They are stored in a room with bright diffused light and an air temperature of 16 – 19 degrees.
The shelter is opened every day for 2 hours. This prevents the appearance of fungus on the soil and the decay of the seed. As the earthen clod dries, it is moistened with a sprayer. Sprouts will appear in 7-10 days. After that, the shelter is removed. Continue to carry out moderate watering. After the establishment of warm weather, the seedlings are planted on the site by transshipment into holes, which should be slightly larger than the root system of the seedlings.
Loose, fertile, well-permeable soil is suitable for growing blue-eyed anagalis in the garden. You can not plant this crop in an open area, where direct rays will constantly fall on it. This will quickly lead to a burn of leaves and flowers, which means rapid wilting. Shady areas are also not suitable, because with a lack of sunlight, the bush will not form buds.
Care
This plant is one of those that can do without any care for a long time, while being able to develop and bloom. However, after planting the blue-eyed anagalis, minimal care is required, the bush cannot be completely ignored, it may lose its grooming and decorative effect.
- Watering. Water the flower should be moderate, avoiding drying and waterlogging of the earth. Both factors will negatively affect the well-being and appearance of the bush. Yellowed and falling leaves will indicate an excess of moisture.
- Topdressing. Fertilizer should be applied during planting and before bud formation begins, using a mineral complex for flowering crops. Top dressing promotes abundant flowering and foliage brightness.
- Other care. It is also important to include weeding in the care of this crop, because weeds take valuable substances from the plant. Loosening the soil near the bush provides oxygen access to the roots. Since the winter hardiness of anagalis is weak, in the middle latitudes it is not preserved after flowering. Even with shelter, there is no chance that he will endure low temperatures.
Growing problems. With proper care, pests and diseases bypass the bush. Sometimes aphids appear on the plant. Infusions of garlic, wormwood and Fitoverm help to fight it.
