Chionodox flower: types and varieties, planting and care

HomeAll flowers that start with CChionodox flower: types and varieties, planting and care

Chionodox – flowers for true connoisseurs of sophisticated and refined plants. Their unpretentious, unobtrusive beauty is not striking by the brightness of colors or the splendor of forms, but it is simply impossible to pass by this delicate flower – it catches the eye with the elegance of lines and strict beauty. Growing and caring for chionodox will not be a hassle; this plant will become a real decoration for rockeries or alpine slides .

This delicate plant got its name from the Greek words chion (“snow”) and doxa (“glory, pride”), so you can often find its poetic name “glory of the snows”, and the people also call hionodox “snowman” and “snow beauty”. “.

Chionodoxes bloom in the garden already in April, and later varieties – in May. At the end of June, the growing season ends, the aerial part of the plant dies off.

Description of the spring flower of chionodox with a photo

Chionodoxa flowers are described as stars with six petals of a white, blue or lilac hue, in the center the petals are usually painted in a lighter shade, which is why a light halo is located around the pharynx. The leaves are basal, fleshy, wide-land, deep green. The stem is thin, brown, about 10-15 cm tall.

Look at the photo of the chionodox flower: from 10 to 15 upright “stars” are placed on one peduncle. Lush bushes of flowering plants are charming in their simplicity and grace.

This flower belongs to the lily family. There are about 6-7 types of hionodox, the most popular varieties are:

“Giant”

Forbes

“Lucilia” .

Chionodox variety “Giant” is white and blue, blooms in the middle lane from mid-April for about 30 days.

Chionodox “Lucilia” has smaller than “Hionodox Giant”, flowers of white or pink hue, appearing a little later, in early April. Flowering time is about 15 days.

Spring flowers of chionodox “Forbes” are large white, blue or pink, with a light halo in the center.

Choosing a place for landing chionodoxa

The advantage of chionodoxa is that it develops well in shady areas. Therefore, when choosing a place for planting, preference is given to areas under deciduous trees and dwarf shrubs . However, in places with insufficient light, this plant will bloom later than in sunny places, where the snow melts earlier. But in the shade, flowering lasts a few days longer.

Chionodox bulbs are frost-resistant, so they do not need to be covered for the winter. These bulbous flowers are good for forcing.

Chionodoxes will decorate an alpine hill, rockeries, flower beds with crocuses, hyacinths, daffodils, the combination of chionodoxes and daffodils of the early Tet-a-tet variety looks especially advantageous. Low-growing plants look great as a frame for tall flowers, as well as on the lawn, without disturbing its holistic picture of a vast grassy carpet.
You can plant chionodox along paths and in containers.

Since chionodoxes bloom one of the very first, their number in the flower garden can be quite large: then in early spring the garden will look lively and interesting.

Feeding and reproduction of chionodox

When planting and caring for chionodas, remember that these plants are very demanding on the substrate. The soil should be fertile, well-drained. Therefore, you will need a lot of top dressing, including do not skimp on fertilizing the land with rotted manure.

Before planting, you need to mix compost and coarse river sand, add this mixture to the planting holes. It is recommended to mulch the soil where chionodoxes grow with humus.

Reproduction of chionodox is carried out by baby bulbs and seeds. One adult plant usually develops about 2-4 baby bulbs per season, so the plantation can be quickly increased in size. When growing chionodox, bulbs are dug up immediately after the aerial part dies off in the second half of July, cleaned, stored at room conditions in a container with peat until autumn, when they are planted.

For most bulbs, stagnant water at their planting site is undesirable, since waterlogged soil creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of putrefactive bacteria, fungi and mold. If you still need to plant primroses on such a site, make an embankment, arrange rockeries or an alpine hill for them. Landing on a hill will prevent excessive waterlogging.

Chionodoxes often form so-called contractile roots, i.e. long taproots, which, after the flowering of plants, become transparent, watery, and then die off. As a result, the bulbs sink deeper into the ground, which is why they are not always easy to dig up, since they are small in size and are at different depths.
Therefore, it is better to carry out the procedure of propagation by bulbs every 4-5 years, when a sufficiently large nest of bulbs is formed.

Chionodox successfully reproduce by self-seeding. Planted with bulbs or sown plants usually bloom in the 3-4th year. Chionodoxes can grow for a long time in the same place, while the quality of flowers does not deteriorate and even their number increases due to self-seeding.

Planting and caring for chionodox in the open field

For planting and caring for chionodoxes in open ground, the bulbs are planted in late August – early September, deepening by 8 cm and leaving a distance between them of 5-8 cm.

During the growing season and even flowering, chionodoxes can be transplanted and seated, usually they tolerate these procedures well. You just have to be careful not to damage or dry out the small roots. Therefore, transplantation must be carried out together with a voluminous clod of moist earth. If plants need to be planted during the growing season, separate the bulbs with extreme care.

Chionodoxa releases the first underground shoots in autumn, during the winter they gain strength, and in the spring on the first warm days they rush to the surface, making their way to the light. When caring for chionodoxes, it is important not to compact the soil in the flower beds with these flowers in early spring, diligently avoiding walking on them or placing any objects on them.

When the first green shoots of chionodox appear on the soil surface, you need to be nearby, because the plants require abundant feeding during this period. Use dry nitrogenous fertilizers for this.

It is necessary to scatter them carefully on the flower bed, avoiding contact with the leaves in order to avoid burns. After fertilizing, slightly loosen the soil, since with the access of oxygen, nutrients are better absorbed by the roots of plants. When the buds swell, chionodoxes should be watered abundantly, loosening the soil.

Share with your friends

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Other flowers
Other people actively read

Saintpaulia care: watering the uzambar violet

Wasps with a bizarre flower shape and chimeras with a unique...

Types of haworthias

Haworthias are characterized by a high degree of variability, most species...

Flower female happiness zamiokulkas: types and varieties

The genus Zamioculcas (Zamioculcas) includes only one species, Zamioculcas zamielistny (Z....
Wednesday, November 8, 2023