Garden flowers of escholycia resemble poppies, but only in the shape of a sepal. Their colors are often yellow-orange, red shades are quite rare. The escholycia got its name from the name of the Russian naturalist Johann Eshsholz, who brought this beautiful flower to Russia. Growing escholcia from seeds is not difficult, and therefore the plant is very popular.
Garden flowers escholycia and their seeds (with photo)
To your attention – a photo and description of the escholycia grown in the conditions of the middle lane:
This is a perennial plant , forming branchy bushes 20-35 cm high, grown in our country as an annual. Shoots are ribbed, bluish-green, glabrous. The leaves are petiolate, triply dissected, glabrous, bluish-green with a waxy coating. The leaves are rosette, on the main shoot they have long petioles (12-15 cm), on shoots of higher orders they are short (3-6 cm).
Flowers solitary, calyx bluish-green, falling off before blooming. The corolla is free-petal, simple and terry. In a simple flower there are 4-5 petals, in a terry – up to 15.
Now there are varieties with flowers of various shades – from orange-yellow to cream and from creamy pink to carmine. There are also varieties with double and corrugated flowers.
The fruit of the plant is a pod-like cylindrical pointed bivalve box with a large number of seeds.
Look at the photo – the seeds of escholycia are small, spherical or somewhat oval, brown and dark brown.
They ripen in 25-30 days from the beginning of flowering.
This is a photophilous plant. At the beginning of flowering, when the shoots of the first order are just developing, the plants are compact bushes. As the shoots of the second, third and fourth orders grow, the bushes lose their compact shape and become semi-spreading.
Sowing and growing escholycia: how and when to plant seeds?
Planting and caring for escholcia in the open field is not difficult. In the garden, dry places with loose soil are chosen for her. Plants do not respond well to excess moisture.
Since the plants have long taproots, they cannot tolerate transplanting. Therefore, planting escholycia in open ground is the only possible breeding option.
When to plant escholycia to ensure high seed germination? You can sow in early spring (seedlings appear after 10-14 days), and before winter. The plant is well annually renewed by self-sowing.
The location for sowing escholycia should be open, sunny, as the flowers open only on sunny days and during the hottest hours of the day. The flowers of the plant are short-lived, they live 3-4 days and fall off. But a lot of them are formed, so the flower garden always looks elegant.
If you want to collect the seeds, remove the pods when they turn yellow. Strongly browned fruits crack, and the seeds spill out. The collected boxes are dried in paper bags or in boxes covered with a cloth, the seeds ripen there. Seeds are stored for a short time – 2-3 years, 1 g contains 600-700 pieces.
In August, when the fruits ripen, the decorative effect of plants is significantly reduced. But with proper planting and care for escholycia, with the onset of cooler and wetter days, in September, rosettes of young leaves and then stems develop on the bushes at the root neck and from the nodes of lateral shoots. These stems grow back quickly and the bushes bloom again.
The plant is decorative not only with its bright flowers, but also with openwork foliage of a gray-blue color. It can be grown in flowerbeds , clearings, slopes and flowering (Moorish) lawns, to decorate balconies and windows. Cut flowers are stored in water for up to 3 days.
Popular varieties of escholycia and their photos
Here you will find a description and photos of escholycia varieties, the most popular in Russia:
“Madame Clicquot”. The special nobility of the inflorescences of this variety gives a unique color – like sparkling champagne shimmers in the sun! The abundance of large, double and semi-double inflorescences creates the impression of a delicate carpet in a flower bed. Height 35 cm.
“Chiffon” , a mixture. An excellent variety for flower beds, alpine slides, used in groups in flower beds, flower beds, in the form of flowering lawns. Works well in bouquets. Height 20 cm. Compact appearance and stunning double flowers make this variety a real masterpiece of the third millennium. The culture tolerates low temperatures well, the openwork foliage looks decorative until late autumn.
“Apricot Chiffon” Flowering: July-September. Height 20 cm. The first pure color in a real terry eschholzia! An excellent variety for flower beds, alpine slides, used in groups in flower beds, flower beds, in the form of flowering lawns. Works well in bouquets.
“Sparkling Carpet” , mix. Until the first frost, large, bright, semi-double flowers of various colors seem to soar above the openwork foliage. Used in groups in flower beds, flower beds, flowering lawns. Height 35 cm.
“Apple Blossom”.Graceful inflorescences of terry escholzia have acquired a new amazing color! Unusually good in a bouquet, decorate a flower bed and an alpine hill . Height 35 cm.
“Crystal bells”, a mixture. A bright plant with large double silky flowers, similar to small poppies, and openwork, strongly dissected bluish foliage. Plant for flower beds of any purpose. A bush 50 cm high is decorated with numerous double flowers up to 7 cm in diameter. Effectively cut, the buds bloom in the water.
“Strawberry fields”. Amazing double and semi-double flowers of a warm red shade with an apricot core. Ideal for annual borders and garden pots. Sowing in open ground.
