Nigella is an indispensable plant for creating mixborders in ethnic style. This unpretentious flower from the Buttercup family is full of modest color. He always stands apart among the lush bushes with bright inflorescences, but, despite this, he never gets lost against their background. What does nigella look like, and how to grow it on your site in the middle lane?
What do nigella flowers and seeds look like?
This annual plant is popularly called nigella or “maiden in the green.”
If you look at the photo of nigella seeds, you will see that they are trihedral, black, outwardly very similar to onion seeds:
Amateur gardeners grow nigella as a flowering plant with delicate blue, pink and white flowers. The leaves of the nigella are doubly or triple-pinnate (narrow lobes). The fruit is a very decorative box of 5-10 fused leaflets.
They mainly grow Damascene nigella 20-50 cm high. There are also dwarf varieties 15-20 cm high. The plants are light-loving, cold-resistant, drought-resistant. Seeds begin to germinate with the onset of +2…+5 °C. The growing season is long – 140-160 days. Likes a sunny place, grows well on garden soil. In the flower garden, it is annually renewed by self-sowing. Blooms from June to September.
In the central regions of the European part of Russia, in the countries of the Middle East and the Mediterranean, nigella is cultivated for seeds that are eaten as a spice. They have a sharp, peppery taste and a spicy nutmeg smell. The use of nigella as a seasoning in cooking , in the baking and confectionery industry, and in the canning industry is widespread.
The most popular varieties:
“Sineglazka” . Rounded, dense bushes with elegant openwork foliage are covered with flowers of amazing heavenly color. Rounded, dense bushes with elegant openwork foliage are covered with flowers of amazing heavenly color. Plant height 25 cm.
“African Bride” is a novelty variety. Spectacular plants attract attention with large white flowers with bright stamens and a burgundy ovary, developing into an original swollen fruit. Used in various flower beds. A valuable material for creating dry bouquets. Blooms from July to September. Plant height 90 cm.
As an unusually elegant plant with cut foliage and original flowers, nigella is good in discounts, borders, and flower beds. Swollen boxes – testes of golden brown color on long stems – are used in winter bouquets.
Look at the photo of nigella flowers of the above varieties:
How and when to plant nigella when growing from seed
When growing nigella from seeds, do not forget that this plant is cold-resistant, photophilous and drought-resistant, although flowering quickly stops in dry weather. The flower is unpretentious to soils, but it grows better on light, non-acidic, moderately moist. The plant is undemanding to care.
How and when to plant nigella to ensure good germination of crops? The flower is propagated by seeds. In 1 g there are 400-500 pieces. Sowing is carried out as early as possible in the spring in an ordinary way with a row spacing of 45 cm and a two-line tape. Seeding rate – 0.5-0.6 g / m2, embedment depth – 3-4 cm. Seedlings appear on the 10-12th day.
After planting, caring for nigella requires loosening the soil, regular weeding and watering. Seedlings break through twice – in the phase of 2-3 true leaves at a distance of 5-7 cm and 10-15 days after the first breakthrough by 15-20 cm; Fertilize 1-2 times. Nigella blooms two months after sowing.
Now another type of nigella has appeared in floriculture – Spanish nigella.
It has wider segments of split leaves. The flowers of white, pink, purple and even raspberry color are somewhat smaller than those of Damascene nigella.