Craspedia (Craspedia) is a genus of herbaceous annuals and perennials of the Compositae family, growing in southeast Australia, on the island of Tasmania and in New Zealand. Introduced into culture in the 80s of the last century, they are popular as dried flowers.
- Family: Compositae.
- Origin: Australia and New Zealand.
- Rhizome: single taproot or numerous thick superficial roots.
- Stem: erect, strong.
- Leaves: entire, wide.
- Fruit: seed.
- Reproductive capacity: propagated by seeds.
- Illumination: open sun.
- Watering: plentiful, especially in dry weather.
- Content temperature: grown as an annual.
- Flowering time: August-September
General description of the craspedia flower
Flower raspedia on photo
There are about 30 species in the genus, different in habitat conditions, found on high mountain plateaus, in plain meadows and in lowlands, in wetlands.
All craspedia flowers have a common characteristic form of inflorescences, complex baskets or heads, consisting of many tubular flowers, closely adjacent to each other, with the complete absence of ligulate flowers surrounding them.
Yellow or orange heads bloom singly at the ends of strong stems. In most species, the leaves form a basal rosette, from which a leafless stem grows, but there are varieties with stem-like, alternate sessile leaves, the size of which decreases towards the end of the stem.
flower craspedia spherical
For decorative purposes, only spherical craspedia (C globosa) is currently used, a perennial from 50 to 70 cm high with a leafless, shortly pubescent gray-green stem and a rosette of grayish leaves, also covered with soft hairs.
The presence of dense pubescence on the vegetative parts of the plant allows the accumulation of moisture on the hairs, which then enters the roots through the center of the rosette of leaves, providing an additional source of water and helping the plant survive in the arid climate of the Australian highlands. The flowers are bright yellow, small, collected in 100-125 pieces. in a complex inflorescence of a spherical shape, the diameter of which is 2.5 – 3 cm.
The Latin name of the genus, craspedia, comes from the word craspedon, in Greek meaning “framing”, and is given to the flower for the peculiar shape of the fruit – achenes, surrounded in the inflorescence by transparent feathery bristles. In culture, the plant is also known under the names “drumsticks” (Drumstics), “Billy’s balls” or “Billy’s buttons” (Billy Balls or Billy Buttons) “wool heads” (Wollyheads). All of them reflect the characteristic appearance of craspedia flowers (see photo below), as well as an interesting feature when dried to maintain extraordinary strength. Dried stems and inflorescences keep their shape perfectly, do not crumble or break even when lightly tapped on a hard surface, which is what causes associations with drumsticks. Such wonderful properties are highly valued by florists, so the culture is widely used in dry bouquets and is even specially grown in greenhouses for this.
Growing craspedia from seeds
In the middle lane, the flower does not hibernate and is used as an annual . It is planted in well-lit areas with nutrient-rich, well-drained soil. When growing craspedia, it must be borne in mind that even with early planting, it blooms only in conditions of short daylight hours, not earlier than in August-September.
Due to the threat of early frosts, which often occur in the temperate climate zone already in early autumn, in industrial floriculture, the plant is preferred to be grown in film or even winter greenhouses, which significantly increases the yield of finished products. Note that craspedia is quite cold-resistant, it tolerates low temperatures well in open ground, but it will not bloom in such conditions.
The rest of the care of the flower is simple. Despite the fact that in nature it grows in arid regions, in culture for better development it requires regular moisture, especially plentiful immediately after planting in the ground and during dry periods.
Regular fertilizing stimulates abundant flowering. At the beginning of the season, nitrogen is applied twice, then they are fed with complex mineral fertilizer.
The plant propagates both by seeds and by dividing the bush, but in the conditions of the middle zone, cultivation from seeds is used. Craspedia is sown on seedlings in February, small seeds are laid out on the surface of the soil, without sprinkling, covered with glass or film and placed in a sunny place. After the emergence of seedlings, they are gradually accustomed to the open air, slightly opening the glass, over time it is removed completely. They are planted in the ground in May, leaving a distance of 20-30 cm between individual specimens.