Gravilat: types and varieties, breeding on the site

The description of the varieties of the Chilean gravel flower is supplemented by the photos shown above, which clearly show the characteristic features of each specimen. Three-flower gravel (Geum triflorum).

It is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows in dense groups. Its height is no more than 30 cm.
The flowers are yellow-purple with teardrop-shaped pointed petals. At the end of flowering, white-burgundy seeds with a long tail are formed.

Gravilat urban (Geum urbanum L.).

Gravilat urban – perennial flowers, reaching 20 – 60 cm in height, with a short reddish-brown branched rhizome, located shallow in the soil. Stem erect, branched above, softly rough hairy.
Basal leaves on petioles, lyre-shaped, pinnatipartite, with a larger final share, stem leaves – almost sessile, tripartite. The flowers are five-membered, the petals are yellow, the columns are long, preserved with fruits. Blossoms in May-June, fruits ripen from early June. Propagated by seeds, in the distribution of which animals and humans participate, and vegetatively, when the old part of the rhizome dies, 44 separate branches with dormant buds separate from each other to form a clone. The plant is anthropotolerant, withstands significant anthropogenic loads. One of the most common plants in the reserve, found in most terrestrial communities.

Below you can see a photo of a gravilat plant and an urban one in order to understand what this unusual culture looks like in its own way.

Water gravel (Geum rivale L.)

Herbaceous perennial plant, common throughout Europe and most of Russia. The stem is erect, 18 to 45 cm high. Basal leaves are pinnate, with a very large, round, sometimes 3-lobed terminal leaflet and small lateral leaflets; stem leaves trifoliate or 3-parted.
The flowers are drooping. Calyx 5-parted, adherent to a short-cylindrical rough receptacle, with a subcalyx of 5 small leaves. The calyx and upper part of the stem are red-brown. Petals 5, reddish-white, with reddish veins, obovate, notched anteriorly, tapering to a nail at the base.
The pistil consists of numerous carpels on a cylindrical-conical elevation of the receptacle. The column is long, remaining with a part articulated with it and bent to the side. The fruit is dry, consisting of achenes, raised on a stalk, as long as the calyx with its upright lobes. Perennial water gravilat grows near streams, along the banks of rivers and lakes, in wet meadows and in damp forests. Flowering from May to July, seeds ripen from July to September, depending on the climate.

Gravilat triflorum (Geum triflorum, Sieversia triflora).

A perennial plant, which is a low compact bush about 30 cm wide. The flowers are yellow-red, drooping, shaped like a bell. The buds form at the top of the flower stalks.

Conditions for growing garden gravel

Gravilat, regardless of the type and variety, is one of the most unpretentious perennials to growing conditions. However, in order to get a profusely flowering plant with lush foliage, one should not neglect the care of this crop. The gardener needs to follow simple rules for growing gravel, for which he will delight with bright flowering and its decorative effect for a long time.
Location. The plant is photophilous, but tolerates slight shading. It is better to plant it in a permanent place in an area with diffused sunlight or in partial shade. Landing near water bodies is also recommended.
The soil. When thinking about where it is better to plant gravel, you need to consider that it grows well on fertilized garden, drained soils with a slightly acidic reaction. It does not tolerate stagnant moisture in the soil, this is often the cause of rotting of the gravel roots. Areas with a close occurrence of groundwater are not suitable for this crop. If there are no conditions for planting a flower in another place, then you need to create a small hill, add sand to the soil, thus slightly raising it. In addition, in order to avoid stagnation of water in the soil, a layer of drainage must be added to the soil before planting the gravel flower.
Topdressing. The soil is fertilized before planting, using mineral complexes or organics for this. Peat, compost, manure diluted with water is suitable for this purpose. After fertilizing, be sure to water the soil abundantly.
If the site was not fertilized before planting, you will need to fertilize with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium before flowering. Apply the second top dressing during the flowering period in order to prolong it, using phosphorus-potassium fertilizers for this.
Watering. When caring for gravel in the garden, you need to remember that this culture prefers moderate watering. Adult plants on ordinary days without heat and drought are enough to be watered once a week. In heat and drought – 2 times. Water should be poured under the roots. After watering, the area near the bush needs to be loosened and cleared of weeds.
Transfer. These flowers are negatively related to transplants, but it needs to be transplanted 1 time in 4 years. This procedure contributes to abundant flowering, active growth and development of gravel. Also, an unscheduled transplant will be required if the roots of the plant are affected by rot. Then the bush should be dug up, carefully remove the damaged roots, treat the soil with a special preparation. The plant itself is better to transplant to a new place.
Winter hardiness. Gravilat – a herbaceous plant intended for open ground, has a high winter hardiness, some varieties can withstand low temperatures down to -35 degrees. For this reason, the gardener does not need to cover them for the winter. Plants will overwinter well and will not be damaged. You need to study information about varietal characteristics in advance, since not all varieties and species are frost-resistant. If there is any doubt about the winter hardiness of the culture, then it is better to protect it from the cold and make a shelter in the form of a layer of mulch, spruce branches or dense material.

Features of growing gravel from seeds

Growing gravel from seeds has its own characteristics, but, as practice shows, it always goes quite well. This work can be done in two ways: planting seeds in open ground and growing seedlings.
Seeds are planted for seedlings in spring in March – April. To do this, take containers or boxes with drainage holes, fill them with nutritious loose soil and make furrows no more than 2 cm deep. The distance between the furrows should be 5 cm. The seeds are carefully placed in the furrows at a distance of 3 cm from each other. After that, the seeds are covered with a layer of earth.
You can simplify this work by scattering the seeds evenly over the surface of the soil and covering it with earth. The soil after sowing must be moistened with a spray bottle. To speed up the emergence of seedlings, containers are covered with film or glass, thus creating greenhouses that need to be ventilated and sprayed daily as the soil dries.
When sprouts appear, the film can be removed. Further care of gravel crops after planting should be to periodically moisten the soil. When the first pair of leaves appears on the sprouts, they are dived into separate small containers by transshipment. The seedlings are carefully removed from the container along with the roots and a clod of earth, and then placed in a pot with prepared soil. A week after picking, you need to feed the seedlings with a complex fertilizer for garden flowers. This will stimulate their growth and development.
In mid-May – early June, grown and strengthened seedlings are transplanted into open ground. It is advisable to harden the plants well 2 weeks before this work, leaving the containers in the air, gradually increasing the time and bringing it as a result to 24 hours. Then planting in a new place will be successful and the seedlings will quickly adapt.

Planting gravel seeds in open ground

You can sow seeds directly into the ground. Spring sowing should be done in early spring, as soon as the soil warms up. To do this, loosen the bed, leveling the ground with a rake and breaking all the clods. On the ridges make shallow rows at a distance of 15 cm from each other. After that, the seeds are planted in the soil, gently leveling the ground with your hands or the back of the rake. After planting the gravel in open ground, care is carried out: the ridges are moistened, but not flooded, so that a hard crust does not form on their surface. If the weather is hot, dry, crops need to be watered daily, but little by little.
When shoots appear, they are thinned out, leaving about 5 – 7 cm between plants. When the seedlings grow up to 15 cm, they are transplanted to a new place, leaving a distance of about 40 cm between the bushes.
Seeds can be sown in the soil in autumn in October with the onset of cold weather. In this case, the seeds will undergo natural stratification and successfully sprout with the onset of warm spring days. Ridges for the winter do not need to be insulated, since this is not necessary: the seeds in the soil will not freeze.
If the planting of seeds and further care for perennial gravel is carried out correctly, this culture will delight with its flowering and lush foliage for a long time.

Reproduction of gravel by dividing the bush

Many gardeners prefer to propagate gravel by dividing the bush, since this method is less laborious than seed. In addition, delenki quickly and well take root in a new place. Flowering can be observed in the same year.
The division of the bush is performed in spring or autumn. A strong, overgrown plant is chosen, which is dug up and divided into several parts with a sharp knife. Each division should have 2 – 3 points of growth.
Seedlings are placed in pre-prepared pits with the addition of humus in them, leaving the root collar at the same level.
After planting the seedlings of the gravilata flower, they are regularly cared for until they take root. If the bush takes root by the flowering season, then it will bloom in the same year.
With autumn division, flowering can be observed in the spring of next year.
Among the two breeding methods considered, both are quite effective, so the gardener can choose one of them, being sure of a good result.

How gravel is used in the garden

Gravilat is a valuable plant that is in demand in landscape design when decorating garden plots, lawns, and ponds. The popularity of this culture is due to its unpretentiousness to growing conditions and the high decorativeness of the bushes. All types and varieties of gravel look very impressive. Bright large flowers and lush embossed foliage make this plant elegant and unusual. Thanks to this perennial, there will be more bright spots in the garden.
They use a flower for planting flower beds, in group plantings on discounts, alpine slides and in rocky gardens.
The best neighbors of gravel in the garden, which will be in harmony with it, are peonies, carnations, phloxes, bluebells, buzulnik, forget-me-nots, irises, goldenrods and many other colorful perennials.
Gravilat looks great against the background of decorative stones, as well as next to low-growing ground covers: periwinkle, arabis and others.
The river view will be an excellent decoration for an artificial reservoir in the garden.
Tall species are suitable for making bouquets. Gravilat can remain fresh for a long time even after cutting.
The following video about gravilate shows how to plant this flower on the site, describes all the subtleties of working with this crop and possible difficulties during its cultivation.