Levkoy: types and varieties, outdoor cultivation

HomeAll flowers that start with LLevkoy: types and varieties, outdoor cultivation

Levkoy, like phlox , fill the garden with fragrant fragrance. The second name of Levkoy is mattiola, this flower received it in honor of the botanist Pietro Mattioli (Italy). The very name “levkoy” comes from the Greek word “violet”. When growing levkoy from seeds, double varieties are obtained from a part of the planting material of non-double varieties. Themselves, terry varieties of seeds do not give at all.

What Levkoy flowers look like: description and photo of inflorescences and seeds

On this page you will see photos and descriptions of gillyflowers, as well as learn how to grow them on a personal plot.

Abundant and long flowering of gillyflowers, gracefulness of bushes, original color of leaves, shape of inflorescences and flowers, variety of colors, pleasant and strong smell – all these qualities created well-deserved love and recognition for gillyflowers not only from amateur gardeners, but also from the widest circles of the population of all countries. .

Now there are more than 400 varieties of levkoy: among this multitude, those that give a high percentage of plants with double flowers are especially valued.

As you can see in the photo, a simple levkoy flower consists of a calyx, petals, stamens and pistil:

A terry flower has only a calyx and a huge number of petals, sometimes over 100 pieces, there are no stamens and pistils.

Double flowers are sterile and do not form seeds.

Terry levkoy were initially propagated by cuttings. Subsequently, it was found that plants with double flowers grow from some of the seeds of simple levkoy every time. Since terry levkoy is known only in culture, and in wild species terryness was not observed, they began to look for the cause of terryness in the methods of growing plants.

These flowers belong to the genus Matthiola. What do levkoy and their seeds look like? These are herbaceous or semi-shrub branched, felt-pubescent, rarely bare plants. The leaves are oblong, lanceolate or linear, entire, sometimes notched. Flowers of various colors, collected in brushes. The pods are long, multi-seeded, cylindrical or slightly tetrahedral, opening, with a dense partition.

Look at the photo – levkoy seeds are flat, lentil-shaped, narrow-winged:

Levkoy seeds remain viable for up to 4 years, and old ones (two or three years old) give even more plants with double flowers.

Levkoy is one of the few flowering plants that has a huge variety of colors. Its numerous cultivars have flowers in all the primary colors of the spectrum except green, and each primary color has a large number of shades and transitional tones.

Sometimes it is very difficult to accurately determine the color of Levkoy inflorescences, therefore, when describing varieties, it is often designated differently, for example: pure white, white, snow white, etc.

Types and varieties of Levkoy

There are three types of cultural levkoy: annual , or summer; winter; autumn, which is a hybrid between annual and winter levkoy. These forms are distinguished by the duration of the development cycle.

Summer levkoy has the shortest growing season. Being sown in March-April, it blooms in summer and produces ripened seeds by autumn. This type of levkoy is grown mainly in open ground. However, some varieties of it can also be used for distillation.

Autumn levkoy has a long growing season. Sown at the same time as the summer levkoy, it blooms in late summer – early autumn and continues to bloom until frost. Its seeds ripen only the next year. Autumn levkoy is used both for planting in the ground and for early forcing in greenhouses .

Winter Levkoy is a biennial plant. Sown in July-August, it blooms the following spring. It is grown indoors ( pot culture , cut ) or planted outdoors in the spring, where it blooms early.

Among the many varieties there are dwarf ones up to 20 cm high with small leaves and flowers of medium size – 2-2.5 cm. Large-flowered (flowers in diameter – 4-6 cm, sometimes 8 cm) pyramidal and branched.

These are the varieties:

“Snowflake”.

“Rose Teicher”.

“Ruby”.

“Pure gold”.

“Sapphire”.

“Rita Blosey” with white to dark blue flowers.

Levkoy with a plant height of 30-35 cm are grouped into a semi-high group. They bloom for 3-3.5 months, have a branching, compact or pyramidal shape of the bush.

Among them varieties:

“Victoria”.

“Large flowered”.

“Summer”.

“Remontant”.

“Gigantic”.

“Excellent”.

Tall levkoy varieties with a plant height of 60 to 80 cm are very good for cutting:

“Giant treelike”.

“Forcing”.

“Stamp”.

“Northern” have inflorescences of the main shoot larger than the lateral ones.

When cutting flowers or removing faded shoots, they bloom continuously until autumn.

Particularly popular varieties:

Bianca is pure white.

“Abundance” – carmine pink.

“Aurora” – golden yellow.

“Morning Dawn” – pale pink.

“Coral” – dark coral red with a yellow center.

“Summer Night” – dark purple.

Diamond is red.

“Madame Tuk” – blue.

“Fairy” – silver-lilac.

“Thumbelina” – the most compact annual plants (only 20 cm high), ideal for growing in various containers: pots , window boxes, flowerpots . Good in curbs and on alpine slides . Large double flowers are collected in dense fragrant inflorescences. The variety mixture includes all possible colors for this culture. This levkoy is grown through seedlings. Transplant to a permanent place with a clod of earth.

“Royal mix” with fragrant, mostly double flowers of various colors. Excellent cut with strong peduncles, lasts up to two weeks. Planted in groups in flower beds , on rabatki. Blooms for at least 45 days. Height 40 cm.

Levkoy tall (60 cm) “Intrigue” F1 , a special mixture of bright aromas makes up an exciting range. A bouquet of fragrant gillyflowers will be fragrant for at least two weeks.

Levkoy undersized (20 cm) “Intuition” F1 , special mix. Delicate shades of amazing aromas are selected in a new magnificent blend. The combination of various floral notes adds up to a rich, vibrant composition. Compact plants with fragrant inflorescences of double flowers are good in groups in flower beds, flower beds, containers and pots .

How to grow levkoy: planting and caring for a flower (with photo)

Here you will learn how to grow levka in the middle lane.

For planting and caring for flowers of summer and autumn levkoy species intended for planting in the ground, seeds are sown in March-April; for distillation – seeds of summer left-handed – in January, autumn – in July-August. The best time for planting and caring for winter levkoy species is April – May. With too early sowing of seeds in a warm summer, the plants begin to bloom in the fall.

Sowing seeds and growing seedlings of summer, autumn and winter gillyflowers is carried out in the same way.

Seedlings are planted in open ground with the onset of warm weather, with the cessation of spring frosts, although short-term and slight frosts do not have a detrimental effect on levkoy.

For planting levkoy in open ground, a sunny place is chosen, plants are placed at a distance of 20-30 cm, depending on the variety. Summer and autumn levkoy can be grown from seeds sown directly in open ground.

Seeds are sown with the onset of warm weather, when the earth shakes sufficiently. The shoots that have appeared are thinned out so that there is a distance of 20-30 cm between individual specimens. Removed plants are planted in a new place.

Pay attention to the photo – when growing levkoy from seedlings, seedlings first outstrip levkoy in growth, sown with seeds directly into the ground, with the beginning of flowering this difference is smoothed out:

To ensure the continuity of flowering of levkoy during the summer, two additional sowings of its seeds can be done – in April and May:

  • The selection of simple and double plants of some varieties can be carried out by seeds. Seeds are smooth, shiny, with a rather wide border (wing) give simple levkoy. The seeds are wrinkled, non-flat, with a narrow border – terry.
  • The selection of terry levkoy can be carried out according to shoots: their shoots appear earlier than those of simple ones. It is necessary to select seedlings from which terry levkoy will develop within the first three days; seedlings appearing in the following days will develop into plants with simple flowers.
  • In some German varieties, you can select simple and double levkoy by the color of the cotyledons. Seedlings with light cotyledons, as a rule, develop into plants with double flowers, with dark cotyledons – into levkoy with simple flowers.

Here you will see photos of planting and caring for Levkoy of various types and varieties:

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