Alpine arabis ( Arabis alpina ) is one of the popular types of arabis, the demand for which among gardeners has only been growing over the years. This is due to the beautiful flowering of the plant, abundantly covered with large flowers, as well as absolute unpretentiousness to growing conditions. It is noteworthy that Alpine arabis has been used to decorate a personal plot and decorate flower beds for over two centuries.
Description
Arabis alpine is a herbaceous plant that can be represented by an annual or perennial, depending on the variety. Reaches about 30 – 40 cm in height. Generative shoots are straight, unbranched, vegetative – they are adjacent to the ground, strongly branched, and remain even in winter under snow cover.
The leaf plates located on the stems are heart-shaped, at the roots – elliptical. The edges of the leaves are entire, wavy. On the surface of the foliage there is a light light pile, due to which it looks matte.
As you can see in the photo below, the inflorescences of arabis alpine – brushes 5 cm long, consist of small simple four-petal flowers of white and pale pink color. Their diameter is 1 – 1.5 cm:
In the center of the flower are yellow stamens. This plant blooms from May to June. However, in the summer, the plant may bloom again, but in the second wave there will be significantly fewer buds than in the first. After flowering, pod-shaped fruits with seeds inside remain on the bush.
Varieties
“White” is a perennial variety of Alpine arabis, which is a ground cover, reaching up to 25 cm in height. Creeping shoots, quickly take root when in contact with the ground. The leaves are medium in size, with a silvery pubescence on the surface, densely cover the stem. Flowers with snow-white petals, fragrant, collected in racemose inflorescences. Flowering lasts throughout June.
“Mix of colors” – a ground cover plant 20 cm high with thin branching creeping stems. The flowers are semi-double, larger than other varieties of this culture, reaching up to 2.5 cm in diameter. They can be white, pale pink. The variety is perennial.
“Terry” – has large terry inflorescences.
“Schneeskhaube” is a ground cover about 25 cm high, consisting of many highly branched stems covered with heart-shaped fleecy foliage. Flowers 2 cm in diameter, white, enclosed in racemose inflorescences 15 cm long.
“Snowball” – a well-known variety of Alpine arabis, which is a creeping plant that forms a dense curtain. It grows rapidly, covering a large area. During the flowering period, the bush is strewn with snow-white flowers, resembling a snow hill, for which the variety got its name.
“Pink” – an elegant variety, which is a lush ground cover, strewn with pink flowers during flowering, the diameter of which is 2 cm.
Growing from seed
Most often, the cultivation of alpine arabis is carried out from seeds, but it can also be propagated using cuttings and dividing the bush. Sowing seeds can be done immediately in open ground with the onset of spring, when the soil warms up properly. To do this, they dig up a plot intended for sowing, make a ridge.
The seeds are buried by 1 cm. From above, the crops are covered with covering material, which is removed only after the sprouts appear. At the end of May, the grown plants are watered and transplanted to a permanent place.
Sowing seeds for seedlings begins in mid-spring. The container or box is filled with a light substrate, the seed is deepened by 1 cm, after which it is moistened using a spray gun and covered with a film.
Keep in a room with a temperature of 20 – 24 degrees. Shelter is removed with the emergence of seedlings. After the formation of 2-3 sheets on seedlings, they begin to take it out into the open air for hardening. Transplanted to the site in early June.
Division of the bush and cuttings
By dividing the bush, plants that have reached the age of 3 are propagated. This work is carried out at the end of flowering, that is, in the first half of September. The bush is dug up, the roots are cleaned from the ground, the parts of the plant are carefully separated with a sharp, peeled knife. Places of cuts are sprinkled with charcoal.
Seedlings are placed in holes at a distance of 40 cm from one another, after which they are watered abundantly. When propagating arabis alpine by cuttings, the planting material is cut at the end of the flowering of the selected specimen.
The upper part of the shoot is cut so that its length is 10 – 12 cm. The lower leaves are removed. The cutting is placed in the substrate at an angle, covered with a film or jar on top.
The developing cutting is ventilated daily, the accumulated condensate is removed from the shelter, watered as the soil dries. After the root system is fully formed, the cutting is transplanted to the site.
Care
Caring for arabis alpine after planting in open ground is as simple as possible, since this plant on fertile soil, in a sunny area, protected from gusts of wind and drafts, will successfully grow and develop even if the gardener forgets about it. However, the key to the splendor and beauty of the bush is timely watering. This crop should be irrigated only on hot, dry days. The rest of the time, it does fine without additional moisture.
It is important to combine watering with loosening, which will prevent the appearance of a hard crust on the soil surface and provide oxygen to the roots. In addition, this work helps to get rid of weeds in time, which take away valuable substances from the plant.
After the bush has faded, the stems are completely cut off in order to stimulate abundant flowering the next year. Top dressing is applied before the start of the budding period, using a mineral complex. Perennial varieties are fed once a year annually.
