Lavatera (lat. Lavatera ) is an extensive genus that is part of the Malvaceae family. Includes tall trees, tall and medium shrubs, flowering herbaceous plants. Under natural conditions, it is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, Syria, East Asia. This culture is otherwise called “hatma” and “garden rose”. Thanks to the spectacular buds, the plant looks very attractive, which explains the high demand for it by domestic gardeners. Many varieties of Lavater are bred for cultivation in mid-latitudes.
Description
Cultivated thanks to the efforts of breeders, lavatera is grown as an annual and perennial plant with a height of 50 to 150 cm. The bush consists of strong weakly branching or non-branching shoots covered with green velvety bark. The root system of this culture is well developed. The leaves are lobed, with large teeth along the edge, with a fleecy surface, arranged alternately on the stems.
The leaf blades at the top of the stems are slightly smaller than those in the root zone. Foliage color varies from light to deep green.
When describing lavatera, it is worth noting that its flowers are bisexual, solitary or collected in racemose inflorescences growing from the axils of the bracts. The buds are wide open, funnel-shaped, about 10 cm in diameter, consist of five petals.
The color scheme of the flowers of this plant is diverse. Hatma begins to bloom in early summer, pleasing the eye with beautiful buds until mid-autumn. Lavatera flowering is accompanied by a pleasant sweetish aroma that attracts insects.
At the end of flowering, as a result of pollination, fruits are formed on the bushes – cylindrical boxes containing gray-brown seeds. Fruit ripening occurs in September. After ripening, the boxes burst, the seeds wake up on the ground if the gardener does not have time to collect them in advance. In order to avoid arbitrary self-seeding, without waiting for the full maturation of the boxes, they are cut off.
Species and varieties
In total, there are 25 varieties of khatma in the world, but only a few of them are used in ornamental gardening.
Lavatera three-month-old (Lavatera trimestris). An annual shrub about 120 cm high. It consists of ascending stems covered with lobed bright green leaves, which in the upper part are somewhat smaller than those at the bottom of the plant. The flowers are formed singly, reach 10 cm in diameter, have a funnel shape, petals of scarlet or snow-white color. From July, the bush begins to bloom profusely. The formation of buds continues until the end of summer.
Varieties:
“Mont Blanc” – sprawling bush with straight shoots about 60 cm high. It has snow-white inflorescences. The petals have dark veins.
“Ruby Queen” – a branching plant up to 100 cm high. It has large red buds.
«Beautiful girl» – is a lush bush with expressive inflorescences of white, piercing pink, scarlet hue.
“Novella” – a dwarf variety of lavatera 20 cm high, strewn with pink buds during budding. Suitable for container breeding.
“White Sherub” – plant with ascending shoots of medium size. The flowers are voluminous, with white petals.
Thuringian Lavatera ( Lavatera thuringiaca ). A branching shrub about 2 m high. Leaf plates are heart-shaped or consisting of several blades, bluish-green, with a hard pile on the surface. The buds are formed in the leaf axils. Attached to a long pedicel.
Varieties:
“Lilac Lady” – this variety looks very beautiful due to the large lilac buds covering the bush throughout the entire flowering period.
“I Catcher” – a plant with straight bright green velvety shoots and intense pink buds. It is one of the most spectacular lavatera varieties.
“Burgundy Vine” – characterized by deep pink buds with purple veins on the surface of the petals.
“Bregon Springs” – is a sprawling plant 130 cm high. The shoots are densely covered with gray-green leaf plates with three lobes. The flowers are pale pink with burgundy veins.
Tree Lavatera ( Lavatera arborea ). It is a biennial with straight strong stems, reaching about 2 m in height. It has large elliptical leaves up to 20 cm long. The flowers are burgundy with red veins on the surface of the petals. The bush begins to bloom in early summer, continues to form buds until mid-autumn.
Varieties:
The bush begins to bloom in early summer, continues to form buds until mid-autumn.«Rosea is a lavatera variety widely known among gardeners, with beautiful light scarlet flowers.
“Candy Floss” – a plant with raspberry buds.
Lavatera maritime ( Lavatera maritime ). This species is intended for growing in warm climates. Differs in large two-color flowers, combining two shades of purple. The bush can grow up to 1.5 m.
Mauritanian Lavatera ( Lavatera mauritanica ). Heat-loving culture intended for the southern regions. It is a shrub about 80 cm high with straight branching shoots covered with pile. Leaf blades pointed, fleecy. The flowers are tubular, wide open, 3 cm in diameter, purple.
Planting seeds
Lavater is grown from seeds, which are immediately planted in open ground in areas with an early onset of spring in mid-April – early May. Before sowing, a plot is prepared, which is dug up, fertilized with compost, or humus is used to enrich the soil.
After that, it is leveled, shallow furrows are made, and they are watered with warm water. Seeds are laid in the furrows, sprinkled on top with a soil mixture consisting of equal parts of earth and humus.
After planting, the ridge is covered with a film. The first shoots will appear in a week. Upon reaching the sprouts of 5 cm, the film is removed, the crops are rowed, leaving the strongest. In the future, continue to care for the plants, watering and fertilizing.
It is possible to plant lavatera seeds before winter, then during the cold season they will undergo natural stratification, harden, and strong sprouts will appear with the onset of spring.
Growing seedlings
Lavater seeds are grown for seedlings if you need to get an early flowering of the khatma. Sowing is carried out in the first half of March. To do this, small containers are filled with drained soil mixture, which is purchased in stores.
The soil is watered, then the seeds are buried in it by 1 cm. The containers are tightly covered with a transparent film. Periodically, the shelter is removed to ventilate the crops and remove the condensate that forms on the film. Sprouts will appear after a couple of weeks.
In order for the sprouts to fully develop, they are kept in a warm room with good lighting. Shelter is removed after the sprouts stretch up to 3 – 4 cm. Lavater seedlings are planted in open ground after they grow up and become stronger in order to successfully transfer the transplant.
This work is carried out in the second half of May or in early June. The interval between planting pits should be 25 cm. The soil in the area where the lavater will grow should be breathable and contain nutrients. When planting tall varieties, a support is installed next to the plants.
Care
Care after planting a lavatera flower on the site is very simple, because, despite its expressive appearance, the plant is one of the most unpretentious in the garden. For this reason, both experienced gardeners and beginners in this work can successfully breed it.
Watering. This crop does not require frequent irrigation. It is enough to water once a week, pouring 2 – 3 watering cans on a large specimen and one watering can on a small plant. At moderate air temperatures, the soil can be moistened once every 10 days.
Topdressing. If the soil on the site is sufficiently saturated with fertilizers, top dressing should be applied during the formation of buds. For this, potassium and sodium sulfate should be used.
Other care. After water procedures, it is necessary to loosen the soil around the lavater bushes to saturate the roots with oxygen. Remove weeds immediately when they appear.
Withered inflorescences must be cut off in a timely manner, otherwise they will turn into a slimy mass, which, if it hits the leaves, will cause them to burn. In addition, this work will help maintain a neat appearance of the bush.
Wintering. Annual varieties are dug up in autumn, burned, and the area where the bush grew is dug up. Perennials are left in the soil for the winter. The stems are bent to the ground, fixed in this position, covered with spruce branches or a layer of mulch.
Applying
Hatma –expressive flower, called the queen of the garden. Large bright inflorescences covering the bush are visible from afar. This plant will dress up any nondescript corner of the backyard and will not go unnoticed.
Group plantings of lavaster, consisting of several varieties of this crop, look very impressive. The flower is combined with other variegated flowering plants. The compositions of the chatma with delphinums, asters, phloxes, verbenas, irises, hostas, sage, dahlias are very beautiful.
A wide variety of varieties allows you to create flowerbeds from lavater – amazingly beautiful and original. Use the plant to decorate borders, garden arbors, decorate flower beds.
Khatma is also valued in folk medicine. For the treatment of many diseases (colds, allergies, dermatitis and others), leaves, flowers and shoots of this culture are used. Parts of the plant are dried before use, then infusions and decoctions are prepared from them.