Features of Iberis: photo, planting and care in the garden
Many summer residents popular with a beautiful, with a pleasant aroma, Iberis flower, planting and caring for a photo of which has many interesting aspects. It is unpretentious in breeding, easy to care for, blooms throughout the summer. They decorate alpine slides and masonry, arrange flower beds, lawns and garden paths... Iberis is suitable for growing in containers, landscaping terraces, loggias and even for decorating a wedding bouquet.
Flower description
Iberis blooms profusely and is accompanied by a strong aroma. The first flowers open in May or August, flowering lasts two months. Due to the numerous inflorescences, the leaf mass is not visible in the flower, and the plant itself is often compared to clouds. The color of the buds is of different shades, but the most common are white, pink, lilac, purple petals. In the photo there is a flower bed of Iberis flowers in full glory.
Iberis is good honey plant... After flowering, it develops small pods with a large number of small seeds inside.
Growing and planting Iberis
Plant breeding can be done in three ways.
Seminal
Iberis seeds are sown directly into open ground after the frost stops to a depth of 10 mm. The first shoots appear after 2 weeks. Dense seedlings must be thinned out, leaving 15 cm between seedlings.
In order for the plant to bloom all summer, you need to know when to plant the Iberis. Cultivation from seeds of different varieties can be carried out in two stages with an interval of 3 weeks.
Vegetative
This method is used to obtain seedlings by early May. Iberis seeds are planted in a container with loose soil at the end of March. They are scattered over the surface and sprinkled with river sand. To obtain greenhouse conditions, the container is covered with glass and placed in a bright and warm place. Watering the seeds is done as needed using a sprayer. The first shoots appear after 10 days.
For Iberis, a transplant is destructive, therefore, seedlings must be planted in a flower bed as carefully as possible and together with a lump of earth. The planting hole should be deep so that the root part of the sprout fits freely in it.
Cuttings
This method is carried out in the fall. Cuttings are cut into 12 cm pieces and planted in pots with soil. Greenhouse conditions are created for future seedlings. Iberis planting in open ground and maintenance will be carried out next spring.
It is necessary to plant the plant in loamy or stony soil, which will not allow moisture to stagnate. For planting, you should choose an area with good sunlit.
Iberis care
All varieties of Iberis are unpretentious and do not require special care. But nevertheless, it is worth adhering to some rules:
- it is necessary to water the plant in moderation and only in dry weather;
- it is allowed to feed Iberis twice in the whole summer mineral fertilizers: the first time at the time of the emergence of shoots, the second - during the budding period;
- remove wilted flowers and buds after flowering, cut off the stems as the bush grows should be one third of the length;
- the space around the flower should be regularly cleaned of weeds, then the flowerbed with Iberis in the photo will be well-groomed and beautiful.
Iberis is prone to self-seeding, so young growth will appear near the bushes after flowering. It needs to be removed or can be used as seedlings.
Perennial Iberis
In addition to annual plants, there are perennial Iberis varieties. Grown from seed, in the first summer it is limited to modest inflorescences. The plant gives full color and rich aroma only in the second year. Perennial varieties of Iberis are frost-resistant and adapt well to mountainous conditions. But it is better to learn about the cold resistance of each specific variety from the instructions.
To have the whole summer on flowerbed and in the photo, the perennial Iberis had a well-groomed appearance, the faded stems must be cut off from the flower. When the plant reaches five years of age, the Iberis bushes need to be planted, otherwise the inflorescences will become small, and the plant will lose its decorative appearance.
A feature of frost-resistant varieties of Iberis is its branched stems. Creeping along the ground and intertwining with each other, they create an air "cushion". Keeping warm and not overdrying the soil, it guarantees good wintering in the absence of snow. But for greater safety, it is better to cover the shrub for the winter with coniferous spruce branches, and pour fallen leaves on the surface of the soil. Planting and caring for an Iberis perennial photo is the same as an annual plant.