Alyssum rocky is a flower of amazing beauty that gardeners loved not only for its highly aesthetic appearance and lush flowering, but also for its stunningly delicate, delicate honey aroma. Find out what varieties of alissum are, what are the main advantages of culture and what are the features of agricultural technology for caring for it - find out from the article.

View description

Alyssum rocky (alyssum or mason) is a perennial low-growing ground cover culture, the height of which rarely exceeds 45 cm. It has a crown in the shape of a hemisphere, consisting of numerous branched, creeping stems on the ground, which at the base become woody over time. The green mass of the plant is represented by elongated, elongated, with a pubescent surface, gray leaves.

During flowering, which starts in the spring and lasts about 30–40 days, yellow perennial flowers are formed on the perennial, consisting of four petals with a recess, arranged in a checkerboard pattern. All flowers are collected in neat, dense, not too long inflorescences, presented in the form of brushes. A special feature of alissum flowers is their delicate, very pleasant aroma of honey, which attracts a large number of honey bees.

In autumn, after flowering, fruits are formed on the plant - small pods in the middle of which are flat seeds. Perennial is appreciated by gardeners for being able to maintain their decorative effect for a long time. With proper care, the plant may bloom repeatedly.

Varieties of alissum rocky

Before engaging in the cultivation of rock alissum in their own area, experts advise you to familiarize yourself with the plant varieties and choose the most suitable one intended for cultivation in certain climatic regions.

Among the most popular varieties, several of the most resistant to adverse conditions are noted:

1. Golden wave. It is a highly branched perennial plant, about 25 cm high, up to 35 cm in diameter, with very beautiful, small, fragrant flowers of bright yellow color. The peak flowering culture falls in May. For breeding, use the seed method, cuttings or the method of dividing the bush. The golden wave is unpretentious in leaving, does not present special requirements to the soil and lighting.
2. Gold placer. A rapidly growing perennial with very bright, lush, golden yellow, bunch-like flowering. In height reaches no more than 25 cm, its branches are strong, long, spread along the surface of the soil. Golden placer variety is a little moody in choosing a place of growth, needs good nutritious, drained soil. However, the culture tolerates low temperatures, it can do without water for a long time.
3. Inca Gold. Ground cover culture, which forms a wide branched bush up to 15 cm high, consisting of numerous, rapidly growing, branched shoots. The leaves of the alissum are narrow, gray-green in color, the flowers are small, yellow, collected in neat 5-centimeter inflorescences, have a spicy gentle smell.
4. Alyssum Golden. Perennial during development forms branched lush bushes up to 25 cm high. During flowering, the active period of which falls at the end of May, numerous small flowers of bright yellow color appear on the plant. The golden variety is capable of re-blooming in late August. The culture prefers soils with neutral acidity, normally tolerates dampness.
5. Yellow. Alyssum Yellow resembles a small shrub in appearance. It is quite sprawling, with creeping branches on the soil and fluffy foliage. The color of the flowers is saturated yellow. The variety is suitable for planting in arid regions. He tolerates dry soil, loves good lighting. To maintain decorativeness, it needs regular pruning.
6. Mountain gold. Carpet perennial, which forms a low carpet of silver-green leaves and small bright yellow flowers, gathered in dense brushes. The plant grows in height up to 15 cm, in diameter - up to 50 cm. It looks very impressive and beautiful in the composition of rabatoks, mixborders.
7. Aphrodite. This variety is compact, up to 10–20 cm in height and up to 25 cm in diameter, with a bush on which small, mostly purple flowers are formed. The plant is valued for its high frost resistance, a long flowering period that lasts from early summer to mid-autumn.

How to plant

Most varieties of alissum rocky are not too demanding on growing conditions, have excellent winter hardiness, are well adapted to a new place. However, for perennials to develop qualitatively and maintain their highly decorative qualities, care should be taken to ensure their proper planting, in particular the selection of a suitable place and soil.

Did you know? Alyssum is widely used in the field of folk healing. For example, in Altai, infusions and decoctions from a plant are used for colds, kidney diseases, and inguinal hernia.

When to plant

Alissum is planted in open soil in the last weeks of May or the first days of June, when the risk of night frost returning approaches zero. In the southern regions, some gardeners practice autumn planting - a few weeks before the expected frosts.

Seat selection

The predominant number of varieties of the described plants prefer well-lit, sunny places, reliably protected from cold winds and drafts. If planting is carried out in the southern regions, then landing in small partial shade is allowed.

As for the soil, it is advisable for the culture to select light, nutritious, well-drained lands with a neutral, slightly acidic or slightly alkaline reaction. The best option is sandy soil. When growing on clay soils, coarse sand and humus should be added.

The plant is remarkably rooted and grows on plates and stones, which are well warmed by sunlight.

Important! The flower is able to withstand frosts to -15°C, however, extremely negatively refers to the lack of lighting. This nuance must be observed when planting bushes.

Rules for planting a seedling

When planting the described plant, it is necessary to take into account the fact that it grows quickly and intensively in breadth, therefore it requires a large space. As a rule, a distance of at least 40–50 cm is maintained between seedlings, depending on the variety.

Landing technology consists of the following steps:

• dig a hole, the size of which is 1.5 times the size of the root system;
• plant a seedling in a hole, do not deepen much;
• sprinkle the material with soil, pour plenty of water.

If the culture has grown too much, then before planting it, you should divide the bushes into several parts and plant each of them as a separate seedling.

Alissum Care

As noted earlier, rocky alissum is not too demanding to care for, it responds well to basic agricultural practices, such as watering, fertilizing, pruning, loosening the soil, weed control, and treatment from fungal ailments and parasites.

Watering

Many varieties of alissum calmly tolerate drought and do not need abundant regular watering. Therefore, before providing the culture with a sufficient level of moisture, you need to make sure that this variety requires it.

When carrying out irrigation measures, experts advise focusing on the state of the upper soil layer - if it is dry to a depth of more than 5 cm, then the plant must be watered. Moisturize the bushes should be defended with cold water in the morning or evening, using drip irrigation. After the introduction of moisture, it is advisable to loosen the soil, which will saturate the soil with oxygen and nutrients, thereby activating the development of root processes.

Be sure to care for the perennial should clean the site of weeds that inhibit its full development.

Top dressing

When growing plants on fertile soils, it is necessary to fertilize it only once after planting. For the procedure, use special store fertilizers. Experienced gardeners to feed bushes use a solution of 1 tbsp. l urea and 1 bucket of clean water.

Before the flowering phase of the culture, it is advisable to fertilize it with mineral complex preparations. In total, during the growing season, alissum is allowed to feed up to 4 times, if necessary. The interval between recharge should be at least two weeks.

When growing the described plant as an annual, it should be fertilized more often: in the spring, add nitrogen-containing preparations, use mines, before flowering, and even in mid-summer and autumn using mineral complexes.

Pruning

For full growth and lush flowering, culture needs to organize regular pruning of shoots. In the spring after wintering, the plant is cleaned from last year's flowers, frozen, too weak, thin or infected shoots.

After flowering, a second pruning is performed, during which all branches are shortened by 5-8 cm. Such a haircut allows you to stimulate the reappearance of inflorescences.

Seed collection

Alissum seeds are harvested in autumn, approximately in the last weeks of September - in the first days of October.

Activities are carried out on a calm dry day:

• a veil is spread in the courtyard and fragments of inflorescences are rubbed on top of it;
• large debris is removed from the resulting mass;
• collected seeds have a uniform layer on paper in a dry, well-ventilated room;
• dried seeds are collected in paper bags or cloth bags, stored in a dry, warm place, protected from direct sunlight.

Seed germination of the described perennial is maintained for 3 years.

Video: Alissum Seed Harvest

Wintering

Alyssum rocky can tolerate cool weather, but reacts negatively to frosts below -15 ° C. That is why it should be insulated for the winter to protect it from cold. To do this, in the autumn, from above, the bushes are covered with a thick layer of dry leaves, straw or hay. In winter, they fall asleep with a snowball.

Important! You can not prune branches before wintering, since such a procedure weakens the plant's immunity and can provoke the development of various ailments.

Pest and Disease Control

Quite often, alissum flowers become victims of attacks by various pests. The greatest danger is cruciferous flea, which is very difficult to get rid of. To combat insects, the bushes are sprayed with vinegar prepared from 1 tbsp. vinegar and 10 liters of pure water. In this case, processing is allowed to be carried out only on adult strong plants.

No less harm to the culture caterpillars, which are destroyed by spraying the shoots with the infusion of pharmacy chamomile or a soapy solution of tobacco. Processing of bushes with Lepidocin or Entobacterin solution helps from whitewash and cabbage moth.

With excessive moisture of the flower, as well as stagnation of moisture, it can suffer from brown rot or late blight, which affects the root processes and the neck of the root. For therapy, plants use a solution of copper oxychloride or fungicidal preparations, for example, Thanos, Ordan. In addition, alissum can become infected with powdery mildew and viral mosaic. To combat the first ailment, Bordeaux fluid or Topaz is used. The second disease is not treatable; infected bushes are dug up and destroyed.

Did you know? Despite the fact that alissum has been known since the XVIII century, the composition of the plant is not fully understood. Scientists claim that the seeds of the culture contain organic acids and essential oils. Leaves and stems are rich in substances that have a diuretic and laxative effect.

Alissum breeding

To grow alissum at home, flower growers practice several simple and effective methods: seed, cuttings and dividing the bush. Each of the methods has its own advantages and features.

Seed cultivation

The easiest way to breed the described culture is by the seed method. The material can be purchased in specialized markets or prepared independently.

Further, the process of sowing seedlings is reduced to the implementation of certain steps:

1. Soil is poured into the prepared container. The substrate is pre-disinfected in the most convenient way: it is poured with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and dried, steamed in the oven for 25-30 minutes or succumb to freezing in the freezer.
2. Seed is distributed evenly over the soil, sprinkled with earth on top.
3. The container with crops is covered with a plastic film to create the effect of a greenhouse.
4. The container is placed in a warm room and kept until the first shoots appear.

In order for crops to fully develop, they need to provide comfortable conditions:

• temperature indicators within + 9 ... + 15 ° С;
• regular hydration;
• systematic ventilation.

With proper care, the first seedlings appear after about 10-14 days. As soon as the seedlings "hatch", the shelter is removed. When forming full-grown 3-4 leaves on the sprouts, seedlings dive into separate containers, for example, disposable glasses.

Cuttings

One of the most effective vegetative methods for propagating rock alissum is cuttings. The shoots are cut with a summer haircut so that each stalk has several "live" buds. The lower part of the shoots is treated with any root stimulant.

Next, the cuttings are planted in a well-fertilized substrate in a greenhouse or greenhouse. Provide seedlings with regular hydration, top dressing, carefully protect against drafts and cold. In spring, when the cuttings are well rooted and adaptable, they are planted in open ground.

Bush division

The method of plant cultivation by dividing the bush is practiced by gardeners quite rarely. In order for the culture to take root, events are held until the end of March, until the sap flow begins. For this, the mother bush is carefully dug up, sharpened with a disinfected knife, divided into several parts, each of which is planted in a permanent place and watered abundantly.

Alyssum rocky is an aesthetically attractive, unpretentious and very fragrant flower that can become a winning decoration of a summer cottage or garden. The plant is very easy to care for, it is easy to propagate and grow. Having organized high-quality care for the culture, soon it will delight the gardener with an excellent decorative look and lush long flowering.