The bewitching sweet aroma certainly draws attention to its source - modest grassy bushes with a mass of tiny flowers. The color of their small petals can be different, so that they can be successfully used in landscape design. This is alissum, an unpretentious garden plant. The article is devoted to the varieties of culture, it presents their characteristics and description.
What is alissum
This is a stunted groundcover with a branched herbaceous stem and many small flowers, the color of which depends on the cultivated variety. More often, alissum is grown for decorative purposes to decorate the infield. Planting crops in places where it is necessary to cover the exposed surface of a flower bed: at the foot of rose bushes or grapes is especially relevant.
The bushes will not only retain moisture in their root zone and will not allow weeds to sprout, but will also add their own sweet smell emitted by blossoming flowers to the aromas of the garden. Plants can be both perennial and annual.
Biological description
Gardeners often have problems classifying these modest flowers, as they are often confused. They are known as Lobularia and Allysum, or alyssum. These are closely related but different herbaceous plants belonging to the Cruciferous family. They have a similar structure of the bush, as well as the appearance, size and arrangement of flowers.
Video: Alyssum from sowing to flowering
Plant characteristics
Despite the moderate decorativeness, experienced gardeners will certainly find a place for alissum on the site, as a modest bush will not only bloom for a long time and plentifully, but also fill the air with a honey aroma. It has a shallow root system with fibrous processes and strong branching, due to which it quickly builds up the aerial part.
Important! Winter hardiness of the culture is small, some species die even when the temperature drops to –10 ° С. Better than most varieties grow in the mild climate zone of the Mediterranean.
The leaves are oval, elongated, gray-green color. The color of flower petals varies depending on the variety and variety: they can have scarlet, lilac, snow-white, yellow or pink. In place of wilted buds, a fruit is formed in the form of a pod with tiny seeds.
Starting in April, alissum covers the soil with a dense cap of flowers and greenery, while serving as a living mulch for other plants, preventing soil moisture from evaporating.
Lobularia is characterized by long continuous flowering - from 2 to 2.5 months, adorning the landscape of the infield. With little effort from the gardener, the process can be extended or resumed after some time.
For this, it is necessary to prevent the formation of testes and cut off wilted inflorescences by secateurs. Next, the root system of plants is supported by the introduction of liquid top dressing containing nitrogen. In a couple of weeks, new buds will begin to open in large numbers on the stems.
The height of the stems of alissum can vary significantly, depending on the variety of culture and the cultivated variety. Stems can vertically rise from the soil surface by 5–45 cm. Also, the composition of the soil can affect this indicator. A large amount of nitrogen has a positive effect on the development of the aerial parts, not only the growth of the bush increases, but also its volume.
Alyssum in landscape design
They are grown in garden home gardens and in large parks. Some types of crops are herbaceous perennials, others grow annually from ripened seeds. With knowledge of the timing of each bloom, you can effectively decorate any area during the warm season.
For example, greening a rocky hill or disguising a problem place, hide an unsightly sewer hatch behind a floral hat. Mountain alissum (Alyssum montanum) can be grown as a decorative ampelous plant. Over the summer, the length of the flower "beard" hanging from the cache-pot will reach 30–35 cm.
Video: Alyssum in the flower garden
Varieties
The plant has many varieties, of which the most commonly used in landscape design is marine, rock and mountain lobularia. They differ from each other in the structure of the bush, the length of the stem and the coloring of flower petals.
Important! To obtain seeds, the gardener is recommended to choose an alissum bush, located in the background of the flower bed. This is due to the fact that the plant will soon lose its decorative effect due to the lack of pruning and the presence of ripening testes.
Rocky
Allysum saxatile, or Stonemason, is an evergreen perennial herb up to 30 cm high, on the green stems of which gray-blue lanceolate leaves develop. Tiny golden yellow flowers are grouped. It blooms profusely from April to May, sometimes it re-opens buds in the fall. More often it is planted in rockeries and flower beds. It looks beautiful next to the marine lobularia, whose blue or purple petals contrast perfectly with the yellowness of the rock alissum.
Alyssum saxatile quickly grows and creates a dense grass carpet, effective in the role of soil cover. A feature of the perennial is its bright and beautiful flowering in early spring. It is a honey plant emitting a pleasant sweet smell.
Nautical
Lobularia maritima, or marine lobularia. Unlike the perennial related to the plant Alyssum saxatile, this species is an annual. Has compact bushes - the height does not exceed 30 cm, depending on the variety. Small buds collected in dense clusters fit snugly against the stem.
There are varieties with white, pink, purple, dark pink, lavender and purple flowers. They bloom throughout the warm season; they prefer light, quickly warming, well-drained soils.Did you know? In medieval medicine, alissum was used to treat people affected by bites of rabid animals.
Sometimes during the growing season, Lobularia maritima stops opening buds. In this case, it is recommended to prune wilted inflorescences, after which the bushes will again be covered with fruit buds. They are used for flower beds, ledges, alpine slides. Plants look very beautiful when planted next to Alyssum saxatile.Mountain
Allysum montanum - annual groundcover, bush height 5–25 cm, grows creeping shoots that gradually fill all the voids of the flower bed. Mountain alissum blooms for more than 2 months, from April to June. The flowers are small, with yellow petals. The plant loves sunny location and tolerates poor watering.
Beneficial features
The herbaceous part is used in some recipes of traditional medicine. With its help treat diseases such as hernia, colds, kidney stones. Also, the stems have the properties of bleach for the skin; cosmetic creams and masks are prepared on their basis. The collected flowers are used as raw materials for medicinal tinctures for various purposes.
Melliferous alissum or not
The culture is a good honey plant, attracting a sweet aroma to the garden of bees. This is very useful for plants, since insects serve as pollinators for fruit trees and berry plants. Experienced beekeepers try to install one or more hives near the landings. This arrangement allows for early and plentiful honey collection.
Did you know? Literally, the Latin word Alyssum is translated as "wanderer" or "tramp".
The air in the summer garden will always be filled with a pleasant smell if the owner of the estate planted several copies of alissum on the flowerbed. Due to the fact that the plant is extremely unpretentious, caring for it will not be difficult even for a novice gardener.
