Edelweiss - plant belonging to the Astrov family. His abode are the countries of central and southern Europe, also grows in Asia, in mountainous areas. The flower grows on high mountains, where temperature drops, thin air and harsh conditions. The height at which edelweiss grows is about 2000 meters above sea level.
The height of the plant is 12-25 cm. The leaves are narrow, shaggy at the bottom, due to which excessive evaporation of moisture does not occur. Top leaves have a silver color. The inflorescence of a plant consists of several baskets twisted into dense lumps of white or yellow flowers. Lanceolate or linear star-spread leaves surround these baskets in inflorescences.
At first glance, the plant may seem inconspicuous, not particularly decorative. Often it is used as a backdrop for flower plants in flowerbeds. At the same time, the flower looks quite original due to its felt edge.
There are different types of edelweiss flower, at the moment there are more than 40 of them known. Some of them are very popular among gardeners. Although edelweiss is unpretentious in its natural habitat, it is not so easy to grow it in a garden. He will have to create conditions that are close to his natural.
Did you know? Each individual edelweiss plant can grow to the side by 20 cm or more. This is possible thanks to creeping rhizomes and self-seeding. Due to such properties, edelweiss is advisable to grow as a ground cover plants.
It is worth remembering that edelweiss for the garden need the following conditions:
- permeable, dry, light soil;
- the soil should contain a lot of lime;
- fertilizers are contraindicated - both mineral and organic;
- the plant needs a lot of sun, in the shadows edelweiss does not grow.
Important! Growing in the garden edelweiss, it is strictly forbidden to bring fresh manure into the soil. This can destroy the plant.
Edelweiss Alpine
The most common is alpine edelweiss. In nature, it grows on rocks, gravelly slopes, exposed limestone. Height is 20-25 cm, the stems are curved and branch in the upper part of the plant, forming bushes. Lanceolate leaves form a rosette.
Alpine edelweiss flowers are collected in baskets and form shields. Around the inflorescence are starlike leaves. The leaves, due to the thick felted hairs, are snow white.
Alpine garden edelweiss may vary. The height of the plant is 10–20 cm. Plants that reproduce by seed and are not growing in similar places, at different heights above sea level, are very different. In this regard, gardeners are encouraged to use the vegetative method of reproduction, which will help preserve the characteristics of the Edelweiss Alpine species.
This type of garden plants can be propagated by dividing the rhizomes in the spring or autumn. 2-3 years develop at one place, after which it needs to be transplanted to a new place, where edelweiss will bloom again.
In gardening conditions, edelweiss alpine will attract places in the sunny areas between the stones, in shcherbinki. The stony or sandy soil in which this flower grows should be well drained.
Alpine edelweiss flowering begins in late summer and lasts until early autumn. In winter, severe frosts, the leaves of the plant die off, and in the spring the plant releases new leaves.
Important! This species grows very slowly, so people often remove plants from their natural habitat. Such actions adversely affect the number of alpine edelweiss in nature. This plant is listed as a species under protection.
Edelweiss Edelweiss
Edelweiss species grown in gardens include edelweiss edelweiss. This flower produces numerous shoots. One plant can produce up to 25 stems, which height is 10-35 cm. Each stem is covered with 30 leaves.
The surface of the leaves is almost bare, the lower part is covered with gray felt. Bracts of gray felt form a star characteristic of any species of the genus Edelweiss.
Edelweiss edelweiss is a medicinal plant used in Tibetan medicine. It has anti-inflammatory properties and is effective in gynecological diseases, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, is a choleretic agent.
Edelweiss two-tone
Although all the edelweiss are very similar to each other, there are some differences. Edelweiss flowers two-color different soft, felt leaves in inflorescences. They have unequal in length bracts that form a star.
This species grows on rocks, rocky slopes, scree river and sea shores and in the highlands. The stems grow to 20-35 cm, the rhizome is thin and extends around. Leaves linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, green at the top and fine-stem at the bottom. On the stalk of them usually no more than 10 pieces. The diameter of a star is 3-4 cm.
Edelweiss bicolor blooms in July and bears fruit in August. But the plant looks decorative from the moment the bracts appear, from June to August.
Kurdish Edelweiss
Kuril Edelweiss is undersized culture. Stems erect, reach a height of 15 cm. Lanceolate leaves narrowed, form a rosette, strongly pubescent on both sides. More than 10 bracts form a star with a diameter of up to 6 cm.
In the rocky gardens, this flower will become a real decoration. The Kurilian edelweiss blooms in July, and in September the period of its fruiting begins.
Edelweiss dwarf
The edelweiss plant has different varieties, and the smallest variety is dwarf edelweiss. In nature, it grows at an altitude of 3000-5000 meters. Its height is only 5-10 cm.
Edelweiss leaves dwarf linear-lanceolate or spatulate, their length is 10-25 mm. In the middle of the rosettes of leaves are 1-5 pieces of flower heads. Unlike other types of edelweiss, the dwarf edelweiss bracts do not form a star.
This type of flower can be grown in rock gardens, it requires regular watering and good drainage, especially in winter. Dwarf edelweiss is propagated by seeds, which are sown before winter, or by cuttings in the spring.
Siberian edelweiss
Garden plant edelweiss siberian otherwise called pilibina. It is very similar in characteristics to the Alpine edelweiss. Siberian edelweiss forms a significant large bushes, rather than the Alpine edelweiss, but its flowers are smaller. This plant blooms from June to September.
Edelweiss is pale yellow
Edelweiss pale yellow is crowded and steppe.
Stems edelweiss pale yellow crowded reach a height of 10-35 cm. They are usually single, sometimes there are specimens with several stems. The leaves in length reach 1.5-8 cm, width 3-10 mm. They are covered with felt edge and have a linear-spatulate or linear-lanceolate form.
Bracts on both sides are covered with yellowish or greenish-white felt. Inflorescences often have the form of a shield of several stars, sometimes they are single.
Did you know? In areas where there is a snowy winter, edelweiss does not require special protection in winter. But heavy rains can destroy the plant, so it must be protected from water flows during heavy rains.
Considering the area where the edelweiss flower grows in natural conditions, it can be attributed to the most undemanding species. However, in the garden conditions will have to try to reproduce the simplest conditions of the plant habitat - the soil should be poor and no fertilizer. In this case, the edelweiss will bloom and decorate the garden.
