Eschsholzia is a plant of the poppy family, whose homeland is the western coast of North America. It got its name in honor of the Russian traveler of German origin, Johann von Eschsholz, who explored the coast of California in the early 19th century. Eschsholtz was not the first person to discover this plant, however, it was he who was able to grow it in a climate zone alien to him.
The plant has an attractive appearance, and some varieties of it have not only beautiful flowers, but also leaves. Growing escholcia from seeds in a temperate climate is quite simple and can occur with minimal participation from the grower. For ease of care, it is often called a flower for the lazy.
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plant description
Eschscholzia leaves are similar to wormwood leaves, so the plant has another name - wormwood; at home, this flower is called the California poppy. The plant produces abundant flowering throughout the summer. Its compact bushes are designed to fill large empty spaces in open sunny areas.
Despite the fact that the flowers fade relatively quickly, they are constantly replaced by new ones.. The unpretentiousness of the plant allows you to grow it almost anywhere where there is a lot of sunlight.
Eschscholzia with small leaves
Eschsholtzia are plants of the genus of the same name, which includes about a dozen species. Among them there are both annuals and perennials. Traditionally, all types of escholcia are grown in our climate as annuals. This is due to the fact that their abundant flowering occurs in the first year of life. In the future, the plant alternates years when flowering is abundant and when it is scarce, this is not always convenient for flower growers. In addition, it often makes no sense to cover the escholcia for the winter: young plants grown from seeds, as a rule, give more abundant flowering than the mother. In addition, the frost resistance of the escholcia is low and with a high probability the plant may not survive even a mild winter.
A distinctive feature of plants are deeply dissected leaves and a bright (most often orange) shade of their petals. The plant has a large number of thin shoots growing from the center of the bush. Their length can be from 10 to 40 cm, depending on the species and variety. The length of the leaves is somewhat less, in addition, the petiole makes up the greater length of the leaf - it looks like a stem, but somewhat thinner.
The flowers of the plant are not collected in inflorescences, but are single. On one stem, the flower appears only in one place - on the cone of growth. The root system of the plant is a pronounced rod, deeply penetrating into the soil. Associated with the conditions in which the plant had to survive in its natural habitat. An arid climate means the roots penetrate deeper into the ground in order to “reach out” to the life-giving moisture.
Eschscholzia flowers can vary in size from 1.5 to 8 cm in diameter. The flowers open only during a sunny day, usually from 10 am to 4 pm. The rest of the time they are half closed.Sometimes the petals are folded into a kind of tubes. In addition, the opening of flowers does not occur on rainy or cloudy days. The duration of flowering is from 3 to 5 days, however, due to the huge number of flowers, the illusion is created that the flower bed where the escholcia grows has remained unchanged.
Fields of escholcia
The plant begins to bear fruit July. The first boxes are formed already in May, but the ripening of the fetus lasts about a month. After that, its seeds are collected for further cultivation or left on the flower for subsequent self-sowing. Sometimes the number of stems with seed pods is so large that flower growers are simply forced to remove them so as not to spoil the appearance of the flower bed.
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Growing conditions
The ideal place to grow a plant is open sunny areas under direct sunlight. The plant must be in the light for at least 8 hours a day, only then will the constant renewal of its flowers be guaranteed. Partial shade is acceptable, but flowering will be somewhat less abundant. In the shade, the plant feels very bad: flowering can be achieved, but it is not necessary to talk about a continuous carpet of flowers.
The plant can be located in almost any sunny place.
The southern slopes of areas where there are no large plants and shrubs are best suited for escholzia. If planting on flower beds is carried out, it is necessary to place taller plants on the north side of the escholzia. The plant does not need wind protection.
The soil for the plant can be of any fertility and composition. Many of the species of escholzia grow in very stony soils and are well adapted for this. The plant can also be grown in sandy soils. But on heavy clay soils, the plant feels uncomfortable. It is best to make light and loose soil for the escholcia, preferably without stagnant water. Therefore, if the site has good drainage, this is only a plus for growing escholcia.
Regarding the acidity of the soil, there is also a certain recommendation: it should be neutral or slightly acidic. If the soil is too acidic, it must be limed to equalize the pH to acceptable values for escholzia (pH from 6.2 to 7.0). With moderately acidic soils, it is necessary to add wood ash (0.5 kg per 1 sq.m.) to the ground where the plant will be planted, with strongly acidic - lime.
For escholzia, drought is much less of a problem than waterlogging. Therefore, watering should be minimal. In the most ideal case, the plant should have enough natural watering.
Care activities
The soil around the escholcia bushes should be loosened regularly and fed from time to time. Loosening is carried out immediately after watering to a depth of about 5 cm at a distance of 15-20 cm from the bush. Weeding weeds, hilling plants, or somehow "interfering with his life" should not be. Under the right lighting conditions and soil composition, the plant will take care of itself perfectly.
It is necessary to regularly loosen the soil around the escholzia
Feeding should be carried out only a few times per season. Usually they are produced twice: a week before flowering and about a month after the first flowers are set. To ensure more lush flowering, the plant must be fed around the middle or end of May with a complex mineral fertilizer for flowers, which includes all the necessary substances: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In addition, it should contain trace elements - compounds of iron and manganese. Such a complex fertilizer can be bought at any flower shop.
The first feeding is carried out in the recommended dose. The second and possible subsequent are made in a half dose. Top dressing must be combined with watering, while it is applied after watering into loosened soil. The fertilizer should be thoroughly dissolved in water and its drops should not fall on the leaves and flowers of the plant, if possible.
In order to prolong the flowering of the escholcia and avoid unwanted self-seeding, it is necessary to immediately remove the emerging fruits as flowering ends. You can make a more radical method: in early August, prune the plant by removing old shoots. In this case, it is desirable to make one more top dressing. After about 15-20 days, flowering will be restored almost completely.
When the time for autumn cold comes, all the remaining stems, leaves and flowers will need to be removed, and the site should be carefully dug up, removing all the old parts of the plants. At the same time, if there was no self-sowing, in a couple of weeks it will be possible to plant seeds on it for the next season.
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Reproduction of escholcia
This plant propagates by seed. Given the biological characteristics of the plant, even its perennial varieties cannot be propagated vegetatively. The green part of the plant does not form roots, and it is not possible to separate the tap root of the mother plant. In addition, even perennial species with creeping stems do not form additional root processes.
Landing in open ground
Despite the lack of alternatives to the seed method, you should not be afraid of it. Unlike many other ornamental plants, escholcia reproduces well from seeds. Its seeds can remain viable in the hot climate of California for up to 3 years, and when stored in cool places, about twice as long.
The appearance of the seeds of the variety Ballerina Mix
Usually, planting is done in open ground in late October or early spring, as soon as weather conditions permit. It is best to carry out spring sowing in the first or second decade of April.
Seeds must be stratified within 1-1.5 months at a temperature of 0 to +3°C. They can be put in the refrigerator in advance, or the seeds can be planted directly into the ground as soon as the snow melts in March. You can even sow directly into the melted snow, as long as you can see individual thawed patches with the ground. In the latter case, it is advisable to cover the sown seeds with straw mulch with a layer of up to 3-5 cm. When sowing, it is advisable to “press” the seeds a little into the ground, since the seeds that are on the hardened ground may not sprout at all.
After 2 weeks after planting (in the case of planting in autumn - in early April), shoots appear. They need to be thinned out as soon as the plant has 4-5 leaves. At the same time, the largest and strongest plants remain at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other. If this is not done, you will get a very dense “settlement” of the site with plants that will compete with each other, but almost all of them will be frail and inconspicuous.
It is enough to sow an escholcia only once, since every subsequent year plants of the next generations obtained as a result of self-sowing will appear in the same place. It will be necessary for the grower to thin out these seedlings annually to ensure the plants have enough nutrients to grow.
In addition, the spread of escholcia outside the site should be prevented, since some species (for example, soddy escholcia) can spread very quickly and occupy all possible space around.
Seedling propagation
If it is necessary to achieve flowering of a plant earlier than its usual terms, you can use the seedling method of growing. Usually, flowering in plants occurs 1-1.5 months after germination. By planting seedlings in March, you can achieve flowering in May. Naturally, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the climate in which the cultivation takes place. It may not be warm enough in May yet. In this case, the planting dates must be postponed so that the plant can normally exist in open ground conditions.
Eschscholzia seedlings
There is one more nuance when growing seedlings: it is impossible to plant young plants in open ground too late so that the first month of the life of the escholcia does not fall during the onset of heat. Adult plants feel great in such conditions, however, seedlings may die. Planting dates must be chosen so that the beginning of the flowering period occurs before the onset of a particularly hot part of the summer.
However, the seedling method of growing for this species has some features. Eschscholzia, unlike many other flowers, does not reproduce by classical methods of growing seedlings. This is due to the peculiarities of the structure of its root system. Since it grows in dry places and on very poor soils in its homeland, its root quickly goes deep into the ground. Transplantation of plants with such a root system is quite complicated and practically impossible by conventional methods.
There are two options for solving this problem:
- originally grow seedlings in individual containers with subsequent gentle transplantation into open ground, for example, by transshipment
- grow escholcia seedlings with peat tablets
Let's consider the last method in more detail. It is best to plant seedlings in the period from mid-March to mid-April. In this case, flowering will begin around the second decade of May and the plant will have time to tie buds before the onset of heat.
Preparation of peat tablets for planting seedlings
For planting escholcia, peat tablets with a diameter of up to 35 mm, a height of not more than 20 mm, with recesses for locating seed material, are suitable. They are placed in a tray that is filled with water. When the height of the tablets approximately doubles, the water supply is stopped, and its excess is drained.
Next, you need to place one seed of the plant in each tablet. This can be done with a toothpick or any thin stick. In extreme cases, you can use a regular knife. You should not do this with your fingers, as this can break the integrity of the tablet and damage the seed recesses.
Planting seeds with a pointed stick
Then it is necessary to sprinkle the seeds in the recesses with a small amount of soil. It can be taken from a spare tablet, or you can use regular peat.
Covering seeds with soil
Then the seeds are watered. In order not to blur the tablets, watering is recommended to be done with a spray bottle. Next, you need to cover the tray with tablets with a lid and put it in a plastic bag, which should be hermetically sealed.
The bag with the container is placed in a warm and shady place. The temperature should be within + 18-20 ° C. Seeds do not need to be watered since all the necessary moisture is already contained in the tablets, however, they need daily airing for 10-15 minutes.
Watering seedlings
Seedlings appear in about two weeks. After their appearance, it is necessary to remove the container from the package and remove the lid from it. The container with seedlings is placed in the brightest place on the windowsill, while the temperature should not be allowed to exceed + 20 ° C.
In case of "settlement" of peat tablets, it is necessary to add a little water to the container. However, as soon as their shape is restored, excess water must be drained. Eschscholzia seedlings, like adult plants, really do not like excessive waterlogging.
10-15 days after germination, it is necessary to feed the plants with a liquid fertilizer used to feed the seedlings. It can be, for example, Agricola or Fertik fertilizer. It is best to combine this top dressing with the next topping up of water to maintain the shape of the tablets.
A week after fertilizing, you should start hardening off the seedlings. The hardening procedure is standard: within two weeks, it is necessary to bring the seedlings in the open air from 1 hour to 12-14 hours.
Planting seedlings in open ground
It is necessary to plant seedlings in soil dug up to a depth of 30 cm with weeds and roots removed from it. The wells are staggered at a distance of 20 cm from one another, the distance between the rows should also be 20 cm. The depth of the wells should be 2-3 cm more than the height of the tablet. The tablet with the plant is carefully, without damaging the root, lowered into the hole, sprinkled with earth and slightly compacted, after which the plant is watered.
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Early summer - aphid attack time
Subject to all the rules of care, an adult plant resists various diseases and pests well. But an escholcia at the age of 1-2 months does not have sufficient immunity and various negative influences can threaten its health.
In early summer, most often the plant is attacked by aphids. Some mild insecticide, for example, the Commander remedy, will help to cope with it. If there has been no natural precipitation for a long time, spider mites can attack the escholcia. Stronger drugs fight well with them: insecticides Aktellik or Verimark.
With excessively abundant watering, the plant may begin to rot the roots, subsequently spreading to other parts of the plant. In this case, it is necessary to stop watering and remove parts of the plant affected by rot. Sometimes in such a situation it is necessary to remove the whole plant.
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Varieties
california
It is the most common type of plant. In addition, this is its nomenclature type - that is, when they talk about escholzia, they mean exactly its Californian variety. The plant is quite tall, the stems can reach 40-45 cm.
It is a perennial, which most often has the appearance of a shrub creeping along the ground. The stems of the plant are straight and thin, completely dotted with short shoots. The leaves of the plant are divided into three sections, their length is 4-5 cm.
The flowers of California escholcia are solitary, 8-9 cm in diameter, shaped like bowls. The color is most often orange, but yellow, white and light brown varieties are also found. The flowering time of the plant is quite long - from the first decade of June to the end of October.
This species has many varieties obtained as a result of selection of the type species, or as a result of crossing with others.
The most popular varieties are:
- Strawberry. It has ordinary or semi-double flowers, most often two-colored: rich yellow in the middle and bright red at the edges. It takes root well even on stony soils, it is often used in rock gardens and rockeries.
- Peach sorbet. Large semi-double flowers of beige or cream color. It can have a large number of petals - up to 10-12, unlike the original, where there are only 4. Plant height up to 25 cm, flower diameter - up to 5 cm.
- Karminkönig. The simple petals of this variety have a carmine (bright ruby) color. The petals are large and clearly separated. Flower diameter up to 7 cm.
- Apple blossom. It has bright pink double flowers with a diameter of 5-6 cm. Sometimes the petals are almost straight, but have a corrugated structure. It has dense foliage and a large number of stems and flowers.
- Chiffon. Hybrid variety with record flowering. Able to bloom from early May until frost. The flowers are terry, with corrugated edges. The hybrid has a unique coloration. Each flower has several shades, each flower of its own color. Color can vary from white to bright red.
- Ballerina Mix. This hybrid has both double and ordinary flowers. Shades vary from orange to light pink. The flowers are large, 5-8 cm in diameter. The stems are up to 40 cm high. The leaves are thrice dissected, covered with a wax coating.
- Mikado. Plant up to 40 cm high with large (6-7 cm in diameter) flowers. Petals are straight. The coloring is two-tone: rich orange center and bright yellow edges.
Soddy
Outwardly, this species is similar to the Californian, but has some differences. Firstly, it is an annual, and secondly, it is slightly smaller in size. The stem length of the soddy escholcia reaches 25-30 cm.
The homeland of the plant is located somewhat south of California - these are the northern regions of Mexico. The plant has a similar leaf structure, but its stems are less branched and their number per bush is slightly larger. The stems are almost always straight, do not spread along the ground.
The flowers of the plant are yellow or light orange. They are relatively small (no more than 2.5 cm in diameter), and their petals fit more closely together. Flowering time - from June to the first frost.
The fruits begin to ripen from the end of June. They are cylinders about 6 cm long, in which there are many small dark gray seeds. The plant reproduces well by self-sowing.
Lemmon
The species is named after the Lemmon couple, who explored the fauna of the Wild West. This species has a very small habitat - the foothills of Oregon. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was not found anywhere else. It is a herbaceous annual with stems and leaves growing from a common root. The stems of the plant are straight, practically not creeping. They are up to 30 cm tall. The leaves are clearly segmented, however, each segment has rounded lobes.
The flower is in the shape of a deep bowl. There is only one per stem. The size of its petals can reach up to 4 cm, however, due to a strong bend, the diameter of the flower is relatively small - up to 4.5 cm. The color of the petals is orange or dark yellow. Flowering lasts from July to September.
The fruits begin to ripen at the end of August. Usually, the fruit capsule of one flower contains up to a hundred seeds.
golden poppy
Another name for the plant is stone-seed escholcia. An annual plant that thrives on poor soils and in deserts. The bush consists of several erect stems up to 25 cm high and about the same number of leaves. The leaves have a characteristic segmentation, their lobes are pointed, the color is pale green.
The diameter of the flower is from 2 to 3 cm. The color is golden or rich yellow. Flowering lasts from June to September, fruits begin to appear in August.
elegant
It originates from the island of Guadalupe and is not found anywhere else in the wild. The height of the stems reaches 30 cm. This species, in addition to flowers, also has very decorative leaves. The length of the leaves can reach 25 cm, they branch profusely and have a gray-green color. Outwardly, the bush looks quite dense and is a kind of hemisphere.
Petals in flowers are arranged quite freely, often without intersecting with each other. The diameter of the flowers reaches 4 cm, their color is always bright yellow, having an orange tint towards the middle. Flowering begins in June and lasts until September.
Lobba
Named after the English botanist William Lobb. An annual native to the Sierra Nevada. Prefers open spaces, planted in the shade practically does not grow. The stems are straight, strong, up to 15 cm high. It has segmented pointed leaves of light green color.
The flowers are small - no more than 1.5 cm in diameter. Only one flower appears on each stem. It blooms early and has a short flowering period - from late March to May.
Eschscholzia flowers - planting and care, growing escholcia from seeds; echscholzia california
Eschsholzia: description, types, growing from seeds, planting in open ground, care (80+ Photos & Video) + Reviews
