Known to everyone since childhood, chamomile is a perennial plant from the Astrov family. One of the distinguishing features of chamomile, as a perennial, is its ability to bloom in the first year after planting. There is an erroneous opinion that the cultivation of chamomile does not require any rules to be observed along the way, since in the wild the plant feels great and reproduces great, which, of course, is a delusion. If the chamomile was planted in accordance with all the rules of agricultural technology, and competent care was taken for it, then the yield of flowers from such a plant will be several times higher than the indicators of its “wild” forms.
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Botanical description
All representatives of the genus chamomile have a faint but characteristic smell.. The plant is widely used in folk and traditional medicine because it has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, the plant can be used in landscape design and for decorating bouquets of wildflowers.
The classification of chamomile is still not streamlined. There are several systems for its description, each of which considers several dozen species of this plant. The most popular type of chamomile is Chamomile. It is in this species that the medicinal properties are most pronounced.
Sometimes daisies are also called other plants that are similar to this flower in appearance. These include feverfew, leefflower, and some types of aster and chrysanthemums. And, although from a botanical point of view, this is not true, all these plants are grown in approximately the same way as the common pharmacy chamomile.
pharmaceutical camomile
Chamomile is a low herbaceous perennial plant with pinnate dissected leaves.
Chamomile inflorescence is a semicircular basket, which includes several hundred small flowers. The diameter of the inflorescences is from 5 to 20 mm. Their center is yellow or yellow-orange in color, the outer leaves are almost always white. The structure of the inflorescence is quite interesting: in the center are bisexual flowers, along the edges only flowers with pistils.
Chamomile inflorescence
Flowering starts early enough. Usually, the first inflorescences appear at the very beginning of spring, in warm areas sometimes as early as early March. Since flowering does not occur simultaneously, flowering daisies, even in one area, can be found throughout the season - from early March to late October. The peak of flowering falls on the period May-July. Pollination is done by wasps or bees.
The fruits of the plant are achenes with a tuft. Fruit ripening occurs within 1-1.5 months after the end of flowering.
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General issues
Chamomile can be grown either by direct planting in the ground or from seedlings. If there is no desire to mess with seedlings, you can simply sow chamomile seeds in open ground, however, the quality of the resulting plants will not be very good.
Chamomile seeds
Seed germination will not be very high, in addition, planting will be heterogeneous. Over time, the plant will spread over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe site, however, the time spent on bringing it into relative order will be commensurate with seedling cultivation.
The plant does not like excessive thickening; it is better to immediately plant it evenly. That is why the seedling method of growing chamomile is more preferable.
Site preparation
Usually, a plot for chamomile is prepared before the direct planting of seeds or plants in the ground. It is not necessary to prepare it six months before planting. For daisies, you need a sunny area with soil of normal acidity or close to it. Can also be grown on slightly alkaline soils.
Strongly acidic soils require liming with wood ash; its application rates depend on the level of soil acidity, but in the vast majority of cases it is enough to add wood ash at the rate of 200 g per 1 sq. km. m.
Chamomile in early spring
The root system of the plant can spread deep enough, therefore soils with a groundwater level of at least 1 m are recommended for growing chamomile.
The site must be dug to a depth of 30 cm, loosened and leveled, removing plant debris. After that, complex fertilizer for flowers should be applied at a concentration recommended by the manufacturer. On this, the preparation of the site can be considered completed.
Landing in open ground
Planting seeds directly in open ground is carried out at the end of May or at the end of September. Seeds are evenly distributed over the surface and sprinkled with a very thin layer of crushed soil.
Chamomile seedlings in open ground before thinning
After planting in the spring, the site needs regular watering. Seeds germinate in about 1-2 weeks. As they germinate, it will be clear what to do with young seedlings further - whether or not they will have to be transplanted to empty plots. It is best to do this when 4-5 leaves appear on young plants.
If planting was carried out in the fall, then one watering will be enough for the seeds; They will sprout all the same only next spring.
Seedling planting method
Seedlings are planted at the end of March. It is best to grow chamomile seedlings in a tray with 4x4 or 5x5 cm cells. But you can use any container at hand, up to individual planting using plastic cups.
The soil for seedlings should be light and well pass moisture and air. A simple peat-sand mixture is usually recommended (peat and sand are mixed in equal proportions).
Planting seeds in a seedling box
The mixture is poured into the cells to the very top, small indentations are made in it. Where two or three chamomile seeds are placed at the same time. From above, the seeds are sprinkled with a thin layer of soil and watered.
A box with seedlings should be covered with plastic wrap or glass and put in a warm place with a temperature of + 20-22 ° C. It is not recommended to put seedlings directly under direct sunlight, since direct sunlight can destroy young seedlings. Therefore, the box can be placed at some distance from the window opening and protected from drafts.
On the other hand, seedlings need about 14 hours of daylight.to develop normally. For this purpose, it is recommended to use fluorescent lamps, which will provide additional lighting in the dark.
Chamomile seedlings a month after planting
Seedlings need to be watered as needed (the substrate must be constantly moderately moistened), as well as ventilate daily for 15-30 minutes, removing the protective film or glass.
After 1-2 weeks, the seeds will germinate and young plants will appear on the surface.. At the same time, the shelter is removed, but additional protection against drafts is organized. The box with seedlings can be moved closer to the windowsill, but do not forget about the danger of direct sunlight. You need to do either shading the seedling box, or think about how to get diffused sunlight.
When the plants reach a height of about 5 cm, they should be thinned out, leaving in the cells one of the strongest. In this case, it is not necessary to uproot the seedlings, it is necessary to carefully pinch them off at ground level so as not to damage the root system. Also at this time, you need to pinch the remaining seedlings at a level above the third leaf. This will further stimulate the formation of new leaves and shoots.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Produced 1-1.5 months after planting. On a previously prepared site, holes are made with a depth of 10-20 cm. Seedlings are planted in several rows; the distance between plants in a row should be from 20 to 40 cm, and between rows 40 cm.
Chamomile in the open field
A seedling is placed in the hole along with a clod of earth, carefully sprinkled with soil, compacted and watered. At this stage, no additional dressings (except for the previously applied complex fertilizer for flowers) are required.
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plant care
Watering chamomile
Watering
- After planting seedlings in open ground, it must be watered abundantly for a month so that they adapt to new conditions and begin active vegetation.. After stable rooting (coming, as a rule, 15-20 days after transplantation), watering should become more moderate. Ideally, natural rainfall is sufficient for chamomile.
- Abundantly water adult plants should only be in dry weather or during flowering.. Watering is carried out in the evening, the water should be warm, it can fall on the leaves and flowers. Therefore, sprinkling is often used for watering daisies.
- To preserve moisture in the soil, it is recommended to mulch the planting site of daisies with peat about 3 cm thick. This will solve two problems at once - and preventing the formation of a crust on the surface of the soil and fertilizing with organic fertilizers.
Nitroammophoska is used for the second feeding of chamomile
top dressing
- For chamomile, it is recommended to make four top dressings per season.. The first is introduced in early spring, best of all at the end of March. This organic top dressing, consisting of peat or humus. Top dressing either falls on the ground and mixes with the topsoil, or mulch is made from it.
- A month after the first top dressing, a second one is introduced. It is mineral, consisting of nitrogenous fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate or nitroammophoska is best suited for this purpose. Application rates are 20 or 15 g per sq. m respectively. Fertilizer is evenly distributed between the rows, while watering can be omitted.
- With the onset of budding, the plant should be given a third top dressing. It is not of a global nature, since in fact it is a continuation of the previous one. Fertilizers are applied only under those bushes that have a faded appearance and short shoots and leaves. Under each such bush, it is recommended to add from 5 to 10 g of urea.
- The last top dressing of the season is done in the fall.. In the middle or end of September, wood ash or dolomite flour is added to the aisles in the amount of 200 g per 1 sq. m.
Chamomile is not “friends” with weeds
Other Care Activities
Chamomile also needs regular weeding and loosening of the soil. Loosening is recommended after each watering, or, if the soil is under mulch, as it is depleted.
The plant is very sensitive to weeds.. Therefore, once a month it is recommended to thoroughly weed the area with daisies.
Separately, we should talk about preparing the plant for winter.. If the winters are relatively warm and the temperature does not fall below -15°C, chamomile does not need shelter. Otherwise, at the end of the season, it is necessary to cover the chamomile for the winter. Usually, foliage, sawdust, or any other covering material available at hand is used for this purpose. Its layer should be from 15 to 20 cm. The stems of the plant are cut off at the surface level.
Another important component of chamomile care is bush rejuvenation.. Usually it is done every 4-5 years. In this case, the bush is divided into two parts right in the garden, without removing it from the ground. To do this, with the help of a shovel, half of the root system of the plant is cut off and dug out, and fertile soil is poured into the resulting hole.
The depth of the pit is about 30 cm.
Three years later, the bush is rejuvenated, but this removes the other half of its root system.
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The most common method of plant propagation is seed propagation. Seeds are collected after several large inflorescences have faded and dried completely. They should be cut and left to dry in a dry, well-ventilated area.
When the inflorescences are completely dry, it is necessary to peel the seeds from the middle flowers and place them on a piece of paper. After that, the seeds must be sifted and get rid of excess husks and remnants of flowers. Seeds should be stored in paper bags at room temperature in a shady and dry place. Under such conditions, seed germination persists for three years. Planting a plant with seeds has been described previously.
Obtaining plant seeds
Less common is the propagation of chamomile by dividing the bush. Usually, it is carried out either simultaneously with the rejuvenation of the plant, or more often (every 2-3 years). In the first case, the bush with a shovel is simply divided into two identical parts right in the ground and half of it is dug up and transplanted to a new place.
If a more controlled division of the plant is required, then the chamomile bush is dug out completely.. It is examined, the weak or diseased parts of the root system are rejected and young and strong shoots are separated from the main bush. They are planted in a new place in pre-prepared pits, which should be pre-moistened and add humus, peat or compost.
This procedure is recommended to be done in September. It is advisable to do this in cloudy and cool weather in the evening.
Some growers recommend dividing the bush annually.. For the winter, chamomile shoots will still be cut, so the bush will in any case re-form its vegetative part, and thinned bushes have higher growth rates. The main thing is not to forget about autumn and spring top dressing.
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Pests and diseases
Chamomile, although it has strong bactericidal and repellent properties, is itself susceptible to pest attacks or diseases. This can happen for various reasons, but the main one always remains the wrong care. Usually a mistake when leaving is untimely watering, both too rare and too frequent.
Diseases
The manifestation of rust
Basically, chamomile is affected by fungal infections, among which are the following:
When the first symptoms of damage appear, the plant should be treated with fungicides. These can be Topaz, Fundazol or Kuproksat. All recommendations for the use of products specified by the manufacturer should be strictly followed. Usually, plants are processed twice with a break of 10 days. Collection of material from plants treated with fungicides is allowed if the last treatment was carried out no earlier than 20 days before collection. It is better to miss a harvest of one year than to receive medicinal material with fungicide residues.
In the event of the appearance of gray rot, the plant should be destroyed as soon as possible., and treat the soil in its place with any anti-fungal agent.
However, it is best to prevent the occurrence of fungal infections by applying preventive methods. These include, first of all, a competent irrigation schedule, as well as regular loosening of the soil and weeding.
Pests
Chamomile affected by aphids
From insects, chamomile can be attacked by aphids, thrips, wireworms and star-winged flies.
Measures to combat aphids are quite simple - the plant must be treated with insecticides. For this purpose, specialized means against ticks, the so-called acaricides (for example, Karbofos or Agravertin), are best suited.
Traps are the best way to get rid of wireworms. At the bottom of a small hole, you should put a small piece of potatoes, carrots or beets, and cover the hole itself with a board. Regularly every 2-3 days you should lift the board and get rid of trapped pests.
It is recommended that the plant be treated with insecticides, as well as manual collection and destruction of larvae.
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Chamomile is one of the most popular medicinal plants.
Chamomile is one of the most popular medicinal plants. Its cultivation is not difficult and can be carried out on almost any soil with minimal use of additional funds. In addition to medicinal properties, chamomile can be used in the garden as a natural pest repellent.
VIDEO: How to plant garden chamomile and how to propagate it
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