Spring protection of garden plants from pests and diseases. Mirabilis: about growing from seeds, photo of a night beauty Types and varieties of mirabilis

Beautiful flowers Everyone loves it, but many are stopped by the need for complex plant care. In such cases, we recommend growing mirabilis. These bright tropical flowers with a wonderful scent are unpretentious and do not require a doctorate in horticulture.

Description of Mirabilis

Mirabilis - in Latin Mirabilis - is a genus of plants that belongs to the Nyctaginaceae (Night-flowered) family. It includes 50 species, but only one of them is widespread in the Russian Federation - Yalapa, which is sometimes called a laxative.

Among gardeners, this plant is known as “Dawn” or “Night Beauty” because it blooms in the evening and blooms until dawn.

Where does Mirabilis grow?

Mirabilis is native to South America. It grows in warm tropical countries, and therefore in our country it is more common in the southern regions. In warm regions, mirabilis is known as a perennial plant, and where it is much colder, it grows as an annual, since the roots freeze in winter.

Mirabilis are often called "the novice gardener's delight" because they are so easy to plant and care for. Not only personal acquaintance with the plant, but also just photographs - bright, juicy, colorful - make you want to grow such a miracle in your garden. Growing mirabilis from seeds does not require special equipment or complex skills, just follow the instructions for caring for seedlings - and enjoy the delightful twilight aroma of the Night Beauty.

The buds bloom in the afternoon, fade after a few hours, but are immediately replaced by others - and this happens all night. Sometimes mirabilis begins to bloom in bad weather when the sky is covered with clouds. The season lasts from May until the first frost.

Appearance of the flower

Mirabilis jalapa is a herbaceous plant that grows in strong compact bushes. In rare cases, they reach more than a meter in height, but usually do not exceed 80 centimeters. The roots are swollen and tuberous. Mirabilis flowers look like patterned funnels or the bell of a gramophone. They are striking in their variety of shades: there are white, yellow, pink, red, orange, crimson-purple, lilac, violet.

Many photos of mirabilis show that the flowers come in either one color or painted in two or more shades. An interesting feature: on one bush there can be flowers of various colors! Sometimes the petals are striped.

After the plant blooms, ribbed dark brown fruit-boxes appear, each of which contains one seed, which will certainly be useful when growing mirabilis. Germination lasts up to three years. The seeds are large, oval-shaped, dark, the surface is wrinkled and hard.

How to raise a Night Beauty

Growing from seeds is one of the most reliable methods. In the southern region, plant seeds immediately into the soil, but not earlier than the first days of May. Then the earth is already warm enough, and the seeds have a chance to take root. If you use a semi-warm greenhouse, then plant mirabilis in early April. Still, this method of planting is risky.

It is more effective to plant seeds at home.

Planting seeds for seedlings

Take deep cups for seedlings and plant one or two seeds there. The sprouts will be quite large, and if you plant more, the seedlings will have to be thinned out. In a few days the mirabilis will sprout, and after about another month and a half (in June) plant it in open ground.

When landing on permanent place residence, observe the interval between sprouts. The gap ranges from 25 cm (for dwarf plants) up to 60 (for tall bushes).

It is not necessary to soak the seeds before planting; just wet the substrate well. Keep in mind that soaked seeds will sprout much faster - in just 1-2 days.

Yulia Petrichenko, expert

For seedlings, you need a substrate consisting of the following parts:

• turf;
• peat;
• river sand or fine gravel.

Take a little more sand than turf and peat. Some gardeners plant seeds in loam or clay soil with the addition of lime - the unpretentiousness of mirabilis allows for variations. Remember: the flower does not tolerate acidic soils!

The containers for growing mirabilis must be deep because the roots grow downwards and not outwards. Before planting the seeds, add ash to each hole - ash soils have a beneficial effect on the growth of the Night Beauty.

Other ways to propagate Mirabilis

Mirabilis can also be propagated by budding, but this is more difficult than growing from seeds. To do this, separate the semi-lignified cuttings from the plant and dry the cut area. Then place it in a special growth stimulator to activate rooting, and plant it in steamed nutrient soil. With careful care and regular watering with water at room temperature, the cuttings will take root successfully, and in May you will plant it in open ground.

There is another way to propagate Mirabilis - using tubers. Most botanists and gardeners agree that this method is not optimal. Dig up the tubers and place them in sand or sawdust. Store at approximately +3-5 until the next sowing season. However, practice shows that this method is unreliable, and most tubers die due to insufficient moisture and lack of nutrients.

Mirabilis care

Mirabilis - unpretentious flower and does not require constant monitoring and care, easily tolerates drought.

Important growing principles:

• Mirabilis loves warmth;
• arrange good lighting, but protect the flower from direct sunlight;
• Pamper it with feeding several times a season (no more than 3-4 times);
• fresh compost and manure are destructive to the plant;
• the soil should not be overdried (mirabilis will react to this by temporarily stopping blooming), but it should also not be allowed to become waterlogged;
• Carefully pick off wilted buds.

Useful properties of the plant

Mirabilis in landscape design

Mirabilis is best known as an ornamental plant. It is beautiful and fragrant, so gardeners are happy to use it to decorate their garden plots. Some lovers keep mirabilis at home, in spacious tubs filled with clay soil- this option is not suitable for everyone due to the strong and pungent smell of the plant.

Mirabilis is often used in landscape design. Dwarf bushes are planted in flowerbeds and garden beds, and colorful hedges are formed from tall, almost meter-high bushes. The aroma of flowers always attracts large evening and night butterflies.

Application in medicine

In addition to decorative functions, mirabilis has beneficial properties. Its tubers are often used as a laxative, and its flowers as a food coloring. Some parts of the plant (such as leaves and stem elements) are believed to have anti-inflammatory effects. A decoction of the leaves is a good remedy for abscesses. Mirabilis leaf juice is known as a wound healing drug.

In some cases, mirabilis leaves can be eaten, but this is not recommended unless absolutely necessary.

There are approximately 60 species of wild mirabilis flowers found in the Americas. These annual and perennial plants The flowers are characterized by a wide variety of colors, attracting the eye from noon to the morning of the next day.

Varieties and types

(aka night beauty, dawn) is a perennial cultivated as annual plant. Its bushes have an elongated, rounded shape, grow up to 80 cm in height and are characterized by tuberous roots.

The shoots are densely branched, reddish in color, and overgrown with wood from below. The diameter of the funnel-shaped flowers is 2.5 cm, and the color can be white, yellow, orange, crimson, purple, red, or even two colors. The pleasant aroma of opened flowers flows from 16:00 until the early morning hours.

The night beauty has a truly amazing feature that matches her Latin name- one plant can form flowers of different shades, so you can buy, for example, Mirabilis tricolor with white, yellow and pink flowers. The usual color for this species is pink, alternating with salmon and crimson shades, but white and yellow flowers, sometimes even with multi-colored stripes.

The beginning of mirabilis flowering is associated with June and continues until the arrival of frost.

Of all existing species Only jalapa is cultivated in gardens, forming the basis of the following varieties:

Varieties

• with 6 cm in diameter flowers of white, red, yellow and lilac flowers, with dense branches of shoots, blooming in June-October, perfect for outdoor flower beds;

• Variety Mirabilis marbled the flower has bright flowers with dark veins, also of various shades, its lush flowering lasts from July to August and looks great in flower beds and mixborders;

• absorbed a very rich color palette, including yellow, orange, red, pink, crimson, coral and lilac colors, which add high decorative value to any flower garden;

• with fragrant red flowers with a diameter of 4-5 cm, pleasing to the eye from 15 o'clock in the afternoon, it is an excellent option for decorating flower beds and edgings;

• Variety Mirabilis Cavalier with yellow and red bud colors is also mainly used for the purposes described above;

• is a low spherical bush approximately 50 cm high, with colorful flowers medium-sized, decorated with stripes and strokes, blooming from the first days of July until the onset of frost;

• - a variety with pure red flowers 5-6 cm in diameter;

• Variety Mirabilis white candy - similar to the previous one, only with white flowers;

• - with yellow flowers;

• - with purple flowers.

Mirabilis planting and care in open ground

In the absence of the likelihood of the last spring cold snap, you can plant mirabilis in open ground in June, both sprouts and seeds. The planting density must be kept moderate, that is, the mutual distance of the plantings must be maintained at 50 cm due to the fact that the bush can grow very tall, depending on the chosen variety.

Planting depth is also important - the seeds should not be on the surface. By filling the planting gaps with other annuals, you can get a very impressive, varied composition. The development of this very heat-loving plant is most significantly affected by lighting, so you should choose a site that is well heated by the sun.

Watering Mirabilis

It is necessary to pay some attention to watering, even taking into account the fact that mirabilis easily copes with a lack of moisture.

Soil for mirabilis

Regarding the soil, it should be noted that loamy or clayey with lime content is considered preferable. Acidic and waterlogged soils are strictly contraindicated, while excessively dry soil can cause a lack of flowering.

Under no circumstances should compost and manure be added to the site, as they can cause irreparable harm to the plant.

Mirabilis transplant

Produced in early spring before flowering begins. This procedure is performed as it grows.

Fertilizer for mirabilis

Zorka planted in the ground does not require fertilizing. Watering it once every 30 days is completely enough. nutritional mixture based on conventional complex fertilizers during flowering.

Mirabilis pruning

Mirabilis itself has a delicious appearance with a rounded shape, therefore there is no need for cutting and tying with this ornamental plant.

Large varieties night beauties are capable of forming uniquely beautiful hedges, and short ones are quite capable of becoming the best available decoration for flower beds or borders.

Mirabilis in winter

With the onset of cold weather, mirabilis tubers become the main interests of gardeners. The fact is that this plant can be preserved in winter if you create the right conditions for his peace.

To accomplish this, the tubers need to be carefully dug up in the last autumn days and place for the winter in containers filled with sand and peat. The substrate is not intensively moistened, sometimes using sawdust.

Storage planting material permissible in a dry, cool environment at a temperature of approximately 5℃ - under other conditions there is a high probability that the tubers will die before the arrival of spring.

Mirabilis growing from seeds

In areas with a relatively warm climate, mirabilis seeds can be planted directly into the ground. They are collected during the period when they turn black, from the axils of faded and fallen flowers, and the extraction process is quite simple.

Moreover, these seeds germinate well, and, therefore, cannot be ignored experienced florist. The flowering of the dawn, as is already known, is very long; accordingly, the seeds are also collected during a long period of plant activity.

Sowing Mirabilis for seedlings

In cold regions, the recommended method of growing Mirabilis is from seedlings. Getting seedlings is also not a particularly troublesome matter. To do this, at the beginning of April, take medium-sized disposable cups and fill them with a substrate, including turf, peat and river sand (there should be a little more sand than other components).

For 1 cup there are no more than 1-2 seeds of the night beauty, since the sprouts of this plant are quite large, and thinning the seedlings is not advisable.

After just a few days they should appear initial signs shoots, and after 30-45 days the seedlings will be ready for planting in the open ground.

Diseases and pests

Mirabilis is not a plant susceptible to pests, for which it is highly valued by novice gardeners. Almost the only possible defeats are rust and spotting - eliminated by removing damaged parts followed by treating diseased areas with a fungicide.

As stated above, Mirabilis’ love for warmth is one of the most important points, which you should focus on when growing it. Based on this, it is highly not recommended to plant in more early dates than June, since you may encounter a short-term return of cold weather, and this may be enough for Mirabilis simply not to emerge.

Zorka loves warmth so much that she can respond to the presence of drafts in the area curled leaves , so it’s better to choose a seat without them.

Mirabilis - is one of the representatives of the Niktaginov genus, which also includes about 60 species of other ornamental plants. Such flowers are widespread in the regions of Northern and South America. As a wild plant, they can often be seen in the southern United States, where they grow freely and do not require much care.

Mirabilis Jalapa is a flower that differs from other ornamental plants that prefer bright sunshine, and feels good precisely at night. Due to this developmental feature, the plant is also called “Night Beauty”. Mirabilis – beautiful flower, the aroma of which reveals itself exclusively in the moonlight. Growing it does not require special knowledge and does not cause difficulties, but mirabilis is still quite rare in an ordinary flower bed. First, let's look at the structure of the plant, the features of its planting, care rules and flowering time.

Many gardeners admire the beauty of this flower during the flowering period. Not every plant in your flowerbed has a similar palette of colors. Any other types of flowers go well next to mirabilis.

After sunset, it begins to bloom its small buds, which have a diameter of about 3 cm. Below we will talk about the features of planting a flower in the middle latitudes, where a temperate climate prevails.

Where to plant mirabilis?

To achieve successful cultivation mirabilis, its full development and growth in the flowerbed, it is necessary to choose the right place for planting. In our area, the plant is exclusively annual, therefore, among all representatives of this family, only Mirabilis Jalapa is grown.

The flower prefers areas of soil that are located in a warm, well-lit, dry place. The plant does not tolerate excess and retention of moisture in the soil. It is recommended to choose fertile loamy areas as planting sites. Another option would be to grow flowers in a greenhouse, where they can be planted in special containers.

Mirabilis propagation methods

The seed method of propagating this type of plant is often used. To do this, you need to collect dry seeds from an adult night beauty bush after it has finished flowering. Another method of propagation is the cultivation of Mirabilis Jalapa using cuttings and tubers.

Sowing seeds

The favorable time for sowing seeds is early spring. For this, seedling boxes are used, which can be placed in greenhouses or on the windowsills of the house after planting. The room must be maintained at a constant temperature and humidity. To achieve rapid germination of seeds, you can pre-soak them for several hours in a wet piece of cloth. In this case, you can observe the first shoots a couple of weeks after sowing. When planting seedlings in open ground, the depth of the hole should not exceed 2 cm. Transplantation of young plants from a seedling box is carried out only when warm spring weather has established and there are no night frosts.

All sowing work must be carried out taking into account the climatic parameters for a given region. To protect seedlings from death and protect them from unpredictable frosts, you can cover them on top with a special protective material. If you want to grow from flowers hedge in a flowerbed, then thinning is a mandatory maintenance measure. Due to the fact that the plant can reach a height large sizes, thinning makes it possible to get a tall, slender beautiful wall from fresh flowers.

Propagation by tubers

A common planting method is to propagate mirabilis using tubers, which are easy to find at any garden store or fairs. Another option is to use tubers from your own seedlings grown on your own site. They are carefully dug out and placed in sawdust or sand, where they are stored at a temperature not lower than +5 degrees. Spring transplantation of tubers into open ground can only be done if they are fully germinated.

This method of flower propagation is not widely used among gardeners, since it is believed that such planting material in the form of tubers can dry out during storage. In this situation, the tubers will no longer be suitable for planting for propagation in the spring.

Propagation by cuttings

Occasionally, the method of propagating a flower using cuttings is used, since planting and isolating vegetative parts from a plant is a rather labor-intensive and not always effective process.

Semi-lignified shoots are used for these purposes. They are cut, and the cut areas are thoroughly dried. The shoots are dipped into a special solution, which accelerates the growth process, and then planted in prepared seedling containers. After a couple of weeks they root system will get stronger, and the young shoots will take root completely. Seedlings must be constantly watered and kept at room temperature. If conditions do not allow this, then containers with shoots must be heated from below. Grown and strengthened cuttings are planted in warm spring weather in a prepared area of ​​the flower bed.

Mirabilis Jalapa - a flower that does not require special care and is a picky culture. To achieve abundant flowering and rapid growth of the plant, you must follow several recommendations for growing:

• Choosing the right planting site in the garden
• Compliance with the rules of watering regime
• Apply fertilizing as needed
• Loosening the soil
• Weed removal

Mirabilis bushes can be fed several times throughout the year. As a rule, conventional complex fertilizers, which affect the formation of buds and accelerate the growth of shoots.

Do not forget to regularly weed and loosen the soil and get rid of weeds, as well as water the plant in dry weather. However, you should not miss the fact that excess moisture can lead to rotting of the roots and, consequently, to the death of the flower.

Based on all of the above, we can come to the conclusion that growing mirabilis is not particularly difficult. Even novice gardeners who have little practice in growing rare ornamental crops can easily cope with this task. You just need to put in a little effort and patience, and the result will exceed all expectations. The Mirabilis Jalapa flower will delight you not only with its exquisite aroma, but also with long-lasting bright flowering. Such a plant will become wonderful decoration for your garden.

How to grow mirabilis (video)

If you have been gardening for more than a year, then most likely you have already heard about amazing flower mirabilis. Its beautiful and unusual name corresponds to the external characteristics of this culture. Mirabilis combines simplicity and attractiveness and bears the mysterious name “night beauty”, which it received for characteristic feature bloom flowers only in cloudy times and shortly before evening. The plant pleases the eye and fills the space around it with an amazing aroma, which has a positive effect on the human psyche. This plant interests many, so let’s talk about mirabilis, growing from seeds, and look at a photo of the night beauty.

Mirabilis can produce flowers different colors, depending on the variety. Petals can be colored purple, yellow, crimson, red, white, orange and yellow colors. Also, sometimes multi-colored, very beautiful stripes appear on them. In some cases, one bush produces flowers with petals of different colors, which can easily be explained by cross-pollination various plants.

Many gardeners try to grow mirabilis because of its unpretentiousness. It is able to grow in areas that are practically impossible to cultivate. With its help, you can easily decorate shaded areas of the garden; it is placed under fences, near trees and various outbuildings.

Mirabilis is great for forming a real hedge. It will not be tall, unlike a bush one, but it will be distinguished by its beauty and brightness. And beauty in our lives is the key to psychological stability. Planting this crop will help you easily and unobtrusively break up garden plot by sector. So how can you grow it from seeds in your garden?

Seed propagation

After the plants have flowered, they will form a lot of quite large seeds with a particularly hard shell. Such characteristics force the gardener to carry out very cunning manipulations before growing. Shortly before planting, the seed skin should be slightly damaged, for example, using a needle file or nail file, making shallow cuts on their surface. If you do not have enough time for this procedure, sow Mirabilis with a reserve, because some of the planting material most likely will not be able to sprout.

Prepared seeds are planted in early April in small pots. Seedlings are grown at home. The soil for planting should have a low level of acidity and be fairly light. The plant does not tolerate excessive moisture, so watering should be moderate and quite rare.

You can choose another way to grow this crop. In April, place mirabilis seeds in the ground, filling small boxes with them. These containers need to be covered with polyethylene or glass and placed in a greenhouse. If there is no greenhouse on your site, wrap the box well in several layers of polyethylene and put it in the warmest place. Seed germination will begin after about one week. After the first shoots appear, you can remove some of the insulation from the planting containers. When the first leaves form on the seedlings, you can completely remove the cover from them. After some time, the plants dive into separate containers seven to nine centimeters in diameter.

Open ground

Shortly before planting in open soil, it is worth hardening the mirabilis sprouts by taking them outside for a while. Plants are transferred after the soil has warmed up. Best time for this - the end of spring and the beginning of summer, because during this period night frosts are no longer possible. Please note that the place for growing night beauties should warm up well, because they are thermophilic.

Seedlings are planted with an interval of forty to fifty centimeters between plants, deepening them quite deeply into the soil. Mirabilis grows well on fertile, clay or loamy soils. It is very tolerant of moisture deficiency, withstanding long periods without artificial watering. However, water deficiency significantly delays the formation of buds, so young plants may not have time to produce color before the end. summer season.

Care

As noted above, mirabilis is very undemanding in terms of care. In order for the flowering of the crop to be timely, in summer time it should be additionally moisturized. If the weather is hot and dry, watering is carried out once or twice a week in the evening. During the entire active growing season, you can carry out three feedings using full mineral fertilizer.

You should not use fresh organic matter, because it can harm plant roots and even destroy bushes. Regular weeding and weed removal will be beneficial. If the plantings become very dense, they should definitely be thinned out, since a crowded arrangement leads to the mirabilis being stretched out and losing its lush flowering.

After the plant fades, the wilted branches should be removed. If you want to avoid self-seeding, collect seeds every day.

In autumn, you can dig up ripe tubers and send them for storage in the cellar or in the refrigerator. Optimal temperature for this there will be a mode up to plus seven degrees.

Mirabilis is an amazingly beautiful plant, the cultivation of which does not require much time or labor. From resistance to the effects of diseases and pests and will definitely delight you with beautiful and lush flowering in gratitude for the simple care.