Today a popular composition in landscape design is the alpine slide. This is a combination of stones with shrubs and flowers, as close as possible to the natural mountain landscape. In this composition you can often find a small, but very beautiful flower, - nolana. About him and tell in our article.
Botanical description
Nolana refers to creeping plants. One flower is able to form a rug of about 70 square meters. cm (some types - up to 2 sq. m). Its root system is pivotal (the main root is massive, and the processes are poorly developed). Thanks to this root system, the plant easily reaches the groundwater.
Stem Nolany branchy, green, spreads along the ground. It is covered with small, about 6 cm long, ellipsoid succulent leaves. The carpet rises above the ground to a height of 15-25 cm. On this green carpet there are small flowers, with a diameter of 4-5 cm, resembling bells. They can be blue, lilac, blue or white with a yellow-cream center. They have a pleasant aroma. Bloom from late June to the first frost.
Important! Seed germination persists for a long time.
If you cross-pollinate a flower, it will produce fruit. When ripe, they are divided into two semi-fruits, inside which from 2 to 30 seeds are hidden.
Distribution and habitat
The plant’s homeland is the west coast of South America from the Galapagos Islands to Peru. Here it feels great on desert and mountain soils. It grows like a perennial. Once on European soil, the flower turned into an annual plant due to strong climatic differences.
Throughout the season, such perennial plants will delight you with continuous decorativeness: host, Badan, astilba, geykher, hellebore, stonecrop, viola, tradescantia.
Popular types of nolans
Among all kinds of flowers, only two are used as decorative. This nolana prostrate and strange.
Nolana strange came to us from the Chilean coast. It grows to a height of 15-25 cm and can cover an area of about 70 square meters. see. Above the dark green foliage on long stalks emblazoned flowers, about 5 cm in diameter, resembling bells. They can be painted in blue, white or mixed colors with a white and yellow core.
Nolana prostrate outside its homeland is extremely rare. Its seeds are at a great price. Those gardeners who managed to get the seeds, can admire the gray-green carpet with tiny pale blue or lavender flowers. Their petals are separated by purple lines converging towards the core. The rug can cover 1-2 square meters. m. Plant blooms from mid-summer to frost. In our latitudes, it grows as one-year.
Did you know? The plant got its name "Nolana prostrate" from Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist who described him in 1762.
Use in landscape design
Nolana looks good in the composition of the alpine slide. She is accustomed to grow on rocky slopes. You can use the plant in the formation of flower towers. It will be good to look at flower beds and in flower beds, shading other plants. She looks good with her in the neighborhood: petunia, marigold, nasturtium, calrachoa.
If you want to enjoy the ease and elegance of a plant, you can plant it in hanging pots or containers and decorate with them a balcony or terrace.
Due to the dense structure with the help of Nolans, you can also form beautiful borders.
The ornamental nature of the shrubs lies in the particular structure of the bush or the color of the leaves, and among these are also known spiraea, califolia, black elderberry, Forchun's euonymus, flowering weigela.
The main plus of the flower is unpretentiousness, so it will feel great in any composition.
Care and growing plants do it yourself
Although Nolan and unpretentious flower, but to grow it, you need to put a little effort.
It will be useful for you to learn more about the different types and properties of soil, fertilizer systems for them, how to independently determine the acidity of the soil on the site, how to deoxidize it, and also find out what it depends on and how to improve soil fertility.
Conditions of detention
The flower loves the sun, but can grow in light shade. Does not tolerate drafts. This is the main thing to consider when choosing a permanent place for the plant.
The seedling is grown from seeds in boxes, planted after the end of frost.
Did you know? The list of Nolan flower species for 2011 contained 145 species, among them 63 were preserved in the genus.
Soil and fertilizer
On the plot for planting should be drained fertile and light soil with neutral acidity. The flower can grow on poor soils, but growth will not be as active.
Feed should be in the flowering period 2-3 times with mineral fertilizers.
Watering and moisture
Being a native of the desert, nolana needs moderate watering. Drought is not terrible for her. If it grows in areas with heavy rains and frequent fogs, it will be able to do without watering for a month.
Breeding
The flower is grown from seeds. They can be purchased at the store or assemble yourself from existing plants. Sow the seed in early spring in containers filled with fertile and breathing soil. Top sprinkled with a thin layer of earth, cover with a film and placed in a warm place lit. In the room where Nolana grows, the temperature should be maintained at + 20-22 ° C. After seven days, the first shoots appear. A slightly grown seedling is diving into a pot or cup.
When frosts recede, it is possible to plant a plant in an open ground. But first, the seedlings must undergo a tempering procedure. Meanwhile, the soil at the site is fertilized with compost or manure. The grown seedlings are planted at a distance of 20-30 cm one from one.
Often, well-known annuals, such as petunia, nasturtium, convolvulus, cornflowers, marigolds, are also planted in gardens.
Relation to temperature
The flower does not tolerate low temperatures, dies immediately. Therefore, it must be planted again the next year after the end of the frost.
Possible difficulties in growing
The only difficulty in growing is the inability to extend the plant's life more than a season.
Pests, diseases and prevention
The flower is rarely attacked by pests and diseases. Can get sick with a strong wetting of the soil. From increased humidity begin to rot roots. You can solve the problem by reducing the frequency of irrigation so that the earth has time to dry.
The only pest that attacks the plant is aphid. The fight against it is carried out with the help of a soap solution with garlic. They are sprayed with a flower.
Important! After 4-5 days, re-treatment is necessary so that the aphid does not return.As you can see, Nolana is a very beautiful and delicate flower. It will be a good decoration for your site. Unfortunately, finding its seeds is quite difficult.
