Alyssum fragrant rug

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Alyssum is remembered not so much by the brightness of flowering as by its thick honey aroma, palpable even from a distance. Alyssum is a photophilous cold-resistant unpretentious plant, it is put up with both poverty of the soil and penumbra, stoically tolerates the absence of watering. However, alissum blooms more abundantly and for longer on light, fertile, moderately moist soils with a neutral reaction.

Alissum, or Bulyochok (Alyssum) - a genus of plants of the Cabbage family, which includes more than 200 species common in Europe, Asia and North Africa.

Growing alissum from seeds

Alyssum can be sown directly into the ground in early spring, covering the crops from above with a film. After a week, shoots appear. And if there is a place on a light windowsill and you want to see flowering early, you can sow the seeds in a bowl in early April.

1.5 months after germination, the alissum will bloom and bloom until the colds. In the middle of summer, when the sun is on, the flowering fades and resumes with renewed vigor when cooler weather sets in. At this time, alissum is most fragrant, attracts many butterflies and bees.

Alyssum "Snow Carpet"

The variety of annual alissum "Snow Carpet" during flowering looks like a white cloud of small flowers in numerous dense brushes, small narrow leaves are completely hidden under them. Plants of this variety have dense, branched bushes from lying sturdy shoots 20-30 cm long.

Alissum variety “Snow Carpet” grows among my lilies. In autumn, removing old bushes, brushing off seeds from them, shoots appear in spring. While lilies bloom, I forget about the existence of an alissum, and in August I notice the “undergrowth” - a blossoming white carpet. Lilies are grateful to this groundcover for protecting the soil from overheating, the flower garden remains attractive for a long time.

In a friend’s garden, I saw a charming corner: a blossoming rose bush in a clearing of white-fronted alissum. And imagine how pink petunia or diasia surrounded by a white “cloud” will look graceful. Lovers of blue can offer compositions from alissum and the Carpathian bell or lobelia. It can be several islands in the mixborder or a border along the track.

Alyssum "Aphrodite"

Another cultivar of alissum - the summer, which I really love, is Aphrodite. He has compact bushes with a diameter of up to 10 cm, and the flowers are mostly purple. Plants with pink or red inflorescences I delete. This cultivar of alissum I grow in seedlings, sowing seeds at the end of March. Shoots appear on the 4th-5th day. A pick is desirable, but I do without it. I plant alissum on a permanent place in mid-May, framing flower beds. Successful combination of this variety with sanvitalia, pink pillow-shaped saxifrage, gray stonecrops.

Aphrodite blooms in early June, but the bushes are still too tiny and require constant attention. They need fertile soil, moderate constant moisture. They feel more comfortable with light shading. Alyssum Aphrodite will appear in full glory in August and September, when the summer heat subsides. The plant loves top dressing with universal fertilizers (20 g of fertilizer per 10 liters of water). At the time of full flowering, the appetite increases, and it receives 40 g of complex fertilizer per 10 liters of water.

Alyssum "The Golden Wave"

The long-term alissum rocky “Golden Wave” settled in my rockery next to the creeping juniper and lilac-blue phlox spread. This alissum variety has wide pillow-shaped bushes up to 20 cm high, leaves are silver-gray from pubescence, a yellow cloud of inflorescences appears in late spring - early summer. The plant is drought tolerant, blooms in the second year after sowing. In my opinion, it is better to grow it in a two-year culture.

Alyssums - lovely creatures with a honey scent - are requested in your gardens. Do not forget to invite them to your home in the spring.