Kolosnyak is a perennial cereal that adorns the front garden with beautiful, cirrus bushes. Not everyone can immediately understand the beauty of this plant, but without it, a complex flower arrangement may be incomplete.
Botanical Description
Kolosnyak has taken root in the prairies and in the arid territories of North America and Eurasia. Some of its species live in the desert of Argentina. Feels good from the subtropics to the tundra. Among other gardeners, many of its other names are common: Elimus, grassroot, ecstasy, hydrangea. The genus belongs to the cereal family.
The underground part of the plant is very developed, it consists of powerful roots that grow horizontally. On underground shoots, growth buds develop. The stem of the grate is dense, erect. In different varieties, the height of the vegetation is from 20 cm to 1.5 m.
Thin, hard leaves are arranged in dense bunches closer to the ground. The foliage is elongated, in the form of ribbons, with a pointed edge, 2-15 mm wide. The lower surface is smooth, the upper can be rough or covered with hairs. The color of the ground part is dark green or bluish with a silver tint. In autumn, the stems and leaves turn yellow or brown.
In June-July, inflorescences appear in the form of dense ears. The height of the inflorescences is 7-30 cm. They consist of many short, perpendicular spikelets.
Popular varieties
Rough Wheatgrain distributed in the North American prairies. The perennial height is 30-120 cm. It grows in dense bunches, gradually capturing large areas. Propagation occurs self-seeding, since the variety does not have creeping roots. The leaves are dark green, 2-6 mm thick. In the middle of summer, large ears of 8-20 cm long appear.
Gritty is sandy. This herbaceous perennial 60-120 cm high is found in the cold regions of the temperate zone of Eurasia. The territory is covered by compact green beams connected underground by a common root system. The foliage is thick, gray or dark green with a blue tint. The width of the leaves is 0.8-2 cm, and the length is 50-60 cm. The inflorescences are large, lush, their length is 15-30 cm, and the width is about 2.5 cm. Blossoms all summer. The view is frost-resistant, can withstand temperatures down to -23 ° C.
Soft ears found in Japan, China and North America, prefers coastal sandstones. It forms green, very dense bundles 50-100 cm high. They are located at some distance from each other, although they are connected by creeping roots. In one turf there are several shortened shoots, densely covered with leaves. The leaves are hard, rough, 15 mm wide. During flowering, thick ears of up to 25 cm long are formed. It blooms from June to July. Resists frosts down to -34 ° C.
Gigantic or canadian grate distributed in North America and Eurasia. The plant reaches a height of 50-120 cm. In the lower part, thick bushes form from shortened stems densely covered with foliage at the base. Wide leaves (1.5-2 cm) in length are about 30-50 cm. The roots are creeping, strong. During flowering, produces long, thick stems. Absolutely bare and very stable shoots rise above the foliage. They are crowned with magnificent ears. The length of the inflorescence is 15-35 cm, with a width of about 2 cm. It blooms from June to August, is resistant to frost up to -25 ° C.
Branchy gnaw prefers the steppes and salt licks of Eurasia, found from Siberia to the Ciscaucasia. It forms compact bushes with a height of 35-80 cm. The bare, rough stems at the base are highly branched. Leaf rosettes form closer to the ground and consist of bluish or bluish narrow leaves. Not very long foliage, 3-5 mm wide, covered with sparse hairs on top. An inflorescence in the form of a magnificent spike 6-8 cm long is formed in June and blooms for a month. From August, the seed ripening period begins.
Coryza lives in semi-deserts, sandy steppes and on roadside mounds in the southern and central parts of Eurasia. A plant 40-130 cm tall is a dense turf of shortened shoots, densely covered with foliage. The leaves are soft, longer than the stems, freely flutter in the wind and bend to the ground. The width of the leaves is 0.4-1.5 cm. The peduncle is very thick, strong, densely covered with villi. The length of the dense ear is 10-35 cm, and the width is 1.5-3.5 cm. The plant blooms in May, and from the end of June begins to bear fruit.
Breeding methods
Gingerbread is propagated by vegetative or seed methods. The division of the bush is made in the spring or in the first half of summer. Young shoots with their own roots are dug up and transplanted in a new place. The plant is very well rooted and does not require special care. Near the rooted stem, lateral branches quickly form. Seedlings begin to bloom the same or next year. Turfs grow rapidly.
When propagating seed, seedlings are not grown. Seeds are sown immediately in the open ground in early spring. The first seedlings appear in mid-April, but in the year of sowing the plants look very rare and small. The form of a lush mop with large ears and high inflorescences of the ears becomes acquired only after 2-3 years.
Features of plant care
Elimus grows very well in the open sun, on light soils. Suitable for cultivation on sandy, sandy, sandy, pebble or rocky soils. Prefers neutral or alkaline substrates with the addition of lime. It is resistant even to severe drought, therefore it rarely needs watering and is content with natural rainfall. It does not tolerate flooding and stagnation of water, especially during snowmelt. Fertility is not demanding. It dispenses with fertilizers or is content with rare organic top dressing.
Kolosyak grows very quickly in favorable conditions, so many perceive it as a weed. In a small garden or flower garden, a question of vegetation restriction may arise. It is convenient to plant a plant in a large tub with dense walls that the rhizome cannot penetrate.
The container is buried in the ground, leaving some of the sides above the surface. This will protect against random distribution of vegetation. For the same purpose, it is recommended to cut the spikelets before they fully ripen in order to prevent self-seeding. The plant retains an attractive appearance for a long time and does not need periodic rejuvenation and transplants. It does not suffer from pests and diseases.
The grate is resistant to severe frosts and does not need shelter. In areas where a large amount of snow falls, you can use a film to protect against excess moisture during snowmelt.
Garden application
Compact bushes of the grate in the form of bluish fountains will decorate any flower bed. It is preferable to use in rockeries or on stony masonry. Looks good in mixborders, keeps its shape, does not creep. Can be used on high sandy beaches or hills. Roots effectively fix sand embankments.
Brightly flowering summers look good in decorative plantings with an ear of corn.
Vegetation is used as a feed crop.
Large ears are highly decorative and are used in dry flower arrangements. They are harvested in the middle of summer, before seed ripening begins. Cut inflorescences are collected in small bunches of up to 15 pieces and suspended down with a spikelet in a shaded, well-ventilated place.
