Puppet is a genus of annual herbs with the finest, weightless shoots and bright, graceful flowers. Plants belong to the clove family. They are common in Italy, but are also found in other countries of Central and Southern Europe. Most often, cockle can be found in open sunny meadows. Botanists call it an agrostemma, but among gardeners such names are more common: field carnation, toric, puppet path. Puppet is often used in landscape design. It is good in group plantings when a carpet of lilac or pink flowers blossoms amid a dark green shoot. Plants are unpretentious in care and develop well in temperate climates.
Botanical characteristics
Cockle is a grassy annual. Its stems grow 30-80 cm in height. The branching rhizome has one central rod root and several lateral processes. They are covered with whitish-gray skin with a short pile. The upright stalk grows singly or branches in the upper part. Along the entire length of the bare shoot, narrow-lanceolate dark green leaves 4-15 cm long are located. Leaves without petioles are attached to the stem again, and long silver villi are visible on their surface.
Throughout the summer, the tops of the shoots are crowned with large simple flowers with five petals. The diameter of the corolla is about 5 cm. Flowering is almost not accompanied by a smell. Petals can be dark pink, purple or purple. Their color is more saturated at the edges, and in the center it becomes lighter. The core consists of long whitish stamens and ovaries.
Seed ripening occurs at the end of summer. The fruit is a dry polyspermous box without stem. It has 5 teeth and contains rounded black seeds with a diameter of 2.5-3.5 mm. They are covered with rough skin. Although cockle is a welcome guest in the garden, agronomists consider the plant a weed. Seeds contain toxic toxins. Once in animal feed, they cause serious digestive disorders and livestock disease.
Types of cockle
Only 2 plant species are registered in the cockle family.
Common cockle. The height of the herbaceous annual is 0.5-1 m. The stem branches from the middle and consists of thin green shoots. Opposite linear leaves are covered with a thick silvery pile. Flowers with a diameter of 5 cm bloom from the axils of the leaves on long pedicels. The bell-shaped calyx is dissected into 5 parts. At the base, the petals are fused. They are painted in light lilac, red or white. Closer to the center are narrow dark stripes along the veins. Flowering occurs in June-July. The buds open at dawn, and close by noon.
The doll is graceful. Plants are distinguished by single or weakly branched shoots with small lanceolate leaves. Large lilac-pink flowers with a diameter of 5-7 cm bloom at the ends of the stems. The base of the petals turns white and dark purple veins are visible. Thin petals sway in the wind, like the wings of butterflies. Flowering occurs in June-September.
To diversify the offer for gardeners, the assortment of flower shops has decorative varieties of cockle:
- Sakuragai - medium-sized white flowers;
- Milas - large buds of fuchsia color;
- Milas Seris - flowers of a dark purple hue.
Growing
Agrostemma, like any annual, is propagated by seeds. Seeds retain the ability to germinate up to 8 years. Landing is done immediately in the open ground in the winter or early spring. Seeds are distributed into the wells to a depth of 2-3 cm, the sprout can break out from a depth of 7 cm. It is advisable to plant in groups of 3-4 seeds. When the soil warms up to + 12 ... + 16 ° C, the first shoots appear. They can develop 1-2 weeks after sowing. As the cockle grows, thin out so that the distance between the plants is 15-30 cm. Seedlings 8-12 cm high can be transplanted to another place with a lump of earth.
Care Features
Puppet is quite unpretentious and will not require much effort from gardeners. It grows equally well on clay and sandy soils. Preferred soils with a neutral or alkaline reaction. Before planting, it is recommended to dig the earth, and to add sand to heavy soil. The cockle responds well to the introduction of lime into the soil.
The plant prefers open sunny meadows. In the bright sun they will develop faster, the stems will not stretch too much, and flowering will be plentiful. With a lack of lighting, shoots grow higher and are barely exposed.
Agrostemma prefers high temperatures and normally tolerates summer heat. The grass begins to wither with the first frosts. At positive winter temperatures, the plant can survive for the second year. However, its decorativeness in this case is greatly reduced, so the cockle is grown as an annual.
Watering for the cockle needs moderate so that the water does not stagnate in the soil. Plants suffer a slight drought, but on wetlands they suffer from root rot and may die. Humidity should not be high. Near water bodies, the agrostem develops worse than in arid areas.
In fertile soils, top dressing is not needed. On depleted soils, it is advisable to fertilize the cockle with an organic solution 1-2 times during the summer.
Because of its toxicity, the cockle is practically not affected by pests, so you do not have to worry about the safety of the plant.
Healing properties
Cockle seeds contain a large amount of glycoside agrostemmin. Its presence in the body causes disruption of the digestive tract, destroys red blood cells, inhibits cardiac activity and causes seizures. For this reason, puppet treatment is carried out extremely carefully, after consultation with a doctor.
With proper use of the drug, ordinary agrostemma has anthelminthic, hypnotic, diaphoretic, wound healing effects. In folk medicine, infusions and decoctions are taken for pain in the stomach, colds and uterine bleeding. Herbal compresses and poultices help cure hemorrhoids and skin inflammations.
Doll in landscape design
Cockle flowers, although simple, but very elegant. In group landings, they look great in mixborders. The best neighbors for the agrostemma are fescue, marigolds, kaleria, forget-me-nots and ornamental cereals. When composing a composition in the flower garden, it is worth combining the cockle with low-growing resistant plants that will serve the thin stems as a natural support. If not provided, use a small rack.
You can make bouquets with a doll. It looks great in cut and stays fresh for up to 2 weeks. Soft and bright snow-white petals perfectly complement the floral arrangement.
