Stalk (cerastium) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the clove family. It was first discovered on the Balkan Peninsula, but the flower successfully grows in Eurasia, Africa and Australia. He is cultivated in Russia. The genus has more than one hundred species. A distinctive feature are silver stems and foliage, as well as snow-white flowers. Thickets of stalks resemble a snow carpet. Even when the flowering is over, the unusual cover attracts a lot of attention and persists until the frost. A stalk gives zest to the landscape. It’s not difficult to take care of her, just study a few simple rules.
Plant description
The genus Staplefly includes annual and perennial herbaceous plants. The flower is nourished by a fibrous, superficial rhizome. It is considered very powerful due to horizontal branches, which allow the stalk to spread over long distances. Creeping, erect or rising stalk branches from the base. The shoot is painted in a silver-green hue and is covered with short pubescence.
Opposite leaves sit tightly on the stem or have short petioles. An oval, ovoid or lanceolate leaf plate is pointed at the end and has solid edges. Foliage can be painted in dark green or silver. There are species with bare or densely pubescent leaves. For the softness of the foliage, the stalk is sometimes called "mouse ears".
From the first decade of May, abundant and prolonged flowering begins. Flowers may reappear in July. The buds are located at the ends of the shoots. Their diameter is 1-2 cm. The corolla consists of five petals and a core in the form of a thin and short column. At the end of the core, a branching in the form of a five-pointed star is visible. White petals are covered with several longitudinal strips of green or brown. From the edge of the petals almost to the middle there are cuts.
As a result of pollination, the fruit ripens - a seed box of cylindrical shape. It contains horned seeds with a brown surface. It is noteworthy that from Latin “cerastium” is translated as “horned flower”.
Types of stubble
The genus Japolis is very numerous, but domestic gardeners especially fell in love with only a few decorative varieties.
Field stalk (cerastium vulgaris). A shrub plant up to 40 cm high has dark green shoots and leaves. They are covered with short, hard pubescence. Rounded or ovoid leaflets have tiny petioles. Small snow-white flowers with a yellow core open in May and last up to 4 months.
The warbler is felt. A herbaceous plant 20-30 cm high is densely covered with felt silver pile. Along the entire length of the shoots there are small lanceolate leaves. Flowering begins in May and lasts up to 35 days. The diameter of snow-white flowers is less than 1 cm. The variety grows slowly and almost does not expand its possessions.
Bieberstein's hawk. The groundcover forms a dense, pillow-like curtain up to 20 cm high. Bright green oblong-linear leaves and stems are covered with a short but dense silvery pile. At the ends of the stems, small-flowered umbrella inflorescences bloom. The diameter of the corolla is about 1.5 cm. It blooms in May and June. It is actively growing and requires strict restrictions.
Alpine stalk. The plant forms erect, branched bushes up to 15 cm high. Silver-green egg-shaped leaves are located along the entire length of the shoots. Flowers with a diameter of up to 2 cm bloom in early May. Petals are strongly dissected into two parts.
Breeding methods
The most common and easiest way to propagate stalks is to sow seeds. In open ground, seeds are sown in October or mid-April. In March, you can sow a plant for seedlings. To do this, use containers with light, fertile soil. Small seeds are distributed on the surface and moisten the soil. The container should be placed in a well-lit place and maintained at a temperature of + 20 ... + 22 ° C. Shoots appear on the tenth day. It is important to water the plants with great care so that they do not rot. When the seedlings grow to 5 cm in height, they are dived into separate pots of 2-3 plants. In open ground, seedlings are planted at the very end of May or at the beginning of June.
Perennial species of stalks can be propagated by vegetative methods:
- Division of the bush. In the spring, when the plants are just beginning to wake up, part of the curtain is separated and, together with a lump of land, is transplanted to a new place.
- Rooting cuttings. The procedure is carried out in the spring, before flowering begins, or in August, after its completion. Cut stems are rooted in the open ground. The day before the cut, the stalk is abundantly watered so that the shoots are saturated with moisture. Before root formation, seedlings are kept under the hood.
Landing rules
In order for the stalk to grow into a beautiful curtain, it is necessary to take care of the choice of place and the quality of the soil. The soil should be light and crumbly. It should be pre-dug to a depth of 15-20 cm and break up large clods. In loamy, stony or sandy loam soil, you need to make compost, rotted manure and a little peat. Too heavy soil is mixed with a large portion of river sand. Bushes are planted in separate small pits with a distance of 25-30 cm. In the first days after planting, plants should be watered more often.
Thanks to the dense pile, the stalk does not suffer from direct sunlight. She loves well-lit places and can be sick in partial shade or in highly shaded areas. Due to the dense and low overgrowth, drafts and strong gusts of wind are not afraid of her.
Plant care
Caring for a stalk is easy enough. It should be watered very moderately. Only in extreme heat can a small amount of water be added under the root. The plant is resistant to drought and is usually content with natural rainfall.
It is periodically recommended to loosen the soil near the plant. This helps the air to penetrate the roots and eliminates weeds. So that the soil after irrigation is not covered with a crust, it should be mulched in the spring.
In fertile land, the stalk does not need fertilizer. Weakened plants can be fed once during the flowering period. For this, mineral compositions for flowering plants are used.
Gradually, the stalks of the groundcover extend and look not so pretty. To avoid this, in spring, the stalk is cut to half the length of the shoots.
The stalk is resistant even to severe frosts. It winters without shelter in central Russia and more northern regions. If you use a film, the bushes can mate and die. In anticipation of a harsh and snowless winter, plantings are covered with spruce branches. In spring, the roots sometimes rot due to excess moisture after snow melts.
The stalk is resistant to disease and is not affected by pests. Only with frequent stagnation of water in the soil can root rot develop.
Using
The plant is an excellent groundcover. They are often decorated with slopes, lawns and open areas of the garden. Low-growing silver varieties are suitable for the design of alpine slides, rockeries or mixborders. If the size of the plot allows, it is worth giving the spruce a large area. It forms a simply amazing cover, which in large-scale landings acquires a special charm. In the hot summer, the thickets are surprisingly similar to fluffy snow caps.
The stingray goes well with tulips, daffodils, calendula, daisies, stonecrops and bells. When drawing up a flower arrangement, it is important to consider that the stalk grows rapidly. It can behave aggressively towards other plants.
It is customary to plant a flower not only in open ground. On the terrace or balcony, flowerpots with hanging silver shoots look spectacular. Miniature fragrant flowers should be placed closer to the resting place.
The benefits of hawthorn
All parts of the stalk are rich in saponins, coumarins, phenolcarboxylic acids, and flavonoids. Harvesting of raw materials is carried out during the flowering period. Decoctions are used as a sedative, as well as to restore immunity, fight against vitamin deficiency, conjunctivitis and hemorrhoids. In folk medicine, stalk grass is also used to prevent cancer.
