Muscari from the genus of bulbous plants is also known as mouse hyacinth. Miniature and elegant flowers are primroses and are often used to decorate the garden.
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Description of species and varieties
In early spring, basal leaf plates up to 17 cm long develop from ovoid bulbs. The height of the bare shoots is 30 cm. Cylindrical flowers, which are collected in inflorescences in the form of a brush, have barrel-shaped or tubular bracts. Color can vary from white to dark blue.
The genus in the wild has about 60 varieties, among which the following are especially popular among gardeners:
• Armenian Muscari - a winter-hardy variety, characterized by long flowering over a three-week time period, with lighter upper inflorescences darkening to the bottom. Popular varieties: terry Blue Spike with multi-flowered inflorescences, purple Christmas Pearl.
• Muscari is cluster-shaped - in a culture, a species with flowers smaller in comparison with the previous variety has been cultivated since the 16th century. White Album and a pink Carneum form stand out among the original varieties.
• Muscari broadleaf - a species with dense inflorescences and large leafy plates resembling tulip leaves.
• Muscari is pale - in nature, a variety with pale blue inflorescences is found on mountain slopes.
• Tufted Muscari - a distinctive feature of the species are purple inflorescences in the form of crests. The plumezum variety is very popular among gardeners.
• Muskari Osh - highlighted by connoisseurs of flowers separately. The species has blue flowers with prongs.
• Muscari is pretty - the flowering of the species in the wild is already observed at the end of winter, when you can see bright blue flowers with white limbs of the petals.
Muscari landing in the open ground
Muscari spring flowers are unpretentious.
But in order for the culture to please the grower with bright colors every spring, one should be guided by simple recommendations for planting.
Choosing a place and soil
Since the plants bloom in the absence of greenery on the branches of trees and shrubs, in any case, a sufficient amount of sunlight will fall on the selected site. To the soil composition of the plant are not demanding and develop well both on rocky soil and fertile loam. One of the most important parameters is the level of groundwater occurrence, which should be deep enough to prevent moisture stagnation and the onset of rot development.
How and when to plant
Planting of planting material in open ground can be carried out throughout the growing season. But the most optimal time is in the autumn period. When landing, you must perform the following steps:
1. Bulbs are treated with fungicide or aged in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes.
2. In the selected area, holes with a depth of 3-7 cm are dug, depending on the diameter of the bulbs.
3. A distance of 5-10 cm is maintained between the recesses.
4. To prevent moisture stagnation, coarse sand is poured onto the bottom of the planting pits.
5. The bulbs are buried, and the soil is slightly compacted and moistened.
How to care for flowers in the open ground
If you look after the flowers correctly, then within one or two years the plants will grow on a fairly vast territory and will give their owners aesthetic pleasure in early spring.
Watering and sprinkling
Mouse hyacinth needs abundant watering during the flowering period, preferring constantly moistened soil.
After completion of the flowering phase, the plants have a stagnation stage, in which there is no need to water the bulbs. They tolerate even extreme heat and a prolonged absence of natural rainfall. The flower does not need to artificially increase the humidity level by sprinkling, using the moisture reserves after the snow cover has melted.
Fertilizing and fertilizers
Muscari flower should be fed during planting and transplantation by adding organics for digging the soil. Mineral fertilizers are not recommended, since a flowering plant does not tolerate them. It is also recommended to fertilize mouse hyacinth in the fall before wintering to strengthen winter hardiness.
Pruning
Trimming flowers should be done twice a season. The first pruning is carried out after flowering, when the dried flower stalks are removed. The second time, hyacinth is trimmed 2 weeks before the onset of cold weather with garden scissors - the entire aboveground part of the plants is cut off.
Transfer
After 5 years of growth in one area of the planting, they begin to lose their decorative and healthy appearance, as the shoots are deformed and the flowers become smaller. In order to prevent such a situation, it is recommended that the bulbs be transplanted to a new territory. It is better to transplant muscari in September-October, when the bulbs are at rest. If there is a need to move hyacinth bulbs in the spring, then this should be done before the intensive development of the underground part begins.
Protection against diseases and pests
Of the diseases, a viral mosaic that is not treated is considered especially dangerous.When plant growth stops and narrowed leaves appear with a pattern of green hexagons, the affected bulbs should be immediately destroyed. Also, with stagnation of moisture, the development of gray rot can be observed, from which the fungicide will protect. Among pests, most of which wake up later than a spring flower, aphids, which transmit a viral disease, sometimes a spider mite, and mouse-like rodents, eating bulbs even in winter, stand out. Insecticide is used as protective measures against aphids and ticks, and rodenticides against mice.
Muscari plant propagation
Muscari reproduce with the help of seeds and vegetative intake - children.
Seed way
With a similar method of reproduction, which the grower wants to carry out independently, preventing uncontrolled self-seeding:
1. After flowering, most of the peduncles are cut, with the exception of those that the grower is about to leave to receive seeds.
2. In October, seeds are harvested and sown in open ground.
3. In the spring, crop shoots appear on the site, which are evidence of the onset of bulb formation.
Flowering of plants grown from seeds is noted after 2-3 years.
Kids
When transplanting, the most simple and popular method of propagating hyacinth is used, during which:
1. Bulbs are removed from the ground and cleaned.
2. Children are separated from the maternal specimen, which can form up to 30 pieces per season.
3. The resulting planting material is inspected and treated with a disinfectant in the form of a fungicide or a solution of manganese.
4. Bulbs are planted in pre-prepared wells.
How mouse hyacinth hibernates
Muscari cold-resistant tolerates harsh winters in the soil without additional shelter. If a snowy and very cold winter is expected, then you can cover the plantings with fallen garden foliage.
Digging and storing Muscari bulbs (Muscari)
If for some reason the grower needed to remove the bulbs from the soil, then a number of rules should be observed for digging out and further storing planting material:
1. You can start digging bulbs only after the drying of leaf plates.
2. Bulbs extracted from the soil are dried and, after inspection, are placed in moist peat or sand.
3. Further inspection of the bulbs is carried out weekly when the rotten and soft specimens are removed.
4. During storage, the humidity mode is maintained within 70%.
The use of mouse hyacinth in landscape design
Primrose is widely used by landscape designers:
• Muscari landed along the tracks to frame them;
• with the help of bright flowers, rock gardens or rockeries are decorated;
• also arrays of flowers contrast beautifully against the background of lawns or under trees, shrubs;
• original compositions are created from flowers along with evergreen shrubs.
Thus, the beautiful flowering spring flower of Muscari is an unpretentious culture that can decorate any spring garden with a bright palette of colors.
