When a beautiful but hot summer comes, you would like your garden to be teeming with life like a natural meadow.For a variety of plants to bloom in it, butterflies shimmering in the sun, and insects buzzed in different tones (just not biting).
Unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve such a natural state by going to the element. We need to devote some time to the selection of plants.First, find out what is the native habitat of the plants you are interested in, in what climate they live.The appearance alone allows you to recognize their natural conditions of growth and flowering.
And so plants from sunny and dry locations usually have a compact habit, strong stems, small, reduced or scaly leaves, or evergreen, leathery and thickened leaves. These species can manage water and protect themselves from the sun. Transpiration is limited in them by a dense and thick rind, a wax coating, as well as a layer of resin or calcium.In addition, they usually have a skin covered with thick gray-green, silvery or white hairs.Their root system is usually very deep.
The plants that feel particularly well in the sun include Salvia mossy sage, Nepeta faassenii catnip, Lavandula lavender and Perovskia perovskia - all belonging to the Lamiaceae family. The genus Perovskia is represented by seven species, but the most important in horticulture are three: Perovskia Lyme Perovskia atriplicifolia, Perovskia mugwort Perovskia abrotanoides and the hybrid form of Perovskia 'Superba'.
Pearly-leaved perovskia is found in Afghanistan, the Himalayas and central Asia. It is an aromatic, quite compact half-shrub 150 cm high and 100 cm wide with woody stems at the base. On its gray-white stems there are 3-5 cm long gray-green leaves, the lower ones are ovate and deep-edged, and the upper ones are serrated to lobed ones.
The plant forms magnificent, highly branched, paniculate inflorescences, 30-50 cm long, composed of many 2-6 flower whorls.Violet small flowers have a tubular, double-lip calyx, densely covered with white or yellow hairs glands and a violet-blue double-lip crown (shorter than the calyx).Plants bloom profusely from late summer to early autumn, and their honey-bearing flowers attract beneficial bees, bumblebees and butterflies with their scent and secreted nectar.
There are several varieties in cultivation that differ in height, leaf edge, flower color, inflorescence length and flowering length. You can mention here: 'Blue Spire' with purple-blue flowers (darker than the species), 'Lacey Blue' with dark blue flowers, dense and reaching a height of 50-70 cm and 'Little Spire' with lavender flowers, growing up to a height 60 cm and flowering until October. The fruits of the perowski and squamous leaves are small, dark brown, egg-shaped peanuts.
Requirements and care treatments
Plants grow best in a sunny position, sheltered from frosty winds, on any permeable, light soil with low and moderate moisture, slightly alkaline. They are resistant to drought and polluted air.They like soil not too rich in nutrients, thanks to which they retain their characteristic silver and more compact habit.In April, however, it is good to feed them with a small dose of compound fertilizer with a reduced amount of nitrogen or put a layer of compost under them.
It is also recommended to sprinkle and mix with the soil calcium fertilizer (200-300 g per 1 m2). Every year, in early spring, we trim all the shoots low to the ground (10-20 cm).
Reproduction
Perovskia is propagated either with herbaceous cuttings prepared in spring, or with semi-woody cuttings - in summer; the plant can also be propagated by sowing seeds. Perovskia not only is not afraid of frosts (it belongs to the 5th-6th frost resistance zone), but it also recovers well after a harsh winter. However, the varieties need to be covered with a mound of soil for the winter.It is also worth remembering that despite the late start of vegetation, the May frosts may harm them.Plants of this type are not attacked by pests or diseases.
