Description of 24 varieties and types of statice (kermek), planting and care in open ground

Statica is widely cultivated by experienced and novice gardeners from the countries of the former USSR. The plant is famous for its ease of care and is practically not attacked by pests and diseases. It is often grown by summer residents, since the flower does not require regular watering, loosening and feeding. There are many varieties, but only 24 species are cultivated in the CIS countries. For successful breeding, you should familiarize yourself with all the intricacies of planting and caring for statice.

Description and characteristics

Statice is a perennial or annual grass. It has large, basal foliage that forms a large rosette. Erect stems are from 30 to 90 cm high, they have no leaves. The flower is a representative of the Lactaceae group; there are about 350 species. Thickets grow up to 0.5 meters high in almost any place. They have been cultivated since 1600. Semi bushes are grown at home, in the garden or in a greenhouse.

Flower cups are five-membered, of various shades:

• white;
• yellow;
• blue;
• bluish;
• pinkish;
• apricot;
• lilac;
• violet.

The flowers are collected in spikelets forming corymbs or panicles. Pollen starts in July and ends with the first cold snap; the seeds do not lose their viability for 4-5 years. Dried flowers do not require careful care; they grow like weeds.

The culture is extremely resistant to diseases and harmful beetles, lack of moisture, and unfavorable weather. It just does not tolerate stagnation of water in the rhizome, shade, or severe frosts below 20 degrees.

In the middle and northern zones, the flower is grown as an annual. Statice propagates by self-sowing and blooms profusely.

Methods of growing flowers

Statice can be grown at home or in open ground.Generous, high-quality seedlings are obtained only by seed. Vegetative propagation is not recommended, since the rhizome is sensitive and may not survive transplantation into open soil.

From seeds

Growing statice from seeds involves aerating them daily. After the seedlings form, regular watering and careful loosening of the soil around are required.

Collection from planting material

The seeds are small, oblong, and can be collected in July. During this period, statice forms fruits, and parietal seeds are located in them. They are placed in airtight containers and kept dry until spring.

Sowing dates for statice flowers

When growing seedlings in a greenhouse, seeds are sown in late March and until mid-April. The earth should warm up 0.5 meters deep. If we are talking about planting a plant in a room, start sowing at the end of February.

Scheme of planting flowers for seedlings

Seeds should be planted in separate containers so as not to damage the delicate rhizome later. You can use peat pots. For planting, a special mixture is used, which is pre-prepared:

• add a bucket of sand to the ground;
• sift the soil substrate so that it is cleared of small debris;
• heated in an oven for 2 hours at a temperature of 100 degrees;
• water the soil with manganese solution, this will protect future plants from harmful beetles and diseases;
• The ground is slightly moistened with warm water.

The prepared seeds are placed in soil, laid out in advance in separate containers, sprinkled with a little soil. Afterwards, cover the containers with glass or polyethylene and leave for 10 days in a cool room. In order for seedlings to form faster, you should raise the caps daily, releasing oxygen and checking the soil moisture.

Temperature

The room where the seeds are located before germination should be at an air temperature of up to +20. Usually this is a balcony, loggia, basement, greenhouse. The optimal humidity is 50-60%.

Static dive

When propagating seedlings in a box, container or small-sized cassettes, after the seedlings develop 2 leaves, picking is carried out. From mid-April, they are hardened by taking them out into the fresh air for 1 hour. When the statice spends the whole day outside, it can be planted in the garden.

Deadlines

The crop should be planted in the garden in early June or late May, when there is no threat of frost. Choose an open place, it can be blown by the wind, the culture is not afraid of it. The optimal soil is drained, loamy or sandy, with a neutral acidity level.

Preparing flower seeds

You should soak statice seeds in warm water or a growth stimulator solution according to the instructions. Keep in container for 2-3 hours.

Procedure for planting statice seedlings

Statice is planted according to the steps below.

1. Dig holes with the depth of a planting scoop, maintaining a distance of 30 cm between bushes.
2. They take it and the earthen lump out of the container, trying not to damage it. Dip it in a solution that stimulates the formation of rhizomes for half an hour.
3. Gravel is poured onto the bottom, a long-acting nutrient is added, and sprinkled with sand.
4. The earth remaining from digging is mixed in a separate container with sand and dolomite flour.
5. Seedlings with soaked rhizomes are placed in a hole and covered with soil mixture.

After planting the flowers, they are watered with settled water. For 1 bush there is approximately half a bucket.

Thinning flowers

The flower row spacing should be thinned 2-3 times a month, depending on precipitation.The procedure helps saturate the plants with oxygen and remove weeds. You can use a hoe to plow the soil 3-5 cm deep.

Features of caring for limonium

Caring for statice is simple; all you need to do is water it on time, feed it, and prepare it for wintering. Additionally, after pollen, pruning and removal of faded inflorescences are carried out.

How to water statice

In summer, irrigate statice once every 1.5 months. Pour settled water under the rhizome after 16.00. One of the waterings should be salted liquid, take 6 tbsp. salt for 1 bucket.

Top dressing

It is not necessary to feed statice, but if it grows in poor soil, it is better to periodically add nutrient mixtures. The first procedure is carried out with a solution of a mineral substance, 1 week after planting the seedlings in the garden. Then, the crop is fertilized once every 4 weeks. From September the events stop.

Preparing for winter

In regions with an average climate, statice is grown as an annual plant, eliminating the issue of wintering. If we are talking about the south, it is covered before the onset of cold weather in this way:

• cut off leaves and stems;
• cover the bushes with straw or dry leaves;
• put burlap on top and press it to the ground with spruce branches.

The shelter is removed in February, along with the non-woven fabric.

Types of statics

Many varieties of limonium are cultivated, each of them differs in bud colors and sizes. The principles of planting and care are the same.

Ordinary

Statica vulgare blooms all summer with miniature purple buds. The height is about 60 cm. The leaf blades are ovoid.

Flat-leaved or broad-leaved

The variety grows up to 75 cm high, with large basal leaves.The baskets are paniculate, spreading, blue-purple in color.

Gmelin

A winter-hardy variety of statice grows up to 50 cm in height. The flowers are blue-violet, paniculate. The leaves are basal, large in size.

Tatar

The perennial reaches a height of 0.3-0.4 meters and resembles a ball in shape. It is popularly called “tumbleweed.” The rhizome is powerful, rod-shaped. At the base, leathery, oblong leaves are collected, forming a rosette. Peduncles with spikelet inflorescences branch from it. The flowers are small in size and shaped like a bell or funnel. They are white in color with a reddish corolla. Pollen occurs in June-July.

Caspian

The heat-loving plant reaches 70 cm in height. The buds are small, pale purple in color. The variety is not grown in the garden in the CIS countries, but only as an indoor or greenhouse flower.

Sinuate

The variety is an annual, its stems reach 60 cm high. The leaves are basal, elongated, light green in color. Small buds with a diameter of 1 cm have calyxes with a spikelet-shaped edge. The color is pinkish, white, blue-violet with a light yellow corolla.

Perez

The height of the bushes is about 60 cm. They are densely decorated with purple inflorescences and small petals like lilacs.

Flicker

The variety grows up to 80 cm high, flowers of various colors. The calyxes have corrugated edges and are pinkish, purple, white or yellow in color. The variety is widely used due to its zest in landscape design.

German

The plant is distinguished by dense, whitish pollen. The bushes look like a snow-white cloud. There is a burgundy star in the middle of the inflorescences. The scutes resemble spikes in shape. The species is grown preferably by seedling method from March to May.The perennial grows 40 cm tall. Pollen begins in mid-June and continues until the end of July.

Supreme pink

The stems are straight, powerful, crowned with ash rose-colored flowers. The bush grows up to 75 cm in height, the buds are funnel-shaped, 1 cm in diameter.

Crimean mixture

The height of the flower is 30-80 cm, the stems are erect. The bushes are pinkish, blue, yellow or purple.

Blue

The height of the bushes is approximately 75 cm. The flowers are dark blue, the buds are snow-white.

Suvorov

The variety is medium tall, growing up to 60 cm tall. Flower color is pinkish and lavender. The petals form elongated, ear-like baskets.

Violet

This is a subspecies of broadleaf limonium; the bush grows up to 75 cm tall. The flowers are deep purple in color and densely cover the stems.

Blue cloud

The representative of the broad-leaved statice is distinguished by lavender flowers. The bush grows up to 75 cm tall, the leaves and stems are light green.

Bondwelli

Delicate stems with loose buds consist of large flowers of yellowish or white color. The variety has been cultivated since 1859. The seeds contain flower mixtures. The bushes grow up to 90 cm tall.

Confetti

The bushes reach 50 cm in height, the stems are erect, emerald in color. Pleiochasium is white-cream, like scutes.

Elegant

The limonium variety grows up to 70 cm in height. The inflorescences are creamy white, similar in shape to a spikelet.

Mixed Hybrids

The bushes grow up to 45 high, the stems are spreading and emerald green. The flowers are purple, white, bluish or pinkish.

Fortress

The height of the bushes is about 80 cm. Pleiochasia are purple, yellow, white, blue or pinkish.

Compindi

The variety is distinguished by bluish, blue, pinkish inflorescences. The bushes reach a height of 0.5 meters.

Petite Bouquet

The bushes are small in size, growing up to 30 cm. They are covered with flowers of pastel colors: whitish, bluish, lavender, soft pinkish or cream.

Mascot

The variety is the fruit of domestic selection, bred by the agronomic company Poisk. This is an annual plant, reaching a height of 60 cm, with two-color petals. The crop blooms from July until the first frost.

Kermek of Sarepta

Sarepta statice is famous for its yellow-blue flowers that tightly cover the bush. The plant reaches 50 cm in height, the stems are emerald green.

Diseases and harmful bugs

The flower sometimes suffers from botrytis - rot, when gardeners sin with frequent watering, or there is a rainy summer. Destroy the pest using a fungicidal solution. Statica is also susceptible to mold and oidium disease. It is recommended to resort to spraying with sulfur-containing compounds. With proper care, there should be no pest attacks or disease development.

Cutting and drying flowers

When the plant begins to yellow or wilt, the leaves, stems and flowers should be trimmed at ground level and then dried. You can make dried flower arrangements from them.

To properly dry them, you should keep the specimens upside down, hanging, in a ventilated, dark place until completely dry. Dried flowers retain the richness of the color of the cups for more than 1 year.

Garden decor using statice: practical recommendations

Statice will serve as a wonderful decor for the garden. It is planted in company with other flowers or several varieties separately. The plant is great for decorating borders, rock gardens, and can be planted in front of rose bushes, next to the aster family.