Muscari in open ground: description, care, cultivation, reproduction, photo, video. Muscari flower will create a bright spring mood in the garden Muscari need to be dug up every year
Mouse hyacinth, viper's hand - such unsightly names were given to this dear messenger of spring. I like the name better muscari(Muscari), which means "muse". About the muse of spring mood and we'll talk in this article.Muscari is a bulbous plant. Its delicate flowers, similar to small blue bells, rise above the thin leaves in very decorative spikes. This firstborn of warm days really looks like a miniature hyacinth. Even the aroma of its flowers is reminiscent of hyacinth, only softer and not as strong.
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| Muscari means "muse" |
Muscari flower is an outdoor plant. It grows and develops better in the garden, on fresh air. But it can be successfully grown on a windowsill. In today's article, I cover caring for muscari at home.
Do you want your apartment to smell like mouse hyacinth? Provide him with the following:
1. Sunlight. This blue-eyed wizard adores him. Of course, direct sunlight can burn the delicate leaves of such a plant in flowerpots. But this applies, rather, to the light that is on the street. In an apartment, such a flower should be kept in the brightest place. True, on a southern window sill it is worth shading it a little during the midday hours.
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| Mouse hyacinth grows well in a group |
3. Air temperature. This green friend does not like high temperatures. You need to find a cool room for it - and in winter it can even be cold (10 degrees Celsius) - room. As a last resort, keep room temperature, maintaining good humidity around the plant.
4. Humidity. High. Increase it in every available way.
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| Muscari in nature |
The soil for the plant should be as rich and fertile as possible. This phyto-resident looks very decorative in a group. And he is, in general, a sociable flower - he easily tolerates the proximity of his brothers and sisters. Therefore, for beauty, several bulbs can and should be planted in one flowerpot.
Under such conditions, this gentle comrade will delight you with flowering for a long time..
But what to do when the mouse hyacinth fades? No need to throw it away. It should be prepared for further forcing in the apartment.
Distilling muscari at home:
1. After flowering, it is necessary to cut off the entire above-ground part and pull the bulbs out of the ground.
2. Dry the bulbs and place them in a cool place with a slightly above-zero temperature (in the refrigerator for side shelf). Cold content - prerequisite germination of bulbs for viper onions. They must remain in this state for at least 4 months.
4. Around January, you need to get the bulbs and plant them in fertile soil. Place the flowerpot in a bright place and water as needed.
5. After germination, care for the plant as described in the article. And wait for the buds to appear.
Important to know. All parts of the plant are poisonous. But this does not prevent us from admiring its wonderful flowering ears and thin graceful leaves.
Muscari is a spring-flowering bulbous plant. It blooms in late April - May, with blue, blue or white flowers, which are located on spike-shaped inflorescences. They, like many others bulbous plants, are perfect for forcing. To make muscari bloom ahead of time (in room conditions), it is necessary to create conditions for them that are close to natural ones. One of the most important stages preparing muscari for forcing is proper cooling of the bulbs. It is at this time that flower buds are laid in them. If you don’t wait for flowers to bloom during this period, only leaves will grow.
How to choose planting material(bulbs for forcing)? Of the many types and varieties of muscari, all are suitable for distillation. But still choose the variety that is right for you. For winter forcing choose early-flowering varieties; for spring forcing, choose late-flowering varieties. Please note that during forcing, the color of the flowers may differ from the photograph in the picture. This largely depends on insufficient lighting or high temperature during forcing. Therefore, we recommend choosing varieties with dark blue or white flowers.
It is better to buy planting material (it has already gone through all the stages of drying and cooling), but you can also use your own. But for this, the bulbs need to be dug up in time, dried properly and stored until planting time.
Purchase planting material in August-September. The bulbs should be large, elastic, without visible damage. A mixture of bulbs is not suitable for forcing, since the flowering period different varieties different. We recommend planting each variety in a separate container, and during flowering you can already collect them into a single composition (muscari tolerate transplantation well with a large lump of earth).
Time to cool the bulbs. One of the most important stages of muscari distillation. In order for the flower buds to ripen in the bulbs, they must go through a cooling period, which is 14-16 weeks. Based on this, you can calculate when to plant the bulbs. For example, if you want to have flowering muscari by March 8th, start cooling as early as October 1st. To these recommended 14-16 weeks of cooling, add two more weeks of forcing itself, and you will know the exact date of flowering of muscari.
The cooling period should be dry and wet. For example, cool Armenian muscari for 12 weeks in a paper bag in the refrigerator at a temperature of +4-+8°C (dry cooling), and 4 weeks already planted in pots with soil (wet cooling).
When and how to plant muscari for forcing? Now start preparing the planting substrate. Can be used for forcing earth mixture, consisting of garden soil and river sand (1:1), or simply one component that is capable of retaining moisture (sand, peat, sawdust, hydrogel). Content in the substrate nutrients does not play a special role during forcing. But still, so that the bulbs are not too depleted and can be used in the future, we recommend using a universal soil mixture consisting of fertile garden soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 1:1:1. It is important that the planting mixture is not acidic; to do this, add wood ash or dolomite flour to the already prepared mixture.
Choose pots that are not high, but wide enough to plant several bulbs in it. For example, 8-12 pieces can be planted in a pot with a diameter of 11-12 cm. muscari bulb. IN landing tanks make drainage holes, cover each of them with a clay shard. Pour coarse river sand into the pots with a layer of 1-2 cm, and then prepared soil mixture(but only two-thirds). Plant the bulbs by lightly pressing them into the soil. Keep a distance of 0.5-1 cm between them. Make sure that the bulbs do not touch the walls of the pot. Cover the plantings with soil so that only the tops remain on the surface. Lightly compact the soil. Water the pots with plantings generously and place them in the cold again for rooting.
When should you bring muscari into a warm room for distillation? Pots with plantings can be brought into a warm room at the end of the cooling period. By this time, the sprouts should have grown and the roots will be visible through the drainage holes. Place the muscari in a warm place 12 days before the intended flowering date. In the first two to four days, keep the pots cool (+7-10°C) and bright room. Afterwards, move the pots to the lightest windowsill, raise the temperature to +15°C. If sunlight not enough, supplement the pots with fluorescent lamps. Under such conditions, the plants develop well and bloom within 10-12 days. More high temperatures, are unacceptable. Since the leaves are strongly elongated, the flower stalks grow weak and the inflorescences are loose. During forcing, water the plants, but do not allow the water to stagnate.
Once the lower flowers on the inflorescence have bloomed, move the pots to a cool, bright room. In a cool room, flowering will last longer (up to 2 weeks).
What to do with muscari bulbs after flowering? After flowering, do not throw away the muscari bulb. Cut off the wilted flower stalks, continue to water and feed with fertilizer for bulbous plants. Until the leaves turn yellow, keep the plants in the same conditions as during forcing (temperature +15°C and good lighting). When the leaves turn yellow, stop watering and fertilizing, move the pots to a warmer place and leave until the leaves die completely. After the leaves die, remove the bulbs from the pot, dry them well, and until the time of planting in the garden (September), store them in dry sawdust or peat in a well-ventilated area. In the fall, plant them in a separate bed for growing.
Delivery of muscari in Ukraine (Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kremenchug, Ternopil, Uzhgorod, Krivoy Rog, Lugansk, Odessa, Kherson, Sumy, Chernigov, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Poltava, Lutsk, Kirovograd, Cherkasy, Khmelnitsky, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Vinnitsa, Zhitomir, Nikolaev, Rivne, Yalta, Melitopol, Bila Tserkva).
Muscari is an early flowering bulbous plant, which is also called “mouse hyacinth” and “viper onion”.
Depending on the type of muscari and the climate of the area, these plants bloom from April to June.
Muscari is one of the most unpretentious bulbs. Many muscari not only wonderfully decorate spring flower beds, but also desperately grow weeds in our garden, climbing over the fence. Viper onions feel great in garden beds and even on garden paths. From time to time, I take out their bulbs from the cracks of the blind areas and from under the fence. I immediately transfer the dug up plants to a more suitable places garden, where my “settlers” continue to bloom profusely.
More than once I had to pull out muscari leaves from a spring salad that got there along with onion feathers. And how difficult it is to pull out muscari from an overgrown family of chives!
Muscari is included in the list of ephemeral plants. This perennial It blooms annually and produces seeds, after which its above-ground part dies off, and the bulb enters a dormant stage. Closer to autumn, it grows new roots with which the muscari bulb overwinters.
Muscari is perfect for forcing, because... This plant’s development cycle can be shifted to ensure it blooms indoors in winter or at the very beginning of spring.
Types and varieties of muscari
Muscari, depending on the species, have small blue, blue or purple flowers collected in inflorescences. U garden forms and muscari varieties, the flowers can be not only blue-violet, but also white and pink.
What attracts us to blooming muscari is not the flowers themselves, but the barrel-shaped or rounded perianths, decorated with teeth. The perianths are even oblong, as if “fitted” at the throat.
In the flower beds of amateur gardeners middle zone More often you can see Armenian muscari, grape-shaped, broad-leaved and racemose. There are others decorative types muscari, which to one degree or another have adapted to our climate. The timing of flowering is significantly influenced by the weather and the location of the plant in the garden.
Flower growers have the opportunity to choose wonderful varieties of Armenian muscari that are on sale. This is very beautiful plants, in which the lower edge of the blue-blue barrel-shaped perianth is edged with a thin white stripe.
Armenian muscari has exquisite varieties; for example, “Blue Spike” (blue, terry). You can buy bulbs of varieties with two-color inflorescences. Muscari with white inflorescences also ceased to be a novelty.
I dream of purchasing strange muscari bulbs. In nature, this species grows in the west of Transcaucasia. It has such dark purple flowers that they appear black. Strange muscari blooms early, already from the end of April.
In the photo: white and blue-blue muscari; violet-blue muscari
Planting and propagation of muscari
The planting depth of muscari bulbs is 6-8 cm. I plant daughter bulbs shallowly, and only on light soil.
When planting muscari, I choose large and medium-sized bulbs to place them in the most visible places in the garden. I leave “trifles” from the available planting material for planting under the crowns.
Mouse hyacinth looks good in the garden along with others. Therefore, you can create interesting compositions by using bulbous plants for planting. I plant various bulbous plants in such baskets that decorate the garden from early in the morning.
Mouse hyacinth actively reproduces by daughter bulbs and seeds.
Muscari seedlings bloom already in the 2-3rd year of life.
Caring for muscari
Muscari - amazing unpretentious plant, which quickly develops and multiplies. It feels great and blooms wonderfully if it is not crowded by neighboring bulbs.
After a few years, in an overgrown muscari nest, the grown adult bulbs and their children begin to oppress each other, which noticeably reduces the decorativeness of the entire flowering clump. Therefore, it is advisable to resettle an overgrown muscari family approximately once every five years.
Many types of mouse hyacinth are quite winter-hardy; they do not freeze out in harsh winters even when planted shallowly. But there are also heat-loving species of muscari, the plantings of which need to be insulated in the fall. For example, broadleaf muscari, which blooms from mid-April. Another heat-loving species is large-fruited muscari, which is necessary (this plant risks dying even with frosts below minus 5C). And with cultivation unpretentious species and there are no problems with muscari varieties. This plant is so easy to master on the site that it is able to take care of itself on its own.
Fading muscari with elongating leaves look sloppy: bare peduncles stretch out, a bunch of leaves grows, lying on the ground. Such long leaves of muscari are possible. This good option allowing uncut yellowing leaves of bulbous plants right time nourish the bulbs without spoiling them general view flower garden Perhaps I turned out to be a bad “flower hairdresser”, but I never learned how to weave braids from leaves. But she mastered the “beaver” remarkably well. The abundance of flowering muscari in our area is the best proof that it is enough for them to preserve only the lower part of the yellowing leaves, about 10-12 cm long.
In the photo: a muscari transplant in bloom; muscari and daffodils in mid-May
Muscari in garden design
Muscari - early bright flower spring garden when you rejoice at every new flowering plant...
Considering the excellent combination of white and blue-blue, you can make a wonderful mini-flower garden with muscari bulbs in the garden if you install snow-white birch logs or branches along its perimeter. Such a flower garden is also suitable as a reliable fenced place where planting material of the most valuable or vulnerable species of muscari is planted, as well as varieties of atypical colors are propagated.
A flower garden with muscari looks colorful if it is made with your own hands.
Blue ribbon “streams” of blooming muscari can be arranged along garden paths.
Muscari bulbs are often planted in the garden under decorative trees and bushes.
Blooming muscari look wonderful in mass plantings placed in various places on the site: on, in flower beds, etc.
A beautiful carpet of blooming muscari is obtained only from adult bulbs that are located at some distance from each other. Muscari plantings are effective until they turn into overgrown clumps, gradually degenerating from overcrowding and lack of nutrition from the bulbs.
Homemade muscari distillation
If there is a desire to force muscari from your own planting material, then in July the largest, most mature bulbs are selected for this purpose.
Then the selected muscari are stored until autumn. Store the bulbs in a dry place, at room temperature (about +20C).
In September, forced muscari bulbs are planted in pots filled with a light nutrient mixture - it must also contain sand.
Transfer the pots with planted bulbs to a cool place with an air temperature of about +15C; for example, they put them in the basement or garage.
Then, in order for the forcing bulbs to develop flower buds, you need to keep the pots with muscari plantings in a cold place (about +7C) for 10-12 weeks. Without such a cold period of maintenance, they will not want to bloom.
Before bringing the pots with muscari plantings into a warm room, you can additionally keep them in the cold for several days (at a temperature not lower than +3C).
When tiny sprouts appear, the pots of muscari are moved into the room and placed on a cool windowsill out of direct sunlight. Water the plants only with warm water. Muscari flowering in pots begins in about 10-14 days.
The amazing Muscara flower attracts attention with its original appearance, is successfully used in alternative medicine and is actively used in floristry. Blooms for a long time, creates a bright spring mood.
What kind of plant is this?
Muscari comes from Turkey and belongs to small-bulbous flowers; popularly these flowers are also called “viper onion” and “mouse hyacinth”. They reach a height of up to 40 cm and have basal leaves up to 20 cm long.
The flowers are very interesting in shape, cylindrical with bent teeth. Various colors, white, blue, light blue. They have a pleasant smell. They bloom in spring, and depending on the plant variety, until mid-June.
Included in the list of ephemeral plants. perennial flower, perfect for forcing, you can achieve flowering in winter and early spring.
Main types and varieties of plants
The genus Muscari unites about 60 species, but if we talk about the most common, we can name 4 names:
- Armenian– blooms in May with fragrant white flowers, has double stems with very large inflorescences. Sometimes flowers with a double perianth appear. The variety is very beautiful, suitable for interior decoration.
- Tubergenovsky – characteristic feature The flower is double-colored, blue at the top and dark at the bottom of the inflorescence. The species is thermophilic, blooms for 25 days. Grows along forest edges in Asia Minor.
- bunch-shaped– the name refers to the shape of the plant, up to 15 cm high, blooms in the first half of May, does not form seeds. Small flowers are collected in racemes, has garden variety with white and pink flowers.
- Racemose– with large purple flowers, up to 20 cm high. Propagated by children and seeds, planted by self-seeding. Withstands temperatures below 5 degrees, recommended for cold areas.
Pictured is Armenian muscari
On garden plots The first type of plant is the most common and has been known since 1877. It blooms in May, 3-4 weeks, seeds are collected in the lower inflorescences. Bulbs small size, oblong, up to 2 cm in length.
Also in our flower beds you can see tufted muscari, up to 30 cm high, white. Their stems are often used in wildflower bouquets.
Traditionally grown in gardens small plants, predominantly blue, up to 30 cm high. They are suitable for planting almost anywhere, in open sun, under trees and bushes.
Choosing a site for planting and preparing the soil
The plants are light-loving, but can grow and bloom even in the shade. For planting, muscari choose loose soil, slightly acidic, with an average level of humidity.
How more fertile soil, the larger the bulbs grow, the flowers are bright and lush. They “receive” well the addition of humus or compost to the soil.
Mouse hyacinth goes well with other primroses; you can freely create various compositions by placing the seeds in special sowing baskets.
Seedlings ready for planting
When to plant?
Muscari is planted in open ground in the fall.
It is important to do this before the onset of frost so that the bulb can take root well..
Before planting, the bulbs need to be kept in a room at 9 degrees Celsius for several days to allow them to slightly prepare for the cold soil.
Landing rules
Before planting, the bulbs must be soaked for 50-60 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate of medium strength, and then placed in soil.
Ordinary method of planting a plant
For better germination, you need to add clean river sand layer up to 2 cm, providing drainage and protection from pathogens.
The flower bulbs are slightly smaller than tulips or daffodils, and therefore during planting you can make a shallow trench and plant in the following way:
- the distance between the bulbs should be 7 cm;
- depth – 6 cm.
The soil temperature is 18 degrees Celsius.
If you plan to sow the plant with seeds, this should be done immediately after collecting them. They are placed in the soil to a depth of 2 cm and begin to bloom in the third year after planting.
After planting, the muscari bulbs are thoroughly watered, which will allow them to emerge faster.
How to use with maximum effect. The rules for planting and caring for the plant are discussed in our article.
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Rules of care
During the period of growth and flowering, care for muscari is as follows: regular watering and fertilizing. The substrate must be fertile; two feedings with liquid flower fertilizers are required.
Watering is moderate; with its abundance, the plant withers and disappears. During the growing season, the ideal water for irrigation is rain.
The plant requires increased humidity after planting, and after that, rain watering is sufficient.
Caring for muscari
After flowering, it is preferable to prune the bunches; you also need to do timely weeding and shallow loosening of 2-3 cm.
Do I need to dig up flower bulbs after flowering?
It is not recommended to dig up muscari bulbs every year; it is enough to do it once every 4 years, in the fall.
So that the flowers do not interfere with each other and do not grow too much.
Excavated muscari
When the bulbs are taken from the ground, they need to be dried well and dug in again so that they do not spoil.
Preparing for winter
Main stages:
- adding humus, per 1 m – 5 kg;
- pruning bunches after flowering;
- the leaves should be left until frost so that the bulbs gain maximum strength for the next flowering period.
There is no need to cover the bulbs in winter; the plant is quite frost-resistant.
Flower propagation
There are two ways to propagate muscari:
- bulbs that bloom after planting the following year;
- seeds, the plant produces flowers in a couple of years.
They reproduce well by self-sowing and can spontaneously spread to front gardens and.
The video talks about growing muscari in the garden, storing the bulbs, caring for and planting the plant:
Use for decorative purposes
This is a wonderful flower of the spring garden; thanks to its beautiful inflorescences, you can make an amazing mini-flower garden if you fence it off with snow-white birch branches.
The flower garden can also be fenced off with a low fence or decorative pots.
Blue muskellunges can be planted along paths instead of fencing. Even if the flowering period passes, the stems will for a long time green and lush, creating an interesting border to the path.
Some varieties have been successfully cultivated and made indoor plants. For successful flowering, it is necessary to prepare the tubers by forcing them until the end of April.
Dry the dug up bulbs thoroughly, remove soil and store indoors at temperatures up to 20 degrees Celsius. Humidity can cause fungus and plant death.
Muscari is good in combination with other ornamental plants
How to use flowers in the design of a summer cottage?
You can use one of these options:
- Create a picturesque trio by combining blue muscari, forget-me-nots and white tulips in one area.
- Plant the plant in a small bucket or pot and display it in various compositions in the flowerbed.
- The blue color of the plant can be enhanced with orange if you plant imperial hazel grouse nearby.
- Under the bare bushes of Arabis and Iberian flowers will receive the most comfortable conditions, will grow magnificently and delight the eyes of passers-by.
- Can be filled in empty seats between tulips and daffodils, planting seeds by self-sowing.
Each composition will be a real miracle in the flower garden, attracting the eye and surprising with its diversity.
Diseases
The plant is resistant to diseases and pests. Almost all parts of muscari are toxic. But there may be cases of flower damage by plant aphids. Control methods include complete pruning and treatment with garden fertilizers.
Medicinal properties
The plant protects other flowers from many pests, perfectly fertilizes the soil; after transplanting it, you can plant peonies, roses, and daffodils in the same place, which will grow luxuriantly, decorating your garden plot.
The plant repels flies, mosquitoes, flowers can be cut and shaped beautiful bouquets, which will protect the house from various midges.
With the right place for planting, care and timely watering, the muscari flower will delight the eye for a long time, forming a piece of paradise in your flowerbed!
The plant with the elegant name “muscari” also has much less pleasant nicknames - “viper onion” and “mouse hyacinth”. This is actually a very nice plant that blooms earlier than others. From a small bulb grows several long, plump leaves and a peduncle with bright blue flowers.
Features of growing muscari in open ground
With its unpretentiousness and ability to grow over any area, muscari resembles weeds. They are much more difficult to limit or remove than to grow and propagate.
Planting muscari in the ground
When choosing bulbs in a store or nursery, buy only really healthy plants that are free of suspicious spots, dried parts and mold. Before planting them in the soil, disinfect them first in 2% concentration of karbofos, then in 1% potassium permanganate. Leave in each solution for 20-35 minutes.
Planting methods
The traditional way of planting muscari is to plant dormant bulbs in prepared holes. A less effective method is to plant already flowering plants.
Large bulbs are placed at a distance of 7-11 cm, buried 8-9 cm down, and the interval between small ones should be approximately 2.5-4 cm; they should be buried less, maintaining a distance of 3-5 cm.
Optimal time for planting
As with other early flowering plants, best time disembarkation - autumn until severe cold weather. Deadline - last days October. Flowering muscari are planted in the spring, immediately after purchase. It is recommended to plant plants before the onset of heat to speed up acclimatization.
Soil for the plant
Viper onions can be planted in almost any soil. The only requirement for it is the absence of constant humidity and stagnation of water, from which the bulbs will simply rot. To ensure good water permeability, you can pour river alluvial sand into the hole, which will serve as good drainage. The bottom should be covered with a layer of pebbles - brick fragments, pebbles, expanded clay.
Planting in autumn
Muscari can be planted even in cold October without fear for the safety of the bulbs. It winters wonderfully in a new place, calmly surviving even severe frosts without any shelter other than snow.
ADVICE! If very much is expected cold winter, you can make a cap for plants from humus or compost.
If the mouse hyacinth is provided with excellent conditions for its existence, it will occupy large area, growing in all directions.
Location and lighting
Muscari grows well in sun or partial shade. Finding a place for mouse hyacinth is not difficult - it blooms at a time when there is still no foliage on the trees and there are no other plants obscuring it.
Planting viper onions better nearby with later grasses and shrubs that will cover the yellowing and drying leaves.
ADVICE! Muscari, which can live in one area for a long time, should be placed next to perennial plants.
Humidity
Mouse hyacinth makes no demands on humidity, being content with what it has. During the period of its growth, the atmosphere is quite humid because the snow has just melted.
How to water correctly?
While muscari is in bloom, it loves to drink. Therefore, it is recommended to moisten the soil more often, replenishing water supplies regularly. When flowering ends and the leaves begin to change color and dry out, watering is gradually reduced. During dormancy, the viper onion does not need water at all. Even in extreme heat, you can avoid watering the bulbs.
Feeding and fertilizing the flower
During planting and replanting, add to the soil organic fertilizers- humus or compost. In the future, you need to feed muscari only in the fall, preparing the plant for wintering. Only organic matter can be used minerals The plant cannot tolerate it at all.
ATTENTION! The approximate amount of fertilizer is 6 kg per 1 m´ of planting.
Do I need to prune the plant?
Cleansing haircuts are carried out twice a year. After flowering, the spent peduncles, which are already drying up, are cut off. If you want to get seeds, leave the flower stalks until the planting material has matured. In the fall, before the plant goes into hibernation, all leaves are removed by cutting them off with garden shears.
A plant can constantly grow in one place, but over time the plantings lose their beauty, the flowers become smaller, and the shoots become deformed. Therefore, the muscari is transplanted to a new area, eliminating rotten and dried bulbs.
Replanting mouse hyacinth is not at all difficult; the plant quickly takes root, easily enduring the process.
Transplant methods
The procedure is carried out every 4-6 years; at the same time, the plant can be propagated, separating the children. It is necessary to cut off the leaves, dig up the bulbs, wash them in cool water and inspect them. Cut out rotten and affected areas, and keep the bulbs in potassium permanganate of medium concentration for 25-40 minutes. Then dry them and transplant them to the chosen location.
Transplantation in autumn and spring
The suitable period for the operation is September and October. At this time, the bulbs are at rest and can be transported to another location painlessly.
If you decide to move the muscari during the spring, do it early. It is advisable to transplant the bulbs before they wake up and begin to develop the above-ground part.
Reproduction of muscari
Easy to care for, mouse hyacinth is also easy to propagate. However, usually the flower reproduces well on its own, growing in all directions. In addition, it also self-sows, scattering seeds around itself.
Reproduction methods
- Seeds. After flowering, muscari forms boxes filled with small grains. Ripened seeds can be collected and sown immediately.
IMPORTANT! Collected seeds are not stored at all, instantly losing their germination capacity.
Planting material is sown in open ground, in a specially prepared small bed. They are placed in small grooves of 1-1.5 cm and covered with soil. No need to water! In the spring, small shoots should appear from the seeds, which will bloom in a couple of years.
- Children of bulbs. During transplantation, small children can be disconnected from the mother bulb and planted separately. One adult bulb can produce up to 35 children!
When the snow melts and the black earth opens, the muscari blooms, forming bright spots against the overall dull background.
When does it bloom and flower shape?
The viper onion begins to bloom when other plants are still sleeping underground, and the trees are just filling their buds. At the same time, daffodils, crocuses and tulips bloom. A straight and long flower-bearing arrow appears from a rosette of leaves, on which dense racemose or pyramidal inflorescences appear. They consist of many small barrel-shaped flowers. The color can be white, blue, purple or light blue.
The fruit capsule with seeds has the shape of a ball or heart.
Problems, diseases and pests of a flower
Due to the fact that muscari grows and blooms in early spring, it practically does not suffer from diseases. Only a viral mosaic can attack him. In this case, the viper onion stops growing and throws out very narrowed leaves and a shortened peduncle. The leaves are “decorated” with a pattern of green hexagons. The carrier of the infection is aphids; no treatment has yet been invented.
IMPORTANT! All plants affected by this disease must be immediately eliminated so as not to infect others.
The pests wake up later than the muscari, so they are not able to harm it much. Unlike voles, which gnaw on bulbs even in winter. Garlic planted nearby can repel rodents.
Leaves in the process of wilting can be damaged by slugs if the muscari is in constant dampness. They cannot cause serious harm to dying greenery.
The same cannot be said about aphids, which suck out the juice and thereby weaken the bulbs. They wither and do not tolerate wintering well, and can freeze completely. At the first sign of attack, plants must be treated with insecticides. Decis, Intavir, Actellik, Hostakvik, Cypermethrin help against aphids.
Popular types and varieties
More than 40 species of this flower are known. In addition, each species includes many varieties and variegates. So, the Muscari genus is quite numerous.
Muscari Colchis (Armenian)
One of the most undemanding and cold-resistant species. It has small bulbs and long herbaceous green leaves. Many flowers are formed on the peduncle, collected in a ball. Perianths have cylindrical shape with a constriction near the pharynx. The flowers in the upper part are sterile, usually lighter than the rest.
- Sapphire (Sapphire) - inflorescences have a deep dark blue color. This variety is propagated only by children, since all its flowers are sterile.
- Bluespike - very beautiful variety, each inflorescence includes up to 200 flowers. The pedicels tend to branch, resulting in very lush and large caps. Color: different shades of blue.
- Cantab dwarf plant, which blooms later than others, blooming with bright blue inflorescences.
- Fantasycreation is a spectacular original variety. Each flower has a two-color color - blue fades smoothly into green.
Blooms for more than a month
Muscari crested
It has an atypical appearance. The inflorescence, resembling a disheveled panicle, consists of elongated perianths.
The pedicels are bent into an arc.
Muscari plumosum - the stems branch profusely, the inflorescences look shaggy due to the abundance of elongated lilac flowers.
Muscari pale
A miniature species up to 13 cm high. 35-50 flowers similar to small bells are formed on the peduncle. It blooms for about two weeks, the color of the inflorescences is pale blue.
WiteroseBeaty - bred through selective breeding, the inflorescences are pinkish-white.
Muscari grapevine
A popular species in demand in floriculture. The perianths are small, collected in small narrow cone-shaped brushes. The flowers resemble thick barrels and balls.
The initial color is blue-violet, there are pink and white variegates.
Muscari is pretty (beautiful)
It is distinguished by very narrow leaves, the edges of which are also curved inward. It begins to bloom in winter, producing erect peduncles with oval inflorescences. The bright blue perianths are ball-shaped and decorated with white teeth on the throat.
Difficulties in growing the plant. Useful tips(note to the florist).
- Healthy bulbs are completely dry, elastic and dense to the touch. If there are wet surfaces, then the bulbs are rotting. It is not worth purchasing such planting material.
- Heavily dense thickets need to be thinned out so that the muscari do not “strangle” each other.
- To prevent or reduce self-seeding, flower stalks should be cut off immediately after flowering.
- Viper onion bulbs can be stored in slightly damp sand or peat at a temperature of 15-18°.
- If muscari suddenly begins to sprout in the fall, do not be alarmed. Cover the leaves with a layer of peat or spruce branches and leave to overwinter under cover.
- Viper onions can be domesticated and grown in pots.
Answers to readers' questions
What is the lifespan of a plant?
Muscari are long-livers and, with timely transplants, can live 5 or 10 years.
Why doesn't the flower bloom?
Most likely, the viper onion was damaged by mice by eating the top of the onion. In addition, the plant could simply freeze in winter.
Flower care in winter.
In the fall, they help the plant prepare for winter. Cut off all above-ground parts and replant the bulbs if the time has come. Young, weakened or sprouted flowers are covered with peat or coniferous spruce branches.
