A small shrub Kermek has the ability to survive in the most inappropriate conditions and its extraordinary appearance. The cap of its inflorescences of different shades is like a cloud hovering over green foliage. Recently, Kermek has gained popularity among flower growers and is widely used in creating landscape compositions. Different peoples call the plant in their own way. For some it’s a statice, for others it’s a limonium (from the Greek “lawn”), some call it marsh rosemary or sea lavender. One of the most popular plant species is Kermek Tatar.
Plant features
The homeland of Kermek is the countries of Africa and Asia. This species of the piglet family includes about 300 varieties. Most of them grow in the European and Asian Mediterranean regions. Arid lowlands are their natural habitat. Due to the powerful, elongated (up to 1 m.) Rod root, the plant has adapted to extract moisture.
Statice flower
Almost all varieties of kermek are perennial or biennial plants, grassy shrubs with lignified shoots. They have enlarged leaves located closer to the basal zone. The flowers of the plant are usually small, collected in panicled ears.
Kermek Tatarsky - description
Perennial Kermek Tatarsky differs from other representatives of the species by a small height (not higher than 50 cm). Its leaves are leathery, slightly elongated, collected in a spreading bunch in the basal region, from which strongly branched pubescent peduncles protrude.
The inflorescences are spike-shaped, crowned with an umbrella of tiny white flowers, with a barely noticeable corolla of a light red hue. The flower itself is five-petalled, in shape resembles a bell.
By the time the seeds ripen, the flower stalks dry out, bend to the ground, giving the plant a ball shape. Under the influence of strong winds, the desert plant breaks off. Rolling, it disperses the seeds. So Tatar Kermek propagates in nature, for which he received the name "tumbleweed". Florists use the dried spherical bush of kermek grass to create beautiful floral arrangements.
Kermek Tatar
Classification of Kermec (Statice)
Of the 300 perennial varieties of kermek in the garden plots, only some varieties are cultivated and grown as annuals. The plant does not withstand frosty winters in central Russia. The most popular varieties of culture:
- Kermek Broadleaf or Kermek Flatleaf. The height of the bush reaches 80 cm. Large leaves are densely pubescent, have a saturated green color. By mid-summer, a herbaceous shrub throws shoots. They are crowned with spike-shaped inflorescences with purple (lilac) flowers.
- Kermek Peres is a plant with lush large inflorescences. The bush is spreading, reaches 60 cm in height. Culture harmoniously combines with other types of flowers.
- Kermek Bondouelli is the highest perennial of this kind. It can grow up to 90-95 cm. Outwardly, it resembles a bush of Kermek Vymechaty. The flowers are white or yellow in color, collected in loose inflorescences.
- Kermek Chinese - characterized by slow growth and a love of heat. The stems are tall, up to 70 cm, with glossy leaves in the area of the outlet. Lacy inflorescences consist of extremely small yellow flowers, each of which is entwined with a white or beige funnel-shaped perianth.
- Kermek Gmelina - has an external resemblance to the broadleaf variety of the statice, but it does not have such branched shoots. Foliage has a light, bluish-green hue, and peduncles have a paniculate shape. Flowers are collected in dense short brushes.
- The blue statice Suprim (pink, blue) is an annual plant of the species. It can reach a height of 30-50 cm, pleasing the eye with bright, saturated shades of flowers.
Kermek Gmelin
Note! Kermek flowers, although perennials, but not centenarians. Their age is short-lived - only 4-5 years. Then the culture is revived again, planting young seedlings. The plant reproduces well by self-sowing.
Favorite varieties of florists and landscape designers
Amateur gardeners and masters of landscape design fell in love with a flower of kermek for unpretentiousness, simplicity, ease of care. Kermek perennial (some of its species) is able to winter without shelter. The best shrub that can decorate any corner of the garden cannot be found.
With the help of varieties Violetta and Blau Cloud with inflorescences of blue and lavender shades, flower growers decorate garden areas, borders. The Chinese statice of Confetti and Elegant with white and cream colors is an excellent decorator and an indispensable assistant in creating the Dutch style. She is good at sharing the space of both small and large personal plots.
Such types of staticeous fossils, such as Crimean, Mikst Highbridge, Suprim, Shamo, Kompidi and Petit Bouquet, are ideal for growing on flower beds. Some bushes have a height of up to 80 cm, others barely reach 30 cm. The flowers of plants have a bright, juicy palette.
Dried flowers in vases - the perfect decoration of the interior
The uni-grape varieties Blue River, Apricot, Lavendel, Iceberg, Nachtblow, Rosenshimmer and Emeriken Beauty have bushes up to 70 cm high and are used to create hedges, framing stone walkways, sidewalks.
Cut flowers of kermek are an indispensable material in the experienced hands of florists. With their help, masters create original bouquets, compositions. For this, the inflorescences are cut before drying, until they have time to burn out in the sun. Then they are dried in the shade, turned over and hung with panicles down. Dead wood retains the brightness of the cups for more than a year.
The dried flower statice was popularly called the immortelle for its ability to maintain appearance for several years after cutting. Some varieties can reach 1 m. Having beautiful buds with colorful petals, the flowers look great in large floor vases, decorating any interior.
It is interesting! Statice can be grown in pots on the balcony or in flowerpots on the terraces. Due to the high drought tolerance, the plant feels great in such conditions. The flower requires only monthly top dressing with mineral fertilizers and moderate watering during the period when the statice blooms.
Rules for planting and caring for statice in open ground
Kermek is grown by sowing seeds in open ground, but this is a very risky method (frosts can ruin immature shoots). Professionals sow the seeds of annual or perennial statice for seedlings in late February - early March in separate containers with good soil mix. Seeds slightly sprinkled with earth, irrigate.
The containers are placed in well-lit places with an average air temperature of 20-23 ° C, covered with glass. From time to time it is lifted, allowing the soil to dry. Spray the plant from the spray gun (not abundantly).
Growing seedlings
Shoots hatch in about 2 weeks. From April they begin to temper. To do this, containers with sprouts are taken out to the street, each time increasing the exposure time.
Note! The reason why the statice does not emerge may lie in old or suffocated seeds.
Kermek seedlings have been planted in open ground since mid-May, as soon as return frosts have passed. Seedlings are placed at a distance of 35-50 cm from each other. More frequent planting can lead to shredding of inflorescences.
Procedure:
- Seedlings close up in the hole to the height of the tank.
- The earthball is handled extremely carefully.
- The basal rosette at the growth point is compacted, but not sprinkled with soil.
Garden care
The soil and lighting are given special attention. The plant prefers sunny, well-lit areas.
The soil should have a light structure. Statice flowers can take root in a weathered, depleted area. However, soil enriched with chernozem will help the plant to form a healthy leafy rosette earlier. Before planting, they dig the earth, add sand, and add organic and mineral fertilizers.
Note! Kermek is a shrub with a long root, so any attempt to propagate the plant by dividing the bush can lead to its death. The root is allowed to trim 1/3, not more.
Summer work
Plant care in summer includes the following types of work:
- Watering. Due to the high drought resistance and heat resistance, the shrub practically does not need watering. Usually it is watered 2-3 times a season or when foliage withers. From an excess and stagnation of moisture in the root zone, the plant dies.
- Top dressing. The form of soil is important here. On humus-rich chernozems, statice flowers do not need fertilizers, and when grown on poor soil, you can feed them organic.
- Weeding and cultivation. Weed Kermek as weed. Loosen only if a crust appears on the soil.
Note! If kermek grows on black soil, it is better to water it twice a season with salt water, at the rate of 4-5 tsp. salt per 10 liters water.
Harvesting seeds, preparing for wintering
For beginners, collecting seeds can be difficult. For example, Kermek the Chinese will not be able to collect seeds at all. They just do not have time to ripen. Other early flowering varieties are harvested at the height of summer, when fruit formation is in progress. In each of the ripened fruits, there is only one, very small seed, usually dark in color. Seeds are not exempted from the top layer, but dried, and then stored in a dry place until spring.
On dry autumn days, when the foliage turns yellow, and the branches begin to bare, the crown of the bush is cut off, leaving 3-5 cm above the soil level. Place the cut slightly covered with spruce branches (hay, straw). This is done to prevent freezing of the root system in a severe snowless winter.
On a note! As soon as the snow cover is gone, the covering material is removed. The plant should dry well.
Pests and dangerous diseases
All types of statice are disease resistant. Only with an excess of moisture in the soil does the plant infect rot or mold. In the fight against rot, fungicides containing copper will help, with mold - preparations with sulfur. If the plant has occupied aphids, they get rid of the pest by spraying the kermek with a solution of laundry soap, adding a little alcohol to it.
Statue of Peres blooms to frost
Growing statice in the garden is not a big deal. The plant is unpretentious. The only thing that can kill Kermek is a rainy summer, which contributes to the rapid decay of the roots. At the same time, statice is one of the few plants that bloom from June to the very frosts.
