Viper onions, also called muscari and mouse hyacinth, belong to bulbous plants from the Asparagus family. There are 44 species in the genus Muscari.
Name history
In Latin, the plant is called muscari. Indeed, this onion has a smell reminiscent of musk.
The mouse is called a plant hyacinth for some resemblance to ordinary hyacinth, but its size is small in comparison with it.
In England, this plant is called grape hyacinth, since it looks like an upside down bunch of grapes. The French called it earthen lilac (lilas de terre) because of its resemblance to the flowers of this shrub.
Viper bow - why is it called that? The plant was named so because of its toxicity to birds. Another version is the frequent presence of vipers near. Of course, snakes do not feed on this plant, but crawl into glades warmed by sunlight, where mouse hyacinth often grows. Another variant of the origin of the name is the similarity of Muscari inflorescences with the tail of a rattlesnake viper.
Description
Viper flower usually grows to 20-30 (less often 50-60) cm tall and is a bunch (of 2-7) basal leaves up to 10-15 cm long. The leaves of the plant are rather fleshy, and the bulb has the shape of an egg, sizes up to 2 cm and a lot of subordinate bulbs.
The flowers of the viper are blue, violet or blue, located on short pedicels and form a dense brush up to 3 cm in length. The upper flowers on the brush are barren. There are no leaves on a flower-bearing brush. The viper onion begins to bloom from below - the upper flowers bloom the very last.
Muskari fruit looks like a heart-shaped box or a ball slightly narrowed downwards.
Distribution and habitat
The most common viper is in Western Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. Some species have taken root in Australia and North America. In Russia, it prefers the southern regions of the European part of the viper onions.
Grassy plants for open ground can often be found on grassy slopes, in the steppe zone, in the mountain forest belt and near melting snow. He loves viper bow downed areas, arable land, shrubs, rocky slopes, alpine meadows.
Kinds
Among the 44 plant species, the viper onion is unremarkable (neglected), broadleaf, cluster-like, large-fruited, crested and Armenian. The latter is widespread and most famous. Cultivate it as an ornamental plant. In the Armenian viper, flowers have a blue color.
Muscari broadleaf has wide lanceolate leaves and dark purple below and light blue flowers at the top. The flower-shaped viper has white flowers.
Muscari crested is knocked out of the general picture. Its inflorescences are atypical and consist of many flower stalks of purple-violet color. This plant blooms a little later than other species (May-June).
Some types of viper onions are listed in the Red Book in Russia and Ukraine.
Varieties
The Armenian viper is best known for its Blue Spike and Heavenly Blue varieties. As the name implies, the flowers of both varieties are blue in color. Blue Spike variety blooms 2 weeks later than other representatives of this species. Pink Sunrise has a pink color that is rare for a viper, and Fantasy Creation blooms with double flowers that change color from green to bright blue during flowering.
Christmas Perl, the most suitable for driving, stood out - he received an international award. The flowers of this variety are barrel-shaped and have a violet-blue color. Peppermint was also distinguished by an international award - it is notable for pale blue flowers and especially long flowering (about a month).
The most fragrant variety of Armenian viper is “Artist” - blue flowers with a white border. Unblown inflorescences resemble green grape brushes.
Of the cluster-shaped varieties of muscari, Album is the most popular - its white inflorescences have an elongated shape and a special aroma. The bushes of this plant reach 15 cm and resemble lilies of the valley.
Golden Fragrance (large-fruited Muscari) is distinguished by purple buds and yellow flowers with a brown border. This variety is suitable only for greenhouses or open ground in the southern regions.
Muscári negléctum (viper bow unnoticed, or neglected) is listed in many Red Books of the subjects of the Russian Federation. You can see it on the territory of the Kabardino-Balkarian Alpine Reserve.
Breeding in the gardens
Many gardeners love mouse hyacinth as an ornamental plant. It is unpretentious and can grow in any part of the garden. The main thing is not to plant it under evergreen trees or shrubs, as the viper does not like shade. Muscari will feel great under the fruit trees - it blooms in spring, when there is still no dense greenery.
In gardens, viper onions are planted along paths, in dense group plantings, rockeries, flower pots, balcony boxes, they are planted with flower plantings.
It is better to plant this plant in large groups - so it will look much more spectacular.
The viper onion, the photo of which you see in the article, can be planted using the “sandwich” method - bulbs are planted on floors. Rows must be staggered so that the individual layers do not interfere with each other grow. Flowering plants planted by this method can be sequential or simultaneous.
Agricultural technology
In agronomic terms, breeding mouse hyacinth is very simple. It is planted in several ways: either by daughter bulbs, or by seeds in fruits, or by divided onion nests.
The main variant of Muscari propagation in nature is vegetative. The onions of the plant are many, so sometimes it grows over a fairly large area.
Another natural way to spread the viper is onion - myrmecochoria. Ants are attracted to eliosomes - fat-containing appendages of seeds. Insects eat only these appendages, leaving the seeds themselves intact.
The bulbs of mouse hyacinth have a thin shell, so they can not be stored for a long time to avoid drying out. It is optimal to plant bulbs in September to a depth of eight to ten centimeters.
The soil should be selected loamy and loose - clay and peat viper onion does not like. The ground should be well-drained and not too wet. The plant needs moisture only at the beginning of growth, after flowering it needs rest, during which the humidity is harmful, as it can lead to rotting of the bulbs.
Viper onion is a perennial plant, so they will delight with their flowering every spring. Fertilizer should be started in the second year after the planting of muscari. Do this all the time until the leaves begin to dry. Approximately 2 weeks after the end of flowering, watering should be stopped completely. In spring, it is necessary to add compost to the soil - mouse hyacinth will grow and bloom better.
For repeated flowering to be successful, do not remove early withered leaves - they contain the nutrients that are needed on the plant bulb.
In the first year of planting, the plant should be sheltered if the winter in the region is quite severe.
