Cornflowers having high decorative qualities are an excellent raw material for pharmacology. Due to the huge amount of nutrients, the spectrum of application of this plant is quite wide - from the treatment of ocular inflammatory processes to the elimination of urinary tract diseases. Cornflower is also widely used in landscape design to create magnificent compositions in a natural style.
Where cornflowers most often grow in natural conditions? What are the features of the conditions for their growth and where do they apply? All of this can be found in this article.
General information
There are many legends and legends about these flowers. In ancient Rome, this plant was called cyanus (blue), in honor of a beautiful blue-eyed young man, collecting these flowers for garlands and wreaths. According to another version, the name centaurea in Latin means "one hundred yellow flowers."
During excavations in Egypt, a well-preserved wreath of cornflowers was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Horoscope cornflower belongs to those who were born in July. In magic, he is considered the grass of charm. In ancient times, flowers of cornflowers were used to dye wool in blue.
Among other things, cornflower is an excellent medicinal plant. Its flowers have a choleretic, diuretic and antimicrobial property. They are also used as lotions for eye diseases.
About where field cornflowers that bring so much benefit grow, and where to collect them, information is presented in the article.
Main varieties
Vasilek Talieva is a rare and little-studied species from the Red Book of the Belgorod Region and Russia.
- Blue cornflower - a plant, named after the centaur Chiron, who was the mentor of many famous ancient Greek heroes: Hercules, Asclepius, Jason, Achilles, etc. According to legend, Chiron used the cornflower in healing to heal wounds. The rest of the article provides more details on where blue cornflowers grow.
- Cornflower Russian, listed in the Red Book of the Belgorod region as a rare species.
- Phrygian cornflower - a beautiful honey plant.
- The cornflower is false-spotted, blooming with magnificent pink flowers.
- The cornflower is rough, or a hair-top - a honey-bearing and fine ornamental plant.
- Cornflower meadow - a good honey plant. Hybrids of the Phrygian and meadow cornflower can be found occasionally (more detailed information on where cornflowers of this species grow, later in the article).
- Eastern cornflower - a plant common on Cretaceous outcrops.
- Cornflower Marshall - a plant growing on the outcrops of marl and chalk.
Meadow cornflower
This is a herbaceous perennial plant with a height of 20 to 100 centimeters. Strong, erect, slightly rough to the touch shoots branch in the upper part, ending in single baskets. Elongated leaves look grayish from pubescence. The plant blooms with raspberry or lilac-purple flowers from June to September. From July to October, seed ripening occurs.
Lilac-pink baskets of inflorescences have 2 types of flowers: marginal - asexual (no pistils and stamens), funnel-shaped; median - more modest in appearance (tubular with stamens and pestles). The task of the marginal flowers is to attract pollinating insects to the middle flowers.
Where does meadow cornflower grow? This plant is common in the Chernozem zone and Belgorod region. You can meet him at the forest edges, in the steppes, in glades and meadows, along roadsides along the roads. They can form even small thickets. This plant is a good honey plant.
Blue cornflower
This flower is from the Aster family. His homeland is Greece. This excellent medicinal plant (grows in large quantities in the Belgorod region) is an annual. It has a straight, branched stalk up to 60 centimeters high and a well-developed root (rod form). In inflorescences-baskets, marginal flowers have a bright blue color, and the central (internal) ones are blue-violet. Blue cornflower flowers are a valuable medicinal raw material.
Under natural conditions, the plant develops as spring, winter or wintering. The spring form rises in the spring and clogs spring agricultural crops, and the winter or winter form rises in the fall, forming leaf rosettes. So, the plant overwinter along with winter crops and the next year gives branched, large plants with great fecundity.
Where do blue cornflowers grow?
They can be found in Ukraine, Belarus, throughout the European territory of Russia (with the exception of the Far North). They grow in the fields like weeds of crops (especially rye).
Blue cornflower in Russia occupies the northern part of the chernozem strip and almost the entire forest area. There is no this plant on the arid steppe part. It is found in the Caucasus and the Crimea. To the east, the range of growth beyond the Urals does not go due to harsh winters. Cornflower grows especially abundantly in Karelia, in the Ivanovo, Leningrad and Moscow regions, in the north of the Voronezh and Kursk regions. It is also common in Asia Minor and even as an alien plant in North America.
In the fields where cornflowers grow together with spring and winter crops, they are weeds. They grow near forest belts and near roadside plantations. They prefer sandy and sandy soils, but they also grow on clay heavy soils.
Garden forms
Thanks to the work of breeders, many new garden forms appeared with different colors: pink, white, dark blue, purple. There are cornflowers with an unusual short stem (20-25 cm).
The most popular varieties:
- Cornflower mountain, perennial. Blooms profusely with blue cirrus flowers in May, June. Height - up to 70 cm. Used for group landings. Rejuvenation is done by dividing the bush every 3-4 years.
- Cornflower “Mix of colors” is the most popular annual. Inflorescences are blue, white, pink. Height - 40-80 cm.
High grades are good for cutting (stand in water for a long time), low grades are for flower beds and rabatok.
Growing rules
Where do cornflowers grow, in what conditions? The plant is cold-resistant, photophilous and unpretentious to care for. It easily tolerates light penumbra. Soils are different, but not moist.
One of the main rules for growing cornflowers in the open field is timely fertilizing with fertilizers. They are necessary for good and abundant flowering. To do this, you can prepare the following solution: nitrophoska and urea are diluted in 10 liters of water (one tablespoon each).
Top dressing is applied before flowering in an amount of about 4 liters per 1 square meter. Good for accelerating the flowering of spraying before budding with the Zircon preparation (1 ml of the drug per 1 liter of water). Consumption - one liter of solution per 30 square meters. m
