Thorny plants for gardeners are of particular interest. There are many varieties of them. Photos of prickly plants demonstrate that some of them have a very exotic look and become an ornament of a garden plot, flower beds. Such plants enhance the decorative effect. They are indispensable in design compositions, making them especially stylish. Very fond of such unusual specimens and home growers. The name of the prickly plants, as well as a description of their species, will give an idea of the unsafe, but very common inhabitants of flower beds and window sills.
Spike Functions
Spines in plants are hard, sharp formations. The functions of spines in different plants are different. One of the most important is the condensation of water vapor. Through thorns the plant is supplied with water. Another equally important role is to protect the surface of plants from being eaten by animals, as well as from the hot sun.
Growing conditions
A characteristic feature of prickly plants is their unpretentiousness. They do not require the creation of special conditions for their maintenance. In most cases, plants are photophilous and do not like excessive watering. Consider some of their types.
Eringium
Bluehead is another name for it. These plants have a prickly flower. Currently, eringium is very popular and is a decoration of the garden. Its blue and blue spiny inflorescences are very spectacular. The most common species are bluehead and alpine. They are widely used in landscaping the garden. The height of these specimens reaches from 70 cm to 1 meter. Alpine eringium, in comparison with flat-leaved, has larger inflorescences.
In modern landscape design, the flat eringium, the so-called tumbleweed, is also used. This is a very prickly, but spectacular plant. The bluehead grows well in rocky and dry soil.
Thistle
These are annual spiny weeds. There are more than one hundred species. Among them is milk thistle. It belongs to one of the species grown by humans. Its height is 1.5-2 meters. The thorns are long and sharp. Stem erect, strongly branched in the upper part. Flowers are collected in prickly baskets. She does not lose decorativeness throughout the season, delighting with flowering until late autumn. Milk thistle is a light-loving and drought-tolerant crop that can do without watering for a long time. She is not afraid of temporary cold, diseases and pests. Usually, milk thistle is planted at a distance of at least 1.5-2 meters from paths and other plants.
In addition to bright decorativeness, this plant has healing properties: diuretic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant. Its shoots with foliage are widely used to treat various diseases, including diseases of the liver, thyroid gland, radiculitis, hemorrhoids, psoriasis and many others. This amazing plant is also used in cooking in the form of flour and oil.
Teasel
This two-year-old plant is a stalk, the height of which reaches 0.8-2 meters, with a rosette of oblong leaves. On the top and side branches spiny cones are formed, covered with white and lilac buds.
The plant looks spectacular in the garden. It needs to be planted in the background of flower beds, against a background of conifers or shrubs, as well as near a wooden fence. It easily tolerates winter, even without shelter. Cones, ripening, do not crumble, retain their shape. The stems do not bend from the wind and rain. It is no coincidence that teasel is a favorite material of florists. It is used as an independent plant in a bouquet, and as part of stylish decorative compositions.
Cleoma prickly
A herbaceous annual forming powerful bushes. Its height is on average 1 m. The stems are branched in the upper part. Cleoma bloom is very spectacular. It comes in different colors: white, yellow, pink, purple.
This plant is one of the most original flowering plants in the garden. It is used in flower beds, to create hedges, in the decoration of groups of shrubs. When using kleoma, there is a basic rule - it should be planted only in groups.
Mordovia
This is a perennial plant from the Astrov family. The round head of its inflorescence looks like a mace. The stem of the muzzle is single erect. Cirrus toothed or whole leaves with denticles, depending on the species. It blooms in the second year of life from May to August. Blue flowers are collected in spiky inflorescences, which have a spherical shape.
This unpretentious plant is resistant to disease. Does not like a lot of moisture. Mordovia is used to decorate flower beds, as its blue color is in harmony with the warm bright colors of other plants.
Cacti
These are prickly plants of different sizes. Mostly cacti are inhabitants of deserts and semi-deserts, where there is a very low level of humidity. But some species grow in the tropics. Cacti easily adapt to sudden changes in temperature. They live on sandy and gravel soils. The thorns of these plants grow instead of leaves, their maximum length can be up to 25 cm. This helps cacti prevent moisture loss.
Currently, various species of these exotic plants are very widely used in landscape design.
Features of Homemade Cacti
These prickly plants are unusually tenacious, as they can be without watering and fertilizers for a long time. In winter, you can not water them at all. But cacti definitely need sunlight. There are many types of them. Domestic flowering cacti are covered with buds, usually annually, but when they reach 3-4 years of age. It happens in the spring. But some species can please with flowers at other times of the year.
For flowering of a cactus, it is necessary to create conditions close to natural. First of all, it concerns lighting and humidification. In autumn you need to water less often. In winter, it is advisable to completely abandon watering. And start spraying with water only in March, resuming irrigation. In winter, the lighting should be dim, and the room containing the cacti should be cool. If the buds have already been born, transplant and fertilize this spiny houseplant should not be.
Homemade coniferous thorns
Currently, for home gardeners, a passion for coniferous prickly plants has become very popular. Keeping such cultures in a room is problematic: many of them need a low room temperature, which should not exceed 12 degrees. Therefore, the list of prickly coniferous houseplants is small. These are cypress, araucaria, lupus, cryptomeria and others.
Araucaria
This is an evergreen coniferous plant, its bark is peeling. It grows very slowly. His branches are horizontal, the crown is pyramidal. Leaves are awl-shaped light green in color, up to two centimeters long. Gives the room design an elegant chic. Araucaria in care is unpretentious. He likes good lighting, but is afraid of direct sunlight. In the warmer months, it requires abundant watering, and in winter, moisture should be reduced. Loves daily spraying.
Cryptomeria
Its other name is Japanese cedar. This is an evergreen plant of the Cypress family. Its crown is dense, the color varies from light to dark shades of green. Japanese cedar is quite common in landscape design and park gardening. At home, dwarf forms are used. They are grown in conservatories, on the balcony or terrace. These plants are photophilous, but do not tolerate direct sunlight. The best place for him is outdoors. Particular attention requires watering. Water should be warm, settled or boiled. Likes spraying.
