Ligularia yellow candles
There are fires at the dacha in July
Evening falls on the garden
And the bees buzz tiredly,Inflorescences, like rockets,
Strive to reach the heights
There is no more beautiful plot,
Than summer, love and flowers.
.
I have a wonderful flower growing at my dacha—a ligularia. I bought it at a show in August. I really wanted to plant a shade-tolerant plant with large leaves and bright flowers. And I was right in my choice. It's beautiful.
The plant's biological name is Ligularia. Ligularia has many varieties. I'm not sure which one I have, but I suspect it's the Vicha variety. It has large, rounded, glossy green leaves on tall petioles, somewhat reminiscent of burdock leaves, and tall, spike-shaped flower stalks with numerous bright yellow flower heads.
In mid-July, the ligularia sends up its snake-like shoots, completely covered with small flowers that bloom from the bottom up. Each year, my flower grows, sending up more and more flower stalks and blooming profusely all summer long.
It's a favorite among various insects. Busy bees buzz above it all day long, and colorful butterflies flutter about, extracting nectar from the flowers with their long proboscises.
Ligularia is a perennial plant that can grow in one place for a long time. It's easy to maintain, thrives in shady areas, and is disease-resistant.
This moisture-loving flower requires regular watering, especially in hot weather. If it doesn't get enough moisture, its huge leaves droop, but once watered, the foliage stands up straight again.
Slugs are a pest that attacks its leaves, chewing round holes in them. This occurs in early summer. To protect the plant, it's recommended to sprinkle superphosphate under the bush, which will stop the slugs from eating it.
Small black aphids attack young inflorescences just as they emerge from the bush. I usually spray the entire bush with aphid control products when I notice the first signs of pest infestation.
When the ligularia finishes blooming, I trim the flower stalks, and after the frosts, I cut off the leaves. For the winter, I cover the bush with humus. And it overwinters just fine.
In the spring, I rake away the humus from the bush to help the soil warm up better, as it grows in the shade and wakes up late. In early spring, I scatter urea granules under all the perennials, including the ligularia. When the first leaves appear, I add fermented grass to the watering water.
During flowering, I feed the flower with potassium humate, add ash under the bush, and my handsome plant delights me with its blooms.
These are also ligularias, I took the photos in our flora and fauna park "Royev Ruchey".
I want to plant another variety. I found some Ligularia dentata seeds—Black Purple with purple leaves. I'll sow the seeds in mid-May.
I'll see if I can grow ligularia from seeds.