Today we invite you to get acquainted with an exotic type of lily called cardiocrinum. Outwardly, they are very similar to the garden lilies that are usual for us, but cardiocrinums have one peculiarity - they grow several times higher, and their fragrance and number of flowers on the inflorescences can pleasantly surprise even the most experienced gardeners. You can find further tips and useful information about growing these giants in your garden.
Description
Lily Cardiocrinum can be called a lily tree. Their height usually starts from 1.5 m, and some representatives reach 4 m. These are perennial bulbous flowers, which bloom for 3-4 years after planting. The flowers are white, cream with a green tint, on one inflorescence they can be from 5 to 80 pieces. The leaves are alternately located on the hollow stem, because of their heart-shaped lily, the cardiokrinum is also called the heart-shaped lily. The leaves have an unusual property - in the warm season they change their coloring from pale brown to deep green. Flowering begins in July and, during this period, be prepared for the fact that your garden is filled with a pleasant sweet aroma. Cardiocrinum has an interesting feature - each bulb blooms only once in its life, after which it releases "kids" and dies.
In addition to cardiocrinum lilies, bulbous flowers also include: gladioli, Babian’s flower, zephyranthes, Marlene lilies, Ixia, Romance crocus, kandyk, licoris, daffodils, dahlias and allium.
Kinds
Let's find out what types of cardiocrinum lilies can be found in the wild and on the shelves in flower shops:
- Cardiocrinum Chinese. It does not exceed 1.5 m in height, the bulb size is 5 cm. On the inflorescences not more than five white flowers with maroon spots at the base grow. The length of the leaves is 20 cm, they are located in the upper part of the plant. Under natural conditions, this species can be found growing on the mountain slopes of China.
- Cardiocrinum giant. Its name speaks for itself - the height of lilies can reach 4 meters, and the bulbs grow 15 cm in diameter. At the same time in each inflorescence from 40 to 80 flowers. They are white with brown stripes at the base, their length is 10-17 cm. It is a heat-loving plant that requires special preparation before winter frosts. In the wild, it can be found on the slopes of the Himalayas and India.
- Glen Cardiocrinum. This type of lily is recognized as relic and was listed in the Red Book. In height it grows up to 2 m, bulbs are large, conical in shape, up to 12 cm in diameter. Stem smooth and smooth, white or cream-colored flowers, large, up to 10-12 cm in length. The inflorescence is formed from 20-35 flowers. The aroma is mild. One of the features of this species - Lily Glen blooms only once in his life.
- Yunnan cardiokrinum. The most "undersized" representative cardiocrinum. Its growth rarely exceeds 1.2 m. On the inflorescences, 10-12 flowers with a length of up to 25 cm are most often formed, they are white with burgundy stripes at the base. The leaves give a particularly decorative look to the Yunnan Cardiocrinum - after blooming, they turn purple.
Did you know? In the language of flowers, it is of great importance what color the lily was presented to you: the white lily speaks of the purity of thoughts, the yellow - of gratitude, and the orange lily symbolizes the hatred of its donor.
Landing
In September, choose a well-lit place on the site, but away from direct sunlight and groundwater flow. Dig holes and place ceramic chips, expanded clay or other material that can provide good drainage on their bottom. Then add fertilizer, for example, humus with sand. Carefully place the flower bulbs in the prepared wells and cover with soil. Do not bury them deeply, let the tip look out of the ground. The final stage will be mulching, most often used for these purposes peat. For the full development of lilies cardiokrinum maintain a distance between plantings of 80-90 cm.
Soil mulching is the way to a rich harvest. Learn why you need soil mulching, especially the application of agrotechnical reception.
Care
We have prepared for you several secrets that will help you grow this magnificent flower in your garden:
- Do not forget to feed the plant. Be sure to - in early spring, but only after you are sure that the night frosts are over. Complex organic and mineral fertilizers, rotted manure, as well as various growth stimulators must necessarily be in the diet of lily cardiocrinum.
- Shelter in the cold season. Starting from the end of autumn, cover your flowers from frosts, using pine needles, dry foliage, sand, and even snow. So you save the lilies from the cold, which can easily destroy them. In addition, do not rush to dig cardiocrinum, as soon as spring has come on the calendar. Night frosts can be a danger to the inhabitants of your garden for a long time, so leave shelter for as long as possible.
- Liberally and regularly water the lilies. In the heat - 2-3 times a week, but with the onset of coolness enough 1 time in 7 days.
- Having discovered soil oxidation in the garden, carefully add dolomite flour (approximately 100 g per sq. M) or wood ash (at the rate of 150 g per 1 sq. M).
To find out which soil for the plant will be most favorable, read how to independently determine the acidity of the soil in the area.
Determination of soil acidity with special devices As you can see, the care of this flower is not difficult at all, and even a novice in gardening can cope with it.Breeding methods
There are two ways to reproduce lilies cardiocrinum - generative and vegetative. Consider them in more detail.
Generative mode, or seed multiplication. This option of growing lilies requires patience, because they will only bloom for 5-8 years after planting. The process of preparing and planting seeds in open ground:
- It is necessary to collect the ripe seeds from the seed pods. If they are not fully ripe - do not worry, just put them in a warm and dry place for a while. Remember that seeds cannot be stored for a long time before planting, the more they dry out, the less chance they will sprout.
- Before planting, make sure that you have enough sand and peat in your beds, and safely sow the seeds in the prepared soil. Do not forget about the winter shelter.
- If you notice sprouts, then do not dive them in the first year - let the flower grow in full force. It is better to pay more attention to the feeding of future giants - complex mineral fertilizers will replenish the nutrients missing from the plant. Superphosphate and fertilizers, having dolomite flour and wood ash in their composition, are suitable for feeding the soil. Do not despair if in the spring you did not see the desired sprouts in the garden, it is possible that the lily cardiocrinum will delight you with shoots next year.
Lily seeds cardiocrinumTo enrich the soil and nourish the plants, use organic fertilizers: straw, pigeon droppings, Florex granulated chicken droppings, bone meal, fish meal, whey, potato peel, compost, eggshell, banana peel fertilizer and tobacco dust.Vegetative mode, or breeding "kids."
- The soil for planting bulbs needs the same preparation as when planting seeds - before planting, you should add a sand-peat mixture to the beds.
- If you decide to take the bulbs from the parent plant growing in your garden, then it should be done either in the spring or immediately after the flowering period ends. Carefully separate the young layers and plant in the ground, but do not dig a deep hole - 3-5 cm will be just right. It is best to bury the bulbs as follows: 30x30 or 50x50.
- Do not forget to fertilize and water grown sprouts abundantly. Shelter for the winter, too, will need.
Did you know? In the old Italians put on wreaths of lilies on the newlyweds on the day of marriage, and in ancient Egypt, this flower symbolized freedom from slavery.
Diseases and pests
Like all inhabitants of gardens, cardiocrinums are susceptible to viral and fungal diseases. The fact that your flower is sick can be understood by the deterioration of its appearance: the dying off of the leaves and inflorescences, changing their color, as well as the deformation of the stems and bulbs. Tell you about the most common diseases in lilies.
Important! If, after sudden frosts, you find that the leaves and sprouts wilt, then do not rush to dig out the lily - it can still sprout. Cardiocrinum has strong bulbs, which can produce a new batch of sprouts to replace damaged ones.Fusarium This is a fungal disease whose pathogen enters the bulb after it has been damaged. In most cases, it is difficult to identify the problem in time, because even with a bulb “eaten” by a fungus, a flower can develop for a long time fully, but it is unlikely to survive the winter. The spores of this fungus can get into the soil due to an excess of moisture in it, overheating, as well as with the subdued manure, in which microorganisms can be found for several years. Treatment with antifungal drugs, such as Fitosporin and Fitotsidom, helps fight the disease. Processing the bulbs with these products will make the lily resistant to fusarium.
Gray rot. Excess moisture in the soil and moist air - the main assistants in the spread of the disease. The fact that your lily was infected with this type of fungus, you will understand, noticing the rotting of the leaves and the stem, which moves up to the inflorescences - they are covered with brown spots with a gray bloom. This disease is particularly dangerous in wet weather - spores of the fungus infect plants very quickly, and in just a couple of days your garden can be completely infected with gray rot. Copper sulphate and Fudnzola solution will help fight this disease.
Bacterial rot. It is easily identified by oval spots on the leaves, which cause the death of leaves and inflorescences. This rot is evident in plants that have grown from infected bulbs. To protect cardiocrinum lilies from this disease, disinfect onions before planting, and if you find bulbs affected by bacteria in the place of their storage, throw them away immediately so that the rot does not spoil the rest of the seed. If the disease has already infected a germinated plant, then regular treatments with fungicides will come to your aid.
To combat bacterial decay, treat with fungicides: “Strobe”, “Fitolavin”, “Fundazol”, “Abiga-Peak” and “Khom”.Rust. This disease is caused by spores of the fungus that infect the leaves and stem of the lilies, causing brown and red spots on them, over time they completely cover all parts of the plant, causing it to die. Treat rust with Bordeaux liquid and fungicides. Do not forget to conduct a daily inspection of your garden in order to pick off and destroy the affected leaves and stems - this will prevent the spread of fungal spores. The timely start of treatment allows not only to cure the sick lily, but also to preserve its flowering.
Particular danger for all varieties of lilies are viral diseases. Other neighbors along the beds become carriers of various viruses, and it is not at all uncommon that a flower is attacked by several strains at once. Spots on the leaves and petals, rings and dark stripes on them, deformation of the stem - all these are signs of defeat by viral diseases. The only way to confront these diseases is to localize their foci. All affected plants are destroyed, and the garden tools used in this process are disinfected.
Important! When treating plants in the garden with insecticides, adhere to safety precautions when working with chemicals: wear a respirator, use gloves, wash hands thoroughly after processing, and keep the preparations out of the reach of children and animals.Fungal and viral diseases that affect cardiocrinum lilies make up a company of various pests - they also want to eat fragrant flowers. The most notable pest is the bulbous rattle. This is a small red bug that eats leaves from plants. Its gluttonous larvae are especially dangerous - they are able to gnaw the trunk of lilies as soon as possible. Spraying with insecticides will help get rid of these pests.
To destroy parasitic insects, use insecticides: "Fastak", "Kinmiks", "Calypso", "Decis", "Marshal", "Vertimek", "Aktara", "Omayt", "Angio" and "Alatar".
A lot of trouble is capable of delivering to aphids - besides the fact that it weakens the immunity of plants, aphids are carriers of viral diseases that are so dangerous for flowers. It can only be destroyed by treatment with chemicals, insecticides such as "Agravertin".
Lily bulbs can be called one of the main delicacies of moles, mice, squirrels and even hares, which are able to dig them out on the beds. With these pests you can hide with the help of soil mulching and reliable materials that you will cover with lilies in winter. 
Use in landscape design
Any type of lily cardiocrinum looks gorgeous in the garden, both alone and mixborders. Combinations with Volzhanka, primroses, sedge will be the most advantageous. It will also be a good idea for a plant among coniferous trees and shrubs, but you should not plant it next to gladioli. You can draw attention to a giant flower by dropping grass or moss around the stem. A rather exotic look and a pleasant aroma of lilies of cardiokrinum will help to place the correct accents on your site, also with its help you can beautifully draw paths in the garden or a flowering lawn.
Now you know that lily cardiocrinum does not need complex care. Take advantage of our growing tips - and soon these exotic and fragrant flowers will bloom in your garden.
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