Phacelia plants have red leaves. Phacelia bell-shaped blue. Advantages of green manure, practical application of phacelia

In addition to these advantages, phacelia is used as a valuable fodder and honey crop. The plant blooms almost the entire warm season, until the very frost, providing abundant bribes for bees during the period when other plants have already faded.

On this list useful properties phacelia does not end. She is considered a real phyto orderly in the garden, repelling pests and displacing weeds. About how and when to plant phacelia on the site, how to properly care for the plant and use all the advantages of an annual - in this selection of material. Planting and caring for phacelia is simple and accessible to everyone, even a novice gardener.

Phacelia, plant description

Phacelia is a large genus of the Borage family, including about 200 species of annual and perennial plants.
The area of origin of culture is considered to be South and North America.
tall different types phacelia reach from 20 cm to 1 m.
The stem of the phacelia is branched, erect and pubescent. The entire leaves may be arranged oppositely or alternately on the stem.
On short pedicels are bell-shaped flowers of phacelia, collected in dense bunches of the Kolos inflorescence. The color of the corollas differs depending on the species: they can be lilac, purple, blue, white and even yellow.

The flowering period is quite long, from June to September.
At the end of the growing season, fruits ripen on the plant - seed pods. The seeds are very small, many of them ripen.

The short vegetation period and the rapid development of the aerial part (green mass) of the plant allows phacelia to be sown several times in one season.
The plant is distinguished by endurance and cold resistance, easily tolerates autumn - spring frosts up to - 9 0 С.

Useful properties of phacelia

Given the abundance and long flowering period of fragrant phacelia inflorescences, the plant has long been recognized as a valuable honey plant. Growing this honey crop in the area will attract insects, promoting better pollination and plant fruit set. The uniqueness of the culture is that it blooms throughout the growing season (until the first frost), when bees often lack honey-bearing flowering plants. Thus, phacelia significantly increases honey yield at different seasonal stages.

Phacelia - famous green manure(green manure), which improves the structure of the soil, enriches the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and contributes to the inhibition of weed growth. The rapid growth and volume of the green mass of green manure allows, already during the flowering period, to dig up the soil along with dense plantings of phacelia. Many agronomists recommend planting this nutritious green manure again in its original place. Such an agrotechnical technique allows you to significantly improve soil fertility, drive out pests (nematode worms, wireworms, caterpillars), weeds (wheatgrass, wood lice) from the site and change the acidity of the soil (from acidic to neutral). Heavy soil after planting green manure becomes light, airy and loose.

The statistics show high efficiency planting phacelia, followed by digging the green mass. So, 100 g of seeds sown on 1 hectare of land replace 300 kg of quality organic fertilizers. Nitrogen obtained by plants after the decomposition of green manure is easily and quickly absorbed, which distinguishes this green fertilizer from special mineral complexes.
Experienced gardeners plant phacelia between vegetable beds with seedlings of cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, etc. First, the greenery of the phacelia protects the seedlings from temperature changes, weeds and wind. When the vegetable crops are strong enough and grow up (in 1-2 weeks), the green manure is mowed and the soil is mulched in the aisles of the same bed. Often this method is practiced when growing potatoes. Under conditions of moisture conservation and high soil aeration, tubers develop well and give high yields. For the same purposes, phacelia is also planted in the garden: in trunk circles fruit trees or berry bushes.

Healing the soil, biologically active substances of phacelia inhibit pathogenic soil microflora. This action is an effective prevention of fungal, viral and bacterial diseases such as late blight, root rot, scab, etc. This useful property once again emphasizes the effectiveness of sowing phacelia along with vegetables, attracting pollinating insects and preventing infections.
A versatile plant, phacelia is a valuable fodder crop used for livestock feed. In terms of nutritional value, the green mass of phacelia is superior to vetch-oat and other feed mixtures for pets.
The culture can be used not only for useful and practical purposes, but also as an ordinary ornamental plant, with an abundance bright inflorescences, pleasing with their flowering almost the entire warm season.

Types of phacelia

The most common in horticulture and agriculture 4 types of phacelia are recognized: bell-shaped, tansy-leaved, twisted and Pursha phacelia. Consider the main advantages and differences of each of the varieties.

Phacelia bell-shaped

An undersized annual (up to 25 cm), with an upright, reddish hue, stem. The foliage is green with a bluish bloom and dark red edging along the edges. Bell-shaped small flowers are distinguished by intense dark blue or lilac color. The flowers are collected in one-sided inflorescences brush, 10-13 pieces. Long thin stamens rise above the corolla.

The species begins to bloom profusely within 1-1.5 months after sowing the seeds. The duration of flowering is about 40 days. A lot of seeds ripen, they easily spill out of mature boxes. In connection with different terms maturation of seeds, they are collected gradually, in several steps. At right conditions storage, the seeds remain viable for up to 4 years. With uncontrolled collection seed material, the plant gives abundant self-seeding.

This type of phacelia is distinguished by its endurance and unpretentiousness of cultivation. The plant develops more actively in sunny and open places. Does not tolerate transplant.

It is used mainly as an ornamental plant for decorating flowerbeds, flower beds, alpine slides. This type of phacelia looks spectacular in hanging pots or baskets. Seeds are often used as part of the so-called "Moorish lawn".

Phacelia twisted

An annual plant, up to 50 cm high, with light green pubescent leaves. Very small blue or lilac flowers(up to 5 mm) are collected in inflorescences on the tops of the shoots. Also cultivated garden form phacelia with white flowers. Flowering is long, from June to September.

The best place for planting is open sunny areas with well-drained soil.

Twisted phacelia is planted in flower beds, along borders or alleys. The species does not tolerate transplantation well and loses its decorative effect during prolonged frequent rains. Decorative appearance is given not only by the abundance of long-flowering bright inflorescences, but also by the seed pods that appeared after flowering.

Phacelia tansy

Most common universal view phacelia, combining agricultural and decorative purposes. Broadly branched shoots grow up to 50-100 cm in height. Flowers delicate, pale blue tint, small (up to 2 cm), with a pleasant honey aroma. The flowers are collected in an inflorescence of 5-10 whorls, opening gradually. Flowering is abundant, for 1.5-2 months, begins a month after sowing.

Unpretentious, viable species undemanding to soils and external conditions environments: able to grow on rocky, sandy soils, in the sun or in the shade.

A drought- and cold-resistant plant perfectly withstands slight frosts and a short lack of moisture.

This variety is particularly resistant to diseases and pests.

Phacelia Pursha

In height, the annual type of phacelia reaches no more than 50 cm. The plant stands out for its unusual color of flowers, with purple splashes and a snow-white corolla core. There are also varieties with contrasting stripes or spots. shades of blue. The size of the flower is about 3 cm. Flowering continues all summer.

The species is somewhat vulnerable and "capricious" to growing conditions. Prefers sunny, protected from wind and drafts terrain.

You can buy phacelia seeds in specialized stores, at agricultural sales exhibitions, in online stores or nurseries. Thematic forums and sites will help you decide on the choice of a “verified” outlet and a specific variety of phacelia.

To the question: “When is it better to sow phacelia so that in spring the soil is ready for planting the main crops?” Gardeners unequivocally advise: “In autumn, before winter.” In the case of autumn sowing of phacelia, the spring soil will be provided with valuable micronutrients, humus (rich organic matter) for subsequent landing cultivated plants. In addition, sowing phacelia “in winter” prevents the development of water and wind erosion of the soil. The main condition is to sow phacelia seeds late autumn so that they do not have time to germinate before the onset of frost.

Phacelia can be sown in different ways: depending on the purpose of the use of green manure. The crop can be sown as a main crop to restore soil fertility and improve it quality composition for the next seasonal planting of other crops. The second option is sowing phacelia as an intermediate crop preceding the main plantings.

Consider key points growing phacelia.

Phacelia is a light-loving crop, which means that it is better to sow it on lit and open areas. Many varieties of phacelia perfectly tolerate shade.
Phacelia is not particularly demanding on soil and can be cultivated on almost any type of soil (clay, peat, sandy loam, chernozem, loam, rockiness), even in the zone of risky farming. The least favorable for growing phacelia is acidic, stagnant or saline soil.

Sowing seeds is carried out throughout the growing season. The first crops of phacelia begin already in early spring(after the snow melts), despite the possibility of return frosts. Cold-resistant plant tolerates low temperatures(but not more than -10 0 C).
During the season, you can get up to 4 crop rotations of a valuable green manure crop. To do this, the green mass is cut (or mowed) without waiting for flowering, after which the site is dug up with the turnover of the reservoir and the incorporation of green manure into the soil (a variant of the surface location of the mass as mulch is also possible); and after a few days you can sow new green manure seeds. The last, autumn, sowing can be left uncut for the whole winter. Such enhanced soil nutrition will allow for several years to receive high yields, even without additional fertilizers.

If the culture is not harvested in time (before or during the flowering period), phacelia will provide abundant, uncontrolled self-sowing of seeds on the site.

Agrotechnics of sowing seeds is not complicated and includes several stages:

Before sowing, it is better to dig up the site and remove weeds.
The prepared area is leveled, slightly compacted and watered.
Seeds before sowing are mixed with sand or sawdust of a fine fraction. This is necessary to evenly distribute the seeds in the ground, as they are very small and light.
The seed is sown in grooves (with a row spacing of 30 cm) or scattered over the prepared area, harrowing from above with a small (1.5-2 cm) layer of earth. Seeds left on the surface will not germinate.

Phacelia shoots appear quickly, after about 1.5-2 weeks.
The seeding rate of phacelia is about 150-200 grams per one hundred square meters of land.
Phacelia should be planted immediately on permanent place, since the culture does not tolerate transplantation.

Phacelia Care

You need to water the plant regularly (when it dries up), while you should not overmoisten the soil, much less allow moisture to stagnate. Moisture is especially important during seed germination in the garden.
The culture practically does not need weeding and loosening. In the case of planting phacelia in the grooves, at first it will be necessary to remove weeds in the aisle and loosen the soil, especially after watering.
Propagate phacelia seed way. Seeds are easy to collect on your own: leave plants the most early dates sowing, cut off the inflorescences with ripened seed pods (on the lower part of the curls), lay out the branches of the inflorescences until completely dry and ripening. Then the seeds are ground and separated from dry impurities. You can store seed in a dry, cool place for 3-4 years.
For improvement decorative look phacelia: abundant and long flowering, culture (twice a season) can be fed with complex mineral fertilizers.
Phacelia is resistant to various kinds diseases and pests, therefore, does not require special treatment.

findings

Phacelia is a beautiful ornamental plant that can decorate any flower bed or alley. Abundant and long flowering fragrant annual pleases everyone around, while attracting pollinating insects and bees.
Planting phacelia as green manure is economically viable and justified. Several crop rotations of grass significantly improve soil fertility, repel pests and do not require the application of expensive fertilizers and the purchase of special insecticides.
Undemanding to growing conditions, early maturing phacelia has good germination, easily propagates and grows quickly.
Facelia care is minimal: watering and loosening in the early stages of development. Such universal qualities make phacelia indispensable in horticultural practice.

Phacelia - herbaceous flowering plant from the Aquatic family. South and North America are considered its homeland, but it is cultivated all over the planet. The reason for this is the decorative appearance and the mass of useful properties. Phacelia will quickly turn even dense, poor soil into loose and fertile. fragrant flowers contain a lot of nectar, and phacelia honey has many useful properties. The structure of the inflorescence gave the name to the whole genus. With Greek"Phacelia" translates as "beam". At the same time, even a beginner can master the care of the plant.

plant description

Phacelia is an annual, biennial and perennial herbs 0.5-1 m high. The stem rhizome with thin lateral processes grows into the soil to a depth of 20 cm. The strong stem is located straight and has many lateral processes, therefore, when favorable conditions phacelia is more like a bush. The shoots are covered with ribbed skin with bristles or pile and are painted bright green.

Ash-green foliage can grow alternately or oppositely and is located on short petioles. The leaves are quite close to each other. The leaf plate takes on a lobed or pinnately dissected shape. On the leathery surface, the relief of the veins is visible. The edges of the leaves are often serrated, but there are also whole.

Flowering begins in early summer and continuously lasts until mid-autumn. At the same time, a single flower opens for only 1-2 days. Small buds are collected in dense bundles at the ends of the stems of 40-100 pieces. They have very short pedicels or sit on a peduncle. Small corollas are painted blue or purple and have the shape of a bell. Long thin stamens peep out from the center of the flower with five fused petals.

Pollination occurs with the help of insects. After that, seed pods ripen with many small seeds. In 1 g of seed, there are 1800-2000 units.

Popular types

According to various sources, the Phacelia genus includes from 57 to 80 plant species. In our country, most often you can find only a few.

Phacelia tansy. Annual grass up to 1 m high forms a lush bush, because up to 20 woolly fibrous processes extend from the main shoot. Above the jagged oval leaves, small bluish-blue flowers bloom in May. They are collected in a one-sided spicate inflorescence in the form of a curl. The correct cups of 5 petals are only 2 cm in diameter. Flowering is accompanied by a charming honey aroma.

Phacelia tansy

The plant consists of branched erect stems up to 25 cm high. They are quite fleshy and fragile. The surface is covered with a fleecy reddish skin. The next ovate leaves with uneven teeth along the edge grow 6 cm in length. They are painted bluish green. bright blue or purple flowers reach 3 cm in diameter. They bloom in June. The center of the funnel is almost white. Dark stamens with large anthers peep out of it. Flowers are collected in curls, which in turn are in a racemose inflorescence. Varieties:

California bell blue flowers up to 25 mm in diameter rise above gray-green fleecy vegetation;
Blue Bonnet - bright blue bells bloom on a bush up to 40 cm high.

Shoots up to 0.5 m high are covered with light green jagged leaves with soft pile. At the top in June-September there are beautiful curls of tiny (up to 5 mm in diameter) blue bells.

Phacelia as green manure

Green manures are plants that are planted in poor, problematic lands to improve their characteristics. Phacelia in this sense is a leader. The roots of the plant, as they develop, loosen the substrate well, turn heavy clay into a loose, free-flowing substance. The stems quickly decompose and turn into humus. It perfectly enriches the earth with nutritious minerals and organic matter. After such sowing, within 2-3 years, vegetables and root crops can be grown on the site without any top dressing at all.

Flowering of phacelia occurs 1.5 months after sowing. By this time, the volume of green mass reaches 300 kg per hundred square meters. With the onset of flowering, the culture can be mowed. After mowing, the shoots stop growing and the roots decompose. This results in soil enrichment. nutrients. With a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil and precipitation, additional manipulations are not needed. Such a short development period allows you to make several crops per season or grow phacelia after harvest.

Phacelia is grown from seeds immediately in open ground. Even young plants can withstand frost down to -9°C. The first sowing is carried out in late autumn before winter. Seedlings appear very early in thawed patches. Spring sowing can begin in March-April, when not all the snow has gone. After harvesting from garden crops, it is sown again useful plant. The best time to do this is in July.

Phacelia adapts to any living conditions, but it grows best in ventilated, well-lit areas. The plant does not tolerate transplantation, so they are immediately sown with intended areas. Since the seeds are very small, they are mixed with sand or sawdust. The sowing rate for 100 g of seeds is 50-80 m². planting material can be distributed without pre-treatment soil right on the surface. Some gardeners still prepare holes 1.5-2 cm deep. Seeds are planted in the soil and rolled slightly for better contact. Such manipulation will improve contact and make seedlings more massive.

The ground must be wet. If there is no precipitation, you need to water the site. The first sprouts appear 7-12 days after sowing. With the advent of 3-4 true leaves, plantings are thinned out. The distance between seedlings should be 5-7 cm. At a height of 6-8 cm, the distance is increased to 10-15 cm.

Phacelia Care

Phacelia is very tenacious and unpretentious culture. It belongs to drought-resistant plants. Watering is required only when prolonged absence precipitation when the soil surface cracks.

While the seedlings are small (up to 2-3 weeks), they are not able to fight weeds on their own. The beds should be weeded and loosened. Stronger plants do not need this procedure.

In order for the shoots to grow faster and the flowering to be plentiful, you should feed the phacelia twice a month with a universal mineral complex. Fertilizers also make the flowers bigger. The first buds open in a month. Within 1-2 weeks, only a few flowers open, and then a long and abundant flowering occurs.

If phacelia is grown as a fodder crop, mowing is performed at the budding stage. Later, the nutrient content of vegetation decreases.

Seed collection is carried out when more than half of the achenes turn brown. Use seeds from the lower boxes in the inflorescence. It is important not to hesitate, because fully ripe achenes crack and empty.

Pests and diseases affect phacelia in extremely rare cases. Usually, the annual is not treated, but simply isolate the affected plant.

Use in the garden

By planning a landing in several stages, you can achieve continuous flowering"from snow to snow" decorative forms planted in a mixed flower bed, along the curb, among stones and boulders. They can be planted between fruit plants to decorate and protect the garden. Phacelia looks very nice in flowerpots, like an ampelous plant for a balcony and a veranda. It is combined with calendula, flax, rudbeckia, lavender, escholcia, atrium. The seeds of this beauty are added to the Mauritanian lawn mixture.

Phacelia is considered a versatile plant. This one-year-old excellent honey plant, a good fodder crop and an ideal green manure. AT wild nature such a flower grows in abundance on the American continents.

Phacelia is an annual plant of the Waterfoil family. However, there are also biennial and perennial species.

Main characteristics:

erect and fragile stem up to 90 cm high;
pinnate leaves of a greenish-ashy hue, covered with a small hard fluff;
flowers of a blue or pale blue hue in the form of miniature bells collected in bunches.

Because of this similarity, the flower got its name, as translated from Greek word phakelos means "bundle". The fruits resemble a box, inside of which there are small seeds. 1 g has more than 2 thousand seeds that remain viable for 3-4 years. Flowering begins 5 to 6 weeks after planting and continues for 2 months.

Common species for cultivation

In nature, there are more than 8 dozen types of phacelia.

But only a few are used in horticulture:

Phacelia tansy. Decorative and agricultural culture. Grows up to 50 cm in height. Forms more than 20 large shoots. It blooms in May with small bluish-gray inflorescences in the form of an ear.
Bell-shaped. It grows up to 25 cm. The stems are reddish in color. It blooms from the third week of June with dark blue inflorescences collected in a brush. Flowering is long - more than a month.
Twisted. It has miniature blue flowers of a characteristic shape on the tops of the stems. The leaves are fluffy, light green. Blooms all summer. It looks very decorative, so it is often used to decorate flower beds.
Phacelia Pursha is a beautiful ornamental plant. It forms compact bushes 50 cm high. It blooms for a long time with flowers quite large for phacelia.

The use of phacelia as green manure

Siderat is a crop that is used to enrich and improve the composition and structure of the soil. Phacelia can be grown both as a pure culture and mixed with other green manure in row-spacings, tree trunks, and in beds.

Benefits of using tansy phacelia as green manure:

grows very quickly, so weeds simply do not have time to sprout in areas sown with phacelia;
loosens and improves the structure of the soil with its roots, making a dense clay land of light and crumbly;
saturates the soil with various mineral and organic substances;
retains moisture in the soil, so watering may be infrequent;
prevents the development of viral and fungal diseases;
looks beautiful, as the leaves have a carved shape;
attracts insects to the site that pollinate plants.

When the leaves decompose, the soil is enriched with nutrients, so after planting the phacelia, the beds can not be fertilized for 2-3 years. The soil becomes fertile, loose and of high quality.

It is interesting that in 40 days the plant forms more than 250 kg of green mass per hundred square meters, and this is equivalent to 300 kg of manure.

As soon as the phacelia begins to bloom, gardeners recommend immediately mow it. If this is not done in time, the stems will become too coarse and will take a long time to decompose. After that, the mowed green mass is watered with a solution that improves decomposition, mixed with the ground and dug up. Then you can sow phacelia again in the same area. During the season it will turn out to plant a culture several. On the next year in such a plot there will be a rich harvest.

In plantings of phacelia it is very convenient to grow seedlings. Wide holes are made in the grass and young plants are planted there. Phacelia protects the soil from drying out, and seedlings from scorching sunlight.

Also, this crop is used to improve the yield of root crops, sowing it between rows. It improves air exchange in the soil and promotes rapid growth vegetable crops.

Phacelia as a honey plant

Phacelia is a honey plant. It attracts bees and other insects that "graze" on it from early spring to late autumn. At the same time, at least 300 kg of honey can be collected from a hectare of culture, and in favorable conditions even up to 800-900 kg. These are impressive figures. For example, from the same area sown with buckwheat, you can collect about 70 kg of honey, and white mustard - no more than 100 kg.

Landing in open ground

Phacelia can be sown before winter, in spring, as soon as the snow melts, or in autumn. In the latter case, it is necessary to calculate the time of sowing so that the seeds have time to germinate before the first frost.

Since this culture is very short period growing season, it can be sown 3-4 times per season.

But top scores it produces when sown from July to August. At the same time, the row spacing should be about 10 - 12 cm. Seeds should be planted to a depth of no more than 2 cm. About 120 g of seed will be required per hundred square meters. The seeds are very small, so it is best to mix them with sand or dry fine sawdust to sow more evenly.

If the soil is very dry, the crops should be watered immediately. Seeds germinate at a temperature of +4°C.

How to care for phacelia

Phacelia is quite unpretentious in care. It can grow well even in risky farming areas.

It is undemanding to the soil, easily adapts to stony and sandy loamy soils.

The culture is characterized by high drought and cold resistance, it can withstand short-term cooling down to -9°C. It can be planted in the shade, it grows well under trees.

When shoots appear, they can be thinned out a little if they are thick. Optimal Distance between plants - 5 - 6 cm. Then they will branch well and will not give weeds any chance.

Collection and storage of seeds

Seeds are harvested when the spikelets turn brown by more than half. Most a large number of seeds can be obtained from the first crops. In subsequent crops, due to worsening weather and frequent rains, the seeds may not ripen to the end. It is best to collect boxes from the bottom of the plant - there the seeds are the largest and most complete. If they are not removed in time, they will fall to the ground and continue to grow.

Some summer residents simply cut off the dried spikelets, lay them out in a dry and ventilated place and leave them to dry completely. When the spikelets are completely dry, the seeds will spill out on their own.

The collected seed must be dried, cleaned of debris and transferred to linen bags.

Disease and pest control

The plant is highly resistant to diseases and is practically not affected by pests. It is even recommended to be planted to protect other plants from various diseases and insects.

Phacelia is worthy of the attention of every gardener. It is a natural phytosanitary, a beautiful ornamental plant, an excellent honey plant, a useful fodder crop and an indispensable predecessor for any vegetable crops. Its judicious use makes it possible to facilitate labor, enrich the soil and reap a rich harvest of vegetables.

When on suburban area you need to sow green manure in order to enrich the soil, add decorations, and attract pollinating insects - phacelia comes to mind.

At the same time, caring for her is so simple that even a novice gardener can cope with this task.

Origin

Phacelia flower (lat. Phacelia) is a plant belonging to the Borage family (lat. Boraginaceae). It got its name due to the structure of flowers, "phacelia" in Greek means "bundle".

Depending on the variety, the life of the phacelia can be one, two or more years.

Despite the fact that climatic conditions middle lane Russia allows it to multiply by self-sowing, in our country it is cultivated, mainly as annual crop and is used either as green manure or as honey plant.

Phacelia originates from South and North America, but it has become so popular that it can be found all over the planet.

Useful properties of phacelia

What is the reason for this popularity:

beauty and decorativeness of flowers;
improvement of soil structure and enrichment with microelements;
phacelia is an excellent honey plant and successfully attracts pollinating insects to the site;
honey from phacelia has healing properties.

Appearance

Under favorable conditions, phacelia can reach a meter height.

The above-ground part quickly decomposes, turning into valuable and nutritious humus, which nourishes subsequent plantings for several years to come.

mowing time

A month and a half after the first shoots, flowers bloom.

By this time, spreading bushes have already been formed and you can start mowing, which will allow you to collect up to three hundred kilograms of green mass per hundred square meters.

After mowing, the shoots do not grow back, and the roots begin to decompose in the ground, enriching the soil.

Such a short growing season from germination to flowering allows you to sow phacelia more than once per season, or plant a plot after removing the main crop.

Soil acidity regulation

Before frost, the phacelia will have time to grow well, after which the green mass is either left on the garden bed in the winter, or mowed and covered with soil.

Phacelia is not demanding on habitat conditions and in any case will delight you with foliage and flowers, but if you create everything the necessary conditions, then there will be much more green mass, and bright fragrant flowers too.

It should be planted in open areas, well lit by the sun and blown by the wind. Sow immediately in a permanent place.

The seedling method is not used, because phacelia has a negative attitude towards transplantation.

So that the phacelia plantings are not very thickened, it is recommended to mix small seeds with sand before sowing and sow the plots at the rate of 100 grams of seeds per 60-70 m².

The soil before sowing can be additionally not processed by plowing or digging, but sown directly on top. After sowing, the plot is rolled with a roller or the seeds are pressed in in another way. The main condition is that the land is not virgin, otherwise the seeds will not break through the fused roots of vegetation.

Sowing

If you are planning to sow small plot garden, you can use the method of sowing in the grooves.

Sowing takes place in moist soil, or, if the land is dry, plantings are watered artificially. After that, already within one to two weeks, the first shoots appear. With small sowing areas, the plantings are thinned out with the appearance of the third true leaf, leaving a distance of about 10 centimeters between the bushes.

Phacelia easily adapts to environmental conditions and needs minimal care. Tolerates drought and requires watering only if the dry period is extremely long and the soil surface has begun to crack.

Weeding

Until the phacelia has come into full force and has not gained green mass, the plantings need to be thinned out from unwanted weeds, and the aisles should be loosened.

These procedures are applied only during the first month of development, then the phacelia will be able to take care of itself.

If you want to see lush bushes and bright flowers- then it will be useful to introduce universal mineral supplements.

Mowing

When a crop is grown for livestock feed, mowing is not worth delaying. The best time for mowing - this is tying buds. If the flowers have already blossomed, the stems and green mass will be less nutritious and saturated with useful trace elements, since everything will go into flowers.

Seed collection

When to collect seeds?

Use in the garden

Using cascade sowing, you can achieve continuous flowering of phacelia until frost - this will add decorativeness to the garden and attract pollinating insects to your trees. And if you keep an apiary, it will give you tasty and healthy honey.

Decorative varieties of phacelia can be used for a variety of flower beds, planting trunk circles, along curbs, between horticultural crops, in rockeries and on alpine slide. It is often used as ampelous plants, planting in flowerpots, on balconies and verandas.

Pests and diseases

Phacelia is attractive not only to bees, but also predatory insects, whose larvae destroy pests of the garden and vegetable garden:

Despite the fact that the phacelia does not have so many enemies, but if a disease still comes or a pest attacks, it is considered inappropriate to treat the phacelia, it is simply mowed and destroyed.

Name: Phacelia (Phacelia)
Family: Borage (Boraginaceae)
Origin: Northern and South America
Humidity: Moderate
Location: Not whimsical to care and location
Soil: Not whimsical to the soil
Pests and diseases: Not affected
Required work: top dressing
Growth Height: 20-25cm
Landing in the ground: End of April-beginning of May
Bloom: August
Suitable for cutting

It's really unique plant. In addition to decorativeness, it has many other properties.

Phacelia (Phacelia) is a genus from the Borage family (Boraginaceae). These are annuals and perennials. herbaceous plants. They have branched stems. They are usually erect and bristly-hairy. The leaves of the phacelia are entire, opposite or alternate. The pedicel is rather short. The color of the flowers can be white, purple, blue, azure, sometimes yellow. The plant blooms from June to September. It depends on the species. There are about 80 species in the genus.

Phacelia is also used as green manure. Possessing excellent herbicidal properties, it successfully fights weeds. Actively grown by beekeepers. Because phacelia is a wonderful honey plant. It is believed that she fights with stick insects and nematodes. It is also a good "neighbor", as it prevents fungal and viral diseases. Some species are used as "green manure". To enrich poor soil.

Care and landing

Phacelia is quite unpretentious in cultivation. She needs sun and warmth, the soil needs light, permeable. Don't forget about drainage. Quite cold-resistant and can tolerate temperatures down to -9 ° C. But does not like phacelia saline and acidic soil.

Although it is photophilous, it also feels calm in the shade. It is necessary to protect the plant from the cold wind. Watering is needed moderate without waterlogging, but regular. This is especially true during seed germination. In rainy and gloomy periods, phacelia may develop more slowly and bloom less luxuriantly. It is not worth transplanting, she does not tolerate this procedure very well. Maybe even die.

Reproduction of phacelia

Phacelia is propagated by seeds. They are sown in open ground in May-April. Better immediately to a permanent place to avoid transplantation. Seeds must be mixed with sand, then buried in the soil. Seedlings appear in about a week. Phacelia seeds have good germination. Although sometimes it is uneven. Can be sown in autumn. With this seeding option, seedlings may appear after 20 days. The sprouts need thinning.

fertilizers

In order for the phacelia to bloom luxuriantly, it must be fed with complete mineral fertilizers. Make compositions twice a season.

Diseases and pests

The plant is not affected various diseases or pests.

Types and varieties of phacelia

Phacelia bell-shaped (Ph. Campanularia). An annual type of phacelia. It has racemes and dark blue flowers. Flowering time from mid-June. hybrid variety'Blue Bonnet' is taller about 40 cm with bright blue flowers.
Phacelia twisted (Phacelia congesta) The plant is distinguished by small blue flowers. Inflorescences are located at the tops of the stems.
Phacelia tanacetifolia - (Phacelia tanacetifolia) Probably one of the most common species in our country. Previously, it was used as an agricultural plant. But now this phacelia has become mostly decorative. Shoots about 50 cm high, small pale blue flowers.

Phacelia video

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