Description of the berlandiera plant, tips for growing in the open field, recommendations for reproduction, difficulties in growing, notes for flower growers, species. Berlandiera is a flowering plant that is part of the Asteraceae family. The native lands of this representative of the flora are the territories of the Middle States (South America) and Mexico. There are 8 species in the genus, but only one is generally known in the culture, which is called Berlandiera lyrata.
| Family name | Compositae or Astral |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Growth features | Herbaceous or semi-shrub |
| Reproduction | Seed and vegetative (division of the rhizome) |
| Landing period in open ground | Seedlings are planted in May-June |
| Disembarkation scheme | At a distance of 20-30 cm, between the beds up to 0.5 m |
| Substrate | Any garden soil, the main thing is not heavy |
| Illumination | Open area with bright lighting or partial shade |
| Moisture indicators | Moisture stagnation is harmful, watering is moderate, a drainage layer is recommended |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | 30-40 cm, but it can be from a few centimeters to a meter |
| Color of flowers | Yellow on top, green, red or maroon on the back, sometimes dark red streaks |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Capitate |
| Flowering time | May June |
| Decorative time | Spring-summer |
| Place of application | Decoration of borders and rockeries, landscaping of rock gardens |
| USDA zone | 4–9 |
The plant bears its scientific name in honor of the researcher and physician from Belgium Jean-Louis Berlandier (1805-1851). Being in the 19th century on the territory of Mexico, this scientist conducted research on this and many other representatives of the local flora. But because of the pleasant chocolate aroma of flowers, you can hear how the people call it berlandiera chocolate, "chocolate chamomile" or "chocolate daisy". In the same place, the local population calls it "green eyes", because around the flower you can see rounded bracts of a rich green hue.
All berlandiers are presented in the form of grasses or semi-shrubs, occasionally with annual stems, which originate in the woody base or from the taproot. The height of the stems varies from a few centimeters to almost a meter, but generally their size is 30–40 cm. The stem has a structure that is usually branched with leaves pressed against its surface. Stems often have hairy pubescence, they are rough or soft in texture. The leaf plates are still young, they are distinguished by a milky green hue, which, as they age, is replaced by a grayish-green color, wavy or their edge is jagged. The leaf plates are located in the next sequence, but in the root zone, large in size form a root rosette. Their outlines are feathery or spatulate, while the delenki have different sizes, while overlapping or located separately.
During flowering, single flower heads are formed, or they can fold into capitate inflorescences. It usually contains up to eight ray flowers, but their number can also vary from two to thirteen per capitate inflorescence. The color of the surface of the reed petals on top of a bright yellow color, with the reverse they can be greenish, red or maroon, occasionally they have dark red streaks. On the flower disk, tubular flowers are shaded with yellow, red or maroon tones. Stamens of a beautiful chocolate color. The diameter of the inflorescence can be 3 cm. Burlandier chocolate begins to bloom with the arrival of summer or in July, and this time can be extended to two months.
In the morning hours, the flowers begin to exude a strong smell of chocolate, which served as the second name. But when the sun rises to its zenith, this sweet aroma practically disappears and only when the heat subsides does it begin to appear, growing towards morning.
After pollination, the berlandier fruit ripens in the form of a black achene, which falls from the peduncles, retaining the remnants of disc flowers and altered petals that form a kind of "collar" around the flower head.
Basically, it is customary to plant "chocolate daisies" in flower beds, you can in rockeries or decorate it with planting borders. However, on the territory of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus (middle latitudes), it is customary to grow only one aforementioned variety.
Tips for growing Berlandier outdoors
- Choosing a landing site. The plant can tolerate direct sunlight, but only in the morning and in the evening. If the "chocolate daisy" is planted in the bright sun, the foliage may burn and dry out.
- Landing soil any chocolate can be suitable, but very loose. To do this, small amounts of river sand are mixed into ordinary garden soil. The main thing is that the soil is not heavy, otherwise the plant may be affected by root rot.
- Planting a berlandier in open ground starts from mid-April, but if return frosts are possible in your region, then this period is shifted to May or even to the beginning of June. When planting seedlings in open ground, the height of its stems should be at least 10 cm, as well as the presence of a well-developed root system. Better to land in the evening. Grooves are prepared, at a distance of 20-30 cm, but this depends on what height the variety has. The distance between the rows of plants is maintained up to 0.5 m. Water is poured into the hole, when it is absorbed, a peat pot or a seedling removed from the container is installed. In the latter case, you need to be very careful with the roots. They are straightened in the hole, then the plant is sprinkled with soil, which is lightly crushed around. To avoid waterlogging of the soil, before planting, a little drainage material can be laid on the bottom of the hole, which can be fine gravel, expanded clay or crushed brick of the same size.
- Watering. In many literary sources and on Internet sites there is information that berlandiera chocolate is highly drought-resistant, but you should not get too carried away with drying the soil. As soon as the leaves become a little sluggish, and the substrate has begun to dry out slightly, you must immediately moisten it. If this moment is missed and the earth dries up greatly, the foliage will begin to resemble lifeless rags. As soon as watering is carried out, the leaves will quickly restore their previous appearance in a short time. The plant does not tolerate waterlogging of the substrate, even simple waterlogging of the soil is harmful to it. Only when the "green eyes" begin to bloom, moderate watering is necessary, otherwise the bloom will not be so lush.
- Fertilizers for "chocolate chamomile". As soon as the plants are transplanted into open ground, the first feeding is carried out. You can use the drug "Peters Professional" (20:20:20), only the dosage is recommended to be halved from that indicated by the manufacturer on the label. After 14 days, you need to fertilize Berlandiere again using the same product, but the dosage is already taken in full. When the buds appear on the plant, you should apply a product intended for flowering garden plants, for example, Biopron, Fertika Lux Floral or Uniflor. You can use others, but with a similar spectrum of action. It is important to remember that if you overdo it with fertilizers, then the stems are very stretched, otherwise their height is within 35-40 cm.
- Wintering. Frosts of berlandier chocolate are not terrible, as it can withstand frosts of 20 degrees. But if the winter period is characterized by an even greater decrease in temperatures and increased duration, then it is recommended to dig up the bushes of "chocolate chamomile" and plant them in pots. They are then placed in a cool place that will be protected from light. For such a position, a basement room can be adapted, but so that the conditions there do not differ in increased coolness and humidity.
- General advice on care. In order to prolong the flowering of the "chocolate daisy", it is recommended to cut off all wilted flowers so that the plant does not waste energy on them. It is also necessary during the entire growing season to carry out weeding of flower beds where "green eyes" grow and to loosen the substrate. In a mild winter climate, the bushes can not be dug out, but only mulched with peat and spruce branches. As soon as the spring melts of the snow cover, then this shelter must be removed so that the plant does not vomit. Then by May you can see young bushes.
Recommendations for breeding berlandiers from seeds and vegetatively
"Chocolate daisy" can be propagated both by seeds and vegetatively - dividing an overgrown bush.
The best time to grow Berlandier from seeds is the beginning of March. Prepared soil is poured into a wide seedling container (box). For this, the substrate, consisting of leafy soil and a small amount of coarse sand, is abundantly watered with a disinfectant solution (for example, the drug "Previkura" can act as such). After the soil is dry, it is sieved to increase its friability and then put in pots for sowing. The seeds are evenly distributed over the soil surface and sprinkled on top with a small layer of vermiculite or agroperlite (a hygroscopic loose substance released in granules). Can also be simply embedded to a depth of 5 mm.
Important! If the seeds are heavily immersed in the soil, then they simply will not sprout. Then the container with the crops is wrapped in a transparent plastic bag or a piece of glass is placed on top of it. The place for germination of seeds should be well lit, but not in direct sunlight. When caring for seeds, it is important that the soil always remains moist, but the bay threatens to destroy them. The temperature when growing seedlings should be in the range of 20-23 degrees.
After seven days of the day, you can see the first shoots of Berlandier chocolate, the rest of the seedlings will appear, most likely, for the next three days. At the same time, the heat indicators are slightly reduced to 16-18 degrees so that the seedlings do not stretch out. Seedlings of "chocolate chamomile" at first are fragile and thin, so you should not rush to dive, but it is better to wait until they get stronger and still grow, so that up to six oblong leaves unfold on them.
After that, you can dive seedlings in separate pots, it is recommended to use peat ones, which will then simplify planting young plants in open ground. The soil for filling the pots is made up of leafy earth, a small amount of humus and river sand. In order to make this process easier, you can use a teaspoon while digging in the seedlings.
Young plants can be planted in a prepared place in the garden when the threat of recurrent frost has passed. But in November it is recommended to avoid freezing, since young plants may die (although according to some Berlandiere's data, chocolate can withstand a temperature drop down to -20 degrees), they should be transplanted into pots and transferred to the first year for wintering indoors. In the first year, such plants will not bloom and it is natural that you will not have to wait for seeds from them.
The vegetative method is the simplest, as you just need to divide the overgrown "chocolate chamomile" bush. To do this, the mother plant is dug out of the ground, the remains of the soil are cleaned from the root system and it is divided into parts with a sharpened knife. All sections must be powdered with crushed charcoal to disinfect. It is not recommended to make the delenki too small, as they then take root badly and for a long time. When robbing with roots, it is important not to damage them, as this may even cause the plant to die.
Difficulties in growing a berlandier in the garden
The plant is practically not affected by diseases and harmful insects, but if it grows on heavy soils, root rot can begin. At the same time, both seedlings and plants of "chocolate chamomile" begin to become lethargic and lie down (especially if watering was regular), foliage begins to dry out and constrictions form on it, its surface becomes covered with brown spot, growth slows down greatly. In this case, you can use fungicides such as "Fitosporin-M" and disinfect the soil before planting for prophylactic purposes.
Flower growers note about berlandier
To enhance the chocolate smell in the flowers of Berlandier chocolate, you can pluck the tubular flowers from the capitate inflorescence.
Types and photos of berlandier
Berlandiera lyrata (Berlandiera lyrata) is often found under the name Berlandiera chocolate, "chocolate chamomile". The plant bears the specific name because of the outlines of the leaf plates, which in their shape resemble a lyre. And it is also called "green eyes", because there is a green disc that remains below when the ligulate radial petals in the flower fly around, and it begins to look like an eye.
The height of the stems varies in the range of 30-60 cm. The head of the flower is approximately 2.54 cm in diameter. The ligulate flowers seem airy. The leaf plates have a rounded, lobed or serrated shape. In those areas where the temperature drops greatly in winter, the flowering can be extended from spring to the very frost in the fall. If the plant freezes over, then it dies, leaving only a living root system, which remains dormant in the ground. If the territory is frost-free, then flowering is year-round. When the sun rises to its zenith, the flowers close or fall off. The flowering process of the capitate inflorescence, losing its ray flowers, is due to temperature changes: if it is too hot, the flower acquires a white color, then the tubular flowers begin to fall off, leaving the shape of a green disc.
In the United States, the species is native to Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. In Mexico, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosi, Durango, Sonora, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes and Jalisco are considered his native lands. It is known to grow along roadsides and grasslands in the southwestern United States.
Berlandiera monocephala (Berlandiera monocephala) is found in the literature under the name Berlandiera lyrata var. monocephalus B. L. Turner. It is a North American species, native to the lands of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Chihuahua and Sonora. Most Mexican populations are found in the Sierra Madre area in the Chihuahua / Sonora area. Herbaceous plant up to 100 cm in height. It has flower heads that form one at a time, each with yellow ray flowers and yellow disc flowers. The species is found in pine-oak forests in the mountains.
Berlandiera pumila (Berlandiera pumila). It is native to the southeastern and southeastern United States (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina). A herbaceous plant with a branched stem that can stretch up to a height of 1 m. During flowering, several flower heads with yellow ray flowers and burgundy central ones open. Grows in open areas - fields, roadsides, forests, etc.
Video about berlandier:
