Lily curly (lily family) will not leave anyone indifferent! She is distinguished by discreet beauty, grace and grace. Slender stems with small turban-shaped flowers rise above flower beds. The graphic nature of the inflorescences is emphasized by dark leaves. Your garden in the evenings is filled with a delicate aroma, spicy, with a chilly note. That's why curly lilies are so popular. The article presents their botanical description, popular species, diseases and their prevention, features of care and reproduction, as well as a beautiful legend associated with these flowers.
Curly Lily: description
Curly lily is otherwise called saranka, or martagon. The plant is tall, its height can reach one and a half meters, sometimes two. Its leaves are whorled, they are numerous (there are up to 20 or even more). Flowers, which curly lilies are famous for, are collected in brushes. Their petals are "curled", in color they can be either decorated with a border or speck, or plain. The martagon flowering period is 3 weeks, starting from the end of June.
As you probably guessed, the curly lily (genus Lilia) got its name from the specific shape of the flowers. They resemble a Turkish turban. Translated from the Turkic language, the word "martagon" means "turban". In our country, the popular name of the curly lily (royal curls) is still popular, which rather refers to the impression made by the plant as a whole.
Where is the best place to plant martagon
Martagons will decorate shadow compositions. During flowering, curly lilies look very impressive against the background of large perennial species - black cohosh, rogers, volzhanok, aconites. Perennials at the end of summer will take over the baton of decorativeness, cover the stems of lilies, which by this time are already drying up. An elegant and laconic combination is also a combination of ferns and martagon.
Popular varieties
In our gardens, curly lilies are most often grown, the flowers of which have a pinkish-lilac color (they can be speckled or plain). The white variety of martagon (L.martagon var.album) is less common. This curly lily (its photo is presented above) has larger white flowers with a greenish throat. This noble lily is a true masterpiece!
One more variety should be noted - L.martagon var. albiflorum. It is characterized by pink buds, as well as a soft pink blush, which is especially noticeable in a barely blossoming flower. On the petals of this species you will findsmall dark pink dots. The most striking of the natural forms of the curly lily is the Cattani variety (another name is the Dalmatian lily). It is tall (up to two meters), and its flowers are dark, wine-red.
History of varieties
Even at the end of the 19th century, breeders were attracted by the variety of martagon variations and its originality. Different forms were crossed with each other and with related varieties of lilies. And now the selection work is being carried out. The novelties that we managed to get significantly enriched the palette of shades that wild-growing curly lilies had.
Let's list the most famous of the old varieties. Mrs R. O. Backhouse is a yellow variety with small crimson flecks, Brocade is a pale pink. Early Bird - early flowering, pinkish-yellow, very fragrant curly lily (locust). All these plants are tall (up to two meters), and their flowers are large.
Modern varieties
Genuine masterpieces appeared among martagons in the middle of the 20th century. For example, the darkest variety currently in existence is Black Prince. This is a short plant with black-purple tightly curled flowers, small and shiny. Also of note are two elegant varieties whose flowers are pagoda-shaped. The first is Rosalinda, a cold lilac-pink shade. The second is Ivorine, whose flowers are white with pink shadows.
Of the modern cultivars, tall, many-flowered varieties such as Terrace City (bright yellow) and Gaybird (withpink small tightly twisted flowers). Claude Shride is one of the most interesting of the dark colored martagons. Its flowers are large, wine red. Also of note is the Arabian Knight. It has red-brown flowers that have yellow sparks. As for light varieties, you should pay attention to Irish Cream. It has ivory colored flowers when it has just opened. Gradually they fade, turning white.
It should be noted that in many varieties of martagon, especially yellow and pink shades, the flowers fade noticeably with time. There are hybrids in which this property is especially pronounced. These are Chameleon and Attiwaw. In contrast, a variety like Bronze Medallion's flowers (bright pink with slightly recurved petals) barely change color.
Spread in nature
Martagon is not often found in nature now. Lily curly from the Red Book is distributed from Europe to North Asia. However, its habitat is broken. Its sections are found in the Carpathians, in the European part of Russia, in the south of Eastern and Western Siberia, in Transcarpathia. Curly lily lives on the edges, meadows and clearings. It is found singly in broad-leaved, mixed and small-leaved forests, as well as in the mountains.
This species needs protection. Measures are currently being taken to protect it. Curly lily is a rare species of flora of the Urals. This plant is listed in the Red Book and protected in several reserves.
Breedingmartagon
These lilies are inhabitants of light forests. This means that in the garden they grow best in partial shade. However, with sufficient moisture, they may well take root in the sun. It should be noted that the soil for these plants should be quite dense, rich, moisture-intensive.
Martagon bulbs are best planted from the second half of August to mid-September. For a large adult bulb, the planting depth is 20-25 centimeters from the bottom. You should be prepared for the fact that full flowering will have to wait 2, and sometimes 3 years. It happens that the bulb "falls asleep", so it germinates only after a year, and not next spring. But this lily will grow for many years in one place, and it will not need a transplant.
Plant nutrition
Martagons are fed in the same way as other bulbs. For this, a complete mineral fertilizer is used in the spring, and after flowering - phosphorus-potassium fertilizer (best of all - potassium monophosphate). It is very useful for these plants to mulch the soil with compost. Thanks to this, it will not overcool, overheat and dry out. In addition, compost provides additional nutrition.
Diseases, their treatment and prevention
Martagons rarely get sick. As for fungal diseases, botrytis (gray rot) can become a problem. For treatment, it is necessary to use systemic fungicides ("Skor", "Topaz"). Phytosporin is suitable for prevention. The lily fly is a very dangerous pest of these plants. The buds affected by it either turn into ugly flowers, or completely crumble. If you find these symptoms, know that treatment in this case will no longer help. It will be necessary to take preventive measures already in the next season. To do this, starting from May, the lily is treated with an insecticide (for example, "Aktara"). Processing is carried out two to three times, the interval between which is two weeks.
Martagon breeding
Of course, all gardeners dream of their plants blooming in a bouquet. However, this is usually observed only if several bulbs are planted side by side at once. Martagons, unlike other types of lilies, divide extremely slowly. Therefore, you will have to wait years for a bouquet.
The most efficient propagation method for these flowers is scaling. Several outer scales are separated from the bulb. Then they are slightly dried, disinfected (using preparations "Vitaros", "Maxim" and others) and placed in a slightly moistened substrate (peat, sphagnum moss, perlite). Flake containers are stored at room temperature. In addition, they must maintain moderate humidity. Small onions form at the base of the scales after about 2 months. You can plant them in the ground. In the fourth or fifth year, the first flowering occurs.
Sprouting
Sowing martagon is an activity that also requires a lot of patience. The fact is that seedlings bloom only in the fourth or sixth year, and sometimes even in the seventh. But if you sow seeds that were collected from hybrids, there is a high probabilityget a very unexpected and diverse offspring. Seeds must be sown between September and October. They are left in containers dug into the ground. Usually shoots appear only the next year.
Legend related to Martagon
In conclusion, I would like to tell the legend associated with these flowers. After reading it, you will know how they appeared.
One merchant's wife died. He, without thinking twice, sent matchmakers to a neighbor - a rich and young widow. She laughed at the merchant and rejected his matchmaking, explaining her decision by the fact that he was bald and old. Then the groom decided to ask the witch for help. The woman listened to the merchant and said that she could not restore his youth, but the curls on his crown would still grow if he did as she told.
Then the sorceress offered the merchant a vial containing a magic potion. She told him to go to the forest at midnight and sprinkle this potion on his head after the bird called. The merchant, barely waiting for the night, went into the forest. It is very scary in it at night, but our hero, hiding behind the crowns of trees, began to wait for the cry of a bird. But, unfortunately, there was dead silence. Gradually, fear began to overcome him. When, at last, the bird cried out, the merchant dropped the bottle from fear and rushed away from the forest. Recovering his breath at home, he decided to abandon his intention to marry. Since then, flowers have appeared in the forest with curled petals resembling magic curls.
