Latin name: Nemesia
Category: annual and perennial herbs
Origin: South Africa
Fairy nemesia - a wonderful decoration for the garden
Nemesia (Nemesia), both perennial and annual herbs of the family Boraginaceae.
It shared its tender name with a magnificent, bright, beautiful flower that unites 50 species, the ancient Greek goddess of retribution, Nemesis.
The origin of this amazingly beautiful and very hardy, perennial flower can be traced to the high mountain pastures of the South African continent. The lifespan of nemesia in our latitudes lasts for one year, with the exception of indoor varieties.
The nemesia flower is a natural decoration for gardens and parks in the warm season until the onset of cold weather; it creates a unique effect of harmony and comfort, filling with its variety of lush, bright and abundant blooms.
Annual nemesia flowers are held on a strong taproot, have branching stems, on which long leaves and inflorescences are located. The originality of the irregular shape of the flowers, which have a mottled swelling of the upper "lip", is absolutely identical to the lion's mouth. Nemesia has an advantage only in the huge number of colors, from fancifully decorated to specifically defined red, pink, yellow, blue, white, purple flowers.
Nemesia varieties and species
Nemesia strumosa
Annual shrub with a dense, spreading crown, formed by linear and oblong leaves, and it reaches a height of about 40 cm. Large inflorescences are collected from flowers up to 2 cm in size of various colors, namely, red, orange, yellow with a hint of purple.
Hybrid nemesia
Nemesia strumosa and nemesia variegata participated in the formation of this most common species. And beautiful bushes from 15 to 60 cm with flowers of various shades up to 2 cm in size turned out. The next variety originates from this species.
Nemesia Triumph
A very sun-loving annual plant up to 20 cm high with lush yellow, red, orange, blue flowers, which are larger than other nemesia species and delight the eye on warm summer days.
Nemesia "King's Mantle"
One of the most interesting varieties, has two-colored flowers. Wonderful branching bushes up to 30 cm high are quite unpretentious, frost-resistant and moisture-loving. Nemesia is grown both in indoor conditions and in open ground.
Nemesia "Carnival"
A beautiful decoration for flower beds, borders, as well as pots. The variety of colors of this annual plant, which is 30 cm high with very branched, strong stems and opposite leaves, is unparalleled. Very beautiful flowers of irregular shape reach a size of 2.5 cm.
Growing nemesia from seeds at home
The question always arises, when to plant nemesia? Despite the fact that nemesia is frost-resistant, it still needs to be planted in May, when there will be no frosts.
There are two ways to plant flowers - seedlings and seeds in open ground. There are absolutely no difficulties. It is only necessary to determine which of the options is more suitable for the gardener.
When growing seedlings, it is necessary to sow the seeds in containers at the end of April. And it is better to sow each plant in a separate pot so as not to damage the roots when transplanting to a permanent place. Until the frosts, the small seedlings should be in warm, well-ventilated rooms.
Regular watering is essential.
Caring for nemesia
Planting nemesia in open ground and caring for it is not at all a troublesome task. The main thing is that there are no frosts after sowing. So, May is a very good month for sowing. Within two weeks, seedlings appear, which can be thinned out and the extra plants can be planted in another place, and the tops of the remaining plants can be pinched to obtain a more bushy plant. Water the flowers regularly. Nemesia loves sunlight and turns its flowers towards the sun. This must be taken into account when planting the plant.
Nemesia was planted and needs to be well cared for: water it regularly and fight weeds that grow nearby. This can be achieved by regularly loosening the soil. Throughout the summer, it is desirable to cut off the inflorescences that have finished blooming. In the second half of summer, after the end of the first phase of flowering, it is necessary to shorten the branches on the stem as much as possible for the nemesia to bloom again.
To obtain beautiful plants and abundant flowering, nemesia must be fed at least twice a month.
Complex fertilizers are absolutely necessary for this procedure.
Nemesia care is performed regularly and with high quality, which will help to avoid the appearance of various pests and diseases. And if spider mites appear on the flowers, immediately use acaricides.
- Grow nemesia. After all, it is beautiful not only near paths and borders in gardens and parks on flower beds, mixborders, alpine hills.
- Colorful bushes will look great on balconies, verandas and loggias if they are planted in pots, hanging baskets and various containers.
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