Lavaetera, or hathma
Description. Lavatera belongs to the family of mallow. The Russian name hathma indicates that this plant or its closest relatives by birth have long been growing in our country. In fact, in the south it occurs as wild. The large, elegant pink flowers of the lava are beautiful, but the tall, sprawling bush spoils the whole view. And suddenly with the help of a magic wand of selection Cinderella turned into a princess. In the 1980s, at the most important exhibitions of breeding achievements, 2 varieties won the gold and silver medals. One variety with bright pink( Silver Cap) and another variety with white flowers( Mont Blanc).They were wonderful plants with a dense, powerful bush, beautiful thick foliage and an abundance of large sparkling flowers. And at the same time, unpretentiousness to soils, cold resistance and drought resistance were preserved. Lavatera will decorate any insignificant place - even at a fence or bushes, from it or her elegant groups or razbatki turn out. Cut off branches stand in water for up to a week. Lavaeter is light-loving, well growing in sunny places. The soil is undemanding, but prefers nutritious loose soil.
In the culture the lavater is distributed three-month - powerful fast-growing, in height from 60 to 120 cm, with a large number of branches. The lower leaves are rounded or cordate, along the margins of crenate-dentate, the upper leaves are three- and five-tilted. Flowers are single, funnel-shaped, 6-10 cm in diameter, located in the axils of the leaves, on the top of the stem are more densely collected. Color of flowers white, pink and carmine.
Cultivation and care. Propagate seeds to the lavater. Sowing in the ground is carried out in early periods, shoots appear on the 7-10th day,
later the seedlings are thin at a distance of 35-40 cm from each other. For high plants, the landing distance is maintained at 40 cm, for low plants - 30 cm.
Watering only with a strong drying of the soil. Fodder with a full mineral fertilizer( 20 g. Per bucket of water).In August, after wilting of the lower flowers, when the sepals dry up, they form lozenges with a diameter of about 1 cm, on the underside of which there are quite large seeds. At first they are light, they become dark brown when they mature. In a mature state, they should be periodically collected, not allowing drying. If seeds from plants are collected periodically, they will abundantly bloom before frost.