Ledum is a perennial evergreen flowering plant belonging to the heather family, there are about ten species. Grows mainly in subarctic and temperate climate northern latitudes, in mountain thickets, elfin cedar forests, found in our country. Marsh wild rosemary has been known for a long time, even the ancient Romans extracted resin from it - incense, this plant has a very strong smell and during flowering is dangerous to human health.
This is a shrub, which in adulthood can reach a height of up to one and a half meters, has a branched root system, a straight trunk, covered with regular oblong leaves. The branches are brown, covered with pubescence. It grows in swamps and swampy forests, has many names, bug, bagoong, hemlock, sleepy stupor and many other names that accurately characterize its aromatic properties.
Flowers of wild rosemary, white, sometimes Pink colour, form an umbrella and are located at the end of the branches. The flowering period occurs in May and June, and at this time it is quite dangerous for health to be near this shrub, as it emits a stupefying aroma that can cause headaches, even loss of consciousness. The plant is extremely poisonous, this applies not only to the flowers, but to the entire bush. There are several types of wild rosemary:
- Bolotny.
- Greenlandic.
- Large-leaved.
After flowering ends, fruits are formed that look like oblong boxes containing a large number of seeds This cold-resistant plant However, if the shoots remain uncovered by snow, they will die in the cold winter. The shrub grows in open meadows and has a smooth, trimmed crown, which looks beautiful during flowering, which occurs almost simultaneously. Because wild rosemary has a long growing season, mass flowering occurs only once every four years. The photographs show wild rosemary flowers.
Gallery: wild rosemary (25 photos)
Description of wild rosemary species
This species mainly grows in temperate climates, its compact bushes can grow more than a meter. The surface of the branches is covered with dark green leaves with a shiny surface, pleasant aroma, shoots are covered with short brown hair. In spring, the shoots are covered with small white or light pink flowers.
Greenland wild rosemary
It differs from other species in having rigid creeping stems, the leaves are bright green in color, linear and tightly adjacent to each other, which seem to be soft needles, lowered on the reverse side with a fine pile. The flowers are also collected in umbels of white and slightly yellowish color and are resistant to severe frosts.
Large-leaved wild rosemary
The growing area is mountain slopes and embankments, common in the Far East, Japan and Korea. This shrub has a height of 40 to 80 centimeters; the shoots have oval leaves, covered on the outside with thick red hair.
Wild rosemary
Or it is also scientifically called Dahurian rhododendron; it is a rather branched plant that grows in height, maybe even up to two meters. Narrow dark green leaves densely cover the surface of the branches. Flowers bloom unlike other species of these plants bright pink flowers, it is often used in bouquet arrangements, this is pink wild rosemary.
Chemical composition
Marsh wild rosemary, this is completely, leaves and branches themselves, contain essential oils, which determine its specific smell. The oils contain:
- up to 70% sesquiterpene alcohols, the main one is ice;
- Flavonoids;
- Tannins;
- Neomertillin.
In addition to these basic substances, shoots contain minerals, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and other useful substances. Our scientists noted that even with long-term use of drugs based on wild rosemary, they are not addictive, therefore, for some diseases, they can be used for a fairly long period of time.
Application of wild rosemary
Although wild rosemary is considered poisonous plant, it has found wide application in the manufacture of drugs in folk and conventional medicine. Thanks to chemical composition This plant is used as a bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, diaphoretic, wound healing and expectorant.
The plant is used in medicinal preparations:
Medicinal preparations based on wild rosemary are produced in:
The components of this plant, grass, flowers and shoots, have long been used in folk medicine. Decoctions are prepared from it, water infusions, alcohol tinctures, make drops, oil and ointments. Great Application Herbal mixtures containing wild rosemary were also found.
Other uses of wild rosemary
This plant is used not only as a medicine, but also in everyday life:
- Dry leaves are used to fumigate rooms to get rid of flies and other insects, and to repel things from moths.
- The essential oil made from the plant is used in the perfume industry, soap making, and leather tanning.
- The plant is also used in veterinary medicine to treat animals.
Contraindications
The use of this shrub seems limitless, but with all its useful qualities, it also has a number of contraindications. Since this plant is poisonous, it is recommended to use it strictly according to the instructions.
Where does wild rosemary grow? This question is quite simple to answer, although it is undemanding to the composition of the soil, but prefers acidic and moist areas and tolerates frost well. When planted in a garden plot, it looks very beautiful, can be used as hedge, perfectly scares away garden plot flies and mosquitoes. It is also used to create a flowering landscape along the banks of rivers and lakes; it grows well on rocky embankments and under trees.
Plant propagation
Marsh wild rosemary propagates by seeds, layering, dividing the bush and cuttings, but this requires a certain skill.
Cuttings are carried out in summer period, the finished cuttings immediately after cutting are placed in a special solution of heteroauxin for a day, after which they are washed well and planted in prepared soil, which is typical for this method; the plant can only give roots the next year.
When propagating by seeds in prepared soil, and it should be from garden soil mixed with sand, the consistency is loose and moist, the seeds are sown, which are collected in autumn period. The seeds are scattered over the surface, but not covered with soil on top, but lightly pressed down, after which the box is covered with film and placed in a cool place, periodically watering and ventilating. When seedlings appear, and this will happen about a month after sowing, it is advisable to plant the grown seedlings in separate containers, preferably peat pots.
They reproduce well garden plants and by layering, for this purpose, twigs are dug into the ground next to the bush, to a depth of at least two tens of centimeters, watered well, leaving the top on the surface. After it gives roots, it is separated.
IN spring period You can divide the root into parts, but to do this, the bush is dug up completely and washed well. The cut parts must be treated with charcoal powder and immediately planted in place for permanent growth.
Planting and care
Plants are planted in the spring, a hole is dug a little more than half a meter, a drainage of sand and small pebbles is laid at the bottom, a prerequisite is that the soil must be acidic and quite loose, you can add pine needles. After planting, the soil around the seedling is well compacted and watered abundantly. To protect the soil from drying out, peat mulching is used.
For good growth. several times during the summer, shrubs need to be fed with a comprehensive mineral fertilizers, loosen the soil, remove weeds, but since root system located close to the surface, this must be done extremely carefully.
Ledum is practically not affected by plant diseases, but sometimes it can develop spider mites and bedbugs, insecticidal preparations are used to combat them.
As you can see, it is not at all difficult to grow a beautiful and useful shrub; the main thing is to carry out all the necessary activities correctly.
Attention, TODAY only!
Ledum is a well-known plant of the heather family. This winter-hardy shrub with evergreen foliage. The plant grows in the temperate climate of the northern hemisphere.
In Russia you can find 4 species out of 6 known in nature. The most common of them is wild rosemary. Used infrequently, because poisonous. And yet it is possible cultural cultivation. Ledum: planting and care - this is the main topic of the article.
Interesting observation! “Ledum and bird cherry bloom at the same time.”
Types of wild rosemary
Bolotny
Most known species among wild rosemaries. Usually these are bushes with narrow oblong leaves 50-60 cm tall, but they can grow up to 1.2 m. back side The leaves are covered with small rust-colored fibers. It blooms with small umbels of white or cream-colored flowers.
Greenlandic
Distributed in swamps and rocky slopes in Europe and Asia, in the cultivated version it is less common than other species. It blooms in the third year after planting, somewhat later than other types of wild rosemary. Low, up to 100 cm, spherical shape.
creeping
The height of this species is only 20-30 cm, it does not bloom profusely and grows very slowly, growing only 1 cm per year. The flowering period is mid-May to mid-June.
large-leaved
Described by A.I. Tolmachev in 1953, so its second name is Tolmachev’s rhododendron. Native to Eastern Siberia, grows in peat bogs Far East, in Primorye, on Sakhalin. This is a frost-resistant shrub; specimens up to 1.3 m tall are found. Flowering is abundant, May - June. Each year it grows 4-6 cm. Seeds ripen in August.
Choosing a place and soil for planting
To answer the question of where to plant it in the garden, you should know that in nature wild rosemary is a lover of swamps, damp coniferous forests, river banks and streams. Moist and even slightly oxygenated soils are suitable for it.
IN winter period bushes do not need shelter. Ledum “intoxicates” with its intoxicating aroma, so it must be planted at a sufficient distance from the recreation area.
“For comfortable growth, the plant requires soils with high level acidity (pH 3-4) and good moisture.”
The mixture used to fill the planting hole must consist of three components:
- peat,
- coniferous soil,
- sand
- in a ratio of 3:2:1.
Landing
It is best to plant wild rosemary in the spring. If the plant was purchased in a container and its root system is closed, it can be planted at almost any time. Depth landing pit– 30-40 cm. It is advisable to plant several bushes at once. Then, after growth, the plants will be more noticeable on the site. The distance between them in the group should be 50-70 cm.
“After planting, the plant needs to be watered and mulched with peat.”
Further care
Watering
The plant needs regular sufficient watering, especially during dry periods. It is better if this happens at least once a week.
An adult plant requires up to 8 liters of water at a time. Water for irrigation can be slightly acidified, this can be done using lemon or acetic acid. After watering, to better retain moisture, it is recommended to loosen the soil and mulch with sawdust or peat. You need to loosen carefully and without deepening, because... The roots of wild rosemary are located near the surface.
Top dressing
Ledum is an oligotrophic plant, i.e. it feels good even on poor and acidic soils. But it won't hurt to spend spring feeding complete mineral fertilizer (including phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen). At the same time, for each mature plant you need to scatter 50-70 g/m2. For young plants, 30-40 g/m2 will be enough.
Lighting
The plant also does not require bright sunlight. It grows well in both partial shade and on the bright side. Even in the shade, wild rosemary will not die, only smaller flowers will bloom.
Reproduction methods
The plant can be propagated both by seeds and vegetatively:
- cuttings,
- dividing an overgrown bush,
- root suckers.
Propagation by seeds
It is easier and more accessible to propagate wild rosemary by seeds. They ripen in mid-August-September in arched boxes. For greater germination, it is necessary to sow the seeds current year collection In early spring, seeds are sown in boxes on the surface of the substrate without being buried, having previously mixed them with sand. Then the boxes should be covered with film or glass and stored in a cool place. You need to look through and ventilate every day, carefully water with settled water from a spray bottle so that the soil does not dry out. After 3-4 weeks, seed germination will occur.
Cuttings
In order for propagation by cuttings to be successful, you need to have some understanding of the essence of the process. The process of propagation by cuttings has its own difficulties. Planting material is prepared in the summer. To improve the process of root formation, cuttings are treated with a 0.01% heteroauxin solution for 24 hours. To prepare the drug, take one tablet (0.1 g) and dissolve in 2.5 liters of water. After this, the cuttings need to be rinsed in water and planted in a greenhouse or in special boxes. The process of root formation takes a long period: by autumn, callus (a callus-like mass at the end of the cutting) is formed, and roots will appear only by the next season.
Pest control and disease prevention
One of the distinctive properties of the shrub is its intoxicating aroma. It is not surprising that various pests avoid the plant. Only occasionally is it possible for bushes to be attacked by spider mites or bugs, which manifests itself in yellowing and falling leaves. Insecticides are used for control. And wild rosemary is also disease-resistant.
Conclusion
The aroma of wild rosemary can be considered ambiguous. It beckons and intoxicates, causing headaches. At the same time, it repels insects, protects fur items from damage by moths, and finally has medicinal properties. If you “forgive” the bush for its intoxicating effect and plant it in accordance with the requirements, you will be able to enjoy its unusual flowering. But you also need to plant wild rosemary in such a way that you can only see it from afar.
Shrub type. There are six species of it in nature, four of which grow in Russia. How and when wild rosemary blooms, read about its cultivation and use in the article.
origin of name
The word “ledum”, according to the ancient verb “bagulit”, means “to poison”. The adjective derived from it is “bagulny”. It, in turn, has the meaning of something poisonous, tart, stupefying, strong. The name of the plant reflects a feature characteristic only of wild rosemary. The shrub has a strong suffocating odor. IN scientific world Ledum is called “ledum”, which translated from Greek means “incense” - a resin that has a strong aroma.
Description
The wild rosemary grows in regions with cold and temperate climates. Depending on the growing conditions, the shrub has different heights: from 15 to 130 cm. Although in some cases it grows up to five meters. The branches of young plants are covered with brownish fluff. Mature plants do not have it, and the stems have a grayish tint.
The leaves are evenly distributed. They are leathery, whole-cut, the edges are turned up. Their color is dark green and the surface on top is smooth. From below sheet plates covered with reddish-brown fluff, among which glands containing essential oil substances with a complex composition are visible. This is what explains the pungent odor with an intoxicating effect, which affects the nervous system, causing headaches, dizziness, vomiting, and nausea. This is an amazing plant. It's hard to believe that such beauty as wild rosemary in bloom can make a person lose consciousness.
Inflorescences form on last year's shoots. Depending on the type of wild rosemary, they are corymbose or umbrella-shaped. The flowers are bisexual. They consist of five white petals, although the color may be different.
According to gardeners, blooming wild rosemary It is a breathtaking sight, which, unfortunately, cannot be admired for a long time, otherwise you may get poisoned. The fruit of the plant is a capsule with five nests. The base is revealed first. Winged seeds are very small. Interesting fact, noticed by gardeners: when wild rosemary blooms and bird cherry blossoms at this time.
Reproduction
Seeds and summer cuttings are planting material for wild rosemary. In order for the cuttings to quickly take root and take root, their sections must be treated with heteroauxin, that is, placed in a solution (0.01%) for a period of 16-24 hours. Then rinse under running water and only then plant them in a container with soil. It is important to know that callus, even on a treated cutting, forms by autumn, and the roots themselves will grow only by the next season.
Soil selection
To admire the beauty during the period when wild rosemary blooms, it is important to ensure comfortable growth and development for the plant. To do this, you need to know that the flower prefers acidic soils. Therefore, when planting, the hole should be filled with a mixture of peat, soil from under coniferous plants and sand in proportions 3:2:1. Some varieties also grow on depleted sandy soils.
Landing
Ledum is grown as cultivated plant. The best time Spring is the time for planting it. But if the plant has a closed root system, the time of year does not matter. Ledum is planted for long-term growth on permanent place. Each bush is placed in pre-dug holes with a depth of 30 to 40 cm. The bottom of the planting hole is covered with a drainage layer of five to seven centimeters. Sand or small river pebbles are suitable for this. After landing tree trunk circles plants are mulched with sawdust, pine needles or small wood shavings.
The plant is grown to create a bright spot in the garden during the period when wild rosemary blooms, but to do this you need to wait for it to grow. If waiting was not part of the gardener’s plans, you can grow shrubs in groups of several specimens each. The distance between plants should be at least 50-70 cm.
Care
Ledum is an unpretentious plant that can grow in soils poor in nutrients. It grows in wetlands, but does not do well in compacted soils and does not tolerate drought. It, like other plants, needs care, which includes watering, fertilizing, loosening the soil, and pruning. Only in this case can you see how wild rosemary blooms. If care is poor, the plant will not reveal all the beauty of its many beautiful buds.
To maintain soil acidity at the proper level, wild rosemary should be watered two to three times a month with acidified water. In extreme heat and during periods of prolonged drought, wild rosemary needs frequent watering: once every seven days is a must. Watering should be plentiful, at least five to eight liters of liquid for each bush.
After this, it is necessary to loosen the soil and mulch it with peat, this will retain moisture in the soil. Loosening should be done very carefully, since the location of the roots is very close to the surface.
For better growth and the development of the plant must be fed. This will have a particularly positive effect during the period when wild rosemary blooms. The procedure should be done once a year in the spring. The best nutrition is complex fertilizer mineral composition. For adult bushes, 50-70 g are needed per square meter of plot area, for young bushes - 30-40 g. Fertilizer is applied to each plant.
Ledum does not need special pruning. For decoration, only dry, diseased or broken branches are removed. Ledum in cultivation is resistant to disease and pest damage. Obviously, a strong repellent odor contributes to this.
Usage
Regardless of the variety, wild rosemary is elegant and very interesting plant. Beautifully blooming wild rosemary decorates the garden. The smell of its leaves and stems repels insects. In addition, the plant protects a person from harmful bacteria; they die next to wild rosemary. But when growing this shrub in your garden, you should always remember when wild rosemary blooms in The air releases many toxic substances that cause poisoning to the human body. During this period, you should protect yourself from their influence: do not be near wild rosemary, much less smell its flowers.
Healing properties
Ledum has a whole complex of active substances, so it is difficult to divide it into areas of influence on human body. In folk medicine, wild rosemary is a universal remedy. It has an expectorant and antispasmodic effect. It is an excellent diuretic, analgesic and disinfectant. Has sedative and narcotic properties.
ethnoscience has long been using wild rosemary to treat bronchitis, laryngitis, tracheitis, influenza, pneumonia, cough, asthma, whooping cough. The plant is used to heal wounds, as well as in cases of insect or snake bites.
According to patient reviews, it helps in the treatment of eczema and boils, frostbite and scabies, various diseases eyes, rheumatism, arthritis and osteochondrosis, gout and other diseases.
Patients who have used tinctures from the shoots note that wild rosemary dilates blood vessels, improves blood circulation, and eliminates insomnia. The unique ability of the plant to reduce blood pressure has been revealed. Patients note that wild rosemary is well tolerated and has no toxic effects.
Marsh rosemary
This type of plant cannot boast of much species diversity. As already mentioned in the article, only four species grow in our country: marsh wild rosemary, Greenland rosemary, creeping rosemary, and large-leaved wild rosemary. Greater distribution in nature I got marsh wild rosemary. This led to a variety of names. People call it wild rosemary, fragrant bagan, headwort, swamp dope, bug grass, gonobyl and others.
The homeland of wild rosemary is the Arctic, west and east of Siberia, south, north and west of Europe, north of Mongolia, north and east of China, America and Korea. Where does wild rosemary bloom? Places of growth and flowering are swampy soil, permafrost areas, tundra, damp coniferous forests, highlands, dwarf cedar forests, banks of rivers and streams. Grows in single specimens and thickets. In our country, habitats and flowering areas are Yakutia, Sakhalin, Primorye, Sayan Mountains, Altai, Karelia.
Marsh wild rosemary is an evergreen, highly branched shrub. Its height reaches 50-120 cm. The bush is one meter in diameter. The shoots are erect, with dense pubescence the color of rust. The leaves are dark green, with a characteristic shine on the surface and a specific strong odor. Their edges curl down. The flowers are small, reaching 1.5 cm in diameter, and have a white, sometimes pink tint. When wild rosemary blooms, it emits a pungent odor. The flowers are collected in inflorescences that look like umbrellas. The fruit is a five-leaf capsule. Seed ripening occurs in August.
Natalia Streltsova
“Somewhere wild rosemary is blooming on the hills
Cedars pierce the sky...
It seems like it's been waiting for me for a long time,
A land where I have never been.”
Such a famous, wonderful song with words by I. Morozov and music by Vl. Shainsky glorifies the beauty of wild rosemary.
With the onset of the long-awaited spring, in mid-April, our coastal forests and hills, after the gray, winter colors, dress in lilac-pink, festive attire. This is the wild rosemary blooming. The amazingly beautiful, bright outfit of wild rosemary delights all residents and guests of our region with its unique flowering. It is impossible to take your eyes off the delicate beauty of wild rosemary flowers.
There is especially a lot of wild rosemary growing in the very south of Primorye, where I live.
The beauty of wild rosemary is similar to that of cherry blossoms in Japan.
This delicate flower- the pride of our Far East.
Ledum blooms in early spring from mid-April (and generally depends on what kind of winter it was), until June.
To admire this miracle, you don’t have to go far into the forest; you can even find it on the outskirts of our village.
Not a tall shrub, it blooms profusely with the appearance of primroses, when the entire forest is still bare, awaiting the first young foliage. The bright lilac-pink flowers of wild rosemary make the forest and hills so fabulously beautiful that no one can take their eyes off such a miracle when they meet it on their way.
This shrub is popularly known as “Ledum”. Although the scientific name is Rhododendron daurica or Rhododendron acuminate. In the literature it is often found under the name “alpine rose” and less often “stone bush”.
However, the name “Ledum” took root among the people, and none of them local residents doesn't call him anything else.
Here is such a handsome seaside primrose - Daurian Rhododendron.
Ledum is a miracle of Far Eastern nature.
Its petals are soft like silk. The flowers are small. But there are a lot of them on the branches of the bush. And when the bush blooms, it looks like a pink, slightly purple cloud. It is impossible not to notice such a miracle, such beauty!
The plant got its name from the Greek “rhodon” (rose) and “dendron” (tree) - translated as “rose tree”.
The Amur tiger and wild rosemary have become natural symbols of the Far Eastern spring.
Daurian rhododendron (Ledum) is listed in the Red Book.
Because, due to its beautiful flowers, it is subject to mass destruction. After all, many, walking through the spring forest, without hesitation, tear off wild rosemary branches and dig up entire bushes to plant them in their dachas or near their houses.
An amazing and wonderful sight - wild rosemary blooming!
There was a time when wild rosemary almost disappeared near the villages. But, thanks to conservationists, pink beauties increasingly began to delight the eye with their blooms. And people began to treat nature more carefully.
In Russia, wild rosemary grows on the hills of southern Primorye, in the Khabarovsk Territory, Altai, Transbaikalia, Eastern Siberia, and Sakhalin. It also grows in Manchuria, southeast China, northern Mongolia, and is found in Korea and Japan.
The leaves and branches of wild rosemary (and especially flowers, pollen and seeds) emit a sharp, specific intoxicating odor, which is explained by the essential oil content in the plant. The smell of fresh wild rosemary leaves and branches repels blood-sucking insects.
And, of course, people have created a huge number of fabulous legends and myths about wild rosemary, about this spring miracle. Which we grew up with and passed them on to our children.
I want to tell you the most famous ones. One of them reads:
-That one day the elves, fleeing a forest fire, reached the foot of the mountain and, tired, asked to spend the night in a new forest. No one in the forest wanted to accept them and only one inconspicuous bush, growing alone, sheltered them. And, in the morning the elves decided to thank their savior. And then, to the envy of the entire forest, flowers of amazing beauty bloomed on it, so delicate, lilac-pink in color! What, the whole forest envied him, and the bush shyly lowered its flowers and quietly smiled back at him!
Well, another legend tells us that the magic bush can talk and knows all the secrets.
"Ledum" even knows where the treasures are buried. And on the full moon he can reveal his secret and take him to the treasure. But he does not show the treasure to everyone, but only to a virgin, who will let down her hair and bring him some milk or honey.
According to another legend about wild rosemary, the name of the plant comes from the ancient Greek name Leda. This name was given to the plant for the beauty and intoxicating smell of the flowers. It was with these qualities that Leda conquered Zeus. Having fallen in love with the beauty, he appeared to Leda in the form of a swan. After which Leda laid an egg, from which Helen was born, who later became the cause of the Trojan War.
Ah, the oldest local belief about healing properties wild rosemary People knew and believed that he drove away bodily illnesses and unkind thoughts.
And that the mysterious “Snake Healer” lives in the Ussuri taiga. And if you set fire to a sprig of wild rosemary, the snake will come to its intoxicating smell and absorb it into itself. After this, he will wrap his rings around the sick person and drive out any diseases from him.
These are the interesting legends passed down from generation to generation about our famous, wonderful and unique Far Eastern wild rosemary.
And it is truly wonderful, just as life and nature itself are wonderful.
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Dear teachers, friends, I present to your attention a small photo sketch. Amaryllis grow here. Photo sketch. Eight years ago.
Photo sketch “Tulips” With the arrival of spring and warmth, our garden flowers bloom, and the tulip is one of the first garden flowers to bloom. The first ones.
Ledum is a perennial evergreen flowering plant belonging to the heather family, there are about ten species. It grows mainly in the subarctic and temperate climates of northern latitudes, in mountain thickets, elfin cedar forests, and is found on the territory of our country. Marsh wild rosemary has been known for a long time; even the ancient Romans extracted resin from it - incense. This plant has a very strong odor and is dangerous to human health during flowering.
This shrub, which in adulthood can reach a height of up to one and a half meters, has a branched root system, a straight trunk, covered with regular oblong leaves. The branches are brown, pubescent. It grows in swamps and swampy forests and has many names: bedbug, bagoong, hemlock, sleepy stupor and others, which accurately characterize its aromatic properties.
The flowers of wild rosemary, white, sometimes pink, form an umbrella and are located at the end of the branches. The flowering period occurs in May and June, at this time it is quite dangerous for health to be near this shrub, as it emits a stupefying aroma that can cause headaches, even loss of consciousness. The plant is extremely poisonous, this applies not only to the flowers, but to the entire bush. There are several types of wild rosemary:
- Bolotny.
- Greenlandic.
- Large-leaved.
After flowering ends, fruits are formed that look like oblong boxes containing a large number of seeds. This is a cold-resistant plant, but if the shoots are left uncovered by snow, they will die in the cold winter. The shrub, growing in open meadows, has a smooth, trimmed crown, which looks beautiful during flowering. Because wild rosemary has a long lifespan, mass flowering occurs only once every four years. The photographs show wild rosemary flowers.
Types of shrubs
It is worth taking a closer look at the main types of wild rosemary.
Chemical composition
Marsh wild rosemary is a complete plant; the leaves and branches themselves contain essential oils, which determine its specific smell. The oils contain:
- up to 70% - sesquiterpene alcohols, the main one being ice;
- flavonoids;
- tannins;
- neomertillin.
In addition to these basic substances, shoots contain minerals, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and other beneficial substances. Our scientists noted that even with long-term use of wild rosemary-based drugs, they are not addictive, so for some diseases they can be used for a fairly long period of time.
Application of wild rosemary
Although wild rosemary is considered a poisonous plant, it has found wide use in the manufacture of drugs in folk and conventional medicine. Due to its chemical composition, this plant is used as a bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, diaphoretic, wound healing and expectorant.
The plant is used in medicinal preparations:
Medicines based on wild rosemary are produced:
The components of this plant - grass, flowers and shoots - have long been used in folk medicine. Decoctions, water infusions, alcohol tinctures are prepared from it, drops, oils and ointments are made. Herbal infusions containing wild rosemary have also found wide application.
This plant is used not only as a medicine, but also in everyday life:
- Dry leaves are used to fumigate rooms to get rid of flies and other insects, and to repel things from moths.
- The essential oil made from the plant is used in the perfume industry, soap making, and leather tanning.
- The plant is also used in veterinary medicine to treat animals.
Contraindications for use
The use of this shrub seems limitless, but for all its beneficial qualities, it also has a number of contraindications. Since this plant is poisonous, it is recommended to use it strictly according to the instructions. Ledum is strictly contraindicated:
The dosage should be strictly observed to avoid side effects which are detrimental to health.
The answer to the question of where wild rosemary grows is quite simple. Although it is undemanding to the composition of the soil, it prefers acidic and moist areas and tolerates frost well. When planted in a garden plot, it looks very beautiful, you can use it as a hedge, it perfectly repels flies and mosquitoes from the garden plot. It is also used to create a flowering landscape along the banks of rivers and lakes; it grows well on rocky embankments and under trees.
Plant propagation
Marsh wild rosemary propagates by seeds, layering, dividing the bush and cuttings, but this requires a certain skill.
Cuttings are carried out in the summer; the finished cuttings, immediately after cutting, are placed in a special solution of heteroauxin for a day, after which they are washed well and planted in prepared soil. What is typical for this method is that the plant can only produce roots the next year.
When propagating by seeds, seeds are sown in prepared soil (and it should be from garden soil mixed with sand, the consistency is loose and moist), and they are collected in the autumn. They are scattered over the surface, but not covered with earth on top, but lightly pressed down, after which the box is covered with film and placed in a cool place, periodically watering and ventilating. When seedlings appear, and this will happen about a month after sowing, it is advisable to plant the grown seedlings in separate containers, preferably peat pots.
Garden plants reproduce well by layering. To do this, the branches are buried in the ground next to the bush, to a depth of at least two tens of centimeters, watered well, leaving the top on the surface. After it gives roots, it is separated.
In the spring, you can divide the root into parts, but to do this, the bush is completely dug up and washed well. The cut parts must be treated with charcoal powder and immediately planted in place for permanent growth.
Planting and care
Plants are planted in the spring, a hole a little more than half a meter is dug, and drainage made of sand and small pebbles is laid at the bottom. Required condition: the soil should be acidic and quite loose, you can add pine needles. After planting, the soil around the seedling is well compacted and watered abundantly. To protect the soil from drying out, peat mulching is used.
For good growth, shrubs must be fed with complex mineral fertilizers several times during the summer, the soil must be loosened, and weeds must be removed, but since the root system is located close to the surface, this must be done extremely carefully.
Ledum is practically not affected by any plant diseases, but sometimes spider mites and bugs can appear on it; insecticidal preparations are used to combat them.
As you can see, growing a beautiful and useful shrub is not at all difficult, the main thing is to carry out all the necessary activities.
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