Лаурентия

Family: bellflower. Native range - Australia.

This perennial is indispensable for decorating inner courtyards and terraces. Its flowers have the shape of an elegant little star, reaching 3.5 cm in diameter. They appear at the tips of shoots of low shrubs only 10 to 30 cm tall. Лаурентия became popular only a few years ago, so its seeds are not always easy to obtain. In spring, young but already flowering plants produced by cuttings appear widely on the market. To have seedlings flower at the same time, seeds must be sown in late summer or early autumn. With spring sowing, it takes 4 months from emergence to flowering.

If Лаурентии seeds are sown in August–October, the seedlings must be carefully protected for the winter, as they perish from frost. Seeds can be sown in boxes or trays that are brought indoors in bad weather. If possible, place лаурентию in a cool greenhouse or conservatory. Growers who commercially cultivate this plant start sowing seeds from December to March, but in amateur conditions it is better to wait until March. At the end of May, transplant the plants into open ground, choosing a sunny spot with well-draining soil. Watering of Лаурентии should be moderate, and water must not stagnate in the soil.

The лаурентии corollas can be blue and pink with all intermediate shades between these colors. As a rule, the petal color can be determined by the cultivar names: in 'Blue Stars' (see photo on the left) it is indeed sky-blue, while in 'Starlight Pink' it is pink in various shades. There are cultivars with white corollas, for example 'White Star', which features somewhat taller shrubs. One of the best cultivars — 'Country Park' — has lavender-blue flowers with a diameter of up to 1.5 cm.

In its native habitat лаурентия grows in marshy places, so in European conditions it also requires soil with increased moisture content. It is best always to plant it in containers placed in light partial shade in a courtyard. Лаурентия речная is easily propagated by division of the clump and is usually widely available in the spring range of garden plants.