Poisonous plants in the garden
Among the plants, as in human life, pitfalls are on the way. Beautifully flowering shrubs are very good in the garden, but like most beautiful women, they are often very insidious.
Content
- The origin of the name Daphne
- general characteristics
- Poisonous fruit
- Variety Daphne
- Daphne deadly or wolf bast
- Daphne in the garden
- Cultural Varieties
- Daphne Altai video
- Pontic Daphne
- Care Features
The origin of the name Daphne
According to ancient Greek myths, the wolfberry was given the scientific name in honor of the nymph Daphne.
Apollo was inflamed with a passion for a beautiful nymph, but she did not respond to feelings, rushed away, Apollo chased after her. Daphne, realizing that she could not be saved, asked for help from the goddess of the land of Gaia. Gaia took pity on the nymph and turned her into a slender laurel tree, Daphne in Greek means laurel.
The Russian name reflects the poisonous properties of these plants, their danger, and the most common in Russia, the species of the genus Daphne is a deadly wolf, or wolf bast.
Wolfskin is called because of the strong fibrous bark of the plant, which is very difficult to tear.
general characteristics
Daphne is a deciduous or evergreen shrub, they are small in size (from 1 to 3 meters), and some alpine species have a height of only a few centimeters.
Daphne leaves are long, narrow or elliptical, waxy to the touch.
Daphne shrubs bloom in late winter or early spring. At this time of the year, flowering gives a person true pleasure.
Small, but numerous flowers, densely cover the shoots of the past year, in some species they are collected in dense caps on the tops of the stems.
Petals have a variety of colors: white, pink, purple, greenish-yellow. Flowering not only pleases the eye, but also saturates the air with a strong and very pleasant aroma, while the aroma differs in different types of plants.
Daphne shrubs bloom quite long, from two to three weeks, and in the cold spring, flowering continues for a month.
Poisonous fruit
At the end of flowering, in the first half of summer, the bush attracts attention only with foliage unusual for our latitudes, but at the end of July-August, daphne shrubs attract attention with their fruits of bright red, yellow or black color.
In central Russia, only on a shrub of a wolf bast, you can wait for the fruit to ripen, they create beauty for this shrub, and long narrow leaves become delicate-yellow in color.
And between the leaves, on the branches there are numerous large shiny berries, they remain for a long time on the branches after the leaves fall, these shrubs look wonderful in the autumn garden, especially against the background of coniferous plants and the first snow.
Variety Daphne
yulia's wolfberry (white)
In European decorative gardening, many species of daphne grow, but, unfortunately, these plants are too thermophilic for Russian conditions.
daphne alpine
But such daphne breeders as alpine and branched can live in our gardens.
wolfberry Altai
Of all the species that are widespread on the territory of Russia, the most suitable for growing in harsh conditions can be called deadly wolfberry, Altai, Caucasian, Julia, Pontic.
Daphne deadly or wolf bast
On the territory of the middle zone of Russia, the most unpretentious, well wintering, the daphne deadly, or wolf bast, has proved itself. This type of shrub, in its natural form, is found in forest regions in the north and middle zone of European Russia, in Western Siberia, the Caucasus, and Western Europe.
The wolf bast received its name for a strong bark, if you try to pick a flowering branch, do not bring your fingers to your mouth or eyes after that without first washing them.
This type of shrub is frost-resistant, does not require shelter for the winter, prefers partial shade. In spring, it is good to add peat to the soil; it blooms very early on the shoots of last year.
When flowering, it is very similar to lilac, but has a very strong smell. Flowering wolf is not afraid of snowfalls and spring frosts, is appreciated for its early flowering. In nature, a deadly wolf has the appearance of small bushes.
Daphne in the garden
When planting a wolfberry in the garden, for a couple of years, it turns into a neat miniature tree, a little more than one meter high. At the end of flowering, last year's wolf bast shoots are covered with dense narrow leaves up to 10 cm long.
In August, beautiful, brilliant, bright red berries ripen, sitting directly on the branches, like sea buckthorn. But admiring the bright berries, it must be remembered that wolfberry, including wolf bast, are very poisonous, bark, leaves, flowers and fruits are dangerous.
10-15 berries contain a lethal dose of poison for humans, therefore, if there are children in the garden, it is better to break the berries.
Cultural Varieties
As a result of selection, a number of daphne hybrids were obtained, such as the Large-flowered form, has large bright purple flowers, a terry form, has white double flowers, the Bowles Variety variety is a plant up to two meters high, has pure white flowers and yellow fruits, Rubra variety Select, has large flowers of a reddish hue.
Daphne Altai
This plant is found in nature, mainly in Western Altai. Often, this deciduous shrub up to one and a half meters tall, grows in the form of a miniature tree with a strong stem.
It has white flowers, elongated leaves, blooms profusely in May-June, and, after the leaves open or at the same time, the fruits are bright red, brownish-black or black.
Often in September-October it blooms repeatedly, but weakly. This is a light-loving and winter-hardy shrub.
Pontic Daphne
A plant native to the Western Ciscaucasia, prefers fresh fertile soils and open areas.
This is an evergreen shrub, up to one and a half meters high, has large (up to 10 cm long), oval, dark green, shiny leaves.
Blooms in early summer with large yellow-green flowers. In the midland of Russia, it winters well, but blooms irregularly.
Care Features
Daphne is unpretentious, many are shade-tolerant, but the best results can be achieved in partial shady or even sunny areas. Particularly important is full coverage for the alpine wolf and Julia.
Soil prefers nutritious, light, moist, but well-drained, can not tolerate prolonged drying.
Daphne breeders require the most common care: weeding, watering. It is useful to fertilize with complex mineral fertilizer in the spring, it is good to mulch compost in the fall.
In harsh winters, some types of daphne may require shelter.
Since daphne grows slowly, cutting is not recommended for them.
These shrubs are resistant to pests and diseases, are occasionally affected by some viruses and gray rot.
Aphids are a dangerous pest for daphne.
related photos:
scented wolfberry
kamchatka wolfberry
wolfberry
wolf bast
deadly beauty
daphne laurel
