An elf flower in your flower bed or everything you need to know about the many-faced mountain goat
Horny Goat Weed occupies a special place among ground cover plants. This perennial herbaceous culture from the barberry family has a beautiful decorative appearance not only of foliage, but also of inflorescences. In the natural environment, the plant can be found in mountain lowlands and forests, especially in East Asia, the Alps, Turkey and the Caucasus.
For colorful inflorescences of an unusual shape, the mountain woman is also called the "flower of the elves".
Description of the plant
Depending on the type of plant, the leaf plate has a different shape:
- in the form of a heart;
- elongated;
- feathery;
- with a scalloped edge;
- with red streaks.
The maximum distance between each leaf in a bush is no more than 7 cm (in some varieties it is only 1 cm), which creates a dense grassy carpet.
It is noteworthy that the mountain goat bushes develop very quickly, expanding to the sides and occupying an ever larger territory, but the middle of the curtain gradually fades.
Horny Goat Weed blooms in May, raising long peduncles with loose inflorescences in the form of brushes above the deciduous cover. Each cluster contains about a dozen medium-sized flowers. They have a very original shape: the petals are arranged in two rows, 4 things outside, and the same amount inside the flower. Some varieties are distinguished by the presence of peculiar hooks-spurs on the petals. After the end of flowering, seeds ripen, but there are varieties that do not bear fruit. The seeds attract ants, which carry them far beyond the plantings of the Horny Goat Weed.
There are more than fifty species of perennials, differing in the shape and color of the leaves, as well as the structure and color of the inflorescences. Some of the most famous are mountain women:
- large-flowered;
- Colchian;
- multi-colored;
- red;
- arrowhead;
- Korean.
Gorgeous flowering of the Horny Goat Weed
The evergreen plant came to us from the mountain forests of Japan and is a bush of medium (for the species) size, no more than 30 cm high. The leaves have a heart-shaped and dense structure, a fantasy bronze pattern is clearly visible on the leaf plate. The flower brush consists of one and a half dozen lilac flowers. For their very serious size, the flower is called the large-peaked Horny Goat Weed or Grandiflora.
The inflorescences of the Horny Goat Weed of this variety contain useful substances that affect men's health. On their basis, special preparations are prepared, due to which the plant is called "green Viagra".
On the basis of the large-flowered mountain goat weed, many hybrid varieties have been bred, among them it is worth highlighting:
- Red Beauty with cherry flowers;
- Lilafi with delicate purple flowers;
- White queen with large pure white flowers;
- Rose Queen with pale pink inflorescences;
- Purple Pixie (Purple Elf) with lilac-purple inflorescences, from which white spurs are visible.
Forest Orchid Goryanka Colchis
The most massive "plantations" of the Colchis Mountain Goat Weed (the second name of the species is pinnate) are found in the forests of the Caucasus. Grows in loose evergreen bushes, propagates by creeping rhizome. Leaves of a beautiful dark color, inflorescences in the form of a simple brush with a dozen, maximum one and a half, yellow flowers slightly resembling orchid bloom.
The variety prefers shady places, it is absolutely not picky about the soil, it winters well, but does not tolerate high levels of moisture.
Popular hybrid Horny Goat Weed
Among herbaceous plants for open ground, the Horny Goat Weed attracts attention with its beautiful, rather large, yellow flowers and high drought resistance. The dense bushes grow up to 40 cm in height and are covered with red-green leaves. Abundant flowering occurs in the second decade of May and lasts almost a month, but fruiting does not occur. The species reproduces by dividing the rhizome in spring or late summer. In winter, the flower leaves with leaves.
The Horny Goat Weed is a hybrid garden variety. Her parents are large-flowered and Colchis varieties.
The species has several hybrids of its own, the most beautiful of them:
- Cupreum with copper-red flowers and reddish foliage;
- Sulfureum with yellow-white inflorescences and a red pattern on old leaves.
Unique Red Horned Goat Weed
A characteristic feature of the species are erect shoots, which in large numbers form a bush up to 40 cm high.There are not very many leaves on them, but very beautiful two-color buds bloom at the top during flowering: the petals are painted red, but have a white-yellow strip in the middle ... Also in the center of the flower there is a thickening in the form of a column. The diameter of each inflorescence of the Horny Goat Weed does not exceed 1.5 cm.
Horny Goat Weed - the best choice for carpet beds
One of the species of evergreen perennial, more often found under the name of Perralderi Mountain Goat Weed. The homeland of the plant is the mountain forests of Algeria, where cedars and oaks grow. It is characterized by a very dense crown, which is formed by beautiful dark green leaves of an elongated shape with sharp tips. The leaf blade at the petiole is collected and slightly convex, and in places where it begins to narrow, several denticles protrude. Bushes up to 30 cm in height grow quickly and form a dense carpet, the annual growth is at least 15 cm.
Dark green color only in adult leaves, while young ones have a beautiful bronze tint.
Horny Goat Weed blooms in May with loose clusters, flowers are yellow with a barely noticeable reddish border.
Gentle but persistent Korean Mountain Goat goat
Belongs to deciduous species, hibernates without foliage. Perennial bushes are compact, no more than 15 cm high, leaves are monochromatic, saturated green. The flowers are large enough, delicate in color, white and purple. Korean Mountain Goat Weed is also called Chinese.
The plant is one of the most unpretentious species: it tolerates winter frosts well and is able to grow in the shade, but grows slowly.
How does the Horny Goat goat breed?
At home, you can grow a Horny Goat goat in two ways:
- By sowing the seeds. Despite the fact that the seedlings grow quickly, the seeds of the Horny Goat Weed are sprouting. To speed up this process, they must be stratified twice by placing them in a refrigerator for a month and then keeping them for about the same period of time at room temperature. Sow the prepared seeds at the end of March in a greenhouse with loose soil (mix peat with sand). The grown seedlings can be planted in open ground not earlier than the end of May.
- Having planted a cut of an adult bush. Dig up large specimens of mountain goat weed in September and cut into several fragments. Each division should have 2-3 living kidneys. Plant them in a permanent place, deepening 5 cm into the ground, and mulch on top with fallen leaves.
Horny Goat Weed, grown from seeds, will bloom only in the third year, and delenki can release flower stalks already in the current season. It should also be borne in mind that some varieties reproduce only by dividing the rhizome.
When planting seedlings or divisions between each plant, it is necessary to leave a distance of at least 30 cm, and for species that are distinguished by active growth and branching, and more. Horny Goat Weed prefers light and nutritious soil, which contains a sufficient amount of lime.
Lighting for the mountain woman does not play a decisive role - she develops equally well in the sun and in the shady part of the site.
Uncomplicated perennial care
Goryanka grass, like most herbs, grows well without the participation of a grower. But so that the flowering is more abundant, and the bushes are more magnificent, a little help will not hurt her. The main job is to weed the beds so that the weeds do not drown the plantings. It is also necessary to water the bushes, especially in hot dry summers, but here it is better not to overdo it: if the roots are constantly in moist soil, they begin to rot.
On fertile soil, the culture does not need additional feeding. If the land is poor, you can add compost and complex mineral fertilizer, but not more often than twice a season.
Although the Horny Goat Weed is a perennial plant adapted for wintering in the open field, it is better to cover it for the winter, especially evergreen varieties. In the spring it is important to remove the shelter in time so that the tender young leaves do not burn out under such a “blanket”.
With regard to diseases, the Horny Goat Weed has good immunity to most infections and rarely suffers from them. But pests, such as field mice or slugs, love to feast on its juicy shoots. To protect the plant from them, you can install scarers or traps.
Beauty and benefits - two in one
Absolutely all parts of the Horny Goat Weed, from the rhizome to the inflorescences, contain a large amount of nutrients. Among them are alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, flavonoids and many other valuable components. In oriental medicine, the healing properties of the mountain woman have long been appreciated and the herb is used to make various preparations.
The culture is famous for its ability not only to rejuvenate the body, but also to restore its functionality in various diseases, namely:
- sexual disorders in men;
- chronic fatigue;
- hypertension.
In addition, Horny Goat Weed products cleanse toxins, strengthen immunity, relieve stress after stress, and improve blood circulation.
Along with the beneficial properties, the mountain woman has contraindications. So, you can not take drugs that include a plant, children, pregnant and lactating women, as well as for diseases of the thyroid gland.
Horny Goat Weed is a truly unique plant. Having planted several different varieties on the site, you can create a unique landscape masterpiece by covering the flower bed with a colorful "blanket" that almost does not need to be looked after. Lush curtains look good in combination with other cultures. And also the beautiful flowers and leaves of the Horny Goat Weed will help solve health problems and strengthen it. Grow this simple yet amazing culture in your garden and enjoy your work!