Leuzea safflower-shaped: characteristics, planting and care

Maralov grass, maral root, Altai grass - this is the name of Levzeyu in Altai.

Knowledgeable people call tea from this medicinal herb an elixir for fatigue.

In this article, we get acquainted with levzeya, the rules of planting and caring for it, a description and photo of the grass.

Leuzea safflower: description

In the natural environment, the plant can be found in the highlands of the Altai, Sayan, Dzungarian and Kuznetsk Alatau, in Central Asia, Eastern and Western Siberia.

Maral root in botanical description - it is a tall perennial of more than one and a half meters, with a well-developed root system consisting of a thick central rhizome and the numerous roots surrounding it.

The grass is straight, thick and hollow pubescent inside the stem.The leaves are not fleecy, dissected, elongated, with a jagged edge of a juicy green color. Flower Leuzea pink or purple with numerous tubular petals.

The bud is located on a large basket in the form of a cone with a scaly wrapper.

Preparatory work and landing time Levzei

Plot under Leuzeu, or maral root, it is desirable to choose a sublime, better on the south side. The passage of groundwater should be at least two meters from the surface, the ground is light, drained, rich in humus.

When is it best to plant levzeyu (spring and autumn planting)

In the mountainous area, where the Leuzea is safflower-shaped, its seeds, ripening in the fall, fall into the ground, but do not germinate, so as not to die in the early frost, but wait for spring.Therefore, in the summer cottage they sow a plant in early spring.

How to prepare the ground for planting maral root

The soil for the maral root before planting is treated with deep plowing, cleaned of weeds and remnants of last year's vegetation. To increase the yield, it is recommended to bring the dung-peat mixture into the soil at the rate of 10 liters per square meter.

Seed preparation for planting

Levzey is an unpretentious flower, but for the success of its seeds must undergo a process of stratification. To do this, they are kept for 48 hours in an aqueous solution with gibberellin (the drug is on sale in gardening stores), and then placed in boxes with wet sand in a cold place for a month or two.

Planting rules Leuzea safflower

Levzey with proper fit will not be demanding to care. The best predecessors for the culture in the garden will be legumes. Before sowing, the plot is once again cleaned, if necessary, the earth is dug up 5-7 cm in depth and leveled with a rake.

Seeds are sown either by furrows, to a depth of 2 cm, or by square-nested method according to the scheme 45x45.To increase the yield and for the possibility of high-quality weeding, the distance between the rows is up to half a meter. After planting, the surface of the soil is well moistened and mulched, the mulch will allow to preserve the moisture necessary for germination longer and protect the surface from drying out and the formation of a crust.

How to care for leuzey: agricultural cultivation

When growing from seeds, Leuzey is especially vulnerable in the first year of development: the green mass grows slowly and undergoes oppression from weeds.

Soil care

The whole vegetation period of the beds are weeded, the soil is loosened and cleaned of weeds. The beds must be thinned: a square meter plot normally grows no more than 10 strong plants, the weaker ones are removed.

In general, Leuzea is not capricious when growing and caring, it is well adjacent to the plants in the garden and in the garden. The main conditions for a good harvest: lighting, wetting, clean soil, preferably mulching, to protect the roots from overheating.

Plant nutrition

The culture responds well to organic and mineral fertilizers. Before planting, it is better to use organics, and in the future you can alternate with mineral complexes.

Feeding is carried out not often: in spring and August for better root nutrition. In the mineral complex, the following proportions are observed: 10 g of nitrogen and potash and 20 g of phosphate fertilizers per square meter. From organic materials, compost or dung of 10 liters per square meter is preferable. m

Levzeya safflower (maral root): harvesting and storage of the crop

Levzeya is grown as a medicinal plant for the sake of its root; it is it that serves as raw material for pharmacological preparations and treatment products in traditional medicine.

The plant is removed when it reaches three years of age, in August, they remove baskets of seeds for harvesting planting material. The ripeness of seeds can be determined by two or three outer circles: they reach a brown color when ripe.

Boxes are dried, shake out the seeds and placed in tissue bags for storage. Store planting material in a cool dry place until spring.

Rhizomes of Leuzea safflower or marale root are harvested in late autumn, just before the frost. Carefully dug raw materials are cleaned from sticking earth, removed tops, washed and dried. It is advisable to wash the roots as quickly as possible so that nutrients are not washed out and the quality of the raw materials does not decrease. Drying consists in drying in the shade during the day and then drying at a temperature not lower than 50 ° C. Ready raw materials are stored in wooden boxes for up to three years.

An unattractive-looking culture, more like a weed, is known for its tonic and restorative properties. Self-cultivated plant is an excellent remedy for insomnia, mental and physical overstrain and reduced immunity.