The iron-bearing, ferruginous or ferruginous balsam (impatiens) is very different from other varieties. It is a wild plant with healing properties.
The flower is grown on summer cottages, used to create a hedge and decorate fences.
Read more about the origin of the flower, about the features of planting and caring for it, as well as about the medicinal properties of this plant and its application in medicine, read our article.
Origin and Description
Homeland balsamic iron - Himalayas. It was brought as an ornamental plant. Area of distribution are forests of temperate latitudes. Impatiens grow along river banks in shady, humid places.
Ferrous balsam - an annual culture, reaching a height of 2 meters. The shoots are smooth, reaching up to 50 cm in length, branched stem. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate species, smooth and shiny, from 6 to 12 cm long. The root system is fibrous.
The name "iron-bearing" flower received because of the dense compounds (glands), which are located near the base of the leaf plate.
Appearance and photo
Glandular balsam is characterized by leaves with toothed edges and winged petioles. At the base of the sheets are 2 dark-red stalked glands. Plant features:
- Simple large flowers on long peduncles.
- Inflorescences are collected in axillary decorative tassels, in which from 2 to 14 flowers.
- The diameter of the flowers is 3-3.5 cm.
- Flowering from mid-summer to frost.
Flowers in the ferrous balsam with two petals and a cup. Colors range from white to wine red. Smell - thin and delicate. The fruit is a box, sharp at the top. The plant is easily wild and widely distributed. Below you can see a photo of a balsam:
Medicinal properties and medical use
The full composition of iron-balsam balsam has not been studied. At the time of flowering it contains a large amount of ascorbic acid, which is used to prevent colds. Leaves and stems are saturated:
- Tannins.
- Alkaloids.
- Flavonoids.
- Glycosides and other components.
In touch up in some quantities, sigmasterol, cerilic alcohol, carotene and various resins are present. Seeds are 60% fatty oil.
In the form of drugs balsam used internally and externally: make decoctions, tinctures.
Touch-ups are used to treat various diseases:
- Kidney stones.
- Purulent wounds and ulcers.
- Rheumatism.
- Gout
- Diabetes mellitus.
Freshly squeezed balsam juice is used to treat fresh wounds. Scientists have shown that drugs that include glandular impatience increase the frequency of contractions of the heart muscle and inhibit the central nervous system.
Landing features
Since ferrous balsam is wild-growing, it is grown only outdoors. For room conditions it is not intended.
Lighting and location
The site should be bright and well lit in the first half of the day, and in the second half to provide the plant a shadow. Choose a place protected from wind and drafts, near which there are no large trees and tall shrubs.
The soil
The earth does not need to be too saturated with fertilizer. Otherwise, green mass will develop, but not inflorescences. For balsamine is not suitable too loose soil.
To prepare the optimal soil, mixed in equal parts:
- Compost.
- Humus.
- Perlite.
- Sod land.
The soil mixture should be slightly acidic.
How to plant?
Glandular balsam is thermophilic. The time for planting comes when there are no threats of night frost - in June. If several plants are placed on a bed, they maintain a distance of at least 25 cm between them.
Care
Watering
Impatiens love moisture, but when overwetting the root system decays. This leads to diseases. When watering follow the following rules:
- Moisten as the soil layer dries (in the heat 1 time per day, 1 time per 2 days in the cool).
- Moisture should not fall on the buds.
- Use only soft and settled water.
Do not allow the substrate to dry out. In heat balsams need a large amount of water. When drought will begin to fall leaves and buds.
Fertilizers
Feed the plants regularly throughout the development and flowering cycle. In the growth phase fertilized with minerals 1 time in ten days. During the budding period, nitrogenous fertilizers are not applied - this will adversely affect flowering. Plants require potassium and phosphorus. With the onset of autumn stop feeding.
Important points
To prolong the flowering period of the ferruginous balsam and preserve its attractiveness, remove faded flower stalks. Tops pinch to stimulate the development of new shoots.
With the onset of frosts, the funky is transplanted into a pot or produce rooting of young cuttings for planting next year.
Diseases and pests
In case of excessive watering, the balsam of iron is affected by gray rot. This is a fungal disease in which gray scurf and brown spots appear on the leaves. If no action is taken, the plant will die. Treatment:
- The affected areas are removed, sections are treated with charcoal.
- The flower is completely sprayed with fungicides: Barrier, Barrier or copper sulfate.
With prolonged chilling, black spots appear on the shoots - bacteriosis. To combat the disease using the tool Alirin.
Growing ferrous balsam, flower growers often face a number of problems:
- Lack of flowering due to drying out of the soil.
- Bud fall due to high air temperature. Plants are shaded and sprayed.
- Leaf bleaching caused by lack of light.
- Pulling shoots, lack of flowering indicates a lack of fertilizer.
On the garden plot the balsamic plants are subject to the attacks of harmful insects:
- Spider mite
- Aphids.
- Whitefly.
To get rid of parasites, the sheets are treated with a solution of soap (20 g per liter of water) and insecticides. If the lesions are minor, use folk remedies: tincture of calendula, yarrow, wormwood, garlic.
Breeding features
Ferruginous stray man propagated by seeds and cuttings.
Reference. Balsam gives abundant self-seeding, and because of this often turns into a weed.
To get planting material from seeds at home, act according to the scheme:
- Prepare a box with soil.
- Place the seeds in a damp ground. The soil is not sprinkled.
- Top cover with plastic or glass to create greenhouse conditions.
- After the emergence of seedlings, the glass or film is removed.
Seedlings are placed on the garden when warm weather sets in. Seedlings recommended to close the film. In order for flowers to adapt to outdoor conditions, polyethylene is removed, gradually increasing the time the seedlings stay in the air.
Thanks to cuttings from a one-year balsam, you can make a perennial. At the end of summer, the apical shoot of the parent plant is pruned. The cutting is placed in wet perlite or in water. When the roots appear, the flower is transplanted into a container with a special substrate. After the threat of frost has passed, a mature plant is planted in the garden.
Propagation by cuttings is carried out not only in summer, but also in autumn. This is a great solution to increase the decorative greenery on the plot.
Thus, the ferruginous balsam is a heat-loving representative of the southern flora. The plant is not picky in the care. In addition to decorative purposes, the flower has healing properties. It helps fight rheumatism, ringworm and other ailments. Ferrous touchstone - a wild-growing species. But he needs competent care in the garden.