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Irina Borodina 06/01/2020
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The myrtle tree, originally from the Mediterranean, fell into the ranks of indoor plants not by chance. It not only decorates the room, but gives it a special style, fitting perfectly into the interior of modern apartments.
Can be cut, standard ones are found in the shape of a ball, cube, or cone. It can be grown as a shrub or tree.
And the myrtle bonsai looks exotic. The leaves contain essential oils that purify the air.
Features of growing a myrtle tree are in our article.
Indoor myrtle - description
Interesting fact: the word myrtle is of Greek origin. Translated as “incense.” This shrub actually has many uses, such as its leaves are used to make an essential oil with a pleasant, soothing scent.
Interestingly, myrtle essential oil is used not only to enjoy its aroma, but also for treatment: for example, it calms the nerves and helps fight colds. Berries also help - they make tasty, aromatic decoctions for the sick.
The plant that Europeans are accustomed to calling myrtle is in fact only one of the representatives of the large myrtle family, which also includes feijoa, cloves, and eucalyptus. By the way, most of these plants are also used to produce essential oils.
It is interesting that this is the only member of the family that is widespread and thrives in Europe; the rest of the myrtleaceae are Asian guests.
What does a myrtle tree look like?
It is a shrub reaching approximately two meters in height. The crown is easily formed, so the bush is often stylized as a bonsai (this is called “on a trunk,” that is, the crown is cut so that a thick trunk remains at the bottom, and branches and foliage form a ball at the top).
The leaves are large, bright green, oval, leathery, glossy. The berries are round, dark blue or black, sometimes white (depending on the variety), and contain small seeds inside. Often used to make decoctions, they are tasty and aromatic.
Homeland of the plant
Mediterranean countries. Wild myrtle grows in southern Europe: in Italy, Cyprus, France, Spain, and also in Asia.
How and when does myrtle bloom?
The period from buds to flowering is mid-spring. It begins to bloom directly at the beginning of summer and ends at the end of September - October. Making it bloom is quite simple, just take care of it and also provide the plant with fresh air. It is also important not to prune the bush while it is blooming, but to cut it only when flowering is over.
The flowers are medium in shape, the number of petals is from four to six, warm white-yellow, fragrant. Sometimes they are terry.
How quickly it grows at home
Slowly: it adds only ten to fifteen centimeters annually.
What smells
A characteristic, recognizable smell that is difficult to compare with anything else, except perhaps with eucalyptus, a relative of myrtle. The smell is fresh, herbaceous, soothing. It is often used in men's perfumes, as well as for the production of calming essential oils.
What does myrtle symbolize?
The plant is closely associated with Christian culture, although it is also present, for example, in Ancient Greek or Old Norse. According to Christian tradition, Adam and Eve took myrtle from Eden when the Lord allowed them to take something as a souvenir of the Garden of Eden, of a blissful, cloudless life. Adam and Eve decided that a branch of a bush from Eden would remind them that a person’s soul should be pure, righteous, and also protect their home.
Another biblical legend says that during the Great Flood, Noah sent a dove to find out if there was dry land nearby. One day the dove returned with a sprig of myrtle in its beak - which means the Flood was over.
In the ancient Greek tradition, the myrtle wreath was worn by Aphrodite and her companions, the beautiful Graces, personifying fun, feminine attractiveness, and the pleasures of life.
It is even believed that it was in such a wreath that Aphrodite appeared before Paris when he was ordered to judge the dispute between the three goddesses about who was destined for the famous apple of discord, which became the beginning of the Trojan War. As you know, the goddess of love won, so from then on she fell in love with myrtle, and people often began to plant it around her temples.
Hymen, the god of marriage, and Erato, the muse of erotic poetry, were often depicted with a myrtle wreath.
Since myrtle is associated with the goddess of love, a wreath of it was often adorned on the heads of brides at weddings in ancient Greece and Rome. To this day, brides sometimes choose this type of decoration. Such a wreath symbolizes eternal love, marital fidelity, but besides them, it also symbolizes success, youth, health, strength, and even victory in war.
Is myrtle poisonous or not?
Absolutely not, it is a medicinal plant that is used for medicinal purposes, for example, to calm the nervous system or strengthen the immune system.
Myrtle in nature
Not particularly different from domestic varieties, only wild myrtle is less decorative, because decorative varieties were purposefully bred to please the eye. It grows in Mediterranean countries, for example, Italy, Spain, France, and Cyprus.
3.Varieties:
3.1.Common myrtle - Myrtus communis
In its natural habitat, the common myrtle is a spreading, multi-stemmed shrub native to the Mediterranean. The height of the shrub is approximately 4.5 m, but when grown at home, with the help of pruning, the height can be maintained at 60 - 90 cm. The leaves are glossy, oblong lanceolate, dark green, arranged oppositely. When damaged, the leaves and shoots emit a very pleasant aroma. The flowers are small, white, 1 - 2 cm in diameter, solitary, with a pleasant smell, appear in the first half of summer. Each flower bears many long, white stamens and resembles a powder puff. After flowering, the plants form round, bluish-black berries.
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3.2. Swamp myrtle, chamaedaphne
Compact multi-stemmed shrub from 30 to 90 cm in height with thin, abundantly branching, flexible shoots. The leaves are glossy, oblong-oval, green, from 1 to 5 cm long and up to 1.5 cm wide. The edges of the leaf plates are smooth. The underside of the leaves is painted a lighter shade. In April - May, the flowering period begins, when the plant abundantly produces axillary, drooping, bell-shaped, white flowers located in the upper part of the stems.
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3.3.Lemon myrtle - Backhousia citriodora
Slow growing, evergreen, very dense shrub or small tree 8-9 m high. The leaves are green, oblong-lanceolate, 5-10 cm long, with a central vein highlighted in light color. The leaf blades have small teeth along the edges. Young, just emerging leaves have a reddish tint, and their underside is often covered with slight pubescence. When damaged, the leaves and shoots of the plant emit a strong lemon aroma. The flowers are white or cream, with a yellow center, with five oblong petals, collected in small inflorescences - umbrellas. Each flower has a large number of long, white stamens. Flowering is very abundant.
The leaves of the plant are used in food as a seasoning and are sometimes added to herbal teas. Shoots and leaves contain essential oils that have powerful antiseptic and antiviral effects; they contain a large amount of antioxidants, vitamins A and E.
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3.4.Wax myrtle or chamelacium - Chamelaucium
Chamelacium or wax myrtle is an evergreen shrub with erect, thin, branched stems covered with smooth reddish bark. Needle-shaped, green leaves tightly cover the stems of the plant and evaporate a minimal amount of moisture. When damaged, the leaves emit a pleasant lemon smell. Flowers with 5 rounded petals of white, pink, red or lilac shades appear very abundantly and remain open for a long time, replacing each other. During the flowering period, chamelacium fills the room with a light honey aroma.
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3.5.Chilean myrtle or pointed luma - Luma apiculata
In nature, the plant is abundantly branched at the base of shrubs or small trees with a very lush crown. The stems of the plants are covered with bright, brownish-orange, peeling bark. The height of plants can be from 10 to 15 m. The leaves are simple, opposite, broadly lanceolate, 1 to 2.5 cm long, green. The lower surface of the leaf plates is painted in a lighter shade. .The edges of the sheet plates are smooth. The flowers are solitary, delicate, white, with a large number of long, white stamens, about 2 cm in diameter. After flowering, small bluish-black berries are formed, edible, with a sweet taste. Despite its impressive dimensions, luma grows very slowly and in indoor conditions its height is easy to maintain with pruning.
Variegated varieties with dark green, glossy leaves and a white border around the edges look very attractive.
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How to care for Myrtle at home
The plant has very good health, it is not characterized by any special diseases, most often if it is sick, it means that there were some care errors (usually overwatering or drying out). Therefore, it makes sense to immediately provide the plant with proper care. What conditions are necessary, what kind of feeding, how to carry out formation at home - you will find out below.
What to do after purchase
Do not rush.
First you need to water your bush generously. Then put the new plant in its own place, away from other green plants if you have any, and watch what happens. If the bush feels good in store-bought soil, perhaps there is no need to rush into replanting, especially if now is not the right time for it (the best time to replant a myrtle tree is winter).
If the bush looks lethargic, it is better to transplant it into more nutritious soil.
Before moving it to other plants, it makes sense to inspect all green pets for pests. As already mentioned, myrtle is not prone to diseases, but it suffers from pests. It will be inconvenient if the pest jumps from a flower you already have to a new one or vice versa (you never know what they did to it in the store).
Next, of course, you need to carefully choose the place where the new pet will now live, and then put it there. You need to choose taking into account the following characteristics:
Lighting
Moderate. The bush prefers to be in the shade, without direct sunlight; only diffused light is desirable. When it is hot and sunny, you should move the pot away from the light, and it is recommended to water more frequently.
Content temperature
The optimal temperature is 22-24 degrees, and the shrub loves fresh air, so it can be placed near a window or taken out to the balcony. In winter, the temperature should not rise above ten degrees, so it can be kept on the balcony.
Humidity
Sufficiently high humidity is preferable, so you should not place the flower near heating devices, and on hot days it is advisable not only to water, but also to spray.
How to water a myrtle tree
Apply liberally, preferably daily, so that the top layer of soil always remains slightly moist. However, it is important to water with high-quality water: settled, room temperature. Tap water can make your bush sick because it contains hard minerals that are harmful to the plant.
In summer
Watering is done more abundantly, since myrtle does not tolerate heat very well. The top layer of soil should not be allowed to dry out. It is also advisable to add spraying.
in winter
Watering is reduced, since the combination of humidity and low temperature has a bad effect on any plants - these are ideal conditions for root rotting. An exception is that if you don’t remove the bush anywhere in winter, it remains in the apartment, under the same conditions.
Fertilizer and feeding
Only needed if you want to grow a large bush to grow in the garden, in a tub. Then you can buy a universal complex fertilizer, as well as cow manure extract.
They feed after every fourth watering, but only in summer-spring, and in winter-autumn, feeding stops.
Origin and appearance of the myrtle tree
Myrtle got its name not by chance: in Greek, the word “myrtle” means “incense” or “balm”. The myrtle tree contains a large amount of essential oil, which is used in medicine and cosmetology.
Myrtle tree in natural conditions
The tree's homeland is the Mediterranean. Wild varieties can be found in the following countries:
- France;
- Italy;
- North Africa;
- Greece.
The tree is quite heat-loving, and therefore it can only winter in warm regions. In the middle zone or Siberia, it can only be grown as an indoor bonsai plant.
The plant belongs to the Myrtaceae family - like eucalyptus, clove and tea trees, guava and feijoa. It is characterized by slow development: on average, annual growth does not exceed fifteen centimeters. The height of an adult specimen in the wild is about five meters.
Important! As a house flower, myrtle usually does not grow more than 60 centimeters, sometimes reaching a meter in height.
Myrtle is an evergreen plant. Its leaves are entire and arranged oppositely. The color of the leaf blades is emerald; thin veins are clearly visible on the surface, which contain essential oil with an amazing aroma.
Blooming myrtle
Descriptions of the myrtle flower
Myrtle flowers are small, consisting of five boiling white petals and golden stamens. The flowers are collected in short inflorescences, sometimes growing singly, sometimes forming bunches. In autumn, when the plant fades, fruits appear on it. They are usually dark blue, but there are varieties with white and yellowish fruits. Inside them are seeds that have an irregular shape - from these seeds you can grow a myrtle tree.
Pruning and crown formation
It sounds intimidating, but in fact, shaping myrtle is easier than it seems: it is a very flexible shrub. It is enough to simply trim with scissors or pluck leaves that, as you think, disturb the appearance of the plant and make it untidy and unattractive.
Don't be afraid of pruning: it only stimulates more intensive growth of a denser crown.
When is the best time to prune: after flowering, best in mid-spring.
Myrtle bonsai
Formally, this is, of course, not a bonsai. A bonsai is a tree that was supposed to grow large (pine, oak, ash...), but was grown in a certain way, essentially with constant suppression of the root system in such a way that it grew miniature.
However, myrtle can be shaped so that it looks like a bonsai, that is, like a small tree. To do this, you need to constantly pluck the lower leaves to form a trunk, and then maintain the correct shape of the crown. If the trunk is not thick enough to look like a tree, you need to cut off the top - this will stimulate the thickening of the trunk.
In order to direct the branches in the desired direction, for a more complex bonsai shape, wire is used: you need to wrap the branch with it, giving it the desired direction.
Reproduction of Myrtle
Here you will learn how to propagate myrtle, how to root it, and how to grow myrtle from seeds.
Interesting fact: some gardeners believe that it is easier to grow a plant from a cutting or from a seed than to buy it in a store, since store-bought plants supposedly take root worse. Whether this is so, however, is not known for sure.
In order to plant a bush, you will need some tools.
Propagation of myrtle by cuttings at home, along with propagation by seeds, will require the following equipment:
- A sharp tool with which you separate part of the plant (knife, scissors, pruning shears). The tool should be sharp so that you don’t have to saw the appendage or break it off - this is dangerous for your green pet; it’s easier to introduce infection into such a “lacerated wound.” The instrument must also be disinfected with alcohol.
- Ground charcoal or mustard powder to sprinkle on the cut areas. This is necessary for disinfection and prevention of infection.
- Containers for cuttings, nutrient soil, polyethylene or glass to organize greenhouse conditions.
- Root growth stimulator.
Cuttings
Sequencing:
- Select the shoot from which you want to make a new plant. The main condition is that it be healthy, green (a green, non-woody shoot produces roots more easily, although woody shoots are also acceptable, the process will just be slower with them), with several pairs of leaves, no less than twelve to fifteen centimeters.
- Cut the shoot, remove the lower leaves (to the middle).
- Treat with a growth stimulator.
- Place drainage in the pot, make drainage holes, and fill it with soil. You can use greenhouse soil, you can make soil from turf soil, humus, sand and peat (the process of making it is described in more detail in the “Transplanting” section).
- Plant the cuttings in the ground, deepen them three centimeters, compact the soil, and cover with polyethylene or glass.
- Place in a place where the cutting will not be exposed to direct sunlight, but at a high temperature.
- Ventilate the greenhouse daily.
- In a month, the sprout will give roots, after which it can be transplanted into a new, larger pot and cared for like an adult plant.
- The soil for replanting consists of leaf soil, perlite, and humus. Under the substrate layer there is a layer of crushed brick and fine expanded clay (this is necessary to prevent moisture stagnation in the roots of the plant).
- Immediately after transplanting, it is necessary to water the tree generously, but be sure to drain the excess from the drainage holes, and then cover the ground with a thin layer of mulch - straw, pine needles, grass. This is necessary in order to prevent the appearance of pests in the soil.
Seeds
This is a more complex process that does not always end successfully.
First of all, you will need seeds. You can buy them (choose ones that are no older than one year, since over time the seeds lose their viability) or take them from the mother plant; fortunately, myrtle quite easily produces fruits - berries that contain a seed inside.
An important point: you need to prepare for planting seeds in advance, because the seeds need to be sown as quickly as possible, since they lose their viability very quickly. Therefore, you need to prepare the soil first.
The soil is the same as for adult plants: turf soil, river sand (can be calcined, but not necessary), humus, peat. Immediately prepare glass or polyethylene with which you will make a greenhouse.
The sequence of actions is quite simple:
- Pour the seeds onto the ground and cover them with a two-centimeter layer of soil on top;
- Cover with a greenhouse.
- Leave in a sunny place in a hot room where the temperature does not drop below 20-25 degrees.
- The greenhouse must be ventilated once a day.
- In a month and a half, the seeds will begin to sprout. When the first pair of leaves appears on the sprout, you can plant it in a separate pot. It is advisable to pinch it to promote the formation of a dense crown.
Common varieties
Myrtle - care at home, how to reanimate if it has dried out
Myrtle is a houseplant that is famous for its variety of varieties.
Among them are some of the most popular:
- Boetica is a rare large-leaved variety. Its leaves grow up to 6–7 cm in length. Sometimes they curl and take on interesting shapes. Large fluffy white flowers bloom on the bush. Black, oval-shaped berries ripen from them. This variety grows very slowly.
- Flore Pleno - double snow-white flowers and bright green leaves of graceful shape.
- Variegata is a variegated plant: green leaves have yellowish spots. Sometimes there are leaves edged with a light border.
- Microphylla is a dwarf tree with small flowers and foliage.
- La Clape - growing quickly. Its flowers ripen into large purple fruits.
- La Clape Blanc is a variety with white fruits.
Compacta
- Tarentina is a small-leaved variety. Its dense crown consists of leaves 1–1.5 cm long. Many lush flowers bloom on the tree.
- Tarentina Granada - flowers turn into white berries.
- Tarentina Variegata is a variegated variety with white-green leaves.
- Microphylla Tarentina is a miniature variety.
- Alhambra - oblong leaves in a dense crown. White fruits ripen from the flowers.
- Leucocarpa - the name of the variety describes the color of its fruit: white berries.
- Compacta - glossy green leaves form a dense crown topped with double white flowers.
Alhambra
Transplanting myrtle ornamental
It is carried out either when the bush has grown out of the pot and it has become crowded there, or to prevent the death of the plant.
Regardless of the reason, the sequence of actions during transplantation is as follows:
- Before transplanting, it is recommended not to water the tree for a day or two to allow the soil to dry out. This will make it easier to remove it from the pot.
- Prepare a new pot. Don’t forget to fill it with expanded clay and drainage, and top half with substrate (its composition will be indicated below).
- Turn the pot over, carefully grab the flower by the base and pull it out.
- Inspect the roots and lower parts of the leaves to see if they have begun to rot, if there are marks there that should not be there, or colonies of pests (see the section “Diseases and Pests” to find out what exactly this could be).
- If something appears, it is better to first treat the plant in accordance with the diagnosis, and only then replant it, so as not to drag the disease to a new place.
- If everything is in order, then treat the myrtle roots with a growth stimulant - this will help it take root in a new place, since myrtle usually does not tolerate transplantation.
- Place the tree in a pot and fill in the remaining substrate.
- Water thoroughly and move to shade.
When can you replant?
Preferably in winter. Winter is a dormant period for the plant, so it can easily withstand the stress of replanting. An exception is replanting for sanitary purposes (for example, if the plant is waterlogged and is transplanted into drier soil for replanting).
How often should a myrtle tree be replanted?
Young trees grow quickly, so they quickly grow out of the pot; their root system becomes crowded there. Therefore, they are replanted annually. And plants older than four to five years are rarely replanted: approximately once every three to four years.
Priming
You can buy ready-made soil. If you decide to do it yourself, then take peat, turf, humus and river sand. There should be equal amounts of peat and turf, but slightly more than humus and sand. Humus and sand are also equally divided.
Myrtle pot
It should be large both in width and height, since myrtle has a developed root system. However, not too big, otherwise moisture will accumulate at the bottom and the roots will rot. It is optimal if there are two to three centimeters between the roots and the walls of the pot. Material – preferably plastic.
Diseases and pests of Myrtle and their treatment
Myrtle is an unpretentious plant and, with good care, hardly gets sick, and is not predisposed to any specific diseases. Most often, pathologies occur due to care errors. For example:
- The leaves have turned black
Reason: excessive watering, which led to stagnation of moisture in the roots, due to which they receive insufficient oxygen and began to rot.
What to do: loosen the soil to ensure the flow of oxygen to the roots and reduce watering. Or a more radical solution: prepare drier soil, where there are fewer components that tend to retain moisture, and replant there.
- The leaves have turned yellow.
Reason: on the contrary, insufficient watering, or too dry air (for example, you keep it near heating devices or on a too sunny windowsill).
What to do: increase watering frequency, move myrtle away from heating devices and introduce spraying from a spray bottle until it feels better.
- The leaves are falling off.
Reason: something is wrong with the water, for example, you water the myrtle with tap water, but it is hard and contains harmful mineral elements that harm the plant. Or the air is too dry and hot. Another possible reason is that the plant is experiencing stress due to changing conditions, for example, if you just bought it and brought it home.
What to do: change the water (it should be settled and at room temperature), increase watering frequency, move the bush to a cooler and more humid place.
- The leaves have dried up.
Reason: lack of humidity in one form or another, for example, insufficient watering or too dry air.
What to do: increase watering frequency so that the soil in the pot is always slightly moist, introduce spraying to increase air humidity.
- The leaves dried out very quickly, literally within a day.
Reason: most likely, you managed to freeze the myrtle. It's difficult, but if you put it near an open window in winter, it's possible.
What to do: it’s difficult to save, but if the roots haven’t frozen yet, there’s a chance. It is necessary to cut off all dried shoots and treat the flower with a growth stimulator, and then cover it with film or glass to provide the plant with warmth and humidity.
If myrtle almost does not suffer from diseases, then not a single plant is immune from pests; it all depends on luck: even if you perfectly take into account all the features of caring for a myrtle tree, you can still accidentally bring pests literally from the street on your shoes. Therefore, it is important to know how to detect them and how to deal with them.
Pests
Here are the pests that are typical for myrtle:
- Aphid.
Symptoms: You may visually notice aphids on the undersides of the leaves, and they may also curl and then dry out.
What to do: first physically remove all insects from the flower by washing under running water or a damp cloth, and then treat the plant with an insecticide. If the lesion is severe, then it is treated several times, with intervals of 7-10 days.
- Shield.
Symptoms: sticky coating on leaves.
What to do: remove insects with a damp cloth soaked in soapy water, and then treat with insecticides.
- Mealybug.
Symptoms: white coating resembling cotton wool.
What to do: remove plaque, remove pests with a cloth soaked in soapy water, and then treat with insecticides.
- Thrips.
Symptoms: light spots on the outside of the leaves, dark spots on the back.
What to do: treat with a drug called Actellik. If it is not available, then you can use garlic tincture, but this is an unreliable remedy.
- Whitefly (aka moth)
Symptoms: They can be noticed visually when examining the inside of the leaves. They feed on their juice, so the leaves turn pale, wither, turn yellow, curl, and then fall off. A sticky coating also appears on the leaves.
What to do: remove all insects and thoroughly rinse the plant under running water to get rid of the sticky coating that does not allow the medicine to pass through, and then treat it with Actellik.
- Spider mite
Symptoms: A recognizable coating resembling a thin, light web, usually on the lower parts of the plant.
What to do: completely remove the plaque with soap and water, and then spray with Actellik.
As a rule, pests appear in excessively dry air with insufficient watering.
Brief description of cultivation
- Bloom . In the first half of the summer.
- Illumination . The light should be bright, but diffused.
- Temperature regime . In the spring-summer period - from 18 to 20 degrees, and in winter the room should be no warmer than 10 degrees, but it is better if it is about 5 degrees.
- Watering . From spring to autumn, the plant should be watered abundantly immediately after the top layer of the soil mixture in the container dries. During cold wintering, watering should be very scarce and infrequent, but the earthen clod should not be allowed to dry out completely.
- Air humidity . Throughout the growing season, systematically moisten the bush from a sprayer with lukewarm water. There is no need to spray it in winter.
- Fertilizer . In the spring-summer period, myrtle is regularly fed once every 7 days, for this purpose complex mineral fertilizer is used. There is no need to feed it in winter.
- Rest period . Observed in winter. If the bush is located in the northern part of the room, then the duration of the dormant period will be about 3 months, and if placed in the southern part of the apartment, its duration will be about 6 weeks.
- Trimming . Formative pruning is carried out every year at the beginning of the growing season.
- Transplant . Young bushes need to be replanted every year, while adult bushes need to be replanted once every 2 or 3 years.
- Soil mixture . Sand, peat, clay, turf and humus soil in a ratio of 1:2:2:2:2. For planting, you can also use a substrate consisting of sand, peat, humus and turf soil, with all components taken in equal parts.
- Reproduction . By cuttings and seed method.
- Harmful insects . Whiteflies, mealybugs, scale insects, thrips and spider mites.
- Diseases . Problems when growing myrtle can arise if watering rules are violated or due to excessively dry air.
- Properties . Myrtle is considered a healing plant, which in its effectiveness can compete with antibiotics.
Myrtle. Planting and care.
Popular Myrtle varieties with photos and names
It would seem that myrtle is a myrtle in Africa, but in fact it has some varieties. Let's look at the most popular ones.
Common or Communis (myrtus communis)
The most common variety, but this does not mean that it is somehow bad. Bright greenery, characteristically shaped oval small leaves, very flexible and susceptible to crown pruning (easily formed).
small-leaved
A smaller variety that is convenient to grow on your desktop. Very thin branches, small leaves, such a Thumbelina bush. Not suitable for growing in a tub.
large-leaved
A beautiful variety with large ellipsis-shaped leaves. The leaves are leathery, dense, bright emerald color.
Variegated
The leaves of this variety are not only large, but also of an unusual color: dark green on the outside, almost white on the inside, which is why this myrtle appears white from a distance. Needs more light than others.
Citric
This variety has a slightly yellowish tint to the foliage, plus it blooms more readily than others (the flowers are lush, double, lemon-colored), but it also falls off more readily than others
Hymen
Another variety that was bred for its flowers. The flowers are very beautiful, white, with thin long stamens, they are used for wedding bouquets.
Boethics
A variety with leaves of a more elongated shape and a darker shade. It also blooms readily, but there are fewer flowers (but they are larger).
When and how does it bloom
Myrtle will bloom in June and July: from the very first days of summer to its middle. Fragrant flowers bloom from the buds.
Types of flowers
There are two types of flowers:
- simple;
- terry.
They consist of 4–6 petals, which can be round or pointed.
Flower shapes
There are two main forms of myrtle flowers. They can be collected in racemes and inflorescences. In other varieties, each flower is individually attached to the leaf axil.
Most flowers bloom in the upper part of the crown, where more light reaches. Flowering lasts approximately 1.5 months. Then the berries are tied.
Changes in care during the flowering period
Blooming myrtle needs ventilation, so it should be placed on a balcony or other open area. Pruning of shoots should be done after flowering has completed, but not in early spring.
Magical properties of myrtle: signs and superstitions
Since myrtle is primarily associated with love and marriage, as well as the goddess of love (see the section "What does myrtle symbolize"), it is considered a feminine plant, and most superstitions and omens associated with myrtle, as well as its magical beneficial properties, are based on this.
- Myrtle jewelry attracts sincere, faithful love to its wearer. Also, myrtle jewelry helps maintain presence of mind and strong will, so they are given to shy, timid girls so that they show character.
- If you carve your name on a piece of myrtle and give it to your beloved man, his feelings will become stronger.
- Myrtle helps maintain beauty, strength, health and youth.
- A fragrant sachet using myrtle is placed in the bedroom to improve marital relations in bed.
- Since once a sprig of myrtle brought people news of the end of the Flood, myrtle to this day can signal both bad and good. For example, it is believed that if a plant blooms, if it is healthy and makes you happy with its bright greenery, it means that everything is calm and prosperous in the life of your family. But if the myrtle withers, gets sick, doesn’t bloom, pests appear, it drops its leaves - it means trouble is coming to one of the household members.
- The energy of the plant is purely positive, warm, it makes the atmosphere in the house calmer, more joyful, improves health, improves intuition and even promotes the conception of a child. You could say he has a healing aura.
- Please note that the myrtle tree loves to be looked after, taken care of, given words of gratitude and compliments, and told about the successes of the household.
But if you scold the myrtle, do not take care of it, and do not comply with the growing conditions, then it will wither. It will not harm, after all, it is an absolutely “positive” plant, but it will lose its medicinal properties. It is even believed that myrtle is capricious when choosing a pot and can wither if the pot is ugly. Therefore, if your myrtle suddenly, for no reason at all, begins to wither and wither, perhaps you should transplant it into another pot - it might help.
Even if you don’t believe in the magical properties of the plant, myrtle really pleases with its bright greenery, it has very beautiful flowering and an absolutely positive meaning, therefore, from a purely material, psychological point of view, the myrtle tree is really capable of pleasing and calming.
Medicinal properties
Birch - indoor plant, home flower
Myrtle is a flower of extraordinary beauty. But it is grown not only for decoration. This plant has many beneficial properties and is used to prepare medicines, aromatics and cosmetics.
Foliage, bark and flowers are rich in essential oils, which contain phytoncides. These substances purify indoor air. Therefore, myrtle growing in a room protects people from viruses, bacteria, colds and allergies, gives vigor, and calms the nervous system.
In ancient times, decoctions and tinctures from this plant were used to treat tuberculosis, diphtheria, inflammatory processes in the body, wounds and suppuration. Wine tincture was considered a panacea for all ailments. There are known folk recipes according to which healing skin care products are prepared from myrtle petals and foliage. The berries of this plant are used in cooking as spices.
Variegated large-leaved
