Erodium

The genus Stork (Erodium) includes more than 80 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous plants. Below are descriptions of the hardiest and most unpretentious perennial species, with the exception of the thermophilic Corsican stork (Erodium corsicum). Species of stork vary in height, but all do not exceed 50 cm. Therefore, these plants are optimally suited for use in rock gardens and, in particular, in rock gardens. The leaves are opposite, pinnate or lobed with a serrated edge. Collected in umbrella-shaped inflorescences, the flowers are colored in pink, lilac, red, purple or white. The following species are most common in the culture. Stemless stork (E. acaule) is a perennial 20 cm tall. Covered with silvery fuzz on the leaves thickly growing from the base of the stem. Blooming in summer. The flowers are dark purple, purple or white. Alpine stork (E alpinum) is a perennial species with a height of 15 cm. It blooms in early summer with purplish-purple flowers. Corsican stork (E. corsicum) is a thermophilic, rather capricious perennial, which in moderately cold climates is usually grown as an annual, less often a biennial plant. Forms a cushion height of approximately 20 cm. Flowering is spring-summer. The flowers are pink with reddish veins. Its variety has 'Album' white flowers with red veins. Pelargonifolium stork (E. pelargonifolium) is a perennial, highly branched semi-shrub with a height of 30 cm. The leaves are rounded. The flowers that appear in summer are white, with two purple spots on each petal. Pistil with silvery pubescence. Three-leaved stork (E. trifolium) is a perennial species that is also grown as a biennial. The stem is 35 cm high, branched, erect. The leaves are finely toothed along the edge. Flowers with obovate-egg-shaped petals, pink with a reddish-chestnut base and veins. The variable stork (E. x variabile) is a hybrid between the Corsican stork and the stork Reichardii, a perennial species with white-pink flowers. There are several varieties with white flowers and various shades of pink.

The genus Stork (Erodium) includes more than 80 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous plants. Below are descriptions of the hardiest and most unpretentious perennial species, with the exception of the thermophilic Corsican stork (Erodium corsicum). Species of stork vary in height, but all do not exceed 50 cm. Therefore, these plants are optimally suited for use in rock gardens and, in particular, in rock gardens. The leaves are opposite, pinnate or lobed with a serrated edge. Collected in umbrella-shaped inflorescences, the flowers are colored in pink, lilac, red, purple or white. The following species are most common in the culture. Stemless stork (E. acaule) is a perennial 20 cm tall. Covered with silvery fuzz on the leaves thickly growing from the base of the stem. Blooming in summer. The flowers are dark purple, purple or white. Alpine stork (E alpinum) is a perennial species with a height of 15 cm. It blooms in early summer with purplish-purple flowers.

Corsican stork (E. corsicum) is a thermophilic, rather capricious perennial, which in moderately cold climates is usually grown as an annual, less often a biennial plant. Forms a cushion height of approximately 20 cm. Flowering is spring-summer. The flowers are pink with reddish veins. Its variety has 'Album' white flowers with red veins.

Pelargonifolium stork (E. pelargonifolium) is a perennial, highly branched semi-shrub with a height of 30 cm. The leaves are rounded. The flowers that appear in summer are white, with two purple spots on each petal. Pistil with silvery pubescence. Three-leaved stork (E. trifolium) is a perennial species that is also grown as a biennial. The stem is 35 cm high, branched, erect. The leaves are finely toothed along the edge. Flowers with obovate-egg-shaped petals, pink with a reddish-chestnut base and veins.

The variable stork (E. x variabile) is a hybrid between the Corsican stork and the stork Reichardii, a perennial species with white-pink flowers. There are several varieties with white flowers and various shades of pink.

Cultivation

Storks are widely used for growing in the open ground-rock gardens or other rockeries. Seedlings are planted in autumn or spring (if the winters are cold) in soil enriched with well-decomposed organic matter at the rate of 5 kg/m2. When watering seedlings, a liquid complex fertilizer is added to the water (10 g per bucket). Thinning is usually not required. Young shoots of lush species are lightly pinched in spring to facilitate growth.

Storks are widely used for growing in the open ground-rock gardens or other rockeries. Seedlings are planted in autumn or spring (if the winters are cold) in soil enriched with well-decomposed organic matter at the rate of 5 kg/m2. When watering seedlings, a liquid complex fertilizer is added to the water (10 g per bucket). Thinning is usually not required. Young shoots of lush species are lightly pinched in spring to facilitate growth.

Location

Storks should be given a place in the open sun.

Temperature

Corsican stork is not hardy, but it is resistant to high temperatures. Other perennial species tolerate both high and low temperatures well.

Watering

It should be regular, especially in the stages of germination and the beginning of shoot growth. Avoid stagnation of water.

Care

Care activities are limited to removing withered flowers and dried leaves.

Reproduction

Vegetative - in March-April with apical cuttings 4-8 cm long (depending on the height of the species), the lower leaves are removed from them and planted in a box filled with a mixture of peat and sand (2:1) for rooting. After 3-4 weeks, the rooted cuttings are transplanted into separate cups filled with the same soil with the addition of a complex fertilizer (30 g per bucket of substrate). In autumn, you can plant them in the garden, and if the winters are cold, they are kept indoors until spring and planted in the chosen place with the onset of heat. With seed propagation, varietal characteristics are not preserved.

Diseases

In General, storks are very resistant to diseases. Sometimes it is possible to detect spots on the leaves caused by either the bacterium Pseudomonas erodii, or fungi of the genera Cylindrosporium and Septoria. If you maintain the recommended growing conditions and occasionally treat plants with copper-containing preparations, they will not get sick. Occasionally, root rot occurs, especially when grown in unsuitable soil conditions - on heavy loam. Diseased plants are treated with fungicides.

Acquisition

Of the plants of the genus Stork, only perennial species can be found on sale, and not without difficulty. You should look for them in nurseries that specialize in rockery plants. Check their condition, including the absence of spots on the leaves.