10 interesting facts and tips about growing plants and flowers

1. Water hyacinth – this flower is considered an aquatic plant. Many terrestrial plants subsequently adapted to a new life in the aquatic environment. There are different ways of changing the structure of the flower. The water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) has adapted to create large air chambers in the leaf stalks. The flower is maintained on the water surface precisely by means of these chambers.
2. Brazil nut – the botanical family of Brazil nut (Lecythidaceae) consists of about 150 species of trees and shrubs from tropical parts of America. They have unusually large flowers that are pollinated by bats (lilies). The oil is obtained from the fruits of the Brazil nut.
3. The tea plant – tea (Camellia sinensis) is a plant from which one of the most famous beverages in the world is made. Tea has been a common drink in China for 4 centuries, while the Japanese took over tea later. The Japanese have developed a whole very sophisticated “zen” ceremony of preparing and drinking tea. It was only in the 18th century that tea began to be prepared and drunk during everyday life in Europe.
4. Cyclamen – this perennial plant with an underground tuber-shaped stem (belongs to the primrose family, i.e. Primulaceae) is one of the most sought-after winter houseplants in nurseries and flower shops. Cyclamen is a flower of sincerity, love, happiness and security (says an old folk belief) that can bloom until March (if you regularly tear off dried leaves and add nutrition once a week). Cyclamen blooms with multi-colored elegant flowers and heart-shaped leaves sometimes edged with silver or gold lace.
5. Marigold – Marigold is a plant that continues to bloom even after winter frosts if the winters are mild. The marigold does not really like the heat because then it gets a disease (powdery mildew) and the flowering stops. Calendula does not bloom only during a short period of slightly greater cold.
6. California poppy– and this plant behaves similarly to the marigold. California poppy does not like extreme cold and waits for warmer days to start blooming again. Gaura, chrysanthemums, black mallow, lavatera, alcea rosea are just some of the plants and flowers that continue to bloom even after the mild winter cold and frosts.
7. Citrus in pots – good soil is very important for the successful cultivation of citrus in pots. The land should be drained. The soil should be made of 20% ordinary garden soil, 20% peat soil, 30% river sand, 10% well-burnt manure and 20% coarse sand (or fine gravel).
8. Pectins from the cell walls of plants – pectins are dietary fibers from the cell walls of plants. They are an excellent thickener for jams. Pectins have healing properties (they bind cholesterol and sugars in the intestinal tract and reduce the amount of sugar in the blood). Powdered pectins (obtained from citrus peels) can be purchased. The peel, seed casing, apple and quince seeds are also rich in pectin.
9. Cats often dig the soil in pots and planters – sprinkle fragments of old pots or tiles on the surface of pots and planters (with plants), place stones or plant ivy (or other so-called ground cover plants) to protect the flowers and the soil around the plants from cats.
10. Planting trees in land or in a private garden – land with a height of one ash should be removed to one side of the planting pit, and when planting trees in the garden (or park). Land of the height of the second ash to the other side so that the plants would be returned in the reverse order when they were placed. Thus, the upper, more fertile soil will be near the roots.