38 Flowers That Start With L
1. Lagerstroemia Indica Lagerstroemia indica, commonly known as Crape Myrtle, is a deciduous shrub or small tree belonging to the Lythraceae family. It is characterized by a tall trunk with…
Lamprocapnos spectabilis, commonly known as bleeding heart, is a perennial herbaceous plant standing 30 to 60 cm tall. Its aboveground stem is upright and cylindrical, tinged with purplish-red. Its fleshy rhizomes and small leaf segments are usually entire, with a green surface and a white powder on the back.
Both surfaces clearly display leaf veins. Its petiole is about 10 cm long, resembling angelica. The petal is slightly spoon-shaped, 1 to 1.5 cm long, with a rounded tip that’s purple. The back has a cockscomb-like protrusion extending from the tip to the base of the petal, reaching up to 3 mm high.
The claw is oblong to obovate, about 1.5 cm long and 2 to 5 mm wide, and white. The stamens form a curved bundle, with the anthers being oblong. The plant blooms from April to June and is native to Northern China, found in moist meadows and slopes at altitudes of 780 to 2800 meters.
It is also found in Japan, Korea, and Russia. The beautiful leaf clusters and exquisite flowers of the bleeding heart, resembling a purse and boasting vibrant colors, make it excellent for pot planting and as cut flowers.
It is also suitable for arranging floral borders and planting in groups in damp areas at the edges of woods and meadows, offering excellent landscape effects.
Bleeding heart is an upright herb, standing 30 to 60 cm tall or even taller. Its stem is cylindrical and tinged with purplish-red. The leaf blade has a triangular contour, 20 to 30 cm long and 14 to 17 cm wide, with twice-tripartite entire divisions.
The first set of divisions have long stalks, with the central division stalk longer than the lateral ones; the second set of divisions are nearly stalkless, 2 or 3-divided. The small divisions are usually entire, with a green surface, white powder on the back, and prominent leaf veins on both surfaces.
The petiole is about 10 cm long. The raceme is about 15 cm long, with 8 to 11 drooping flowers on one side of the raceme axis. The flower stalk is 1 to 1.5 cm long; the bracts are lanceolate or linear-oblong, 3 to 5 mm long and about 1 mm wide.
The beautiful flower is 2.5 to 3 cm long and about 2 cm wide, 1 to 1.5 times longer than its width, and heart-shaped at the base. The sepals are lanceolate, 3 to 4 mm long, rose-colored, and fall off before the flower blooms.
The outer petals range from purplish-red to pink, rarely white, with a pouch-like lower part about 1.5 cm long and 1 cm wide, carrying several veins. The upper part narrows and bends downward, about 1 cm long and about 2 mm wide.
The inner petals are about 2.2 cm long, slightly spoon-shaped, 1 to 1.5 cm long, with a rounded part at the tip that’s purple. The back has a cockscomb-like protrusion extending from the tip to the base of the petal, reaching up to 3 mm high.
The claw is oblong to obovate, about 1.5 cm long and 2 to 5 mm wide, and white. The stamens form a curved bundle, with oblong anthers. The ovary is narrowly oblong, 1 to 1.2 cm long and 1 to 1.5 mm thick, with several ovules arranged in two rows in the lower half of the ovary.
The slender style is 0.5 to 1.1 cm long, with a groove on each side, and the stigma is narrowly rectangular, about 1 mm long and about 0.5 mm wide, 2-divided at the top, and nearly arrow-shaped at the base. No fruit has been observed. The plant blooms from April to June.
Bleeding heart is cold-tolerant but not heat-tolerant. It prefers semi-shady environments and goes dormant during the hot summer months. It does not tolerate drought, preferring moist, well-drained, fertile sandy loam.
Bleeding heart is native to Northern China, growing in moist meadows and slopes at altitudes of 780 to 2800 meters. It is also found in Japan, Korea, and Russia.
Pocketbook plants generally propagate through division, cutting, and seeding.
In early spring, around February, when new buds sprout and new leaves have yet to unfurl, remove the plant from the pot, shake off the soil around the roots, and use a sharp knife to cut off the tender stems sprouting around the roots with their fibrous roots.
Plant two or three in one pot, covering them with soil two to three centimeters above the old soil line. Water them and place them in a shady spot. After new leaves grow, manage them as usual and they can bloom within the year.
Two things to note when dividing: do it at the right time, as dividing an old plant after its new leaves have already opened can damage the root system and decrease survival rates.
Dividing during the dormant period in late autumn also has a lower survival rate. Also, only divide once every two or three years, not every year.
At the end of every October, dig out the plant’s root system and rinse it clean with water. Disinfect it for five minutes in a 0.02% solution of potassium permanganate. Let it dry in a cool and shady place for 12 hours.
Cut the entire root system into 10-centimeter sections with a sharp blade and seal the cut ends with wax. First, spread 10 centimeters of river sand on the ground, then place the root sections on the sand and cover them with 2 centimeters of sand.
Keep them shaded and spray water every two weeks, soaking them thoroughly. The following spring, each root section will sprout lateral buds.
Note: Do not touch the roots directly with your hands during this process. Wear disinfected gloves to prevent the spread of bacteria from your hands to the plant.
After the seeds mature, sow them immediately. However, seedlings take three years to bloom, so this method is generally not used for home propagation. It is used by park departments for mass propagation or for breeding new hybrid varieties.
The pocketbook plant’s root section, after being disinfected, can be propagated through tissue culture in a professional lab. This method allows for rapid mass propagation. The resulting plants have a more robust root system, significantly more lateral roots, and are free of viruses.
They also have stronger resistance to disease. This is currently the most advanced production method and is likely to become one of the inevitable production methods for various ornamental plants in the future.
Use peonies as the rootstock and graft the pocketbook plant onto them using a cleft grafting method.
Pocketbook plants have fleshy roots and are somewhat drought-tolerant but do not tolerate waterlogging. Therefore, water appropriately based on weather, soil moisture, and the growth condition of the plant, adhering to the principle of “do not water if not dry, water immediately if dry, soak thoroughly when watering, and avoid waterlogging.”
On sunny days during the spring, autumn and early summer growth periods, water once daily or every other day. On overcast days, water once every three to five days. Always maintaining the soil at semi-dry conditions is beneficial for the plant’s growth; overwatering can cause root rot and under-watering can lead to poor growth and yellowing leaves.
During the summer and winter dormant periods, keep the potting soil relatively dry, just moist is enough. Water thoroughly before the first frost to help protect against cold. After watering in winter, cover with straw or leaves for insulation.
Pocketbook plants love rich soil and grow well in loamy soil rich in organic matter. For outdoor planting, choose a location with high ground. Prior to planting, turn the soil deeply and add well-rotted organic fertilizer. During the growth period, fertilize while watering.
Apply a diluted solution of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium every 10-15 days during the growth period for lush leaves and abundant flowering. Stop fertilizing after the flower buds show color and do not fertilize during the dormant period.
During the hot summer, when the stems and leaves wither and the plant enters its dormant period, remove the dead branches. To improve the pocketbook plant’s ventilation and light intake, and to concentrate nutrients, prune the plant after it loses its leaves in autumn and winter.
During the growth period, remove overly dense branches, such as co-dominant branches, crossing branches, inward-growing branches, and branches damaged by pests or disease, to maintain a beautiful plant shape.
In late autumn or early winter, bury potted pocketbook plants in the ground, leaving the branches exposed, and cover them with grass or mound soil for protection over winter. Some people directly place the flower pots in a cellar for winter.
Remove the cover the following spring, move the plant to a well-ventilated, sunny spot, and step up fertilization and watering to promote natural flowering. Some keep the plants in a greenhouse or plastic hoop house, forcing them to flower early as needed for holidays.
In northern regions, move the plants indoors after the first frost. As long as the room temperature remains above 5 degrees Celsius, the plants can survive the winter.
Symptoms: In the early stages of the disease, small black-brown spots appear on the leaf surface, which then expand into irregular rings, eventually producing black mold spots.
Cause: This plant disease, which mainly occurs on leaves after being invaded by pathogens, causing various localized necrotic spots, is primarily caused by fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. The pathogens spread mostly through air currents and rain, and sometimes through insects.
They constantly infect during the growing season, particularly in climates with heavy rainfall, frequent rain, and suitable temperatures.
Prevention: Improve plant disease resistance through reasonable fertilization and watering, ventilation, and light; spray with 0.5%-1% Bordeaux mixture for prevention before the onset of the disease; in the early stages of the disease, when the infection is light, promptly remove diseased leaves, incinerate or bury them to reduce the infection source; spray with 600 times liquid of 65% zinc dimethyldithiocarbamate wettable powder every 10~15 days, for a total of 3~4 times; spray with 1000 times liquid of 50% polyoxin or 500~800 times liquid of 80% zinc dimethyldithiocarbamate, 1000 times liquid of 70% methyl tolclofos during the disease period.
Scale insects, wrapped in a layer of chitinous shell, are difficult to eliminate through direct spraying of pesticides. They suck the sap of plants like parasitic lice, causing significant harm to flowers and trees.
The affected plants not only grow poorly, but also exhibit symptoms such as yellowing leaves and premature leaf fall, and severe infestations can cause plant wilting and death. The excrement of these insects, known as “honeydew”, often leads to sooty mold, turning leaves and branches black.
Cause: Poor ventilation, lack of light, over-crowding, and improper fertilization can all lead to infestation.
Prevention: Ensure ventilation, increase light, properly arrange plants to avoid overcrowding, manage fertilization and watering, prune regularly, and take preventative measures.
Treatment: The main method of control is to use natural enemies, supplemented with pesticides. The main predator insects include ladybugs such as large red ladybugs, Australian ladybugs, small red ladybugs, and red ring ladybugs.
These ladybugs have a large appetite and reproduce quickly in the summer, capable of significantly reducing scale insect populations. In winter or early spring, the most appropriate time to apply pesticides is when there are numerous newly hatched nymphs.
Use 1000~1500 times liquid of 50% chlorpyrifos emulsion, 1000~1500 times liquid of 80% DDVP emulsion, 1000~1500 times liquid of 40% oxydemeton-methyl emulsion to spray and control; during the dormant period of scale insects in winter, use 1% sulfur-lime mixture to spray and control.
Pouch peony has beautiful leaves and exquisite flowers, resembling a pouch, full of color, making it a good material for potted plants and cut flowers. It is also suitable for arranging flower beds and planting in clusters at the edge of trees and grasslands in damp places, providing excellent landscape effects.
The whole plant can be used as medicine, having analgesic, antispasmodic, diuretic, menstrual regulating, blood dispersing, blood harmonizing, wind dispelling, and sore poison eliminating effects. It is cultivated in gardens for ornamental purposes.
Legend
In ancient times, about 200 miles southeast of Luoyang, there was a state called Ruzhou, and there was a small town to the west of the state called Miaoxia. This town was surrounded by mountains with a pleasant scenery.
There was a lovely custom: once a young man and woman were engaged, the woman had to hand-make and give a pouch embroidered with mandarin ducks to the man, the meaning of which was self-evident.
If it was a pre-arranged marriage, the pouch had to be embroidered by the man’s sisters-in-law or the elder sisters from the neighborhood and given as a token of life.
In the town lived a beautiful girl named Yuner. Yuner, at the age of eighteen, was intelligent, dexterous, and skilled in embroidery and weaving. In particular, the various flower designs embroidered on the pouch often attracted bees and butterflies, showing her deep skills.
Many came to propose for this outstanding girl, but they were all politely declined by her family. The reason was that Yuner was already in love with a young man who had been serving in the frontier for two years without any news, and she had not received his pouch.
Yuner missed him day and night, so she embroidered a pouch every month as a token of her longing, and hung them one by one on the peony branches in front of her window. Over time, the pouches formed a string and became what people called “pouch peony”.
Peggie was once a high school mathematics teacher, but she set aside her chalkboard and textbooks to follow her lifelong passion for flowers. After years of dedication and learning, she not only established a thriving flower shop but also founded this blog, “Flowers Library”. If you have any questions or wish to learn more about flowers, feel free to contact Peggie.
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