Is the name Azucena throwing you off guard? This rarely used name may give you the impression that you’ve never heard of this flower, let alone seen it. However, you’ll be surprised to know what it’s commonly called.
The Azucena flowers are commonly referred to as Lily, but they’re essentially only a genus of Lily. Lilum Candidum, or Madonna Lily, are called Azucena flowers. In this article, we’ll discuss this flower more. So, let’s get right to it and learn some interesting facts.
What Is an Azucena Flower?
Azucena is the Spanish name for Madonna lilies. It is essentially herbaceous tuberose. They belong to the Lilium genus and Liliaceae family. These plants grow up to 50 cm or 1.5ft. long. Their bases grow up to 13mm in width.
These tubular flowers have a 6cm tube that ends with six petals at the end. One of the striking characteristics of Azucena flowers is their fragrance. Other than that, these have six stamens protruding from the tube. The stigma is divided into three parts.
The History of The Azucena Flower
Although much can’t be found about the history of this flower, certainly, they were first recorded about 3,000 years back. This makes Azucena flowers the first-ever documented lilies to exist. Although, that doesn’t necessarily mean that these are the most ancient ones.
The Meaning of The Azucena Flower
Like every other flower, the Azucena flowers come with an identity of their own. The first part of their scientific name, which is Lilium, is made up of two Latin words. The first part, Li, is a Latin word for white. Secondly, Ilium is a Latin word for flower.
The second word, Candidum, also carries a meaning. It means shining or dazzling white. So, Lilium Candidum stands for Shining white flower if put together.
How To Grow This Flower?
There are multiple steps to growing an Azucena flower. Moreover, caring for this is just as important as growing it. In this section, we’ll be going over all of those.
Decide a Time for Plantation
Firstly, you need to decide the right time for planting an Azucena flower. They can’t withstand winter, so it’s important to plant them right after winter. This will help them last the longest.
One more thing to note is that Azucena flowers don’t do well in cold climates. Even in warm weather, they’ll require at least four months to mature. If you live in a cold climate, you can plant the flower indoors first. Once they’re mature enough, transfer them outside.
Soil Preparation
Azucena flowers need proper soil preparation for optimum growth. The first thing you should work on is ensuring proper drainage. Next up, work on adding as much nutrition to the soil as possible.
To do this, you can add compost, manure, or moss into the soil. These organic fertilizers are best for nutrition supply. You need to apply a mixture of all the said items at least 3 cm thick above the soil. This also helps with the drainage solution.
However, if you don’t want to raise the soil bed, you can use a draining pot instead. These flowers can adapt to different levels of pH. Although they can withstand down to 5.5 pH, it’s optimum to keep it around 6.5 or 7.
Azucena Flowers Love the Sun
Azucena is a long day flower and loves the sun. You need to plant them in an area that has sun exposure for at least six hours a day. As these are more suitable for warm climates, planting them in partial or complete shade will only dry them out.
Water the Plant Appropriately
Before the plant emerges from the seed, you should water it only when necessary. Overwatering in this stage will prevent germination. Once the plant appears above the soil, it’s an indication that it has a developed root system. Thus, it’ll be able to handle more water.
Even during the growing season, it’s not necessary to water it too much. Ideally, filling the plant bed with 3cm of water every week would suffice. Instead of watering frequently, water it once a week.
In case of heavy downpours, reduce the frequency of watering or don’t water at all. Overwatering will cause root rot as these plants are prone to such diseases.
Fertilize As Per Necessity
If you want your Azucena flowers to bloom with all of their glory, then it’s wise to fertilize them appropriately. We highly recommend applying 8-8-8 fertilizers on them. These come with an equal part of phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium.
The fertilizer needs to be applied around the plant once every 40 days. If it’s solid, you need to spread it on the soil around the plant. In the case of liquid fertilizers, you just need to follow the instructions.
Prune Dead Flowers
In the growing season, you will come across dead flowers. Pruning the dead flowers will facilitate the growth of new flowers. So, we highly recommend pruning dead flowers weekly.
Facts About the Flower
Here are some facts about Azucena flowers that might interest you:
- These flowers have been grown since ancient times because of their adaptability. They aren’t particularly picky when it comes to soil pH or type. It’s also very easy to maintain or care for them.
- Azucena flowers were used as medicinal items in ancient medical treatments.
- These plant seeds don’t last if stored for a long time. This is due to the absence of a thin covering that’s present in every other bulbous plant.
- There’s a ton of mention of Azucena flowers in religion and poems. They were mostly used to symbolize purity.
- It’s scientifically proven that Azucena flowers have health benefits that help combat diabetes, cancer, and heart diseases.
What’s The Origin of This Flower?
It’s not possible to trace back the actual origin of Azucena flowers due to a lack of information. What we know is these beautiful lilies used to grow in Southern parts of Europe and Asia in abundance.
Due to their beautiful appearance, low maintenance, and high adaptability, they became famous all across the globe.
Conclusion
As you can see, Azucena flowers have a glorious history, and since the ancient days, they have been hailed as the symbol of purity. Planting these in your backyard or your home would not only beautify your place but would also bring a sense of serenity.
Related Posts:
10 Examples of Flowering Plants
What Is Nardos Flower? Origin, Uses, Care & Facts
White Orchid: Learn Everything About the Elegant and Mysterious Flowers
Blue Orchid: Everything About the Exotic Flower
Red Orchid: All You Need to Know About the Fascinating Flower