Blossoms like butterflies characterize the violet lips. Read here how the cushion perennial is planted and cared for.
The cleft lip (Mazus reptans) is a cushion perennial that has its origins in the Himalayas. The special feature: the inexpensive small perennial available in specialist shops (e.g. from BALDUR-Garten) usually has violet flowers (flowering period: May to June) that look like small butterflies. Beautiful, isn't it? During the rest of the year, however, the cushion perennial seemed rather inconspicuous.
In the following we will now explain to you in more detail how you can plant the cleft lip and how it is properly cared for.
The perfect location for the lip mouth
The cleft lip, which grows to a height of about 5 to about 12 centimetres, is one of the extremely robust plants in our latitude, which is why you can plant it in a sunny or partially shaded location. Sometimes they even spread in the translucent shade, although the cleft lip is not a shade plant. The absolutely easy-care cleft lip grows almost everywhere as a ground cover.
The perennial is particularly suitable for planting in garden ponds or rock gardens. Due to the low maintenance requirements, lipped muzzles are also suitable for planting in graves and balcony boxes.
The lavishly flowering little lips are also ideal as a natural bed border. Simply plant the perennials individually in rows, about 20 centimeters apart. For a well-groomed border, you have to shape the lips every year in autumn. In the spring, before flowering, you can make minor trimming corrections to the plants.
Planting the lips correctly
Planting up to 5 small perennials about 15 to 20 centimeters apart is always ideal. Planting in this way allows the perennials to cover a larger area of the ground as quickly as possible.
Spring and autumn are particularly good times for planting. You can also plant the perennials on summer days that are not too hotinsert.
Care properly for the lips
Watering the lips:
The cleft lip does not actually require any explicit care. You should only water it well during longer summer dry spells.
Fertilize the lips:
Fertilization is generally not necessary. However, you can work in some mature compost around the plants in early spring or autumn. However, if you have planted the cleft lip in extremely nutrient-poor soil (reading tip: determine the garden soil - this is how it's done), you should give a little complete fertilizer in the spring.
Increase mouths:
You can easily propagate the plants by dividing them: simply separate a part with whole roots from the mother stock and plant it in a new location.