This plant is known to many flower growers as a money tree. Botanists call it Crassula and belong to the family Crassulaceae, which combines perennial and annual succulents, common in natural conditions mainly in the southern hemisphere.
The homeland of various species of Crassula is the arid southern and southwestern regions of Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Plants are distinguished by an unusual appearance, which attracts lovers of indoor floriculture. True, not everyone knows how to grow a room money tree, how to care for it. In this article we will try to tell in detail about the features of this plant, about what conditions must be created for its development and growth, we will present you the recommendations of experienced owners of succulents.
General description of the family
Interestingly, in many cultures it is believed that this plant surprisingly attracts the energy of wealth. And even lovers of indoor plants, skeptical of such claims, willingly grow it in their homes. It is very important to know how to care for a fat girl (money tree). On how comfortable the fat woman will feel in your house, its further development depends.
Most experienced gardeners claim that this amazing houseplant is a fast-growing, not too demanding to care for. Perhaps that is why it is often the money tree that becomes the first experiment in growing indoor plants for beginners. How to care for him? How to water? How to propagate? The answers to these questions can be found in numerous publications on indoor floriculture. Today we will try to provide you with information that may be useful if you plan to grow a money tree in your home.
From the genus Crassul belongs to 300 to 500 different species of plants. Among them there are miniature, no more than a few centimeters high, and huge trees growing up to 4 meters. The vast majority of species are perennials, but annual plants are also found that die immediately after flowering. In most cases, members of the family have creeping grassy or erect stems. There are shrubs with fleshy, juicy or woody trunks, slender tree-like representatives. Fleshy and succulent leaves, which are covered with a wax coating, can be painted in yellowish, greenish or blue. In the sun, they acquire a cherry or red hue.
The plant was named Crassula because of the characteristic structure of the stems and leaves: the word crassus is translated from the Latin language as “thick”. From here came another name for the plant - Crassula.
Money Tree Features
Florists love the money tree for its unpretentiousness in care and attractive appearance. Reading numerous instructions on how to care for the money tree at home, we can conclude that maintaining the proper development of the plant, its active growth is quite simple.
Not all lovers of indoor plants had to see this succulent bloom. In order for the plant to bloom, you must be sure of the seller, and also know how to properly care for the money tree. In addition, it depends on what kind of fat woman you acquired.
Types of Crassul
The most common members of the family include three species.
1. Crassula is oval. Perhaps the most common type of money tree, which in natural conditions reaches three meters in height, and in indoor floriculture the plant does not exceed 1.5 meters. Florists who know how to care for the rossula note the unpretentiousness of the species and the ability to tolerate shade well.
2. The tree-hood. This plant with a bare trunk and branches, flat fleshy leaves of an oval shape. Pale pink or white flowers are collected in panicle inflorescences. However, even knowing how to care for this plant, you are unlikely to achieve its flowering: this is extremely rare in indoor floriculture. You need to know that this tree does not tolerate shade at all.
3. Crassula silver (purslane). Unlike the previous species, this money tree is much smaller in size. Outwardly, it resembles a tree and oval variety. Of creeping plants, the most common are:
- pseudoplaid crassula;
- floating (mossy);
- point;
- milky;
- Cooper;
- tetrahedral.
The most common in indoor floriculture was a tree-like money tree. How to care for him we will describe below. We hope that our tips will help you grow a beautiful and healthy plant.
Money tree: how to care at home?
It is not difficult to create the necessary conditions for this plant. How to care for a room money tree? To do this, it is necessary to provide sufficient lighting, moderate watering, dust removal from leaves, periodic top dressing and crown formation.
Lighting
To grow a healthy and strong plant, you need to understand well what the money tree needs, how to care for it at home. First of all, take care of a place for a flower with good lighting. The window sill on the southeast side is most suitable. Interestingly, this rule is recommended not only by flower growers, but also by Feng Shui experts.
Make sure that direct sunlight does not fall on the plant: from them, the flower withers, the leaves turn red and fall. In summer, the money tree feels great on the balcony, and in winter it is better to rearrange it to the southern windows.
Watering
The fat woman should be watered with water at room temperature, which must be defended. In summer, the soil is moistened, focusing on the state of the earth. It should be slightly dried, but not turn into a single lump. The frequency of watering depends on the air temperature: in the heat, the plant is watered twice a week; at normal temperatures - up to 20 ° C - once, once a month - in winter.
Do not allow waterlogging of the soil: excess moisture will inevitably lead to decay of the roots and the aerial parts, yellowing and falling of leaves. If there is a suspicion that the roots are diseased, you can save the tree by removing it from the ground, removing the damaged roots and sprinkling them with activated charcoal. Then the plant should be transplanted into a smaller pot.
Humidity
The fat woman tolerates a moisture deficit without problems and does not need regular spraying. Dust is removed from the surface of the sheet plates with a damp cloth. Money tree loves warm souls, which are desirable to spend every 2-3 months. The soil in the pot during the procedure is covered with a film.
Temperature
Experienced gardeners know how to care for a money tree in a pot. They will definitely advise beginners to monitor the air temperature in the room in which the succulent grows. In spring and summer, the temperature from +20 to +25 ° C is optimal for these plants. It is advisable to take the plant to the balcony at this temperature - a living tree needs fresh air. How to care for a money tree in winter? At rest, the plant will be comfortable at a temperature of about +15 ° C and lower, but not less than +4 ° C.
The plant can hibernate at room temperature, but most likely, the leaves will wither. Do not put a flower near heating appliances. Watering is carried out no more than once every twenty days.
How to transplant a money tree?
Speaking about how to care for a money tree flower, one cannot help but dwell on this issue. Plant transplants are carried out every three years, and only if necessary - if the flower has grown excessively, and it has become crowded in its former capacity. This procedure is best performed in the spring, preferably in May, in a larger pot 2.5 cm in diameter than the previous one.
For transplanting, special soil for succulents and cacti is suitable. Such a soil mixture can be prepared independently. Mix sand and turf soil (one part at a time) with three parts of leafy land. Florists recommend adding a handful of clay, ash, humus to such a mixture. Thus, you will increase the nutritional value of the soil.
Do not forget about the drainage layer when transplanting. It should be expanded clay or chipped ceramic shards. In the pot, at the bottom of which there is a drainage layer, the soil mixture, filled to a quarter of the capacity, plant the plant along with an earthen lump. The remaining voids are filled with new soil.
How to care for a money tree after a transplant? It’s not difficult at all: the plant is abundantly watered, the soil is periodically loosened to improve root nutrition, and if the soil sags, the top layer is added to the pot.
Pruning fat
If you want to know what else the money tree needs home flowers, how to care for them so that the plants develop actively, you need to remember that they need pruning. She will allow to form a beautiful crown of a flower. This should be done when the tree is still very young. When it grows to 20 cm, you need to pinch off the two small upper leaves. At this point, branching will begin, and instead of two, four leaves will appear at once.
Over time, you will be able to remove the upper leaves in those places where you plan to branch the shoots.
What capacity is needed for the money tree?
It is not enough to know how to care for a money tree in order to grow a really beautiful plant - it is equally important to understand how to properly plant it.
The pot for the rosula should be small and shallow, but at the same time heavy and wide, sufficiently stable. In a deep pot, the root of the plant rushes down, and the plant itself stretches up - the trunk becomes weak and thin.
Top dressing
Twice a month in summer, and once a month in autumn and spring, the plant is fed with special liquid fertilizers for succulents and cacti. Fertilizer concentration is halved. They are applied immediately after watering in moist soil.
Possible growing problems
How to care for a money tree in order to prevent its defeat by parasites and diseases? Most likely, you will not be able to completely protect your flower from all misfortunes, but you will be able to notice in time that the plant is unhealthy and provide it with immediate help. Like most houseplants, the money tree is attacked by parasites. Mealybug, scabbard, spider mite - the main enemies of the fat woman.
- Spider mite. When the tick attacks, the stems and leaves of the flower are covered with a very thin web. You can get rid of it with the help of soap solution, "Actellika", "Fitoverm", "Fufanon".
- Shield. The presence of scabies can be judged by brown and yellow spots that appear on the surface of the leaves. You can deal with this pest by the same methods as with the spider mite.
- Mealybug. Destroy the worm will help all the same solution of laundry soap, or insecticides. If there are few pests, they can be removed with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.
In addition to pests, the money tree during cultivation has other problems:
- with excess moisture, the roots and the base of the trunk rot - reduce watering;
- the plant will notify you of withered leaves with wilted leaves;
- cold water during irrigation can provoke shedding of leaves; the same will happen if the plant is in a draft or with a lack of fresh air.
Bloom
And now I would like to talk about a very rare phenomenon in indoor floriculture - flowering of a houseplant money tree. How to care for him to enjoy the lovely look of delicate white flowers? Even when creating ideal conditions for the plant, it can be expected for several years. The process can be accelerated, but for this the tree will need your help.
In the warmer months, when the air temperature rises to +20 ° C, often take the plant to fresh air, remove old dried leaves, use supports for the stem. In addition, in order to achieve flowering of the money tree with white, delicate flowers, she needs a good level of lighting.
Most often, white flowers appear on a fat woman at a time when it is actively growing. Delicate flowers are covered with pollen, which in people predisposed to allergies can cause negative reactions.
Breeding
Money tree can be propagated in two ways - cuttings and seeds.
This is the simplest way to propagate a money tree. A large shoot or leaf is cut with a sharp, pre-sanitized knife. Cuttings are placed in a container of water in which they are located until the roots appear. To quickly form a root system, and the stem does not rot, florists recommend adding charcoal to the water.
You can propagate a fatty seed. They are sown in shallow wide containers, which are filled with a mixture of sand (1 part) and sheet soil (2 parts) and covered with glass. Every day, the crops must be ventilated and condensate removed from the glass. Seeds germinate two weeks after planting. Seedlings are transplanted into a soil mixture consisting of turf land, leaf soil (one part) and sand (1/2 part). A container with a plant is placed in a well-lit place, but the light must certainly be diffused.
The grown plants are transplanted into pots with a diameter of 5 to 7 cm in the soil, consisting of turf, leaf soil and sand in equal parts. Until the shoots are strong, they should be indoors at a temperature of +16 to +18 ° C. Then they are transferred to a permanent place.
Beneficial features
Many flower growers believe that the fat woman is endowed with positive energy and contributes to financial success. But not everyone knows that the money tree has healing properties, being a filter plant. Crassula releases phytoncides into the air, which are endowed with antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties, and therefore disinfect the air in the room.
Crassula juice is used to treat the following diseases:
- as lotions for insect bites, herpes, abscesses, cuts, bruises;
- in the form of rinses with angina, gum disease;
- with arthritis and other joint diseases, juice rub the affected areas before bedtime.
Parts of the plant are strictly forbidden to be taken orally as a medicine - they contain arsenic in large quantities. Many consider the money tree a certain indicator of health. If any member of the family becomes sick, the plant begins to wither and wither.
Signs and superstitions
Of course, the main signs associated with this plant, say that it, like a magnet, attracts money.
- If a fat woman is actively growing and developing, then there will be prosperity and prosperity in the house. Career will go uphill, and most likely there will be new sources of income.
- When the trunk of the tree is bent, you should prepare for financial difficulties.
- If the money tree fell with a pot - expect an increase in wealth. But if during the fall it breaks down - hard times await you.