Home crop production is a very exciting and interesting activity. Today you can find dozens of varieties of domestic deciduous and flowering plants, from which you will make an excellent composition. At the same time, new products that come to us from tropical forests, where they grow in natural conditions, quickly gain popularity among flower growers. Clusius was no exception. Home care for her is the topic of this article.
First meeting
Clusia - refers to perennials. It has a large number of varieties. In vivo occurs in the tropics. The plant is amazing, it is definitely worth it to be interested in. Most known species are epiphytes. Seeds develop on trees. At the same time, air roots reach down and soon reach the ground. Clusius can destroy the plant on which it has settled.
One species known as pink clusia is popular as a houseplant. In natural conditions, it is a large bush or even a tree, evergreen and quite beautiful. The leaves are glossy, leathery, and the flowers are located on the tops of the shoots. For the elegant appearance, flower growers immediately fell in love with clouzia. Home care has its own characteristics, but they should be mastered so that the tropical beauty feels at home. At first glance, the flower is very similar to ficus. Large, glossy leaves allow the plant to maintain decorativeness even outside the flowering period.
Interesting features
The plant develops rather slowly. This can be considered a serious drawback if you do not consider all the charms of an amazing clusius plant. Home care is facilitated by the fact that the flower normally tolerates drying out of the soil. Therefore, it is often used to decorate office buildings. The plant can be given the desired shape. To do this, you just need to correctly trim.
The plant has a very interesting feature, which is why it is called an autograph tree. Marks on the leaves last a long time. Damage is scarred and takes on a lighter shade. Therefore, the leaves will store scratched text. Of course, there is no need to spoil the plant for fun. But some gardeners turn it into an original bush that stores memorabilia, dates and events.
What you need to know
It is difficult to find an instance so resistant to attack by various pests as clusius. Home care is facilitated by the fact that pests will bypass the pot with the tropical guest side. An exception can be considered an attack by a mealybug, spider mite and scale insects.
More often, various types of rot develop on a plant. The reason for their occurrence can be considered excessive watering and maintenance at low temperatures. Do not forget that the homeland of the flower is tropics, which differ in a stable and warm climate.
Any work with this plant should be carried out with gloves. If you have small children, then you need to think once again whether it is worth planting such a flower in your home garden. But the thing is that the juice available in the vegetative organs of culture has the property of causing a burning sensation when in contact with the skin. If you wait for the flowering and development of the fruit of the plant, then know that they are especially poisonous. Therefore, make sure that the flower is located out of the reach of children.
Growing conditions
First of all, you need to decide where the pot with the plant will stand. So let's start with the lighting. Clusius pink is a relatively small inhabitant of tropical forests, and the main place of growth is the crowns and trunks of trees. That is, she prefers bright, but diffused sunlight.
North windows are a poor choice. Here, the plant will not only not bloom, but will significantly slow down growth and development, as well as lose its decorative effect. Therefore, with this arrangement, you need to highlight the plant with special lamps. Otherwise, there will be a stretching of the stems, on which leaves are almost not formed.
But southern windows are not the best choice either. Here, the tree of autographs will need to be hidden from the scorching sun. To do this, use a curtain or gauze. On the south window, she will feel great in the winter months, when the sun is no longer so active.
Content temperature
It is best if there are no temperature jumps at all, or they will be minimal. And of course, no drafts. This is especially important if you have old, wooden windows, in the crevices of which in the winter it blows. It is important to create a constant, warm atmosphere. The thermometer should show no higher than 25 degrees, and only in the winter months a temperature drop of up to 20 degrees is permissible. If this condition is not met, then the plant begins to drop foliage and becomes unattractive. And in the summer, it is permissible to take home clusion to the balcony or the outdoor terrace. But you need to carefully monitor so that it does not fall midday sunlight. In this case, the plant will continue to actively develop.
Watering
Many mistakenly assume that tropical plants need daily and plentiful watering. In fact, such actions lead to the death of plants much more often than we would like. It is necessary to recall how and in what conditions the plant lives in the natural environment. Clusius settles on a tree and lowers aerial roots to the ground. Accordingly, they do not reside permanently in water. The roots are mostly above the ground and do not tolerate excessive moisture of the substrate. It is much easier for him to survive the drying of the topsoil than stagnation of water.
Watering should be moderate but stable. Be sure to drain the water from the pan so that it does not stagnate there. It is also useful to spray the plant, especially if the thermometer has risen above 25 degrees. The water for irrigation is taken soft, it must be defended for at least two days.
Air humidity
Clusius flower is one of the biggest lovers of moist air. Therefore, in an apartment with central heating, he may not be too comfortable. In order for the leaves to not dry, you need to create additional moisture around the pot. You can use spraying or put next to the trays with pebbles and periodically add water to them. Evaporating, the liquid will optimize the conditions. In this case, the roots do not touch the water and they are not threatened with decay, and the air is saturated with moisture.
Priming
Even if you bought a plant from a nursery where a special soil mixture was selected for it, sooner or later it will need to be changed. After all, the flower will grow out of the pot and he will need a transplant. The gardener's calendar suggests that it is best to leave this procedure at the end of winter, when the plant has not yet begun to grow.
The flower root system is superficial, which means that the soil should be very light. The following composition will be optimal:
- Sheet earth - 2 parts.
- Rotted needles - 2 parts.
- Peat land - 2 parts.
- Coarse sand - 1 part.
- Vermiculite - 1 part.
Some lovers take all the components in equal parts. Which is also acceptable. A transplant should not be done more than once every two years. In order not to get confused, keep a gardener's calendar, in which note the date of the last transplant. And also navigate by the state of the plant itself, the rate of drying of the soil.
A few words about the filler
Not all growers know how to apply vermiculite to plants. Therefore, let us dwell on this moment in more detail. It is a mineral that is related to mica. It is burned to obtain a porous structure and in this form is offered to the gardener. Added to the ground, it collects water, and then slowly gives it back and evenly nourishes the roots. In the same way, it retains potassium and other beneficial ions from fertilizer, and then gives them to the roots. How to apply vermiculite to plants?
- For germination of seeds. In this case, the mineral is mixed with seeds, moistened and placed in a warm place.
- Growing seedlings. Germinated seeds are transplanted into a mixture of soil and vermiculite. This provides protection against drying out and root rot.
This supplement will be a great gardener assistant. It drains, aerates the soil and regulates the balance of nutrients in it. Any flower crops will only benefit if you add vermiculite to the soil.
Instead of a conclusion
The tropics near us are not as difficult as they might seem at first glance. Delicate, tropical plants get along quite well in home gardens. It is only necessary to provide them with suitable conditions for growth and development. Do not forget about the atmosphere in the house. The warmer it is, the better the flowers grow.