Tradescantia reo - home care
Content:
Tradescantia Reo is an exotic ornamental plant with an unusual color of leaf plates. The flower is actively used in landscape design.
What does it look like, which family it belongs to
Tradescantia Reo (Tradescantia Spathacea) has other names - multi-colored, or covered. This deciduous ornamental plant belongs to the Kommelinov family. Wild shrub species grow mainly in the subtropics of South and North America.
Tradescantia Reo has a high decorative effect
A short plant with long, xiphoid leaves, which have various colors of purple and green.
About the history of appearance
For the first time, Europeans began to grow Tradescantia as a houseplant, although in their homeland the bush was kept in gardens and in personal plots. Due to the shape of small flowers, the plant was popularly given another name - "Moses' Boat".
Homeland of the plant
The plant is widespread in the wild in Mexico and the southern American states. Their habitat is tropical forests or lowlands near water bodies and rivers.
Features of home care
It is quite easy to take care of Tradescantia bedspread, but there are nuances in growing.
Temperature
To grow a healthy plant, it is worth keeping Reo at a temperature of at least +20 ℃. The bush does not tolerate sudden changes in temperature, which is why it is better not to ventilate in winter.
Lighting
The shrub is absolutely undemanding to lighting. Avoid prolonged exposure to the bright midday sun. Indoor flower is recommended to be placed on the western and eastern windowsills.
Watering
The main thing in the care of Tradescantia Reo at home is regular watering with high-quality water. The procedure must be carried out at least 2 times every 7-10 days. At the same time, it is important to prevent stagnation of excess moisture in the soil, especially its drying out. To facilitate the irrigation procedure, loosening of the soil is carried out in parallel.
Spraying is carried out to increase moisture and cleanse decorative leaves.
Spraying
It is necessary to spray Tradescantia all year round. The procedure helps to increase the humidity of the air and remove accumulated dirt from the surface of the sheet plates. During the growing season, it is carried out every 2-3 days, and during rest - once a week.
Humidity
Reo likes high air humidity, which is recommended to be kept at the same level all year round. Dry air provokes rapid aging of the plant and drying of its leaf plates. To increase the humidity, the pot is placed on a special tray, in which the water is regularly changed.
Priming
It is most effective to plant Rheo in a special substrate designed for tradescantia. Some growers prepare it themselves. To do this, mix loose soil, sand, compost and peat.
Top dressing
Cultural indoor Tradescantia is fed 1 time every 10 days. The procedure begins with the arrival of March. For this, complex mineral preparations for deciduous plants are used. By the end of August, feeding is gradually stopped in order to prepare the bush for retirement.
Blooming Tradescantia Reo
When and how it blooms
Tradescantia does not have a pronounced flowering. This is not necessary, because the shrub is famous for its decorative leaves.
Types of flowers
The flowers are white in color, they are almost invisible among the lush foliage. The buds are located not above the bracts, but below them.
Flower shapes
Rheo flowers are very small in size and have a scaphoid shape.
Flowering period
Each inflorescence blooms for a relatively short time, but the buds tend to bloom replacing each other. The flowering period is from March to July.
Pruning
This procedure is recommended to be done before leaving for the winter. First of all, remove dried and rotten stems with leaves. It is very important to prevent the emergence of seeds during the growing season, therefore, it is necessary to regularly remove faded flowers until September.
Dividing the tradescantia bush into several parts
How does it multiply
Tradescantia multicolored has a great advantage among other indoor plants - it has easy reproduction. There are several ways to carry out this procedure.
Reproduction by children
Sometimes small children grow on the bush, with which Rheo is propagated. The required amount is carefully removed and slightly buried in a nutritious and moist substrate. Soon, the children will give roots, and only then they begin to water. They are seated when they reach a height of 10 centimeters.
Seed propagation
The seeds are planted in early spring as normal seedlings. The container is placed in a lighted place and covered with a transparent film on top.
Plant division
It is convenient to divide the bush during a planned transplant. There are two ways to reproduce by this method:
- Divide the bush into equal parts. It is necessary to pull the plant out of the pot and divide the rhizomes into equal seedlings with a knife. It is better to treat the places of cuts with a solution of potassium permanganate. Place each part in separate containers.
- Cut off only the side parts of the bush together with part of the rhizome. In this case, the growth of an individual small seedling will take a little more time. In any case, Reo will grow into a powerful and strong plant.
Transfer
Reo transplant should be carried out approximately once every 2-3 years. This is done, first of all, with the aim of rejuvenating the bush, since when transplanting it is divided into several parts and seated in different pots.
Powdery mildew on leaf plates
Possible growing problems
Problems can arise during the cultivation of Tradescantia Spathacea. Most often, they are provoked by mistakes in care.
Although the plant is disease-resistant, it is still affected by some diseases:
- Powdery mildew. White mucus appears on the leaves, which soon dries up, forming a plaque.
- Gray rot. Affects the base of the stem. They begin to rot and become covered with dark spots.
Pests
Only scabbards can harm Tradescantia. They lay the larvae on the back of the leaves and suck the juices out of the bush. To destroy them, you need to resort to treating the bush with insecticides and not waste time on folk methods.
Other problems
Other common problems include:
- shredding of sheet plates - lack of lighting;
- pale stems stretched upward - long stay in the shade;
- stopping growth and blanching of leaves - lack of nutrients in the soil due to a lack of fertilizing;
- drying of the edges of the leaves - dry indoor air growing;
- the appearance of brown spots on the leaves - watering with cold water and supercooling of the bush.
Tradescantia foliose Reo is one of the most beautiful indoor deciduous plants. Has many colors of exotic leaf plates. Caring for the shrub is easy, which makes Reo popular in home floriculture.
