Aichrizon - a tree of love and happiness
Content:
Aichrizon - a flower native to the Mediterranean, grows naturally in cracks in rocks and does not require a lot of moisture for development. The plant has long taken its place on the windowsills of apartments. There are several varieties of culture, it is worth considering the most popular ones.
Aichrizon - what kind of flower is it, why is it called "the tree of love and happiness"
The plant belongs to succulents from the Tolstyankov family. These species tolerate drought easily. Aichrizon began to be called the tree of love due to the heart-shaped leaves. In the wild, the shrub grows in the mountains on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea - Madeira, Corsica, Canary Islands.
Aichrizon - the tree of love
A short description of what it looks like
Compact spherical bush 30-35 cm high. Fleshy stems, straight, surface root system, directed horizontally.
Flowering begins in late spring, inflorescences of buds in the form of stars are formed on peduncles 10-20 cm long. Depending on the species, indoor aichrizon blooms in yellow, red, cream color.
At the ends of the shoots, fleshy leaves are formed, covered with fluffy villi. Leaves are collected in pairs or small groups of 4-5 pieces. The foliage is dark green, sometimes with yellow and red blotches. The leaf form is diamond-shaped, round, heart-shaped, oval. When cut, a sap with an unpleasant odor appears on the stem.
Aichrizon inflorescence
Flower varieties
In nature, there are 15 species of aichrizon, there are herbaceous annual forms and shrubs. Below are the most common varieties in nature and at home.
Aichryson homemade (Aichryson x domesticum)
A hybrid of point and winding species adapted for growing in apartments with low light. It is a spherical bush, up to 30 cm in diameter. Bright green diamond-shaped leaves are located along the entire length of the stem, reaching a size of 2 × 1 cm. Yellow pointed flowers have a sharp aroma, bloom for up to six months.
There is a variety of aichrizon variegated gucci - its leaves have a striped white-green color.
Aichryson tortuosum
A compact shrub 15-30 cm in size, consists of lanceolate fleshy leaves densely growing to each other. The width and length of the leaves are equal, their surface is covered with silvery pile. In indoor conditions, the aichrizona flower pleases with bright flowering throughout the summer. The length of the peduncles significantly exceeds the size of the stems. Yellow buds in the form of stars with 8-9 petals are high above the crown.
Aichryson sedifolium
A plant with a directed vertical shape, the width of the shrub is up to 15 cm, the crown height reaches 40 cm. Shoots are lignified stems without vegetation along the entire length. At the tops of the shoots are rosettes of fleshy leaves, which are shaped like bunches of grapes. The leaf plate up to 1.5 cm long is colored light green with a red bloom. Flowering is not violent, the bud is in the shape of a yellow chamomile.
Aichryson laxum
The plant aichrizon prostrate is named so for the sprawling shape of a bush, which can reach 40 cm in size.Leaves of a diamond-shaped green color can be up to 3 cm long, up to 1 cm wide. yellow buds. After the buds wither, a significant part of the leaves crumbles, since the shrub gives up most of the nutrients to feed the flowers.
Aichrizon prostrate
Aichryson punctatum
Brown stems of the shrub reach 40 cm in length, have hairiness - more than on the crown. Fleshy diamond-shaped leaves are colored light green, collected in inflorescences. Flowering is a cluster of yellow star-shaped buds.
Aichrizone care at home
Beginners in floriculture should start aihrizon home care, while it is not difficult. To achieve flowering and not ruin the flower, you need to observe the watering regime, temperature and illumination.
Illumination and temperature conditions
The flower is provided with 12-14 hours of daylight. In winter, natural light is supplemented with phytolamps or daylight sources. Otherwise, the shoots will begin to stretch out and shed the leaves.
The plant does not like direct sunlight, the flowerpot is placed away from the aggressive summer sun. The best place for culture in the house would be the windowsill on the west side. If the flower of love aichrizon is on the south side, the window should be shaded with a light curtain.
From mid-spring to autumn, the favorite flower temperature regime is maintained at 20-25 ℃ above zero. In summer, it is recommended to take the flower pot out to the balcony, the shrub requires light airing. It should be borne in mind that the roots of the flower are afraid of drafts; there should not be strong airflow indoors and outdoors.
Aichrizon during flowering
In winter, the tree is brought into a dormant state, lowering the room temperature to 8-10 ℃ of heat. A flower is not placed near the batteries, the increased temperature leads to the stretching of the shoots.
Watering rules and humidity
Moderate watering is important in caring for aichrizon. The plant does not like when it is abundantly moisturized. It is better to water the flower more often, but with less water. By the sluggish leaves, you can understand that the flower does not have enough moisture.
In the summer, they arrange a warm shower in the bath, in the winter the number of waterings is halved. Succulent plant tolerates drought well. You can play it safe and water it 3-4 days after the earthen coma has completely dried.
The shrub does not require spraying the crown from a spray bottle, the air in the room must be dry.
Top dressing and soil quality
In the winter period, feeding is not carried out. Starting in April, every 2 weeks they begin to apply mineral fertilizers for cacti. After the first buds appear, the shrub is fed every week to prolong flowering. In the fertilizer, the nitrogen content should be minimal, as it provokes foliage growth and inhibits flowering.
The soil for aichrizona should be neutral in composition. Loose soils with a high sand content are suitable. The shrub prefers lands with good air conductivity.
Flower container size
The plant does well in a cramped pot. The distance from the roots to the walls of the container should not exceed 2 cm. The underground part of the shrub grows in width, which means that the pot should be shallow. The material of the container is clay; in a plastic pot, the roots of the culture will heat up, which will lead to the wilting of the flower.
Shrub in a wide pot
Pruning and replanting
Pruning the aichrizon tree of happiness consists in removing old peduncles and dried shoots. The shoots are pruned in the fall, after the end of the growing season.
The plant is transplanted in the spring before flowering, or in the fall, when all the buds have fallen off. In winter, you do not need to touch the bush, the transplant will awaken it from hibernation, the plant can bloom. The culture is transplanted into a new pot as it grows, in the case when the root system no longer fits in the pot.
Land for the plant is bought at a garden store. Suitable substrate for succulents. You can make land at home. To do this, mix sod, leafy soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 1: 1: 1: 4. The new pot should be 2 cm wider than the previous one, it is filled with drainage by 3 cm. For this purpose, expanded clay is used. After transplanting, the plant is not watered for 5 days, further watering is carried out in small portions once a month.
Flowering and dormant period of the plant
Experienced flower growers have aikhrizon blooming at home when the snow has not yet melted outside. To achieve a long and violent flowering, you need to follow a number of rules:
- Keep the plant in a cramped pot and do not fertilize it in winter.
- Water the flowerpot once a month, and triple the drought in February.
- Keep the pot in a cool place where the temperature does not exceed +12 ℃ and there are no drafts.
- Provide 12 hour daylight hours with additional lighting.
Fulfillment of these simple conditions will help to get flowers on the bush in April. Frequent fertilization with mineral fertilizing will extend flowering until October. After dropping the buds, all peduncles and old yellowed stems are cut off. Preventive pruning will help the bush to endure the dormant period more easily and recover from the winter.
Aichrizon at rest
Reproduction of the tree of happiness
Aichrizon propagation is carried out by seed and cuttings. Both methods are quite effective for spring planting.
To propagate the plant with seeds, they are sown in flat boxes with a wet mixture of sand and leafy earth. The container is covered with foil and placed in a warm place until shoots appear. Every day, the greenhouse is opened for ventilation for several hours.
Aichrizon can be successfully propagated by cuttings. To do this, cut out several strong shoots on an adult plant, divide them into stems 7-9 cm long. Each stalk is left to air dry for 2 hours, then planted in a container with sand, which is moistened as it dries. After 14-20 days of planting, the first root appears, shoots can be planted in separate pots up to 5 cm wide.
Aichrizona seedlings when propagated by seeds
Cuttings are carried out after flowering, but you need to make sure that before winter the seedlings have time to take root and go into hibernation. Cuttings can be rooted in soft water with the addition of activated carbon.
If you care for the shrub correctly, you can get a scattering of bright yellow flowers at home. Blooming aichrizon on the windowsill will delight the people passing by the window.
Some difficulties in growing
Aichrizon shows that he is not properly cared for, shedding leaves and refusing to bloom. Shoots without foliage and their strong pulling indicates a lack of light in the room. Sluggish leaves indicate rare watering, the plant is dehydrated. The following are the most common signs of improper flower care.
Yellowed plant shoots
Why does not it bloom
The lack of buds in the spring may indicate a lack of nutrients. It is necessary to increase the amount of dressings. The pot is fertilized every week with mineral mixtures with a low nitrogen content.
Aichrizon may not bloom if its biological rhythm is disturbed. When a flower is transplanted in winter, it is stressed and misses flowering.
Falling leaves
After vigorous flowering, the leaves on the shrub begin to dry and actively crumble. There is no need to be afraid of this. So the plant gets rid of the excess crown, which takes nutrients from the flower. In this case, the tree begins to water more abundantly in order to enable it to recover faster.
Waterlogging of the earth can lead to rotting of the root part and the gradual death of the entire plant. The tree signals with abundant leaf fall that watering needs to be reduced.
Drought and exposure to the bright sun on the crown of the bush have a detrimental effect on the development of culture. Shade the window on which the pot with the plant stands and increase watering frequency.
Aichrizone root peeled from soil
A significant increase in room temperature during a dormant period can provoke leaf fall. Move the flowerpot to a cool room.
Diseases and pests
The shrub can be affected by spider mites, scabbards. Pest control should start as soon as possible. Insects are destroyed with the help of insecticidal preparations, and then the crown is examined.
With frequent and abundant watering, the root system of the aichrizon begins to rot. When the first signs of rot are found, the bush is taken out of the soil, the roots are dried and treated with fungicides. The damaged part is removed, the plant is transplanted into a new substrate.
