Crassula - home care
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For many years, the most diverse types of succulents have been almost the best sellers in the flower market. They have won the love of flower growers for their unpretentiousness and the most unusual appearance.
Crassula - what is this flower
Crassula has no less famous names: common bastard, money tree. The plant is a classic representative of succulents. Homeland - the southern regions of Africa and the island of Madagascar. There are over 300 famous representatives.
What does a money tree look like?
A short description of what it looks like
The flower size can reach 2 meters. Most often, the species is presented in the form of a tree, sometimes bush specimens are found. Rounded dense leaves literally stick around the shoots of the plant. Flowering is a rare phenomenon, but compliance with the rules of care still allows you to achieve it. Before caring for a crassula flower, you need to familiarize yourself with the varietal characteristics of the species.
Varieties of home succulent
There are a number of varieties of the money tree in the world. But for professional florists there are some of the most beloved and valuable representatives of Crassula.
Crassula perforated
For crassula perforator, home care is practically no different from growing other subspecies. The diamond-shaped leaves are literally strung on the stems of the flower. The leaf plates are not only painted green, but also shaded with a bluish bloom. The edge of the leaf is red.
Crassula perforata
Crassula Nealyana
The flower is endowed with horizontal shoots that can reach 15 cm. The leaf plates of a very dense structure are colored silver. Flowers grow directly on the very tops of the species. Reproduction of crassula nealiana is carried out using any process or leaflet. Extremely unpretentious look. An individual feature - when placed in the open sun, the leaves acquire a red tint.
Succulent Nealian
Crassula Nile
Outwardly, it resembles a low tree with erect stems and triangular leaves with a red edging. It blooms with small creamy single flowers. The leaf blades are strung in pairs on a thin shoot.
Crassula Marnier
A distinctive feature of the variety is short stems, which are practically devoid of the ability to curl. In a young flower, the branches are directed upwards, with age they begin to droop. The leaves are rounded and painted in bright green, at a certain angle they acquire a blue tint. White flowers of the species do not grow more than 3-4 mm.
Marnier variety
Other varieties
Another common plant variety is mix.A distinctive feature is flat leaves, located as close as possible to each other. You can often find another type of fat woman in flower shops - Marginalis. The tall flower can grow from 60 to 80 cm. The variety is prone to branching and has a large number of aerial roots. The creeping stems are oval in shape.
Mix variety money tree
Caring for Crassula varieties at home
For a Crassula flower, home care consists in observing certain rules. Timely watering and feeding are the main components of a healthy plant. For the fat woman, it is important to maintain the cleanliness of the leaf plates, it is the care of the crassula leaves that allows her to receive oxygen in a timely manner.
Illumination and temperature conditions
The plant Crassula fatty tolerates almost any level of illumination. For the money tree, the east or southwest part of the house is best.
Still, it should be remembered that a lack of light will negatively affect the decorative qualities of the flower. Lack of light in most cases leads to falling foliage and stretching of shoots. In the summertime, flower growers recommend moving the plant outside. In this regard, all succulents are extremely thermophilic by nature, they respond perfectly to the sultry heat and to being near heating devices in winter.
Watering rules and humidity
This variety of succulents is a real find for "forgetful" flower growers. The plant will calmly tolerate drought, even for a very long period. In summer, watering is carried out at the slightest drying out of the top layer of the soil. In winter, moisture is required only when the soil is deeply dried. It is important to prevent stagnation of water - this plant may not survive.
When caring for Crassula, you can ignore the humidity level in the room. Equally exactly the flower refers to both high humidity and low humidity.
Top dressing and soil quality
It is strongly not recommended to feed this species in the autumn-winter time - it is undesirable to "disturb" the flower. In the spring, the tree must be fertilized at least once a month. In summer, fertilizing is applied less often - once every 35-40 days.
Transplant and size of the flower container
Before carrying out a transplant, it is important to take a responsible attitude to the choice of a pot. Too much capacity will lead to a strong deepening of the root system. Because of this, the upper part of the flower will cease to develop correctly and the trunk will be greatly weakened. Experienced flower growers advise using low and wide flowerpots for crassula.
The substrate for succulents should consist of leafy soil (1 part), humus (1 part), turf soil (3 parts), fine expanded clay or gravel (1 part), as well as sifted river sand (1 part).
An adult bush is transplanted as the root system grows. The flower is not picky about annual transplants. But for flowering, the procedure must be carried out at least once every 2 years. The best time is spring, the moment when the succulent just wakes up and begins its intensive growth.
Each subsequent container should be slightly larger than the previous one. A thick layer of drainage is laid at the bottom of the pot. In the absence of expanded clay as a drainage layer, it is permissible to use broken brick or chipped shards.
Crassula is transplanted together with an earthen clod by the transshipment method.After the flower is evenly set in a new container, all voids are filled with nutritious soil. With this procedure, it is allowed to shorten roots that are too long.
Formation of the crown of the tree
The creation of a beautiful shape is an important condition for the full life of a flower. Formation not only gives a decorative effect to the plant, but also allows you to receive adequate nutrition for all branches without exception, since during the formation process, all damaged and diseased shoots are removed.
The first trimming and pinching must be done even in a very young fat woman. If you start forming an adult plant, then hemp will remain at the site of removal of the stems or leaves. This will have an extremely negative effect on the appearance of the tree.
When the young plant reaches 10-15 cm, the upper leaves on the main shoot should be torn off. This procedure stimulates the growth of new leaves.
Propagation of a fat woman by cuttings
The easiest and most productive way to propagate crassula is by cuttings. For this species, not only leaves, but also shoots can be used as planting material. These may simply be parts of the flower that have fallen off. Before planting a seedling in the ground, it is recommended to treat the cut or wound with charcoal powder. Some growers also advise to "wither" part of the plant for 2-3 days.
Crassula reproduction
Due to the fact that the flower is absolutely unpretentious, the seedling can be rooted in different ways:
- after short-term drying;
- after rooting it in a glass of water;
- plant immediately into the ground without preliminary preparation.
Growing problems, diseases and pests
Most often, flower diseases manifest themselves when the rules of care are violated. For example, stagnant water contributes to root decay. Drying of the leaves and flying around the green mass occurs due to a violation of the temperature regime and drafts.
Diseases of the money tree
Mealybugs are considered the most dangerous pests. To get rid of insects, you need to use a cotton pad dipped in alcohol. When a scabbard appears, it is urgently required to sprinkle with water with the addition of Actellik. If the soil is allowed to dry out for a long time, then spider mites can settle on the succulent. In the fight against them, a pesticide - fitoverm - has proven itself well.
Flowering species
It is important to study the specific features of the bastard and not forget about observing the rules for caring for Crassula. Creating a suitable climate for the plant will allow you to get a real home decoration, as well as make it possible to achieve the formation of flowers. A well-groomed appearance of a succulent will not only delight its owner for many years, but, according to folk signs, will bring prosperity to the house.
