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Plants with variegated foliage are gaining increasing attention from housewives. No exception - the pictured on the photo of the ctenant, care at home for which will require some knowledge, but will bring a lot of pleasure and interesting observations.
Ktenanta or, as the name of the culture in Latin Ctenanthe sounds, comes from the tropical regions of the South American continent. Herb with oval leaves, sitting on elongated petioles and surprising variegated colors, belongs to the family Marantovyh.
Due to the similarity of the appearance and the conditions of detention, confusion often occurs during the identification of a room culture. Xenante, in the photo, called Calathea, which is not surprising, because the plants are the closest relatives. It’s not immediately possible to find differences, since they manifest themselves in the structure of the crown and flower.
Descriptions and photos of species Ktenantes
Like most of the plant family in Ktenant, large, whole leaves are oval or slightly pointed. An adult plant is formed by a powerful, grassy shrub consisting of erect or lodging stems. The leaves are attached to the shoots by means of long petioles, and due to the nature of the structure they grow unevenly, and in bunches. Sheet plates are rarely monophonic.
Most species of ktenantov, as in the photo, variegated. They can be recognized by the original light green, silver or yellow-green brush strokes, ornaments or stripes, diverging from the average vein to the edges.
When caring for a ctenant, many growers note not only the beauty of the foliage, but also its mobility. Depending on the illumination of the leaves of this tropical species can descend or ascend.
If the foliage of the plant is undoubtedly decorative, then the flowering of the qutenants, in the photo, you can not notice. Small, spike-shaped inflorescences, in which white, yellowish or lilac flowers open, appear from the leaf sinuses.
In nature, there are 17 species belonging to the genus Ctenanthe. These cultures differ in size, habitat and patterns on the leaves, but they have similar preferences for growing conditions and care. Today, only a few of the most spectacular species are used as indoor and garden ornamental crops.
Quite elegant, up to half a meter long, of Bern-Marx’s Ctenanthe burle-marxii, was fallen in love with flower growers thanks to oval light green or silver leaves, the pattern on which resembles a branch that runs along the center vein. The leaves themselves are oval, about 10 cm long and 4 to 6 cm wide. If their upper side is patterned, the back side has a beautiful, but uniform purple color.
The inflorescences appearing on the tops of the shoots are colored in tonal foliage, and the small flowers have a light cream color.
Significantly larger than the previous species of Ctenanthe lubbersiana( Ctenanthe lubbersiana).Lovers of large domestic plants will appreciate well-leafy bushes up to 70–80 cm high.
The leaves of this species, like in the photo, have a long-oval shape and a two-sided green color, on which chaotic yellow or light green strokes from the middle vein stand outedge sheet plate.
In the pot culture of Oppenheim's Ctenant( Ctenanthe oppenheimiana) grows to a meter high, forming beautiful wide shrubs with many oblong-pointed leaves. In this species, the ktenanta, as in the photo, the foliage is the most unusual of all the plants described.
Not only is there a pattern of dark and light green stripes on the upper side of the sheet plate, and the lower surface is painted in a crimson-burgundy shade. In part of the plants, asymmetric white or pinkish, broad strokes spread on the patterned side.
In the photo depicted, the ctentes are compressed, or compressa, green leaves are up to 35–40 centimeters long.
This is one of the most powerful species, so the plant is used in gardening greenhouses, winter gardens or halls of public buildings. The culture blooms, forming spike-shaped, almost non-decorative inflorescences long.
Caring for a Ctenant at Home
Like all the green inhabitants of the tropics, ctenants love heat and are sensitive to temperature extremes. When caring for a ctenant, it is sufficient to maintain a comfortable room temperature for them within 22–25 ° C during the day, and a couple of degrees cooler at night. In winter, the plants also do not need special conditions. The ctenant winters well at 18–20 ° C with a slight decrease in temperature at night.
If in the warm season the plant is carried out to the open air, it is necessary to ensure that the culture does not suffer from frost at night, and also take care of protection from the cold wind.
Caring for a ctenant at home will not give positive results if the plant is picked up in the wrong place. In nature, this culture grows under the canopy of higher plants, and therefore in the house should not be on the bright direct rays of the sun. But even in the deep shadows, it is not worth waiting for the ornamental foliage and crown density. The best place for a ktenanta, in the photo, is transparent penumbra, and the length of daylight should not be less than 14–16 hours. In the middle lane, the last condition of caring for the ctenant can be fulfilled only with the help of an artificial backlight.
Watering is carried out as the soil surface dries. In the summer, it is necessary to moisten the soil more often and more abundantly, and from autumn to spring, when life processes in the plant slow down, watering is limited. For the same reason, in winter, the ctenantes do not need additional feeding, and an excess of water is extremely dangerous for the roots and the entire plant as a whole.
With the arrival of spring, besides irrigation, room culture is necessarily fed using complex formulations. When caring for a ctenant in room conditions, it is convenient to apply liquid products along with irrigation, using half the concentration of fertilizer.
The root system of young plants always develops more intensively than in adults, so these specimens need an annual transplant. Larger plants should not be disturbed in vain, they are rolled over to a new pot as the roots grow and develop the entire volume of soil. The procedure is carried out in the second half of spring, choosing wide tanks for transplantation and providing the cantenant with a powerful drainage.
The best soil for the inhabitants of the tropics is a moderately nourishing mixture of garden soil and two smaller volumes of peat and sand. It is useful to add pre-crushed sphagnum and charcoal to the substrate.
With proper care at home, a ktenant, as in the photo, has long been pleased with the owner by the bright color of the leaves, their constant growth and abundance.
