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The unusual appearance of adenium and comparisons with its rose, lily or star addressed to its colors are the reasons for the increased interest in plants from African deserts. In this case, adeniums, care at home for which, quite simple, very unpretentious.
A little knowledge, diligence, attention, and indoor pet will respond with a lush bloom. And the unlimited possibilities of cutting and shaping allow you to grow a truly unique instance.
Adeniums have a very recognizable look. Full-fledged stem, a small rosette of dense leaves, crowning the top and large flowers of all shades from white to deep purple.
Plants, in nature, not semi-desert spoiled by conditions, perfectly adapt, bloom and even allow experiments on themselves in the house. Their result is bizarre adenium, shaped like octopus, mangrove jungle trees or abstract green sculptures.
The secret of successful care for adenium at home is simple and consists in ensuring the maximum of the sun, loose soil, regular, but moderate watering.
Temperature and humidity for adenium
Adenium can be called one of the most "heat-resistant" indoor plants. The temperature of 30–35 ° C is comfortable for them. A decrease of 3-5 units does not cause discomfort, but prolonged cooling of the air to 18–20 ° C causes the plant to slow down growth, abandon flowering and begin preparations for the winter dormancy period.
Signs of depression are noticeable in a too warm room. The temperature of +38 ° C in the care of adenium at home is often critical if the humidity in the room is not high enough. Moisture helps the flower to bear the heat, but in the cold, on the contrary, it causes problems.
The minimum allowable temperature for keeping adenium in a room is +10 ° C.If the air continues to cool, the risk of damage to the measles system and its death from rotting significantly increases.
Adeniums are characterized by pronounced periods of hibernation or dormancy, when the plant:
- partially or completely shed its leaves;
- stops growing;
- does not form new buds.
A peculiar sign for a flower is:
- a decrease in the length of daylight;
- cooling to 16–20 ° C.
"Hibernation" helps the plant to recover and create a reserve for future flowering. Therefore, for all its time for adenium, the temperature is maintained at about 12–16 ° C and radically reduces watering. It must be remembered that plants can not stand even small frosts. As in the photo, when you take care of adenium at home, you can do without spraying and special measures to increase the humidity of the air.
Adenium lighting for home care
Adeniums are light-requiring, unlike most houseplants, they do not need shading and feel best on the south and east sides.
In summer, the more sun they get, the greater the flowering will be, the tighter and healthier the crown will be. In winter, the conditions do not change, but if there is not enough light, then the shadow can be partially compensated by maintaining the temperature within 15 ° C or by prolonged backlighting.
Aiming toward the sun, room adenium leans toward the window. Return the crown beauty can turn the flower. Over time, the stem straightens up again.
Light mode for adenium, which comes from the equatorial zone of the planet, it is desirable to maintain close to natural values. That is, from autumn to spring, in order for the plant to receive light for 12–14 hours, it will need light.
Soil for adenium and its transplantation
The soil mixture for adenium should be light, very loose, nutritious and permeable to moisture and oxygen. The level of acidity, comfortable for the plant is equal to pH 5.5–7.
Today there is a sufficient range of ready-made substrates based on peat or coconut fiber. For adenium, a primer for succulents or a universal soil with the addition of loosening, structuring components is suitable.
If the acquired soil is too dense or appears to be poor, you can mix the soil for adenium yourself by taking:
- 5 parts of the finished substrate;
- 3 parts of high humus leafy land;
- 2 pieces of vermiculite, river sand or perlite.
A good addition is crushed charcoal, which can act as a natural component of the soil or drainage.
In the recommendations of large producers engaged in the cultivation of adeniums, there is an indication of the composition of the substrate for this culture. Part of the perlite is added to the three parts of the crushed bark. Such a ground for adenium perfectly pass air and moisture, never compacted and can be considered universal. However, the nutrients in it are not too many, so the florist will have to think about frequent feeding your pet.
A significant proportion of foam balls, brick chips, charcoal and other leavening agents, which are added to increase the airiness of the substrate, also leads to this.
Adenium transplantation is most often carried out in the spring when active growth begins. A new pot should not be too large, otherwise the plant may postpone the long-awaited flowering. However, in a too tight container, it is difficult to achieve a harmonious shape of the trunk of caudex.
If the cause of adenium transplantation was the formation of its bizarre roots, for 5–7 days this plant does not water or moisturize very carefully. Healthy adeniums, for example, seedlings transported in individual pots, can be watered as usual.
How to water adenium?
The mode of watering a decorative African native depends on:
- on the season;
- on air temperature;
- from pot capacity;
- from soil selected for adenium;
- on the location of the plant and the phase of its growing season.
During the period of active growth the plant needs a lot of water, and the higher the temperature, the greater the needs of adenium.
In hot weather, the soil in the pot should be slightly damp. This will help the flower to maintain vitality and not lose flowers. It is not necessary to spray adenium.
Cooling is a sure sign to the grower that watering should be reduced. Excess water often causes illness and the death of the root system. How to water adenium to be sure of the optimal amount of moisture?
In the summer, at a comfortable temperature, a new portion of water is needed when the top layer of the soil is completely dry after the previous watering. In the winter, in a cool room, watering the flower should be limited, when the substrate dries out completely. In a warm room and while maintaining growth, adenium is watered as usual, but less often.
Pruning and forming adenium
To make the crown thick, branched, growers resort to the formation and pruning of adenium.
Often this is simply necessary, since in many plants the apical development is dominant and does not allow other sprouts to develop except the central one.
Removal of the apex activates dormant lateral buds and triggers branching. As a result of such pruning at home on adenium:
- increases the number of foliage;
- lays more buds;The
- crown turns out to be leveled, voluminous and dense.
Usually, after trimming, more than three buds wake up, and the thicker the cut stalk, the thicker the growth of hemp along the edge of its growth.
Also pruning adenium at home is used to rejuvenate adult plants, some of the branches of which weaken noticeably with age. It is carried out with a frequency of two years, shortening shoots up to 5–8 cm.
Formation of adenium adenium
Adenium is a rare plant that allows the grower to form not only the aboveground, but also the underground part. Pruning and shaping the adenium caudex allows the grower to grow incredible specimens.
The flower is extremely “loyal” to all human manipulations, which can twist the roots, cut off some of them, or completely remove the bottom of the plant to grow a new root system of a given shape.
Most often on the basis of adenium form bonsai like a mangrove tree. For this:
- choose a grown seedling with a thick stem base;
- in a plant at the site of narrowing of the caudex root is cut;
- the resulting stalk is rooted again in water or a loose mixture of perlite and vermiculite.
When the plant has acquired roots again, it is transferred to a wide pot, on light ground for adenium. Under the handle is placed a previously prepared round plate made of dense plastic. The roots are straightened and fixed to give the desired shape. Then the roots on one or two centimeters sprinkled with soil.
Care after such formation of adenium caudex consists in more frequent, usually moderate watering and regular checking of the position of the roots. To do this, the plant is transplanted twice a year, straightening rhizomes and removing unnecessary.
