Rational methods of caring for cupressus at home
More recently, conifers were considered unsuitable for indoor culture. Now the opinion of flower growers has changed, and conifers, including cupressus, are grown indoors. Caring for cupressus at home is simple, it does not grow too quickly and is often used in the interior as a background for flowering plants.
In nature, cupressus are evergreen trees or shrubs, sometimes growing up to 40 m in height. Distributed in the tropics and subtropics of the northern hemisphere: in the Mediterranean, Crimea and the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, at the southern outskirts of China, on the slopes of the Himalayas. Also found on the American continent from Oregon to Guatemala.
What does cupressus look like?
In indoor conditions, cupressus is a low (40-150 cm) pyramidal tree with a thin trunk covered with brownish or dark gray bark, or a bush with small foliage: in young specimens - with acicular, in older plants - with a scaly, pressed against the shoots and located in four tiers. Crohn has a fungicidal effect and repels insects with its characteristic odor.
Like many conifers, cupressus is a monoecious plant: male cones (microstrobiles), cylindrical or spherical, and female (megastrobila) are located on the same shrub. Narrow-winged seeds.
Cupressus is often mistakenly called cypress. The genera differ in the structure of the cones, maintenance and care.
Types of cupressus
In the genus Cupressus of the Cypress family, there are about 20 varieties. Most of them grow only in the wild, few are cultivated in ornamental gardening, and only a few species are grown indoors.
- Evergreen - a tree or shrub with brown-brown bark. Leaves - pressed to the shoots or even adherent, miniature, diamond-shaped, like scales, dark green with a bluish tint.
- Kashmiri - differs from the previous species in drooping shoots. The foliage is diamond-shaped, elongated, of a blue-greenish hue. More thermophilic than other species.
- Large-fruited - in young plants, the crown is columnar, in adults it is spreading. The needles smell like lemon. The native land of the species is California. It is widely used in the bonsai technique, especially one of the varieties - Goldcrest Wilma (Gold Wilma) with small golden needle-like leaves. Container-grown plants are formed in one of the vertical styles. The roots are pruned as needed in the spring to contain growth. In the summer they are taken out into the garden outdoors.
Planting cupressus and placement in room conditions
The plant is planted in a stable flower container, high enough taking into account the developed root system. At the bottom, a drainage layer of gravel or broken brick chips is laid. The pot is filled with a ready-made specialized earth mixture "Cypress" or made up independently from leaf and clay-turf soil with sand in a ratio of 1: 3: 1. Transplant work is performed every 2 years in the spring.
Advice
When planting, it is necessary to ensure that the root collar of the shrub does not turn out to be buried in the ground - the plant will wither, develop poorly and may eventually die.
At home, cupressus, despite its tropical origin, is placed in cool northern rooms, poorly heated verandas, glazed balconies and loggias.
Secrets of caring for cupressus
The plant loves a lot of diffused light, but it also tolerates placement in partial shade. Under the influence of direct sunlight, cypress needles turn yellow and crumble. In winter, the pot with the plant is moved closer to the southern window, in the summer it is removed from hot rooms or moved to the garden. Cupressus reacts poorly to stuffy air, develops inactively in rarely ventilated rooms and looks painful. However, drafts have a bad effect on the appearance - the edges of the needles turn brown.
Content temperatures are moderate, in summer - within 18-22 degrees Celsius, in winter - no more than 13-15 degrees above zero. A cool wintering is important: keeping near the heating system devices is detrimental to cupressus. Many of the natural species are frost-resistant, but indoor cypresses react poorly to too low temperatures - if the irrigation regime does not change towards reduction, there is a possibility of the appearance of putrefactive processes of the root system.
In both summer and winter, the plant is watered sparingly, with a little water. Excess moisture is harmful to cupressus. The optimal humidification regime is once every 3-4 days in summer, once a week in winter. However, adjustment is possible depending on the microclimate of the room, the composition of the soil mixture. The main thing is that the earthen lump between waterings must completely dry out. Spraying for cupressus does not play a significant role, however, if the humidity is too low (less than 35%), the plant is pollinated with moisture from a spray bottle.
Top dressing is carried out regularly at intervals of 1-2 times a month during the period of active growth (from May to August) with special mineral mixtures for coniferous crops. Sometimes organic matter is added. In winter, fertilizers are reduced to 1 time in 2 months, and recently transplanted plants do not feed at all during the wintering period. After transplanting, the first feeding is done no earlier than 3-4 weeks later.
Other care consists in regularly loosening the soil in the pot as it compresses, as well as pruning in spring to form a crown.
Reproduction at home
Cupressus is propagated at home in two ways - by cuttings and seeds.
The lighter of these is the rooting of cuttings left after formative spring pruning.
- Semi-lignified cuttings of last year's growth of 10-12 cm in size, cut off at least one finger below the green part, are chosen.
- For better rooting, place the shoot for a day in a solution of phytohormones.
- Then the cut is powdered with charcoal powder and buried with the lignified part in the finished soil mixture for coniferous plants.
- The stalk is covered with a glass vessel on top, the soil is periodically moistened, and the mini-greenhouse is ventilated. If rooting is carried out in cool conditions, soil heating is organized for the cuttings.
The roots appear after about a couple of months. The hardened seedling is transferred into a separate pot.
It is much more difficult to grow cupressus from seeds that do not germinate particularly well. Before planting, they need 3-4 months of stratification in the refrigerator, after which they are immersed in a solution of any growth stimulator - "Epin" or "Kornevin" for a day.
Sowing is carried out directly into soil mixture for conifers or germinated first in wet sand. Containers with crops are placed in a warm place with high environmental humidity. Do not expect more than 50% germination. When the seedlings reach a height of 5-6 cm, they are carefully transferred into separate flower containers and looked after as adults.
Possible care errors, diseases and pests
An excess amount of irrigation water leads to decay of the root system.
The needles turn yellow and crumble for several reasons:
- exposure to direct sunlight;
- insufficient moisture;
- the plant has not been fertilized for a long time;
- Irrigation water is too hard for cupressus.
The needles at the ends acquire a brownish-brownish tint due to rare watering, low air humidity, or from cold air blowing from the window in winter.
The crown becomes asymmetrical due to poor lighting conditions.
Among insect pests on cypress trees, scale insects and spider mites are seen.
Observing the simple rules of care, you can ensure the constant presence of the symbol of the New Year holidays in the house - the evergreen coniferous cupressus.
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