Conditions for keeping nertera and plant care

An excellent option for decorating an apartment is a room nertera. This cute plant is native to tropical latitudes, so it is not so easy to grow it. We will tell you which types of flowers are the most popular, as well as give recommendations for the care of nerta.

Brief description of the flower

Nertera is a genus of undersized creeping plants of extraordinary beauty. The Latin name is Nertera, and the flower growers call the flower coral moss, and it is no coincidence: the shoots do not rise up, but spread over the soil, small leaves of a rich green color are very densely located, forming a pillow.

In spring, the plant blooms with small inconspicuous white flowers. After flowering, large fruits (up to 1 cm in diameter) of various shades ripen in their place. The color of the berries depends on the species of the plant.

Here are the most popular home-grown nertera species.

1. Nertera depressa (pressed) - a creeping plant with white-green flowers and orange berries.
2. Nertera granadensis (Granada) - forms a soft cushion on the surface of the pot. It blooms with small yellowish flowers, and the berries are bright orange. It differs from the previous species in that the berries remain on the plant especially for a long time (up to 3 months). Astrid nertera variety is characterized by heap fruiting.
3. Nertera nigricarpa (blackberry) - large black berries are rare.

The blackberry nerta is considered a rare species; more often plants with orange berries are grown at home. Nertera Granada varieties Astrid are considered to be especially decorative. Although these species differ from each other in appearance, the requirements for growing conditions are the same.

Growing conditions

In nature, nertera grows in tropical forests, covering the soil with a continuous carpet. Therefore, at home for a plant, it is important:

• air temperature;
• illumination level;
• humidity.

Nertera does not like heat, but he does not tolerate severe cold either. The optimum temperature in summer is 18-20 ° C. In extreme heat, the leaves begin to dry out, and the berries quickly fall off. In the cold season, the temperature in the room where the flower is grown should not fall below 10 ° C, otherwise the plant will die.

Coral moss is also picky about light. He does not tolerate direct sunlight, because this is a lower tier plant from the tropics. Therefore, the flower will feel good in shaded areas. In the summer, many growers take the plant to sleep on the balcony.

Like all tropical plants, nertera loves moisture. But this does not mean that it needs to be watered with plenty of water every day. Watering should be moderate so that the roots do not rot. To maintain moisture, the plant will have to be sprayed and placed in a pan of water.

Planting and leaving

Nertera is a very demanding and capricious plant. With poor care, it does not form flowers, fruits and generally does not live long.

Sowing seeds

To make the plant comfortable, the correct soil should be selected when planting. The shape and size of the pot is also important.

Here are some guidelines for planting nertera.

• The best time to plant is late winter.
• Pick up a pot low and wide, with holes in the base.
• Lay drainage on the bottom; expanded clay or pebbles are well suited for this purpose.
• Prepare a potting mix of equal proportions of sand, peat and plant litter. Fill the pot 2/3 with this soil mixture.
• Place the seeds on the surface of the soil at a distance of 1 cm from each other and sprinkle with a thin layer of potting soil.
• Now you need to abundantly irrigate the soil with a spray bottle and cover with glass.

Immediately after planting, watering should be abundant, but then you should not flood the plant. Excessive soil moisture can lead to root rot and the development of fungi in the pot.

It is better to leave the seedlings on the windowsill. Do not be alarmed if the seeds do not germinate for a long time, this is a common occurrence for nertera. Normally, seedlings appear 1-3 months after planting. From this moment, you can remove the glass that covers the pot.

Advice

To provide the seedlings with optimal conditions, maintain the air temperature in the apartment at 20-22 ° C. Avoid direct sunlight on the seedlings!

After germination, small leaves soon appear on the shoots, from this moment the flower can be moved into the interior of the room or left on the windowsill. With proper watering and timely application of top dressing, nerter blooms in the first year of life.

Watering

Coral moss care includes different watering methods:

1. standard watering is performed as the top layer of the soil dries up;
2. spraying from a spray bottle is a daily procedure;
3. pouring water into the pan.

In winter, do not water the plant too often: due to high humidity and heat, the nerter grows, as a result the flower loses its shape. Increase watering by spring. High soil moisture is maintained until the moment of flowering. As soon as the plant enters the flowering phase, watering from the spray bottle will have to be excluded, since the water spoils the appearance of flowers and berries.

To maintain the moisture in the air around the flower during flowering and fruiting, many growers use pallets. They pour water into them and pour expanded clay, on which they put the pot. As a result, the water evaporates, humidifying the air, and the roots do not rot, since they are not immersed in water.

Top dressing and antiparasitic drugs

In order for the nertera to bloom luxuriantly and actively bear fruit, you will have to periodically feed it. Complex mineral fertilizers are suitable for fertilizing coral moss. They should be applied once a month during the growing season and flowering period.

Advice

Do not feed the plant in winter, otherwise it will grow, and by the flowering period it will become shapeless!

Sometimes pests attack coral moss: aphids, spider mites, mealybugs and others. The following drugs will help to cope with the problem:

• Actellik;
• "Karbofos";
• "Aktara";
• Akarin;
• Fitoverm;
• "Bankol", etc.

All antiparasitic agents should be used in accordance with the instructions. Also, when parasites appear, the diseased plant should be isolated, change the pot along with the soil.

Transplant and vegetative propagation

At the age of one, the nerter must be transplanted into a more spacious pot. It should be low, and 2-4 cm wider in diameter than the previous one. Coral moss is transplanted in late winter or early spring. The main thing is that by that time the plant does not have time to bloom. But drainage is placed on the bottom of the pot, and on top is a mixed loose mixture of turf, humus, sand and deciduous litter. The plant is taken out of the old pot as a whole, along with the soil, and placed in a new pot. After that, it remains only to add fresh soil and water the plant.

But vegetative propagation is best done at the end of summer, after all the berries have disappeared. In order to propagate nertera, you should take the flower out of the pot, remove the excess soil, carefully disassemble the rhizomes and divide the "colony" into several parts. After that, the coral moss is planted in several pots.

For reproduction, you can use not only rhizomes, but also shoots. Just cut off the stalk and put it in water - it will root very quickly! When the roots grow up to 3 cm, you can transplant the flower into the ground.

So, nertera is an indoor flower, which is quite difficult to care for at home.But if you manage to provide decent care for the plant, it will delight you with its rich foliage color and beautiful berries!