Indoor flower eschinanthus: care and photo

This article will tell you about a capricious plant with unusual flowers and a luxurious crown.

This is not a very popular plant as a room, because for his growing a home you need a lot of patience and proper care. And this is only for experienced florists. But if suddenly you decide to purchase a beautifully flowering ampel plant, many flower growers recommend it - eschinanthus.

After reading the article, you can find out what this plant is. Indoor flower eschinanthus (photo and care presented below) requires special attention to yourself.

General information about the features of the plant

It belongs to eschinanthus to the family of Gesnerians. The plant is known in botany as Aeschynanthus. According to some sources, the genus of these plants has about 80-170 species growing in the Asian region (in China, Indochina, India). This plant received its name with the help of a combination of two words (Greek), describing the unusual form of its colors: aischyneia, translated as "distorted", and the words anthos - "flower". "Flower-lipstick" dubbed it among the people for the very bright color of the bracts.

This flower, like all plants of the tropics, loves warmth. A comfortable atmosphere for him is a warmer air temperature than for other houseplants. And the most important feature is that for its flowering in winter it is necessary, as for many plants, to have a low air temperature.

The flower eschinanthus is pretty light-loving. It can also grow as an ampel plant, so it can be placed in a plant pendant or on shelves.

A plant in nature

The genus of plants Aeschynanthus (Aeschynanthus) is included in the huge family of Gesneria. In wild conditions, these plants grow in the humid warm regions of Asia (South-East) and the Pacific islands.

In natural conditions, the flower looks rather impressive. The plant enters the class of evergreen perennial representatives of the flora and belongs to a decorative-foliar group. It has an elegantly curved oblong stalk.

Often in nature, eschinanthus occurs in the tropics in a form attached to trees. Therefore, it is considered to be epiphytes - plants attached to trees, but not parasitizing on them. Some types of age escinants can grow to 90 cm, but there are also varieties whose height is only 30-50 cm.

Varieties

The home flower eschinanthus has several varieties.

1. Aeschynanthus marmoratus. In translation, this means marble eschinanthus. His name he received in connection with the beautiful texture of long waxy leaves (10-12 cm) - on the main dark green background there is a dense yellowish mesh. It represents the main value of this variety. And the flowers are green with spots of chocolate.

• Aeschynanthus lobbianus. It's a pretty interesting plant. For the first time, the esbinanthus of Lobb were discovered and classified on the island of Java. There it grows in trees, beautifully hanging by its long stems with leaves of dark green saturated shades. The flowers, blooming in a halo of red , have a soft cream color.

• Aeschynanthus speciosus. This is a beautiful eschinanthus (not to be confused with gorgeous or beautiful). It represents an evergreen grassy bush. Shoots that grow to 60 cm are decorated with fleshy leaves of oblong form (length up to 12 cm) and groups of beautiful orange flowers (10-12 pieces each).

• Aeschynanthus pulcher. This flower was most widely distributed among ornamental plants suitable for domestic farming. Its name is translated as "beautiful eschinanthus" or "splendid". This flower differs from the previous species in red color of slightly smaller flowers, red edges along the edges of leaves and stems of the same color.

Description of a houseplant

Indoor flower eschinanthus (see photo below) is a perennial evergreen plant. He has pointed, oval, fleshy leaves on the end. In natural conditions, this flower uses trunks and branches of other plants as its support. At home, it is usually grown in suspended flowerpots or baskets. First of all, its attractiveness lies in the fact that it has beautiful, spectacular flowers.

They have a tubular irregular shape and crown the tips of the shoots or appear in the axils of the leaves. When buds appear on the ends of shoots, flowers usually gather in beautiful inflorescences of 6-12 pieces.

The flowers of eschinanthus are distinguished by the brightness of the color, from red to orange. A flower Eschinanthus beautiful (or gorgeous) has dangling shoots up to 50 centimeters. The flowers of this variety are rather large (up to 8 centimeters in length) and have the shape of a narrow expanding tube.

There are a huge number of varieties of escinanthus hybrid, united under one common name - eschinanthus hybrid (Latin - Aeschynanthus hibrida).

Cultivation at home

For home escinanthus it is necessary to create maximum illumination. Also this flower has special requirements not only for watering, but also for water itself. It needs a lot of calcium.

Although hygrophilous plant, but it should be watered moderately, because excessive soil moisture can lead to the appearance of yellow spots on the leaves, after which they can completely fall off. And during drying, yellowing and shedding of leaves are also observed.

This plant can be attributed to succulent plants, due to the ability of its leaves to accumulate moisture. It can do without spraying.

Indoor flower eschinanthus can be grown in any substrate with the addition of rippers (perlite, vermiculite, small expanded clay).

It should be remembered that in drafts and strong temperature drops, the plant may die.

Flower eschinanthus: photo, care

Eshinanthus can be called a half-shrub. Therefore, a beautiful appearance and decorativeness to the plant can give regular pruning. Cuttings can be placed in water until roots appear (up to 3 weeks).

Proper and good care of the plant will help to strengthen its resistance to various pests. But with insufficient moisture, drafts and dampness, it can acquire gray rot. Adding sphagnum will give the plant hygroscopicity and prevent the appearance of any rot on the roots of the flower.

During intensive growth, it should be sprinkled with warm water. Important for him and constant fertilizing with mineral fertilizers from April to September (twice a month).

Reproduction

There are certain difficulties in the reproduction of this capricious plant. Transplanting the overgrown plants are usually engaged in the spring, as a rule, at least every 2-3 years. And you should produce it along with pruning the longest shoots. Expanded plants with stems bare should be replaced by young, entrenched cuttings.

The flower eschinanthus reproduces by stem cuttings up to 12 cm long. Root them in spring and early summer. For this we need a sand-peat mixture. The air temperature should be approximately 22 to 25 degrees Celsius.

There is one more way - reproduction by seeds. Small as dust, the seeds are extracted from ripe boxes and a uniform layer is sown on the watered substrate, and then the container is covered with glass. With the appearance of the very first shoots, it is necessary to slightly shift the glass, allowing the young to get more air. After strengthening the seedlings and growing up, it can be planted in pots with a substrate of 3-5 pieces per each.

You should know that the root system of eschinanthus is very tender, so the transplantation of the plant is painful. In this regard, the best option - transshipment of this flower, in which the root is not damaged.

Every year, you should perform a transplant, but you should do this before flowering or after. To do this, the container must be selected a little more than the previous one, necessarily with a hole for water drainage.

Pests and diseases

The flower eschinanthus (pictured in the article) is more often damaged by pests such as thrips, chervets and aphids. To avoid this, good prevention is necessary.

Aphids usually settle in large colonies. It quickly fills the leaves, shoots, stems and flowers. All these insects feed on plant juices, which leads to deformation of the shoots and changes in the color of the foliage. But the buds may not open up at all.

In the control of aphids, it is necessary to wipe the leaves and stems with an alcoholic compound. If the pest spread quickly enough, you need to use insecticides (for example, an actinic). Among folk methods, the best means of struggle is spraying with a mixture based on bitter pepper. To do this, you need about 600 grams of fresh pepper (or 200 grams of dry). He poured a small amount of water and boiled for 60 minutes, and then infused for 24 hours. After filtering the solution it can be immediately applied, the remains should be stored in a glass container in a cool dark place.

This pepper solution is mixed with soap and water (15 grams of solution with pepper, 10 grams of soap and 1 liter of water). The resulting eschinanthus is periodically sprayed until the aphids are completely extinct. After a week, the procedure can be repeated for prevention purposes.

Conclusion

Pretty attractive, but whimsical flower eschinanthus. Caring for him requires patience and enough time, but all this, on the other hand, gives pleasure. The main thing - during cultivation, it is necessary to determine the golden mean of the conditions of the maintenance necessary for this flower.

The natural environment of growth of such plants (rain mountain and tropical forests) and the corresponding way of life in the natural conditions determine the rules for their maintenance at home. Among other things, the endurance of these flowers depends to some extent on the variety and kind, but, in general, they all can not withstand sub-zero temperatures and should be grown in winter gardens, heated greenhouses and brightly scattered lighting.