Sansevera: home care, description, photo

Sansevera is an evergreen evergreen plant belonging to the Asparagus family (formerly called Agavovy). In natural conditions it occurs in stony and dry regions of the subtropics and tropics of Madagascar, Africa, Indonesia and South Florida.

The most famous type of culture, often grown at home? - Sansevera three-lane, which is much more known by such names as "tawny tongue", "snake skin" and "pike tail". The Latin name of this kind was given in honor of the Naples prince von Sansevierio, who made a great contribution to the development of the natural sciences.

It is commonly believed that the sansevera, whose photo can be seen in the travelers' records, patronizes them. Even at home, in native walls, it reminds of distant wanderings. Most of the room sansevery in our homes are representatives of a three-lane variety. Among them there are very large plants with huge leaves, up to 1.5 m, and miniature ones, with short triangular leaves that gather in a pretty rosette.

Sansevera: description of the plant

Despite the fact that the sansevera has many varieties, it can not be confused with another indoor plant. Flower sanseviera has a powerful and creeping root system. It is well developed and allows to provide the plant with the necessary amount of moisture.

The leaves are straight and fleshy. In some varieties, leaves reach a height of one and a half meters. They are directed upward, and sometimes slightly to the side. Very rare specimens, in which the leaves lie almost horizontally. To the touch they are dense and smooth, in shape - lanceolate, with somewhat pointed tips. In addition, some varieties of leaves grow from rosettes. There are specimens with wide and very short leaves. They can be painted in different colors and shades: dark and light green (silvery), brown and yellow. Some species of sansevere have leaves decorated with a border.

Bloom

Not everyone sees the blossoming sansevier. It can not be said that she is struck by the beauty of her flower: in appearance it is rather modest. However, flowering occurs only under the most favorable conditions and extremely rarely. Its flowers, located on straight and long peduncles, have white narrow petals with a greenish tinge. Stamens collect in a cylindrical and fairly dense inflorescence.

Fragrant flowers appear in late April or early May. They are revealed later in the evening and fill the air in the room with a vanilla flavor.

Fruit

This is a berry, inside of which there are from one to three seeds, but at home, their appearance is a rarity.

Types of sanseviera

The undisputed leader in popularity is a three-lane sanseur, care of which boils down to observing simple rules. It is distinguished by longitudinal dark strips on narrow and long dark green leaves. In the outlet, as a rule, there are no more than six. The length of the leaves varies: from 30 cm to one and a half meters, but, regardless of size, they all taper and taper to the end. It is interesting that this species is able to do without natural light, it has enough artificial light.

Gold flame

The name of this variety is translated as "golden flame". It explains the presence of the upper yellow leaves, which really resemble the tongues of flame.

Cylindrical

The plant grows to 150 cm in height. It has dark green leaves of cylindrical shape up to two centimeters in diameter. A fairly deep longitudinal groove runs along their center, and the tips of the leaves are pointed. They are decorated with strips of silvery color, at the edge of the plates there is a yellow border. Flowers of this plant are painted in a delicate cream shade with a reddish top.

One of the original varieties of cylindrical sansevier is Velvet tach with a bright green leaves.

Laurenti

This variety gave rise to many varieties. Its main feature is vertically growing leaves with a yellow border, which can be either dark or light. White flowers blossom at the base of the plant and are spiky panicles.

Zeylanika

This flower sansewerera stands out with variegated wide and long leaves of the xiphois form. Dark-dark striped patterns are irregularly placed on the dark green plate.

Hanni (short)

Very effective variety, differing from many species of sansevere by short leaves. They are arched, and the rosette of the flower thanks to this resembles a vase. Hanni today is represented by several varieties. For example, the leaves of the Golden Hanni subspecies adorn the longitudinal yellow stripes, which are unevenly distributed. And in Silver hanni, the leaves have a complex coloring: silvery gray is added to the green color. On the leaves there is dark fringing and strips, but not too clear.

Futura

Relatively new variety. Its leaves are short and wide. The yellow strip, which runs along the edge of the plate is thinner than in other species.

Munshain

Another plant with short and wide leaves, but they are colored differently. They have a beautiful silvery, gray-green hue.

Bali

A somewhat unusual sort of sansevery. Short leaves are covered with frequent irregular silver strips. The leaves themselves do not exceed 50 cm in length. They are round in shape, with conical tips. Leaves grow in compact rosettes

Sansevera: caring for the plant

Experienced lovers of houseplants recommend newcomers who want to try their hand at floriculture, to begin with sanseveres. Care for these plants is simple, they are undemanding to the conditions of growth: it is quite comfortable to feel under bright light and in the shade, well tolerates both high and low temperatures, easily tolerates drought.

But if you want to grow a really beautiful plant, you can not do without observing certain rules.

Lighting

Sansevera likes bright lighting, but this does not mean that it can be exposed to the scorching rays of the sun. On the contrary, they can seriously damage the plant, leaving a severe burn on the leaves. It is desirable that the lighting is diffused. With its lack, the leaves will quickly lose decorativeness, and the bands, in general, may disappear. The plant becomes dyed in a uniformly green color and looks no longer so spectacular.

In winter, when the light day is short and you notice that the flower lacks light, use additional illumination with fluorescent fluorescent lights.

Air temperature

Care for sanseuroy and assumes compliance with the temperature regime. The optimum temperature for this plant is + 14-16 ° C. Although this hardy plant will suffer a rather tangible cooling (up to +5 ° C), but even greater temperature decrease for the plant can become pernicious.

Particular attention should be paid to winter care for sanseuroy. Take care that the leaves of the plant do not touch the cold glass and the flower is not in the draft and under the stream of frosty winter air. When ventilating the room, move it from the window sill.

Watering

No matter how hardy the drought is for a plant, it needs watering, however, of varying intensity. In this sense, the Sansever is no exception. Care for her allows regular, but moderate watering. Do not seek to "water" the plant for future use: it is able to accumulate moisture in the leaves, but excessive waterlogging can provoke decay of the roots. Long droughts, in turn, do not kill the flower, but its appearance will significantly spoil it. Therefore, try to avoid extremes, water the plant in such a way that the soil can dry out and during the next watering is evenly saturated with water.

It is important to know that the abundance of watering is largely dependent on the lighting and air temperature in the room: the less heat and light, the less should be watering. To avoid waterlogging, use good drainage. A standard drainage layer will not suffice. In the soil in which the sansever grows, drainage is added over the entire volume, and not just to the bottom of the tank. To achieve this result, large river sand is added to the ground - about 30% of the total mass.

Humidity

And this indicator for the plant is not significant, because it is a native of dry savannah. But if you see dust accumulating on the leaves, spraying of room temperature with standing water or a wipe with a damp cloth can do it.

Top dressing

If your plant is in a warm, brightly lit room, then it will need a monthly top-dressing in the active period. Sansevier is suitable fertilizer for cacti, because it is succulent. The composition of feeding should include phosphorus and calcium, but with nitrogen observe the measure. According to experienced florists, it is better to contribute half of the fertilizer recommended by the manufacturer.

If your flower grows in the shadow of top dressing, you can bring in minimal portions or discard them completely: an overabundance of fertilizers can cause rotting, the disappearance of strips, deformation of the leaves.

Transfer

Does this procedure require a sanseur? The transplantation of a young plant is carried out annually. A flower older than two years, needs a transplant no more often than once every three years. At room sansevery perfectly developed root system, so pick up the pot so that the roots will quickly grow and begin to destroy the capacity. The pot for this plant should not be too deep, but at the same time wide, as the roots will expand in breadth. Equally important is its fortress: give preference to thick-walled pots of clay.

Soil preparation

For the transplant, you will need a soil mixture consisting of four parts of leaf soil, one part of turf and one part of sand. You can add humus or peat.

Reproduction

How is sanitation produced at home? There are two ways: by dividing the rhizome or leaf. Whichever method you choose, it is necessary to know that reproduction is carried out in the spring or summer, during the active period. Reproduction of sansevra leaves is made as follows. A healthy leaf is cut into pieces of five centimeters across. Then one of the slices of each piece must be treated with a root growth stimulator. It is this that is deepened into a peat-sand mixture or into wet sand.

To deepen the cuttings of the leaf is necessary for 1-2 cm, but to cover them with glass or film is not necessary - high humidity can cause rotting. Lighting should be bright, but diffused, the temperature should be kept within the range of +20 to +25 ° C. The first shoots will appear in one and a half to two months.

Reproduction of sansevier variegated varieties is produced only by dividing the rhizome, since plants from plants with uniform coloring, devoid of patterns, grow from the cuttings. Rhizomes are separated sharply sharpened and carefully disinfected knife.

The root must be separated so that there is a growth point on each fragment, as well as a deciduous rosette. The slices are treated with activated carbon (crushed) and planted in separate pots filled with a substrate with a high content of sand. Watering in the first time is limited to a minimum.

Diseases sansevery and possible problems in growing: why leaves wilt

Most likely, the reason is insufficient watering. If they also turn yellow, soften, the cause is directly opposite: the disease causes rot, caused by excessive moisture or moisture ingestion in the outlet.

• The rotten parts of the plant are removed and the plant treated with an antifungal agent. Then the plant must be transplanted into a new sandy soil, but before that, a little drying out the sanseveri.
• If the leaves become soft, but their color does not change, it means that your flower is cold. Remove the affected parts of the leaves and sprinkle the sections with charcoal. Turn the flower pot into a warmer place.
• Noticing that your sansevera has stopped growing, pay attention to the coverage: she clearly does not have enough light. Move the plant to the south or east window.
• Sometimes white or brown dry spots appear on the leaves. They talk about two possible causes: either the flower does not have enough light, or it received a sunburn. In addition, such spots may indicate a waterlogging of the soil or infection with a fungal infection. In any case, the affected leaves must be removed, and the plant should be moved to another location.
• The leaves of the sanitation dries dry most often due to mechanical damage to the plate. Dry the dried part neatly, leaving a thin strip.
• From shchitovok, spider mites, mealybugs, which are manifested by various signs: deformation of leaves, the appearance of droplets of nectar, the leaves become smaller and like paper, there are many effective drugs that give excellent results in the fight against these pests. For example, "Fitoverm", which is bred in water according to the instructions and sprayed the plant.

Sansevera, photo of which we have placed in the article, is an unpretentious and spectacular decoration of any interior, which is grown not only in apartments, but also in offices and official institutions. It not only pleases its patterned striped coloring, but also heals the air in the room.