The ponytail - how much do you know about this plant ?!

We are all used to hearing such a name as a pike tail. But very few people know that this plant is called sansevieria. Its name was received in honor of Prince von Sanseviero, who lived in Naples in the distant eighteenth century. This prince contributed to the development of botany.

The caudal tail belongs to the family of Liliaceae and is a perennial evergreen rhizome herbaceous plant. Its genus includes more than sixty species that can be found in tropical and subtropical Africa, South Florida, Indonesia, India and Madagascar.

The pike tail is three-striped most widely. It has a creeping rhizome, from which fleshy, straight, xiphoid leaves depart in different directions with golden bright edges and transverse bands. Interesting is the fact that this plant in different countries is called in different ways. So, for example, in England it is called leopard lily, and in America - snake skin. The Germans named this plant as African hemp.

Blooming pike tail, usually in the spring. Its white little flowers are collected in racemose inflorescences. At night a very strong aroma comes from them, reminiscent of the smell of vanilla.

House plant pike tail is considered the most popular. The fact is that it is absolutely unpretentious, can grow both in the shade and in the sun. It is easy to tolerate rare watering, drafts, dry air and it should not be transplanted frequently. The plant pike tail is almost indestructible.

Its fleshy, dense leaves are a kind of reservoir in which moisture is retained by water-borne tissue. That is why the plant is able to tolerate dry periods. In winter, water it very rarely. It is enough to do this no more than one - two times a month. It is very important that during watering in the middle of the outlet, moisture does not fall. Otherwise, the plant will become ill. In the summer it can be taken out to the street. But, in this case, this plant will need to be protected from excessive moisture and rain.

In feeding it almost does not need. An exception is the vegetation period. Suitable fertilizers for cacti or mineral fertilizers in half the concentration. Sansevieria is undemanding to the soil. You can use any land for flowers and plants without a lot of fertilizers in it. If necessary, sansevieri is transplanted in the spring. Propagate it at the same time by dividing the rhizome or leaf cuttings. But it is necessarily podvyamlivat cut in the air.

Cuttings are made as follows: a long sheet is cut across five to seven centimeters into several parts. Crushed coal poured into the cut places, and then with a slant planted in a well washed and slightly moist river sand. It is important to maintain a certain air temperature, about twenty to twenty-two degrees Celsius. After a few weeks the leaves will take root and give the first shoots.

When multiplying by a rhizome, it must be divided into several parts in such a way that each part contains two to three leaves. After this place, the cuts are wilted, sprinkled with activated or pounded charcoal, and the daughter plants are planted in separate pots. Sansevieria is almost never damaged by pests.

All those characteristics that have been described above, have caused Sansevieria to become, perhaps, the most popular plant used for gardening, both at home and in offices. And a large number of species of sansevieria makes it possible to use this plant indefinitely. Sansevieria will decorate with its presence absolutely any room and will please the eyes of all those present!