Crossandra: about care and reproduction at home

The indoor flower Crossandra does not yet have much popularity. Although many growers note its spectacular appearance with a long and exuberant flowering, the ability to longevity. Due to the fact that crossandra is still a rather rare plant for our stores, many do not know about proper care for it. You will learn about all the nuances of caring for this exotic beauty from this article.

Crossandra: plant care in detail

Indoor flower crossandra: Photo

Crossandra is a tropical plant, therefore it loves warm temperatures with high humidity, it perfectly coexists with other tropical brethren. The plant is not toxic, which means it does not pose a danger to living beings.

About location and lighting

Crossandra loves sunlight. The more light, the better it will bloom and develop. Any southern windowsill is suitable for her. In summer, for young bushes, it is better to arrange light shading from the scorching sun using curtains. Crossandra loves being close to the same tropical flowers - ferns, arrowroots, begonias, calatheas, phytonia.

In the summer months, the crossandra is taken out to the loggia (balcony) along with many other plants. It is not necessary to take it out into the open air so that winds and drafts do not harm the plant. In the winter months, you will need a southern window again, where there is a lot of light and more heat than in other parts of the house or apartment. Lack of light can lead to poor or no flowering. In autumn and winter, the lack of natural light can be compensated for with artificial light.

About temperature conditions

For the crossandra, the most optimal temperature regime is from 18 to 28 degrees throughout the year. Summer maximum mark - + 30 ° C, winter minimum - + 15 ° C. These are average values, since it all depends on the variety: there are varieties that are cold-resistant and can withstand a short-term cold snap.

In any case, there should be no temperature fluctuations and drafts. Carefully ventilate the house, avoiding even the slightest draft.

How best to water crossandra

Correct watering is the key to the excellent appearance of the crossandra. For this sensitive beauty, any waterlogging (air, soil) and drought are contraindicated. Watering should be done only when the top layer of the earth dries up. True, the earthen coma should not be allowed to dry out either.

Watch what happens to the crossandra if you don't water it for a day in the summer. By the evening, its leaves will hang and begin to fade. In this case, you urgently need to do the resuscitation of the plant. Pour settled water into the container (the temperature should be room temperature) and place the crossandra in the pot there. Leave it for an hour, let it feed. And then she will definitely straighten up, and the leaves will come to life. After an hour, remove the flower from the water and wait for the water to drain. Take the pot to its place and remember that leaving this exotic beauty dry in a drought means destroying it.

It should be watered exclusively with settled or filtered water, the temperature is room temperature. In summer, more abundant watering is required compared to spring and autumn. In the absence of flowering, minimal watering is required. In winter, water in moderation, about 1 time in 14 days.

About the humidity of the air that crossandra needs

Crossandra was brought to Russia from countries with hot, humid, tropical climates. Accordingly, in addition to a sufficiently high air temperature in the room for this plant, it is necessary to maintain high humidity (over 70 percent in a hot room and 50-60 percent in a cool one).

This is the difficulty in growing this beauty - creating similar tropical conditions. Here you cannot do without a conventional sprayer, a household humidifier, an aquarium or other containers with water, deep trays, where wet moss or expanded clay (crossandra is always put here in heat or drought). In hot rooms, the plant is often sprayed, trying not to fall on the inflorescences with buds, but only on the leaves.

It is worth emphasizing that crossandra does not react well to gas combustion products. The air in the room must be fresh, therefore regular ventilation is necessary. Moreover, during airing, it is important to move the flower to another room so that drafts do not touch it.

How to feed properly

In order for the crossandra to actively grow and bloom, it is necessary to apply liquid mineral fertilizers with a regularity of 1 time / 10 days. Periodically, mineral fertilizer can be replaced with organic fertilizer.

Top dressing is not needed in two cases: two months after planting and in winter.

Cropping the crossandra

It is best to prune the crossandra in the fall after flowering. Pruning is carried out as follows: they get rid of unnecessary branches - from dry, thin, sticking out in different directions, thickening the bushes. In long shoots, part of the length is cut off, but not more than a third.

A healthy plant will have new young twigs by spring. At this time, until the buds have blossomed, the plant is rid of dry and weak branches. It is also necessary to regularly pinch the upper parts of the shoots, so that the stem will not be pulled out and exposed. In addition, it is recommended to practice pinching young plants so that they branch better. Do not forget to remove dried flowers in a timely manner.

How crossandra blooms

Indoor flower crossandra: Photo

Wildlife allows crossandra to bloom all year round. However, at home, she prefers to bloom from late spring to early autumn, precisely when there are no large fluctuations in temperature and more light. To replenish vitality, the plant needs to rest. Winter is the time for this.

Now let's talk about the flowers of the crossandra. There is only one thing to say about these tubular, asymmetrical, spikelets and odorless flowers - they are amazingly beautiful!

Each variety has its own color of leaves and inflorescences. Flowers stay on stems and delight the eye for only a few days. Then they are replaced by new ones.

Pruning slightly extends the flowering period of the plant. When pruning spikelets after wilting, do not worry: crossandra quickly gives new flower stalks.

The fruit is in the shape of a box where the seeds are located. Once the seeds are ripe, any drop of water caught on the capsule will cause an explosion. That is, the box bursts and scatters the seeds around (the approximate radius is 3 meters).

Crossandra. Dormant period of the plant

Wildlife provides the crossandra with all the conditions under which it does not have a rest period. The growth and flowering of this exotic beauty go on without interruption throughout the year. In our climate, this is quite difficult to do. Therefore, as soon as the cool autumn days come, the growth of the crossandra slows down, and it prepares for the dormant period.

What is being done to make this period successful?

• First, they reduce watering, stop feeding.
• Secondly, the temperature regime is lowered to 17-18 ° C, the humidity indicator should be in the range of 50-60%.
• Spraying should be replaced by wiping the leaves with wet wipes.
• Adequate lighting is maintained with additional LED or phyto-lamp illumination.

In late winter or early spring, before budding, do not forget to carry out sanitary pruning of the bush - remove weak, broken and elongated branches. Then you should trim or pinch a few healthy shoots five centimeters higher than the leaf pair. Due to this, the splendor of the crown will increase significantly, respectively, and there will be more flowers.

Crossanra - plant transplant

Indoor flower crossandra: Photo

There is a difference between transplanting a young plant and an adult. Let's dwell on each type of transplant separately.

How to transplant a young plant

Where to start right after buying a crossandra? How to transplant it correctly?

If your plant is in bloom, then replant it after about 7 days. The flowers in the store are processed with growth stimulants for a spectacular appearance. Perhaps the flower has been waiting for you for a long time, and it already has little strength.

So, first you need to wait for the flower to finally bloom, only then start transplanting.

First, pour the soil well so that the earthy clod is completely moistened. After removing the flower from the pot, shake off the store substrate, leaving only what is not shaken off from the roots. The pot should be more spacious than the store one, the bottom - with holes.

Drainage (expanded clay or small pebbles) should be laid at the bottom of the pot, followed by nutritious soil. Carefully, without damaging the roots, the bush is placed in a new potted container with earth. Top up with nutrient soil, filling all the empty spaces with it. Watering should be light, then add a little soil, and water again. Excess water will definitely be in the pan.

The young cross is transplanted every spring for three years into a larger pot (transfer). But don't overdo it! Increase the size of the pot by 2-3 centimeters more in diameter, otherwise too much excess water will accumulate.

How to transplant an adult plant

An adult plant does not like big changes, so it is better not to transplant the crossandra for no reason once again. There must be the following reasons for this action:

• excessive filling of the pot container space with roots;
• decay of the root system.

First, you need to rid the root system of rotten and spoiled roots, cut them off, trying not to capture healthy tissue. Next, you should treat the wounds with charcoal or activated carbon. Having freed the potting container from the soil, wash and disinfect it. Now this pot can be used. Be sure to put a drainage base on the bottom. Water with Fitosporin or another fungicide to prevent root rot.

As for the soil, a special soil for azalea is suitable, which includes compost soil, leaf soil, peat, perlite (or coarse sand) in a ratio of 3: 3: 3: 1. The soil mixture can be prepared by yourself, as long as it is loose and nutritious. For reliability, it will not harm the steaming of the soil and drainage for disinfection purposes.

The potted container for the crossandra can be either ceramic or plastic. It is more important that there are holes in the bottom to remove excess moisture. The size of the pot should be suitable for the root system of the crossandra, be three centimeters in diameter.

A large pot will not work, as in this case the root system will grow unnecessarily to the detriment of the ground part of the plant. Accordingly, it may not come to flowering. In addition, root rot may develop in the case of excess wet soil.

How the crossandra flower reproduces

There are two popular ways to propagate a plant: using cuttings and using seeds. Let's dwell on each one in more detail.

Propagation by cuttings

When the plant is pruned, each healthy stalk formed can be used for rooting. The length of the cutting can be from 8 to 10 centimeters.

- Rooting method 1

First you need to remove the leaves and process the cuttings with Kornevin (or Epin, or Zircon), which promotes growth and root formation. Then plant at an angle in specially prepared soil (wet sand and peat) and cover with polyethylene.

Create a temperature regime within 25 degrees in good lighting (this can be, for example, a windowsill with a battery or a greenhouse). The root system will appear in about 20 days. All these three weeks, the soil should be moistened, and in the greenhouse - regular ventilation.

When the rooting of the cuttings occurs, and 2-3 leaves appear on each, it is worthwhile to start transplanting. You will need pot containers with a diameter of 90 mm, in which the nutrient soil is placed. 3 seedlings are transplanted into each pot. Don't forget to pinch for the splendor of the plant.

- Rooting method 2

Here the main assistant is a glass of water. In order not to provoke rotting of the stalk, activated carbon is added to the water (1 tablet per glass of water). Also, a little Kornevin is added here in order to stimulate the formation of the root system. You do not need to change the contents of the glass, just add a little water. The roots can be seen in 20-30 days. As soon as they grow up to 10 mm, repot the cuttings in pots for better adaptation to the soil.

- Rooting method 3

A popular way of rooting cuttings is with peat tablets. First, the tablets are moistened with water, then each is squeezed out and made in a small depression.

The cuttings are first treated in a means that stimulates root formation (for example, in "Kornevin") and stuck in the middle of the tablets. Each tablet with a handle is placed in a transparent glass, covered with the same glasses. This design is fixed with tape and left warm and well-lit for a month. During this period, a root system will appear. Further actions - as in the method of rooting 1.

Propagation using seeds

There is no guarantee that seeds collected at home will make a wonderful plant. This opinion is due to the hybrid form of the houseplant. Store seeds are also not a very stable option, since everything depends on the manufacturer and the quality of its products.

Still, for flower growers, it is most preferable to propagate the crossandra from the collected seeds of a home plant. There is a chance that he will grow up to be more beautiful and healthier than his parent.

First, make a warm solution (25 ° C) with a growth stimulant (Zircon is suitable, for example), where we put our seeds to soak for a couple of hours. It should be noted that only store-bought seeds of the crossandra are soaked, since the domestic ones sprout safely completely independently.

Next, we prepare the potting mix, which includes:

• peat;
• sand;
• coconut fiber and sphagnum moss.

Such a mixture has excellent air permeability and moisture permeability, which is very valuable when planting seeds and has a good effect on germination.

Sowing is carried out 5 mm deep into the soil, cover the planting with polyethylene and put it in a warm, bright place. They withstand a temperature regime of 20-22 degrees with a humidity of over 70 percent. After a couple of weeks, the seeds will begin to germinate. Planting maintenance consists of ventilating the greenhouse and moistening the soil with a spray bottle, if necessary.

A higher temperature (about 30) has a positive effect on seed germination.

After about 30 days, the sprouts are transplanted into 6 cm pot containers. Later, in the summer, the plants are transplanted again (by transfer), but in larger pots (10 cm in diameter). Then do not forget about pinching the tops.

Diseases characteristic of crossandra

The causes of the diseases of this tropical beauty may lie in improper care of her. In this chapter, we will analyze the problems, identify the causes and suggest treatment options.

There is no flowering at the right time

Possible reasons could be:

• an unsuccessfully chosen pot of too large a volume (in this case, the root system and foliage are growing);
• the plant's lack of vitality for budding due to the lack of a dormant period;
• insufficient amount of nutrients in the soil or an excess of nitrogen fertilizers, which leads to excessive growth of greenery to the detriment of flowering;
• the plant did not undergo timely pruning, and it was left without new growth, and, accordingly, without flowers;
• lack of lighting, lack of humidity, non-observance of temperature and watering;
• the plant is too old.

It should be remembered that more capricious species of crossandra (variegated) can cause more problems to their owner. But after analyzing and correcting the shortcomings in the care, you can soon wait for the beautiful flowering of the crossandra.

Blackening and falling leaves

The reason lies in drafts and too low temperature conditions. The solution to the problem is simple - to increase the temperature of the plant's environment, and during airing, take the pot with the crossandra to another room so that the cold air currents do not reach the plant.

Reddening of the leaves

The reason is too bright lighting. The solution to the problem is shading, especially at noon. It is enough to hang light curtains and leave the flower out of the direct sun.

Too light foliage, partially white. This is a direct indication of plant burn!

Yellowing of leaves, darkening and wilting

This is directly related to a fungal disease - root rot. You need to remove the crossandra from the pot and carefully examine the root system. If the roots are soft and darkened, then there is nothing to save. Unfortunately, in this case, the flower is thrown away.

In the case of white and tough roots, we begin to treat the plant. First, we wash off the soil from the roots. We cut off all diseased roots, spoiled leaves and branches, cut off the top of the trunk. The plant treated in this way is planted in a new potting container with fresh soil. Add a fungicide (Fitosporin or Carbendazim) to the water for irrigation. The place for the pot should be warm and light, without direct sunlight. We start watering only when new sprouts appear.

Decay of stems

This is due to a fungal infection that occurs due to excess moisture. Often the roots rot along with the trunk. At the onset of the disease, you can save the crossandra. You can cut off the apical stalk for rooting. In the case of healthy roots, sprinkle the cut with particles of coal or sulfur, you can treat it with a growth stimulator and cover with polyethylene. These are excellent conditions for the awakening of dormant kidneys.

In case of decay of the roots and trunk, the crossandra is thrown away, and the companion plants growing in the neighborhood are treated with a fungicide.

The main preventive measures are watering without waterlogging, the correct temperature regime, and regular ventilation. If the temperature drops, remember to insulate the roots and limit watering. The substrate and drainage layer must be sterilized. The new plant must be quarantined.

Yellowing of the edges of the leaf plates, drying out of the petioles

The main reason is too dry air in the room. In this article, we shared tips on how to increase the humidity values ​​in a room. Rather, do it so that all the foliage does not fall off.

The appearance of brown spots on the leaves

The main reason is waterlogged cold soil, which causes the roots to freeze. In winter, the window sill should be insulated (wooden, plastic stand), watering moderately.

Pale (sometimes white) leaf blade with red veins

This is a malfunction in the metabolism of crossandra, the disease is called chlorosis. For treatment, spraying with ferrovit, iron chelate (antichlorosin) is necessary until healthy leaves appear. It is important to arrange a transplant into new soil.

The leaves are hanging

This may be due to low air humidity and a violation of the irrigation regime, which leads to overdrying of the soil. The treatment is simple: the resumption of the correct regime of watering and spraying the leaves, the achievement of the correct values ​​of air humidity.

Crossandra: what pests threaten the plant

In this chapter, we will analyze the problems associated with the attack of harmful insects and suggest options for getting rid of them.

1. Drying, curling and falling of leaves. In some places, yellowish spots and dots appeared, with white cobwebs. It's connected with spider mite... A systemic insecticide (Fitoferm, Actellik, Derris), or rather spraying, will help here. As a preventive measure, inspect the plant for the first signs of a pest attack. It is also necessary to keep the leaves clean: spraying or wiping with wet wipes. Humidifying the air and ventilating the room will also help. The spider mite loves dry and stuffy rooms.
2. Collapsing of young shoots, leaves and peduncles. Typically, if you look closely, you can see tiny insects. This is - aphid. The fight against it should begin with the removal of seriously affected areas. Then wash the bush with a warm shower, and after drying, treat it with any aphid preparation containing permethrin.
3. The growth of the plant is strongly inhibited against the background of sluggish and dull leaves, whitish small lumps and sticky plaque. This attack mealybugsucking out all the juice from the plants. The first thing to do is to isolate the plant. This will help keep the companion plants safe as the worm quickly infects nearby plants. Next, remove the pest with a damp cloth or rinse under running water. Spraying or washing with a soap-alcohol solution (hot water - 1 liter, laundry soap - 20 g, alcohol - 20 ml) will also help. In case of mass defeat, insecticide treatment (Fufanon, Aktar, Aktellik) is indispensable.
4. The underside of the leaves is in greenish larvae, the bush is in flying small insects. This is an attack whitefly. Start by removing the affected leaves. Next, you should wash the bush under a stream of warm water, thus removing most of the harmful insects. Then it is necessary to process the ground part of the plant and the soil with the Aktar solution (see instructions). Several treatments may be required to finally get rid of this prolific pest. Also, from the whitefly, you can spray the crossandra with Confidor, covering it with polyethylene overnight. True, this drug smells strong, so it will not be superfluous to take care of this outside the house (utility room).

Conclusion

Crossandra is a lush tropical beauty who has a whimsical character, so she needs a special approach. We hope that the secrets for caring for her that we have shared in this article will help you enjoy her bloom. And this, by the way, will add health to its owner, and not only psychological. After all, the flowers of the crossandra contain an extract, which is an excellent hepatoprotector that prolongs the years of life and youth.