Currently, many zamiokulkas are bred at home, although this plant came to us quite recently. In the mid-90s of the last century, it first settled in the offices of commercial organizations, from where it gradually migrated to government institutions and only by the beginning of the 21st century - to the apartments of ordinary citizens.
Content:
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plant description
With the light hand of office plankton, the plant began to be called the "dollar tree", since the flora of the then offices, although not too diverse, however, "money" and "dollar" trees, according to legend, attracting money to the company, were invariable attributes of any commercial design style . Of particular irony is the fact that the birthplace of the "dollar tree" is one of the poorest countries on our planet - Mozambique. Be that as it may, the plant gained popularity because it combined a beautiful appearance and unpretentious conditions.
Zamioculcas is a thick-stemmed evergreen herbaceous culture with a massive rhizome. Its leaves are dark green in color with a characteristic glossy tint. The leaves themselves have small swellings at the base.
The length of the leaves can reach up to 1 meter. The plant can accumulate moisture in case of drought and drop leaves if the stored moisture runs out and there was no watering. The plant is perennial, with a slow growth rate and the appearance of new stems and leaves.
At home content
Zamioculcas is a monotypic plant, that is, the only species of its kind. And taking into account the fact that the plant has been cultivated by man under artificial conditions for no more than half a century, the number of varieties and varieties of zamiokulkas is small. Its first varieties generally appeared no more than 10 years ago and were not widely used.
The Zamioculcas flower looks like a small corncob; its length is about 5-6 cm. It grows on a separate stem arrow and is naturally pollinated. As a rule, during the flowering period, the plant has several flowers.
dollar tree flower
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Under natural conditions, this plant lives on extremely poor, mostly stony soils, in which moisture practically does not linger. Based on this, a soil mixture of the appropriate composition is selected for the plant.
Traditionally, the soil must meet the following criteria:
- water and air must pass equally well through it
- it must be neutral
- the soil must be very loose
- it must be nutritious
Alumina is not applicable in this case, the only compromise that can be made to increase the nutritional value of the soil is the use of peat, and even then, in relatively small quantities.
Sometimes soil for succulents is used for zamiokulkas, however, it is best to make the soil mixture with your own hands.
For this, the following composition is used:
- leaf ground
- sod land
- river sand
- peat substrate
All components are mixed in equal amounts by weight. It is advisable to ignite the earthen mixture in the oven to disinfect it from pathogens and fungi.
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Pot selection and transplant issues
Oddly enough, but the conversation about caring for zamiokulkas begins with these questions. There are few plants that can destroy the pot in which they are located with their root system, and zamiokulkas is one of them. The powerful root system of Zamiokulkas sometimes grows faster than its stems and leaves and, growing, is able to break plastic pots.
Therefore, first of all, as soon as you get a zamiokulkas, check if he has enough meth in his current "home" and whether he needs to expand his "living space". However, you should not do this immediately: the plant must be allowed to adapt for about a month. If you purchased zamiokulkas between October and February, despite the size of its pot, it is best to wait until March for transplantation. A flowering plant is recommended to be transplanted a week after the end of flowering.
Root-bursting plastic container
Based on this, a more preferable option is to use ceramic pots with a fairly wide top; this is necessary so that the plant has the opportunity to put its roots at least somewhere in the absence of a transplant for a long time. Narrow-necked ceramic pots can kill zamiokulkas by destroying its root system if it has nowhere to grow. In addition, pots with a narrow neck will not allow a large plant tuber to be transplanted - it may simply not fit into a hole of small diameter.
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The transplant pot should have a diameter 5-6 cm larger than the previous one, but you should not choose a pot with an excessively large capacity. This is due to the fact that zamiokulkas has one unpleasant feature - its upper part begins to develop only when the roots fill almost the entire volume of the pot. In addition, large pots accumulate a lot of moisture, and the Zamioculcas root system, like most indoor plants, does not like excessive waterlogging.
The latter means that in the pot it is necessary to think over a good drainage system. This requires large holes for draining water and the volume of drainage should be at least a quarter of the volume of the pot. As a drainage material, small or medium crushed stone or pebbles are selected; the use of expanded clay is undesirable.
Best of all, when carrying out a planned transplant of a plant (produced for young plants, as a rule, once a year), do it in the middle of spring. If for some reason this cannot be done, you can do it later, however, no later than August. Adult plants, whose age exceeds 3-5 years, can be transplanted much less frequently - once every 3-4 years.
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The transplant process. Instruction
Plant removed for replanting
Consider the process of transplanting zamiokulkas in steps:
- Thoroughly wash the new pot and fill it with drainage (a quarter of the volume)
- Add up to half of the soil mixture
- Carefully remove the plant from the old pot. In order not to damage the root system, we use the rolling method. If possible, do not remove the old soil mixture from the space between the roots and tubers
- We place the plant in the new pot exactly in the center
- We add the soil mixture, not reaching 1-1.5 cm to the top edge of the pot
- We carry out moderate watering, removing excess moisture from the pan.
Sometimes, instead of watering, it is recommended to spray the plant from a spray bottle.
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It consists in providing him with normal conditions of detention, watering and feeding. No special techniques or skills are required from the owner. Even during the flowering period, the plant is undemanding to the conditions of detention.
plant conditions
The temperature at which the plant feels normal is from 18 ° C to 30 ° C. The plant perfectly tolerates heat and drought, but hypothermia is dangerous for it. Critical is the temperature drop below 16°C.
decor element
The plant loves a lot of diffused light, direct sunlight should not be. However, Zamioculcas will feel fine on the windowsill at the windows of any side of the house, as well as under artificial lighting.
Watering the plant
The plant prefers moderate watering with water at room temperature. Zamiokulkas does not tolerate excess moisture. The roots may begin to rot as early as the second day after watering, if excess moisture is not removed. It is necessary to monitor the plant and water it only when the substrate is completely dry, up to the appearance of cracks in it.
Yellowed leaves are the first sign that the plant is receiving too much moisture. Do not overdo it with watering. The plant lives in an extremely arid climate and can do just fine without water. The plant also needs low humidity.
Plant nutrition
The growth rate of Zamioculcas is very slow, therefore, to accelerate its growth, it is recommended to feed. Specialized fertilizers for succulents are best suited for these purposes. The feeding process has a number of nuances, non-compliance with which can destroy the plant. Let's consider them in detail:
- the use of nitrogenous fertilizers is undesirable, it is better to use magnesium-potassium fertilizers to stimulate growth
- repeated dressings are made no earlier than 3-4 weeks after the previous ones.
- fertilizers are applied only to moist soil.
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There are several main ways of reproduction of this plant. Traditionally, the seed method is used extremely rarely. Consider vegetative methods of its reproduction.
leaf reproduction
In fact, a zamiokulkas leaf is the entire stem with many leaf plates. Given its rather large size, it is quite difficult to root, therefore, when propagating, they try to choose the shortest possible leaves, the number of plates on which does not exceed 1-3 pieces.
The sequence of actions is as follows:
- The sheet is cut off and left at room temperature to dry for a day
- The cut of the leaf is treated with charcoal or any rooting agent.
- We plant a leaf in a substrate for cacti or succulents. It is not recommended to use the soil mixture that is used for adult plants.
- The first watering, or spraying the leaf and soil, is done after 3 days. Further watering is carried out as the substrate dries.
- After 8-10 weeks, the transplanted leaf has a small tuber and the first roots.
After that, it is transplanted into an "adult" soil mixture in a separate pot. New leaves begin to grow from the tuber no earlier than six months after transplantation.
The twig is preparing for reproduction
Reproduction by a leaf plate
As a rule, with this method of reproduction, middle-aged leaf plates are used, which have a saturated color and are not dry or coarsened.
In this case, the sequence of actions is as follows:
- The plates are cut and dried for several hours
- The dried cut is smeared with a rooting agent and dried again for half an hour.
- The plate is buried in a special substrate (peat mixture and sand in equal proportions) by about a third of its height;
- From above, the plate is covered with a glass jar or a plastic bottle. Thus, greenhouse conditions are created for the leaf plate
- Once every 2-3 days, the greenhouse rises, and the plant is watered and ventilated
- Tubers appear in 1-2 months.
After the appearance of the tuber, you can transplant a new plant to its permanent place of residence in a new pot. However, with this method of planting, new leaves will appear no earlier than a year later. Traditionally, it is used if it is necessary to obtain several new plants.
Leaf plates planted in separate pots
Reproduction by tuber division
It is used most often, since it is the most reliable method of reproduction and saves the owner from having to buy giant pots. The technique is very simple - the plant is removed from the pot as a whole, completely cleared of the substrate and divided with a knife into several parts. In this case, it is important to comply with the following condition: each tuber must have a kidney and several roots.
Subsequently, the tubers are dried and planted in small pots with a standard composition of the substrate for an adult plant. The first week the plant is watered from the sprayer, and later, after the adaptation of the root system, they behave with it, as with an adult flower.
Tubers prepared for transplanting
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The plant practically does not suffer from any kind of disease. The main problem that flower growers face is non-compliance with the regime of watering or lighting the plant. Recommendations for various plant ailments are standard and intuitive.
For example, if a plant's leaves dry up, then it either lacks moisture or has been prone to sunburn. If the plant has rotting tubers or leaves, then there is too much moisture. Stem rot is most often caused by low temperatures.
Compliance with normal conditions of detention and requirements for caring for a plant can correct all such unpleasant phenomena that occur with a flower.
Pests
Considering some features of plant physiology, it is reliably protected from pests. Sometimes it can be attacked by scale insects or aphids, however, the plant itself does an excellent job with uninvited guests.
If arthropods show excessive persistence, as well as for prevention, you can use some kind of insecticide. Means, such as Aktellik, perfectly cope with this task. The only thing to keep in mind is the observance of safety measures when using them.
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That is why he is not afraid of all kinds of parasites and pests.
And although his juice and shoots are unlikely to bring to the death of a person, they will bring enough trouble. Calcium oxalate contained in the plant is a strong allergen for humans.
When working with zamiokulkas, certain precautions must be observed. First of all, this applies to working with tubers when they are separated for propagation. Sufficiently large roots, when separated, can splash with their juice not only the hands of the unlucky owner, but also get to his mucous membranes.
A slice of a leaf with drops of a poisonous liquid
Moreover, in order to wash, for example, the eyes from the poison of this plant, it is necessary to spend enough time, since calcium oxalate is poorly soluble in water. Therefore, it is necessary to work with zamiokulkas with gloves and plastic goggles. And no matter what you do: cut the crown of the plant, shorten the branches or divide the tubers, protection items must be worn on you.
Pets - cats and dogs ignore zamiokulkas, because their sense of smell indicates its toxicity, but with birds the situation is a little more complicated.
Zamioculcas
Good gift for good luck and money
Well, I wouldn’t call Zamiokulkas a “dollar” tree, but the fact that with its appearance in our family the financial situation has improved, for sure. For care, I agree with the author of the article that it is very important to choose the right soil for the flowerpot, otherwise I didn’t guess once, or rather, I just didn’t know that I needed specially selected soil and one flower died. Well, if the soil is chosen correctly, then the zamiokulkas will grow and with it, perhaps, the financial situation will also grow a little))
Everything is correctly indicated in the article at the expense of the conditions of detention. Plants really tolerate heat very well, even more than 30 degrees. I remember that year it was that the temperature reached 40 degrees, but the plant still felt great. But in January there was somehow a period that there were problems with heating for a couple of days, or rather, due to some kind of accident, it was not there at all for three days and it was really cool in the apartment, then my flowerpot began to wither, that I had to move the flowerpot to the kitchen, so that it would at least warm up while cooking. And so I really love this plant, it is quite beautiful and brings positive energy to the house. I can’t say about the fact that it is dollar-denominated, since the financial situation has not changed with its appearance ... Well, this may be because both my husband and I earned good money before he appeared in our apartment) But in any case, I am very pleased that got this plant
I “dragged” my pet from a friend straight from the office. They moved, and I grabbed this beauty first.Moreover, it does not grow very actively, at first it does not require a lot of space, so it looked to me, and what an abundant, glossy foliage, charming! There is a river not far from us, so there were no problems with the drainage material. I collected pebbles with a vengeance, so that for the next time it was enough to add during transplantation. It’s great that they wrote about expanded clay, I have a bunch of it, but since it’s undesirable, I removed it. Now Zamiokulkas has moved to the floor in his brand new ceramic flowerpot. I didn’t dare to divide the tubers yet, let it grow up. There is enough light for him, all the more bright rays are useless, sometimes we turn on the backlight - daylight near the aquarium, and at the same time increase the daylight hours for greenery in the cold season.
Yes, according to legend, the dollar tree needs to be stolen, then it will bring prosperity to the house))
I love indoor flowers that create comfort and harmony at home. However, beauty requires constant care of plants. I have a problem with this case. Either I forget to water it, or they send me on a business trip for two weeks. In general, “natural selection” took place in my flower garden - the most resistant flowers survived. Zamioculcas - turned out to be the most cheerful. The plant itself looks like a money tree, but more beautiful and elegant. Many flower growers call it a dollar tree, but my relationship with American rubles has remained unsatisfactory. Zamioculcas does not require special care. It is enough just to water and the plant will be fragrant. I water when the soil is completely dry. The plant is also undemanding to light. But the tree has a serious drawback - it collects dust, which has to be constantly wiped. Despite ascetic care, the flower even bloomed a couple of times, which was a real treat for me. I think that for lazy people the flower is ideal and I can safely recommend it for keeping in your own home.
But I agree with Sergey, because yes, Zamioculcas is really a flower for lazy people. Thanks to your article, at least I recognized the name, and before that they presented it to me at work for an anniversary, called the Euro tree and wished Renoha changed it to a BMW)
I won’t say that you need to get a tree and smoke bamboo, you also need to work, but the fact that the tree is hardy is 100%. Regarding care, I also agree here. For me, only transplanting a tree is stressful, and watering and care itself are not requiring much effort.
And that's what's true, and the heat tolerates the tree well, and the cold. Although the author of the article says that 16 is a critical temperature for Zamiokulkas, there was a dubak in the office, 12 degrees for almost a week and my flower did not wither.
I believe that any plant will please its owner if it is treated with love and awe ...