Many superstitions are associated with indoor plants. The money tree is distinguished in this respect, home care is followed (if you believe the signs) affects the well-being of the owners: happy with the way it attracts wealth to the house, and the stinking causes an inevitable outflow of finances.
Money tree plant - home care
A vivid representative of succulents, an ovate thick-skinned (official name of a money tree) came from the hot and arid regions: Africa, Arabia and the island of Madagascar. Survival there is possible only at the expense of moisture, stored in thick fleshy leaves. Proper care for the money tree is not complicated: it is necessary to provide the plant with regular watering, diffused lighting and periodic refreshing sprinkling, and it will certainly respond with active growth and even flowering.
How to water a money tree?
One of the pluses of a fat woman is indifference to short-term droughts. The lack of watering during the month is not fatal, although it is somewhat reflected in decorativeness. In summer, watering the money tree at home is done 2-3 times a week (so that the soil is always wet), and in winter it is minimized up to 2 times a month. It is worth including in the care of the money tree bathing in the shower, which release the leaves from the dust and help maintain the moisture required by the plant.
How to trim a money tree?
The apartment does not always manage to create a comfortable microclimate. As a result, the pet can stretch upwards. In order not to spoil the money tree, home care includes the shaping of the crown. Conducting the forming trimming of the money tree should be regular, starting from the first year of plant life. On the upper shoot, they find and pinch the growth point, removing the two uppermost leaves. This gives the impetus for the formation of new lateral shoots, which, if necessary, should also be pinched.
How to transplant the money tree?
Transplantation of a monetary tree is necessary not more often than once in two years, and for adults and heavy copies it is transformed into periodic filling in a pot of fresh soil mixture. Young succulent is transplanted by the method of transshipment, moving from the old pot to the new one along with a clod of earth. In this case, the neck of the plant remains above the soil level, otherwise it will ache and grow poorly.
In case of extreme necessity, a fat woman can be transplanted all the year round, but it will be easiest to recover from stress in the spring. Will help support a weakened after the transplantation of the money tree nursing at home by the following rules:
- watering if necessary;
- diffused lighting;
- hygienic spraying;
- no drafts.
What kind of soil is needed for a money tree?
Tolstyanika does not tolerate stagnation of water. Soil for the money tree must be simultaneously loose (well-permeable to air and water) and nutritious. Ideal suited for soil cultivation succulents, but you can use a universal soil, domeshav in it to give lightness a little clean sand. You can independently prepare the soil using the following recipe:
- sheet earth - 3 parts;
- turf ground - 1 part;
- sand - 1 part;
- Wood ash and clay - 0.25 parts.
What kind of pot is needed for a money tree?
Choosing a pot for a money tree should take into account the characteristics of its morphology: the surface root system and spreading crown, covered with heavy dense leaves. The container for growing fat should be bought shallow, wide (the diameter of the pot correlates with the diameter of the crown) and stable. The material of the pot should allow breathing the roots, and at the bottom are required holes to drain excess water. An excellent option would be the planting of a money tree in a wide pot of unbaked pottery.
How to multiply a money tree?
Tolstianka refers to plants, which can be multiplied without much trouble. There are three ways of breeding:
- Cuttings . In spring, one or several cuttings 10-15 cm long are cut from the mother plant, the sections are sprinkled with crushed coal, dried for 24 hours, and then rooted in a moist substrate or placed in a container of clean water. After the appearance of the roots (after about 10-15 days), the seedling is planted in a permanent pot.
- Reproduction of the money tree with leaves . Leaf fatty neatly separated from the parent plant, germinate in a container with warm clean water or a wet substrate, by cutting to 1/3. The first time the leaves are kept in a mini-greenhouse (under a glass jar or in a plastic bag), which is opened every day for airing. After 7-10 days the leaf takes root and is transplanted to a permanent place of residence.
- Seed method . A laborious way to multiply the money tree used in the selection process at home. Seeds are sown on the surface of the substrate from a mixture of turf and sand, covered with glass and placed in the penumbra until germination. Crops are watered from the spray gun, daily air. After the appearance of two leaves, they are dived on individual pots in a substrate containing, in addition to sand and turf ground, a leaf.
How to make a money tree bloom?
Without looking at the most caring care at home, the money tree does not always please its owners with flowering . There are several reasons why the money tree does not bloom:
- Age . Flowering in fatty can occur no earlier than in the fifth year of life.
- Incorrectly selected pot . In an excessively large flowerpot, the plant develops roots, neglecting the above-ground part. There, the money tree does not blossom until its roots are completely entangled in an earth clod.
- Excessive watering . In conditions of constant humidity, the fatty woman begins to "fatten", releasing many new leaves. Stimulate flowering can transfer the plant to a "dry ration", that is, some decrease in the amount of moisture.
- Absence of a rest period. From November to March, the fat girl should be given a rest: to rearrange it in a cool place (+ 10-12 ° C), cut irrigation, and exclude feeding from the nursery.
How to fertilize the money tree?
Care at home is unthinkable without periodic feeding - it is a large plant that needs a lot of nutrients to form and maintain the crown. Fertilizers for the money tree must contain:
- Potassium . With a deficit, a leaf fall begins, an overabundance destroys the roots.
- Phosphorus . Responsible for the growth rates of shoots, normalizes metabolic processes.
- Calcium . It is necessary for the correct formation of the skeleton of the plant, the normal distribution of water in it.
You can use as ready-made complexes for feeding succulents (Lignohumate, humisol "GUMI", "Uniflor Cactus", "Gilea - fertilizer for cacti", "Effetton DC"), and prepare fertilizers yourself. As a source of calcium, an ordinary fine-grained egg shell is suitable. A shortage of phosphorus will make up the foliar top dressing from phosphoric flour.
Disease of a money tree
The money tree, home care for which is carried out in compliance with all the rules is not sick. Lack of proper lighting, violation of the drinking regime, lack of fresh air and a thick layer of dust on the leaves cause the money tree to overcome diseases and pests:
- Shield . The leaves are covered with brown bumps and begin to fall off.
- Spider mite . Gives itself a thin cobweb, entangling the leaves and trunk of the plant.
- Powdery mulberry . At the base of the leaves appears a white coating, similar to cotton wool.
- Rotting of the trunk . The trunk becomes soft, an unpleasant smell appears.
- Diseases of leaves. Leaflets turn red or turn yellow, twist and fall off.
To combat pests use systemic insecticides ("Fitoverm", "Fufanon"), strong soap solution, tobacco and garlic infusions. Care for the diseased plant begins with the removal of all damaged leaves, the conduct of water procedures (a warm shower to cleanse of dust) and shifting to a well-lit and cool place. When rotting the stem and / or roots, an urgent transplant may be needed in the new soil.