Houseplants are more than just home decoration. They have a positive effect on human health in general. They balance, calm, help get rid of depression, blues, illnesses, and give confidence. Plants purify the air in the house, saturate it with oxygen, absorb harmful substances, while releasing useful compounds. They cope well with the benefits of modern civilization, and also feed the house with good energy.
Kostenets nesting
If you are worried that there is not enough light in your home to grow plants, the nesting stone is ideal. It grows well even in low light. In addition, it does not have to be grown horizontally. This plant is ideal for creating a living wall. Water it every day and provide it with small to moderate amounts of sunlight.
Indoor rose
The indoor rose is the most whimsical and demanding house plant. In the natural environment, rose bushes grow in most European countries, including East Asia. Remember that the flower queen (unofficial name) prefers spacious pots with a good drainage system, as the roots are afraid of oversaturation with moisture. Keep humidity at a medium level. Protect the rose from drafts and ultraviolet radiation. Periodically loosen the soil, saturating it with additional oxygen. Irrigation should be moderate: 2-3 times a week in summer and 1-2 times in winter.
indoor rose
Chlorophytum crested
Chlorophytum crested is another plant that thrives in low light and is harmless to animals. They are also very easy to grow. You can break off one leaf, put it in a glass of water and after a short time it will take root and you can replant it in the soil. Chlorophytum requires medium to bright indirect sunlight as well as weekly watering.
Sago palm
The sago palm, cycad or cycas is an evergreen deciduous shrub with thin, feather-like leaves of a deep green hue. Natural habitat: Indonesia, Fiji Island, Japan. There is no flowering. Within a year of growing indoors, the plant can reach 3 m in height. Cycas is quite patient with dry air; they love soft, diffused daylight and moderate irrigation (2 times a week, regardless of the time of year). The cycad root system is supported with balanced mineral fertilizers. There is no need for pruning. Use a mixture of clay and turf soil as a soil substrate.
sago palm
Flowers in our lives - Akalifa Haitian, cat's tail
Akalifa Haitian
I have long dreamed about Acalipha hispida, a plant with unusually spectacular fluffy earring-shaped inflorescences of red color, because of which it is popularly called “fox tail”. However, for a long time I did not dare to make this purchase, as I considered it capricious and demanding growing conditions. Special literature stated that it requires high air humidity, but spraying is undesirable for it. There was another reason holding back my desire: the size of the plant. With good care and favorable conditions, Akalifa could reach a height of 2-3 meters.
I decided to purchase a “fox tail” only after that; how a free space appeared for him in one of the rooms. I bought the plant from an experienced grower with many years of experience. From him I learned that akalifa feels great at normal room temperature, blooms almost all year round, and the inflorescences last 6-8 weeks. I was especially pleased that “fox tail,” as he claimed, is easily propagated by cuttings. I thought that even if the plant died as a result of my inept care, I could try to grow new specimens from the cuttings.
I got an adult, but medium-sized, abundantly flowering ampelous plant. It grew in a hanging pot in a light, loose substrate with a small amount of sand. I liked the structure of the substrate, and I decided not to replant the foxtail until spring. With leaves and inflorescences, the plant was similar to acalypha bristle-haired, but the growth form was completely different: the shoots were not erect, but thin, graceful and drooping. In addition, the leaves and inflorescences are smaller. “Fedot, but not that one,” I thought, and decided to look for information about my new plant. I rummaged through many books and magazines, and only in one newest translated reference book I found some information about him. The information, unfortunately, turned out to be very superficial... But at least I managed to identify my acquisition: it was called Haitian Acalipha hispaniolae. Now, knowing the generic and species name of the plant, I decided to look for more complete information about it on the Internet.
However, hopes for the World Wide Web were also in vain. After visiting a large number of sites, my knowledge about the “fox tail” has expanded, if at all, only slightly. And, as I understand it, it is no coincidence. On one of the sites I found information that my akalifa is a new product introduced into the culture just a few years ago. I had to study her biology myself, find out her needs...
Haitian Akalifa turned out to be a very unpretentious, ecologically flexible plant that does not impose any specific care requirements. Some experiments with it helped me to verify this.
First of all, I decided to test her reaction to different light levels. I hung my new favorite in front of a window facing southeast. After observing her condition for several days, I noticed that she did not really like direct sunlight. I concluded: it is better to keep it in a bright place, but protected from direct sunlight.
A month later I wanted to know how Akalifa reacted to fresh air. He took it out to the loggia and placed it in a bright place where the sun's rays reached only in the morning. In the new place it continued to grow actively and bloom well. But being in the fresh air required more frequent watering than when kept indoors. The substrate dried out so quickly that it was necessary to water almost every day, and sometimes twice a day.
One day, on a very hot day, the leaves of the akalifa withered. Apparently, the lack of moisture in the substrate had an effect. I became alarmed and decided that she was dead. However, the fears turned out to be in vain: as soon as it was watered, after some time the leaves became elastic again. And although akalifa, as I was convinced, had a good regenerative ability, in future I decided not to bring it to this state, and next year when replanting, use a more moisture-intensive substrate.
Since Akalifa had a fairly large vegetative mass and many inflorescences, I decided to feed it once every two weeks with liquid complex mineral fertilizer of low concentration (0.5 g/l). It didn’t get worse from feeding, but there was no obvious improvement in growth and flowering either. Why? I haven't fully figured it out. Either feeding was rare, or the concentration of the solution was low, or the ratio of the main nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) was suboptimal. In a word, I still haven’t found out whether she is responsive to feeding or not.
In the fall, Akalifa continued to delight with flowering, although fewer new shoots and inflorescences were formed. Apparently, the reduction in daylight hours had an effect. Since the faded inflorescences turned brown and lost their decorative properties, I removed them from time to time.
Daily temperature changes did not harm the plant at all, and I kept it on the loggia until night temperatures began to drop to 2-3 degrees. In October, he brought Akalifa into the room, not wanting to expose her to the risk of dying from the cold.
I was looking forward to the start of the heating season - I wanted to find out how the “fox tail” would react to drier and warmer air. Concerns that insufficiently humid air would negatively affect the decorative quality of the akalifa turned out to be in vain: it felt good in the room and continued to bloom. True, not as abundant as in summer. New shoots grew very slowly, but the lower part of the old ones gradually became exposed and had to be cut off.
By the way, I also carried out pruning in the summer to stimulate greater bushiness. I did not throw away the cut shoots, but used them as cuttings. Since there were many of them, I conducted numerous experiments with them on rooting in various environments. It turned out that cuttings 5-15 cm long rooted well both in water and in almost any substrate. The roots formed very quickly: on the 5-7th day after the start of rooting. Cuttings that had already formed flower buds bloomed 1-2 months after rooting.
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Maranta
Finally, the arrowroot plant is an eye-catching plant with compound leaves that boast varying shades of green as well as pink veins.
This plant does very well in average light, so it is important to keep the soil moist but not too wet. Direct light should also be avoided as this will cause the leaves to fall off.
Deciding how best to place your arrowroot? Just make sure that the pot you choose does not distract attention from its unforgettable leaves. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best!
Useful and safe plants for cats
Grass is a source of vitamins and fiber for animals. Knowing their favorite and useful plants, you can create a special garden for your pet. Here he can walk among the greenery and eat his favorite and healthy grass.
Plants useful for cats:
- Thyme;
- Barley;
- Thyme;
- Cat mint;
- Melissa - do not overdose;
- Feverfew;
- Evening primrose;
- Mint (field, water);
- Valerian – dangerous in case of overdose;
- Wheat.
From dry grass you can make mice and toys for your pet. Despite the fact that there are much fewer safe plants than dangerous ones, there is still a choice.
Safe plants for cats:
- Timofeevka (Arzhanets);
- Camellia;
- Oats;
- Indoor grapes;
- Jasmine;
- Maranta (prayer tree);
- Begonia (all types);
- Peperomia;
- Dracaena;
- Venus flytrap;
- Coleus.
Cats love catnip the most, as well as oats, wheat, barley and other grains. For pets, you can make your own paradise, but their favorite plants are best placed in the background.
Because cats love these plants, they may get bitten and crushed.
Betel palm
The betel palm, or areca, is a tree-like plant from the Arecaceae genus, growing in many southern countries. At home, areca can grow up to 5 m in height. At intervals of 2-3 weeks, rotate the pot with the palm tree around its own axis for symmetrical growth of long branched stems. Also, as they grow, it is recommended to organize strengthening or garter. The optimal temperature for comfortable life is 21-23 C. Betel palm needs frequent irrigation - 3-4 times a week. Choose an acidic soil for planting with a pH of 6-7 units.
betel palm
