Features of home care for various types of alocasia
A modern human dwelling is often a stone box filled with furniture and appliances. Vapors of phenols from furniture are released into an enclosed space. Phonit technology, producing and emitting harmful ions, a person smokes, releases the dirty air of the city into the apartment. Plants standing on shelves and window sills absorb this dirt, and instead release oxygen, its ions, phytoncides. Large specimens, which include alocasia, are effective and useful. Therefore, connoisseurs of the microclimate and beauty start alocasia, and caring for it at home is not difficult.
Why alocasia has become a house plant
Our ancestors did not have as much knowledge as they do now, but intuitively they chose and brought useful medicinal plants, which became domesticated. Therefore, the indoor flower alocasia in the apartment is a danger to children and animals, and care should be taken with protective gloves. But people love him, and gave their affectionate names - shamrock, weatherman. In the folk medicine of eastern countries, among the aborigines of the tropics, this plant is used to treat such serious diseases as tuberculosis, cancer, ulcers of various origins. See photo of oleander!
Photo of alocasia and home care
Any plant brought from a distance requires certain conditions for life. For centuries, the unhurried selection of nature has adapted plants to a region with special properties. Therefore, guests have to create special living conditions. And it even blooms when it is spring at home, and we have winter. It is important for the grower to find such conditions of care to ensure the health of the plant in the home of people with other requirements for comfort. The care for alocasia in the photo will take a long time so that a mature seven-year-old plant blooms.
An inexperienced plant lover, acquiring alocasia, may face a number of problems caused by improper care:
- Very slow growth of new leaves.
- The plant is lethargic, the leaves are drooping, watering does not restore tugor.
- The leaves not only droop, but turn yellow and dry, the lower ones fall off.
- The dark green leaf becomes pale, the variegated leaves lose their decorative effect.
- Dark spots appear on the leaves or the petiole begins to rot.
All these signs are the result of improper plant maintenance. Therefore, it is necessary to comply with the basic requirements of agricultural technology.
Initially, the indoor flower alocasia should be provided with a permanent place. It should not touch the sun's rays and drafts when airing the apartment. At the same time, the plant requires a lot of light, sometimes artificial lighting can be created. special lamp.
Do not place the plant in a damp cold corner.For prosperity, they practice the use of bottom heating of the soil in a pot. If the roots are warm, they quickly deliver food to the aerial part and the plant thrives. Late blight and root rot will not develop in warm ground.
The tropical plant alocasia loves keeping at a temperature of 21-27 0 in summer and at least 18 in winter. In this case, the winter content should be with additional lighting, so that the day is at least 10 hours.
A resident of the tropics loves the high humidity of the surrounding air. It is comfortable for her to be at 80% moisture in the room. This humidity is not suitable for humans. Therefore, a compromise is reached when keeping the plant in the kitchen or in the bathroom and next to the aquarium. You can place the alocasia pot on a pallet filled with moss and expanded clay, which evaporate moisture around the plant. A humidifier will do. However, additional spraying with a fine spray and wiping the leaves with a damp sponge is also required.
Damp soil in a pot of alocasia is a must for summer keeping. Watering is carried out every other day with settled soft water, the liquid that has flowed out through the drainage hole is removed. When irrigating with the bottom method, the remaining water is drained after 30 minutes. Winter watering shrinks until the top layer of the soil dries up. The roots should be in a moist, airy substrate. Therefore, alocasia is transplanted as the substrate is compacted, when the roots become cramped in the container. Initially, the plant is transplanted annually, later every three years, choosing a large, but cramped capacity for overgrown roots.
We remind you that all parts of the plant are poisonous and secrete a burning sap. Therefore, work involving contact with slices should be carried out only with gloves, while protecting the eyes and mucous membranes. Wash hands and tools after work with soap and a brush.
Alocasia soil loves low acidity, better than special preparation. The requirements for the composition of the soil allow the use of various components, adhering to the conditions:
- soil acidity 5.5-6.5;
- good moisture content;
- high air saturation;
- the presence of mineral components of various compositions.
The addition of porous charcoal forms active centers for mineral salts, nutrition for the root system.
When transplanting alocasia, a deep container is used, since the roots of the plant are not superficial, deep. However, the container for alocasia should not be wide, so as to avoid the formation of soil acidification zones. The root system should fill the pot. Choose tall and tapered vessels for stability. But there can be containers with vertical walls, if there is no danger of overturning under a shift in the center of gravity, inclined, heavy leaves of alocasia. Depending on the variety, with good care, alocasia at home can reach two meters in height.
Tips from experienced alocasia growers
If the plant was purchased in a specialized store, a greenhouse, it is necessary to arrange a quarantine for it for two weeks. When diseases or pests are found, it is easier to cure one plant than to infect the entire home garden. Control should be conducted to detect:
- scabbards:
- aphids;
- spider mite;
- diseases, late blight and powdery mildew.
Transplant a healthy plant into a new soil, completely clearing it from the greenhouse substrate, while preserving the roots as much as possible.
When preparing the planting soil, add vermiculite and perlite in an amount equal to a quarter of the substrate. They regulate the moisture in the pot and fill the composition with the necessary nutrient salts. Instead of vermiculite, you can use shavings of animal horns. The action is the same.
If a plant has shed its leaves, this does not mean that it has died. The root system can be healthy and the alocasia will grow back. To do this, remove the container with roots in a dark place with a temperature of about 17 0, very rarely moisturize and expose after 2 months. The first shoots should appear within a month. Sometimes stubborn people sleep up to six months.
After flowering, the plant inevitably loses its decorative effect. This is a normal physiological process, you should continue caring for the indoor flower with alocasia, and his beauty will return.
The use of bottom heating of a clod of earth is effective both during plant propagation and during the growing season. Observing the rules of care, you can not take care of the health of the pets. A strong flower itself will overcome external misfortunes.