Wood Ceropegia is used as an ampel plant for landscaping apartments and offices. It is found in natural conditions in the tropical forests of Africa and Asia, which should be taken into account when cultivating it at home. How to properly care for Wood's ceropegia, read below.

Botanical description of the plant

Wood's natural habitat is large and includes:

• southern Africa;
• North Australia
• India
• China;
• Canary Islands.

Wood's ceropegia is a creeper-like perennial succulent that belongs to the Dove family. Rhizome tuberous. Thin leaf-shaped heart-shaped plates are opposite on long, thin shoots. The outer surface of the leaves has a marble-silver pattern, the lower surface is purple.

Did you know? Under natural conditions, most ceropegia during flowering exudes an unpleasant putrefactive odor to attract flies for pollination. During home cultivation, this smell is almost not noticeable, except if you stick your nose directly into the flower.

Small tuberous growths form in the sinuses of old leaf blades, which play a role in the accumulation and preservation of moisture. The plant can do without water for a long time even in drought, thanks to these growths and tuberoid thickenings of the roots. The stems look like strings dotted with leaf hearts. They are intertwined and painted in a purple hue. Even with home cultivation, stems can reach a length of 2.5–3 m.

The growth of the lashes is very high - during the summer it can be up to 1 m. Flowering begins in the spring, approximately in April, and lasts until September inclusive. Flowers form in the leaf sinuses. They are painted in light purple and have an unusual shape resembling a candelabrum. Wood's ceropegia is characterized by high growth strength and endurance. It adapts perfectly to any conditions, rarely gets sick and is affected by pests.

Optimal conditions for growth

Hardy ceropegia of Wood is completely not whimsical in terms of microclimate.

Lighting

In the presence of high-quality illumination, the flowering of Wood's ceropegia can continue almost all year round. She is not afraid of short-term contact with direct sunlight. Placing plants is better on the east or west side of the room.

Important! The brighter the diffused lighting, the higher the decorativeness of the leaves - the pattern on the outside becomes brighter. But prolonged contact with the open sun can lead to burns.

Ventilation

In the summer, it is better to rearrange the plants on the balcony. In winter, it is imperative to carry out airing, but to avoid draft.

Temperature mode

Zeropegia is completely not demanding on the temperature regime and tolerates temperature extremes from + 10 ° С to + 27 ° С. But, in order to achieve year-round flowering, it is better to maintain a constant temperature within +20 ... + 23 ° С.

Air humidity

Humidity can be any. Additional humidification of the space around the plant and spraying are not required even in the driest periods.

Home Care

It is difficult to find a more grateful plant than ceropegia. Even with minimal care, it blooms profusely until the fall.

Watering

Watering this plant often does not have to. There is no specific watering schedule - you need to focus on soil moisture. Water is introduced when the topsoil dries 1 cm deep. In the summer, watering is carried out approximately once a week, but it can be more often if the air temperature rises above + 27 ° С. In winter, watering should be minimized - 1-2 times a month.It is best to water through the top. Water is poured along the edge of the pot, trying not to get on the shoots and leaves. Liquid drained into the pan must be removed immediately. Waterlogging of the soil must not be allowed, otherwise the roots may rot. Water for irrigation should be at room temperature. Protected tap water is suitable. It is better not to use boiled water - traces of salts and scale remain in it, which can damage the plant.

Top dressing

Fertilizers are applied once a month during the period of active vegetation, in the winter they are excluded. As a top dressing, you can use complex preparations intended for cacti, succulents and orchids. Fertilizers “Stimovit for cacti and succulents”, “Stimovit for orchids” proved to be quite good. They are bred according to the instructions and introduced under the root.

Pruning

Ceropegia does not need to be trimmed. It is carried out if there is a need to shorten too elongated shoots, or when you need to propagate the plant. Shoots play an important role in plant nutrition and moisture accumulation, therefore, excessive pruning can lead to drying.

Transfer

The transplant is carried out in March - April annually until the plant reaches the age of three. In the future, a transplant is performed every 2 years.A transplant is carried out by the transshipment method. Pots are selected small in height, wide. The new packaging should be 1 finger larger in diameter and height than the previous one. The main requirement is a large number of drainage holes. It is better to mix the soil yourself.

To do this, connect:

• 5 parts of leaf-sod soil;
• 2 parts of vegetable humus;
• 1 part peat;
• 1 part of sand.

To increase soil friability, 20% perlite and 10% sphagnum moss are added to the resulting composition. The earth is disinfected with a solution of wood ash: for this, 1 tbsp. Is added to 2 liters of water. l ashes. The liquid is mixed and brought to a boil, immediately poured hot into the soil and thoroughly stirred. Pots are disinfected with a solution of manganese: 2 g of substance is added to 1 liter of water. The day before the transplant, watering is carried out, but not too plentiful.

Important! Every 5 years ceropegia need to be updated. This means that 5-year-old specimens are not transplanted, but several cuttings are separated and rooted.

Expanded clay mixed with foam shavings or perlite is placed in new containers. Drainage should occupy 1/4 of the pot. Then lay 1 cm of soil. The plant is removed from the old tank and inspected by the roots: if everything is normal, it is moved to a new tank. The voids are filled with earth, the surface of the soil around the stems is slightly compacted.The transplanted plant is set aside for 5 days in a place where there is high-quality protection from direct sunlight. After this time, you can rearrange the ceropegia to a permanent place and, if necessary, slightly moisten the surface of the soil.

Breeding methods

Propagate Wood's ceropegia at home in several ways:

• by seeds;
• cuttings;
• division.

Seed propagation

Seeds are planted in the spring. The substrate for planting should be light, loose. At this stage, you can use a mixture of sand and peat, adding a little leaf humus - about 20% of the total volume of the mixture. You can disinfect the mixture in the oven at a temperature of + 100 ° C. After disinfection, the earth needs to be moistened; its structure should be sufficiently loose, but not waterlogged.

Did you know? Succulent plants are very popular due to their ability to maintain freshness for a long time. Recently, a new trend has been the use of succulent plants in the design of boutonnieres for grooms, wedding bouquets, hairstyles for brides and solemn halls themselves.

At the bottom of the total capacity lay drainage, then place the soil. Seeds are laid directly on the surface of the soil and sprinkled with sand. The height of the sand layer is about 0.5 cm. Then the plantings are sprayed from the spray gun and covered with glass. Germination is carried out at a temperature of +20 ... + 25 ° C. Every day, planting must be ventilated by removing the glass for 20 minutes. If necessary, the soil is additionally moistened with a spray bottle.Seed germination takes an average of 20–25 days. After the appearance of the sprouts, the glass must be removed and the container moved to a well-lit place, but not in direct sunlight. In the future, standard care. When the sprouts reach a length of 7-10 cm, it is necessary to transplant in different containers: 2-3 copies are planted in each container.

Cuttings

Cuttings are prepared in early April. On a quality planting material should be 3 nodes. The lower leaves must be removed, and the cuttings themselves must be dried for 3 hours. The lower part of the cuttings is dusted with wood ash. Roots sprout in wet sand with a minimal addition of peat. Humidification is carried out using Epin: 2-3 drops of the drug are added to 1 liter of water.

Such a move contributes to faster root growth and increases the adaptive abilities of plants. Rooting cuttings takes an average of 1.5 months. In mid-summer, you can transplant to different containers.

Division propagation

This method is used at the time of plant transplantation. When a plant is removed, the root system is divided into 2 equal parts and the resulting bushes are planted in separate containers. To speed up adaptation, “Epin” or “Zircon” is added to the water for irrigation - 2-3 drops of these preparations.

Possible growing difficulties

With home cultivation of ceropegia rarely get sick.

When the substrate is waterlogged, one of two problems can occur:

• root rot - in such cases, it is rarely possible to completely completely save the plant; it is better to root the available healthy tubers, leaf or root;
• powdery mildew - eliminated by transplantation and removal of the affected parts of the plant, the roots are treated with a mixture of wood ash with Fundazole in a ratio of 1: 1.

Of the pests on the ceropegia, a mealybug can settle. Eliminate it by treating plants and soil with tobacco dust. So, Wood's ceropegia is perfect for landscaping any room. The plant is attractively high decorative and unpretentious. Observing elementary rules of care, you can achieve year-round flowering.