Among the many indoor plants, you can pay attention to a very beautiful flower from the nettle family, which, unlike its relative, is completely harmless. This is Pellonia. The features of its cultivation will be discussed in this article.
Pellonia: features of the plant
Pellonia is a perennial, whose homeland is East Asia, the islands of the Pacific Ocean. It is named in honor of the participant of the voyage around the world at the beginning of the XIX century - A. Pellion. It is a herbaceous plant that forms creeping, branching, shoots pressed to the ground up to 50 cm long. The leaves are oval in shape, olive-green in color, with maroon edges. By their numbers, they create the appearance of a soft carpet. Basically, two types of pellionia are grown on the premises: Davo Pellionia and the Beautiful Pellionia.
Characteristic features for Davo are large branches of a dark brown color, oval leaves up to 6 cm long with a light stripe in the middle and dark edges, flowers of a pale green color. For Pellion Beautiful, elongated leaves will be characteristic features, from above with green stripes, from below - with pink, with a velvet coating.
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Planting and placing plants in the room
Pellonia can decorate the interior of any room, provided that the place is correctly chosen for it.
Did you know? Pellonia is able to reduce the number of microbes in the room by 70%.
What kind of lighting is needed for the plant
In order for the pellonia to have a beautiful appearance and rich color of the leaves, it must be kept in a place with soft light. It is best on the west or east side of the room, because when the direct sun hits the flower, the leaves begin to darken and deform. Also adversely affects her and stay in a poorly lit place. In this case, the color of the leaves fades, and they lose their attractiveness. You can still hold the pelium in the back of the room, providing it with additional illumination with a phytolamp.
Requirements for temperature and humidity
Pellonia loves warmth. The optimum temperature for it will be +22 ... + 25 ° C in the summer and +16 ... + 18 ° C in the winter. Pellionia is also favorably influenced by the airing of the room, but drafts should be avoided. It is undesirable to place a pot with a plant near hot batteries. Leaves may fall from this exposure. Pellonia requires high humidity, so it is recommended to spray it from the spray gun every day, and in the hot season and twice a day.
Important! When making compositions with pellionium, it is necessary to choose neighbors with the same care requirements.
What should be the substrate for planting
Ready-made universal soil mixture can be purchased at a specialized store. Also, here you need to add vermiculite, perlite or brick chips, so that the earth is light and loose. But you can prepare a suitable substrate for Pellion at home. To do this, mix humus, leafy soil, peat, coarse sand in a ratio of 1: 2: 1: 1. Be sure to make drainage with expanded clay or pebbles.
How to care for Pellion at home
The main requirements for the care of pellionia include proper watering, regular fertilizer, pruning and transplanting.
Features of watering
The flower must be regularly and moderately watered year-round. Use irrigated, warm water, preferably rain or thawed water. Constantly monitor that the soil in the pot is slightly moist, to prevent it from drying out or waterlogging, as both of these will lead to a disease of the flower, and in the worst cases, to its death.
Fertilizing and plant nutrition
Fertilizers play an important role in the development of a houseplant. It is best to feed every month from spring to autumn.
Video: Effective dressing indoor plants
In the winter, this is not recommended, since the pellonia stops growing rapidly. Universal fertilizers are used, such as Agricola (1 g per 1 liter of water), Zdraven (0.5 g per 1 liter of water), etc.
Important! During the use of fertilizers, the dosage according to the instructions must be reduced by 2 times in order to avoid burns.
Plant pruning
Due to the fact that the shoots of the Pellionia can be extended, as a result of which the decorative beauty of the flower is lost, they need to be cut in the spring during the beginning of intensive growth. Pinch young plants, and older ones are pruned, and leave a branch up to 10 cm long from the base. Cropped shoots can be used for reproduction.
Pellion transplant rules
Pellion transplantation is best in the spring. To do this:
- use wide and low pots so that the plant grows on their surface;
- fill the container up to half with expanded clay or pebbles for normal outflow of water;
- make drainage holes;
- put the flower in the center of the pot and cover it with prepared soil;
- Tamp well and pour on top with warm, settled water.
Pellion breeding
This plant can be propagated in the following ways:
- cuttings - cropped shoots are used, on which there must be at least 3 internodes. Cuttings are placed in a container with water for the germination of small roots, after which they are planted in a container;
- seed - after flowering, seeds are taken, soaked in a growth stimulator, seeded in prepared containers, after germination transplanted into pots;
- air lay - used when the shoots of an adult plant are long. Pots of smaller sizes are installed near it, shoots are fixed in containers, and they are covered with earth from above. After the branch takes root, it can be disconnected from the first plant;
- division of an adult bush - carried out during a flower transplant. The root is carefully examined, and if a separate part of the root has its own growth point and a sufficient number of roots, then the main root is cut into parts using a sharp knife. Place the sections sprinkled with activated carbon.
Did you know? In order for the cuttings to take root more quickly, they must be soaked in boiled water.
Plant diseases and pests
The most common pests of pellionia are:
- aphid - sucking the juice of a plant, forms a sticky coating on it. For the purpose of prevention it is necessary to make a warm shower. In cases of infection, you can use a soap solution or alcohol tincture of calendula;
- mealybug - from its effect, the flower stops in growth, a cotton coating appears. You can fight it with the help of washing with soapy water, as well as treating with the preparations "Calypso", "Confidor", "Aktara";
- spider mite - striking Pellion in the form of yellowing of leaves and formation of cobwebs on their lower part. It is destroyed after exposure to soap solution, insecticides "Aktara", "Vermitek", "Fitoverm";
- whitefly - an insect covering the plant in the form of flour powder. It is necessary to spray the flower with the help of the preparations "Aktara", "Confidor", "Fitoverm", etc.
