Hypocirrhoid or nematanthus: photo varieties, description and features of cultivation
In this wonderful plant of the Gesneriaceae family, yellow or orange flowers look like lips folded for a kiss. Hypocytosis is becoming more and more popular with amateurs. The name of the plant comes from the Greek words "hair" and "flower", which describes its appearance.
Nematanthus flowers hang on thin peduncles, as if by hair. The plant is very elegant, the flowers are like a flock of goldfish or a scattering of ripe berries, which invariably raises the mood when looking at a compact lush bush.
Botanical Description
Hypocytosis - epiphytic and semi-epiphytic, shrub or grass originating from Brazil. Distributed in South America and other countries with a warm and humid climate in the wild, and as a potted plant - around the world. Belongs to the Gesneriev family (to which gloxinia and senpolia are also ranked). Hypocytosis has about 35 species.
The leaves are succulent, small, elliptical, round or obovate, green, covered with a dense waxy cuticle, the underside can sometimes be red or purple. Inflorescences are axillary, located on peduncles, color from lemon yellow to pink-purple, fused petals form a corolla in the shape of a pocket and have a characteristic bloating.
For a long time, biologists have divided nematanthus and hypocirrhythmia, which have many similarities, today these species are combined and are divided into 4 categories.The main varieties of hypocytes and their photos
Nude
Semi-ampel variety with weakly branching shoots up to 25 cm long, orange-red flowers hanging from the sinuses of 1-3 pieces, and oval fleshy leaves.
Read more about the necessary conditions for the successful cultivation of naked hypocytes, as well as how to make it bloom, read in our article.
Fritscha
A small bush up to 50 cm tall with thin pubescent shoots covered with leaves, red from below and green from above, the flowers are light pink, have the shape of a funnel and have a hairiness.
Riverine
It has the form of creepers. The leaves are large, satin-smooth, reddish on the underside. Peduncles with lemon-yellow flowers are formed in the axils of the leaves.
Vetstein
Ampelous well-branching plant with small oval-shaped leaves and bright orange-red-yellow flowers up to 2 cm in size. Flowering is plentiful and long.
Tropical
It is distinguished by yellow-orange flowers, mottled with reddish-brown longitudinal stripes. Its leaves are oval, dark green, shiny and slightly pointed at the tip.
Gregarius
Has leathery shiny leaves of medium size. This type of hypocirrha is most common in indoor floriculture due to the fact that the plant has yellow-red flowers, similar to goldfish.
Santa Teresa
Plant with fluffy mottled flowershaving a lemon-olive smell.
Monetary
Ampel plant, surprising in that after flowering it discards foliage. The leaves are light green, dense, rounded, pubescent. The flowers are fiery red with a yellow corolla.
Read more about the popular types of nematanthus or hypocirrhoid in our material.
Features of cultivation and reproduction
When to start landing?
Planting is best done in spring:
- First you need to prepare the soil. Suitable as a ready-made soil for senpolia, and a substrate prepared independently. For this, peat, humus, sand and two parts of leafy land are mixed in equal parts.
- A drainage layer is laid on the bottom, soil is poured on top. The earth is watered.
- The rooted stalk is put in the hole and a little tamped the earth around it.
- You can add fertilizer, but not earlier than in a month, and then - every two weeks in the summer and every one and a half months in the winter.
Those who live in a climate close to the one who loves hypocirrhea have the opportunity to plant it in the garden.
For planting, it is better to choose slightly shaded places, since direct sun is dangerous to this tropical flower. However, this method is not the best for a delicate plant.Seed propagation
The germination of the seeds of the flower is good, in most cases they produce full-fledged strong plants. However, you need to act very carefully, since the seeds are small, like dust. Seeds can be bought in a special store or used from home plants: they ripen in boxes at the end of flowering. Seeds should not be rotten and sticky. Before planting, the seeds do not need to be soaked.
Method Description
- In the prepared moist soil make a small hollow.
- Seeds are poured onto a piece of cardboard folded in a corner.
- Gently tapping a finger on the paper, pour the seeds into the recess.
- The soil is leveled.
- A container with future seedlings is set on a pallet in a bright place and covered with glass from above.
- Watering is done through the pan.
- When the first sprouts appear, it will sometimes be necessary to remove the glass and let the sprouts breathe.
- After 4-5 leaves appear on the sprouts, shoots dive into separate pots for a few pieces.
Vegetative way
This method is slightly simpler than the above, since rooting takes less time. Used cuttings that remain after trimming adult shoots of hypocirrh. Cuttings of young shoots are better not to take, since in most cases they are poorly rooted and prone to decay. Too short for planting are not suitable, each should be 7-10 cm long, and each should have at least 4 internodes.
Step-by-step instruction
- For planting, it is advisable to choose a spring or summer period. The apical cuttings are cut from developed stems, without buds and flowers. Use only strong instances.
- A cut of the handle must be done under the knot. It can immediately be treated with Epin or Kornevin, dipping the tip of 1 cm into the solution for several seconds.
- Several lower leaves are removed from the stalk.
- Rooted cuttings in water, moss, peat and substrate. You can put them in a greenhouse with a temperature of + 22-24 ° C, so that the roots form faster. Or keep in a bright and warm place, covering with a film and periodically ventilating.
- After 2-3 weeks, roots will appear, and young plants can be planted in separate pots several pieces - or one at a time, as is the case with monetary hypocyte.
Open Content
If the temperature, light, soil and water in the garden correspond to the conditions of flower growth, then its existence will be quite comfortable, with the exception of one thing: diseases and pests. In the hypocirotic garden, it is often affected:
- aphids;
- scabbard;
- spider mite;
- whitefly;
- powdery mildew.
Also, garden plants are not immune to sudden weather changes. And besides this, a color transplant in a garden is problematic.
As an alternative, it is possible to keep hypocirts in the open air in a pot in the warm season. It is important not to forget about proper watering, pruning and fertilizing.
How to care after planting and when to wait for the result?
In order for the plant to take root, it is necessary to observe the conditions of the flower. No special additional care is required. Young plants usually bloom a year after planting.
What to do if the plant does not take root?
If the hypocirrhea does not look well, then there are mistakes in caring for it:
- The lack of flowering indicates a lack of light, depletion of the soil or lack of water, and also that last year there was no pruning.
- The stems of hypocirrh have stretched out - she needs more sun.
- Twisting the leaves indicates that the flower is hiding from the bright sun and it is necessary to shade it.
- Flowers and leaves fall - it means that the plant freezes or is watered too abundantly.
- Brown spots on the leaves - a signal that the water for irrigation is too cold.
- The roots look out of the drainage holes - it's time to transplant the plant.
Basic care
- Earth: loose, well-drained, composition similar to the substrate for senpolia.
- Lighting: eastern or western windows, when placed on the north, additional artificial lightning is required, and on the south - a meter away from the window.The light should be diffused, direct rays of the sun will lead to burns of the leaves.
- Watering: into the pan with water at room temperature, regularly.
- Air humidity: it is good to place a fountain or a container with water near it, put the pot in a tray with wet sphagnum or expanded clay. Ampel species can be sprayed.
- Fertilizers: in the warm season once every two weeks, in the winter - once a month and a half with fertilizers for flowering plants.
- Air temperature: + 19-24 ° C, the lower limit is + 15 ° C. It is imperative to avoid drafts.
- Other conditions: closer to winter, it is advisable to cut off the hypocirrith, so that by spring it gives new shoots and blooms lushly. Leave half the length of the stems. The cut tops, having previously been sorted, can be used to propagate the plant.
You can find out what kind of care is needed for hypocyte at home, as well as see a photo of the plant here.
Useful video
Watch a video about the features of the nematanthus plant and its care at home:
Conclusion
Proper care, attention to the flower and timely pruning will help the grower to grow a beautiful lush plant that will respond to the care with bright and abundant flowering, pleasing to the eye and soul.