Maranta is an incredibly colored bush with large leaves. She is loved and admired by all flower growers, she is not harmful and not capricious, if you provide the conditions of her homeland. The bushes are small and do not require much light, so in any home there is a place for this exotic.
Maranta home care
Maranta is widespread in South America, its bushes there can reach up to 1.5 meters in height, it grows, relying on trees with its nodes. The leaves are large, spreading, absorbing a lot of moisture, which this plant loves. The biologist and scientist Bartolomeo Marant first described the plant in the 16th century. In honor of him, the plant found its name.
Juicy colors of velvet leaves are supported by humidity, not lighting
At home, the bush does not exceed 40 cm, leaves with an unusual and bright coloring. Flowering occurs in late summer, does not have a decorative appeal. The plant is also called prayer grass. This name came from the unusual ability of the flower - in the morning and in the afternoon its elastic sheets are arranged horizontally, with a lack of light, and this happens closer to the night, the leaves become vertically and curl up into a tube. This ability is associated not only with lighting, but also with maintaining moisture.
The main thing in home care for a tricolor arrowroot (tricolor) is diffused light and high humidity
Maranta is suitable for beginner gardeners; her departure does not involve complex manipulations. All that is needed for favorable growth is humidity. But in order to provide it in sufficient quantities, several nuances must be taken into account.
Watering should be plentiful and frequent. The soil should always be moist. The next watering is determined by the drying of the first upper centimeters of soil.
It's important to know! Even one case of drying out of an earthen coma is fatal to arrowroot. Its roots do not recover after loss of moisture. The only way out is to save the cuttings and cut them for further rooting.
Ideal humidity for arrowroot - 90%. Naturally, the climate in modern apartments does not allow creating such humidity on an ongoing basis. Therefore, it is important to often spray a bright bush, and in the heat to arrange for it an additional source of moisture. To do this, you need to take a pan for a large-diameter pot and pour expanded clay into it. Pour water so that it does not touch the pot.
It's important to know! When spraying, you need to moisten the back surface of the sheet plate.
With excess moisture, it can accumulate in the pot. Here is one of the problem points of caring for the arrowroot. With improperly selected soil, the plant quickly dies - the roots rot, the leaves become covered with brown spots, become smaller and do not grow at all. To maintain constant moisture, but without stagnation in the soil, you need:
- The right pot. It should be wide and low.
- A drainage hole, preferably a few.
- A good drainage layer, the advice of experienced flower lovers - 1/3 of the pot should be occupied by the drainage layer.
- Breathable and water-conducting soil. If the ground for arrowroot is dense, it will accumulate water and provoke decay of the delicate roots of the flower, and become a hotbed of fungi and parasites.
White-ribbed arrowroot replete with its color
For a comfortable existence is also important:
- Temperature condition. Summer time is not very successful for arrowroot, although this period falls on its active growth. If you provide it with a sufficient level of humidity, it is important not to raise the temperature above 25 degrees. Then it will be the conditions of her native home - moderate heat and moisture. In winter, the optimum temperature is 18-20 degrees, but not near heating appliances. Dry air is harmful to the plant.
- Top dressing. You can feed the plant year-round if there is no dormant period. From the beginning of spring to autumn, this should be in the form of alternating organics and mineral baits in dilute form (double or triple). Complementary feeding should come every two weeks. In winter, if the plant continues to grow actively, you can feed according to the summer scheme, but less frequently.
Before applying fertilizer, it is important to moisten the soil so that the roots do not get burned by the concentration of complementary foods.
It's important to know! Exotic beauty does not tolerate temperature changes even when changing days, so she will not feel good on the balcony in the summer.
Lighting plays an important role in the life of a flower. But here it is important to find a middle ground, since:
- Direct rays of the sun leave burns on the surface of leaf plates.
- Excess light discolours the color of the sheet. The flower loses its decorativeness and elasticity. The tips of the leaves may dry out if there is a lack of moisture under such lighting.
- The lack of light provokes the plant to stretch its lashes in length, rarely placing its sheets on them, which can be faded for the same reason.
The plant feels comfortable on the east and even north window. If you choose between light and sufficient moisture - it is better to deprive the first. Without a sufficient level of moisture, the plant will not be healthy.
Important! When placing a flower on the window, it should be borne in mind that the arrowroot is very afraid of drafts.
The flower feels great in the role of an ampelous, it can grow perfectly and in meter distance from the window
How to care for winter arrowroot
In the winter, the arrowroot can go into a state of rest if the temperature is 7-10 degrees lower than in the summer.
During sleep, its active growth slows down, but you should not stop watering and moisturizing. Although she sleeps, she still needs her food. Nutrition for a sleeping beauty is not needed. Light can also be reduced and carried deeper into the room, away from batteries and drafts.
The period of activity begins with the onset of spring. At this moment, the arrowroot is transplanted, cut to maintain decorativeness or for reproduction. The period of fertilizers begins, lighting increases.
If by the end of summer the exot pleased with its flowering, then the awakening was successful, and the plant was comfortable
Maranta breeding at home
Sometimes in a flower shop you can buy the seed of another plant in tune with indoor exotics. Growing from amaranth seeds occurs in summer cottages, and they are far from relatives with arrowroot. Arrowroot will not propagate by seed at home. The plant successfully multiplies by division of the root and cuttings.
It's important to know! It is better to carry out division by roots in the spring, to cut off cuttings - in the spring or in the fall.
When transplanting, you can separate the bushes with a sharp knife and root the dividers. It is important to divide so that the roots are enough for the further development of both plants. The flower takes root quickly, it is possible to arrange for a young seedling the conditions of a greenhouse for a speedy and more successful rooting. Together with the pot, the plant is placed in a bag, leaving a window for fresh air to enter. An optimal moisture balance creates ideal conditions for the active growth of roots and shoots. With the advent of the first leaves, the bag can be removed.
Species of arrowroot calathea reproduces remarkably by dividing the root
To propagate the arrowroot, cuttings need shoots of at least 10 cm in length and with two internodes. You need to cut the shoot below the knot by 1.5-2 cm. Remove the lower leaves and put the stem in an opaque container with water. After 10 days, the first roots appear on cuts of shoots. According to the experience of breeders, rooting directly to the soil does not always go well.
There is a proven way of how to propagate arrowroot quickly and with a 100% guarantee of rooting. If the plant is more than a year old, near the nodes air roots appear on the shoots. Cut off cuttings along with them will take root even faster and more successfully, since the root system has already begun to form and forces have been taken from the maternal stock.
The view of kerkhoven is rooted by several cuttings in one pot for a lush bush
Transfer
The root system of the arrowroot does not grow too fast; it braids the edges of the soil around the perimeter of the pot, collecting moisture and usefulness from fertilizers there. It is optimal to transplant the bright representative of Brazil once every two years during the period of awakening - in the spring.
The pot will fit ordinary plastic, wide and low, with good drainage holes. It should be two centimeters larger in diameter.
Interesting fact! If you transplant the arrowroot into a very large pot, it will devote all its efforts to building up the root system and stop the growth of shoots and leaves.
The drainage layer needs a thick and loose, well-permeable moisture.
What soil is suitable for arrowroot
We get the right soil by mixing:
- 2 parts of sheet land;
- 1 part peat;
- ½ parts of sand.
Advice! To improve the quality of the soil, coniferous soil, bark, charcoal, sphagnum moss can be added to the mixture.
If the bush stretched out after the winter and lost its decorative effect, flower lovers recommend completely cutting off all the flower shoots before transplanting. This will be the impetus for the growth of new shoots from the root, the development of buds on the remains of cut shoots and the formation of a lush bush.
The reed arrowroot has the most magnificent bushes because of densely planted variegated leaves
Possible problems in growing
Referring to the exactingness of the flower, many flower growers refuse to make such a friend in their home. But in vain, all the problems in breeding this exot are associated with improper conditions of its maintenance. The first signals of ill health appear on the leaves, the arrowroot begins to twist them.
Why do arrowroots twist leaves into a straw? There are several reasons for this behavior:
- drafts or low room temperature;
- lack of moisture in the soil or air;
- pests living on leaflets;
- viral disease;
- high concentration fertilizer;
- the presence of worms or larvae from garden soil;
- touching a leaf of cold or hot window glass in winter or summer, respectively.
After detecting curled leaves, it is important to examine the appearance of the entire plant and pay attention to the place where the flower is and the conditions of its maintenance. Measures must be taken immediately, but the results will need to wait. To prevent disease and pests, you can use special drugs.
It's important to know! If the plant is old enough for him it is natural that the lower leaves on the stems begin to turn yellow and dry over time. But if young leaves dry out, then this is a signal that the plant lacks comfort and care.
Why do arrowheads dry the tips of leaves:
- air temperature is too low;
- drafts;
- direct sunlight leaves burns and causes the tips to dry;
- low humidity or insufficient watering;
- lack of nutrients in the soil, it is time to fertilize;
- very rarely there is such a reaction to an increased concentration of lime in the soil.
Maranto, with painful signs, requires increased attention and a daily examination to detect the causes of the disease and eliminate them in the shortest possible time.
Maranta varieties fascinator signals poor care by discoloring their raspberry veins on the sheets
Blooming beauties - signs
Maranta blooms in room conditions not very often. Its flowers are not of special beauty and often flower growers simply cut off flower stalks so that the flower does not expend energy on them. Flowers of three petals are usually white or cream in color, not densely planted on the shoot.
According to popular belief, the arrowroot is capable of:
- Improve the material condition of the family where the flower lives. If the flower decided to bloom, it portends an improvement in its material condition, making big profits, or winning the lottery.
- Remove negativity in the family between spouses or children and parents. Normalizes the atmosphere of the house, bringing comfort and tranquility.
- Stabilize a sick person. Absorbing all the negativity and updating the biofield, a flower placed at the head of a sick person contributes to a speedy recovery.
A wonderful flower can decorate any home
The plant is not demanding and is suitable even for beginner growers. Compact, bright and exotic, it is able to make tropical notes in home comfort.
