Sheflera is one of the most popular indoor plants, which has a picturesque appearance and is particularly unpretentious. Its main purpose is landscaping of residential and office premises, cafes and restaurants. Sheflera in the house is a rather private phenomenon, since caring for the plant is very simple, and when placed correctly it quickly grows.
Another advantage of shefflers is the simplicity of its reproduction. If necessary, the number of plants can be increased in a short time by many times. For this you need seeds, cuttings or individual leaves taken from the maternal specimen. This is ideal for landscaping an apartment, so you need to figure out how to propagate a shefler at home, and what kind of care this flower needs.
Home Care
Home Care
Schefflera (sheflera) - a fairly unpretentious plant. However, when caring for it, it is important to organize the correct watering and optimal lighting. These two factors have a significant impact on the life of the plant. In addition to them, you also need to monitor moisture, air temperature, and also do not forget about top dressing.
Lighting
The most ideal place for sheflera is a window sill facing east and west. However, it should be noted that the choice of location and degree of illumination largely depends on the type of shefflers. For example, the north side is more suitable for green-leaf varieties, the eastern and western ones are more preferable for variegated ones.
The light should be bright, but scattered, direct sunlight to this flower is contraindicated. In winter, plants may lack light, so you need to take care of additional artificial lighting. In this case, special lighting lamps are perfect. They are especially effective in the autumn and winter periods when the room temperature is above 18 ° C.
In summer, the sheffler should be put in the garden or on the balcony. In the warm season, the flower prefers open air and partial shade conditions without direct sunlight.
For your information! The plant tolerates drafts very poorly, so it is important that they are not in the place where they live.
For a shefler with variegated foliage, it is necessary to organize brighter lighting than for flowers with green leaves.
Humidification
For shefflers, increased humidity is preferred, so spraying should be done every second day. In addition, it is recommended to keep the pot with the plant on a pallet (it is advisable to lay moistened expanded clay or wet peat on it). The pan should be high, this will help to avoid the negative consequences after heavy watering.
Note! Despite the general rules of care, you should focus on a specific type of flower. Each of the varieties has its own individual moisture requirements. For example, variegated varieties require less fluid than others.
Scheffler will be able to please his appearance only in conditions of high humidity. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out regular spraying or wipe the foliage with a sponge moistened in water.
Temperature
The optimum temperature for shefflers is 15-20 ° C. The flower does not tolerate heat, so it is ideal for the role of an office landscaper, since in offices the temperature is usually low.
In winter, the sheffler is forbidden to keep near heating appliances, otherwise the foliage will quickly turn yellow and fall off.
Variegated plants like a warmer climate, therefore, regardless of the time of year, the air temperature in the room where the plants are located should not be less than 19-20 ° C.
Watering
In the summer, the Scheffler needs abundant watering. A flower pot should be placed on a high tray so that excess water can flow out on its own. If necessary, water can be removed manually, this will prevent rotting of the roots. A two-time watering for 6-7 days is enough for a flower (300 ml of water per 1 liter of soil). When drying the topsoil, watering is necessary. If the ground is still wet, then the procedure should be postponed until the next day. In winter, watering can only be done after the topsoil has dried (100 ml of water per 1 liter of soil).
With constant waterlogging of the earth, watery swellings may form on the leaves. This is due to a violation of the suction function of the roots. In this case, acidification and hardening of the soil, as well as decay of root hairs, which over time can affect the rhizome, are observed. If such symptoms occur, the plant should be transplanted into a new soil.
Watering sheflers
During the procedure, it is recommended to check the state of the rhizome. Rotten ends must be cut off. After this, the flower needs to be given a little time so that the wounds can dry out (from 2 hours to a day). The processes can also be cauterized with an alcohol solution and allowed to dry (up to 3 hours). If more than 25% of the roots are rotten, then they will need to be washed after pruning. For washing, a raspberry-colored potassium permanganate solution or a fungicide solution is usually used (the procedure lasts about a third of an hour).
Fertilizer
Care for a sheflera at home provides for mandatory dressing. Fertilize the flower should be 2-3 times a month. In the spring-summer period, complex mineral fertilizers should be used for top dressing, while detailed instructions should be found in the manufacturer's instructions. These fertilizers must be alternated with powder from eggshells (dosage - 1 tbsp.spoon). In winter, the shefler does not need to be fed. Flower dressing can be found in any flower shop. With the systematic application of fertilizers, the growth of a houseplant will noticeably accelerate, as well as its decorative effect.
Cropping Features
Not all flower varieties need pruning. For example, the radiant variety is usually not pruned, since the flowers of this species have only one stem. Wood shefflers are usually trimmed to save space. Since the flower has a tendency to grow rapidly, the tops of its shoots can be removed. This procedure stimulates their branching.
As a result of pruning, the decorative properties of flowers can suffer, therefore, not all resort to it. To form more bushiness and splendor, up to three bushes are placed in one pot. The disturbing foliage can not be touched, but let it dry. Only after this should be trimmed.
Important! For the procedure you need to take a sharp knife. Its blade must be disinfected with alcohol, hardening or potassium permanganate (solution). This will protect the flower from infections.
Plant transplant
It is recommended to transplant young flowers every year in the spring, adult plants are transplanted depending on the filling of the pot with rhizome (1 time in several years). Selecting containers follows from the calculation that new pots should be larger than the previous ones in diameter (5-6 cm).
Before transplanting sheflera, a volumetric drainage layer should be placed in the pot, which will relieve water stagnation. The soil should be light, permeable, but fertile. The most suitable option is a soil mixture, which includes compost soil (3 parts), fibrous peat (1 part) and coarse sand (1.5 part), although you can use universal purchased soil or palm soil.
In a new container, you need to carefully transfer the flower (the earthen lump does not need to be removed). Then the soil mixture should be poured into the pot, in the process of adding it you need to slowly tamp it. At the end of the procedure, water the plant.
Transplant sheflera
Scheffler: reproduction
Reproduction of shufflers is a rather popular request in search engines, so it is worth paying special attention to it. Moreover, even experienced flower growers sometimes encounter problems when reproducing shefflers. There are three ways to propagate a shefler:
- cuttings;
- by seeds;
- layering.
Note! Despite the fact that each of the methods has its own distinctive features, none of them gives 100% guarantees that reproduction will be successful.
Scheffler flower, reproduction
Cuttings
Cuttings allow you to quickly and easily propagate the plant. Although the method is simple in execution, it is nevertheless necessary to adhere to the following instructions when reproducing:
- Choose shoots with several leaves and cut them into cuttings (10 cm each). They should be collected from a healthy and adult flower.
- Place chopped processes in a vessel with a growth stimulator (for 7-8 hours).
- Prepare pots of earth. The soil should be light, loose and rich in organic matter. The composition of the soil should include peat with sand (in equal proportions). At the bottom of the pot should be located drainage, on top of it is prepared soil mixture.
- Plant the cuttings in the soil. The seedling needs a greenhouse, so it should be covered with a glass jar or a plastic bottle.
Important! The temperature in the flower jar should be kept at 23 ° C.
It is also worth focusing on how to root a shefler. So that the seedling can take root well, it is necessary to arrange regular short-term ventilation. In addition, cuttings need periodic spraying with warm water.
You can also use a simpler way of rooting. To do this, cut the stalk to be placed in a container of clean warm water and wait for it to start sprouting. After that, it can already be transplanted into a pot.
Seeds
It is quite difficult to get the seeds by themselves, so it is recommended to buy them in the store. Reproduction of sheflera by seeds is a rather complicated procedure. Sowing is best done in the winter (in February), so that by the beginning of spring the flower has time to grow. The step-by-step seed propagation action algorithm is as follows:
- Seeds need to be soaked for 22-24 hours in warm water. You can also dilute epin with water and soak the seeds in the resulting solution.
- Pour the earth into a deep and wide box and prepare 15-cm holes;
- Plant planting material in pits and sprinkle with soil.
- Seedlings need a greenhouse, so the container should be covered with a film.
- Organize regular ventilation, moistening the substrate and wetting the seedlings.
Note! When full leaves begin to form, the flowers need to be transplanted into separate pots.
Air layering
If the flower is quite large, then it should be propagated by air layers. To do this, do the following:
- On the trunk make a thick incision.
- Wrap it with wet moss and then wrap.
- For 28-35 days, observe the flower, especially so that the wrapped layer of moss does not dry.
- After the appearance of new roots, the stems are cut off (under the roots), and young plants are planted in separate containers.
Possible problems
What problems can beginner gardeners have in the process of breeding and growing sheflera? There are many, and each has its own characteristics. Surgery will prevent a slowdown in the development and growth of the flower, as well as reduce the chances of it withering.
Falling leaves
It is important to understand the reason why the leaves fall on the sheflera. As a rule, this indicates that humidification norms are not observed. To stop this problem, you should for some time protect the flower from the liquid and place it in a more illuminated place.
Falling and darkening foliage
Withering and dying of leaves can occur due to incessant drafts or gusts of cold wind. During ventilation, it is necessary to ensure that the plant is reliably protected from draft and cold air. With severe hypothermia, the plant may even die.
Leaf blackening
Usually the leaves become darker or completely blacken in case of damage to the plant by pests. Similar troubles are caused by parasites like thrips, spider mites, and scale insects. You can get rid of them with the help of ready-made purchased insecticides. To remove pests, it will be enough to spray them with flowers. If there are very few parasites, then the plant can be sprayed with a solution of laundry soap.
So, a sheffler’s flower brings prosperity and peace to the house, therefore it should be protected from harmful factors and, if possible, involved in its reproduction. And, following the tips and recommendations described in this article, even an inexperienced florist can easily multiply a shefler at home. The main thing is to find for yourself the best way, corresponding to the level of practical skills, as well as a specific variety of flower suitable for propagation.
