Many flower lovers appreciate potted plants with beautiful blooming or amazing flowers and leaves, but there are also connoisseurs of exotic specimens. And the most unusual, of course, is pedilanthus, a flowering that will attract everyone's attention. The plant is also called the "ridge of the devil."
What does pedilanthus look like
The flower pedilanthus belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. Usually these are densely branched shrubs, growing mainly in the natural environment of Central, North and South America. The unusual shape of the flower in the form of shoes is a characteristic difference between the pedilanthus and other plants, which is why they have become so popular among amateur gardeners.
Flowering pedilanthus
The height of the bushes often reaches two meters. The shoots are fleshy, slightly zigzag. Small oblong slightly wrinkled leaves, depending on the species, can have different colors (rich green or greenish with a light border), even look a bit like artificial ones. Indoor flower pedilanthus produces flowers in the shape of a bright pink umbrella.
Common varieties
Florists today have 15 varieties of pedilanthus. Its representatives can have a different structure and color of flowers. Below are the most popular species that are grown by flower growers in Russia.
- Large-fruited pedilanthus is a room flower with fleshy stems. Gray-green succulent shoots can store water. Almost atrophied leaf plates look like small rounded scales. On the tops of the processes red flowers with glossy petals form.
- Pedilanthus titimaloid. An unprincipled houseplant is a branchy shrub that is covered with petiolate leaves of an ovoid shape. The leaf length reaches 10 cm and a width of 5 cm. They are painted in bright green, pinkish, white or milky cream shades. The coloring of the same species directly depends on the amount of light in the room and other living conditions. With the advent of young shoots and foliage, the stem slightly bends and takes on a slightly stepped shape. On the tops of the branches, small inflorescences of 5-7 buds appear. Pedilanthus titimaloid, home care is easy and simple, produces flowers of red or orange. The maximum height of the bush is 2 m. Very few lateral shoots are formed.
Pedilanthus titimaloid
- Pedilanthus Finca. The first native of the humid tropics in the form of a small tree has a beautiful spreading crown. Due to its interesting appearance, this variety of succulent was loved by many gardeners. Small oval leaves have a glossy surface and rich green color. They are enlarged in the upper part of the plant, while the bare stalk takes on a zigzag shape. To grow a flower, a light substrate will be needed, which ensures free access of air to the root system.
- Pedilanthus koalkomanensky. Blooming succulent stands out for its appearance among other varieties. Its shoots are almost bare and grow only in groups. Because of this, a dense shrub forms. The leaves of the plant are very small and practically invisible. This succulent absorbs and accumulates moisture well. Even in arid climates, the Koilkomanansky pedilanthus will feel good. In the flowering phase, succulents appear bright pink or red shoe inflorescences. They bloom only on the tops of the shoots.
- Pedilanthus spur. The eternally green euphorbia giant is considered the highest tree-shaped plant among all types of pedilanthus. Its height can reach up to three meters. The leaves have a glossy surface and a deep green color. On the shoots of succulents of saturated green color, slightly wavy elongated leaves are formed. Even though this plant variety is considered evergreen, but under the influence of low temperatures and with a lack of moisture, it can discard foliage.
Pedilanthus Finca
Features of home care
Home care for the plant does not require much time and any skills in floriculture.
Pedilanthus Care
Temperature and lighting
In order for pedilanthus to grow normally, home care should be based on ensuring proper lighting. Fundamentally protect the flower from direct sunlight. The rest of the world should be extremely plentiful throughout the year.
Note! In the summer, pots with plants are allowed to be placed on the veranda, terrace or in the rose garden, where they can be placed in the shade of trees or bushes.
Like most tropical flowers, pedilanthus loves heat. In spring and in the summer season, at the time of growth of shoots and leaves, it is better to maintain air temperature in the range from 23 ° C to 26 ° C. In winter, you need to create rest conditions with lowering the temperature to 15-17 ° C. This is an important condition for the further release of flowers.
Watering
Indoor plant pedilanthus should be watered with extreme caution. A lack of moisture directly affects flowering, or rather, its absence, and excess watering can cause decay and decay of the leaf mass. During the growing season, watering should be carried out regularly, avoiding the moment when the soil dries or is completely flooded. In summer it should be watered more often. The soil should always be moist, but it does not tolerate waterlogging. In winter, watering is reduced. If the leaves fall off at the pedilanthus, what to do is to water the indoor flower more thoroughly. The plant may begin to shed leaf mass to retain moisture in the stems.
Note! Almost all species of this plant have the ability to accumulate moisture as a reserve.
Humidity
The main features of this indoor plant are the simplicity of care and its unpretentiousness to ambient air humidity. Pedilanthus feels good in rooms with dry air.
Priming
As you know, the main condition for the good growth and development of any plant is the soil mixture. Pedilanthus titimaloid is no exception, although this is not a capricious plant, it is better to choose a loose and moisture-intensive soil. The composition may be different, but an excess of humus is not welcome. You can use garden soil with the addition of a third of the sand. Ready-made soil for succulents, which can be purchased in the store, but at the same time adding sand to it, is ideal for a indoor flower. To properly form a flower, the soil must be light and airy.
Top dressing
Fertilizing growers are advised to carry out in the spring and / or autumn once a month. For this, fertilizers for pedilanthus with a low nitrogen content are used. If there is a lot of nitrogen in the soil mixture, then the root system, stems and even leaf mass begins to rot.
Important! In the autumn-winter period, mineral compounds should not be administered.
When and how it blooms
Only that pedilanthus blooms, the care of which was correct. When grown indoors, in most cases, pedilanthus blooms in November - December, delighting with its spectacular slippers. When the flowers fade, you should cut them with sharp scissors.
Pedilanthus color
Why does not bloom
To understand why the plant does not produce flowers, it is important to analyze all the negative factors that affect this process:
- damage to the plant by insect pests;
- fungal diseases;
- hypothermia;
- excess nitrogen;
- dry air.
For your information! Flowering does not occur with improper care of the plant during dormancy.
Pruning and transplanting
Indoor flower requires transplantation as the voids of the pot are filled with roots. This does not happen so often, because the root system of the pedilanthus grows very slowly, so you should not worry about transplantation. In addition, the roots are compact.
Flower transplant
The diameter of the container for transplantation should be approximately equal to its height. At the bottom of the pot, a claydite layer is necessarily placed. If we neglect the drainage layer, then most likely parts of the plant will begin to quickly rot. This is because the flower is sensitive to stagnation of water in the pot.
To increase branching, a young plant must be systematically trimmed. If you want to grow a beautiful ornamental plant, you need to constantly spend gentle pruning of pagons in the spring and keep the flower pot in a dry and well-ventilated room. Permanent removal of the sprouts is necessary to give the shrub an attractive appearance, due to which active branching will be observed.
Important! Pedilanthus, which is trimmed before the start of the active growth phase, contains caustic juice, so it is important to use protective gloves.
Breeding methods
It can reproduce well as seeds and cuttings. The first option most often does not bring results, when compared with cuttings. In more detail below, how to propagate pedilanthus by cuttings.
Seed germination
In the nature of pedilanthus, reproduction occurs by seed and vegetatively. Seeds of an ovoid form and up to 8 mm long are formed only after pollination of red or bright pink flowers. When they ripen, the flower box bursts, scattering seeds in a nearby area.
Flower propagation
At home, the propagation of pedilanthus by seeds is practically not practiced due to their high toxicity, difficulty in pollination of flowers and the duration of the germination process.
Rooting cuttings
You need to cut the indoor flower in the spring and summer. It is important to pinch off parts of the plant whose length should not be less than 8-10 cm. Initially, the cuttings are placed in water for a day, where honey can also be added (1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water). Before planting the cuttings in the soil mixture, it is necessary to dry them for several days. Rooting is performed in practically dry sand or perlite. It is best not to cover the pot with cuttings with polyethylene or other material to avoid decay of parts of the plant. To grow a new pedilanthus, propagation by cuttings is the best way to do this.
Possible diseases
In addition to the fact that the plant may darken or fall leaves, all kinds of insect pests can attack the indoor flower:
- aphids (tiny greenish insects that settle on young leaves, as a result of which their development stops and death occurs);
- spider mite (the leaves of the flower begin to turn yellow and a white spider web appears on the back);
- whitefly (leaves turn yellow and begin to stick, white midges settle on them).
Important! In the fight against insects, any insecticides will do.
Leaf fall
A frequent problem is that pedilanthus variegate and other species of this plant begin to lose leaf mass. The main reason - improper care of the flower - too frequent or rare irrigation of the soil, the scorching sun. It is necessary to detect the cause of the disease and eliminate it.
Leaves turn pink
Fungal diseases as well as root rot are considered to be common pedilanthus diseases. The first symptoms are the appearance of dark pink spots on the leaves and darkening of the stems. If there are such signs, immediately you need to change the soil mixture in the pot, and thoroughly rinse the root system with warm water and treat with special antiseptics.
Plant diseases
If in winter it is noticed that the pedilanthus stem has started to grow rapidly, this means that the plant is very hot and dark. If the flowering phase does not occur at the same time, this indicates that the wrong conditions were created during the dormant period. Dry brown leaf tips are a signal of low air humidity, and very light - low light.
Indoor flower has healing properties. It is used in medicine as an antimicrobial agent. However, if you decide to care for the flower, you should be careful. The juice of the plant is toxic and leaves small burns on contact with exposed skin. Otherwise, there will be no problems with pidelanthus.
