Stephanotis (Stephanotis) - a tropical flower, was first discovered in the "paradise" of Madagascar. It is also found in the Middle Kingdom, the Land of the Rising Sun and the Malay Islands.
Because of the shape and aroma of the buds, he received the nickname "Madagascar jasmine."
Description
The long-term winding creeper Stefantis belongs to the Lastonev family, grows up to 6 m.
Characteristic features of a flower:
- The stalk is flexible and resilient in a young plant; it stiffens over time.
- The leaves are large up to 12 cm, have an oval shape with a sharp tip and a bright vein in the center. Smooth, leathery, emerald-colored or variegated leaves are very attractive, with long cuttings.
- Flowers - have five petals, they look like a star, collected in brushes. White, purple or yellow, they exude a delicious aroma.
- Fruits do not appear often, even in nature, like a two-part box with seeds, which opens after ripening and seeds fly out of it like miniature parachutes.
Views in the table
The most popular types for indoor cultivation:
| Name | Features |
| Floribunda (profusely flowering). | White flowers, up to 6 cm in diameter, resemble stars in shape. |
| Variegate or variegate. | It differs in leaf color - it has stripes and white, yellow or green spots. Leaves are a little rounded. |
| Akuminata. | It has cream-colored flowers. |
| Grandiflora. | Has a larger than other types of inflorescence of 30 flowers. |
| Thorsia. | Has a larger than other types of inflorescence of 30 flowers, a pinkish tint. |
Basic care rules - tables
In the apartment, caring for this tropical plant is not easy, it will take a lot of time and attention. For a flower to be comfortable at all times of the year and for its normal development, conditions similar to its native tropics are needed.
| Parameters | Requirements |
| Location and Lighting | Any direction. Shading is necessary in the south. In the north - artificial lighting. |
| Temperature | In summer - from +18 to +24 С, in winter - from +14 to + 16С. |
| Watering | In winter - 1 time in 7 days, in the summer - 1 time in 3 days. Exclude stagnation of water and waterlogging of the soil. |
| Humidity | Humid air is preferred, or a humidifier must be used. |
| The soil | Preferably clay-turf and deciduous land, sand, humus. The optimum level of acidity is from 5.5 to 6.5 ph. |
| Transfer | Enough 1 time in 2 years. |
| Top dressing | Fertilizers with potassium content. |
| Breeding | Perhaps cuttings or seeds. |
Lighting, temperature, watering and humidity - by season
To make the flower comfortable, you must create the following conditions:
| Season | Lighting | Humidity | Temperature |
| Spring Summer | Provide ambient light. Put on the southwest or southeast window. | The plant needs moisture. The spraying procedure must be carried out every day, excluding the ingress of water drops on it. Additionally use a humidifier or place moist filler on a pallet. | The ideal temperature is from + 18 ° C to + 24 ° C, without sudden changes. Every day you need to ventilate the room where the flower grows. |
| Autumn winter | May be on the south side without window shading. Apply additional illumination to provide light for 12 hours or more. | During the heating season, spraying with warm water is required. The hotter the room, the more often. It is advisable to wipe the leaves with a damp cloth. Do not use polish. | The ideal temperature in the room is from + 14C to + 16C, but not less than + 13C. Cool content is good for laying flower buds. |
Pot, soil, transplant, support
To plant and transplant a plant, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
Pot
For adult vines, capacity should be selected especially.
Ceramic pots with a drainage hole capable of holding a massive tropical flower, preferably flowerpots, are preferred.
The size should be slightly larger than the volume of the root system.
The soil
In the tank where Stefanotis grows, drainage with a layer of at least 3 cm is needed.
Soil composition:
- peat or humus (3/7);
- sand (2/7); deciduous land (1/7);
- clay-turf land (1/7).
Before use, this mixture must be disinfected.
Transfer
It is necessary to transplant a young fast-growing vine twice a year. Adult flower - no more than twice every three years. The signals for transplantation are the roots shown from the drainage hole, if the substrate begins to dry faster than before. A transplant is best done from February until the start of the growing season.
The flower is transplanted by transshipment to preserve the integrity of the roots that absorb moisture.
The main stages of the process:
- Put drainage at the bottom of the tank, fill it with soil mixture.
- Carefully transfer the liana to a new container. If the roots are damaged, add a stimulant for root growth to the water for irrigation.
- Add soil to the pot with the plant and water it. It is necessary to wait until the excess fluid drains into the pan, after draining.
Important: Do not transplant the liana during its flowering period.
Support
The stephanotis, curly and growing rapidly, must be supported. In the natural environment, this liana braids around a nearby object or plant.
To maintain the stem, the most commonly used structure is in the form of an arch, which can be made of strong wire. The wire must be bent as an arc and put in a pot. You can build other designs or purchase ready-made plastic.
Top dressing
Stefanotis should be fed once every two weeks, especially during the laying of buds (from April to May). Complex fertilizers with a high percentage of potassium are recommended.
Fertilizers with nitrogen have a bad effect on flowering.
Flower and fruit
The flowering period of indoor stephanotis is summer or early autumn. Flowers in inflorescences of approximately 10 pieces. Madagascar jasmine is a monoecious plant. Artificial pollination should be done with a fine artistic brush, transferring pollen from the stamens of some flowers to the pistils of others.
Important: You do not need to put a flowering vine in a bedroom or children's room, since prolonged inhalation of its aroma can cause migraines and discomfort.
Stefanotis fruits ripen for 9 months. Berries can reach 10 cm, first green, then turn yellow and wrinkle. After seed ripening, the fruit bursts and seeds fly out of it. Each fruit has an average of 100 seeds. Each seed has a fluffy parachute, with the help of which it can fly away in the wind over a long distance. To preserve seeds before ripening, a kapron bag should be put on the fruit.
Breeding
Stefanotis can be propagated in several ways:
- by seeds;
- cuttings.
Seeds
- Soak the seeds for two days.
- Prepare a container and soil for sowing. A sterilized mixture of peat and sand (50/50) is suitable as soil.
- Fill the container with soil and moisten before sowing.
- Press the seeds into the prepared substrate.
- Cover the container with a glass jar and place in the light. The temperature should be on average + 26C.
- After drying, moisten the soil with a spray bottle without over-moistening. Remove accumulated condensate from glass with a napkin.
Seeds will germinate after approximately 2 months. After the appearance of young foliage, the processes need to be transplanted into small containers with the mixture.
Important: With a short daylight, young shoots need backlighting.
Cuttings
A flower is very difficult to root without the use of phytohormones. Rooting is best done in the spring and summer season. The main stages of the process:
- Harvest cuttings - a little lignified, with 2 leaves. The slice needs to be made 2 cm below the knot and treated with Kornevin.
- Stick the prepared cuttings into a container with sand, deepening by 1.5 cm, cover with glass.
- Rooting is carried out with lower heating and timely hydration, it takes about 3 weeks.
- After rooting the cuttings and the appearance of leaves and fresh shoots, the sprouts should be transplanted in containers up to 9 cm high. Place in a lighted place, where the temperature averages + 18C. Permissible temperature at night - up to + 14C.
- Growing rooted plants need to be planted in more spacious pots.
Care Mistakes, Diseases and Pests - Table
Due to improper care, Stefanotis loses its attractiveness and ceases to bloom.
| Error | Manifestation | How to eliminate, prevention |
| - Drafts, a sharp drop in temperature. | Leaves fall. | Place the flower away from drafts at the optimum temperature. |
| - Little light. - Hard irrigation water. - High air temperature. | The leaves turn yellow and fall. | - Put a flower in the light. - Water with water that has settled for at least 24 hours. - If hot, increase humidity. |
| - Too much nitrogen. - Not enough light. - The plant is resting. | Does not bloom. | - Do not overfeed with nitrogen. - Use phytolamps. - At rest, put in a cool place. |
| Lack of nutrition. | Slowed or stopped growth. | Fertilizer of a flower, especially during the vegetative period. |
| - Drafts. - Lack of watering. - Change of place. | The buds are falling. | - Avoid drafts, drying out the soil, maintain moderate humidity. - Do not twist or transfer during flowering. |
Improper care weakens the flower, making it more susceptible to diseases and pests.
| Pests and diseases | Manifestation | Treatment | Prevention |
| The root and base of the stem rot. | Roots, stem darken, decompose. | The disease is cured at an early stage by transplanting a flower into a completely replaced substrate with the removal of rotten roots, treatment with Fundazole. | - Compliance with watering regimes. - Soil disinfection. - Prevention of drafts and temperature changes. |
| Powdery mildew | At an early stage - a white powdery coating on the leaves. Gradually, leaves from all sides become stained, interfering with normal photosynthesis. As a result, they dry out. Then the flower dies. | Tear off the affected leaves. Treat the plant with a special drug, for example, Fundazole. Do not spray the leaves during the treatment period. For prevention or at the beginning of the disease, you can treat it with a potassium permanganate solution - 2.5 g per 10 liters of water. Only 3 sprays once every few days. | - Observe the watering regime. - Put the flower in a sunny place. |
| Mushroom mosquito | The danger is represented by insect larvae that feed on young flower roots. | You can fight spraying Raptor in the vicinity of the flower. Against mosquito larvae, the fly-eater is used. So that the drug has time to act, you should not water the soil for 5 days. | - Prevent acidification of the soil, follow the rules and schedule of irrigation. - Catch insects with sticky traps or scare away the smell of citrus. |
| Aphid | Sugar coating on the leaves, then they are deformed and die. | Special preparations are used against these insects: Aktara, Actellik, Decis. Treat the flower with the drug, repeat after 7 days. It is recommended to use different means in turn. In case of severe damage, repeat the procedure 3 times. At the first sign, it is enough to wash the leaves with warm water. An excellent result is obtained by treatment with a soap solution. | Maintain the optimal level of humidity in the air where the flower grows, since aphids are present in waterlogged air. |
| Shield | It feeds on the juice of a flower. As a result, the leaves turn yellow and fall, the flower itself dies. | Treat the plant with preparations, for example, Fitoverm, several times. Processing is carried out once a week until the final disposal of the pest. The plant affected by the scab, you must immediately put it separately from the rest. Wipe the leaves with a solution of laundry soap or a weak solution of vinegar essence. | After getting rid of the insect, check the plant from time to time for its presence, because it may reappear. |
Signs
Almost every houseplant has some signs, superstitions, and myths. It is generally accepted that, getting into the house, it spreads its energy around. There are beliefs regarding the flower Stefanotis. According to one of them, this plant protects the woman’s house from men (for example, protecting the bride). The other, on the contrary, says that for good care it will attract a soul mate into the life of the hostess or harmonize the existing relationship. And its flowering, which occurs extremely rarely, will be a good omen. No wonder he was called the "flower of the bride."
Particular attention should not be paid to myths and omens around a flower, all the more so contradictory. It is only necessary to remember that this plant with an amazing aroma and exotic appearance has poisonous juice. This does not affect households in any way if the poison does not enter the body.
It is necessary to keep Stefanotis out of the reach of children and animals and work with him in gloves.
