In the genus Cissus you can count more than 300 species of plants, the genus belongs to the family of grape. Their distribution was mostly in the tropics, sometimes found in the subtropics. The name of the genus comes from the Greek word, which in translation means "ivy". This name speaks about the way of life of this kind. Many species of this plant, like ivy, are climbing creepers. However, they are distinguished by how they cling to obstacles. If ivy does this with the help of roots, then cissus is done with antennae. Leaves are of two kinds: either whole or dissected. The flowers are small and collected in umbrellas.
Among the species of this genus, there are many ornamental plants. They are often used for decoration purposes for vertical decoration, some specimens are suitable for indoor culture.
Cissus - a curling plant, in care is not very whimsical, with growth needs support. If placed next to the grid or other support, the cissus will quickly tighten it with its green mass. It should be noted that the support can be not only horizontal, but also vertical. If without support, they are grown as ampel plants, placed in pots in a suspended form, sometimes on a shelf or stand. When growing indoors, cissus is unlikely to bloom, but sometimes it happens. The decorative plant cissus has fruits, they look like small berries.
There is also the Roicisus genus. It is very close to the genus Cissus, but it has a much smaller number of plant species in the family of grape plants - about 12. Their distribution was also received in the tropics, mostly in Central Africa. These are evergreens, with simple leaves or lobed (3-5 parts). Flowers have small and, like cissus, are collected in false umbrellas.
Care of the plant.
Lighting. If we talk about lighting, the cissus love a bright and diffuse light. The exposure of sunlight to it should be avoided by shading the plant. It grows well on either side of the world, but on the south side it is shaded by the sun. On the north side it also feels comfortable, it also grows well away from the window. In the summer, you can take the cissus on the balcony or on the veranda under the awning. Cissus is well in the kitchen. Not whimsical in the choice of light, so they can be grown with artificial light.
There is one kind of cissus plant that carries the direct sun - this is the NJ cissus.
Temperature regime. Requirements for the temperature of the plant are not very high. Suitable temperature of the content throughout the year is + 16-25С. If the cissus is multicolored, then the temperature should be moderate and not below +16C. For Antarctic cissus and Roicissa Cape, it is desirable to maintain a cool temperature, about + 10-12C, and can tolerate temperatures up to + 5C. In the winter it is advisable to monitor that there are no drafts.
Watering. Tsissusy prefer abundant watering in spring and summer. Water should be soft, well-kept. Watered when drying the upper layer of the earth. When autumn comes, watering should be reduced, and at low temperatures it should be watered carefully: there must be a minimum amount of water, only so that the roots do not dry out.
Humidity. To moisture, there are no special requirements, but cissuses like it when they are sprayed. It is not forbidden to wash the plant under a warm shower. And if we talk about cisus rhomboid, then it is simply necessary to wash it, since dust accumulates on the hairs of this plant, and the entire plant is covered with hairs.
Top dressing. During the vegetation period, it is in spring and summer, the cissus plant should be fed. The frequency of fertilizing - once in 2-3 weeks, fertilizer is suitable for complex. If you want to achieve bushiness, then the kidney at the upper shoot should be nipped.
Transfer. As for the transplant, it is done in the spring, the frequency - once in a couple of years. If the plant is in a tub, but transplanted as it decays, but do not forget to sprinkle fresh soil every year. When transplanting the pot must be changed to a more voluminous than the previous one. The substrate is neutral or slightly acidic, and it should be rich in humus. For soil suitable common mixture of land - leaf and turf, peat, sand and humus, all put in equal parts. Do not forget about the drainage at the bottom of the pot.
Cissus can also be grown hydroponically.
Reproduction. This ornamental plant multiplies in many ways: seeds, cuttings, and sometimes by dividing the bush.
If the florist wants to propagate by cuttings, then he can do it at any time of the year, more often it is done in winter or spring. Plant three or four cuttings in a pot of size 8 cm and put in a room with a temperature of + 20-22C, for some species this temperature is somewhat higher. The rhombus cissus takes root best at temperatures from + 14 ° C to + 18 ° C. Cuttings must be cut with two buds. Roots appear on the 18-20 day. Cuttings, which have roots, should be planted in small pots. The mixture for the landing is the following: soddy, humus earth, also leafy, each in one piece. Water should be abundant.
Multiply the division of bushes should be in spring, when the plant is transplanted.
Antarctic cissus should be propagated by seeds, they must be sown in small containers, such as pots; most often it is done in the spring. Dive the seedlings in phase, when a second leaf appears, this is done in small pots one at a time. The mixture must consist of ground - turf and leaf - on one part and the floor of a piece of sand.
Young plants should be looked after. Care consists of periodic and regular watering, also fertilizing every 2 weeks (fertilizer complex), and also need to provide support.
Possible difficulties.
- Mold and brown spots on the leaves can be caused by overmoistening, while the leaves can be twisted.
- With a lack or excess of moisture, the leaves also fall off, and the shoots grow smaller and dry up.
- If the plant does not have enough nutrition, its growth will slow down.
- In very dry air, the leaves, or rather its tips, dry.
- Plants, especially in winter, can be affected by a fungus.
- If the plant has a surplus of light, then the foliage pales.
- Affected by a shield or a spider mite.