Indoor plants of aridity: species
Achimenes long-flowered is a perennial plant, grassy, in height can reach 30 cm, rhizome is scaly. The native land of this plant is Guatemala. The stems of the aphymenes are green, lowered, slightly branching. Leaves also lowered, green, elongated and with serrate margins, slightly colored from below. The plant blooms with purple-blue large flowers with an elegant long tube and a sprawling curve. Flowers axillary and solitary.
Most often there are garden forms of achymenes with large white flowers and lilac pharynx, with light raspberry flowers not very high, with small green leaves, painted with purple shoots from below.
Achimenes large-flowered - a plant with larger leaves, which can be 9-10 cm long by a width of 5-6 cm. Leaves are painted from below with a purple hue. The flowers are also large enough and have a purple-red color, usually located 2 in the axillary leaf. The native land of this species is Mexico. From ahimeneza long-flowered distinguishes his sack-shaped swelling at the base of the corolla tube.
At home, some garden hybrids are usually grown, which bloom with blue, white, pink and dark pink, dark red and red-purple flowers. Flowers blossom from early summer to mid-autumn, do not last long, but new ones quickly appear to replace them. Some varieties are distinguished by bronze leaves, and in the fall period the lower ground part dies.
Care of the plant
These houseplants prefer good lighting, but in summer you need to slightly shade from direct sunlight. But each variety can have its own requirements for lighting. Plants with beautiful abundant foliage coloring need moderate lighting, and young dark foliage - in more intense. For example, the Alba variety with its light green leaves and silver-plated underside risks burning if exposed to direct sunlight. A Rosea variety with a young dark olive foliage and a purple underside will feel great on the south window. If the plant does not have enough light, it will begin to stretch, the stem will be bare, and the flowers will grow smaller.
It is necessary to be more attentive to the humidity of the air, since the plant does not tolerate too dry air and drafts.
To the plant developed well and abundantly blossom, it is necessary to provide a warm place in the summer, the most acceptable temperature is not lower than 20 degrees, that is 20-25 degrees. Humidity must be high.
Closer to autumn, the plant ceases to bloom, the leaves turn yellow and die. The plant must be prepared for the transition to the resting phase, gradually stopping its watering. The ground part should be cut when it dries, and the rhizomes can be moved to sand or left in the same container. Keep it should be throughout the winter in the cool at a temperature of 14-16 degrees, sometimes slightly moisturizing. Water should be applied as the soil dries up, but not more often than once a month, gently pouring water at room temperature around the edges of the tank. Abundant watering can wake the plant and bring it out of dormancy, which will lead to its weakening and lethargic bloom, since in this period there will be insufficient light for achymenes. But, if suddenly it happened that the plant has left this state, then it needs to provide additional illumination with fluorescent lamps, placing them over the plant for 30-50 cm.
In early March, the rhizomes must be removed and planted in the soil, placed in a room with a temperature of not less than 16 degrees. The plant quickly sprouts, so it must be evenly watered.
In spring, as the growth of the plant is activated, it is recommended to water it regularly on a regular basis so that the water in the pan does not stagnate. The soil should not be too wet, but it can not be overdried. Water should be very carefully, as when water hits the leaves, they lose their decorative, so it is better to water from a pallet. In autumn the watering stops, the plant passes to the stage of rest, the soil needs only to be slightly moistened. Water for irrigation should be soft, in a period of rest at room temperature, and during the growing season - warm enough.
Ahimenez - plants that require high moisture levels. Spray the plant should not itself, and the area next to it, as water droplets provoke the appearance of dark spots on the foliage. Also, you can increase the humidity of the air if the pot is placed on a pallet with wet peat, pebbles, moss or expanded clay.
Fertilize achymene is necessary in a month after the emergence of shoots and until the end of flowering. As a top dressing it is better to use a solution of a full mineral mixture once every two weeks.
The main advantage of the plant is its long flowering bloom. Often it is used as an ampel plant in hanging baskets. To make the plant bushy, you need to pinch the tops of young shoots, and tie the shoots to the supports.
The plant should be cut in autumn, when the shoots completely dry. If you carry out this procedure earlier, the rhizomes do not have time to take all the nutrients from the stems and not completely formed.
It is better to grow Achimenes in wide containers or in plates with a large layer of drainage, since the root system of the plant is small and superficial. It is not necessary to plant the plant in a large pot at once, it is better to transplant it as it grows into a more spacious pot.
The soil needs to be picked loose and nutritious, a mixture of 3 parts of leaf land, 1 part of peat land and 1 part of sand will do.
The plant reproduces rhizomes, seeds and cuttings.
Pests and diseases. The plant should be regularly monitored, since in winter it can be affected by mold, and in summer - red spider mites and aphids.