Caladium - plants are perennial. The caladium has basal leaves with an arrow-shaped shape. They are variegated, heart-shaped, they can have colored spots and drawings of different sizes and shapes. The flowers are collected in the cobs, they are small in size, but the caladium is not popular because of the flowers, but due to the unusual color scale of the large leaves. Unfortunately, Kaladiums please us with the beauty of leaflets for a short time (from the first spring days to the autumn). Kaladium is a tuberous plant, and in winter it begins a period of rest. Leaflets, dried up, fall off, and the plant "falls asleep" until next spring.
Despite the fact that the caladium belongs to ornamental plants, its tubers are also widely used - in food. The plant is bred in botanical farms, in rooms, in gardens.
Indoor plants kaladium very whimsical. They are very demanding of conditions. In order for the caladium to grow and develop, it is necessary to observe a strict regime, otherwise it will die. The ideal place for him is a hothouse or a closed flower window.
Caladium: Species
There are several thousand varieties of caladium. All of them are united in the general group, which is called garden kaladiumami (S. x hortulanum Birdsey), basically, they are allocated:
- Caldium of Humboldt;
- Caladium two-color;
- Caladium of Schomburg; this species has several varieties: silver-headed K., red K., venous K.
- C. candidum
- FROM . bicolor
- FROM . humboldtii
Caladium: care
Kaladium needs a bright but diffuse light. A direct light from the sun, caladium can be transferred only during and after lunch, and in the early morning. Pots with a plant should be placed on the western windows or east. If the caladium is placed on the window on the south side, then it must be pritenit from direct hit of light.
Keep caladium at about 25 degrees. It should not be lower than 20 degrees. This, by the way, is also relevant for the temperature that should be in the soil. When there is a period of rest, the temperature should not be below 18 degrees.
When the vegetative period comes, caladium should be watered abundantly. Water should be soft, had time to settle. The temperature should be room temperature. The next time the plant is watered after the upper layers of the earth have dried. But the earthen lump in the pot must remain moist. You can put a pot of caladium on wet peat or pebbles. In the last days of summer and in the first of September watering begins to decrease. When the period of rest begins, the earth only sometimes needs to be moistened to prevent the drying of the tubers. After the transplanted plant, it must be carefully watered, so that there is no overmoistening. Watering is increased proportionally to the growth of green mass.
These houseplants like high humidity. It should be at the level of 70%. If the moisture content of the plant is not enough, then it can lead to damage to the plant and even to death. Caladium should be sprinkled frequently and abundantly, but the water should not fall on the leaves, because of the drops of water, brown stains can appear on them, and the plant sharply loses all its decorative features. To increase the humidity, pots can be placed on the pedestals with water, but the bottom of the pots should not touch the water.
After the shoots stop growing, and also before the first August days, once every 7 days, you need to make mineral fertilizers produced specifically for flowers. The dose is calculated according to the guidance attached to the drug. Since August, the feeding is stopped.
Caladium: periods of vegetation and dormancy
The rest period of the Caladium plant is bright. In August, the plants die leaves. At this time, the plant should not be watered. Tubers in the ground should be in dry form. Dry they must lie before the first days of March. It is good to store tuber plants in old land or sand. The temperature should not be below the level of 18 degrees, but it is better if it is at 20 degrees. To avoid strong wrinkling of tubers, you only need to moisten the substrate occasionally. The kidneys begin to germinate in early March. In the last days of February, the tubers must be cleaned, separated small from large and planted in pots.
When preparing the planting land, we take part of the humus, part of the leaf land, part of the peat and half of the sand. The acid-alkaline level of the substrate should not exceed 6. At the same time, the temperature should keep at a level of 22 degrees. Watering should be done with water, which managed to settle and became soft. After a while, the root system begins to form in the plant, and then it begins to grow. When there are shoots, water them well, with the development of leaves watering is still increased.
After three or four leaves are formed, inflorescences can also form. The plant blooms for several days. Seeds ripen after 2 months. In the lower part of the inflorescence there are "female" flowers, and in the upper part - functionally "male". Pollen, ripening earlier, has the property of crumbling. To pollen, pollen is often taken from other inflorescences. Leaves do not lose their decorative for a long time both on the plant itself and after cutting in bouquets or vases. The period of caladium vegetation is short. It lasts from the first days of March to the last days of August.
Caladium: reproduction (seeds, tubers)
When propagating with the help of seeds, they must be sown immediately after they are harvested. For seeds, a land consisting of peat and leaf type of land in equal parts is suitable. Seedlings should appear for a maximum of 18 days. By the first days of autumn, tubers form. They are stored, like other tubers, and planted in February and March. When seed reproduction is carried out, a high level splitting is observed, that is why seeds are selected for the leaves, and those colors that have the greatest decorative properties are chosen.
Tubers multiply from February to March. They can be divided in parts, but it is necessary that at least one kidney is present on each part. Sections should be powdered with charcoal from wood. Tubers should be planted in the ground with peat and sand. After landing, the box is put into the light at a temperature of about 24 degrees.
Difficulties in growing caladium
To get highly decorative plants, we must take two-year-old tubers. The tubers of the first year must be planted for cultivation.
The plant is highly susceptible to lack of water and cold. It is necessary to monitor the temperature regime and the regularity of watering. Do not forget about additional moistening measures.
Caladium can damage aphids.