What care does a slipway need at home
There are plants that require minimal attention from the grower. Such crops include stocks. Caring for the slipway at home is simple. This succulent is named after the physician Van Stapel. In summer, when properly maintained, flowers with sharp petals bloom. The plant is in demand due to its unpretentiousness, as well as because of the beautiful shape of the flower..
Description and features of the slipway
Stapelia is a succulent plant with a height of 10-60 centimeters. Shoots are tetrahedral, branching at the base. Their thickness reaches 3 centimeters. Studless teeth are located along the entire length of the stems.
At the base of the shoots, a flower is formed with a diameter of 5-30 centimeters. Its shape is a five-pointed star.
The peculiarity of the slipway is that the flower does not emit a pleasant, but putrid aroma..
Nevertheless, the culture is very popular among flower growers..
Varieties
There are several of the most famous types of stocks:
- Star-shaped. The height of the bush is 20 centimeters. The stems can be green or dark red. The brown-red flowers have horizontal stripes of yellow color. There are fine hairs on the edges.
- Giant. The plant reaches a height of 20 centimeters. Erect shoots grow up to 3 centimeters wide. The buds are formed on long pedicels. The diameter of yellow flowers can reach 35 centimeters.
- Variegated or variable. The undersized bush reaches a height of 10 centimeters. Shoots are green, jagged. Pointed petals are yellow. There are brown spots or streaks on the surface.
- Ferruginous. Shoots reach a length of 15 centimeters. The peculiarity of this type of slipway is that there are white villi on the entire surface of the petals..
- Golden purple. Plant height is about 10 centimeters. Flowers bloom at the tops of the shoots. Petals on top are yellow, smooth. Below they are golden yellow, wrinkled.
- Large-flowered. The shoots of the plant are green, serrated. Flower petals are elongated, pointed. Their edges are slightly curved. The buds bloom in the summer.
- Changeable. Shoots grow up to 15 centimeters. The buds are formed on pedicels growing from the base of the bush. The petals of the flowers are yellow-brown, with a ciliated edge.
Flowers of all varieties of stapelia have a specific smell of rotting meat..
Stapelia belongs to succulents. The peculiarity of these plants is that they store moisture in their thick shoots. Therefore, they will more easily tolerate underwatering than excessive moisture..
Caring for stocks at home
In order for a flower to develop safely, it must be provided with favorable conditions. Incorrect content explains why the stapelia does not bloom.
Pot and soil
The plant has a poorly developed root system. Therefore, the culture pot is selected wide, but not deep. A drainage layer is laid out at the bottom, consisting of small stones, expanded clay. Holes are made at the bottom of the container to drain excess water.
The substrate should be loose, air and water permeable. It can be prepared from the following components:
- sod land;
- leafy land;
- pieces of charcoal;
- river sand.
In a specialized store, you can purchase a ready-made substrate. Choose a soil intended for planting succulent plants.
Temperature and lighting for the slipway
In summer, the stapelia cactus prefers to grow at a temperature of 23-26 ° C. During this period, the pot with the plant can be taken out to the balcony, loggia. A dormant period begins in mid-autumn; the plant requires cool conditions. In spring, it is allowed to keep a flower at a temperature of 15-16 ° C.
The slipway is placed on an east or west orientation window. If the room is located on the south side, the plant should be shaded on a hot afternoon. Otherwise, the shoots may be burned. It is undesirable to place culture on the north window in the summer due to lack of lighting.
From a lack of light, shoots can become thinner, stretch, acquire a light color.
Watering and feeding stocks
Crop care consists of watering, periodic feeding, preventive treatments. Overgrown plants are transplanted into a larger pot. If necessary, the slipway can be easily propagated by cuttings or dividing the bush..
The soil is rarely irrigated. The top layer should dry well. The cactus is poured over the slipway with warm, settled water. From mid-spring to mid-autumn, irrigation is carried out approximately once every 7-10 days. The hydration is then significantly reduced. In December and January, the plant can not be watered at all..
Water the slipway only after the topsoil has dried. Otherwise, the plant may undergo a fungal disease and die..
Nutrients are introduced from mid-spring. The stocks are fed once every 2 weeks. Fertilizers are used to feed succulents. The solution is made according to the instructions on the package. At the end of summer, feeding is reduced, from the middle of autumn – they stop.
Reproduction of stocks
You can dilute the slipway with seeds, cuttings, rhizomes. The first method is rarely used by flower growers due to the laboriousness of the process. In addition, some parental traits may not be transmitted during seed reproduction..
Using cuttings
Reproduction of stocks by this method is performed as follows:
- the tip of the shoot is cut off with a sharp, disinfected instrument;
- leave in air for 2 days to dry;
- planted in a pot with low sides, using a mixture of peat and sand;
- covered with transparent film to create greenhouse conditions;
- after rooting, the cutting is transplanted into a mixture of leaf and sod land, charcoal, river sand.
The method of propagation of stocks by cuttings is also used if the plant has undergone a fungal disease.
Rhizomes of the stocks for reproduction
In the spring, the flower is put in order. If necessary, remove dried shoots. The overgrown plant is divided into parts, transplanted.
Propagation by rhizomes is done as follows:
- shoots with pieces of roots are separated from the mother plant;
- the lower part is sprinkled with crushed coal;
- planted in a pot with a loose substrate;
- the plant is placed in a shaded room for a week.
After adaptation, the slipway is put in a permanent place..
To prevent the cuttings from rotting during reproduction, keep them in the air for 1-2 days. The sections will be covered with a film, and pathogenic microorganisms will not penetrate into them.
Protecting plants from pests and diseases
The culture has good immunity. A plant can only get sick under the wrong conditions. Excess moisture has a detrimental effect on the bush. Therefore, it is necessary to irrigate the land sparingly, after the upper layer dries out. To raise immunity, as well as to protect against diseases and pests, spraying with special preparations, for example, Fitoverm, can be included in caring for the stocks at home..
Sometimes growers complain about the lack of flowers. Experienced cactus growers explain why the staples do not bloom. They note that keeping the culture in a cool room in winter is important for the formation of inflorescences. At this time, the succulent is almost not watered, feeding is not done at all.
Tips from experienced florists for caring for stocks
Succulents require slightly different conditions than other plants. Experienced flower growers give the following tips and tricks on how to make the slipway bloom:
- Plants should be placed in a well-lit window. But on a hot afternoon, they need to be covered from the bright rays of the sun..
- Bushes are planted in containers with low sides, since they have a poorly developed root system.
- Watering the slipway only after the soil dries out. Pathogenic microorganisms develop in constantly damp earth.
- In winter, the culture is kept in a cool place, a dormant period is provided..
- Plants are fed no more than 2 times a month with preparations for succulents. They contain a reduced concentration of nutrients.
- Fertilizers need only be applied to moistened soil. Otherwise, the root system will be damaged by mineral salts..
Caring for the slipway at home is simple. It is necessary to occasionally water it, feed it, protect it from diseases and pests. In the cold season, the plant must be given a dormant period. Then in the summer the stapelia will release 1 or several beautiful flowers with pointed petals and colorless cilia.
