What kind of plants do not grow today at home. Even seemingly completely unsuitable varieties and varieties for the house. One of these plants is indoor araucaria. The long-standing conifer is a symbol of the New Year and can significantly enliven the interior.
What does araucaria indoor look like?
Indoor Araucaria belongs to the Araucaria family, in which there are more than 14 thousand plant species. The homeland of the tree is Australia and South America. This is a perennial coniferous plant. The main feature is the rigid needle-shaped leaves that grow instead of ordinary leaves. Flower seeds can even be eaten, and furniture made of wood.
Araucaria indoor
Araucaria is one of the few conifers that can be grown at home. But in order for it to grow normally, it is necessary to provide favorable conditions.
For reference! Indoor araucaria is significantly inferior in size to its wild ancestors - at home it is a beautiful, compact, decorative Christmas tree in a pot.
Common varieties and varieties
Even experienced lovers of home trees are far from all varieties of araucaria. Below are the most famous varieties and species.
- Chilean Araucaria is not a houseplant. This variety can only be grown outdoors in parks. The tree grows up to 60 m in height. The seeds of the tree are edible.
- Variegated Araucaria is the most common species for growing a house. At home, cones never form on the plant.
- Bidville's Araucaria as a houseplant is also not grown. The tree grows to a height of 50 m.
- Brazilian Araucaria is suitable for planting a house. In height, rarely grows more than 4 m.
- Heterophyll Araucaria (araucaria heterophylla) is another species that is suitable for planting at home and in greenhouses. At home, does not bloom.
Araucaria - home care
The home tree is not very moody. However, the owner needs to know some of the nuances of growing, follow certain rules.
Temperature
Araucaria tree feels good only in cool rooms. The optimum temperature in the room is up to +20 degrees. In the cold season, it is recommended to clean the tree in a cool room, where the temperature will not exceed +15 degrees.
Lighting
Caring for araucaria involves the proper organization of lighting. The plant is photophilous, most of the day should be in the sun.
Important! The main thing is that the light be scattered. Direct sunlight is detrimental to needles.
Watering
For irrigation, it is advisable to use warm, settled or fit water. In summer, you need to ensure that the earth does not dry out.
It is better to water araucaria at home often and little by little. It is also not recommended to allow stagnation of moisture. In winter, the number of watering is reduced.
Spraying
You can spray as necessary to wash off the dust from the needles and increase the humidity in the room.
Spraying is one of the elements of care
Humidity
Caring for room araucaria at home suggests that the humidity in the room should be high. The plant can be sprayed regularly. In winter, on heating appliances located nearby, you need to hang wet towels.
Priming
Araucaria conifers require slightly acidic soil.
Soil mix for a plant:
- deciduous, sod and coniferous land;
- peat;
- humus;
- sand.
All ingredients are taken in equal amounts.
Top dressing
During active vegetative growth, the plant is fed with complex mineral fertilizers with a low calcium content every 2 weeks. Once a month, indoor spruce araucaria is watered with mullein solution.
Additional Information! The dosage of fertilizers, which is indicated on the package, must be divided into two. For feeding, you can use fertilizers designed for azaleas.
Features of winter care, rest period
The resting period at a houseplant begins in late November and ends in early spring. At this time, reduce the amount of watering. The pot needs to be cleaned in a cool room.
Also in winter, organic and mineral fertilizers are no longer applied.
Pruning
Opinions were divided about the pruning of araucaria.
- It is believed that pruning leads to stunting.
- But there are recommendations that indicate that pruning is necessary.
An argument in favor of pruning - the flower grows more bushy and does not stretch up. Regular cropping allows you to control the growth point.
How room Araucaria multiplies
There are several ways to reproduce:
- cuttings;
- seeds.
Reproduction of indoor araucaria
The easiest and most common way is with cuttings. They are usually taken from the tops. In order to propagate by cuttings, it is not advisable to take planting material from the side shoots. In this case, the plant will not grow symmetrically.
After pruning, the stalk is dried to allow the resin to freeze. Then it needs to be cut. Dip the slice into Kornevin and drop it into sterile soil. Cover the handle with a bottle - so it will give roots faster and take root.
When the root system grows, the stalk can be transplanted into another container.
Araucaria can propagate by seed. For this method, you need to use only fresh planting material. Seeds that lie for a long time have a low germination percentage.
Planting material is planted in separate containers filled with a mixture of sand and peat. After planting, the soil is watered and the containers are placed in a warm place.
For reference! Seeds germinate for a very long time - from several weeks to several months.
The seedlings that have appeared at first grow also very slowly, so you will have to be patient while the seedlings grow into full-fledged plants.
Transfer
The houseplant does not need frequent transplants. It is necessary to transplant if the pot has become too small or insects have appeared in the soil. Until 3 years, the plant is not touched at all. But regularly change the topsoil. Especially carefully you need to approach the choice of soil. It must be slightly acidic.
How to transplant araucaria:
- Carefully remove the plant from the old pot.
- Do not shake the soil from the root system.
- Mix soil with peat. You can buy ready-made soil mixture for rhododendrons.
- Put drainage at the bottom of the pot.
- Fill the soil in the pot halfway, then put the tree. Cover it with the rest of the soil.
- Tamp a little substrate and pour plenty of warm water.
Attention! A transplant is best done in the spring, after a period of rest. At this time, the plant begins to grow actively and it will be easy for him to get used to a new place.
Pests and diseases
Of the pests in araucaria, you can find a mealybug, root bugs and aphids. Insects can be destroyed using fungicides. With the root bug, the plant is removed from the pot, the roots are carefully washed and treated with a solution of potassium permanganate. Then the flower needs to be planted in new soil. Fortunately, plant pests are rare.
Also, when propagating, you can encounter diseases. Diseases mainly occur due to improper care and inappropriate conditions of detention.
- Due to lack of nutrients in the soil, young twigs grow very thin.
- If the araucaria have a narrow-leaved branch, it means that the soil is waterlogged. After fixing the problem, drooping branches will remain in that position.
- The slow growth of the seedling indicates that there is too much calcium in the soil. In this case, the plant needs to be transplanted into a new substrate and watered with soft water.
- If the needles began to turn yellow and dry, then the room is too hot and the air is dry. A container of wet pebbles can be placed next to the pot to increase air humidity.
- Another problem is the blackening of needles. The reason is damage to the root processes. In this case, the plant needs to be transplanted into new soil, adding a little Kornevin to it. Needles regularly need to be sprayed with Zircon or Domotsvet preparations.
If you properly care for the plant, no problems with growth, diseases and pests will arise.
The disease is easy to identify by appearance.
Signs and superstitions
Araucaria flower is a symbol of the New Year and Christmas, joy and abundance.
In order to always have prosperity at home, there is no gloom and hunger, a pot of plants should be placed in the kitchen.
Araucaria is an unusual plant that fits perfectly into any interior. Moreover, in the care it is not at all demanding. In the homes of compatriots it is difficult to meet such a room flower. That is why it immediately attracts the attention of all guests and visitors.
