Araucaria

 
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Araucariaceae family. Homeland Australia, New Zealand and South America. There are 19 species in the genus. Luxurious coniferous tree - is the only coniferous breed among houseplants. Araucaria is easy to grow and attractive for home furnishings. In nature, araucaria are large trees, reaching several tens of meters, but grow very slowly in culture, reaching about 1.5-2 m in height.

Araucaria heterophylla is the most common species. It is a slow-growing plant with stiff branches covered in leaves arranged in whorls. The tree has a pyramidal shape. Needles, although prickly at the ends, are soft, slightly curved, about 1.5-2 cm long.

Also in room conditions, Araucaria Brazilian or narrow-leaved Araucaria angustifolia is grown - it has a pyramidal crown and thin spike-shaped leaves, 2-5 cm long.

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Care for araucaria

Temperature

At any time of the year, for this plant, it is necessary to choose a cool place indoors, the desired temperature is 10-12 ° C, the plant does not tolerate temperatures above 15-16 ° C, needles begin to turn yellow, growth slows down greatly.

Lighting

Bright diffused light, light partial shade. It grows well on the eastern window, in a room only with additional light, otherwise the needles turn pale from a lack of light, the plant stretches out a lot. In summer, it feels better in the fresh air in the shade.

Watering

Araucaria is equally bad at tolerating both overfilling and waterlogging. In summer, it is watered more abundantly - after the earth dries in the upper half of the pot. In autumn and winter, with a decrease in temperature, they water less often, after the earth dries in the upper layers, wait another 3-4 days before watering again. You can not water araucaria with hard water, only rain or boiled.

Fertilizer

For feeding araucaria, a conventional complex mineral fertilizer is used in half a dose, i.e. less than half as much as for other indoor plants. Feeding is carried out from April to August after 3 weeks. Organic fertilizers are not used for araucaria.

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Air humidity

Araucaria prefers moderate humidity - optimally about 50%. In summer, it does not need spraying, only in dry weather, when there is no rain for a long time. In winter, if you do not transfer it to a cool room, it suffers greatly from dry air. It has to be sprayed twice a day.

Flight connections

Transplants are done as needed when the pot becomes cramped. This is usually every 2-3 years. The approximate composition of the soil mixture: the 1 part of the turf land, the 1 part of the coniferous land, the 1 part of the sand, the second option: the 1 part of the garden land, the 1 part of the leaf land and the 1 part of the sand. In addition, add half a glass of crushed pine bark to the 1 pot, pH = 5.5-6.0 slightly acidic. High drainage must be poured on the bottom of the pot. Purchased land is also suitable for cypresses and other conifers, in extreme cases, for rhododendrons, with the addition of 1/4 of the sand.

Reproduction

Seeds and cuttings. Seeds are sown in a mixture of coniferous and leafy earth, having previously soaked for a day in water with the addition of stimulants (zircon, sprout). Seeds are sown in pots (about 12 cm in diameter), buried about 2 cm into the ground, or rather stuck into the ground with a sharp end down, thick up. You can put it flat (horizontally), buried only 0.5 cm in the ground. The soil is evenly moistened, and the pots are germinated at a temperature of 15 ° C. It is important that the substrate is evenly wet all the time. Seeds germinate within 1-2 months. In this pot, the seedling is grown until the first umbrella of leaves (first tier) opens. Then they are transferred to a larger pot.

Propagated by cuttings with difficulty (the probability that you will succeed is no more than 1%), it is better to buy rooted plants. Theoretically, only apical cuttings can take root (it does not breed from side branches). Cuttings cut in July-August are planted in coarse sand, before it is thoroughly powdered with root, rooting can last for several months. In January (in winter they must be grown with additional light) they are transplanted into pots (part of heather (coniferous) land and part of sand). In March-April, they are again transplanted into fresh ground.

Since ancient times, doctors have advised people with asthma to grow araucaria at home. In addition, araucaria improves the chemical composition of indoor air. Adding up to 30% fresh coniferous land to the soil mixture for araucaria has a miraculous effect. The plant responds to this with good growth and strong green needles.

Growing problems

  • Leaf fall and loss of lower branches, which usually occurs when the temperature is too high and the air is dry or the ground is dry. Spraying will not help here. If the araucaria branches are sadly drooping, then the only thing that can help in this situation is hanging the plant "upside down," since the branches themselves are not able to accept their previous horizontal position. To prevent the soil from spilling out of the pot, it is placed in a plastic bag, which is neatly tied around the trunk. The duration of this "procedure" is 24 hours.
  • Araucaria are transplanted carefully, since when the roots are damaged, the soft needles turn yellow, the branches wither.
  • Araucaria does not tolerate either overdrying of an earthen coma or excess moisture.

Personal experience

Des tells about his araucaria:

Araucaria 90cm high (with a pot 117cm), crown diameter 90 cm, tiers - 6, years - many (I don't remember), pot: height 27cm, diameter 27cm.

Araucaria grows slowly. For her to swing up to 2 meters, you need a lot of years and accuracy.

There were more tiers, but the lowest ones turned yellow and dried out (this is a natural process). Moreover, the second barrel went from the barrel. In short, the plant is sweeping and requires a lot of space.

Common questions:

1. Branches go down.
I suppose this is due to the gravity, the strength of the plant does not have enough to hold the branches, and the root system is weak (due to the limited pot).
I think the larger the pot, the more strength araucaria has to hold branches. But, blood from the nose, and the soil should be loose and watered carefully.

2. Lift the branches.
It is advised to put the plant down with your ears. The bottom line is that the branches bend back and get used to the new position. I think you can do something else: do not turn Araucaria over, but raise the branches artificially for several days.

3. Maintenance in winter.
Very simple: illuminate, spray. Do not fertilize.

Personal tips:
a) the soil should be slightly acidic.
b) add a large hydrogel to the soil. Very effective
c) fertilize rarely. There should be little nitrogen and organic matter (mainly phosphorus and potassium ).
d) the needles dry out: underfilling, or sunlight, or hot, and if the needles brown, rust: overflow.
There are doubts about watering - take the plant out of the pot, check the condition of the coma.
e) spray with rainwater.
f) white coating on needles: Rinse in the shower, then treat with chemicals (use a brush). Then wrap the plant in a large cellophane bag (to make the insects bald).

What are the difficulties with araucaria:
Araucaria does not react to the shortcomings of care immediately, but after weeks and months.
Accordingly, if the conditions of care change, araucaria will also recover not immediately, but in weeks or months.