Ardisia

 
Ардизия

Myrsin family. Homeland tropical and subtropical countries of the world - China, Japan, etc. About 400 species are common in nature.

    At
  • home, the town Ardisia crenata has become widespread - it is an eternally green shrub or a small tree about a meter high. The leaves are alternately located, smooth leathery, lanceolate and with a town edge. Fragrant white flowers are collected in thyroid inflorescences. Fruits - numerous red berries about 1 cm in diameter - remain hanging on branches for a very long time.

Ardisia care

Temperature: moderate in summer, not lower than 15 ° С, but preferably not higher than 28 ° С. In winter, ardisia prefers a cool temperature of about 10-12 ° C. Poorly tolerates stuffy heated rooms with a lack of lighting - the lower leaves dry and fly around.

Lighting: very bright place. Gratefully receives the sun's rays in the morning before 11 o'clock and in the evening, after 16 o'clock (east or northwest window). At midday hours in summer, it requires shading.

Watering: moderate in summer, plentiful on hot days, but at the top of the pot the earth should have time to dry out. In winter, neat, depending on the temperature in the room, with a good drying of the ground.

Top dressing: from May to October, every two weeks, ardisia is fed with special complex fertilizers for indoor plants. You can use "Rainbow," "Ideal," "Fertica," etc.

Air humidity: Ardisia responds well to regular spraying with warm water at any time of the year if the air temperature is above 20 ° C.

Transplant: in February - March annually. Soil is a mixture of heavy sod and sheet earth, rotted manure or greenhouse earth with the addition of sand. Good drainage is done in the pot, and pieces of birch coals are added to the soil. To form a crown in ardisia in the spring, it is cut or pinched.

Reproduction: apical cuttings and seeds. Rooting cuttings in indoor greenhouses. Seeds are sown in January - March, soil heating is required, since the most favorable soil temperature for germination is 22-23 ° C.

Growing problems

  • The brown tips or edges of the leaves are too dry air, cold drafts or insufficient watering.
  • Brown spots on the leaves - can be the cause of both insufficient watering and bacterial disease caused by excessive dampness of the air and soil.
  • The leaves are twisted, soft with brown edges - the temperature is too low, it may be warm during the day, and at night the temperature drops below normal. Make sure that the thermometer does not fall below 12
    • ° C in winter.
  • Yellowing of leaves - with dry air, lack of nutrients in the soil (in particular nitrogen), when the plant was not transplanted for a long time, as well as with a lack of lighting, especially in winter.
  • Light dry spots on the leaves - too intense lighting or sunburn. Ardisia needs shade from direct sunlight at noon.

By the way

Ardisia has some peculiarity - sometimes along the edges of its leaves you can notice peculiar thickenings. Do not worry, since this phenomenon is not caused by pathogenic bacteria. They are not harmful to the plant, but rather necessary, and their presence only confirms the normal development of the plant.