Brunfelsia

 
Брунфельсия малоцветковая

Nightshade family. Homeland South America. There are about 30 species in nature.

Brunfelsia small-flowered Brunfelsia pauciflora is an evergreen shrub, up to 1.5 m in height, in nature a tree up to 3 m in height. The leaves are alternately located, sitting on short petioles, oval in shape, pointed at the end, up to 10 cm long. The flowers are small, fragrant, gradually changing color from white to lilac, collected in semi-contic inflorescences. Corolla of a five-petalled flower about 6 cm in diameter. The fruits are rounded reddish berries. This species is endemic to Brazil (unique to a particular geographic area).

Brunfelsia - care and cultivation

Temperature: Brunfelsia is a plant for cool rooms, it is ideal for a winter garden, an insulated balcony, a spacious bright office, where the temperature is moderate, preferably not higher than 22 ° C. In winter, the rest period with cold content is approximately 12-14 ° C, at least 10 ° C.

Lighting: Brunfelsia is photophilous, grows well in bright diffused light, in spring and summer it will definitely require shading from the direct midday sun, but sunshine is welcome in the morning or evening. In caring for this flowering tree, it is important to provide enough light, especially in autumn and winter - plants can be illuminated with daylight lamps (or LED).

Watering: During the growth period, the earth is plentiful with drying of the upper part of the soil. Rare watering in winter when the temperature drops, with almost complete drying of the soil. Water for irrigation is used only soft (permanent) and 2-3 ° C above air temperature. Brunfelsia does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil, but leathery leaves allow it to tolerate some overdrying.

In Brazil, Brunfelsia has a popular name, quite interesting: "yesterday-today-tomorrow" or "morning-noon-night." This is due to a very rich flowering - the shrub is literally covered with flowers, all shades of lilac and purple, often even leaves are not visible behind the petals.
One gardener, looking at the blooming bushes of Brunfelsii, uttered a phrase that became the motto of this plant: "Do not think about yesterday - it will make you cry. Don't think about tomorrow - it will make you worry. Live and think about today - it will make you laugh!"

Fertilizer: From May to September, Brunfelsia is fed with fertilizers for flowering indoor plants rich in potassium - the plant does not tolerate fertilizers with an alkaline reaction! Fertilize every two weeks, after transplantation do not apply fertilizers for a month.

Air humidity: Brunfelsia needs high air humidity, so the plant is regularly sprayed, avoiding water on the flowers. But it is best to put the pot on a tray with wet pebbles or expanded clay.

Transplantation: Annually in March or, if necessary, if the top layer of soil is salted, it must be removed and replaced with fresh. Soil - 2 parts of sod, 2 parts of peat (or leaf), 1 parts of humus land and 1 part of sand and 1 part of pine bark or needles. Good drainage is mandatory, especially in plastic pots.

Reproduction: Stem cuttings in March - April, as well as seeds. It is advisable to take cuttings at the beginning of growth, when young shoots grow about 10 cm in length. Root in water or in moist vermiculite.

By the way

To maintain its shape, brunfelsia is pruned in early spring or at the end of flowering, and during growth, the ends of the shoots are pinched to increase bushiness - the more branches, the more flowers you get. The flowers are very fragrant, formed at the ends of shoots of new growth.

Flowering usually occurs in autumn, when the weather is not hot, and lasts about a month. By the way, a strong aroma with abundant flowering can provoke an attack of hay fever (allergy to pollen).

The leaves of Brunfelsia, like many nightshades, contain poisonous alkaloids. Berries are especially toxic.

Important

In general, the culture of Brunfelsia is similar in care and requirements with camellias, gardenias and azaleas - they equally do not like heat, prefer acidic soils and uniform moisture.

These plants are equally harmed by a very long drying of the soil and complete drying of the ground. They prefer well-drained soils, which easily absorb and easily evaporate moisture.

When growing in the garden, in warm regions (9-10 climatic zone), they are mulched with pine needles. However, on acidic soils in many plants, and Brunfelsia are also prone to this, magnesium is poorly absorbed. This manifests itself in yellowing of the leaves (chlorosis). In such cases, it is worth adding salt (magnesium sulfate).