Cariota

Arecal family (palm trees). Homeland India, Indochina, Asia, islands of the Malay archipelago. The genus Cariot includes 14 species. Features of the genus - monocarpic development - these palms bloom and bear fruit once in a lifetime, then die. On average, the life cycle of a caryote is no more than 20 years, the duration of flowering depends on the number of inflorescences and fruits. Rare specimens live up to 25 years.

• Caryota burning Caryota urens - or Wine Palm - is sometimes grown in pots and tubs - it is rather not a homemade, but a greenhouse plant. The trunks of this palm are used as a building material, sugar, wine, and sago (grits from palm starch) are obtained from the core of the trunk. The palm grows in one trunk, in nature reaches 12-13 m in height, the girth of the trunk of an adult palm is 30-35 cm in diameter. Wai 5-6 m long and about 4 m wide, lobes of leaves irregularly triangular in shape, each 15 cm long and 7-9 cm wide, at the apex the leaf is dissected by a deep notch to about the middle. The size of the palm tree at home is about 1.5 m in height, at the top the crown span is about 80-90 cm. In general, the caryote grows in a bunch, because in the pot we see not a trunk, but several petioles of leaves, but their full length, as in wild specimens 4-5 m they do not reach.
• Soft Caryota mitis - or fish tail palm, has long conquered flower markets and window sills of our apartments. The leaves are double-dissected-pinnate, each segment has shallowly ragged edges, the traditional shape of a fish tail, the middle is longer, sometimes forming a sharp wedge. At home, this palm usually does not exceed 1.5 meters, in nature - 8-9 m, and all the vegetation is on the top of the head, the trunk bears the remains of old shrunken leaves. At a young age, palm trees form a shrub, not a tree, i.e. grows not in one trunk, but forms many root offspring and a fairly dense bush.
• Caryota obtusa (synonym Caryota giant Caryota gigas) is a species native to northeastern India and northern Thailand, growing high in the mountains (from 1000 to 1500 m above sea level). As a domestic plant, it began to be grown relatively recently. After sowing seeds (they germinate quickly), it reaches 80-90 cm in a year. This palm tree is gigantic in size (13-15 m in height), and the trunk is up to 75 cm in diameter. It has extremely dense wood, which is difficult to saw even with good saws. But for us this is not important - the decorativeness of the blunt cariote in the leaves - the double-pinnate wai consists of many leaves that are fan-shaped, with a wavy edge. Leaf petioles are covered with black fibers, i.e. almost black trunk grows. By the way, the fruits of this palm are very annoying and toxic (contain oxalates). This species is easy to confuse with soft caryote, the main difference is in the structure of leaf segments: in soft caryotes, triangular wavy leaves form an acute angle in the middle, a wedge, and in blunt caryotes, blunt leaves in shape with an even, somewhat beveled edge, the upper segment of the leaf is dissected, in the young leaf it forms almost a circle.

At home, cariote can bloom, if there is enough space, light, not too hot (cool in winter) and a lot of fresh air. At the same time, flowering of potted caryote lasts an average of 1 year, after which the palm tree quickly dries up and dies.

Cariota Care

Temperature: moderate throughout the year, the optimal temperature in the summer is 18-22 ° C, preferably not higher than 24 ° C (on hot days, transfer the pot to a cool place, for example, make it from the windowsill to the floor). The winter minimum for caryote in a pot is + 13 ° С, however, if you are an experienced florist, then you may well leave the caryote in an insulated pot on the balcony, up to a minimum temperature of + 3 ° С (without watering, a pot in foam rubber or a bucket with sawdust). If a palm tree still grows at higher temperatures, in a room with central heating, then it must be sprayed and protected from the hot air of the batteries. Ideally, your palm tree will be happier in summer in the garden, and in winter on an insulated balcony or conservatory.

Lighting: a bright place, Cariot needs to be shaded from the sun's rays (she is afraid not of burns, but of heat). But do not place this palm tree in a shaded place - it is not so shade-tolerant. In winter, the lighting should be very good, if necessary, put a daylight lamp (fluorescent or LED) next to the palm tree.

Watering: the frequency of watering the caryote depends on the temperature at which the plant is kept. But, in general, watering should be uniform, plentiful in spring and summer, after drying the upper layer of the earth. In autumn and winter, watering is moderate, the earth must have time to dry completely. During cold wintering, periods of dry content increase around 5-15 ° С - the palm tree stays dry longer, the lower the temperature.

Fertilizer: carried out from May to September weekly, special fertilizer for palm trees or any liquid fertilizer for indoor plants.

Air humidity: Cariota loves humid air, so it's not bad to spray it in the morning and evening if the air humidity is below 50%. This is especially important if the cariote is contained in a room with central heating, if the humidity is below 40%, put an air humidifier.

Propagation of caryota by seeds

In seed stores, you can buy cariot palm seeds and grow it on your windowsill. When buying seeds, pay attention to the date - caryotes seeds lose their germination after 2-3 months of storage.

Sowing is better at the end of February. You can sow in peat pots or immediately in separate pots with a diameter of 8-10 cm. Prepare the soil: 2 part of the sheet earth, 1 part of the turf, 1 part of the vermiculite. Sterilise it in the microwave or oven.

Caryote seeds are very dense, hard, they must be filed with a nail file. But do it carefully to thin the seed shell layer, but not damage the core. Then soak the seeds for a couple of days in room temperature water, it is advisable to add a growth stimulant (for example, zircon or seedling).

Seal the seeds of the cariote palm to a depth of 1.5-2 cm, moisten the soil and put in a warm place. It is advisable to use heating so that the temperature is 28-30 ° C - you can put pots or a plate with seeds on the battery, you can use an electric heater or use a shoe dryer. Attention - make sure that water does not get to the electrical appliance!
It will take a long time to wait for the emergence of seedlings - on average, a month, possibly up to three months.

When the seeds germinate, move them to a bright place, with shading from 12 to 15 o'clock in the afternoon during sunny hours. Water moderately - waterlogging is detrimental to palm seedlings, as is drying. Keep warm for the first week, but gradually lower the temperature to 22-24 ° C.

For more on palm cultivation and cultivation, see Palm trees

Care secrets

To avoid waterlogging, do not plant a palm tree in a too large pot - the earth will sour, nutrients are poorly absorbed, leaves turn yellow, roots rot.

This caryote suffered from frost, despite the fact that in nature the temperature in the mountains drops very low, temperatures below + 5 ° C can lead to hypothermia of the roots, and below 0 ° C - to frostbite of the leaves.

When transplanting, add baking powder to the ground - vermiculite, you can pieces of pine bark, coconut fiber .

The caryote palm grows vigorously at home and reaches about 1 m tall. Such a plant requires nutritious soil, the usual land for palm trees (from the store) consists mainly of peat and is not very suitable, by and large.

Add turf soil or well-rotted compost to the ground when transplanting. After transplantation, do not feed at least 1.5-2 months.

Tick on a palm tree

Spider mite - appears on indoor flowers at any time of the year, brought in with the wind or other plants. Initially, small discolored spots appear on the leaves, if you look at the lumen of the leaf, point punctures are visible. Gradually, the leaves turn yellow and dry out. With severe damage in the internodes and from the back of the leaves, a web is visible.

Control measures: rinse the plant in soapy water - beat the foam with a sponge and wipe off each leaf, or dilute the soapy solution and rinse the entire crown (covering the ground with a bag). You can leave the soap for 20-30 minutes. Then rinse the foliage with hot water, the temperature is 40-45 degrees, according to the sensations of the hand it is hot. It is better to use green potassium soap, it is sold in flower departments.

Repeat the hot shower in 5-7 days twice more.

You can use drugs such as Fitoverm, Actofit, Agravertin, Acarin - at the rate of 10 ml per 1 liter of water, or Vertimek (1 ml per 1 liter of water). Processing must be repeated in 3-5 days - if the weather is hot or warm (26-24 degrees) and after 7 days, if the air temperature is 20 degrees and below, since these drugs do not kill tick eggs.

Hot showers and acaricidal treatments can be alternated.

The drugs Sanmait or Taurus are very effective at the rate of 1 g per 1 liter of water - a single treatment with thorough wetting of the crown destroys adult pests and non-nutritious stages (eggs).