Family of clairvoyants. Homeland - tropical and subtropical areas of South Asia (Korea, China) and Africa. In nature, according to various sources, from 150 to 400 species. Among the clerodendrums, shrubs and lans predominate, but small trees are also found. On the leaves and stems of many species of clerodendrums, there is usually pubescence - these are short glandular, scaly or star-shaped hairs. Also in many species on the underside of the leaves along the central vein are off-flowering nectaries. They bloom insanely beautifully, attracting all kinds of insects - bees, butterflies and birds, but many species do not have aroma. In indoor conditions they bloom in spring or summer.
Thompson's clerodendrum Clerodendrum thomsoniae is one of the most common species - evergreen liana, its shoots in nature reach 4 m in length. The leaves are opposite, oval or ovoid, 10-17 cm long and 4-7 cm wide. The surface of the leaf is slightly wrinkled, with pronounced venation. Flowers in racemose inflorescences from 8 to 20, with a white swollen calyx and a red corolla about 2.5 cm in diameter. Moreover, at the end of flowering, the corolla falls before the calyx. There are varieties with yellow-green leaves.
The shiny clerodendrum, "Clerodendrum splendens," is a curly or erect shrub with very large oval or rounded leaves, pointed at the end, up to 20 cm long. Flowers about 3 cm in diameter are collected in multi-flowered thyroid inflorescences, appear from the axils of the leaves. The calyx of the flower is bell-shaped, green, and the corolla is red, with the same red long stamens.
Chinese clerodendrum Clerodendrum chinense is a small subshrub, in nature about 2-3 m in height, with wide ovoid leaves, slightly pointed along the edge. The leaves and petioles are finely hairy. The flowers are white or pink, usually terry, with a slight aroma, collected in corymbose inflorescences, often terry, like miniature roses. Synonym Clerodendrum fragrant Clerodendrum fragrans.
Wallich's Clerodendrum Wallichii is a low subshrub, in nature 2-4 m in height. The leaves are dark green and glossy. Oblong, pointed at the end and wavy along the edge. The characteristic wrinkled surface and tetrahedral stems are characteristic features of clerodendrums. The flowers are white, collected in drooping racemose inflorescences. Ovoid petals 1.2-1.5 mm long, slightly bent back. Stamens and pistil are about twice the length of the petals.
Clerodendrum paniculatum - This species is somewhat different from others. First of all, unlike the rest, the above species originating from West Africa, the birthplace of Clerodendrum panicled India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Secondly, it is an erect shrub, not a liana. Its stems are almost square in cross section. The leaves are large, the lower ones are lobed, in the outlines of 3-5 lobes, the upper leaves are whole. The inflorescence on an erect peduncle, pyramidal, in the shape of a pagoda, can reach 45 cm in length. Flowers with petals and stamens of the same color, can be pink white, yellow, red. The flowers of cultivated plants are usually sterile and therefore do not form fruits.
Clerodendrum Ugandan Clerodendrum ugandense - no longer belongs to the genus Clerodendrum, this plant has the name Roteka myricoid Rotheca makanjana.
Clerodendrum - Care and Cultivation
Temperature: moderate, clerodendrums prefer in summer about 22-24 ° C, in winter necessarily cooler content, at a temperature of about 12-14 ° C. For a long successful cultivation and abundant flowering, it is advisable to spend wintering at a temperature not higher than 16 ° C and not lower than 10 ° C. If in winter, during the heating season, it is too hot and dry, the plants lose their leaves and are affected by ticks.
Lighting: Bright diffused light with some direct sunlight. It grows well on the west and east windows. In winter, the clerodendrum needs the brightest place, possibly placed on the south window. Oddly enough, the clerodendrum can suffer much more from lack of light than from room wintering. Poor lighting leads to exposure of the lower part of the stems, stretching of shoots, lack of flowering.
Watering: Abundant during growing and flowering season. The upper soil layer must have time to dry before the next irrigation, complete drying of the soil is not allowed. In winter, watering is limited, after the top layer of the earth dries, you need to wait a few days before watering. But in general, the irrigation mode depends on the air temperature. Better to underfill than pour. You can navigate by the elasticity of the leaves - when the soil dries too much, the clerodendrum begins to lower the leaves. But it is worth watering, and drooping shoots regain their elasticity. If dried too much, the leaves turn yellow and crumble.
Fertilizer: from March to August, they are fed every two weeks with liquid fertilizer for indoor flowering plants, where the proportion of nitrogen is small, and there is a lot of potassium. For example, Fertica Lux fertilizer is very well suited.
Air humidity: Klerodendrum loves high humidity, 60-70% is optimal for it, so in summer in hot dry weather it is sprayed twice a day. In winter, if the plant is not placed in cool conditions, spraying only temporarily eases the condition. It is better to put a pot of clerodendrum on a wide tray with water or wet pebbles, and isolate it from central heating batteries. The lack of air humidity cannot be compensated for by more abundant irrigation.
Transplant: Annually in the spring. The soil for the clerodendrum is the 1 part of the leaf land, the 1 part of the turf land, the 1 part of the pine bark and the 1 part of the sand. pH acidity is preferably slightly acidic or close to neutral. Clerodendrums of alkaline soil do not tolerate.
Reproduction: stem cuttings in spring and summer, rooting easily in water. Cuttings can be planted when the roots grow 2-5 cm. The clerodendrum grows quite quickly, but in the first year, plants grown from cuttings may not bloom. Propagation by seeds is possible. Seeds are sown into a mixture of universal soil and sand, watered by spraying. The main thing is to provide a lot of sun or a very good additional light.
Flowering: you need to cut the clerodendrum in February or March, since inflorescences form at the ends of the shoots of the current year, and the branches should grow a little. Usually, it is enough to grow 3-5 new leaves for flowering. Without annual spring pruning, the clerodendrum may not bloom.
The clerodendrum is sensitive to ethylene gas, and therefore do not put fruits (apples, pears) in the room, exhaust gases and cigarette smoke are also harmful to it.