Sedge family. Homeland - tropical rainforests of almost all continents, another name is Syt or Sitovnik. This elegant herbaceous plant is generally unpretentious. Ziperus does not have a pronounced period of rest and coexists equally in both cool and warm rooms. Cyperus grows in nature in marshy areas, so the main requirements at home are abundant watering and high humidity.
In total, the genus has about 700 species, among them annuals and perennials, there are real babies, no more than one and a half centimeters tall, and giants are shrubs with two or three human heights. In some regions, cyperuses are invasive weeds that clog any other vegetation. Three species are grown as a houseplant. All of them are quite similar to each other, i.e. have long flower-bearing stems, the leaves are collected on the tops in whorls. The flowers are creamy greenish, pollinated by the wind and can bear fruit - they form a small nut. Spindle-shaped tubers form on the roots.
Species of cyperus
- Cyperus alternifoius is native to Madagascar and the islands of the Indian Ocean. It grows about 1 m tall, and its leaves are about 0.5 cm wide at the base, there are variegated and dwarf forms. It blooms under good conditions at any time of the year with small nondescript yellowish flowers collected in spike-shaped inflorescences. It is the most common "grandma's" cyperus. There is a more ornamental variety: Cyperus alternifolius variegatus - with variegated leaves and shrub sizes of about 50 cm.
- Cyperus diffusus is very similar to the previous species, but shorter, only about 60 cm tall, and the wider leaves at the base are about 1.5 cm wide.
- Cyperus papyrus Cyperus papyrus is a large and original plant - up to 2 m tall, the stems are triangular, thick, the leaves on the umbrella are very thin and there are so many of them that the umbrella already looks more like a drooping panicle, this is a rather rare species in culture, but it has very decorative forms:
- Cyperus papyrus' Nanus' is a dwarf variety of cyperus, only about 20-30 cm tall.
- Cyperus papyrus' Green Gold'is a slightly larger bush, up to 50 cm tall, with golden inflorescences.
- Cyperus papyrus' King Tut '- the stems are crowned with a very fluffy umbrella of leaves - like a brush, on one up to 100 leaves, they are long - on average 25-30 cm long, the bush itself is quite compact 50-60 cm tall in a pot, but can reach more than a meter in height.
Cyperus care
Temperature: moderate in summer, daily in the range of 18-25 ° C, in winter it is optimal 16-18 ° C, but not lower than 14 ° C, the cool content is due to a natural decrease in illumination in autumn and winter, with additional light all year round it can grow in warmth. In natural conditions, the cyperus also tolerates colder temperatures, up to 0 + 2 ° C, but it is not worth the risk with plants in pots, with a forced drop in temperature (for example, when wintering on the balcony), very poor watering is necessary.
Lighting: cyperus loves a very bright place, varietal Polish and Dutch plants are more demanding than rooted umbrellas of unknown blood taken from grandmother in the market. In general, varietal cyperus needs 4-8 hours a day of direct sun. It is light east, southeast, northwest and even southwest. Shading is necessary in the afternoon (from 12 to 16 hours). Light partial shade is permissible only in summer, and in winter (from October to February) shading is not required. In nature, cypersuses grow in full sun, in flooded swamps and flooded fields - most ornamental species come from hot and humid Africa, Madagascar or Mediterranean countries.
Watering: Plentiful all the time, the soil should never dry out completely, but don't turn the contents of the pot into a sour swamp - remember that potted culture is somewhat different from conditions in nature. And it looks like this: in the natural habitat, the upper part of the basal zone of the cyperus bush is in the sun and fresh air (areas are open and perfectly blown by the wind), and the bottom of the root system is constantly in the water. When watered in a pot, its walls do not allow the upper part of the soil to dry out, there is a complete constant swampiness, so the plant turns yellow and pales. You think that he has little water and water even more often, and he turns yellow again! At the same time, podurs crawl in the soil and midges (mushroom mosquitoes) are started, which cannot be removed for months. Watering from the pallet does not help. What to do?
It is necessary to properly plant the cyperus - to make the lower and upper drainage. At the bottom of the pot there are clay shards, then the root system in the nutrient soil (see soil composition below), and the upper third of the roots, to the root neck, should be covered with inert particles: small gravel, pebbles, pebbles, granite screenings - all about 5-10 mm in size. You can use colored stones for aquarium (do not use expanded clay). So the upper part of the roots will not be waterlogged and will receive air access. In this case, water in the pan of the pot after watering can not be drained.
Fertilizer: from March to September every two weeks they are fed with complex fertilizer for indoor plants with a good set of macro and trace elements. The NPK formula is optimal 10-10-10 (in equal quantities).
Air humidity: cyperus loves very, very humid air, at least 70-75% ideally, some varieties are more demanding, they need regular spraying and washing of leaves. It is more correct to place the pot on a wide tray with wet pebbles or moss-sphagnum. In the heating season, the humidifier helps out.
Transplantation: annually in spring in fresh soil to avoid the accumulation of salts in the soil. Theoretically, cyperus grows on soils with a slightly acidic reaction to a slightly alkaline pH from 6.0 to 8.5, but our tap water is too different from the one that in native lakes and swamps there are many impurities that household filters cannot cope with (fluoride, iron, etc.), when salinization of the soil some nutrients cease to be absorbed and the cyperus turns yellow, hireet, liquid bushes and ugly. Therefore, every year we transplant into the ground with a lot of drainage! The pot should not be too spacious in width. Soil: 2 part of turf, 1 part of sheet (peat), 1 part of gravel crumb or very coarse sand, with particle sizes of 3-5 mm. It would be good to add a little charcoal to the soil, brick crumbs, beaten into the crumbly shells of coconut. With constant flooding in natural conditions, air bubbles are sufficient around the roots due to drainage.
Reproduction: by seeds, dividing the bush, tuberous branches, as well as apical cuttings. The easiest way to root the leaf: for this they cut off the "umbrella" after it has risen or before flowering, and lower it into a glass of water "head down," with a handle to the top. Water in a glass is about 2-4 cm. After 5-7 days, it will give roots, and when they grow about 3-4 cm, plant in a pot about 8 cm in diameter.
Propagation by seeds is also easy: prepare a soil mixture from universal soil, sand and small gravel (in a ratio of 2:2:1), spread the seeds over the surface, you do not need to sprinkle. Keep the soil moist all the time. Germination at 25 to 28 ° C for 3-4 weeks. When sprouts appear, put the crops in a very bright place.
Growing problems
- The leaves pale, there are few new leaves - with a lack of lighting.
- The leaves turn yellow and brown, dry from the tips - with insufficient watering, dry air.
- The ends of the leaves dry - from low air humidity at high temperatures.
- In spring, the plant does not grow or grows very poorly - when the soil is depleted, if the pot is too cramped, or too dark.
- Light dry spots on the leaves appeared in the spring - too intense lighting or sunburn. Ziperus needs shade from direct sunlight after a dark winter.
- The leaves are twisted, soft with brown edges - the temperature is too low, with high soil humidity, it may be warm during the day, and at night the temperature drops below normal. This problem occurs when planting in heavy clay soil. Another reason is the excess of fertilizers, when fertilizers replace transplants.