Verbenaceae family. Homeland tropical rainforests of South America, India, Mexico. This is a shrub with leaves that have serrations along the edge and flowers of various shades - lilac, blue, purple, pink, white. In total, about 36 species of durant are known in nature in the form of shrubs or small trees. Durant is cut and pinched annually, sometimes several times during the summer, to give the crown a beautiful shape. In room culture, the following are common :
- Duranta Plumier Duranta plumieri - or popularly - "pigeon berry," in nature grows in a tree up to 2.5 meters tall, has tetrahedral shoots, and the leaves can be either ovate or oblong, pointed at the ends, up to 10 cm long Flowers are formed a lot, they are small in size, purple or blue. Flowers of several pieces are collected at the ends of the branches, when flowering is plentiful, the branches are strewn with flowers. Fruits in the form of yellow berries, the size of cherries. The Plumier durant has garden varieties that are not suitable for growing in rooms, they can be variegated with white flowers.
- The Duranta lorentzii duranta is this shrub, reaching a height of 1.5 m with tetrahedral shoots, unlike the previous species has small leathery leaves, ovate or oblong in shape, the leaf end is not pointed, but has notches. It can bloom very abundantly under favorable conditions.
Duranta - home care
Temperature: Duranta is thermophilic, in winter it needs a room with a moderate temperature, not lower than 16 ° C, the upper limit of winter temperatures is 20-22 ° C - the best conditions for a relative period of rest, when vigorous growth and stretching shoots. Duranta loves fresh air, ventilate the room more often if possible, avoiding cold drafts.
Lighting: the plant is photophilous, no shading is needed. It grows well on the window to the west and east side. In summer, it prefers outdoor maintenance, with a gradual accustoming to the hot sun. When a durant grows a large tree, it must be transplanted into a large pot (or bucket) and placed on a high bedside table in the immediate vicinity of the window. In autumn and winter, in cloudy weather, light up with lamps.
Watering: plentiful from spring to autumn, moderate in winter. The soil should be slightly moist all the time in the warm season, but dry out in the upper third of the pot. After copious watering, periodically loosen the soil to avoid its souring.
Top dressing: annually, 1.5-2 months after transplantation in spring and summer, top dressing with complex fertilizer for indoor plants is carried out. When transplanting, you need to add a handful of well-rotted compost.
Air humidity: loves humid air, so the durant is regularly sprayed, in winter they protect against the effects of hot air from central heating batteries. When kept in a room with too dry air, durants fly around the leaves, especially in the lower part of the branches, sometimes it is very exposed during the winter and loses its attractiveness, it is necessary to compensate for the hot air in winter not only by spraying, but also by very good exposure.
Transplantation: young plants annually in spring, and large specimens are transplanted every 2 years. The containers are quite spacious with high drainage at the bottom (coarse expanded clay or pieces of foam). Soil mixture: 1 part of turf, 1 part of leaf, 1 part of humus, 1 part of coarse river sand and 1/2 part of vermiculite. Soil acidity in the range of 5.8-6.5. If the tree has grown too large roots, you can carefully trim them at the bottom.
Reproduction: semi-lignified cuttings and seeds. Root cuttings in small pots in pure vermiculite, with soil heating, better with the use of phytohormones, in a room greenhouse. Seeds are sown in January-March, soil heating is required.
