Erantemum

 
Эрантемум Уатта

Acanthus family. Homeland - subtropics of Africa, India, China. There are about 30 species in the culture.

  • Watt's erantemum Eranthemum wattii is a branched shrub up to 1 metre tall. The leaves are oppositely arranged, petiolate, ovate, pointed at the end, up to 15 cm long, with a rough surface. Flowers are collected in apical spike-shaped inflorescences. The corolla of the flower is five-membered, pink at the beginning of flowering, then dark purple.
  • Erantemum beautiful Eranthemum pulchellum is a shrub about 1.2 meters tall. The leaves are oppositely arranged, petiolate, ovate, pointed at the end, up to 20 cm long, with a rough surface. Flowers are collected in apical spike-shaped inflorescences. With large white bracts. The corolla of the flower is five-membered, asymmetric in shape, bright blue, about 2.5 cm long.

Erantemum - care and cultivation

Temperature: Moderate in summer, if possible, then from May-June it is better to put pots with plants on the balcony or fresh air in the garden - under the openwork shade of trees. Optimal temperatures in summer are about 24-26 ° C. In winter, cooler content at 16-18 ° C, at least 15 ° C. If erantemum is grown in a heated room in winter, then try to isolate it from the hot air of the batteries.

Lighting: Bright light with few direct sunlight. The east window, northwest and north, will work, but if your street windows are shading trees, or you have a ground floor, you may need additional lighting, otherwise the erantemum quickly loses leaves at the bottom of the stem. The south and west window may need shading in the afternoon.

Watering: Plentiful from spring to autumn. The soil should be moist all the time in the depths of the pot, but be sure to dry out in the upper layers. Watering is limited in winter, dry the soil well, but do not allow long-term drying.

Air humidity: Regular spraying, you can periodically arrange a warm shower. If kept in a heated room in winter, the erantemum pot can be placed on a tray of water and the batteries covered with wet towels.

Transplant: Annually in the spring. The soil is the 1 part of the sod, the 1 part of the humus, the 1 part of the sheet earth and the 1 part of the sand. Store soils can be used by adding 1 liter of vermiculite, 0.5 liter of pine bark, 0.5 liter of coarse river sand and a handful of dry crumbled cowpea to 5 liters of soil. Make sure that there are large drain holes at the bottom of the pot, and after heavy watering, do not leave water in the tray.

Reproduction: Stem cuttings, mostly apical. Cuttings are cut in February-March, about 15 cm long, the two lower leaves are removed and put to root in the water. So that the water does not deteriorate and the cuttings do not rot, change the water every other day to clean. You can plant cuttings in the ground when the roots grow 3-4 cm long.

   

Growing problems

The ends of the leaves are brown and dry, stunted growth is too dry air. Check if the plant is affected by spider mites. Remove dead leaves. Spray the plant regularly.

The ends of the leaves are yellow-brown - with an excess or lack of nutrients in the soil.

The leaves curl and are spotted. With insufficient watering. The soil should be moist all the time.

Leaf fall - with too dry air in the room, with excessive watering. The soil should be moist, but not too damp, and also at too low a temperature indoors.

The leaves lose color, thin and dry out - in too intense sunlight.

Wreckers

Spider mite - small yellowish spots appear on the leaves, then the leaves dry out. Point punctures are visible in the sheet lumen.

Control measures. Wipe the plant with a soap sponge and wash it in a hot shower. Repeat the procedure every 5-7 days (3-4 times in total). With a very strong lesion, you can spray with a solution of actellic (1-2 ml per liter of water), neoron.

Shields: small insects, about 2 mm, whose body is covered with a round brown shield, hardly move, suck out cell juice. The leaves lose their color, dry and fall.

Control measures. Spray and water with actara solution (see preparations).