Nightshade family. Homeland South America - rainforests of Mexico, Bolivia. A total of 10 species are vines or shrubs.
Juanulloa Mexican Juanulloa Mexicana is widespread in the culture - an evergreen shrub, about 1.5 m high, leaves are tough, leathery, sit on short petioles, oval in shape, slightly wavy, up to 7 cm long. The flowers are waxy, tubular, bright orange in color, collected in racemose inflorescences.
Juanulloa - Care and Cultivation
Temperature: moderate in summer, preferably not higher than 20 ° C. In winter, they are kept in cool conditions within 12-14 ° C, at least 10 ° C. The plant can be grown on an insulated balcony. If you protect the pot well: put it in a bucket with dry sawdust or wrap it in foam rubber, then it is possible to keep it at a temperature of up to + 5 ° С in complete dryness of the soil.
Lighting: Juanulloa is light-loving, growing well in bright diffused light, with some direct sun in the morning or evening. On the southern windows you will need shading from 12 to 15 hours.
Watering: during the period of growth, the earth should be wet all the time, but not too damp. I.e. by the next watering, the ground should dry out in the upper third of the pot. In winter, watering is rare, with cool maintenance, before the next watering, make sure that the earth is completely dry.
Top dressing: from May to September with complex fertilizer for flowering indoor plants, every two weeks.
Humidity: Juanulloa needs regular spraying, but putting a pot on a tray with wet pebbles or expanded clay is best. Optimal air humidity is 60-70%. When keeping the plant in winter in a heated room with high temperature and dry air, the plant suffers a lot - it stretches out, dries the leaves.
Transplant: annually in February - March. Soil - 2 part of clay-turf, 2 part of humus, 1 part of sheet earth and 1 part of sand. Good drainage is mandatory. You can use purchased soil mixtures by adding 1 liter of vermiculite, 0.5 liter of pine bark, 0.5 liter of coarse river sand and a handful of dry crushed cowpea to 5 liters of soil.
Breeding: stem cuttings in summer. Root formation stimulators ("root," "heteroauxin," etc.) are used for rooting. A stalk about 10 cm long is dipped in root powder and stuck in moist vermiculite or peat. Soil heating is required (about 25-26 ° C), and a cap made of cut transparent plastic bottle. If the lid is removed from the hood, you can not ventilate the cuttings. If you place a pot with a handle in a bag, then you need to ventilate 2-3 times a day for half an hour.
