Justice

Acanthus family. More than 400 species are common in the genus. Homeland - tropical and temperate latitudes of North and South America. The genus is named after the 18th-century Scottish gardener James Justis. Once independent genera Beloperone and Jacobinia, now belong to the genus Justice Justicia. Unfortunately, when renaming numerous Jacobinians to Justice, not only the name of the genus, but also the species changed. For example, Justicia spicigera was formerly Giesbrecht Jacobinia ghiesbrechtiana. Leaving the old name and still using the names Beloperone or Jacobinia is botanically wrong, it's time to get used to the new names.

Types

• Justice Brandege Justicia brandegeeana (formerly Beloperone Guttata) is a native of Mexico. Shrub, reaching a height of 1 m. The leaves are elliptical, pointed at the end and smoothly narrowed to the petiole. The leaves, like the stems, are finely pubescent, about 10 cm long and 4 cm wide. The inflorescence is a spike. The flowers have bright bracts, which become brighter with the growth of the inflorescence - from pale pink to rich salmon. The flowers themselves are two-lipped, five-lobed, with a thin long tube, pure white, with maroon specks in the throat. There are several varieties that differ in the color of bracts - some are bright yellow, others are pink or brick in color. Flowering is long.

• Justicia bright red or meat-red Justicia carnea (formerly Jacobinia carnea bright red or Jacobinia Paul Jacobinia pohliana - all the same plant) is native to Brazil. Shrub, up to 1.2-1.5 cm high. Leaves are ovoid, dark green, sometimes with a bronze tint, about 15-20 cm long, 8-12 cm wide, with noticeable venation, which makes the leaves look wrinkled. This type of justice, unlike the previous one, does not have bright bracts (they are green), but the flowers themselves are two-lipped, narrow long fused petals of bright pink color. A pair of long stamens with dark brown anthers is clearly visible.
• Justice shadow Justicia umbrosa - also from Brazil, practically does not differ from the previous species, only slightly larger - the bushes reach 1.8-2.5 m in height, the flowers are bright yellow. Bred variety with white flowers.

• Justice Rizzini Justicia rizzinii (formerly Jacobinia small-flowered Jacobinia pauciflora) is a native of Brazil. A real dwarf among other justice is a well-branching shrub, about 30-50 cm in height. The leaves are dark green, opposite, oblong, narrowed at the end and at the base smoothly turning into a short petiole. The leaves are only about 2-4 cm long, and 1-2 cm wide. The flowers are tubular, drooping, about 2 cm long, bright yellow, red at the base, collected 3-5 pieces in axillary racemose inflorescences. It blooms abundantly in late winter - spring.

It is noteworthy that the indigenous population of Mexico since ancient times used the growing species of Justice in their farm - from the leaves of Justicia spicigera they receive dye (Muitle), indigo (gray-blue) colors, which are used to paint fabrics and wool. If the leaves are placed in hot water, it turns black and then dark blue.

• Also of interest is the species Justicia literal Justicia betonica - originally from South, East Africa and India, a shrub reaching a height of 2 m (in room conditions up to 1 m). The leaves are opposite, elongated oval, 6-15 cm long and 2.5-4 cm wide, pointed at the end and tapering smoothly into a petiole, slightly wavy. This Justice is notable for the color of the bracts - they are cream-green or cream-gray with green veins, the flowers themselves are light purple. It blooms abundantly, on each shoot several inflorescences (about 12 cm long, erect), bushes well.

Justice care

Temperature: Justice prefers a moderate temperature - optimal in summer in the range of 20-25 ° C. In winter, the temperature should be somewhat cooler - within 16-18 ° C, at least 15 ° C. Justice is poorly tolerated in winter in warm, heated rooms, especially when there is a lack of light. The plant blooms very abundantly and for a long time, and it requires a rest of 3-4 months, during which the leaves do not fall, but the growth stops completely.

Lighting: Bright diffused light with little direct sunlight in the morning or evening. The best fit is the east or northwest window, not shaded from the street. On the southern and western windows, justice will have to be shaded, but here it is dangerous not only the direct sun, which can leave burns on the leaves, but also the heat, from which inflorescences and leaves dry and fly around.

Watering: abundant growth and flowering during the period, by the next watering the soil should have time to dry out in the upper third of the pot, and in the depths it should be slightly moist all the time. In winter, watering is limited, its frequency depends on the temperature, the main thing is that the earth has time to dry out in the upper half of the pot.

Top dressing: during the growth period - from April to August, justice is fed every two weeks with fertilizer for flowering plants ("fertica-lux," "bona-forte" or "agricola" for flowering, "cheerful flower girl," "uniflor-bud" and others).

Transplant: Annually in the spring. The soil should be nutritious, but loose. The approximate composition of the mixture: 2 parts of turf, 1 part of sheet (peat), 1 part of humus (compost) and 1 part of sand. Good drainage is mandatory. Vermiculite and pine bark can be added as disintegrators (it slightly acidifies the soil). pH = 5.1-6.5 justice does not like alkaline soils, grows on weakly acidic and neutral.

Reproduction: non-lignified stem cuttings that take root easily, practically throughout the year. Cut cuttings should be put in water, and put the jar in a wide transparent bag, the edges of which should not be tied, but simply straightened. This will increase the humidity around the handle. After the roots grow about 5 cm, they can be planted in small pots of two or three pieces together. As the cuttings grow, they must be transferred (without disturbing the root lump) into a large pot.

Crown formation: After the cuttings take root and form 3-4 pairs of new leaves, the ends of the shoots are pinched. Grown branches are pinched again when they grow by about 10 cm. In the first year after rooting, the handle should not be allowed to bloom, this depletes the plant, it is better to try to form a crown - to achieve its greater branching, in which case, in the future, flowering will be more abundant. In addition, most justice have large leaves, such burdocks will not fit on any windowsill, and regular pinching allows you to restrain growth. The use of special drugs, retardants, for example, "Athlete," allows you to reduce the volume of sheet mass.

Growing problems

Justice is equally poorly tolerated as overfilling and overflow. The reaction is always the same - yellowing and flying around the leaves. When re-drying, first of all, the lower leaves fly around, from waterlogging - the tops of the shoots wither and droop, the rest of the leaves do not dry, but turn black. Therefore, if you have a plant recently, check the need for watering, without calculating the days of the week, and not by the weight of the pot, but by touch, digging deeper into the ground.

Still, the main problem of justice is proper wintering, so that there is enough light and the temperature is not higher than 18 ° C. If the frames on the windows are wooden, it is not difficult to maintain such a temperature, it is more difficult with plastic windows and with large plants that do not want to fit on a small windowsill. In this case, the plant will either have to be given, where wintering can be cool and light, or taken to the staircase, if it is light there and the temperature in winter is not higher and not lower than 15-18 ° C.

With proper wintering, the problem with dry air disappears by itself, but in a warm or hot room, dry air leads to flying around the leaves (mainly in the lower part of the stems), and contributes to damage by a spider mite.