Grape family. Homeland Southeast Asia, Australia, New Guinea, Africa. In total, there are about 70 species.
As a houseplant, Leia is grown bright red Leea coccinea. It is a spreading shrub with complex pinnately dissected leaves. The leaflets sit opposite on long brown-red petioles. A separate leaf is a segment of green color with a purple tint, lanceolate, pointed at the end, leathery with a wavy edge, 7-10 cm long. A whole leaf consisting of several pairs of "twigs" with segments reaches 60-80 cm in length. Numerous bright red flowers with a pink corolla bent are collected in umbrella inflorescences. This species, unlike many others, is most decorative. In America and Australia, it is sometimes grown and formed by florists in the form of bonsai.
Leia - care and cultivation
Temperature: Moderate in summer - about 22-24 ° C, does not like the heat. In winter it is cool within 16-18 ° C, at least 15 ° C. Leia does not tolerate sharp fluctuations in temperatures and drafts. Like all houseplants, Leia does not like stuffy enclosed rooms. In summer, when kept on a glazed balcony, do not forget to open the windows for ventilation.
Lighting: Bright diffused light or light partial shade. The ideal place is the window sill of the east or northwest window, and a large plant can be placed near the south window under the shade of the tulle curtain.
Watering: In spring - in summer plentiful, the soil should have time to dry in the upper third of the pot, and in the depths to be slightly wet. After heavy watering, it is advisable to gently loosen the soil. In winter, watering is rarer: after the soil has dried in the upper layers, wait 3-4 days before another watering. Use only soft water for watering .
Fertilizer: In the period of growth and flowering in two weeks, liquid fertilizer for flowering indoor plants. Do not use fertilizers containing chlorine and having an alkaline reaction.
Humidity: Leia loves moist air, so she is regularly sprayed with soft warm water. You can place the plant on a wide tray of water, putting the pot on an inverted saucer so that the water does not flow to the roots.
Transplant: Annually in the spring. The soil is the 1 part of the sod, the 1 part of the leaf, the 1 part of the peat land and the 1 part of the sand. Good drainage and holes in the bottom of the pot are mandatory. You can use store soil by adding a 5-liter bag of 1 liter of vermiculite, 1 liter of pine bark, 0.5 liter of coarse river sand and a handful of dry crushed cowpea.
Breeding: Stem cuttings that are cut in summer. Cuttings are rooted using phytohormones and soil heating, covered with a cap from a cut plastic bottle. Ventilate twice a day.
You can buy lei seeds from the online seed store. But the germination is quite long, with dances and tambourines: the shift must be soaked in water at room temperature for 2 days. Then soak in a growth stimulant solution (zircon, talisman). Then sow in plates in a mixture of universal soil (Terra Vita) and sand (or vermiculite) in equal parts. Be sure to sterilize the soil. Plant seeds to a depth of 2-3 m. Then the soil must be moistened and put to root at a temperature of 27-28 ° C. If it is colder on the windowsill, you can put a plate on the electric heater (shoe dryer, phytocovrik for terrarium, battery). The plate must be covered with a film and maintain uniform soil humidity, but shake off the condensate and ventilate 2-3 times a day. After the emergence of seedlings, peel into pots when the cotyledonous leaves unfold, but at the same time keep the root lump. Keep the pots in a mini heat until the plants get stronger, grow 10-12 cm.
