Marant family

 
марантовые

The homeland of the representatives of this family common in room culture is the humid tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America. In nature, 30 genera are common, including about 400 species of marant. Of these, Calathea Calathea, Ctenanthe Kentanta, Maranta Maranta and Stromante Stromante are grown in the room.

Maranta - herbaceous or lyanoid rhizome plants. The main features are in the two-row or spiral-two-row arrangement of leaves, usually collected in basal rosettes. Leaves with a wide whole plate, with a thick middle vein, from which parallel lateral veins depart. The bases of the petioles have a well-developed vagina, open and equipped with a tongue. The flowers are bisexual asymmetric, in apical spike-shaped inflorescences. Perianth of 3 sepals and 3 petals; both tepals are corolla-shaped, or the outer circle is green. Stamens from 3 to 5 . The fruit is a single-seeded box.

марантовые

Small thickenings found on the rhizome of marantists store water and nutrients and allow you to survive a short period of lack of moisture. A characteristic feature characteristic only of the marant is the thickening of the upper part of the petiole, directly near the leaf itself. Thanks to this device, marants can lift and turn leaves to a light source. Maranta belong to ornamental deciduous plants. Therefore, their flowers are usually small and nondescript, collected in spike-shaped inflorescences. After flowering in some species of marant, the aerial part can die off. But at the same time, the plant does not go into the stage of rest and does not die, it is left in the same place and continue to water, since young shoots will soon appear.

Plants of the marant family have another interesting device to help reproduction. Insects climbing into the flower tube behind nectar touch a small outgrowth, which sets the stamens in motion. They touch the insect's body with an anther and leave pollen on it, which it will then transfer to another flower and leave a pestle on the stigma, thereby fertilizing.

Marant cultivation

Temperature: These plants are heat-loving. In summer, they will be satisfied with the usual room temperature, but preferably not higher than 28-30 ° C. In winter, the optimal content is at 16-18 ° С, the lower limit is + 14 ° С. Avoid sudden temperature drops and drafts. If it is not possible to lower the temperature in winter, protect the plants from the hot air of the heating batteries, make sure that there is enough light.

Lighting: Loyal to some shade, prefer bright diffused light or very light partial shade. Some direct sunlight is acceptable in the early morning or late afternoon. If the lighting is too intense, the plant may get burned or simply lose the color of the leaves. Marantaceae are the few plants that can be grown entirely under artificial light.

Watering and humidity: Quite abundant during the period of intensive growth, approximately 2 days after the top of the soil dries, i.e. the ground surface will be dry. In cold periods, watering is rarer, let the soil dry well. Maranta are harder to tolerate dry hot air than drying soil. They do not suffer from waterlogging only if the soil is very airy, contains not only peat, but also many large fractions - rotting leaves, pieces of bark or coconut substrate.

The ratio of maranteans to spraying depends on the species - plants with pubescent leaves do not need to be sprayed. But almost all marants do not like dry air - humidity is below 50%, especially when the temperature of the house is above 25 ° C. Plants with smooth leaves can be sprayed 2-3 times a day, and the option of placing pots on trays with wet moss sphagnum or using an air humidifier is suitable for everyone.

Transplantation: Marants at a young age are transplanted annually, standard soil mixtures consist of 2-3 parts of leaf, 1 part of humus, 1 part of sand or small gravel. For better plant development, it is useful to add to the soil and coniferous land - the 1 part. You can also add pieces of charcoal to the soil. Good drainage, 2-3 cm high, must be done in each pot.

You can use the soil from the store. Take universal soil (for example, Terra Vita), coconut substrate and biohumus, add river sand sifted from dust and trifles. After transplanting, do not feed the plants for a month.

Do not use too large pots, otherwise plants grow more slowly. By the way, all marants grow well on hydroponics.

See also:

Arrowroots

Definition of Marant

When purchasing a particular plant from the marant family, the owner often really wants to know the exact name of the new tenant. You should not rely on the inscription on the tag in the pot with the purchased plant, since the manufacturer often does not give an exact name or completely confuses species and varieties. So, for example, very often on Dutch flowers the genus of the plant and the variety are indicated, and the species is omitted .

For example, sold by Maranta leuconeura Massangeana, sold with the inscription Maranta Massangeana or Maranta Massange. You need to know that the name should correctly indicate the genus of the plant - "Maranta," the species "leuconeura" and the variety "Massangeana." The variety of the plant is usually indicated in apostrophes: 'Massangeana'.

Here you can identify the species of your plant:

Calatea species

Home-Grown Maranta

Reproduction

Like all plants that reproduce by dividing the rhizome, marantists somewhat survive the process of separation, sometimes they get sick and grow poorly. To prevent this from happening, when separating part of the plant, the rhizome sections must be sprinkled with crushed charcoal .

If the roots are very intertwined, then do not tear the plant with force, but separate small areas of rhizome with a pair of leaves on the edge.

Plant the planted plant in a soil mixture of 2 parts of leaf earth, 1 parts of peat and 1 parts of sand and place it together with the pot in a transparent polyethylene bag. When new leaves begin to appear or next year it will be possible to transplant into a standard soil mixture.

If the flowers are transplanted into the soil with the addition of humus soil, then they need to be fed no earlier than two months later. Fertilizer is taken in a dose half as much as recommended.