Root family. Homeland South and Southeast Asia (India). Naturalized in Australia and North and Central America, in Hawaii.
At home, Murraya paniculata is grown. This is a small evergreen shrub, naturally reaches 5-7 m, with unpaired leaves consisting of small individual leaves sitting on the petiole in turn (from 3 to 9 leaves). Each leaflet is oval, leathery, narrowed at the end, 4-5 cm long. The flowers are fragrant, about 1.5 cm in diameter, in corymbose inflorescences. Corolla with five white, bent back petals. Petals 12-18 mm long, white or cream after fading. Fruits - red-orange berries, about 2-3 cm in diameter, oval.
On sale you can also find seeds of Muraya Koenig Murraya koenigii or 'curry tree' - its cirrus leaves are more elongated than those of Muraya paniculate leaflets - lanceolate, pointed at the end with a town edge. The flowers are not white, but rather light cream, in multi-flowered scutes. And the berries turn black when ripe.
Muraya belong to self-pollinated plants, the fruits are tied easily. After the berries ripen, seeds are collected and can be sown.
Muraya: care at home
Muraya care consists in timely watering, selection of nutritious soil and transplantation, timely pruning: in February - March, you need to shorten each long twig, on which from 4 or more leaves, shortening by 2-3 leaves.
Temperature: Moderate, at home, not good enough ventilation (no strong air movement, wind like outside), so plants suffer from heat. If possible, then from the end of spring it is better to rearrange the pots with flowers on the balcony. At the same time, focus on the night temperature (so that by night the soil is not damp and the roots are not supercooled).
All root, and muraya is no exception, prefer cold content in winter. Ideally at 15-17 ° C, minimum 10 ° C. But many flower growers successfully grow at higher temperatures. It all depends on how well the plants will be illuminated. In winter, in central Russia, it is not too light even on the southern windowsill from October to February. The sun is low, there are few sunny days. Therefore, additional lighting may be needed.
Lighting: Murraya is photophilous, the best place is the east or southeast window. On the south or west, shading is required in the afternoon from March to August. This is due to the fact that the heat of a plant in a closed room is more difficult to tolerate than outside. It slows down growth, drops flowers and berries. But if you have constantly open vents and there is an influx of fresh air, shading will be needed only on very hot and dry days (in June or July). On the northern side, muraya will also grow and even occasionally bloom and bear fruit, but plants from shadow windowsills simply cannot be compared with the splendor of handsome people grown in a bright place.
Watering: Abundant in spring and summer, this means that after the plant has been watered, by the next watering the soil should have time to dry in the upper half of the pot, and if the temperature is above 26 ° C, there is intensive growth - in the upper third of the pot. As soon as the plant slows down in growth with the onset of cool and cloudy days in the fall, cut the watering, you need to wait for almost complete drying of the soil. At the same time, strong drying should not be allowed when the leaves begin to droop, it can be irreversible - the roots will dry out and stop absorbing moisture even after watering.
Use soft, filtered or boiled water for irrigation. Hard water causes salinization of the soil, which leads to a violation of the assimilation of important micro and macro elements (boron, potassium, iron, copper, etc.), fertilization only increases the imbalance of nutrients.
Fertilizer: Since spring, feeding twice a month with liquid complex fertilizer for indoor flowers, it is advisable to choose preparations with equal or almost equal content of basic elements, i.e. so that Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) are in the same proportions. Try not to use organics too often, an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers leads to rot of the roots. Also, do not use any fertilizer if the plant has just been transplanted, is sick or is not in the growth phase.
Air humidity: Murraya is resistant to dry air, but regular spraying is useful for it, especially in summer and winter when kept indoors with central heating.
Transplantation: Soil - the 1 part of the turf, the 1 part of the leaf, the 1 part of the humus and the 1 part of the fine gravel (or perlite). You can use a purchased universal soil for indoor plants, better Terra Vita "living land." Add biohumus and vermiculite (or coconut substrate) to it. Young murraya plants are transplanted annually, plants aged 4-5 years are transplanted after a year, but it is better to change the upper soil layer annually, mulching with fresh earth. Currently, very little worthy of the soils offered in stores, the series "Garden of Miracles" is completely unsuccessful (for citrus fruits and not only), you should not use it, it is cemented (peat dust in composition). And for Muraya it is very important that the soil is well drained - it easily absorbs water and also easily gives it away. When planting on the bottom of the pot, drain about 3-5 cm, make sure that it does not clog the drainage holes for normal water flow.
Muraya reproduction
Muraya is propagated by seeds and cuttings. Seeds are sown in mixture of sand and vermiculite, or in mixture of coconut substrate with vermiculite. Germination requires a 26-28S temperature. Soil heating can be used. Seeds germinate after 4-8 weeks. For planting, you need to use only fresh seeds (in root seeds, they quickly lose germination).
Masterclass: Growing murraya from seeds
Cuttings are rooted using phytohormones (growth stimulants) in a room greenhouse (from a plastic bottle) or in a zip bag with soil suspended on a window or near lamps. The main thing is that the air humidity near the handle is 90-100%. The soil for cuttings may consist of equal parts peat land and sand (or vermiculite). It is advisable to sterilize the soil in the oven or microwave. The best time for cuttings is February-April.
When growing muraya, it is necessary to note some feature: the lower leaves gradually turn yellow and dry, this is a natural aging process. It intensifies if in winter the plant is warm and dry (not humid enough air), after abundant flowering and fruiting.
