Plectranthus

Family of labiaceae. It is native to tropical areas of Africa, Asia, Japan, Australia and Polynesia. About 250 species are common in nature. Plectrantes are predominantly herbaceous plants, sometimes shrubs. Many are grown as ampeles in hanging baskets. The leaves are opposite, usually ovoid on very short petioles, sometimes almost sessile. The structure of the flower is characteristic of all species: the corolla is interlobed two-lipped, the upper lip is short, bent, four-lobed, the lower is long, one-lobed - narrow-navicular in shape. Four stamens are cut in pairs - two long, two short.

There is a huge confusion about the names of plectrantus species, one species has many synonyms, but the botanically correct ones are not the ones that we are used to using. For example, the plectranthus is coleus-shaped, it is correct to call it Madagascar. And Plectranthus southern Plectranthus australis is not quite southern, the correct name is Plectranthus whorled Plectranthus verticillatus (see The Royal Horticultural Society).

• The shrub plectranthus, Plectranthus fruticosus, is a tall shrub, up to 1 m tall, with strongly branching, hairy shoots of a tetrahedral shape. Leaves up to 10 cm long, ovoid, with a heart-shaped base and double-serrated along the edge. The leaves, also hairy, have a strong odor. The flowers are lilac, fragrant, about 1 cm in diameter, collected in loose apical inflorescences.
• Ertendahl's plectranthus oertendahlii is a herbaceous plant with creeping shoots about 50 cm long. Leaves up to 7 cm long, round-ovate, with town-like along the edge, dark green in color with light veins, reddish on the back, pubescent. The flowers are white or purple, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, collected in loose apical inflorescences. There is a variety Plectranthus oertendahlii 'Uvongo' - it has almost the entire surface of the leaf is silver-green in color and only dark green canvas remains along the edge.

• Plectranthus verticillatus is very similar to Ertendahl's plectranthus, but differs in that its leaves do not have pubescence and lighter green color. The leaf shape is ovoid, almost round. The petioles of young leaves are green, the petioles of old leaves, and the stems are dark purple. The flowers are white, with purple specks on the inside.
• Madagascar plectranthus plectranthus madagascariensis is a shrub, with creeping shoots reaching a length of 80-100 cm, grown as an ampel plant. Shoots pubescent tetrahedral. The leaves are about 6 cm long, ovoid, town-like along the edge, also pubescent. The leaves of the original species are light green. There are several varieties, for example, Plectranthus coleoides' Marginatus' - with a white border on the leaves, the variety 'Green on Green' - the border is yellow, with a greenish tint. Synonyms Plectranthus forsteri, Plectranthus coleoides.

• Plectranthus hadiensis variation felt Plectranthus hadiensis var. tomentosus is a shrub-like plant with gradually drooping shoots. The leaves are light green, broad-ovate, town-like along the edge, like the stems, densely covered with short hairs, have a mint aroma. At first glance, the plants look miniature, but this is only at first, in natural conditions, the bushes reach a height of about 75 cm, and the leaves are 9 cm long. This species is photophilous, requires very good lighting - maybe, and should, grow with sunlight. In fact, it is grown like a regular succulent. By the way, there is a variegated variation of Plectranthus tomentosa variegata - the leaves are light green with a creamy canvas along the edge. This species is often called Plectranthus pubescent, it came from the former obsolete name (basionim) - Plectranthus tomentosus.
• There are also hybrids among Plectrantus, for example, Plectranthus hybrid 'Mona Lavender' - it has erect shoots, it grows not ampeln, but always bush. Leaves along the edge are not town-shaped (rounded notches), but serrated. It blooms very abundantly, with long tubular lavender flowers (pink-lilac). At first glance, this hybrid looks like a shrub plectranthus, but still differs: smaller, the teeth on the leaves of Mona Lavender are rarer, the leaves themselves are smaller - up to 5 cm long.

Plectrantus care

Temperature: Plectranthus plant of moderate temperatures, in summer prefers about 22-26 ° C, at higher temperatures it quickly loses its lower leaves. In winter, it prefers a cool content at 12-14 ° C, at least 10 ° C.

Lighting: Bright diffused light, light partial shade in summer, very good lighting is needed in winter, additional illumination with fluorescent lamps is possible, especially if plants are kept in winter at temperatures above 18 ° C. Plectrantus needs protection from direct sunlight from 11 to 16 hours. The east and northwest window is suitable for many species.

Watering: Plectranthus is watered quite abundantly in summer, but only after the top layer of the earth has dried out. Plectrantes with fleshy leaves are particularly sensitive to overflow. In winter, with cool maintenance, watering is very moderate, with good drying of the ground .

Fertilizer: From March to September, fed with complex fertilizer for ornamental and deciduous plants, about once every 3-4 weeks. During the period of budding, the plectranthus must be fed with fertilizer for ornamental flowering plants, especially abundantly flowering species and hybrids.

Air humidity: Plectranthus is undemanding to air humidity, does not need spraying.

Transplant: Annually in the spring. The soil is slightly acidic, approximate composition: the 1 part of the humus, the 2 part of the sheet land, the 1 part of the turf and the 1 part of the sand. Be sure to pour drainage on the bottom of the pot. The roots are not very powerful, the pot should not be too deep .

Plectrantus care also consists in periodic cutting of shoots, or rejuvenation of bushes if the stems are exposed in the lower part. Cut cuttings are also used for reproduction.

Breeding: Stem cuttings in spring and summer. Cuttings root quite easily in the water at any time of the year. Plectranthus tolerates pruning well, but over time, especially when kept in a warm room in winter, the stems are exposed in the lower part, in which case it is better to renew the plant from the cuttings - cut all the top cuttings, and, rooted, plant them again in one pot.

Plectranthus is also grown as a ground cover plant. To do this, they plant several cuttings in one wide pot. To give a bushy and more compact shape, the growing ends of the plectrantus shoots need to be pinched. You can add plectrantus to large tuberous plants if they have enough light, for example, to palm trees. At the same time, it is important to plant in very fertile land and feed during the growing season.