Nettle family. Homeland - rainforests of the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The genus is named after Captain Soleirol, who discovered the plant. Many often confuse soleirolia with nertera, but the latter grows more slowly and is covered with red berries in autumn.
- Soleirolia soleirolii Soleirolia soleirolii is the only species in the genus to be creeping ground cover plants. Growing, soleirolia covers the entire surface of the earth with its greenery and hangs from the pot with a green carpet. The leaves are rounded and very small about 0.5 cm in diameter. It blooms with small, solitary and nondescript flowers.
Caring for Soleirolia
Temperature: Moderate in the warm season, preferably no higher than 24 ° C, in nature it grows in the lowlands, the coolest places of the forest on mossy tree trunks, adjacent to ferns. In winter, in a heated room, it is too hot for the plant not to suffer from dryness, it needs a temperature not higher than 15 ° C. But you can keep the soleirolia at home in winter by placing it in a terrarium, where high humidity remains.
Lighting: Soleirolia prefers a well-lit place, protected in spring and summer from direct sun, light partial shade. It grows well on the north windows. In too shaded a place, the plant will grow slowly. In winter, good lighting is needed, and lighting is usually required in the terrarium.
Watering: Abundant in spring and summer, after drying out the top layer of soil. In winter, depending on the temperature, if it is cool, it is very moderate. Use only soft water for irrigation, without chlorine and impurities of iron and fluoride (preferably rain or melt).
Fertilizer: If soleiroly is transplanted annually, then it may not be fertilized. You can feed from March to September, every 2 weeks with complex fertilizer for deciduous plants.
Air humidity: Soleirolia requires high air humidity - about 70-80% constantly. It is sprayed several times a day with warm soft water if the temperature is above 20 ° C. If the temperature is below 20 ° C, then you can spray less often - after 2-3 days. If the plant lives in a table greenhouse or terrarium, spraying is not required.
Transplantation: Annually in fresh very porous, well-drained soil. The pots are wide and shallow, rather plates or containers. Approximate soil composition: 1 part of the sheet earth and 1 part of the sand. Or universal peat soil - the 1 part, to it 1 part of the pine bark or needles and 1 part of the small gravel. When landing in an aquarium or terrarium without a pot, pour drainage at least 5 cm high on the bottom.
Reproduction: Soleirolia is propagated by dividing part of the bush with roots or cuttings that are easily rooted in a mini greenhouse on moist vermiculite.