Among the variety of indoor plants deserves special attention flower - afelandra. This has its own explanation.
This plant is characterized by amazing juiciness of leaf color, so they look great without flowering. But it blooms very beautiful, large yellow flowers.
So, let's try to understand the features of growth and care.
What is this flower?
This flower belongs to the family of acanthuswhich has about 150 species of plants. Some species are actively grown by growers at home.
The place of origin of this family is considered to be South, Central and North America. This circumstance explains the increased need of afelandry in moisture.
Particular love florist aphelandra deserved for unusually beautiful leaves, decorated with yellow streaks. Besides, in the autumn period, the plant is decorated with flowers having a cone-shaped shape.
A photo
Growth features
Aphelandra is a short, evergreen shrub. The most common form that is able to take root at home is an apelanda bulging.
As a rule, at home this plant reaches no more than 30-50 cm.
Alandland has large leaves that have a smooth, glossy surface. The leaves are round with a pointed end. Different types of plants may have frosted, spiky or glossy leaves. For home flower characteristic glossy surface. The color is dark green with numerous yellow veins, thanks to which the plant has a decorative appearance almost all year round.
In the autumn, you can observe the appearance of bright inflorescences, the size of which sometimes reaches 15 cm. The most common are bright orange, yellow or scarlet flowers. The corolla has four stamens and one pistil, and can be purple, scarlet, orange or bright yellow.
Afelandra blooms for almost 2 months. After completion of the flowering period, a so-called seed box is formed, which is divided into two parts. In each part there are two seeds.
Home care
If you decide to buy a frontend for yourself, you should know that This flower is very picky and requires careful care., proper breeding at home, it is better to do experienced flower growers.
If the plant is not provided with proper home conditions, then the flower will no longer bloom, will wither or may even die.
ATTENTION. If you do not remove faded inflorescences in time, do not feed the plant, do not know which purchased soil is suitable, and do not observe the required level of humidity, then aflandra will first begin to throw off the leaves and then completely disappear.
Temperature and lighting
Aphelandra is a rather heat-loving and light-loving plant. Even in winter, the flower requires a temperature in the region of 20 to 23 degrees Celsius for normal existence. The minimum level to which the temperature drop is acceptable is 16 degrees of heat. If the air temperature falls below 13 degrees, then the flower dies.
Also, this plant does not like sudden temperature jumps. The air temperature should be as uniform as possible.
Separately, it should be noted that afelandra likes quite bright lighting. The optimal location of the flower is, of course, the window sill. The most suitable are the eastern and western windows.
It is important to ensure that the flower does not fall in direct sunlight. Otherwise, the plant can get burned. In the summer you can take out to fresh air.
In winter, natural light may not be enough. In this case, it is recommended to provide artificial light with a fluorescent lamp.
If you do not observe a sufficient level of illumination, the alandra ceases to bloom, and the leaves lose their juicy color and become elongated.
Watering
As noted above, the plant needs abundant watering and high humidity. In the warm period of time (from spring to autumn) the flower should be watered regularly, observing constant soil moisture. At the same time it is not necessary to allow stagnation of water in the pot. In winter, watering should be more moderate.
Water should be at room temperature and be soft. It is recommended to water rain or melt water. In extreme cases, you can use boiled water.
It is also important to ensure high humidity. For this flower must be regularly sprayed. The best option would be to place the plant in a pallet with wet pebbles.
IMPORTANT. Aflandru should not be sprayed during the flowering period.
Pruning
A separate item in the care of aphelandra is timely trimming. It is especially necessary for the old plant, as with age it begins to stretch and lose the lower leaves. This makes the flower ugly.
Pruning should be done at the end of winter, until the plant enters a phase of active growth. All young shoots are usually trimmed. Leaves should be penechki height of 20 cm. At the same time to ensure a high level of moisture they put on bags and copiously sprayed. To flower a bush, shoots should be pinned.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Aphelandra is characterized by very intensive growth, as a result of which there is a need for a sufficient amount of minerals and trace elements.
The plant must be fed during the growing season (spring-summer period). The frequency of fertilizing should be 1 time in one or two weeks. Episodic subcortex of a flower is allowed in the cold season.
As a fertilizer, as a rule, special fertilizers are used for flowering houseplants (for example: nitrogen, potash, phosphate, etc.).
Fertilize can be in different ways. There are fertilizers having a liquid, dry form, in the form of tablets, capsules or sticks. The main condition when using dressings is to clearly follow the instructions.
Diseases and pests
During the cultivation of apelandra at home can be faced with certain difficulties in the form of diseases and pests.
So, consider the main types of flower diseases and their causes:
- The base of the flower is rotting. Reason: excess moisture, low air temperature.
- Sluggish leaves. The reason is a draft.
- The plant has ceased to bloom, new leaves are small. The reason is a lack of nutrients in the soil; plant nutrition is required.
- The appearance of brown spots on the leaves. The reason - the location of the flower in direct sunlight.
- Dry tips of the leaves, as well as their abscission. The reason is insufficient watering of the plant.
In addition, afelandra can also be affected by a variety of pests. Among the most common are:
mealy mite - when a plant is infected with this insect, white spots appear on the lower part of the leaves, as well as in their sinuses, having a rough structure;- shield - characterized by the appearance of rough spots of yellow color along the leaf veins. Brown insects can also be observed from the back of the leaf and on the stem;
- aphid - leaves are bent and covered with a sticky substance;
- red spider mite - on the back of the leaf appears spiderweb.
mealy mite - when a plant is infected with this insect, white spots appear on the lower part of the leaves, as well as in their sinuses, having a rough structure;As the main method of pest control, apelandra spraying with a systemic insecticide is used. In addition, the flower can be treated with tincture of garlic or pyrethrum.
Thus, when growing an aflandra at home, the most important thing is to ensure the required living conditions. Undoubtedly, this will require some effort and time. However, the reward will be a beautiful bright flower, which for a long time will please the eye and decorate the home.
