Spathiphyllum, or "women's happiness" is a delicate and beautiful plant. According to legend, its owner will become a loving and beloved wife and mother. For this, it is important to observe one condition: someone must give the flower. But for the successful maintenance of the plant, one favorable environment is not enough. You need to know what soil is suitable for spathiphyllum, how to transplant it and other subtleties. The publication will tell about the rules for caring for this flower.
Natural conditions
To understand how to successfully grow "female happiness", you should familiarize yourself with the conditions in which this plant grows in nature. Spathiphyllum is native to the South American and Malaysian rainforests. Favorite habitats are flooded or wetlands, banks of water bodies.
That is, in the usual habitat - high humidity, loose and damp slightly acidic soil. Suchconditions "female happiness" successfully grows and blooms. And what follows from this conclusion? What soil is suitable for spathiphyllum? In the natural environment, the composition of the earth includes fallen leaves, rotten branches, charcoal and compost. Based on this knowledge, you can make your own nutritional formula.
Proportions for soil preparation
The soil for "women's happiness" should be loose and fertile. These are important conditions that must be observed when compiling the substrate. So, what soil is suitable for spathiphyllum? There are several recipes:
1. Coniferous soils, sand, humus - in equal parts, garden soils - 2 parts, peat - 4 parts.
2. Garden soil and perlite - 2 parts each, peat and soil for orchids - 3 parts each.
3. Sod land - 2 parts, leafy earth, peat, coarse sand - 1 part, charcoal, clay brick chips - half a part.
4. Sod land, river sand (or clay brick chips) - half a share, leafy earth, peat - 1 share.
5. Peat, humus, unground leaf humus - 2 shares, a mixture of charcoal, crushed bark, coarse sand and brick chips - 1 share.
The given compositions are well suited for "women's happiness". The soil is nutritious, moisture-intensive, oxygenated and not too acidic. To improve aeration, it is useful to add a little coconut fiber. There are other soil options for spathiphyllum. Which ones are suitablecomponents, depends on the flower itself and the conditions of detention. The ideal recipe can only be found empirically. The main thing is not to forget about good drainage to avoid root rot.
Important nuances
Pay attention to these recommendations from experienced flower growers:
- The substrate for "women's happiness" should be slightly acidic. Optimal performance - 5-6 pH.
- Recommended to use soil containing charcoal. It is an excellent antiseptic and can prevent root rot if waterlogged.
- Self-prepared soil must be disinfected. To do this, you can use a hot solution of dark pink potassium permanganate.
Features of store soil
You can purchase a universal soil or designed for aroid plants. It is worth noting that they usually have few useful substances. Therefore, after transplantation, you need to monitor the spathiphyllum and, if necessary, feed it with fertilizers.
There are also ready-made soils for spathiphyllum. To make the flower feel as comfortable as possible in them, it is recommended to make the soil looser. To do this, you can add coarse river sand, brick chips or vermiculite at the rate of 1 part to 9 parts of the substrate.
When to transplant?
Becoming the owners of "female happiness", many are wondering when to transplant it. This is useful in the following cases:
- The plant was recently brought from the store.
- The flower has drooping leaves and a generally unhe althy look.
- He is 1 year old.
- Spathiphyllum has not been transplanted for 2-3 years.
- Roots have sprouted into the drainage holes of the vessel.
- The plant does not bloom for a long time.
The best period for transplanting is the beginning of spring and the end of winter. If this procedure is needed urgently, then it can be carried out at any time of the year.
Choose a pot
It is important to know what kind of pot is needed for spathiphyllum. The wrong choice will cause it to get sick or stop blooming.
This plant prefers tight spaces, so you need to take the appropriate vessel - small and shallow. If there is a lot of space, then flowering will not happen soon. It usually starts when the roots fill the entire container.
When the spathiphyllum reaches a height of 30-40 centimeters, the transplant should be stopped. For such a green pet, a container with a diameter of 17-20 centimeters will be optimal.
The material of the pot doesn't matter. But for large specimens, it is advisable to take a more stable vessel. For example, a ceramic tub or pot. Be sure to have drainage holes to drain excess water.
Features of transplant
In order for the spathiphyllum to take root well and begin to bloom, it must be transplanted correctly. The following steps are recommended:
- If you want to get a large specimen with beautiful leaves, then the lateral processes will have to be separated.
- Before planting spathiphyllum, you need to properlywater.
- Drainage at the bottom of the new pot. It is advisable to lay a layer of expanded clay with a thickness of 2-2.5 centimeters.
- Pour a little fresh substrate and put the plant itself with an earthy clod. Fill voids with soil and tamp.
- Water a little to keep the ground moist.
- To speed up the rooting process, it is recommended to spray the flower with Epin's solution. Two drops of the stimulant in a glass of water are enough. Repeat the procedure in a week.
- The first 3-4 days it is better not to water "women's happiness", but only spray twice a day.
Feeding
The growing season is from March to September. Therefore, during these months, the green pet is especially in need of nutrients. Fertilize every two weeks. You can use universal top dressing for flowering plants. Usually they have a balanced composition, but are quite concentrated. Therefore, it needs to be diluted a little more than it should be. Otherwise, you can leave a burn on the delicate root system of the plant. Spathiphyllum also responds well to organic and mineral supplements. It can be bird droppings, a sweet drink, water after boiling pasta, etc. In winter, it is enough to fertilize the flower once a month.
Temperature and humidity
The optimum temperature for maintaining "female happiness" is 16-17 degrees Celsius. The minimum allowable value is 13 degrees Celsius, and the maximum is 27 (subject to abundant watering). Humidity must be sufficienthigh. Therefore, you need to often spray the plant or leave water in the pan.
Lighting
Spathiphyllum prefers well-lit places. But direct sunlight can cause burns on the leaves. It is advisable to place a flower pot on the northern windowsill. If this is not possible, then you can put it in any place where diffused light falls. It can be a stand, bedside table, shelf, but not a window.
Irrigation
The main secret of the success of growing spathiphyllum is abundant watering. But it is not necessary to fill the soil to the state of a swamp. Understanding that it is time to water the plant is very simple. This should be done when the top layer of soil is slightly dry. The drying up of an earthen coma should not be allowed. Water for irrigation should be warm, settled.
The bush of "women's happiness" is very responsive to spraying from a spray bottle. But in winter, the amount of irrigation and watering needs to be reduced.
It is also necessary to periodically wipe the leaves of spathiphyllum with a damp sponge. The plant in this case will be protected from scale insects, soot fungus and mealybugs.
Possible problems
By the appearance of a green pet, it is easy to understand that something is wrong with him. The following signs signal problems in care.
No flowering for a long time. The reason may be too large a pot or insufficient lighting
The plant has stunted growth, the leaves are becoming chlorotic. This is due to a lack of iron and manganese. If these trace elements are present in the soil in sufficientquantity, which means they are not absorbed due to cold or poor aeration of the substrate
Spathiphyllum leaves turn yellow. What to do in this case? Most likely, the plant needs to be fed or saturated with moisture. Several factors contribute to this problem. Insufficient watering, the use of hard, unsettled water, low air humidity. Also, the reason may be a lack of nutrients after abundant and long flowering
Leaves dry and turn brown. In this case, you need to increase the humidity of the air by increasing the frequency of spraying
The leaves are turning black. This means that watering is excessive and the room temperature is too low
Flowers are turning green. This is not a problem at all, but a natural process. And some species always have this color
Water droplets form on the leaves. There is no need to worry here either. You just need to take note that in this way the flower is trying to get rid of excess fluid in the tissues. This usually occurs when overspraying or high indoor humidity
Now you know what care spathiphyllum needs at home. The secrets of success are actually simple, because the plant is quite unpretentious. Even a beginner can successfully maintain it, just follow the recommendations given.
