Blossoming hippeastrum is very beautiful. Only once a year he has large flowers-stars. But sometimes they don't show up. To prevent this, as well as protect the plant from wilting, proper care is required at home. Hippeastrum after flowering and before that needs special treatment. The rules for plant care are presented in the article.
Appearance
Gippeastrum is a bulbous perennial plant. It has glossy linear leaves. They have shallow grooves. The leaves are arranged in 2 rows. During flowering, a tall and powerful peduncle is observed.
The flowers are funnel-shaped. They can be different in color: red, white, orange, pink, purple. The main tone is complemented by strokes or specks. The size of the flowers reaches up to 20 cm in diameter. The plant has a weak aroma, and some species are completelythey don't have it.
Varieties
The flower has an attractive appearance, as can be seen from the photo of the hippeastrum. Care at home leads to excellent flowering. The plant belongs to the Amaryllis family and includes about 90 species and over 2 thousand varieties.
In room conditions, hippeastrum hybrid is usually grown. There are the following varieties:
- Large-flowered - "ell blossom", "charisma", "showmaster".
- Medium-flowered - Lemon Star, Sedjik Green.
- Small-flowered - "Santa Cruz".
- Terry large-flowered - "blossom peakok".
- Terry mid-flowered - "alfresco".
If hippeastrum is grown indoors, care after and before flowering is important. Properly carried out procedures lead to the appearance of beautiful flowers.
Suitable conditions
When growing red hippeastrum at home, care after flowering is to select the appropriate temperature, humidity and lighting. Strong flowering occurs with a full dormant period in a dark, dry, cool room for 8-10 weeks. A "tired" plant usually produces small flowers on a short spike or none at all.
During the awakening of the bulb, the conditions need to be gradually changed: the plant is transferred to a warm, but not very brightly lit room. Watering should be moderate. This is how flower stalks form and develop. In cold climates, this process slows down.
If a flower from darkness immediately falls into bright light in combination with a large amount of moisture, then the rapid growth of green mass is stimulated, but the development of the peduncle is significantly slowed down. In order for the plant to develop fully, compliance with growing conditions is required.
Features of boarding and transplanting
When growing hippeastrum care at home, transplantation requires compliance with established rules. The planting period is chosen based on the desired flowering time. This can be done regardless of the season. Flowers appear 5-9 weeks after shoot formation. Bulbs that are sold through the distribution network may bloom. They've had a dormant period and don't need darkness.
To plant a plant, you need a deep (up to 15 cm) and narrow pot. It is better to choose ceramic. A narrow container is required to protect against strong moisture and root rot. The optimal substrate is drainage, which fills the lower part of the pot, as well as a soil mixture that includes equal parts of sand, soddy soil, humus or peat.
The bulb must be planted in a moist soil mixture, deepening it to 2/3 of the height. After that, heat is required. Do not water until sprouts appear. When growing a hippeastrum flower, home care and transplantation allow you to get a wonderful plant that will delight with its flowering. But if there is damage on the bulb, it needs to be healed in advance. This procedure consists in trimming rotten parts, keeping for 30 minutes in a fungicide solution("Fundazol") or ordinary brilliant green, as well as drying during the day.
The bulb is planted in the ground, where instead of humus there is a small amount of sphagnum. The deepening of the reanimated bulb into the soil should be carried out no more than ¼ of the height. In this case, it is easier to control its condition and, if necessary, carry out spraying. When the bulb recovers, the soil mixture is filled up to the standard level.
After planting the plant in moist soil, it should be placed in a warm, slightly shady place and watering should be excluded until the flower stalk is forced to a height of 10 cm. It is advisable to replant every 3-4 years. It is best to do this before rest or at its end. It is advisable to use the transshipment method - moving a plant with an earthen clod. In this case, the root system is less damaged, which quickly roots the bulbs and leads to its rapid development.
Irrigation
When growing hippeastrum, home care is about proper watering. It is important not only to provide the required amount of moisture, but also to properly deliver it to the root system. For example, do not pour water on the bulb, as it can rot.
It is desirable to combine the top watering with watering in the pan. So the moisture will be evenly distributed over the earthy coma, which will prevent the roots from rotting. It is better to underfill than overfill. The leaves are also dusted and washed with warm water.
Feeding
If there is a hippeastrum at home, home care after floweringis to perform dressings. With the growth of the peduncle, the plant will be 12-15 cm high. Then it is necessary to water the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. After 5-6 days, it is necessary to feed the plant with phosphate fertilizer.
Gippestrum is fertilized regularly, during the growing season - 1 time in 2 weeks using liquid nitrogen-potassium fertilizer (7:3:6). When the leaves appear, less nitrogen and more potassium are needed, so the proportion should be 4:6:12. The frequency of feeding is the same. A month before dormancy, the plant needs fertilizer with a small amount of nitrogen and phosphorus and a large amount of potassium (4:4:12).
It is important to read the instructions for the use of fertilizers on the packaging and not to exceed the concentration of minerals. Otherwise, there is a risk of burning the root system. Thanks to timely balanced top dressing, high-quality flowering is ensured. If there is not enough nutrition, then the nutrients from the leaves will be used, but this will not be enough for flowering.
The subtleties of flowering
Normal development is ensured only with proper care at home. A photo of a hippeastrum flower shows that the flowering of the plant is magnificent. But sometimes it doesn't come. This is due to the following reasons:
- Usually, the plant does not throw out the peduncle if the bulb is depleted. Hippeastrum needs a lot of nutrients to bloom. Therefore, the soil quickly becomes depleted. To eliminate this problem, you need to regularly and sufficiently feed the plant.
- A flower affected by pests will fight them off, so it won't have the strength to bloom.
- The problem occurs when the bulb rots, which is observed due to waterlogging of the soil.
Recommendations
To have a flowering plant every year, you should not allow such situations. You should also read some recommendations from experienced flower growers to improve flowering:
- Bulbs before planting should be treated with hot water (43-45 degrees) for 3 hours. Thanks to this, the hippeastrum will bloom after 3 weeks.
- If you finish watering in August, you should put the plant in a dark, dry place and keep it there until January, and then resume watering. Flowers will appear in 1.5 months.
- If all the leaves are cut in July and there is no watering for a month, then with the first watering, the introduction of liquid complex top dressing is required. Flowers bloom in August or September.
To prevent root burns, fertilizer is applied after the soil is moistened. After flowering, the faded peduncle is cut off, carrying out watering and top dressing. And the plant needs to provide a dormant period, which affects flowering.
rest time
When growing hippeastrum, care at home in the fall must also be done. The rest period lasts from September to January. If the plant was outdoors in the summer, then by autumn it is brought into the house and watering is reduced until the leaves stop and dry. You can prune yellowed leaves from which the bulb has already absorbed nutrients.
Then the plantput in a dark and cool place (5-12 degrees). Some flower growers keep flowers at elevated temperatures (17-18 degrees). The soil is slightly moistened every 2-3 weeks to protect the roots from drying out. The bulb does not need to be moistened and sprayed.
The dormant time lasts 1.5-3 months. During this period, the plant "has no signs of life." The development of leaves and peduncles is carried out only inside the bulb. After the end of the dormant time, the hippeastrum wakes up. Leaves and peduncles form on the bulb.
After wintering
Growing hippeastrum and home care involves observing the smallest subtleties. If the bulb does not wake up, patience and waiting for its independent awakening is required. But usually it does not flower.
In this situation, you need to remember what state the flower had before dormancy, since the peduncle is laid in the axil of every 4 leaves. If the green mass was not grown enough last year, the bulb will be weak. And if there were less than 4 leaves, then, probably, there will be no flowering in the new season. Dry content is unlikely to help. It is necessary to provide a warm temperature, active watering and feeding.
Mistakes
When growing amaryllis hippeastrum, home care consists in taking into account errors and correcting them:
- In the absence of dormancy, low temperature during flowering, poor lighting during the period of the active company, violation of the rules of the policy and top dressing will not beplanting flower buds. It is necessary to follow the rules of watering and fertilizing, indicated above. Temperature support is also important.
- Due to heavy watering, growth stops, bulbs rot, pests develop. It is required to dig up the plant, free it from the ground, eliminate damaged areas, transplant into clean soil.
- Flowers darken when temperatures are low or damp. They need to be cut. Another plant can be placed in a warm and dry place and provide suitable growing conditions.
- With insufficient feeding with potash fertilizers or keeping during the growing season in a very dry room, the tips of the leaves turn brown. Need top dressing with mineral fertilizers with macro- and microelements, air humidification.
- Flowers fade in strong light. Need diffused lighting, protection from direct sunlight.
Diseases and pests
The plant is not strongly exposed to diseases. Usually there is a defeat with a red burn, red rot and downy mildew. The appearance of spider mites, scale insects, aphids, and a worm is also likely. With proper cultivation of hippeastrum and care at home, why do diseases occur? The reasons depend on the problem:
- Red burn appears from a fungal infectious disease. Red spots are formed on all parts of the plant. Due to a strong defeat, the leaves and peduncles are bent and fade. If the disease is insignificant, spraying with fungicides is necessary. Means with copper are effective: copper sulfate, "Hom", "Abiga Peak". Atsignificant damage to the bulbs is dug up, diseased areas are removed. Only urgent treatment gives a positive result.
- Downy mildew comes from a viral disease. It has silvery spots on the leaves. They need to be treated with a fungicide.
- The formation of red rot is observed from severe waterlogging. The leaves will hang sluggishly, rot will form on the scales of the bulb and roots. It is required to eliminate damaged areas, diseased roots, dry the bulb for 7 days, and treat it with foundation before planting. Then planted in sterilized new soil.
- Mealybug, scale insect, aphid, spider mite are formed from infection from other plants, through open windows, the acquisition of an infected bulb. It is necessary to remove the surface soil and diseased leaves. The plant is cleaned of pests with cotton swabs. Then insecticide treatment is performed, for example, Aktara. The window sill is wiped with alcohol. Re-treatments with insecticides are needed after a week. Inspection of the plant is required periodically.
Conclusion
Hippeastrum is a beautiful houseplant. It develops properly only with proper care. Why hippeastrum at home is exposed to various dangers and how to deal with them is described in the article.
