This plant is known to many flower growers as the money tree. Botanists call it crassula (Crassula) and refer to the Crassula family, which combines perennial and annual succulents, distributed in natural conditions mainly in the southern hemisphere.
The birthplace of various types of crassula is the arid southern and southwestern regions of Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula. Plants have an unusual appearance that attracts lovers of indoor floriculture. True, not everyone knows how to grow an indoor money tree, how to care for it. In this article, we will try to tell you in detail about the features of this plant, about what conditions must be created for its development and growth, and we will present you with recommendations from experienced succulent owners.
General description of members of the family
Interestingly, in many cultures, this plant is believed to attract the energy of we alth in an amazing way. And even houseplant lovers who are skeptical oflike statements, willingly grow it in their homes. It is very important to know how to care for a fat woman (money tree). How comfortable the fat girl will feel in your home depends on her further development.
Most seasoned growers say this is an amazing houseplant - fast growing, not overly demanding to care for. Perhaps that is why it is often the money tree that often becomes the first experiment in growing indoor plants for beginners. How to care for him? How to water? How to propagate? Answers to these questions can be found in numerous publications on indoor floriculture. Today we will try to provide you with information that may be useful if you plan to grow a money tree in your home.
From 300 to 500 different plant species belong to the genus Crassula. Among them there are miniature ones, no more than a few centimeters high, and huge trees growing up to 4 meters. The vast majority of species are perennials, but there are also annual plants that die immediately after flowering. In most cases, members of the family have creeping herbaceous or erect stems. There are shrubs with fleshy juicy or stiff trunks, slender tree-like representatives. The fleshy and juicy leaves, which are covered with a wax coating, can be colored yellowish, greenish or blue. In the sun, they turn cherry or red.
The plant was namedcrassula because of the characteristic structure of the stems and leaves: the word crassus is translated from Latin as "thick". From here came another name for the plant - fat woman.
Features of the money tree
Flower growers love the money tree for its unpretentious care and attractive appearance. Reading numerous instructions on how to care for a money tree at home, we can conclude that maintaining the proper development of the plant, its active growth is quite simple.
Not all lovers of indoor plants have seen how this succulent blooms. In order for the plant to bloom, you need to be confident in the seller, as well as know how to properly care for the money tree. Also, it depends on what kind of fat girl you purchased.
Types of Crassules
There are three types of the most common members of the family.
1. Crassula oval. Perhaps the most common type of money tree, which in natural conditions reaches three meters in height, and in indoor floriculture the plant does not exceed 1.5 meters. Flower growers who know how to care for Crassula note the unpretentiousness of the species and the ability to tolerate shade well.
2. The fat woman is treelike. This is a plant with a bare trunk and branches, flat, fleshy oval leaves. Pale pink or white flowers are collected in panicle inflorescences. However, even knowing how to care for this plant, you are unlikely to achieve its flowering: this is extremely rare.occurs in indoor floriculture. You need to know that this tree is completely intolerant of shade.
3. Crassula silvery (purslane). Unlike previous species, this money tree is much smaller in size. Outwardly, it resembles a tree-like and oval variety. Of the creeping plants, the most common are:
- false-moss Crassula;
- mossy;
- spot;
- milky;
- Cooper;
- tetrahedral.
The tree-like money tree has received the greatest distribution in indoor floriculture. We'll show you how to take care of it below. We hope that our tips will help you grow a beautiful and he althy plant.
Money tree: how to care for at home?
It is not difficult to create the necessary conditions for this plant. How to care for indoor money tree? To do this, it is necessary to provide sufficient lighting, moderate watering, removing dust from the leaves, periodic top dressing and crown formation.
Lighting
To grow a he althy and strong plant, you need to understand well what the money tree needs, how to care for it at home. First of all, take care of a place for a flower with good lighting. The most suitable window sill on the southeast side. Interestingly, not only flower growers, but also Feng Shui experts recommend adhering to this rule.
Make sure that direct sunlight does not fall on the plant: from themthe flowers wither, the leaves turn red and fall. In summer, the money tree feels great on the balcony, and in winter it is better to rearrange it to the south windows.
Irrigation
Fat woman should be watered with water at room temperature, always settled. In summer, the soil is moistened, focusing on the condition of the earth. It should be a little dried up, but not turn into a single lump. The frequency of watering depends on the air temperature: in the heat, the plant is watered twice a week; at normal temperature - up to 20 °C - once, once a month - in winter.
Do not overmoisten the soil: excess moisture will inevitably lead to rotting of the roots and aerial parts, yellowing and leaf fall. If there is a suspicion that the roots are sick, you can save the tree by taking it out of the ground, removing the damaged roots and sprinkling them with activated charcoal. The plant should then be transplanted into a smaller pot.
Humidity
Crassula easily tolerates moisture deficiency and does not need regular spraying. Dust from the surface of the sheet plates is removed with a damp cloth. The money tree loves warm showers, which are desirable to take place every 2-3 months. The soil in the pot during the procedure is covered with a film.
Temperature
Experienced flower growers know how to care for a potted money tree. They will definitely advise beginners to monitor the air temperature in the room in which the succulent grows. In spring and summer, the optimum temperature for these plants is from +20 to +25 °C. Preferably at this temperaturetake the plant to the balcony - a living tree needs fresh air. How to care for a money tree in winter? During the dormant period, the plant will be comfortable at a temperature of about +15 °C and below, but not less than +4 °C.
The plant can overwinter at room temperature, but most likely it will wither leaves. Do not place a flower near heating appliances. Watering is carried out no more than once every twenty days.
How to transplant a money tree?
Speaking about how to care for a money tree flower, one cannot help but dwell on this issue. Plant transplantation is carried out every three years, and only if necessary - if the flower has grown excessively, and it has become cramped in the previous container. This procedure is best done in the spring, preferably in May, in a pot 2.5 cm larger in diameter than the previous one.
For transplanting, a special soil for succulents and cacti is suitable. Such a soil mixture can be prepared independently. Mix sand and soddy soil (one part each) with three parts of leafy soil. Flower growers recommend adding a handful of clay, ash, humus to such a mixture. In this way, you will increase the nutritional value of the soil.
Don't forget the drainage layer when transplanting. It should be expanded clay or chipped ceramic shards. In a pot, at the bottom of which there is a drainage layer, a soil mixture filled with a quarter of the capacity, a plant is planted along with an earthen clod. The remaining voids are filled with new soil.
How to properly care for the money tree aftertransplants? It’s not difficult at all: the plant is watered abundantly, the soil is periodically loosened to improve the nutrition of the roots, and if the soil sags, the top layer is added to the pot.
Cutting the fat woman
If you want to know what else homemade money tree flowers need, how to care for them so that the plants develop actively, you need to remember that they need pruning. It will allow you to form a beautiful flower crown. This should be done when the tree is still very young. When it grows up to 20 cm, you need to pinch off the top two small leaves. Branching will begin at this point, and instead of two, four leaves will appear at once.
Over time, you will be able to remove the upper leaves in those places where you plan to branch shoots.
How much capacity is needed for a money tree?
Knowing how to care for a money tree is not enough to grow a really beautiful plant - it is equally important to know how to plant it correctly.
The crassula pot should be small and shallow, but at the same time heavy and wide, fairly stable. In a deep pot, the root of the plant rushes down, and the plant itself stretches up - the trunk becomes weak and thin.
Feeding
Twice a month in summer, and once a month in autumn and spring, the plant is fed with special liquid fertilizers for succulents and cacti. The concentration of fertilizers is halved. They are applied immediately after watering into moist soil.
Possible growing problems
How to care for a money tree to prevent its defeatparasites and diseases? Most likely, you will not be able to completely protect your flower from all misfortunes, but you will be able to notice in time that the plant is unhe althy and provide it with immediate help. Like most indoor plants, the money tree is attacked by parasites. Mealybug, scale insect, spider mite are the main enemies of the fat woman.
- Spider mite. When attacked by a tick, the stems and leaves of the flower are covered with a very thin cobweb. You can get rid of it with the help of a soap solution, Aktellika, Fitoverma, Fufanon.
- Shield. The presence of scale insects can be judged by brown and yellow spots that appear on the surface of the leaves. You can fight this pest using the same methods as with the spider mite.
- Mealybug. The same solution of laundry soap or insecticides will help to destroy the worm. If there are few pests, they can be removed with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.
In addition to pests, the money tree has other problems when growing:
- with an excess of moisture, the roots and the base of the trunk rot - reduce watering;
- wildered leaves will tell you about the lack of moisture;
- cold water during irrigation can cause leaf shedding; the same will happen if the plant is standing in a draft or with a lack of fresh air.
Flowering
And now I would like to talk about a very rare phenomenon in indoor floriculture - the flowering of a houseplant money tree. How to care for him to enjoy the lovely view of delicate whiteflowers? Even when creating ideal conditions for a plant, it can be expected for several years. The process can be accelerated, but for this the tree will need your help.
In the warm months, when the air temperature rises to +20 ° C, take the plant out to fresh air more often, remove old dried leaves, use stem supports. In addition, in order to achieve flowering of the money tree with white, delicate flowers, it needs a good level of lighting.
Most often, white flowers appear on the fat woman at the moment when it is actively growing. Delicate flowers are covered with pollen, which can cause negative reactions in people prone to allergies.
Reproduction
Money tree can be propagated in two ways - cuttings and seeds.
Using cuttings
This is the easiest way to propagate the money tree. A large shoot or leaf is cut with a sharp, previously disinfected knife. The cuttings are placed in a container with water, in which they are until the roots appear. In order for the root system to form faster and the stem not to rot, florists recommend adding charcoal to the water.
Reproduction by seeds
You can propagate the fat woman with seeds. They are sown in shallow wide containers, which are filled with a mixture of sand (1 part) and leafy earth (2 parts) and covered with glass. Every day, crops must be ventilated and condensate removed from the glass. Seeds germinate two weeks afterlanding. Seedlings are transplanted into a soil mixture consisting of soddy soil, leafy soil (one part each) and sand (1/2 part). The container with the plant is placed in a well-lit place, but the light must certainly be diffused.
Grown plants are transplanted into pots with a diameter of 5 to 7 cm in the soil, consisting of sod, leaf soil and sand in equal parts. Until the sprouts get stronger, they should be kept indoors at a temperature of +16 to +18 °C. Then they are transferred to a permanent place.
Useful properties
Many flower growers believe that the fat woman is endowed with positive energy and contributes to financial success. But not everyone knows that the money tree has healing properties, being a filter plant. Crassula releases phytoncides into the air, which are endowed with antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties, and therefore disinfect indoor air.
Crassula juice is used to treat the following diseases:
- as a lotion for insect bites, herpes, abscesses, cuts, bruises;
- in the form of rinses for sore throats, inflammation of the gums;
- for arthritis and other diseases of the joints, rub the affected areas with juice before going to bed.
Parts of the plant are strictly forbidden to be taken orally as a medicine - they contain arsenic in large quantities. Many consider the money tree to be a kind of indicator of he alth. If one of the family members falls ill, the plant begins to wither and wither.
Signs and superstitions
Of course, the mainsigns associated with this plant indicate that it attracts money like a magnet.
- If the fat girl is actively growing and developing, then there will be prosperity and prosperity in the house. Career will go uphill, and most likely, new sources of income will appear.
- When the trunk of a tree is bent, one should prepare for financial difficulties.
- If the money tree fell with a pot - expect an increase in we alth. But if it breaks when it falls, hard times await you.
