Japanese Fatsia (Futsiajaponiai) is sometimes called Japanese Aralia. It is also grown indoors.
Sometimes it is variegated and with plain leaves. Its peculiarity and dignity are large dark green leaves of a palmate shape. Fatsia flowers are inconspicuous and have no decorative value.
Fatsia is grown both indoors and in greenhouses.
Japanese Fatsia: photo and description
Very fast growing ornamental tree almost 1.5 m high with leaves up to 35 cm in size. Its homeland is sunny Japan. This is an amazing exotic plant with large light green shiny palmate leaves. It is also interesting because it is evergreen. The appearance of the trunk changes over time and becomes knotty.
Such a rather large original plant requires a lot of space, so Japanese Fatsia (photo above) is grown at home in large rooms or in the lobby.
The tree is slightly branched, the leaves are round, heart-shaped, 15-30 cm in diameter, 5-9-lobed, shiny, leathery, on long petioles. The flowers themselves are small and fragrant,collected in small umbrella-shaped inflorescences, white or greenish-yellow. Dark blue berries are her fruits.
Fatsia requires precautions as it contains some poisonous substances.
Home maintenance
Japanese Fatsia is an unpretentious plant. Her favorite place is a bright room, in this regard, it is preferable to install it on the east and west windows. But in hot weather, it is advisable to cover its leaves from the direct light of the sun.
The best place for her is openwork penumbra. It is useful to take out Fatsia in the shade in the summer. The plant responds well to fresh air.
The best air temperature for her is 18-22oC, because under such conditions fatsia leaves remain attractive.
In winter, this plant tolerates room temperature normally, but it is best kept in cooler conditions - 10-15°C. For variegated forms of Fatsia, the temperature in winter should not be less than 16 ° C.
Features of transplant
The soil for Japanese fatsia needs fertile and light. This is a mixture at the rate of 3:2:1, respectively, soddy soil, sand and peat.
When the pot for the plant becomes cramped, the aralia must be repotted. It is best to perform this procedure at the very beginning of growth (in the spring). To form a plant, prune every spring, preferablyin the morning to stop juicing by evening.
While the plant is young, it should be transplanted annually in the spring, and then every three years. A third of the height of the pot must be filled with expanded clay drainage.
This plant grows beautifully in hydroponics.
Japanese Fatsia. Home care: watering and fertilizing
Fatsia's only serious whim is that it needs constant spraying with soft water. Wiping the leaves with a damp cloth or soft sponge is also recommended. In the summer, the plant should arrange a warm shower. In winter, the number of sprayings can be reduced, and in cold wintering this should not be done at all.
During the growing season (summer), it is advisable to water regularly, also periodically spraying the leaves to maintain a bright and shiny appearance. Reduce watering during dormancy to prevent root rot.
During the growth period, Aralia should be fertilized with complex fertilizers once every 2 weeks. During the dormant period, the plant is not fertilized. And in the autumn season, you do not need to feed.
In some moments, Japanese fatsia requires caution. Care for her in terms of watering should be delicate. Overdrying leads to lethargy and lowering of the leaves. You can correct their position only with the help of a garter on spacers to a horizontal position. And when the soil is waterlogged, the leaves of the plant become flabby and soft, turn yellow, and then fall off. Also, with insufficient watering, the tips of the leaves dry up.
Reproduction
WaysFatsia Japanese breeding is different and uncomplicated. Fatsia and fatshedera are propagated by both apical cuttings and aerial layering. Seed propagation is also allowed.
In spring, the plant is usually propagated by apical cuttings. Moreover, they should have several buds ready to grow. Rooting usually occurs quickly in a moist substrate consisting of a mixture of sand and peat at 26°C. The cuttings must be covered with a jar or plastic wrap, and removed for airing in the morning and evening for half an hour.
As soon as they take root, they need to be planted in an earthen mixture. With this seating, the plant usually turns out to be densely leafy.
When a bush is exposed, it can be rejuvenated and put in order with the help of air layering. In the spring, a shallow incision is made on the trunk, wrapped with moss (wet) soaked in any nutrient solution, and covered with a film on top.
Moss should always be kept moist. Roots will appear at the incision site in a few months. Then, after a short time, the top with roots is cut below the formed roots and planted in a pot. The stump from the remaining old plant needs to be kept watered because it will sprout shoots that will grow beautifully.
Japanese Fatsia can also be propagated by seeds. Seeds are sown in containers (pots or vases) to a depth of 1 cm in a mixture of equal parts of earth with turf, leafy soil and sand. The air should have a temperature of about 18 ° C, then shoots will appear. Then the seedlings, after they get stronger, are planted in 10-11 cm pots and placed in a lighted room.
Pests, diseases and their control
Fatsia is sometimes attacked by mealybugs, less often by aphids and scale insects.
The fight against worms with slight damage consists in cleaning the leaves of the plant with a cotton swab dipped in soap. You can also use alcohol. With a stronger lesion, it is necessary to spray Fatsia with the Japanese insecticide "Aktellik" or "Aktara".
If the plant is infected with a scale insect, then it must be isolated from other flowers. These pests are protected by a shell, so it is more difficult to deal with them. It is necessary to carefully remove them from the plant again with a cotton swab or toothpick treated with Aktara, alcohol or soapy water.
Forms and types of Fatsia
Garden species and forms of Japanese Fatsia can be found with different names:
1. Fatsia japonicavar. moseri are squat, dense plants.
2. Fatsia japonicaaureimarginatis - has a yellow border on the leaves.
3. Fatsia japonica var. argenteimarginatis - white border on leaves.
The most popular hybrid of ivy and Fatsia - Fatshedera Face. These are evergreen plants, densely leafy with lobed leaves, leathery, dark green. Their stem is thin, so the plants are usually attached to a support. There are also species with variegated leaf patterns.
Possible problems, waysdefinitions
Fatsia Japanese, like any other plant, there are external changes in shape and color. What does this mean?
- If the leaves of the plant are soft and lethargic, it means that the soil has been waterlogged.
- If the leaves become brittle, then the air is too dry.
- With shriveled leaves, the plant may have been sunburned or the air is too dry.
- Tips of leaves turned brownish or brittle - lack of watering.
- The leaves turned yellow and fall off - the soil was waterlogged.
Japanese Fatsia at home with proper and good care can be a wonderful and original interior decoration.
