Elephant's foot flower is a very interesting and unpretentious house plant. It is also called a horse's tail, nolina, bokarney, bottle palm. It came to us from the southern arid countries, so it got used to storing moisture for a long time. This moisture accumulates at the base of the trunk, and in this part it becomes thicker. At the top of the flower are collected thin leaves resembling a palm tree. Such an unusual appearance made the elephant leg indoor flower popular.
The photo will remind you of a plant that many have seen, but did not know its name.
Description
Elephant's foot is a perennial tropical plant of the needle family. It grows wild in Southern Mexico and is occasionally found in the southern United States.
The elephant leg looks like a low tree with an inflated base of the trunk. This feature allows plantssurvive the drought. After flowering, lush, branched greens appear at the elephant foot. This effect can be achieved faster with a haircut. Of course, an adult formed plant is very expensive, so young specimens are more common on sale. They are cheaper, but to form a typical elephant foot, you will have to spend a lot of time (more than one season). Indoor flower elephant foot blooms extremely rarely.
The plant has a very interesting root system - the roots do not grow in depth, but in breadth. Therefore, the elephant foot is grown in a wide dish with good drainage. So that a crust does not form on the soil, the top can be covered with fine gravel. This will also serve as an additional decoration.
Flower types
There are several varieties of the elephant foot:
- Bent. The trunk of this plant is erect, with a bulbous thickening at the bottom. Under natural conditions, this is a real tree 8-10 meters high, and the diameter of the base is about 1 meter. The height of the greenhouse plant is up to 1.5 m. The upper part consists of an abundant sheaf of thick linear leaves.
- Long-leaved. It is grown in greenhouses on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea and the Caucasus. This elephant leg is distinguished by long inflorescences with numerous small flowers.
- Small-fruited. In appearance, it is very similar to the long-leaved and the elephant foot flower is grown there.
The photo shows how this original plant grows in nature.
Care
Elephant's foot is a rather unpretentious plant, and even novice lovers can grow it. At the same time, she loves bright places very much, but direct sunlight affects her negatively. In the autumn-winter period, the plant needs additional lighting. You can provide it with the help of fluorescent lamps.
In spring and summer, the elephant foot grows well at room temperature, but does not tolerate drafts, they can kill the plant. In summer, you can leave it outdoors, you just need to protect it from rain and winds.
In autumn and winter, the plant is at rest, so the temperature should be gradually lowered to 10 degrees. In principle, an elephant foot can be kept at the same temperature as cacti. It is very difficult to provide normal conditions for a flower in an apartment, so this is not necessary. In this case, it should be borne in mind that at room temperature the plant does not enter a state of rest, and it will have to provide good lighting.
The elephant foot flower requires an abundance of moisture. It is good to use the bottom watering system (the pot must be lowered into the water, removed and allowed to drain excess water). Next time you need to water when the soil is completely dry. So the elephant's foot is watered in spring and summer. If the plant is kept at low temperatures in winter and autumn, watering should be reduced to a minimum (either by dripping or simply periodically spraying the plant). It is important to remember that excess moisture is fatal for this flower.
At roomtemperature, the elephant foot does not need to be sprayed, it is better to wipe the leaves with a damp sponge. You can also simulate dew on the leaves (this is typical for a plant in the wild). It is better to do it in the morning or in the evening.
In the early years, the elephant foot grows quite quickly. By the age of 6-7, the flower turns into a large outdoor plant. Therefore, additional feeding is usually not required. With a strong desire, you can feed the plant with liquid mineral mixtures, but this should be done no more than once every 3 weeks. The finished fertilizer must also be diluted so that the concentration is about 2 times lower. Feed the plant during the period of active growth and after abundant watering.
Possible difficulties in growing a flower (diseases)
As mentioned above, the indoor elephant leg flower is unpretentious in care, so it rarely gets sick. However, with improper care, the following difficulties may arise:
- Leaves become small and pale. This can happen due to a cramped pot or lack of light and heat.
- Leaves drooped, withered, darkened. This is due to insufficient lighting.
- The tips of the leaves have dried up or turned brown. This happens because the air in the room is too dry.
- The stem has become softer, springy under the fingers - it has begun to rot due to excessive watering.
- The bulb has become smaller - the plant does not have enough moisture. Watering should be plentiful, but rare.
Reproduction and transplantation
Flowerthe elephant foot does not like voluminous pots, as the roots there do not have time to absorb moisture. This can make them wet. The pot should not be too high and 3-4 cm wider than the trunk. When transplanting a flower, it is imperative to make good drainage. The soil should be a third of sand or fine gravel. If additional perlite is added to the soil, it will remove excess moisture.
It is not necessary to transplant a flower often - no more than 1 time in 3 years. If desired, you can simply pour fresh soil on top.
The elephant foot is propagated with the help of apical cuttings. If the flower has several leaf growth points, one can be cut off and planted again. But it takes root very badly.
You can also grow an elephant foot from seeds - in this case, you will most likely have to buy them, since it rarely blooms at home.
Flower pests
Elephant's foot is a flower that can be damaged by scale insects, thrips and spider mites. To get rid of parasites, they must be removed with a swab dipped in soapy water. After that, the leaves are processed using special tools.
In principle, the plant is resistant to pests, they can appear only with improper care.
