Sansevieria, or a pike tail flower, as it is popularly called, is a very beautiful and original plant, but at the same time it is absolutely unpretentious, so even a novice florist can easily handle it.
Description
Sansevieria belongs to the Agave family. Its homeland is the territory of the savannas and semi-deserts of Africa and Asia, where it grows wild everywhere. The pike tail flower is a stemless plant, which is a rosette of dense fleshy lanceolate leaves, with good care capable of reaching a length of up to 1 meter. In room conditions, several varieties of sansevieria are grown, differing in the shape and length of the leaves, as well as their color. Most common:
- three-lane sansevieria, the leaves of which are decorated with light transverse stripes;
- Sansevieria trifasciata laurentii, the edges of the leaves of which are decorated with a light yellow border;
- Sansevieria Hana, whose leaves are wider and shorter;
- sansevieria HanaGolden is a hybrid with a squat rosette shape, the leaves of which have a light border around the edge.
If you provide comfortable living conditions and proper care, in April-May a pike tail (flower) can please you with flowering. The photo shows what the inflorescence of this plant looks like: milky white small flowers, shaped like lilies, collected on a delicate fragile peduncle. From them comes a pleasant aroma of vanilla, which intensifies at night. Each plant can bloom only once, and after that the rosette stops releasing new leaves, so you should take care of preparing planting material for propagating sansevieria in time and preserving this original species on your windowsill.
Care
As already mentioned, the pike tail flower is an unpretentious plant. This is due to the fact that it feels quite comfortable in the arid lands of its homeland. Here and in room conditions, Sansevieria will require minimal effort from you.
Accommodation
Piketail grows well in both sun and shade, except that varieties with variegated leaf colors need a little more light to maintain the pattern. In winter, Sansevieria grows well under artificial lighting. Tolerates direct sunlight well.
Irrigation
Being a native of dry savannas and semi-deserts, the pike tail flower can do without watering for some time, but does not like waterlogging. Watering is moderate, in winter it can be reduced to 1 time in 2-3 weeks. When watering a plantthe middle of the outlet should be protected from moisture getting into it, otherwise rotting may begin, fraught even with the death of the flower. Sansevieria can do without spraying, it is enough to wipe the leaves from dust from time to time.
Feeding
In the warm season, you can feed the plant with fertilizers for cacti. In winter, the number of dressings is reduced.
Transfer
The pike tail flower is usually transplanted every 2-3 years, if it is noticeable that the roots of the plant protrude from the pot, and it became cramped. It is better to choose containers for sansevieria that are shallow, but wide, since its root system is located in the upper soil layer.
Reproduction
The pike tail is propagated in several ways:
- dividing the rhizome - cutting the root into pieces so that each segment has a growth point;
- lateral shoots - separating them from an adult plant, and keeping them in a container with water until the roots appear;
- leaves - separating sections of 8-10 cm from the leaf of an adult plant, and placing them in a greenhouse with wet river sand until roots, buds and shoots appear.
As you can see, the pike tail is an indoor flower that is very easy to care for. Just a little attention and care on your part - and your interior will be decorated with an original and very beautiful plant!
