Diplantia or, as it is also called, mandevilla, is an attractive flowering vine that is often grown at home. This plant is decorative and fast growing. But in order to achieve attractiveness from a culture, it is important to create a comfortable environment for it. You will learn how to care for diplomaticia at home and how to propagate the plant from our material.
Description
Diplosion, the photo of which you will find in the article, belongs to the Kutrovye family. In its natural environment, this liana can be found in the tropical and subtropical forests of North and South America. The genus of diplomaticia will include 180 species of annual and perennial plants, and there are countless varieties. But the following varieties are especially popular with flower growers:
- bright yellow Allamanda;
- snow white Summer Snow;
- Cherry Red Hood;
- Golden Yellow;
- blood red Scarlett Pimpernel.
Diplosion, akamandevilla, is a fast growing, evergreen and flowering vine. It has curly woody stems covered with leathery leaves with a glossy surface. When the plates are broken, poisonous milky juice is released. Therefore, when caring for and breeding diploidia, wear gloves.
Funnel-shaped, five-petal fragrant buds give special appeal. They densely cover the vine stems, and up to 80 inflorescences open simultaneously on one plant. The petals are painted in red, crimson, purple, pink and snow-white tones.
Growing diplomacy at home
Dipladenia is a rather capricious plant. And in order to achieve long-term flowering and numerous buds from it, it will be necessary to create comfortable conditions for the culture. The following agrotechnical measures will help with this:
- regular watering;
- periodic feeding;
- support installation;
- transplant;
- cropping;
- disease and pest prevention.
In addition, it is important to maintain optimal lighting and temperature near the diplomaticia. How to care for the liana, you will learn in more detail in the next part of the article.
Temperature
Diploidia is a tropical flower, which means it is thermophilic. In summer, keep the temperature in the room at +22…+26 °C. But if the thermometer rises above this mark, then the culture will not die. On the contrary, the color of its buds will become richer and brighter. In winter, Diplodia enters a dormant period. And at this time it is desirable for the liana to providereduction to +15…+16 °C.
At any time of the year, the plant needs fresh air. Therefore, ventilate the room regularly. But protect the vine from drafts - it categorically cannot stand them. In the summer, take the pot out to the balcony or garden. But install the flower in a quiet place where gusts of wind, drafts and direct sunlight do not fall.
Lighting
Indoor diploding - a light-loving flower, in low light it will not be possible to achieve numerous buds from a plant. But direct sunlight vines are contraindicated. Therefore, place the pot near an east or west window. As a last resort, grow a flower on a southern windowsill. But in the midday hours, shade the plant from direct sunlight. To do this, hang tulle or gauze over the culture, otherwise the foliage will get burned.
Irrigation
Liana belongs to moisture-loving crops, but it does not tolerate stagnant moisture at the roots. Therefore, approach the watering of diplomaticia with all seriousness. Moisten the flower when the substrate dries to a depth of 1-1.5 cm. Usually this happens 2-3 times a week. But in the summer, in the heat, the soil dries out faster. Therefore, the vine needs almost daily watering.
In late autumn, when the plant has a dormant period, reduce watering. And moisten the substrate 2-3 days after it has completely dried. In the spring, as soon as the plant starts to wake up, gradually increase the watering.
Use melted or rainwater for irrigation. If this is not possible, then use ordinary tap water. But before watering, be sure to filter the water and stand for 2-3 days. Otherwise, the plant will wither from the excess lime present in such a liquid.
Once a month, moisten the vine with acidic water. To do this, dilute fresh lemon juice in the watering liquid (3-4 drops per liter). You can also use vinegar. But moisten the soil after the "sour" smell of the liquid has disappeared.
Humidity
To ensure proper care of diplosion, it is important to maintain high humidity near the flower. To improve this indicator, place the pot on a pallet with wet pebbles, expanded clay or moss. But make sure that the water does not reach the container. Otherwise, the roots of the creeper will “suffocate.”
Spray the foliage of the crop daily with warm water. This procedure is especially important during the formation of buds and flowering plants. To reduce crop care, buy and install a special device near the pot - a humidifier.
Feeding
Liana spends a lot of energy on the formation of leaves and buds. Therefore, it is important to maintain the plant and fertilize the soil regularly. Feed the flower from the beginning of March to the end of August once a week with liquid mineral formulations.
Use a nitrogen fertilizer in the spring. Then the vine will quickly grow leathery leaves. But as soon as the plant begins to form buds, switch to potassium-phosphorus top dressing. From the beginning of autumn until the end of winter, stop fertilizing.
Transfer
If you provide proper care for diplomacy, the vine will grow quickly. And she will feel cramped in the old pot. Transplant young cultures annually, adults - as needed. To understand that it is time to change the "home" for the plant, you can by the roots protruding from the drainage hole. Start the event in mid-March or early April. At this time, the plant tolerates the procedure more easily.
Choose a ceramic pot for culture. Its volume should be one and a half times larger than the previous one.
Diploidia prefers fertile loose soil with a moderate acid reaction. For creepers, a universal mixture intended for violets is suitable. To prepare the substrate yourself, mix equal parts sod and leaf soil, peat, sand and humus. Before planting, be sure to disinfect the soil. To do this, bake it in the oven or hold it over steam.
How to transplant a vine:
- Fill a third of the pot with drainage. For these purposes, use expanded clay, red brick crumbs or pebbles.
- Sprinkle drainage with 2 cm of substrate.
- Remove the plant from the old pot without destroying the earth ball.
- Transplant the vine into a new container using the transshipment method, fill the voids with soil.
- Set up a support next to the flower. A wooden or plastic sieve, a classic curly base or a trellis support will do. The height of the structure should be twice the height of the creeper.
Do not water for the first 2-3 days after transplantingflower. Follow up with regular diplomatic care.
Cutting
Liana develops quite quickly, and if you do not control its growth, then diplomaticia will quickly turn into thickets. In addition, the buds of the plant are formed exclusively on the shoots of the current year. Therefore, the vine needs regular pruning. The event is held every autumn, at the end of the growing season. Shorten old unbranched lashes by two-thirds of the length, and branched ones by a third or half of the height.
Growing a crop from seeds
Adult specimens of creepers are very expensive. And the seed method of propagating diplosion will help to save a lot, because the price of grains is quite affordable. In addition, growing a vine from them is not so difficult.
To grow seedlings, mix equal parts peat and sand. Before sowing, be sure to disinfect the substrate. To do this, pour the mixture onto a baking sheet, moisten it and cover with a layer of foil. Ignite the soil for 40-60 minutes at 80°C.
Before sowing, soak the seeds of the plant for a day in any growth stimulant, for example, Epin. How to germinate seeds:
- Fill containers or boxes with disinfected soil.
- Moisten the substrate and distribute the seeds evenly over its surface. Close the grains to a depth of no more than 0.5 cm.
- Cover the landing with film or glass and place in a warm, bright room.
In order for the seeds to germinate, keep the temperature in the greenhouse at +25…+28 °C. Ventilate the greenhouse daily and remove condensation from glass or film. Do not let the soil dry out and spray the soil regularly with warm water from a spray bottle.
The first sprouts will hatch in 4-5 weeks. They will be weak, so do not remove the shelter and provide the seedlings with careful care, protect the plants from direct sunlight, drafts and drying out of the substrate.
When 2 true leaves appear on the sprouts, start hardening. To do this, remove the film or glass first for an hour, then for two and gradually increase the time. Fortified seedlings dive into individual pots with a diameter of 7 cm. Use the soil with the same composition as for adult vines. More about the soil is written in the chapter "Transplanting".
Propagation of diplosion by cuttings
The event is held from April to the end of June. At this time, the plants take root better. To propagate diplatia, choose strong apical or stem shoots and cut them into cuttings 8-10 cm long. Two pairs of leaves should be present on each branch. Cut at an oblique angle, just below the internode. Be sure to remove the bottom pair of leaves
Soak cuttings for a day in Kornevin's solution. For plants, prepare a peat-sand mixture, which must be disinfected before planting. To do this, calcine the substrate in the oven or hold it over steam. So you protect the plants from pathogenic microbes that live in the soil.
How to root cuttings:
- Fill boxes, potsor containers with decontaminated substrate.
- Moisten the soil well and dig the cuttings into it to the first internode.
- Cover the shoots with a glass jar or cut plastic bottle. If you are growing cuttings in a large container, you can stretch a film over them. But make sure the cover doesn't touch the twigs.
- In order for the cuttings to take root, keep the temperature in the greenhouse at +25…+27 °C. Ventilate the planting regularly and do not allow the soil to dry out. To do this, spray the soil with warm water from a spray bottle.
After 1-1, 5 months, when the shoots take root and start new shoots, start hardening. Gradually remove the shelter, accustoming the culture to fresh air. Then plant the strengthened and grown vines in individual pots filled with a suitable substrate. For more information about the soil for diplomacy, see the chapter "Transplant".
Possible difficulties
Diploding is a capricious culture, and with errors in care, the plant does not develop well. Often flower growers face such problems:
- Diplosion does not bloom. Why is this happening? Most often, the lack of plant nutrition leads to the absence of buds. To remedy the situation, regularly feed the culture. Diplodia also does not bloom if it does not have enough light. Move the pot to a lighted window sill or provide additional lighting to the vine with a photo lamp.
- Vine leaves turn yellow. If this phenomenon appeared in the summer, then diplatia suffers from low humidity. To fix the situationSpray the leaf regularly and place the pot on a tray of wet expanded clay or pebbles. If the leaves turn yellow in winter, then the plant is suffering from the cold. Move the pot to a warmer room and the vine will recover.
- The leaves of the culture are falling. So the plant reacts to insufficient or excessive watering. To remedy the situation, normalize irrigation. In addition, the vine sheds its leaves if it is cold. Therefore, keep the plant warm and there will be no such problems with it.
Follow growing guidelines and ensure proper care for Diplodia flowers. And then there will be no problems with the creeper.
Diseases and pests
At home, diplomaticia suffers from powdery mildew. This fungal disease is recognized by an untidy whitish coating covering the aerial parts of the plant. For treatment, treat the flower with a 1% solution of colloidal sulfur. After a day, rinse the vine under running water. Repeat this procedure 2-3 times at weekly intervals.
From insects, vines are most often annoyed by such parasites:
- Spider mites. This pest is recognizable by brown and black dots on the leaves and a thin, sticky web that covers the stems of the plant. To get rid of parasites, wipe the culture with soapy water. If this does not help, then treat the flower with an acaricide. Be sure to increase the humidity in the room, because spider mites start due to dry air.
- Mealybugs. These small white bugs suck juices from vines. That leads todeformation of the buds, wilting of the leaves. You can see them with the naked eye, besides, they leave white lumpy formations on the soil and plant stems. To get rid of parasites, pass the head of garlic through a press. Soak this mass for 4 hours in a glass of boiling water, then treat the vine with the resulting solution. Of the chemicals, the Aktara insecticide copes with mealybugs.
Remember that a well-groomed plant does not get sick, it is not attacked by pests. Therefore, create comfortable conditions for the liana and adhere to the rules of cultivation. And then no parasites or microbes are terrible for the tropical beauty.
