A perennial beautiful plant that sprouts from a bulb can become a real decoration for the home. This is an exquisite hymenocallis flower. Home care requires some knowledge, but if you do not follow the rules, the plant simply will not survive.
Description of the plant
The genus Gimenocallis itself has about 60 species. The preferred growing area is the tropics. Translated from Greek, the word means "beautiful film." At home, there are few species of such a flower as hymenocallis. Cultivation and care is carried out, as a rule, only on a couple of species - Caribbean and Pleasant.
Caribbean has a round bulb shape, which does not exceed 10 cm in diameter. The leaves of the plant are dark, green, their length is a maximum of 90 cm, and their width is about 7 cm. The plant does not shed its leaves throughout the year. This species can bloom throughout the winter, the flowers are large, white and smell nice.
Pleasant, or as it is also called, Early,grows from a larger bulb. The leaves are of a similar color, but narrow, their length is about 40 cm. In winter, this sheds leaves, and flowers will adorn the plant from early summer to very early autumn. The flowers smell nice, and if properly cared for, the plant will bloom twice a year.
How to keep hymenocallis?
Home care is as follows:
- It is very important to arrange the right lighting. For normal development, it must be scattered. Direct hit by rays is allowed only in small quantities. If the flower grows in an apartment, windows facing the west or east will be the best place. If the windows face south, it is better to darken them a little. If this is a private house, the plant is best kept in the garden. In winter, the flower will need additional artificial lighting.
- Despite the fact that the plant is tropical, it does not like heat. The ideal temperature range is 18 to 22 degrees. It is this mode that will allow the plant to develop normally. When it's not blooming, it's best to keep it at around 16-18 degrees.
- To create optimal air humidity, it is better to use a spray bottle. The water should be at room temperature, and only the leaves should be sprayed, trying not to touch the flowers with drops.
- During flowering, you need to water abundantly with settled water, the main thing is not to overdry the flower, then it will please the eye for a very long time. After flowering, watering should be limited.
- The plant feels better in a small pot. If there are many rootsplaces, flowering will not be so active. Additionally, high-quality drainage is required.
- Hymenocallis is very demanding on the soil. Landing and intensive care after it are carried out once every one to two years. If the plant is already an adult, it needs to be transplanted every 4 years. Transplantation is carried out when the plant is resting from flowering.
What does a flower like?
Most of all, he loves moisture, so hymenocallis, care at home should be accompanied by abundant watering, especially when the plant blooms. As soon as the soil in the pot dries out, it must be watered immediately. It is also recommended to pour a little water into the saucer itself, under the flowerpot. The main thing is to give abundant watering only when the hymenocallis dries up. Otherwise, there may be waterlogging, which leads to death. When the plant fades, stop watering.
In addition, very fond of hymenocallis fertilizer for the soil. Hymenocallis is a flower that can be cared for and fed using conventional fertilizers for other types of flowers. They are sold in specialized stores, they contain a large amount of minerals. Top dressing is poured directly under the plant into the soil, once a week. When hymenocallis does not bloom, fertilize it once a month.
Germination
Transplantation is carried out with the preliminary preparation of the bulbs, for this they need to be germinated. She herself resembles a pear covered with golden scales. Thanks topre-treatment, the plant will develop faster, respectively, will bloom earlier.
You need to take a small container for sprouting. Putting the onion, you need to sprinkle it up to half with peat, but it can be replaced with sawdust from wood. The main thing is to prevent stagnation of water, otherwise the planting material will rot. It is recommended to do this preliminary work before landing in a room where the temperature is not higher than 15 degrees.
Planting and care
Gymenocallis, planting and care (photo of the plant can be seen here) for which is carried out in the first half of May, will surely thank the gardener with a beautiful view. In the ground you need to make a small depression and put the bulb in it, it should be completely covered with earth. The first leaf will appear in 30 days. The main thing during this period is to protect the plant from frost, because hymenocallis does not tolerate temperature changes.
The home flower is quite capricious, so after planting it needs more light, nutrients, enough moisture. When watering, it is better that water enters the soil at a distance from the root. It is recommended to make small indentations for this, where the water will drain.
It is forbidden to feed the soil with organic fertilizers, this can destroy the flower. For this, fertilizers containing potassium, nitrogen or phosphorus are used.
Storing bulbs in winter
Hymenocallis, which needs special care at home,will decorate any interior with its white flowers and bright leaves. In addition, the flower bed will also look very beautiful until the onset of frost. The main thing is not to miss the moment when you need to dig up the bulbs. There are lovers who, having dug up a bulb from open ground, transplant a flower into a pot and plant it at home, on the window.
If hymenocallis will only be used as a flower for the garden, the bulb will need to be dried in the fall and left for several days in a cold place. When the leaves dry, they need to be removed.
Before storage, the bulbs must be washed, then dried again until the scales are characteristically crunchy. Bulbs hibernate only in a place with normal room temperature, and it is better to keep the bulbs in a plastic container, where several holes are made beforehand.
Some gardeners argue that it is better to store the bulbs in a cardboard container, and before sending the hymenocallis to spend the winter, it is better to sprinkle it with sand or shavings.
From time to time in winter, you need to check the planting material, as it can "wake up". As soon as sprouts appear, such onions need to be planted in the ground and given proper care. In the spring, the plant from the pot can be transplanted into the open ground.
Reproduction
A flower like hymenocallis home care requires not only as described above. You should also know how the plant reproduces. This happens with the help of children that appear on the bulb. For reproduction, you canuse bulbs older than 4 years. Before wintering, small children should not be separated from the main root, as they will receive the necessary nutrition throughout the winter.
If the children are very small, it is better to separate them immediately, because they will not be able to give a single leaf, which means that such an onion will simply freeze in the ground. If the hymenocallis does not produce children for a long time, the bulb should simply be divided into 4 parts, and then the reproduction process will be accelerated.
For a species such as Gimenokallis Caribbean home care and reproduction are carried out in the same way.
Problems and diseases
The most common disease is anthracnose. If the plant is sick, dark spots begin to appear on its leaves, and in a very neglected form, they will be like brown streaks. Treatment is carried out by removing the affected leaves, and all cut points are treated with a fungicide. You will also need to reduce watering and ventilate the room.
The bulbs may have red spots - this is a staganospore. The disease may later be transmitted to leaflets. If the disease is detected immediately, the bulb is processed with "Fundazol".
There are other problems you may encounter:
- Overflowing the flower, then the leaves will turn yellow at the bottom. If the plant is constantly waterlogged, gray rot appears.
- When there is not enough water, the flower will wither, and the color itself will fall off. The green part of the plant will turn pale.
Conclusion
After reading the recommendations forcare, cultivation and maintenance of the plant, it will be possible to grow an excellent decoration for a garden, apartment or office, which will also smell nice. All this is a hymenocallis flower. Home care (photo, demonstrates the beauty of the plant) is simple, the main thing is to follow the advice of experienced florists.
