This delicate ornamental plant is, oddly enough, a relative of the nettle. It was discovered by the navigator Soleyrol in the 19th century. The name of this scientist is immortalized in the name of this plant. It is also called helksina.
This article introduces the s altorolia plant. Care at home is not difficult. More on this later in the article.
It should be noted that saline is considered a weed by some amateur gardeners. However, many grow it at home. It also has great advantages, in addition to decorativeness. Despite the apparent tenderness, this rather strong and hardy plant is able to tirelessly spread.
Before s altirolia is presented in more detail (we will also consider home care), we will give general information about the plant growing in natural conditions.
General information
This plant is found in the wild in rocky, shady and humid areas of the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Mallorca.
This herbaceous creeping plant with very small leaves is a perennial. Its stems with leaves grow quite strongly and quickly, forming containers. They germinate in them, forming shapes that look like beautiful openwork balls of rich green color.
Soleirolia leaves of small diameter (0.5 cm) have a rounded shape. Its flower stalks are solitary, small and not very attractive in appearance.
Application in design
In ornamental horticulture, they are usually grown in flowerpots or in low bowl-like pots.
Due to the fact that saline is a ground cover plant, it has a peculiar quality: when planted in the same pot with other large plants, soon saline can completely cover the entire soil layer with its leaves. It looks great in any composition as a whole.
The flower, which is (as noted above) to some extent a relative of the common nettle, is a magnificent ornamental plant with an interesting name - s altorolia. Care at home (photos of it are presented below) is not very complicated, but there are some special points. Be aware that saline can suffocate stunted plants located nearby in a flower arrangement.
Features
Soleirolia attracts not only with its decorative effect. It also has the following special qualities: it neutralizes harmful radiation from modern electrical appliances and office equipment;very sensitive to the atmosphere of the room (will not grow normally in gassed and smoky rooms).
Soleirolia: home care, photos, types
The genus of saline (gelksins) has one species. This is Soleirolia soleirolii. Most often, it is its bright green shiny leaves that are found. But breeders have bred more varieties of saline:
- argentea with silver leaves;
- variegata with thin white bordered leaves;
- aurea with yellowish or golden foliage.
It should be noted that their varietal differences show up well in bright light.
Growing very quickly, the flower covers the entire surface of the soil in a pot with a continuous carpet of greenery and hangs beautifully with a light green cloth.
Flower growers have artificially grown several more varieties of this plant, delicately decorated with leaves of other colors: gold, silver.
When growing saline, first of all, the appropriate temperature regime should be observed: in summer the temperature should not be higher than 20 degrees Celsius; in winter - not lower than 10 degrees. In the summer, the flower prefers areas inaccessible to direct sunlight. In winter, saline needs more lighting.
Home care includes abundant watering only in spring and summer, and moderate moisture is needed in winter.
The best time to fertilize is from March to September every two weeks. Howeverfertilizing is not required in case of an annual plant transplant.
Adequate air humidity is also welcome, for which you should spray the plant with warm water repeatedly during the day at air temperatures above 20 ° C and about once every 3 days at temperatures below this value.
As you can see, it is not so difficult to grow saline. Home care, reproduction - all this is available even for beginner flower growers.
Transplantation and reproduction
Replanting is practically not required for saline, but if necessary, this can be done at any time of the year, but preferably in wider bowls.
For reproduction, it is enough to separate a couple of small clods of earth from old plants containing stems of the main mother plant and place them on a pre-prepared (filled with moistened substrate) bowl. Very soon, green tender leaves of saline will again cover the entire surface of the soil of the pot.
Conclusion
The s altirolia plant has practically no pests. Home care, in addition to the above actions, also provides for the fight against some other possible difficulties.
- Withering, drying and dying of foliage. A possible cause is dry air in the room.
- The plant stops growing, the stems stretch and the leaves turn pale. The reason is a lack of minerals in the soil or a lack of light.
- Appearance of brown silver spots. The plant has undergoneexposed to the rays of the sun.
