Crassula or Crassula, a plant with fleshy leaves and a tree-like trunk, is very popular with flower growers. She is quite unpretentious and at the same time looks attractive. It is popularly believed that this succulent brings prosperity to the house, especially if you bury a coin in a pot and hang a red thread on a branch. The most popular species is Crassula ovata (Ovata), or ovoid, so named because of the shape of the leaves. Most often on the windowsills in our country you can see its Hobbit and Crosby's Compact varieties, which differ from each other primarily in the shape and size of the leaves.
The question of how to feed the money tree sooner or later arises for all owners of this plant. The money tree, also known as the fat woman and the crassula, can grow in the house for many years without requiring special attention. But so that this succulent does not lose itsattractive appearance, kept its fleshy leaves beautiful, and in the long term - and pleased the owners with flowering, he definitely needs top dressing. How to feed a money tree at home? This will be discussed in the article.
What substances do fat women need
What is the best way to feed the money tree? Like most houseplants, crassula needs calcium, potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen in order to feel good and please the owners with their appearance. With a balance of these elements, it will grow well, and its leaves will be juicy and he althy. What should he be? And how does the lack or excess of these substances affect the flower?
When the necessary elements are imbalanced, the following happens to the plant:
- Potassium. Deficiency leads to the appearance of yellow spots on the leaves. Its excess adversely affects the root system and may lead to its damage.
- Calcium. Responsible for the state of the "skeleton" of the plant. Regulates water balance. With a deficiency, problems with growth and branching occur. The plant may look desiccated. Calcium-containing fertilizers are required for a fat woman. When deciding how to feed a money tree for growth, you should keep this in mind.
- Phosphorus. Responsible for the growth of green mass of plants. Crassula leaves will be attractive, shiny and green if there is enough of this element in the soil. Otherwise, the shoots of the fat woman will be weak and slightly numerical, and the leaves will be small. With an excess, chlorosis may develop - white spots will appear on the leaves.
-
Nitrogen. This element is involved in the synthesis of chlorophyll. With its deficiency, the lower part of the leaves turns yellow. However, when studying the question of how to feed a money tree, please note: usually succulents need nitrogen in a small amount. Its excess is no less dangerous, as it can lead to the death of the flower. The stems and leaves will grow, and the skin will not keep up with them and will begin to crack, which in the long run leads to its decay. Many small but soft leaves may appear. The stems will grow more rapidly in width than in length. The bright, rich green color of the leaves can also speak of an excess of nitrogen. When deciding how to feed a fat woman (money tree), you should keep this in mind.
Ready-made fertilizers
Experienced flower growers recommend using ready-made complex fertilizers. When buying, you should pay attention to the ratio of the main elements necessary for crassula. So, for three parts of nitrogen there should be six parts of phosphorus and eight parts of potassium. How to feed a fat woman (money tree) to compensate for her need for calcium? This will be discussed below.
When choosing how to feed a money tree, be sure to remember that excess nitrogen is detrimental to succulents. Therefore, fertilizers intended, for example, for flowering plants are not suitable for them. It is necessary to choose options specifically for cacti and succulents, lithops.
You can use ready-made fertilizers of the trademarks Effekton, Lignohumate, Kemira, Gumi + (Humisol),Gilea, Pokon and others. Often, in addition to the substances listed above, they also contain other macro- and microelements - iron, sulfur, zinc, magnesium, manganese, copper, boron and others, the lack of which also harms the plant. These options should be tried if, despite your balance of potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and calcium, the plant still does not look perfect. Detailed breeding instructions are on the packaging and must be strictly followed.
Feeding mode
Fertilize the soil in which the krasula grows, be sure to do it in the warm season. The optimal regimen is once every 30 days. In winter, this should not be done, or the number of dressings should be at least halved. Even if your plant does not have a pronounced dormant period, during the cold months it will not grow intensively and, accordingly, absorb nutrients worse. This can lead to their accumulation in the soil. At best, they will remain unclaimed, and at worst, they will harm the plant.
When figuring out how to feed the money tree, be sure to pay attention to the following rules:
- Feed Crassula better in the evening.
- Fertilizers are diluted with settled (melt, rain) water.
- Feed preferably immediately after watering, so as not to harm the roots of the plant.
-
Immediately after planting, until the flower has taken root, you can not apply fertilizer. They start using them in two months.
- If the plant has been transplanted into a new, nutritious soil, it grows well andbranches, you can do without top dressing for several months.
- You can not feed a diseased flower, for example, affected by root rot, until it recovers. There will be no use for fertilizers.
Calcium supplements
To avoid a lack of calcium, when caring for Crassula, you can use a tool available to everyone - eggshells. It should be thoroughly washed, peeled off the inner film, and dried. The shell is then ground into a fine powder. To prepare calcium top dressing, you should take a powder of ten shells and pour it with a liter of boiling water. She insists for two weeks. Keep the container in a dark place. After that, you can use the irrigation liquid, periodically replacing it with ordinary water.
Flower growers are also advised to pour calcium powder into crassula pots instead of drainage. The thickness of the layer in this case should be up to three centimeters. This will not only enrich the soil, but also help avoid water stagnation and provide good ventilation.
Phosphorus supplements
With a lack of this element, as mentioned above, the leaves grow poorly. They shrink, change color, brown spots may appear on them. If you know for sure that your plant suffers from a lack of phosphorus, you can use phosphate rock or superphosphate. But, as a rule, with the regular application of complex fertilizers, such problems do not arise.
The better to feed the money tree for flowering
Crassula bloomsnot all owners. To stimulate flowering, it is allowed to feed the fat woman twice a month, but only once a year - in March, after a dormant period. You can use complex fertilizer for cacti and succulents. But it should be understood that top dressing is only an additional method of stimulating flowering, and without conditions suitable for the plant, it will not work. It is necessary to provide Crassula with a period of rest so that she can recuperate. To do this, from autumn to the end of winter, the plant should be kept in a cool (preferably with a temperature of + 5 … + 15 degrees) room, with moderate lighting. Watering it at this time needs less than usual. An adult plant can be watered even once a month. The fat woman does not grow during the dormant period, does not form new shoots and does not need a lot of moisture.
To achieve flowering, it is also recommended to prune the money tree. Wish it is better in the spring or early summer. In addition, after transplanting into a new, nutrient-rich soil, the plant is almost guaranteed to bloom. Often flowering is absent due to the lack of bright diffused light, which the fat woman loves so much.
It should be understood that without observing all the conditions for maintaining flowering, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve, and even a detailed, detailed answer to the question of how to feed the money tree in spring so that it blooms will be useless.
DIY
When deciding how to feed the money tree flower, you can refer to the recipes of experiencedflower growers. So, they advise using such means:
- Succinic acid. Dilute one gram of powder in five liters of water. You can water the plant, or you can spray its leaves. Those who have tried this recipe talk about the revival of growth, the formation of new shoots and leaves. Such top dressing can be used for cacti and succulents no more than once every two years.
-
Decoction of onion peel. To prepare a handful of husks, pour 1.5 liters of boiling water and boil for about five minutes. Cool, use instead of water for irrigation every two months. The decoction is rich in trace elements.
how to feed a money tree for growth - Ash. A tablespoon is diluted in a liter of water and the plants are watered. You can just sprinkle it on the soil. It is a good potash fertilizer.
- Sugar. Once a week, you can feed the flower with a sweet solution - a teaspoon per glass of water (or one tablet of glucose). Use this method no more than 2-3 times, otherwise you can harm the plant.
- Yeast. Good for stimulating growth. Ten grams of fresh or dry yeast is diluted in a liter of water. You can add a tablespoon of sugar. They insist two hours. The solution is added to water in a ratio of 1:5. Use preferably no more than once a season.
Water
You can water the fat woman with water in which the cereals were washed. It contains many useful trace elements.
It is also good to use water that was used to rinse meat or fish. It just needs to be filtered first. use herimmediately, it is not stored.
If you keep fish, you can water Crassula with water from the aquarium. It is a great growth stimulant.
It is advisable to use all the funds listed no more than once every four weeks, and only in the spring-summer period.
In closing
Money tree is an attractive and not capricious plant. Its maintenance does not require special material costs. Crassula care is available even to a novice grower. But if you know some of the subtleties of caring for this flower, it will grow well, bloom beautifully and remain in your home for many years.
When deciding how and what to feed the money tree, you need to keep in mind that it is better to underfeed it a little than to overfeed it. These, at least, are the recommendations of experienced flower growers. Excess fertilizer for this plant can be fatal. When planting crassula in a special nutrient soil for succulents and using complex fertilizer in accordance with the recommendations, there should be no problems with an imbalance of nutrients.
