What plants do not grow now amateur gardeners! Among them, a separate species stands out, which is distinguished by original swirling leaves and flowers of an unusual shape and color - spiral album. We will talk further about how to care for this plant, about the characteristics of planting and about possible diseases.
Albuque Description
Albuca is an herbaceous culture of the asparagus family. The natural habitat is South Africa.
It is a perennial succulent crop that is a tuberous plant. The tuber is quite large, about 5 cm, slightly flattened and has a white tint.
15–20 pieces of albuca are collected at the base of the tuber into a rosette. The length of the leaves is solid - 30–35 cm. The leaves themselves are fleshy, green, at the ends they are twisted into a tight spiral. Due to this form in the natural nature of the culture manages to retain moisture for a long time.
Peduncle bluish, long (about 60 cm), has a dense flesh to the touch. The buds themselves are collected in a racemose inflorescence of 10-20 pieces each. The diameter of a blossoming flower is 3 cm. The flowering period lasts about 2–2.5 months.
The flowers themselves also have an unusual structure. Their petals are bordered by a yellow and green stripe. The aroma reminds creamy vanilla. At the end of flowering, a box with seeds is formed.Did you know? Translated from Latin, albuk means "shoot white." This name arose because of white inflorescences on an oblong pedicel, which the plant seemed to shoot from a ball of foliage.
The main types of album:
Conditions and choice of location
For the successful cultivation of any plant, he should arrange the appropriate conditions. Albuque spiral is suitable only for the southern location, since this flower needs an abundance of sunlight. On gloomy days, it is recommended to arrange lighting with special lamps.
The greatest difficulty in care is providing coolness during a period of active growth and development. During the day, the temperature should vary between + 17–19 ° C, and at night - + 5–10 ° C. It is this regime that is established in the natural habitat of the succulent during the rainy season, which accounts for the intensive growth of the flower.Important! Not all varieties of albuca have fragrant flowers.
In summer, the temperature does not matter - the plant can withstand fairly high rates.
The earthen lump should not dry out or accumulate moisture. The plant does not need additional humidification.
Did you know? The more sun that falls on the album, the more its leaves twist.
Landing Features
It is advisable to carry out the planting procedure in early autumn so that the plant has time to take root and adapt to new growing conditions.
Capacity selection
For breeding albuqui choose flat, shallow containers. When planting, half of the bulb should protrude above the surface of the soil.
Soil treatment
As with other succulents, Albuque needs loose, light, nutritious soil. It is good to use special ready-made mixtures for succulents.
But it is possible to cook the earth mixture yourself, mixing in equal parts such components:
- deciduous humus;
- sand.
Landing technology
The scheme of planting albuki is simple and consists in performing several actions:
- A drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the tank.
- An earth mixture is poured on top.
- Tubers go deeper into the soil to a depth of 5–7 cm.
Check out other succulents too:
Home Care
Despite the fact that albuca is an exotic culture, caring for it does not cause much trouble.
Watering and feeding
In the growing phase, albuque should be constantly fertilized. As nutrients, liquid mineral fertilizers are used (ready-made preparations for succulents are well suited). The frequency of the process is once every 14 days. Fertilize the last time after flowering.
At the stage of active flowering, the plant requires abundant hydration. Before watering, make sure that the soil is dry. Watered with settled, non-hard water.
During the rest period, watering is completed and renewed in the spring, at the beginning of the growing season.Important! If the water stagnates in the pot, the leaves of the albuq will stop twisting.
Transfer
You need to transplant the culture in the fall, when the period of activity has come to an end.
A light soil mixture is placed in a new pot, which will contain a sufficient amount of sand. At the bottom of the tank must line the drainage.
Pruning
For sanitary or decorative purposes, pruning a plant is not necessary.
Features of the flowering period and dormancy
Albuca blooms 5-6 months after planting. As a rule, flowering occurs in the spring, in the second half, and lasts 2 months or longer. At this stage, they begin to fertilize and moisten the soil.
As soon as the plant fades, watering stops and puts the plant in a state of rest. To do this, the pot is moved to a dark room with a standard room temperature.
At the end of November, they change the soil, water and transfer the flower to a cool room. There the flower will be until the development of new leaves.
Breeding
Albuca propagated by seed or tuber method. Each of them has certain pros and cons.
Bulbs
With the vegetative method, propagated by tubers. At the same time, the mother's bulb is overgrown with children. They are disconnected and sent to new containers.
Important! Children have the same characteristics as the mother onion, that is, this method allows you to fully maintain the characteristics of the variety: color saturation, curl of leaves, aroma.
Seeds
Albuca begins to bear fruit actively for 3-4 season. At this time, seeds are collected that can be used for subsequent reproduction. The process is simple, but success will be only if fresh seed is used. After 6 months, the seeds lose their germination.
For planting, prepare a nutritious earth mixture based on peat and sand. From the collected seeds, select the largest and disperse them on the surface of the soil mixture. Sowing specimens are slightly pressed so that they immerse a little in the substrate. After that, the landing is covered with a plastic film or glass. To bite seedlings in the room, the temperature is maintained at + 26–28 ° C.
Until the first shoots appear, they are watered very carefully, only so that the soil does not dry out.
After 10-14 days, when the first shoots appear, the film is removed.
The seed method has some features:Did you know? Recently jewelry with succulents (for example, bracelets) has become fashionable. If they are handled correctly, then such a decoration can be worn for quite some time.
- seed-grown bushes may differ from the parent plant;
- the leaves will begin to curl in a few months;
- a tuber forms in a year;
- the young plant will bloom after 3 years.
Video: Albuca spiral houseplant
Diseases and Pests
Albuca is a culture that is characterized by a strong immune system. But under adverse conditions and in the absence of proper care, various problems can appear.
The most common diseases and pests:
- Tuber decay. The main reason for the appearance of such a problem is the waterlogging of the substrate. Save the flower will not work and you have to get rid of it. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to regulate watering and prevent water stagnation.
- Leaves turn brown. Most likely, the plant was affected by fungi. Red-brown spots are initially convex in shape, and subsequently grow and increase in diameter. Affected foliage dries and falls, and the stems become fragile and break. If rust has affected all parts of the plant, you can save it by removing infected leaves and treating the flower with fungicides. In the form of prevention, it is recommended to observe the regime of lighting and watering.
- Do not twist the leaves. The reason is stagnation of water and lack of light. To enjoy the unusual appearance of the leaves, the plant should provide daylight hours of 18 hours and observe the watering regime.
- Falling foliage. The reasons may be different: moving the pot into the shade, temperature changes, the presence of drafts, excess moisture or drying of the soil. You can get rid of such a problem by eliminating the factor that caused the ailment.
- Spider mite. It can be detected by abnormally twisted leaves, which subsequently fall off. If you do not take action, the plant may die. To combat the pest, you should regularly inspect the album, and if a parasite is found, treat the bush with fungicides.
- Root tick. It lives in any soil and feeds on organic waste. Prefers to settle on damaged and weakened tubers. Root mites do not belong to insects, so insecticides do not act on them. Insectacaricidal drugs are used to save. Well-established products based on organophosphorus mixtures. Such drugs will be effective: Apollo, Di-68, Chemidis, Rogor S, Bi-58. To achieve results, drugs should be changed periodically.
