Akalifa: home care and plant photos, all information about growing, watering, fertilizing and feeding, as well as a description of the characteristics of the flower

Akalifa is a beautiful flowering plant. It is sometimes called the "limy tail", but this name is not entirely correct and applies only to one type of plant - the bristly-hairy acaliph.

She has elongated crimson inflorescences, similar to the tail of a cunning predator. And Akalifa is bristly-hairy, and Akalifa Vilkez are the most attractive decorations for window sills. Therefore, many flower growers pay attention to them, buy them at home, not knowing whether they are capricious in care or not.

Description

Akalifa is a plant that is found in the wild in moist forests in the tropics of Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. There are more than 450 species of flower in the genus.

Translated from ancient Greek, the name is translated by the word "nettle". They emphasized the special shape of the leaves, which are the same as nettles. In the wild, the shrub grows very much. Him many inflorescences that hang down.

At home, Akalifa looks more modest. The length of the shoots rarely exceeds 70 cm. To pin the shoots, pinch the tips. The leaves are ovoid in shape and have serrated edges. The color of an unusual flower is all shades of pink. Description, types and features of care for this plant you will find in a separate article.

Photo

Look at the photo of a flowering plant:

Growth Features

Akalifa is an overseas alien. For a long time, breeders did not domesticate it. It became room only in 1898. Of the 450 species, only three are found in the homes of Russians. What affects their growth? What conditions will have to be created?

Lighting. A flower pot is placed on a window that direct sunlight does not fall on. Only the Akalifa of Wilkes is obscured when the sun is strong.
Temperature. At night, the optimum temperature is + 15-17, and during the day - + 20-25 degrees Celsius. In winter, the Akalifa will not disappear if t is not lower than + 16-18 ° C.
Humidity. Wild Akalifa is a resident of the tropics. It is not surprising that the home is also demanding on the level of humidity. If this figure is 30⁰ or more, you will need spray irrigation or installing a pallet under a pot with wet peat and stones.
Priming. The ideal solution is acid support and high nutritional value. The soil mixture consists of turf, peat, humus and sand.
Pot. The wider the capacity, the more likely it is that the bulky root system will not quickly fill it.

reference. It blooms year round without pauses, if the grower has created the right conditions for growing.

How to care?

In the summer months, Akalifa needs abundant and frequent watering. In order for it to bloom, the grower must keep the substrate in the pot moistened.

In winter, such frequent watering is useless. He must adhere to the rule: the drier the indoor air, the more often it should be watered. Is there anything else the plant is so demanding about?

Temperature

Akalifa is a thermophilic tropical beauty who does not tolerate drafts. With the onset of heat, many flower growers carry it to a balcony, a loggia or an open veranda.

They do the right thing, provided that the drafts do not "walk" in the new room. Often, drafts - the main cause of death of the plant.

The optimum temperature of the plant in summer is +25, and in winter - at least +18 degrees Celsius.

Watering

In the summer months, when it gets hot, watering is quicker. In winter, they arrive exactly the opposite, but within reasonable limits, i.e. never allow strong drying of the soil in the pot.

The plant does not like dry air, but it also does not like spraying from the atomizer, when drops of moisture fall on the leaves. If the florist is afraid that they will accidentally fall on the leaves, you can put the pot on a pallet, onto which pebbles or expanded clay should first be poured and sprinkled with water.

Pruning and transplanting

Old shoots are pruned as soon as the growing season begins. This happens in February. The height of the stumps after trimming should be less than twenty-five centimeters. To accelerate the growth of new shoots, it is recommended to spray the acalifa after pruning.

Pinching young shoots involves removing the upper bud to improve branching. The best time for a transplant is spring and the prerequisite for it is roots sticking out of the drainage holes.

The grower should take a pot of larger diameter than the previous, but not tall. In this case, the flowering will be plentiful, otherwise not. As soon as the shoots are cut off, leaving 20-centimeter stumps, put on them a film of polyethylene or a bottle.

This measure is necessary, since a plant without it may not survive pruning. The plastic film and the bottle are cleaned by airing to evaporate moisture.

Important. To make the acalifa tolerate pruning easily, spray it every day with its aqueous solution of zircon. Two drops of zircon are bred in a liter of water.

Fertilizing and fertilizers

Akalifa is an indoor exotic plant that doesn't like excess nutrients. Some gardeners understand this verbatim, i.e. they simply deprive her of all dressings.

They risk facing the fact that it will die due to excessive depletion of the substrate against the background of year-round flowering. To avoid the death of plants, fertilize it.

The best time for fertilizing is from October to February.. The optimal frequency is once every one and a half to two months. As a top dressing, universal and complex mineral fertilizers are used.

There are many different fertilizers on sale, but it is advisable to choose those that are designed for decorative-deciduous and flowering crops. The concentration of minerals is 0.1-0.2% when applied.

Disease

Does the plant often get sick? No, provided that the grower will look after him. If the care is not as it should, he will face the following problems:

Yellowing and falling of leaves. A flower pot stands in a room where humidity is low.
Leaves wilted and fallen. The reason is the room temperature is too low. With its increase, the flower again pleases with lush foliage and abundant flowering.
Akalifa growth up accompanied by pale leaves. This problem occurs due to a lack of light. As soon as the pot is rearranged in a bright place, it will disappear.
Spots on the leaves indicate damage to the fungus. To save the plant, they are treated with fungicide.
Slow growth on a background of pale sheet plate - The problem that causes a lack of nitrogen in the soil. To replenish its reserves, 1 gram of urea is bred in a liter of water.

Pests

Like many other plants, Akalifa is not rarely a victim of pests. She is the coveted "prey" for scale insects, aphids, thrips and mealybugs. Is it hard to get them out?

Shield

The scabbard is a small insect that sucks the cellular juice from fruits, stems and leaves.

Where she "works", reddish-brown or yellowish spots remain. Affected parts will soon dry and die. So that this pest does not start, Akalifa examinations should become frequent in late winter - early spring.

After inspection, the room is ventilated and sprayed with water. To get rid of the scab, they collect it, cut off the affected parts and carry out processing using chemical preparations, for example, Arrivo, Fitoverm or Actellik.

Worms

It is not so easy to get rid of worms if they host a houseplant. Some gardeners refuse to fight, throw it out and start a new flower. They just do not have the patience to apply comprehensive measures.

You will have to wipe the leaves with a soap-alcohol solution to remove the wax coating left by the white lumps. You can not wipe all the leaves with one swab dipped in a solution.

Each sheet is processed separately, and then discarded. It will also require chemical treatment using spraying such insecticides as Actellik, Fitoverm, Metaphos, etc.

Aphid

Many gardeners underestimate aphids. This pest is more often than others hosted on indoor plants, including acalifa.

Attention. Do not make this mistake. Although the aphid is small in size, it multiplies rapidly and covers more and more new parts of the plant with its activity.

In the fight against it, the old antiquated method helps: leaf treatment with soap and water.

Useful video

Watch a video about the features of Akalifa and its care.

Conclusion

Akalifa - a poisonous plant. Buying it for home, all households are warned about its possible harm to health. Pruning, inspection for pests, wearing gloves. After the procedure, wash your hands. A flowering culture is the most unpretentious decoration for a windowsill or a winter garden.