Characteristics of a telores plant, how to plant and care in a pond, breeding rules, possible difficulties in leaving and ways to solve them, curious notes.
Teloresis (Stratiotes) belongs to botanists to the genus of the same name, which is part of the Hydrocharitaceae family. At the same time, the genus is monotypic, that is, it contains only one single species - Aloe-like telores (Stratiotes aloides), often called ordinary Teloresis. This representative of the flora in nature is common in European and Asian territories, as well as in the northern regions of the Caucasus and Western Siberia. All these lands are characterized by a temperate climate. It is curious that on the territory of Canada and Central Asia there are plants with purely female flowers.
| Family name | Vodokrasovye |
| Growing period | Perennial |
| Vegetation form | Herbaceous aquatic plant |
| Breeds | Winter buds and daughter rosettes |
| Terms of transplantation into the aquatic environment | In spring or autumn (under certain conditions) |
| Landing rules | Send "float" leaf sockets into the pond |
| Priming | Nutritious, silty, clayey substrate, with the presence of lime |
| Soil acidity values, pH | Lime is desirable, 7-8 (slightly alkaline) |
| Illumination level | Good and bright lighting, partial shade or shade |
| Humidity level | Growing in a pond, at least 80 cm deep |
| Special care rules | Pure water mixed with lime |
| Height options | 0.15–0.5 m |
| Flowering period | July to August, sometimes twice |
| Type of inflorescences or flowers | Single or paired female flowers, in inflorescences of several pieces - male |
| Color of flowers | Snow white and yellow stamens or staminodes |
| Fruit type | Polyseeds with a fleshy pericarp |
| The timing of fruit ripening | In autumn |
| Decorative period | Summer months |
| Application in landscape design | For the design of artificial and natural reservoirs |
| USDA zone | 5–8 |
Telorez got its scientific name thanks to the Latin word “stratiotes”, which is transported as “soldier”. All because of the outlines of the leaf plates, which reminded people of swords. In Russian, the plant began to be called so because the edge of the leaves has spiky teeth that can injure human skin. Well, the specific term "aloe-like" was awarded for the similarity of the shape of the leaves with a desert plant - scarlet, often referred to as an agave. However, among the people, for the similarity of the leaves, there is also a synonymous nickname - water pineapple or damn bush.
Telorez is a perennial representative of the green world of the planet, which grows in the water element. The plant is characterized by the formation of a rosette, from a large number of leaf plates. Since initially a leaf rosette is located at the bottom of the reservoir, by the middle of the next summer season, it becomes the owner of rather elongated root processes, which, with their outlines, become like stilts. Such roots take whip-like outlines and can reach a length of one and a half meter mark. The color of the foliage of the telorez is a rich green or dense emerald color. The shape, as mentioned earlier, takes broad-linear or linear-oblong contours; there are prickly-needle teeth along the edges. At the same time, there is no division into the petiole and the leaf blade itself.
The length of telores leaves can vary from 15 cm to half a meter, with a width of about 4 cm. The top of the foliage tends to rise above the surface of the water surface. If the growing conditions are favorable, then the diameter of the leaf rosette during the growing season can reach 0.6 m, while one such rosette contains up to 80 leaves.
While the telores leaves are young, they are very tough (which gave the plant its name), but the denticles on their edge are weakly expressed. As the leaf plates age, they lose their elasticity, and fragility comes to replace it, which interferes with the transportation of the plant, since most of the leaves will be lost. The teeth become rather large and pointed at the edges, their formation occurs in July. Preference for "water pineapple" in natural conditions is given to reservoirs with standing or slowly flowing water. Telores can be found in ditches and lakes, often growing in swamps. In any case, extensive thickets are formed through its leaves.
Interesting
For telores, despite its stiffness of the leaves, the danger in the pond when the foliage grows old is represented by mollusks living in water bodies. The leaves are often heavily eaten by the snails of the Great Pond Snail (Lymnaea stagnalis).
Like the water hyacinth, the telores can migrate through the reservoir, since it is waterfowl and does not really need to be attached to the ground surface. It is characterized by the "devil's bush" resistance to winter cold, since during the growing season there is a build-up of "wintering buds", which sink with the arrival of the cold season to the bottom of the reservoir, where they winter successfully. Therefore, this plant does not require extraction from its natural habitat until spring. Such buds in telores are formed by the fall, represent a natural shelter for the apical buds that surround the leaf plates.
Important
Such a waterfowl can winter in our latitudes only in those reservoirs that will not freeze to the very bottom. If the body cutter gets into the frozen ice layer, it will invariably die.
New leaf plates, like flowering stems, originate from the growth point located in the center of the leaf rosette - the so-called apical buds. When the time of flowering comes (June-July), the telopere rises from the depths of the water, resembling a float. During this period, the lower part of the leaf plates, covered with whitish elongated roots, remains in the aquatic environment, while the upper part, made up of flowers crowning the pedicels, flaunts above the surface of the reservoir.
Interesting
All this is possible due to the natural characteristics of telores - during the flowering process, carbon dioxide begins to accumulate in the hollow veins of leaves, which is precisely what helps push the plant out of the water. Moreover, according to the observations of botanists, such "descents" and "ascents" are repeated during the growing season due to the oversaturation of leaves with matter at great depths.
Teloresis is characterized by dioeciousness, that is, a single plant has male or female flowers. When fully opened, the diameter of the flower is 3-4 cm. The color of the petals in them is snow-white. The flower has three outer segments that form a calyx and three inner ones that form a corolla, there are also yellow staminodes or stamens. The first ones are the same stamens, but underdeveloped and having a modified shape. Staminodes are devoid of anthers and do not have the ability, therefore, they are sterile to produce pollen. Such parts are often possessed by female flowers of telores. There are 11-15 stamens in flowers, while the number of staminodes is more significant.
Flowers of "water pineapple" resemble bowls, from the male inflorescences are collected, numbering several pieces. Female flowers are arranged in pairs or singly. Flowering usually occurs twice - in July and August, when this representative of the flora will receive plenty of sunlight. Sometimes telores flowers begin to open at the beginning of summer days. Flowers with stamens (male) originate from the axils of those leaf plates that sit on the pedicels. The length of the pedicels is 30–40 cm. Pistillate (female) flowers are sessile.
After pollination, the ripening of fruits begins, which are polyseeds with a fleshy pericarp. As autumn approaches, hibernating buds are formed in telores. During the same period, the plant begins to accumulate starch in the vegetative organs (fruits and buds). This process is called autotrophic nutrition. Since as the starch accumulates, the weight of the leaf rosette increases, the "water pineapple" again sinks to the bottom of the reservoir, where it prepares for wintering.
The plant will become an excellent decoration for any reservoir (natural or artificial), while you will not have to make any special efforts to grow it.
Rules for planting and caring for a telescope in a country pond
- Growing place "Devil's bush" should be selected semi-shady or in the shade, but, as a last resort, a location well-lit by streams of sunlight will do. However, the latter can reduce decorativeness, since direct streams of sunlight can cause unsightly spots on the leaves from burns. In the case of suitable growing conditions in the reservoir, the telores will begin to actively reproduce and will be able to suppress other representatives of the flora growing nearby. However, if there is only a mini-reservoir on the site, then development is weak and threats to the “inhabitants” of the pond will not appear due to the “frailty” of the leaf outlet. Important! The greatest decorative effect of the telores is manifested when landing in a semi-shady location. In any case, if you follow the natural preferences of such a waterfowl, the reservoir should be with stagnant water or the flow in it should be slow. The reservoir should be at least 80 cm deep, which will allow it not to freeze to the very foundation in the cold weather of the year. The area of the water basin itself does not play a decisive role in the cultivation of "water pineapple".
- Planting a telescope. The process of planting this plant cannot be fully called that, since the sprouted "winter buds" or young daughter rosettes are simply released to swim in the reservoir. If such a water pool has sufficient depth, then in the autumn period even leaf sockets of adult specimens of telores can be launched into it. It is only important that by the time of frost the “damn bush” has gathered starch and managed to “sink” and anchor with its roots to the bottom at the bottom, so to speak “to anchor”. Then his wintering will be successful, and with the arrival of spring vegetative activity will begin.
- Soil and water. To grow telores in a pond, the aquatic environment must be clean. The content in it is also welcomed, as in the lime substrate. The very same soil is recommended to select silty, nutrient-rich, clayey.
- Special care requirements behind the cutter were not identified. However, since under favorable conditions there is a rapid growth of leaf rosettes, the rest of the flora in the pond may be inhibited. Therefore, it is recommended to limit the growth of "water pineapple". If necessary, you should deal with the removal of excess sheet sockets.
- Underpressure. This procedure will help contain the growth of telores in the pond, as well as provide the plant and other representatives of the aquatic flora with more space. To do this, it is necessary to remove part of the sheet plates in the socket.
- Wintering of a telorez. It is this process that requires the participation of the gardener in caring for the plant. This is due to the fact that in the winter period water is often drained and then the remaining water environment can freeze to the ground, which will threaten the death of the "damn bush". In order to ensure the storage of "winter buds" it is recommended to collect these parts of the telores by hand and place them in a glass container with water. Such a vessel is placed in a warm and bright place (for example, on a window sill in a room), where the material will spend time until the beginning of spring. The telores rosettes contained in glass jars will begin to germinate much earlier than in their natural environment. But only when the reservoir is completely frozen, you can perform a "landing".
- Fertilizers. For this plant, top dressing is not used, but if possible, you can slightly saturate the water with lime.
- The use of a telorez in landscape design. "Devil's bush" can often be used to decorate water pools (large and small, artificial or natural), available on the backyard. Such leaf rosettes are planted in the coastal zone. If the reservoir is very small, then it will be bad to develop "water pineapple" in it. Often, such a waterfowl representative of the flora is planted in aquariums. It happens that overgrowth contributes to the displacement of filamentous algae.
Cityate is also about growing marigold in the garden.
Telores reproduction rules
It will be possible to propagate the "damn bush" only if there are male and female plants. But it should be borne in mind that it is the male specimens that are more widespread. For reproduction, you can use seeds, parts of shoots or young daughter rosettes.
Usually, at the end of summer, young leaf rosettes begin to grow from the leaf sinuses of the telores, which are attached to the shoots resembling elongated cords. The length of such shoots is almost half a meter. One plant of "water pineapple" under favorable growing conditions can become the owner of five daughter rosettes. Such outlets can be assembled and placed in a glass jar of water until winter. When the weather is warm next spring, the telorez rosettes are simply released to float in the pond.
During seed reproduction, the fruits that have appeared are collected and also kept until spring in a glass container, in order to then be placed in the aquatic environment of the pond.
If the reservoir is deep enough and the water is not drained in it for the winter, then the plant will successfully reproduce on its own.
See recommendations for propagation of the swamp plant
Possible difficulties in caring for a body cutter and ways to solve them
As mentioned earlier, the plant is not demanding to care for. At the same time, it also does not fear any pests, except for snails. However, in the event that the water in the pond becomes contaminated, the teloperez will quickly wither away and begin to die off. If possible, it is recommended to carry out cleaning, by draining water and cleaning the reservoir, if only this will be done during the summer period.
In fact, a plant can become a real indicator of the purity of the aquatic environment in a pond.
Read also about possible problems with growing lotus and ways to solve them
Interesting notes about telorez
It is curious that the leaf rosettes of the "water pineapple" help to curb the spread of other algae in the reservoir.
The plant can be considered one of the most ancient, since the remains of a telores were identified by scientists in those places where in ancient times there were reservoirs. The petrification of leaf rosettes began due to the release of a mucous secretion before immersion in the aquatic environment in the fall. This substance contains calcium carbonate, which is an integral part of materials such as limestone or chalk, or more noble marble.
According to scientists, due to pollution of the habitat, telores can simply disappear from our planet in the near future.
For a long time, humans have used teloresis foliage to feed domestic animals (for example, pigs, cows and even poultry). So for livestock, it is customary to prepare a composition of potato peels and chopped foliage. If we talk about the content of protein and minerals in the "devil's bush", but its amount is almost twice that of many cultivated plants. Such nutrition contributes to the rapid weight gain of animals.
Since the snails of the Big Pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) do not disdain with the leaves of telores in the pond, despite their cutting edge, with a significant number of them, you can even lose such decoration of the garden pond. This freshwater mollusk also prefers the leaves of water lilies. To combat such an invasion of large snails (and their size reaches 4.5-6 cm in length and 2-3.4 cm in width), it is recommended to stir (hang) lettuce leaves in the pond. Snails will actively "run" to such a delicacy, leaving the telopez alone.
There are other snails - Coils (Planorbidae), which are in demand by aquarists and are sold in pet stores. Such freshwater mollusks are bred in the reservoir on purpose, since the decomposed foliage of the teloresis serves as food for them. Coils also carry out the "cleaning" of the pond or lake from the decaying parts of the flora.
There is also information that teloresis has a medicinal effect. If you prepare a decoction from the foliage of a plant, then such a remedy can be used to cure diseases associated with the gastrointestinal tract. The preparations from the "water pineapple" promote wound healing, fights cardiovascular diseases, infertility and helps to dissolve patients weakened by diseases.
To prepare medicinal potions from the leaves of "water pineapple", you need to collect them. So in the last week of June or at the beginning of July, using a stick with a hook at the end, the leaf rosettes are removed from the aquatic environment and hung under a canopy in the shade to dry. Ensure good ventilation throughout the drying period. For this, an attic may be suitable if there is a constant flow of fresh air on it. When the leaves of the telorez are dry well, they are thoroughly crushed (gloves are useful here because of the sharp edge of the foliage) and stored in paper or canvas bags. Storage should be in a dry and dark place.
Usually decoctions from dried telores material are cooked over low heat for no more than a quarter of an hour, and then the solution must be insisted for 60 minutes in warmth. Although the treatment will be long (about six months), it is very effective according to the multiple recommendations of traditional healers. To support general health, healers suggested drinking telores leaves as a tea drink with decoctions. Take 2-3 glasses a day (200 ml).
Related article: Rules for planting and caring for reeds
Video about telorez and its cultivation in a pond:
