An overview of plant species, tips for cultivation, recommendations for transplanting, choosing soil and feeding, methods of breeding siderasis. Siderasis in Latin is represented as Siderasis and is part of the large Commelinaceae family, in two subfamilies of which more than 700 plant species are included. The homeland of this interesting bush is considered to be the regions of South America and Brazil, where the equatorial and tropical climate prevails. But the genus Siderasis contains only two species of plants, of which only one is grown indoors - brownish siderasis (Siderasis fuscata Moore). The flower took its name from the Greek word "sideros", which translates as iron. This was facilitated by the appearance of the bush, since all parts of the siderasis are covered with hairs of a red-brown hue, sticking out and clearly distinguishable. They look very much like "armor" outwardly. But in the common people this plant is called "bear ear", then the same distinctive features.
Brownish siderasis has a herbaceous form of growth, and it can only grow up to 30–40 cm in height. It is distinguished by a stem with a very short length. The sheet plates are assembled into a tight rosette. They can be elliptical, oblong obovate, there is a small sharpening at the apex. The size of the leaves is large enough, can vary from 10 to 20 cm in length with a total width of 7–10 cm. A groove is visible at the petiole. The color of the leaves is green with an olive tint, and there is a silvery stripe along the midrib. The reverse side of the leaf plate is purple-violet. The hairs of this variety can be as red-brown, but there is also a purple color of this "armor". With the growth of the plant, the leaf plates reach very large sizes, and if there is a desire to root the top of the bush, then this will take some time.
Flowers are few in number and grow in simple curls at the tops of the shoots. The buds are attached on plump flowering stems of a whitish shade of only 3-5 cm. The color of the petals of the buds is bright blue or purple. There are three petals and sepals. In the middle of the bud there are yellow stamens on the legs. The size of the flower in the open state reaches 2.5 cm in diameter. Flowering usually extends from late spring to mid-autumn days.
As for the effect of a plant on a person, since siderasis belongs to the elements of an earthly nature, it has a beneficial effect on the endocrine and lymphatic systems. Ligaments and feet in humans are also positively affected - the plant helps to develop stability when walking, it can even cope with flat feet. If you have a weak and sensitive, restless sleep, then thanks to the sign of Pisces, which controls a person, siderasis will help remove insomnia and guarantee a sound sleep.
Since leafy platinum plants have such unusual properties, they are considered from these points of view:
- the upper brownish pubescence can speak of tenderness and smoothness, which are inherent in the lunar impact with the addition of earthly heavy properties;
- the back side, in which reddish shades are expressed, is inherent in the fiery influence of Mars with its anger, rage and strong desires, but the brown drooping lowers all these emotions to hard earthly labor, with which strong feelings are associated.
The plant helps to cope with people who are eager to take any decisive action, but when they start, they get scared and fall into insecure and crying states. Siderasis will help smooth out this disharmony - the desire for action and the inability to embody it, to balance the atmosphere in the room where it grows. Since the plant is very small, one might say "earthly", it helps to extinguish the pouring water from tears and tearfulness, setting emotional limitations - "shores" for them. Helps to embody the state of pacification, peace and comfort, earthly stability.
Siderasis helps people of water and air elements to achieve psychological strengthening with their “earthly” attachment. He helps his owners to resist resentment and negativity from circumstances, bad mood. Strengthen in a state of constancy and peace in the soul. A person caring for a plant or simply being in close proximity to siderasis begins to become self-confident, strengthens in their emotions and acquires a healthy outlook on life. The earthly element, which controls the plant, gives decisiveness, conviction of good luck and resilience in the event of difficulties, helps to overcome possible obstacles on the path of a person.
The plant is very unpretentious, however, it is rarely mentioned in the literature and, like any member of the Cammeline family, adaptability and survival are at its height. It is only required to adhere to certain conditions of detention in order for siderasis to please the eye for many seasons, according to flower growers up to 4 years old. Its growth rate is very slow, especially when the leaves unfold slowly.
Indoor Siderasis Tips
- Lighting. Since the height of the plant is rather low, it thrives in natural surroundings under the crowns of dense Brazilian trees and other taller vegetation. Therefore, it is necessary to create diffused soft lighting or a slight partial shade in the room. Window sills facing the southeast, southwest, where solar streams pour only in the morning and evening hours, are suitable. In this case, they will not harm the siderasis. From bright sunlight, you will have to arrange shading with the help of light curtains or gauze curtains, therefore it is undesirable to place the pot on the windows of the southern exposure, the plant may burn the leaf plates. If you do a special supplementary lighting with phyto-lamps or at least fluorescent lamps, then the bush will feel great in the shade or on the windowsill of the northern window.
- Content temperature for siderasis. Although the plant is a resident of hot regions of the world, but still does not like high heat indicators, the maximum summer temperature of 25 degrees is most suitable for it, and with the arrival of autumn it can be reduced to 16 degrees. In an extreme case, transferring a short-term stay for siderasis at 12-14 degrees Celsius will not be harmful. But with a long content at low temperatures, the sheet plates will simply freeze. The plant is afraid of the negative effects of drafts, airing the room, this should be taken into account.
- Content moisture. Siderasis loves high levels of humidity in the air, but the problem is that it is not recommended to spray it due to abundant pubescence. You can use humidifiers in the hot months of the year or put a vessel filled with water next to the flowerpot. Another way to increase moisture indicators is to install a pot with a bush in deep and wide containers, on the bottom of which a layer of expanded clay, pebbles is poured or chopped sphagnum moss is laid. A little water is poured there, which, evaporating, will help the siderasis to endure high temperatures. It is important to monitor that the bottom of the pot is not in contact with water, as this will lead to the onset of putrefactive processes in the roots and stems. There are recommendations to grow siderasis because of pubescence in terrariums, florariums or simple aquariums, sometimes this plant is cultivated in bottle gardens.
- Watering mode for siderasis. Although the plant is a resident of tropical and humid areas, irrigation conditions must be well maintained. When wetting, the plant must be guided by the state of the soil in the pot. The substrate should dry out a little, but its complete drying is unacceptable, this will lead to the death of siderasis, but the bay will also negatively affect the plant. In the spring-summer period, it is necessary to moisturize with a regularity of 1-2 times a week, and with the arrival of autumn, it is watered only once every 7 days. If there is excess moisture in the stand under the glass pot, then it must be immediately drained, water must not be allowed to stagnate. In order for the plant to feel normal, use only soft and warm water, devoid of any impurities and salts. It is recommended by flower growers to collect rain or make melted snow, first warm it up before watering. If this is not possible, then you will have to take water from the tap, pass it through a filter. Boiling is also performed or it is defended for several days. There are tips to soften water with peat soil - put a handful of peat in a linen bag and put it in a bucket of water overnight. After this, siderasis is watered. It is important that drops of moisture do not fall on the leaf plates when the soil is moistened - this can provoke rotting. For beginners, the easiest way is to carry out "bottom" watering - a pot with a plant is placed in a bowl of water and the time is waited for 15 minutes. The plant will only take in the moisture it needs. This method is also used when the siderasis has become old enough, since the enlarged leaf outlet will not give access to the soil in the pot, and pushing the leaves away can damage them.
- Conducting dressings for siderasis it is performed in the spring and summer months of the year (during active growth) with a regularity of 1–2 times per month, and with the arrival of autumn, fertilizing is reduced to once, in the winter months the plant is stopped fertilizing. For top dressing, complex mineral fertilizers are chosen for decorative deciduous plants. If top dressing is chosen in the form of a solution, then the dosage must be halved from that indicated by the manufacturer. It is important to remember that it is recommended to dilute any top dressing in irrigation water.
- Siderasis transplant and soil selection. This plant is slow-growing, so frequent transplants will not be needed. If the roots have already begun to appear through the drainage holes in the pot, then this is a signal to change the container. It is necessary to carry out the operation of changing the pot and soil once every 2-3 years. The new container should be wider than tall, since the root system in siderasis does not grow in depth. Several holes are made in the new container to drain the unabsorbed water. At the bottom of this pot, you need to pour a little more than 2 cm of drainage, any material that holds water well, for example, small expanded clay or pebbles, can act as it, but it is important to choose such a fraction of the material so that it does not fall out through the holes in the pot and does not clog them.
The substrate that is chosen for growing siderasis must have a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. Also, be light, loose and nutritious enough with good air and water permeability. The soil can be used commercially available universal for indoor plants, but add sand or perlite to it to provide sufficient lightness, and use humus soil to increase the nutritional value, peat soil will provide looseness. The soil mixture can be composed in the following variants:
- sod soil, leafy soil, river sand (in proportions 1: 2: 1);
- leafy soil, humus earth, coarse sand or perlite (in a ratio of 2: 1: 1).
It is necessary to harvest the land long before transplanting the plant. Sod soil is taken from meadows and pastures where cereal-clover herbage grows. This soil is removed in the summer, when the grasses have already reached their maximum development, so that the sod can decompose well before the arrival of winter. The layer should be no deeper than 8–10 cm and a width of 20–30 cm. Leafy soil is harvested in parks or squares during autumn leaf fall. The most recommended are the leaves of linden, maple and all fruit trees. You can take soil in a deciduous forest, removing 2–5 cm of the substrate. Humus soil is obtained by roasting manure and old soil from greenhouses.
Recommendations for self-propagation of siderasis
You can get a new plant by dividing the rhizome - this method is the most acceptable, since planting seed gives mixed results. The germination rate of siderasis seeds is very low and the steams can die for no apparent reason. Using the cuttings method is also difficult, since the branches deteriorate without rooting. Therefore, this plant is considered quite difficult to care for due to the fact that getting a new copy is extremely problematic and only because of this.
When siderasis has root suckers or adventitious roots. This procedure is easy enough if you already have some experience in floriculture. Rhizomes are divided in spring and try to combine with the transplant procedure. It is necessary to carefully remove the plant from the pot - turn the container over and gently tapping on the walls of the container, holding the bush, carefully pull the siderasis out of the container. Shake off the earth from the roots, but only a little, that which itself crumbles. Then it is necessary to cut the rhizome with a sharpened knife (it is strictly forbidden to tear it apart!). It should be divided very carefully so that each of the parts obtained has a sufficient number of roots and leaves, in this case the plant will successfully transfer the division and a new planting.
Sections are required to be sprinkled with crushed activated or charcoal, this is done to disinfect the "wounds" of the plant. Plant the delenki in pots prepared in advance with a substrate (it is common, as for growing a whole plant). A little soil mixture is poured over the drainage, then it is slightly moistened and a particle of siderasis is installed inside. The disembarkation of the cut should take place at the same depth as before. Soil is added on the sides of the pot and slightly compacted, when the container is completely filled with soil, then light moistening of the substrate should be carried out again. At first, new plants are recommended to be shaded from bright sunlight and watered regularly until young siderasses show signs of growth. Then they can be put in place of their constant growth.
Possible problems and pests of siderasis
Among the unpleasant moments of cultivation can be noted:
- the root system of siderasis is so delicate that it will not tolerate overdrying of the soil;
- in dry air during the heating season, the tops of the leaf plates can dry out;
- drying of the edges of the leaves indicates insufficient watering.
If the humidity in the room has become less than 60%, then siderasis can be affected by a spider mite, and scabbards and false scutes also bring harm. When a spider mite is affected, it is determined by the appearance of a thin cobweb on the leaf plates and twigs of the plant. Scales and false scutes are visible on the back of the leaves in the form of brown dots or tubercles, they suck vital juices from the stems and leaves, they are covered with a sticky substance - the waste products of pests. If you do not take action on time, then a sooty fungus can grow on these sweet sticky formations. To combat pests, soap and alcohol solutions are used, and to consolidate the result, they are sprayed with insecticides.
