General description of the catharanthus, agricultural technology during cultivation, breeding rules for pink periwinkle, difficulties in cultivation and ways of solving them, species. Catharanthus (Catharanthus) belongs to the genus of plants with a herbaceous or semi-shrub form of growth. All of them are included in the Apocynaceae family. Among these representatives of the flora, both annuals and plants can be found that have a long life cycle and never shed their foliage. Only 8 varieties are attributed to this genus, and seven of this list consider the island of Madagascar their native habitat, and only one can be found in natural conditions on the lands of India in Sri Lanka. However, scientists are unable to agree exactly on the real homeland of the catharanthus, since not only the above territories are included there, but also Indonesia, Cuba, the Philippines and China, since these beautiful flowers can be found there in the wild.
A little earlier, all varieties of this genus were attributed to the genus Vinca, today the scientific synonyms of this plant are Ammocallis and Lochnera. Translated, the name of the catharanthus means "flawless flower", since in reality the buds of this plant have an ideal outline created by five petals, in the middle of which there is a flat corolla. There is another version, since the translation of the name from Greek means "pure, clear flower", all this is associated with the bright color of the bud petals, which take on very attractive acrylic colors.
Basically, gardeners are well aware of the plant that bears the name Catharanthus roseus, or as it is popularly called Pink Periwinkle. This representative of the kutrov family is most often found in natural conditions in Pakistan, as well as in the southern and eastern lands of Madagascar. In these areas, the specified specimen of flora can grow on the edges of tropical rainforests. In our strip, this plant is successfully cultivated as an annual, and you can meet it in this form on the lands of the Caucasus.
So, pink periwinkle is a shrub with branched shoots and an evergreen crown, it rarely exceeds 30-60 cm in height. If we talk about the root system, then it is a long root in the form of a rod, which stretches in length up to 25-35 see He has many lateral root processes. On young roots, root hairs are completely absent. The color of the root system is light yellowish, there is a strong specific smell.
The color of the bark of the branches is interesting, which directly depends on the color of the petals in the buds. In plants with pink flowers, the bark acquires an anthocyanin tone, with snow-white flowers - a green or light greenish tint. As the stem ages, it becomes woody, and the distance between the nodes decreases. The crown appears to be very thick and dense.
The leaf plates are located on the branches in an opposite order, they have short petioles, there is a wedge-shaped narrowing at the base. The shape is generally lanceolate-oval. The leaf is whole-edged, painted in a dark green color, its surface is shiny, naked or with pubescence, a feathery pattern of veins is clearly visible, with a clearly visible central vein, shaded with a whitish tone. The length of the leaf reaches 2.5–8 cm with a width of 3.5 cm.
When flowering, buds are formed, with a tubular corolla. When opening, the flower reaches 3 cm in diameter. The color of the petals is often pinkish-red, while the throat is shaded with purple tint. The flower has pubescence, it is calloused. The corolla consists of five spliced petals, which form a tube, bending back at the top. These folds are painted in a pinkish or white tone, and they are folded in the same plane.
After flowering, the fruits ripen, which are a pair of sickle-shaped leaflets, not exceeding 5 cm in length and up to 3 mm thick. The peduncle is greatly shortened. Inside the fruit there are numerous seeds, small in size with a black color.
It is this variety that is very popular with flower growers, with the help of which they decorate balconies and flower beds, since pink catharanthus successfully blooms profusely throughout the summer period until late autumn days (this time is stretched from May to October, until severe cold comes). It is often cultivated in cold greenhouses. Today, there are varieties in which flowers have both pink and white or red petals, while their pharynx is tinted in a yellow color scheme. But due to the rather long flowering period, the plant is greatly depleted and it will be quite difficult to force it to bloom again, therefore, after flowering, such a catharanthus is replaced with a young specimen, since this representative of the green world easily multiplies both by sowing seeds and by cuttings.
Rules for caring for a catharanthus when growing
- Lighting and location selection. For the comfortable maintenance of pink periwinkle, a place with good lighting is selected, but so that direct sunlight does not fall on the plant. In the rooms, it can be the sills of the east or west windows. On the street, it is also important to ensure that the catharanthus is not placed in the sun, it will not be superfluous to think about protection from the wind. Also, in the conditions of street cultivation, it is important to find a place so that moisture does not stagnate there. When planting a plant in open ground, the soil should be light and nutritious, most often it is made up of equal parts of peat, river sand, garden soil and humus. If the substrate is too acidic in the area where the catharanthus will be planted, then it is recommended to calcify it or add a little wood ash.
- Sowing and planting rules in open ground. Usually periwinkle is cultivated by seedling method. Seeds are sown in February to get seedlings in a shallow container, with a seeding depth of 1–2 cm. Then the box is wrapped in polyethylene and the temperature is maintained at 25 degrees. Seedlings will appear in 14–20 days. After that, the box with seedlings is transferred to a cooler place. If there is not enough light, then additional lighting with phytolamps is carried out so that the seedlings do not stretch too much. When 3 real leaves appear on the sprout, the plants dive in separate containers. As soon as the warmer days come, you can harden the seedlings by "walking" them on the balcony. As soon as the catharanthus reach 10 cm in height, a pinching is carried out to form lush bushes. They are transplanted into open ground, usually in late spring. When there is no morning frost, that is, the average temperature for this operation outside should be at least 20 degrees. Before planting the catharanthus in the open ground, the planting site should be dug up, and a little expanded clay or very fine gravel is also introduced into the soil. For planting, a hole is dug and a small layer of expanded clay is placed on its bottom, then a little soil is placed on it, and only after that a seedling is placed on it, sprinkled with a substrate, slightly pressing it down. When planting in a pot, you should also fill the container first with a small amount of expanded clay, then lay a layer of 1–2 cm of soil and only then plant the catharanthus. Plants are watered moderately after planting.
- Humidity when growing pink periwinkle, it should be moderate, but if the heat indicators grow, then even on the street it is recommended to spray the flower bushes. At home, the humidity is increased by all available means.
- Watering pink periwinkle. Moisturizing should be regular, but it should not be allowed to dry out or flood the substrate. If the leaf blades began to curl, it means that the plant does not have enough moisture. In room conditions, as soon as after watering the water is glass in a stand under the pot, it is necessary to immediately remove the liquid. If, when grown in the open field, cold and rainy weather is established for a long time, this will lead to the fact that the catharanthus stems begin to droop, and the flowers fly around. It is recommended to help the plant survive this period - to install an awning over the bushes.
- Fertilizers for a "clear flower" are brought in from the beginning of spring. They use universal preparations for declarative flowering plants. It is also recommended to apply an ash solution under the bushes. The frequency of fertilization is once every 14 days. A solution with dressing is poured under the bush immediately after watering. If ash is used, then prepare it by stirring 100 grams in a 10 liter bucket of water. Foliar fertilization is also recommended. In this case, Epin-Extra is used. This solution should be sprayed with a pink periwinkle bush once a month instead of root dressings. As soon as the autumn period comes, fertilizing the plant is stopped. It is important to remember that exceeding the dose of mineral preparations during the fertilization process can burn the root system.
- Pruning bush and general care of the catharanthus. It is required to remove broken or yellowed shoots, but the plant does not need strong pruning. Rather, they are sanitary procedures to stimulate the growth of new branches. In indoor growing, pruning is necessary so that the plant does not stretch out in one lash. If there was a room wintering, then it is necessary to cut off the tips of the shoots. Periwinkle wintering should take place at 15-17 degrees Celsius. If the catharanthus is transferred from open ground, then it is dug up, all branches are cut before this and planted in large pots, with a substrate of sand and earth.
Do-it-yourself planting and reproduction of pink periwinkle
To get a new catharanthus, they sow seeds, divide the bush or cuttings.
- When dividing the overgrown bush, the time is selected in the spring, when the "pure flower" is transplanted from the conditions of the rooms into the open ground. But division directly depends on the size of the root system. It can be divided into 2-3 parts and then each of the divisions can be planted in a separate pot or hole.
- When the branches of the bush are pruned in the spring, the upper cuttings are used for reproduction of pink periwinkle. These branches should not be less than 7-10 cm in length. The cuttings are placed in a moistened substrate, where rooting is carried out.
- To get a new plant by sowing seed, it is important to remember that enough seeds cannot ripen over the summer. Therefore, experienced growers grow the bush at home. Seed material fully ripens by spring days. The seeds are then harvested and sown in a planting box filled with nutritious soil. The seeds are sown on the surface of the substrate and sprinkled with a layer of the same soil, the layer should not be more than 1 cm. Then the container with the crops should be covered with plastic wrap or placed under glass. This will help maintain high humidity conditions. The temperature during germination should not fall below 25-30 degrees. After 20-25 days, the sprouts will hatch. The shelter is removed and the plants are cared for as usual. When the threat of morning frost passes, planting is carried out in open ground or in separate pots.
Catharanthus pests and diseases, methods of dealing with them
Like many delicate garden and indoor plants, periwinkle pink can be affected by harmful insects: mealybugs, aphids, whiteflies and scale insects. Most often, the pest reveals itself due to the state of the foliage, a whitish bloom appears on it, a spot or leaf plate begins to curl and dry out. For the fight, the treatment of insecticidal preparations is used.
Brown rust can also become a problem, in this case the foliage becomes covered with spots - pustules. This is due to the increased humidity of the soil or air with low heat indicators. Also, the reason may be an insufficient content of nitrogen in the substrate. It is necessary to spray the bush with Bordeaux liquid and feed the plant with nitrogenous preparations or mullein solution. You can also highlight the following troubles when growing pink periwinkle:
- With increased light levels, the leaf plates will become soft and turn yellow. Shading is necessary, in the rooms you can hang curtains or move the pot to another place, and on the street you can build an awning or transplant to a more suitable place where the lighting will be diffused.
- With low air humidity, the leaves will begin to turn yellow at the tips. You should either spray the plant, or put vessels with water next to it.
- If the leaves in the lower part turn yellow and begin to fall off, then this is a natural process.
- When the number of buds formed is very small, then this was the reason for the cold content of the flower. You can solve the problem only in room conditions (put the catharanthus in a warmer place), you will have to wait for warming outside.
- If, when grown indoors, the pink periwinkle stops blooming, and the foliage turns yellow, this means that it does not have enough space for development and growth. It is necessary to remove the bush from the peas, and if the root system has braided the entire substrate, then transplant into a large container and continue to look after in normal mode, then "resuscitation" will gradually occur.
Interesting facts about the catharanthus flower
It is important not to forget !!! All parts of the catharanthus contain poisonous substances - alkaloids and it is recommended to carry out any operations, wearing gloves, as you can get not only an allergic reaction, but also poisoning. You should also remember this when growing pink periwinkle at home, it is better that small children and pets do not have access to the plant. But there is another side of these toxic properties, they are currently used in the manufacture of drugs for the treatment of leukemia.
It is the alkaloids (and there are more than 80 of them) that are indole derivatives and have antitumor activity. Therefore, the ground part of the catharanthus is harvested. The harvesting time falls on the period when this representative of the flora begins to bear fruit. Leaf plates of pink periwinkle are used as raw materials for obtaining an anticancer drug called Rosevin, which is prescribed for lymphogranulomatosis and hematosarcomas. The foliage is harvested in the phase of abundant flowering of the plant and in the process of its fruiting, on the shoots of the 2nd order.
Types of catharanthus
As a result of work on hybridization between species of catharanthus, the works of breeders have created multiple highly decorative varieties of this representative of the kutrovy family. Among them, the most popular are the following varietal plants:
- Albus, forming buds, delight the eye with a snow-white shade of petals;
- Ocellatus also has white flowers with petals, but inside the pharynx has a red tone, as if a peephole is visible;
- Cooler, in this series, flower petals can take on a wide variety of shades from pinkish to bright red;
- Parasol has small parameters in height, only 40 cm, but the flowers that open on the bush are large in size and their petals are painted in a white tone with an eye inside a dark red color scheme.
For more information on the catharanthus, see below:
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