Description and etymology of the plant name, recommendations for growing caesalpinia in open ground, advice on reproduction, diseases and pests during cultivation, a fact for the curious, species. Caesalpinia is a member of the legume family (Fabaceae) and this genus includes almost 150 different species. And although the plant is a "native" from the territories of Argentine, Uruguay, the island of Barbados, Southeast Asia and the topical regions of America, but this representative of the flora with exotic flowers can be found in warm regions of the whole planet.
Among the people, for its beautiful and unusual flowers, the plant bears many colorful names - "peacock flower" (Peacock flower), "red bird of paradise", "parrot bush" or "pride of Barbados" (Barbados pride), indicating the native land. But the scientific name was given to him by the botanist from France Charles Plumier (1646-1704). This scientist in 1703 decided to name the spectacular specimen of flora in honor of the Italian botanist and philosopher Andrea Cesalpino (1524-1603). The same name was used later by Karl Linnaeus, carrying out the classification of all plants known at that time.
Caesalpinia can be a shrub, a small tree, and even a liana (a shrub with climbing shoots). The branches have thorns, like many plants from the legume family. The height of caesalpinia in natural conditions can reach 6 meters, but if it grows in the form of a tree, then its diameter sometimes does not exceed 5 cm. The bark on the growth of this year is black. The leaves on the branches grow in a regular order. The leaf has a double-pinnate outline. Its color is light green or light green. The top side of the leaflets is shiny, and the back is dull with a matte sheen. With the coming of night, the leaflets are beautifully folded together, and with the first rays of the sun they take their original form. It is because of such openwork foliage that the plant, although it has a dense crown, looks light and almost weightless.
It is the flowers that are the true decoration of the Caesalpinia, they are collected in dense inflorescences of the brush or panicle, originating in the axils of the leaves or at the tops of the shoots. The flower petals are cast in rich orange-red shades and resemble small birdies, which with their beaks tend to one line - the flowering stem, and the elongated stamens, which are bent up and out, far from the corolla and so much like tails, further confirm the name of the plant when compared to a bird of paradise. The corolla has five petals, and up to 10 stamens with a length of almost 9 cm.
It is curious that in one of the varieties of Caesalpinia, a tannin was discovered, which was called "brasil", and the country from which the deliveries came over time began to be called Brazil.
After pollination takes place, the fruit ripens in the form of a bean, filled with seeds. When ripe, such a bean cracks and scatters the seeds a long distance from the mother plant. Often so many beans ripen on caesalpinia that the branches not only sag strongly under their weight, but also break, since the plant's wood is rather soft.
Caring for cesalpinia when growing in the garden
- Growing advice. If you live in the equatorial zone, then the plant will delight with its foliage all year round, but if your region has pronounced summer and winter temperatures, then caesalpinia can shed all the foliage. Young leaf plates in cooler climates begin to unfold as the length of daylight increases. So, it should exceed 10 hours, and the daily indicators of the thermometer column should reach 20 units. If we talk about European lands, then it is possible to meet the "peacock flower" in the southern regions of Europe, on the coasts of Turkey and Crimea, as well as on the shores of other Middle Eastern countries. A variety such as Caesalpinia Gillies or as it is sometimes called Gilles' Caesalpinia (Caesalpinia gilliesii) can tolerate temperatures as low as 12-15 degrees below zero. Such a plant only in the first 3-4 years will need to be transferred to the winter months in the conditions of cool greenhouses, winter gardens or frost-free rooms. When the plant grows older and stronger, it can be left in its permanent growing area in the garden, but an agrofibre shelter is required. Do not be afraid if in winter all the foliage falls off, the leaves will grow again by the onset of stable heat. When growing cesalpinia in the middle lane, for the winter time, many gardeners recommend the plant, using the moving method, to take it to a protected place, therefore, they carry out an annual digging. Since the root system of this exotic plant is not very deep and rather compact, using a pitchfork, you can carefully extract the caesalpinia of the soil. In this case, it is important to keep the earth ball intact. With the arrival of March or April, as the buds bloom, the plant should be moved to a warmer place, but always with very good lighting. When the time of spring frosts has passed, the "peacock flower" is planted again in the garden.
- Soil for planting Caesalpinia should be loose, light and nutritious, although the latter requirement is not required. Since the first time you need to plant the plant in tubs or pots, it is important to remember that their size should not be much larger than the volume of the entire root ball. When preparing the fossa, the size of the earthen coma is also taken into account. A drainage layer is laid on the bottom, this will protect the roots from waterlogging. The soil can be made up of sod and leafy soil, which is collected in park or forest areas (away from roads) under deciduous trees, and a little rotted foliage is also captured there. A little river sand is added to this composition.
- Landing place. It is better to plant the "red bird of paradise" bush in an open area, where there will be enough light. If the cesalpinia is placed in the shade, then you can not wait for flowering, and its shoots will be very elongated. Do not be afraid of the southern location, since when grown in open ground there is always a movement of air masses that will naturally cool the plant even at elevated temperatures. At the same time, being in direct sunlight, the foliage will not be burned, which cannot be said about the plants grown in the rooms on the windowsill of the southern window.
- Watering and humidity. When growing cesalpinia, it is important to maintain a stable soil moisture, since the plant mainly grows in nature on the coast or in humid forests. If it gets too hot during the summer months, you can spray the hardwoods daily with a garden hose, as the “pride of Barbados” loves humidity. This must be taken into account when disembarking, it would be nice if there was an artificial or natural reservoir nearby. It is clear that watering is recommended only if there is a dry period. An adult plant can survive a small drought without harm to itself. The substrate should not be too waterlogged and brought to waterlogging. It is better to mulch the near-trunk circle with sawdust and constantly loosen the ground. This will help the soil not dry out as much, and the weeds will not overgrow. But if we take into account the Gilles variety, then dry periods are not terrible for it and the plant does not need spraying, and this caesalpinia calmly tolerates the action of a draft.
- Fertilizers for cesalpinia, it is required to apply from the time when the foliage begins to bloom. The frequency of feeding is monthly. At the same time, at the very beginning, preparations with a high nitrogen content are required so that the deciduous mass grows as soon as possible, and for lush flowering, it is recommended that products in which phosphorus and potassium prevail. Complete complexes of mineral fertilizers are also suitable.
- Transfer. Until the plant reaches 3-4 years of age, it needs to be grown in pots in order to be easier to transfer indoors with the onset of autumn. But at the same time, the pot is changed to him annually or once every couple of years. The capacity does not increase much, since the best growth and flowering in cesalpinia is only when the root system is quite tightly intertwined and the pot is a little small. Only when the root processes began to crawl out through the drainage holes, a transplant is performed. The substrate for the "parrot bush" should not be acidic, its values vary within the range (pH 6, 5-7, 5). You can use store-bought light and loose compositions, the basis of which is peat with the addition of perlite (vermiculite or agroperlite).
- General care and pruning. After the winter months, it is recommended to prune the extended shoots. But it should be remembered that inflorescences are formed on the branches of the current year, so if you are late with this procedure, then you can not wait for flowering. Pruning helps to make the bush or tree more compact. During flowering, it is recommended to remove faded inflorescences so that they do not spoil the general appearance.
Tips for breeding Caesalpinia in the garden
To grow a new parrot bush plant, you need to root cuttings or sow seeds.
After pruning is carried out, then from the semi-lignified shoots, you can collect blanks for cuttings. Do not use green twigs, as they will not be able to take root, but will quickly rot. The length of the cutting should be 10-15 cm and it is desirable to have 2-3 internodes with leaves on it. The lower ones are removed, and the sections are treated with a rooting stimulator. Planting is carried out in pots with a moistened peat-sandy substrate. Cuttings are placed in a bright place, but without direct sunlight. The container with twigs is covered with a glass jar or wrapped in plastic wrap. Sometimes flower growers use plastic bottles, the bottom of which is cut off. Such a device will make it very easy to carry out the ventilation, which is necessary during the rooting process of cuttings, in order to remove the collected condensation drops. If the soil in the pot begins to dry out, then it is moistened with warm and soft water.
After the cuttings take root, they should be transplanted into separate pots by the transfer method, without destroying the earthen lump. A drainage layer should be laid on the bottom, which protects the root system from waterlogging. It is important to remember that in young Caesalpinias the root system is very delicate and any injury to it can lead to the death of the entire plant. After the caesalpinia has grown a little, the tops of the shoots are pinched to stimulate branching.
Seed propagation is also common. Since the seeds have a rather hard shell, it is recommended to soak them for a day or two in warm water before planting. Then, using sandpaper or a nail file, they carefully try to remove the top layer without touching the inner one - this process is called scarification. The seeds are sown in a container filled with a moistened peat-sandy substrate. The seeding depth is 0.5 cm.
A container with crops is placed in a bright place with a temperature of 20-25 degrees and a piece of glass is placed on top of the pot. We need daily ventilation and moistening of the soil when it dries up. Seedlings can appear in 10 days, but sometimes seed germination can take up to 4 months. At the very beginning, simple cotyledon leaves are formed, and then pinnately dissected leaves are formed. After that, the seedlings of cesalpinia can be transplanted in hotel tanks with a more fertile substrate by the transfer method. Such caesalpinia will begin to bloom in 1, 5–3 years, depending on growing conditions.
Diseases and pests affecting cesalpinia when grown in the garden
This plant is highly resistant to harmful insects, but it can be affected by spider mites when dry and hot (especially in the winter months). This pest manifests itself in the form of a translucent cobweb that covers the leaf plates and internodes. It is recommended to spray with insecticidal preparations, for example, Aktara, Aktellik, Fitoverm or similar agents.
In the summer months, the plant needs to be protected from slugs, which can, in just one rainy night, gnaw half the soft shoots of the plant. It is required to use drugs like Meta Thunder to fight.
If cesalpinia grows in a shaded place, then it may not bloom due to lack of lighting. Often in the summer, the plant begins to shed its foliage, the reason is too bright the sun, flooding or drying of the soil.
Facts for the curious, photos of Caesalpinia
For a long time, a variety of cesalpinia tanning was used to obtain a dye dividivi and use it in the tanning industry, which gives a black color, the plant is also a symbol of the island of Aruba.
The type of cesalpinia prickly or as it is called hedgehog cesalpinia was known until the beginning of the 20th century due to the presence in it of a substance that was used to dye especially elite fabrics. Wood of this variety is considered especially valuable and is used for the production of bows for stringed instruments, as well as sticks for conductors are made from this material.
Types of cesalpinia for cultivation in the open field
- Caesalpinia gilliesii or as it is also called Caesalpinia Gillis. This variety can be grown both in a tub and in open field conditions. It has a high growth rate and can bloom within 10 months from sowing seeds. If it grows in the fresh air, then its flowering is more magnificent. Inflorescences are formed from flowers of a bright sunny yellow hue. The plant is not afraid of drafts and can grow even in the shade.
- Caesalpinia the fairest (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) possesses fiery red flowers, from which long scarlet stamens stick out. It can take the form of a lush bush or tree, not exceeding 6 m in height, but when grown at home, its shoots will not rise above 1.5 meters. The outlines of the dense crown are compact. Inflorescences are spherical in shape, they are formed in the axils of the leaves or at the tops of the shoots. In the corolla there are petals with a corrugated surface and a bright red hue, along the edge there is an uneven yellow border. Due to the fact that the flowers in the panicle inflorescence bloom with leggings, this process creates the appearance of a "wheel". This species is afraid of the action of drafts and precipitation.
- Caesalpinia pink (Caesalpinia pulcherrima Pink) somewhat resembles the appearance of the beautiful cesalpinia, but its growth rate is slower. Loose inflorescences consist of smaller flowers with bright pink petals.
- Cesalpinia hedgehog (Caesalpinia echinata), Cesalpinia prickly, Pow-brasil or Fernambuco tree. It has a tree-like shape and average height. The trunk is covered with powerful spikes. The wood casts a brown color, but in the air it acquires a red color. When flowering, in racemose inflorescences, rich yellow flowers are collected, which have a scarlet color core. Flowers have a fragrant aroma. Even in ancient times, this variety was confused with the caesalpinia sappana (dye tree), which grows in the East Indies by the Portuguese, the wood of which was brought by the Arabs to European lands.
