Distinctive characteristics of pavonia, tips for caring for triplochlamis in room conditions: lighting, watering, transplanting, reproduction, difficulties, types. Pavonia (Pavonia) belongs to botanists to the family of plants with flowers and bearing the name Malvaceae. This genus is quite extensive, it includes about two dormouse representatives of the handicap, but in the conditions of greenhouses and premises it is customary to cultivate only two varieties - pavonia compose-shaped (this species is rarer) and pavonia multiflora (Pavonia multiflora), which is one of the most exclusive exotic flowers … The native habitat is in South America, Africa and Asian regions. The plant can also be found in warm regions of both hemispheres; in Pakistan, there are up to six species. It is often called Tryptochlamis in botanical literature.
Pavonia is a plant with a one-year or long-term life cycle. It can grow as a shrub or a small tree, reaching only 1 m in height. The growth rate of the pavonia is high. The branches can be either bare or pubescent. The leaf plates are petiolar, divided into lobes, or they grow whole. The shape of the leaf or leaf lobes is oblong. Their color is rich green and mostly foliage is grouped at the ends of the shoots.
When flowering, buds are formed in the leaf axils, which are located singly or from them inflorescences are collected, resembling bunches, brushes or have panicle outlines, by reducing the petals. Sepals are free or spliced, there are 5-16 pieces. Calyx 5-lobed or serrated. The color of the corolla is varied, usually red, pink or yellow, rarely white, purple-violet or pure violet. Staminate column with multiple filaments. Blue-colored stamens protrude from the bracts and resemble tongues of flame in their outlines. 5 carpels, 10 anthers, capitate stigmas. The size of the flowers is small. The flowering process stretches over the autumn-winter period, which covers the time from September to May.
The fruit has a disc-shaped or spherical shape. Schizoracpic (Schizocarp) is a dry fruit that, when ripe, splits into half-fruits (achenes - single-seeded segments). Usually, half-fruits remain closed, there are 5 of them. They can be bare or slightly pubescent, with or without wings, keeled, with mesh veins, acicular, horny or smooth. In each semi-fruit (achene) there is one seed, its surface is also both naked and hairy, reniform.
The plant is quite easy to care for, although it is considered capricious due to its love of high humidity and the difficulty of reproduction. The pavonia blooms, like all members of its family, abundantly and for a rather long period, while the shoots are growing, and young leaf plates are formed, and along with them, flower buds. It is rare in the collections of florists and exotic due to the complexity of its reproduction, as well as its reluctance to branch and give lateral shoots, even if a pruning procedure is carried out.
Rules for watering and caring for pavonia in indoor conditions
- Selection of lighting level and location. Since the pavonia is a plant from the tropics, its maintenance will require bright, but diffused lighting, that is, a place devoid of direct streams of destructive ultraviolet radiation at noon. Similar conditions can be created for a plant by placing it on the windowsill of windows facing east, west, or to the southeast or southwest location. On the southern orientation, shading should be arranged with the help of light curtains or gauze curtains, and there will not be enough light on the windows of the northern location, and backlighting with artificial light will be required. If the level of illumination is low, then the buds formed will begin to fly around. Also, with the arrival of the autumn-winter period, it is better to arrange illumination in the usual place with the help of special phytolamps or fluorescent lamps. Daylight hours in the cold season should be 12-14 hours.
- Content temperature pavonia in the spring-summer period and the cold season are different. In warm months, heat indicators should fluctuate within 18-23 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn they are gradually reduced so that they are equal to 16-18 units. In winter, it is recommended that the temperature be around 15 degrees. It should be remembered that pavonia reacts negatively to the action of drafts, and when ventilating the plant should be protected from direct air currents, although this procedure must be carried out quite often. Therefore, the flower pot is placed in a place where air circulation will be felt, but there is no direct passage of air. It is recommended to take out the pot with the plant in the spring-summer period in the open air (in the garden or on the balcony), but shading and protection from drafts are needed.
- Air humidity. Here you should also rely on the fact that the plant comes from tropical territories and it is recommended for it to maintain high humidity in the room. Regular spraying is carried out only on the deciduous mass of tryptochlamis. Such procedures are performed twice daily. Water is used only settled and well-purified, with heat indicators in the range of 22-25 degrees. Also, any methods are used to raise the humidity level. In the first case, humidifiers and household steam generators are placed next to the pot. In another, a container with a plant is installed in a pallet, on the bottom of which a layer of expanded clay or pebbles is poured and a small amount of water is poured. At the same time, it is monitored so that the bottom of the flowerpot does not touch the edge of the liquid, otherwise rotting of the root system may begin.
- Watering. It is recommended to use only soft and well-settled warm water both for “shower” procedures and for soil moistening. Often, flower growers use river or rain water, as well as thawed snow. But since in the conditions of the city its purity raises doubts, then you can take distilled one. The regularity of watering in the spring-summer months is usually quite frequent, the soil should be constantly in a moderately moist state, and in the autumn-winter period, watering is reduced to rare. When the temperature rises, the pavonia is watered abundantly, and in winter the soil is moistened only once every 2-3 days. It is important to remember that for tryptochlamis, both excess and lack of moisture in the soil will immediately and very detrimentally affect the development of this representative of the flora. Therefore, after watering, it is necessary to wait until the water drains into the stand under the pot and after 15–20 minutes it is drained from there so that the root system does not start to rot.
- Fertilizers pavonias are carried out only in the spring-summer months, despite the fact that a dormant period is not observed in a representative of the flora. Once every 14 days, complex preparations are used for indoor flowering plants. When the flowering period begins, which falls in the winter months, then tryptochlamis is fed with drugs with an increased content of phosphorus and potassium.
- Transplantation and recommendations for the choice of soil. If the root system of the plant has mastered all the soil provided to it, that is, the roots have braided with an earthen ball completely, then it is recommended to change the pot and substrate. This operation is best performed in early spring, approximately in March-April. A good layer of drainage material is placed in a new container at the bottom, which is usually small-sized expanded clay or pebbles, broken ceramic or clay shards. If there are no such materials, then flower growers use pieces of broken brick, but sifted from dust, as drainage. Small holes are drilled in the bottom so that excess moisture can flow out of them and not stagnate. The pot is selected made of clay or ceramics. For the cultivation of tryptochlamis, it is recommended to mix river sand, humus, leafy soil, sod soil, in a ratio of 1: 1: 3: 4. Or they combine garden soil, river coarse-grained sand or perlite, wet peat or humus (it can be replaced with leafy soil, which is collected from under birch trees). The parts of the constituents are equal, but a small amount of lime is mixed into the substrate. The transplant is recommended to be carried out by the transshipment method. In this case, the roots are not freed from the soil, and the earthen lump with a flower is carefully removed and transferred to a new prepared container. After the drainage layer is laid, 3-4 cm of soil mixture is poured into the pot, then the pavonia is installed and the substrate is poured around the edges. When its layer reaches half of the capacity, the soil is slightly moistened. Then the earth is poured to the top of the flowerpot and watered again a little so that the water flows out of the drainage holes. The soil is not compacted so as not to damage the roots. The soil settles itself under the influence of moisture and later it is poured to the top of the pot.
- General rules of care. When growing tryptochlamis, it is recommended to carry out regular pruning and pinching in the spring. In this case, the shoots should be cut off quite strongly. If you perform such an operation, then flowering can be expected after a two-month period.
How to propagate pavonia yourself?
To get a new young exotic plant will have to work hard. Tryptochlamis is propagated in two ways: planting seeds and cuttings.
In spring, blanks are cut from semi-lignified stem tops, on which there should be at least three nodes and the length should be in the range of 7–10 cm. Cuttings are recommended to be processed with phytohormones (root formation stimulants). Landing is carried out in moist sand (perlite) or peat-sand mixture. You can also wait for the roots to appear by placing the cuttings in a vessel with water, where an activated carbon tablet is dissolved. The temperature during germination is maintained at a level not lower than 25-35 degrees. The cuttings are covered with a plastic bag or placed under a glass vessel. Thus, the conditions for a mini-greenhouse are created. At the same time, it is necessary not to forget about regular moistening of the soil and ventilation, in order to remove accumulated condensate.
During seed propagation, the planting material is first soaked in water, with growth stimulants dissolved in it. Then the seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth, which should not dry out - the germination process takes place in it. As soon as small fallows are visible on the seeds (after three days), then they are planted in a sandy-peat substrate. Then the bowl with the seedlings is covered with a transparent glass jar or plastic wrap. The container is placed in a place with diffused lighting and temperature indicators of heat in the range of 19-24 degrees. Some growers immediately plant seeds in a nutrient substrate so that they do not transplant afterwards. In almost a week, the seeds germinate.
When 2-3 true leaves are formed on the seedlings, then you can transplant into pots filled with more nutritious soil.
Diseases and pests of pavonia in home cultivation
If the rules for keeping tryptochlamis have been violated, then damage by harmful insects may begin, among which most annoy the plant:
- Whitefly, which is manifested by the formation of specks of white color on the back of the leaf, and if measures are not taken to combat, then soon white small flies will swarm over the bush.
- Mealybug, in which on the back of the leaf plate lumps of white color are visible, resembling pieces of cotton wool, and then a sticky sugary bloom will form - pad (insect waste products).
- Spider miteattacking the plants, it begins to pierce the surface of the leaf plate and you can see tiny needle pricks on the back of the leaf, after the vital juices are sucked out, the leaf turns yellow, dries up and falls off, and new leaves acquire deformed outlines and fly around.
- Aphid it affects the plant quite rarely, but if green or black small bugs and sticky sugary formations are noticed, then it is worth starting a fight with them.
- Thrips is also a rare "guest", in which spots of yellow or colorless are formed on the leaves, which then merge into large areas, the affected part dries out, the leaf withers and falls off.
To combat these harmful insects, it is recommended to wash both surfaces of the foliage with a soap, oil or alcohol solution. And then spray the deciduous mass with an insecticidal preparation. If necessary, the treatment with the agent is repeated after a week and until then, the pests and their manifestations will not disappear.
The following troubles are also observed, arising from improper care of the pavonia:
- if the illumination level is insufficient, then the shoots are strongly stretched towards a possible light source;
- when in winter the watering is excessive, and the temperature of the content is low, this will inevitably lead to rotting of the root system of tryptochlamis;
- watering with hard water will be accompanied by yellowing of the foliage, this is how chlorosis manifests itself;
- if there is no flowering, then, in all likelihood, the reason was the introduction of a large amount of fertilizers, with the nitrogen contained in them, also incorrect lighting or a lack of water during irrigation during the period when the pavonia is actively growing, the increased temperature in the room where it stands is negatively affected plant pot;
- buds fall off, if tryptochlamis is fertilized out of time, moisture indicators are low, the soil is overdried or the temperature regime has not been correctly maintained;
- with a lack of moisture, the foliage begins to fall off.
Notes about pavonia
This plant with beautiful flowers, pleasing to the eye, can be safely placed in any living space, since the pavonia is not poisonous, and does not pose a threat either to small children or to animals that intend to taste the foliage, flowers or fruits of the plant.
Types of pavonia
- Pavonia multiflora (Pavonia multiflora). It is an evergreen shrub found under the name Triplochlamys multiflora. The leaf plates growing on the trunk have an oblong shape. Their length is 20 cm, width is about 5 cm. The height of the bush itself varies from 50 cm to 1 m, occasionally reaching parameters of about 1.5 m. Shoots grow both naked and pubescent. The color of the foliage is of medium saturation green color, the upper surface is glossy, the reverse is rough. The edge may be solid or serrated. During flowering, flowers are formed, the corollas of which are painted in a wide variety of shades of red. He comes from the territories of Brazil. The most popular variety.
- Spear-shaped pavonia (Pavonia hastata). A low shrub that reaches no more than a meter in height. The length of the sheet plate is about 6 cm. The edge is jagged, green in color. The color of the leaves is dark emerald. The flowers are snow-white with a red core.
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