Description of the general type of plant, recommendations for the cultivation of saltium, the choice of soil and fertilizers, reproduction and pest control. Interesting Facts. Soleirolia Gaud is a member of the Urticaceae family. You can also find in literary sources this plant called Helxine, and by analogy with the Latin name, also Helxine. The plant is represented only by the only species that is most often found in the regions of the northern Mediterranean, mainly in the island territories of Corsica and Sardinia or Mallorca. This green representative of the fauna loves to settle in damp shade on the banks of forest streams and streams, and can settle in rock crevices. The plant got its name in honor of the Corsican captain Soleirole, who lived in the 19th century and for the first time collected and presented this type of ground cover. The popular name of the plant is "children's tears", since the leaf blades are so small, green and beautiful that people seem to have given the appropriate analogies.
Gelksina is a small houseplant, which is loved by many flower growers for its lush emerald deciduous mass and special unpretentiousness in care. It is often used as a ground cover plant, which can cover the ground with a beautiful greenish rug only 5–10 cm high. The growth rate of shoots in saltyrolia is quite high. It can please the eye with its colors for a long time, but you will have to periodically update the bush, since the plant tends to grow - to bare and stretch its shoots, which eventually lengthen and look ugly without leaves. This happens especially quickly in the absence of proper indicators of humidity in the room.
As mentioned earlier, saltyrolia is a surface-creeping herb with thin shoots that densely cover small leaf blades. The petioles of the leaves are short. The leaves of the plant are rounded, kidney-shaped, at the base they resemble a heart in sight. The size of the leaf plates rarely exceeds 3 cm. Their shade ranges from pale green to rich emerald with a glossy, shiny surface. But a new garden variety has already been bred, in which the leaf blades have an interesting yellow-greenish (pistachio) shade, some plants have silvery colors in the color of the leaves. The flowers of gelksina are completely nondescript, small, whitish or silvery with a greenish tint. They look very much like fluffy "star" bells. They are so small and grow from axillary leaf buds that some growers do not even notice them. When grown indoors, helksina practically does not bloom.
The plant can resemble a thick ball in its shape, since the shoots tend to intertwine during their growth. This is due to the fact that more and more stems will appear from each axillary leaf bud over time. It is they who begin to cover all the available space with a beautiful greenish rug. When the entire container or pot is already entwined with shoots of saltium, it begins to hang down and "crawl" out of the pot. The roots of the plant are thin, threadlike. Gelksina grows very quickly and will be able to drown out all the stunted flowers that are next to her with its shoots. Therefore, most often flower growers use the plant next to tall flowers or shrubs (for example, in tubs with ficuses and palms, jerky plants), which she cannot kill with her height. With its help, it is easy to create miniature gardens, decorators can plant saltérolia in bottles, aquariums, terrariums or florariums.
Some popular varieties of saline:
- "Aurea", has leafy blades with a beautiful lemon-yellow tint.
- "Argentea" - this form is distinguished by the presence of leaves of a silvery-gray color, with a white edging.
Some growers may confuse saltyrolia with nerta, which is very similar to the first in its appearance. However, with the arrival of autumn, nertera develop small red berries and its growth is rather slow compared to salturolia.
Recommendations for growing saline in indoor conditions
- Lighting. This unpretentious plant does not tolerate direct sunlight, and an excess of ultraviolet radiation will lead to the fact that its leaves begin to acquire a purple hue and curl. It is best to install a pot of salt on the windows, where sunlight only gets in the morning and evening hours (east and west). If a flowerpot with "children's tears" is installed on a south-facing window, then you will have to arrange shading with gauze or any light curtains. Many people advise to glue tracing paper or paper on window glass. But on the windows on the north side, the plant will feel good, since in the conditions of natural nature, helksina settles in the damp shade of the forest. But if the shade is very thick, then the growth of saltium slows down noticeably, therefore, in the winter season for the bush, it is nevertheless recommended to arrange supplementary lighting with special phytolamps or fluorescent lamps.
- Temperature when growing saltium. Since this green representative of the fauna in natural conditions prefers the banks of forest streams and streams, likes to settle among fern thickets and on moss-covered tree trunks or crevices of rock formations, there will be a cool feeling there, even in the hottest time of summer. Therefore, for the cultivation of gelksin indoors, it is necessary to withstand heat indicators in the summer not higher than 24-25 degrees. But with the arrival of the heating season, salt can suffer from dry indoor air, which is provoked by heating devices or central heating batteries. In this case, it is necessary that in the autumn-winter period the column of the thermometer does not rise above the mark of 15 degrees. For better preservation of the ornamental appearance of the plant, it is recommended to move it to aquariums and terrariums for this time, where the required humidity and temperature will be maintained.
- Humidity with gelxin content. As already mentioned, salt lily loves to settle in forest areas with high levels of moisture in the air, then in indoor conditions for it it is necessary to withstand 70-80% humidity. This plant loves frequent spraying with warm soft water at room temperature. If the air temperature began to exceed 20 degrees Celsius, then such irrigation must be performed several times a day, in other cases, once a few days is enough.
- Watering the plant. Soleirolia requires abundant moistening of the earthy coma, of course, a slight overdrying of the soil will not harm it, but it is not worth experimenting. But with the overflow, you need to be extremely careful and attentive. When the water after pouring the glass into a bowl under the pot, then it is necessary to drain it immediately. If you break this rule, then Gelksin will first react with yellowing leaf blades, and then they will quickly turn black, eventually the bush will die. If the soil moisture is not sufficient for the plant, then its leaves begin to wrinkle, lose turgor, but if you water saltium, they quickly restore their previous forms. Water, both for irrigation and for spraying, should only be soft, at room temperature. You can get such water by letting it settle for several days, some pass tap water through a filter, many growers also boil it. It is best, of course, to collect rainwater for watering plants or to melt snow in winter, and then heat the resulting moisture to the required heat. If this is not possible, then you can also soften the tap water by putting a cloth bag into it, into which a handful of peat earth is poured. If this soil is kept in water during the night, the liquid necessary for moisturizing will be obtained.
- Fertilizers for helksina. During the period when the plant begins to actively grow young shoots and leaves, it is necessary to carry out regular feeding in order to maintain saltiness. This operation is repeated once every 15–20 days. You can choose mineral complex supplements, but only the dose is required to be reduced by almost half. Any fertilizer for indoor decorative deciduous plants is also suitable. If the gelksine does not have enough nutrients, then its decorative appearance will suffer greatly - the leaf blades will turn pale, and the shoots will become very stretched and bare.
- Transplant and soil selection. If you change the pot and soil for "children's tears" every year, then there is practically no need to feed, since those useful microelements that are contained in the new soil may be enough for salt for the specified period of time. Since the root system of the bush is not deeply buried in the soil, a volumetric pot is not required for it, it is better to choose a wider container. Bowls or low containers are often used. But an important condition is a good drainage layer - it can be medium-sized expanded clay, pebbles or finely detailed bricks. It is necessary that the fractions of the material be such that they cannot fall out through the holes for the outflow of water in the flowerpot. If annual transplants are not planned, then you can just sprinkle a little substrate gently on the surface of the old soil in a pot.
The transplantation process can be performed at any time of the year, but of course it is preferable to do this on spring days, and this is done only if necessary. But since salt lily tends to grow, many growers do not generally transplant, but simply try to grow a new plant in the spring.
Hydroponic materials or ion exchange soils can be used for soil changes. The plant feels great in any soil for indoor plants. Its acidity should be within the pH range of 5–7. Also, so that Gelksina does not require frequent fertilizing, the soil should be rich in humus. You can take one of the following soil mixtures for planting:
- turf soil with the addition of hand coarse sand and fine, well-washed pebbles;
- greenhouse soil, peat land (parts must be equal);
- leafy earth mixed with sand (taken in equal parts);
- peat soil, pine bark or needles, fine gravel (in proportions 1: 1: 1).
If saline is planted in an aquarium, terrarium or florarium and the pot is not used, then at least 5 cm of drainage material must be poured onto the bottom of the dishes.
Helksina breeding tips
The plant propagates easily by dividing the bush, layering or cuttings.
The easiest way to get a new bush is to divide the overgrown saltworm, separating a small part from it, taking a small lump of soil. This part is immediately planted in a separate pot or aquarium in the soil or conditions described earlier.
You can adapt to get a new plant by air layering. To do this, it is necessary to put small containers filled with soil next to the mother plant, which has grown enough. Then, the shoot hanging from the pot of an adult gelksina is taken and with the help of a rigid wire or hairpin the submerged part of the stem is held (pinned) into the pot with soil. As soon as the new small saltworms are sufficiently rooted, they must be carefully separated from the mother bush.
If you try to root the cuttings of the stems, then they are cut and placed in a vessel with boiled water. After 14 days, root shoots appear on the branches. You can also plant cuttings in a mini-greenhouse with a sandy-peat substrate, or prepare ordinary pots, with a soil suitable for adult specimens. The pots will still have to be wrapped in plastic wrap to maintain the moisture and heat necessary for germination. Germination time for cuttings is usually 2-3 weeks. For greater decorativeness, several shoots should be planted in pots at once, this will provide a good view of the future saltyrolia bush.
When a plant is large enough, it can multiply by self-seeding.
Potential pests and salt problems
Helksin is rarely affected by pests, but sometimes it is attacked by a spider mite if the humidity levels are very low. A thin cobweb may appear on the leaves, and the leaf blades themselves begin to deform and turn yellow. To combat harmful insects, it is necessary to treat the plant with a soap, oil or alcohol solution. To obtain a soapy solution, you can take 30 grams. soap, grate or finely cut with a knife and soak in a bucket of water. Leave the solution to infuse for several hours. After that, the resulting mixture is filtered and the plant is sprayed with it. To obtain an oil solution, it is recommended to use rosemary essential oil - a few drops of oil are diluted in 1 liter of water. You can also spray or wipe the leaf plates with an alcohol solution of calendula. These are some of the folk remedies for combating spider mites, it is recommended to use chemistry in the latter case, so as not to harm your beloved green bush. If the folk remedies did not have the desired effect, then you will have to treat the salt with a systemic insecticide.
Of the problems in growing "children's tears" indoors, the following can be distinguished:
- if the lighting is insufficient and the soil has been flooded, then Gelksina will react to this by browning the stems located at the surface of the soil and their rapid decay;
- the stems began to stretch and become bare, the internodes increase, the leaf plates become pale with a lack of light;
- drying of the tips of the shoots occurs with increased dryness of the air in the room;
- if, with sufficient illumination, the stems still began not to stretch out beautifully, then this is most likely the effect of high temperatures in winter;
- when the earthen coma dries out, leaf plates and shoots dry out.
Interesting facts about saline
This plant is very often used by decorators when creating phytocompositions from plants of different heights, where salt will act as a green carpet. But the most interesting thing is when the plant is planted in a pot with funny ceramic faces. Gelksina, expanding, creates a green head of "hair" for the pot. With the help of scissors this "hairstyle" can be given any desired shape.
This plant is prescribed excellent properties for neutralizing harmful vapors and radiations that come from office equipment or plastics that fill our modern homes. Some growers claim that the green bush really does not like those rooms in which they smoke a lot or the areas in which the house is located are environmentally unfavorable. Its growth slows down or stops altogether - gelksin begins to wither and hurt.
What does saltium look like, see here:
