General distinguishing features of streptosolen, tips for caring for a plant indoors, reproduction, dealing with difficulties in growing, curious facts. Streptosolen belongs to the extensive Solanaceae family. Basically, the spread of the plant occurs in the territories of the countries that make up South America, such as Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. That is, it is a "resident" of a humid tropical and subtropical climate.
You can often hear how this representative of the flora is called "Marmalade Bush" (Marmalade Bush), "Fire Bush" (Fire Bush) or "Orange Browallia" (Orange Browallia). All this is due to the fact that at the time of flowering, the whole plant is covered with delicate flowers, a beautiful appetizing shade.
In this genus, there is only one single representative - Streptosolen jamesonii, which has a shrub form of growth. Because of its drooping shoots, it is often used as an ampelous culture, but occasionally it is customary to grow the plant in the form of a standard tree. If the shoots are not cut off, they can grow up to 1, 3–2 m in length. This representative of the flora has semi-sprouting shoots. The branches do not differ in strength, since in nature they choose any surfaces for support that they can catch. When grown in greenhouses or rooms, it will be necessary to provide for a support along which the shoots will begin to climb over time or mount on the wall. The surface of the branches is bare, painted in a light green color.
Leaf plates on the shoots are arranged alternately, but occasionally they can grow in whorls. The shape of the foliage is oval-elliptical, the length of the leaf plate varies within 2, 5–5 cm, some rarely approach 10 cm. The surface is covered with fine wrinkles, the color is saturated from light to dark green. Even without flowers, the "gummy bush" looks quite attractive because of its glossy lush foliage. The number of leaves on a branch can be so large that it is their weight that bends the shoot to the soil.
With the arrival of spring, attractive flowers begin to bloom on streptosolen. The buds are predominantly formed at the tops of the shoots. The surface of the flowers is also thin wrinkled, painted in a bright orange-red or yellow-orange color, for which the plant is called "marmalade", since the shades are quite appetizing. But as soon as the flowers open, their color is lighter, but over time it begins to become more and more saturated. There is a greenish tint at the base of the tube. Flowers are collected in beautiful dense clusters of inflorescences that stand out effectively against the background of foliage.
The outlines of the corolla are tubular, and only at the apex there is a division into five lobed petals, which are bent back on the sides. When opening, the flower is measured in diameter up to 2.5 cm, with one axis of symmetry. The length of the corolla itself reaches 3-4 cm. Naturally, there are also a lot of flowers and it seems that the plant seems to be enveloped in flames, hence another popular name - "Fire bush". A bunch of stamens peeps out of the corolla, which gives charm, as it stands out in a lighter tone. Flowers are pollinated by both butterflies and small birds that often visit the bush. After flowering, the seeds ripen. However, it is difficult to buy fresh seeds.
Although streptosolen is highly decorative, growing it does not present any particular difficulties. The growth rate of the "fire bush" is quite high, since in the summer period the shoots can lengthen by 30 cm. It is customary to grow the plant in hanging baskets, decorating them with balconies and verandas. If the following rules of keeping are not violated, then "Orange Brovallia" will delight you with its exuberant flowering for many years.
The subtleties of caring for strepto-saline in room conditions
- Lighting and location. It is recommended to place a pot with a "gummy bush" on the windowsills of windows that face the southeast, southwest, east and west sides of the world, since the plant needs at least 4 hours of direct sunlight.
- Content temperature "Fire bush" in the spring-summer period should be in the range of 25-28 degrees, since the plant comes from tropical and subtropical climates, but with the arrival of autumn, heat indicators begin to decrease to the limits of 15-17 degrees. At the same time, make sure that the column of the thermometer does not fall below 7-11 units. With the arrival of summer heat, you can take the pot with the "marmalade" bush outdoors - on the terrace or in the garden, but shading at lunchtime.
- Air humidity when cultivating streptosolen, it should be in moderate indicators, but the plant can easily cope with the dryness of living quarters. In this case, the indicators should not be lower than 35%. But the best thing will be a "gummy bush" if with an increase in temperature regular spraying of the deciduous mass is carried out, as well as when heating devices or central heating batteries work in the autumn-winter period.
- Watering the "fire bush". It is usually recommended that in the spring and summer months the soil in the pot is constantly moderately moist, but overflow and acidification of the soil is undesirable, as this inevitably leads to decay of the root system. The signal for the next watering is the drying out of the substrate to a depth of no more than 1-3 cm. If the weather is hot, then streptosolen is watered abundantly, the frequency being 3 times a week. With rare moisture, the foliage of the bush begins to hang, but if the earthen lump dries completely, then yellowing and discarding of the deciduous mass occurs, and the shoots and trunk are exposed. In winter, the intensity of humidification should be reduced. It is required to use only warm and well-settled water. Temperature readings should be 20-24 degrees. You can use distilled water, or collect rainwater, or melt the snow in winter and then warm it up.
- Fertilize streptosolen is needed from the beginning of the growing season until the end of summer days. Complex mineral preparations are used, and they try to choose such agents in which there is an increased content of phosphorus. The regularity of feeding is once every 20 days. While the plants of the "fire bush" are still young, they especially need to be fed. If the fertilizer contains a large amount of nitrogen, then this will contribute to the growth of deciduous mass, but flowering in this case will be weak or may not occur at all. In this case, such drugs are not abused, but alternate with special fertilizers for flowering indoor plants. In winter, you do not need to fertilize streptosolen.
- Transplanting the "gummy bush". The plant should change the pot and renew the soil in it annually, or as the root system fills the entire volume of the capacity provided to it and the development of the substrate. Such an operation is mainly carried out in the spring, but occasionally you can do this in the summer months if roots begin to crawl out through the drainage holes. The container should have small holes in the bottom to drain excess moisture that has not been mastered by the root system. Also, before the soil is poured, it is required to lay a layer of drainage material, it is often medium-sized expanded clay, pebbles or even broken brick sifted from dust. The substrate for streptosolen must be permeable to water and air, and also differ in nutritional value. You can use ready-made store soil mixtures, with sufficient looseness and acidity in the pH range of 5, 5-6, 5. If such a soil for the "fire bush" is a florist independently, then it includes leafy earth, which is its basis, humus, peat, coarse sand or perlite.
- General care. Since streptosolen grows rather quickly, it is recommended to carry out regular pruning of its shoots. This procedure is done in the spring season. The branches are cut by one third, this will stimulate the subsequent branching. Also, the period of pruning can be the end of the flowering process, since new buds will form only on the sprout of the branches of the previous year. It is necessary in the process of growth to carry out regular pinching of the branches - this also serves to stimulate branching. Since the shoots are bent under the weight of the foliage, and subsequently many flowers, then they are arranged with supports that are installed in the pot during transplanting, burying them into the drainage layer and soil. Such a support can be a ladder along which shoots will be launched. Often, streptosolen branches are fixed on the walls, forming phytodecorations. Another decoration solution is the support in the form of circles of hard wire, around which the shoots of the "gummy bush" are intertwined. Sometimes they cut out the lower branches and form a bush in the form of a headquarters.
How to reproduce streptosolen with your own hands?
Usually propagation of the "fire bush" is possible using the cuttings method or sowing seed.
For this, blanks are used, cut from stems that are not yet lignified or semi-lignified. Cuttings are cut in the spring and then the cuts can be treated with a rooting stimulant, but some growers argue that this is not necessary. After that, the workpieces are planted in pots filled with a fertile loose substrate, peat with sand or a peat-perlite mixture can act. Then it is recommended to moisten the substrate and plant streptosolen cuttings in it. The container is covered with a transparent plastic bag or the cuttings are placed under a glass cap (you can take a cut plastic bottle). The pots are placed in a warm place (the rooting temperature is maintained at 20-24 degrees) with sufficient lighting, but shaded from direct sunlight.
When caring for seedlings, do not forget about regular ventilation in order to remove the collected condensate and, if the soil is dry, it is watered. When signs of rooting are visible on the seedlings (the formation of young buds and leaves), then planting is performed in separate pots with a more fertile substrate.
If it is decided to propagate streptosolen by sowing seeds, then it is recommended to place them in containers or seedling boxes filled with a peat-sand mixture. The depth of seed placement is 3-4 mm, you can simply press them into the soil or scatter them on the soil surface, and sprinkle them on top with a thin layer of peat. After that, the planting is moistened with a fine atomizer, but very carefully so that the seeds do not begin to float.
The container with crops should be covered with a piece of glass or placed under plastic wrap. This will ensure conditions with high humidity, the place should be warm (heat indicators 22-25 degrees), and well lit. But the direct rays of the sun should not fall on the pot, as they can simply burn young steams.
Periodically, it is necessary to ventilate for 10-15 minutes a day so that the condensate is removed, otherwise the seeds will rot before they begin to grow. The crops are also sprayed from a spray bottle with soft, warm water. After 3-4 weeks, you can see the first seedlings. Then the shelter can be gradually removed, increasing the airing time. After a month or two, the container with young plants is moving closer to the light, but protection from direct ultraviolet radiation is still needed. And only when 4 months have passed from planting, they can be transplanted into separate pots with a more suitable substrate and, after adaptation, put in the sun.
Difficulties in growing streptosolen
If the conditions of keeping the "gummy bush" are violated, the following troubles may occur:
- yellowing, and then the falling of the leaf plates from the lower branches of streptosolen speaks of insufficient watering;
- if flowering does not occur, then it is worth revising the lighting conditions, in all likelihood, it is low, or the plant does not have enough nutrients (feeding is required);
- when the tips of the leaf plates dry out, shading should be applied, since they are negatively affected by direct sunlight.
Of the harmful insects that can infect the "fire bush", spider mites, whiteflies, aphids and scale insects are distinguished. If multiple punctures are visible on the leaf plates on the reverse side, the foliage begins to turn yellow, becomes covered with a thin cobweb, then this is evidence of a spider mite. When the surface of the leaves becomes sticky, on the back of the brown plaque, then the pest is the scale insect. It is recommended to spray with insecticidal preparations.
Curious notes about streptosolen
As soon as you decide to buy streptosolen in a flower shop, you should carefully examine the selected bush in order to identify harmful insects or possible signs of diseases on it. Since this "gummy bush" comes from tropical conditions, it is necessary to immediately find the most suitable place in the room for installing a pot with a plant. This applies primarily to lighting.
Important to remember
Since the "fire bush" has toxic properties, it is not recommended to place it in children's rooms or close to pets. Interestingly, this plant has been honored with the Garden Merit Award from the Royal Horticultural Society. This organization, also known as the RHS, is a British institution dating back to 1804. Then, during the reign of Prince Albert (1819-1861), the organization was renamed the Royal Charter (this event happened in 1861).
This community was founded with the aim of promoting horticulture not only in the UK, but throughout all European countries. To implement such a program, the RHS often organizes a series of public exhibitions of plants (not just flowers) and is involved in the formation of numerous gardens. Under the ownership of this organization are 4 main gardens in the UK: a garden located in the county of Surrey - Wisley; a garden from Devon County - Rosemur; a garden in Essex called Hyde Hall; and a garden called Harlow Carr of Yorkshire.
The Royal Horticultural Society's Plants Show, which is held annually in the city of Chelsea, is the most famous. There are also two events that are organized by RHS and are worth seeing - an exhibition at Tutton Park, located in Cheshire and a show at Hampton Court Palace. In the annual competition "The Most Blooming City in the Country", this organization organizes Britain in the city of Bloom.
The headquarters of the Royal Horticultural Society is located in London's 80th district called Vincent Square. There is also the richest library, which contains information about various heritage. This scientific collection was based on one such library by John Lindley (1799-1865).
