Description of the plant, recommendations for choosing a location in an apartment or office, watering and fertilizing, transplanting and independent reproduction of ardisia. Ardisia (Ardisia). The plant belongs to a very extensive family of Mirsinaceae, which include more than 800 representatives. The native habitat is the island territories of the Pacific Ocean, as well as multiple regions of the globe with a subtropical climate (China, India, Australia, America).
Ardisia may be a shrub, semi-shrub or full-fledged tree that does not exceed 2 m in height, but some varieties can stretch up to only half a meter. The central stem grows straight up, and the lateral branch shoots extend almost parallel to the ground.
The plant is distinguished by lush green foliage, which does not change its color depending on the change of seasons. The leaf plates have a high density and a rough surface, as if riddled with wrinkles. Ardisia leaves grow one against the other, are arranged alternately on a branch or stem, and 3 leaves can grow from each leaf bud. The edges of the leaf may have small notches or differ in the flat line of the plate. The shape of the leaf resembles elongated knives or a flattened oval, which have a pointed tip at the top. The size of the leaf can grow up to 11 cm in length. Their color is very beautiful saturated, malachite.
Flowering can begin with the arrival of real summer heat (May-June) and the process itself is very short-lived. Small-sized flowers have up to 5 petals and are colored with pale pink and whitish shades. The diameter of the flowers when opened does not exceed one and a half centimeters. From these flowers, inflorescences are formed, which differ in umbrella, carpal, panicle forms. There are always as many stamens as there are petals in the bud and they look in the form of a protruding yellow crown above the petals. Flowers of both sexes grow on ardisia. Since the shape of the petals is rather pointed and long, this gave impetus to the name of the plant - from the Greek ardis means arrow. Flowering occurs when the plant reaches 2-3 years of age.
After flowering, the ardisia plant begins to bear fruit with very bright, saturated red color or with orange tones of berries, for which it is appreciated by flower growers. The size of the berries does not exceed the beans. If you provide the required conditions for ardisia, then you can admire its flowering and the formation of berries throughout the year. Groups of fruits are usually located below the leafy crown and give great decorative beauty to the plant.
Ardisia differs in that there are glandular specks on all surfaces (leaves, flowers and fruits).
Tips for caring for ardisia at home
- Lighting. Like any tropical plant, ardisia does not tolerate very bright light, direct sunlight, which will fall on its leaves for a long time, will cause sunburn. Most of all, she loves good lighting with diffused bright light. These can be windows into which the rays of the rising or setting sun fall. Windows that face the south side may also like Ardisia, but you will need to shade the scorching midday rays with loose curtains, gauze or paper. On the windowsill of the northern window, you will have to illuminate the plant with special lamps so that the daylight hours are at least 10 hours.
- Temperature conditions. As a resident of subtropical areas, Ardisia feels very well at moderate temperatures (20-24 degrees). When the temperature rises, the plant immediately responds by stopping growth, and this will continue until the indicators come within the required limits. When the winter season comes, the plant requires a slight decrease in indicators to 16-18 degrees. Some growers claim that Ardisia will be able to withstand a decrease to 5 degrees Celsius, but it is better not to experiment.
- Air humidity. Ardisia requires moderate air humidity, it is possible to provide this with both regular spraying of the bush and the use of special air humidifiers. But as soon as flowers or fruits appear on the ardisia, the spraying is stopped, since if moisture gets in, the flowers and berries can deteriorate. In this case, next to the ardizia, you can put vessels with water, which, evaporating, will raise the humidity around the plant, or place the pot in trays filled with fine expanded clay or pebbles and moistened with water. It is possible to wipe the sheet plates with a soft sponge soaked in water. If the air humidity is constantly low, then the flowering process in ardisia may not occur at all.
- Watering ardisia. The plant loves it very much when the soil in the pot is constantly moistened, but you should not arrange waterlogging of the soil. During the year, you need to water moderately and mainly focus on the state of the substrate, as soon as the upper part of it has dried out, you can add water. For irrigation, the water must be free of lime impurities and chlorine. To do this, you can collect rainwater or soften it yourself by boiling, settling, immersing peat soil wrapped in a gauze bag in it overnight.
- Fertilizing ardisia. The plant responds gratefully to feeding, which begins to be applied with an increase in temperatures until the very wintering time, once every two weeks. Fertilizers are chosen with a complex of mineral additives and organics for indoor plants.
- Pruning ardisia. In order to give the plant the necessary shape, they begin to cut it off from a young age and carry out this operation just before the start of rapid growth (spring-summer period). It is possible to form both a standard tree and a bush with well-branched shoots.
- Choosing a pot and soil for transplanting ardisia. Since young plants grow very actively, the transplant is performed almost annually, with age, ardisia is transplanted only when the entire soil substrate has been mastered by the root system. At the same time, a little nutrient substrate is poured into pots with adult plants every year. The pot is chosen a little larger than the previous container and good drainage is organized to drain excess water. The bottom of the pot is covered with a 2-3 cm layer of fine expanded clay or well-crushed brick.
The soil for ardisia should have a slightly acidic reaction, preferably light and loose substrates based on nutrient mixtures. Use ordinary soil for flowers with the addition of sod land, humus soil, peat soil, coarse sand, crushed tree bark, finely chopped sphagnum moss for lightness and nutritional value. All these components are taken in equal parts and only sand add half a part of the total volume.
Independent reproduction of ardisia
Reproduction of ardisia occurs using seed and cutting cuttings.
In order to succeed in reproduction with the help of seeds, it is necessary to choose ripe berries that have reached at least 1 cm in diameter. The fruit must be carefully cleaned from the soft core and removed the stone, which in its shape resembles a bean all mottled with long grooves. The bone, before being used for planting, will have to be slightly filed and immersed for a couple of hours in a solution that will stimulate early rooting. After that, it is immediately planted in prepared moist soil based on sand and peat, since over time the germination of the seed will significantly decrease.
The planting depth should be no more than 1 cm. After that, it is necessary to arrange the conditions for a mini-greenhouse - cover the container with the seed with a glass jar, a piece of glass or a plastic bag. For successful germination of seeds, temperature indicators should not fall below 18-20 degrees. If the seeds germinate, then over time, these seedlings can be carefully transplanted into separate small pots with a diameter of no more than 7 cm, the substrate is used that is suitable for adult ardisia. And only after a few years, these young plants will look like beautiful ornamental bushes.
If cuttings have to be rooted, then it is necessary to choose the tops of the shoots. The cut stalk should have at least three leaf nodes, the cut of the cutting is treated with Kornevin or another growth stimulator and planted in a prepared and slightly moistened soil mixture based on perk and peat or coconut chips (coconut soil). It is best to keep the land warm and arrange greenhouse conditions.
Possible difficulties in growing ardisia
The defeat of ardisia occurs most often with a scabbard, spider mite, mealybug, aphids. All pests are found after a thorough examination of the plant - sticky plaque on the leaves, their yellowing or discoloration. For pest control, mixtures are used, based on water and soap or water and oil, with which the leaf plates of the plant are processed. If such a procedure does not bring results, then it is necessary to treat the ardisia with modern insecticides, for example, Aktara.
It must be remembered that a specific plaque on the edges of the leaf plates is not a disease, but a feature of ardisia. Cutting or destroying these growths is not worth it. If a brown spot appears on the leaves, this may be a sign of rotting plant tubers. To preserve ardisia, watering is stopped and the plant is carefully transplanted with the removal of damaged areas of the root system.
If the leaf plates begin to dry out at the edges and around the entire perimeter, then most likely the plant is susceptible to drafts or very dry air in the room. If the yellowing of the leaves has begun, then this is a sign of an unsuccessful plant location (dark for ardisia) or a lack of fertilizers in the soil - it is necessary to rearrange the plant closer to the window, but if clarification did not help, then the quality and quantity of dressings for ardisia should be increased. Whitish stripes and spots began to appear on the leaf plates, which means that the plant was standing in direct sunlight and was burned. The leaf plates became too soft to the touch, their surface began to curl and turn brown along the edge - there are large differences between day and night temperatures.
Types of ardisia for indoor cultivation
- Ardisia crenata (Ardisia crenata). This type of ardisia is the most famous and widespread. The native habitat of growth is the subtropical mountain slopes of China and the Korean Peninsula, it can also be found in Japanese territories. The plant has the shape of a slightly tall shrub, which does not reach one and a half meters in height, but in natural conditions it can grow up to 5 m. Beautiful leaves, as if covered with wrinkles, are distinguished by a wavy edge, with characteristic tubercles. These tuberosities contain specific bacteria that are involved in the process of nitrogen absorption by the plant from the air. The color of the leaves is usually rich emerald, glossy. Inflorescences grow at the tops of the flower stems and from its axillary buds. The color of the buds is usually pinkish or white. The shape of the leaf plates resembles a flattened ellipse, only 2–4 cm wide and approximately 10 cm long, which has a sharpness at both ends. After the flowering process, the ripening period begins for the fruits - centimeter bright red or having an orange-red tint of berries.
- Ardisia curly (Ardisia crispa). This type of ardisia is very rarely grown at home. The plant reaches from one and a half meters to 80 cm in height. The leaf plates, which have a rough surface, are saturated with an emerald hue and an elongated, elongated shape with a pointed tip at the top. The sheet itself has a slight waviness along its entire edge. At the beginning of summer, the process of flowering and dissolution of buds with petals in the form of stars of delicate whitish or milky shades with the addition of pink colors begins. The inflorescence, which is collected from small flower stars, has a panicle shape. After flowering, ardisia begins to bear fruit with large bright scarlet berries, which continue to adorn the plant until and during the new flowering.
- Ardisia low (Ardisia humilis). This variety is slightly lower than the previous species and has a shrub shape. The length of the leaf plates varies from 5 cm to 15 cm in length, with a wavy edge of a rich malachite color. Panicle inflorescences consist of pale pinkish star-shaped flowers, drooping in shape. Fruits in a rich wine shade with berries, in the process of ripening they acquire a shiny surface and subsequently turn black.
- Ardisia solanacea (Ardisia solanacea). The plant is distinguished by stems and leaves with a reddish tint, the latter are covered with wrinkles, the shade of the leaves is much lighter than that of ardisia low or curly. Flowers in the dissolution acquire light lilac and pink shades that are not very decorative. The fruits also initially have rich red hues, but with the ripening process they become much darker and acquire a glossy surface.
- Ardisia malouiana (Ardisia malouiana). This plant is distinguished by a particularly low stem height, with leaf plates reaching up to 25 cm in length and a beautiful whitish edge around the entire perimeter of the leaf. The reverse side of the leaves has a red-green tint.
- Ardisia Wallichii. A species that is quite rare in our latitudes when growing in apartments. The sizes of this species are large, the leaf plates can grow up to 20 cm in length and in the range of 6–8 cm. Their shape is oval with a strong rounding at the top and pointed at the base, the edges of the leaf do not have pronounced waviness. Flowers in opening acquire reddish dark lilac tints. Fruiting is distinguished by dark-colored berries.
- Japanese Ardisia (Ardisia japonica). It is clear that the native habitat of growth is the island territories of Japan. Grown in culture since the beginning of the XIX century. The height of the Ardisia shrub rarely exceeds 40 cm. The appearance is very similar to the Ardisia crenate, but the leaf plates have the shape of a flattened ellipse with a length of about 5 cm and a width of 1.5–4 cm. The ends of the leaves are pointed, the edges have pronounced serration, not waviness. Star-shaped flowers are generally pale, pinkish, or completely white. In the process of fruiting, the berries first turn red, and then acquire black-purple tones.
Learn how to care for Ardisia at home in this video:
