Distinctive features of the plant, how to care for trachyandra at home, advice on the reproduction of exotic, diseases and pests that arise during home care, notes for flower growers, species. Trachyandra belongs to the Asphodelaceae family, which includes a large number of representatives of the green world of the planet of the order Asparagales. Their natural distribution falls on the lands of deserts or semi-deserts of South Africa, but most of these plants are found in the Cape Province and the island of Madagascar, and at the same time they are endemic to these places, that is, they do not grow anywhere else in nature. There are up to 50 species in the genus, 45 of which prefer to settle in the southern regions, and the rest grow in the tropical climate of the African continent.
You can often hear how among flower growers the plant is called trachandra, "space plant" or "tentacles of jellyfish", "plant with horns". For the first time Trachyandra was discovered and presented to the natural history community by the Belgian botanist Barthélemy Charles Joseph, Baron Dumortier (1797–1898), who studied the unusual flora.
The plant is a perennial succulent, that is, it can accumulate moisture in its parts, which helps to survive the difficult climatic conditions of existence. Since the leaves are distinguished by rather unusual outlines, this exotic is becoming more and more popular among lovers of home plants. Basically, all trachyandras have a herbaceous form of growth, but there are several species with shrub outlines. In height, the plant can approach the 15 cm mark, but there are species whose height reaches 1, 8–2 meters.
The root system of the "plant with horns" is fibrous in shape, the roots are round in cross-section, whitish. The rhizome itself is bulbous or vertical. From such unusual root processes, the root leaf rosette originates. The stem is woody and covered with leaves. The leaf plates are colored dark green and have interesting outlines, as if twisted into a serpentine. Their shape is flat or triangular, it can be rounded; species with ribbon-like or rarely longitudinally furrowed, straight or wavy leaves are often found. The foliage grows vertically upward, like the hair of the famous legendary monster "Medusa-Gorgon".
From the surface of the substrate at a height of 1-3 cm, the leaves begin to curl. In some species, they have a shelter of fine hairs. The leaf plates are fleshy. When temperatures start to rise or light levels increase, Trachyandra foliage will take on an increasingly curled appearance. This property helps the plant retain more moisture, so necessary for the growth of the succulent.
The flower stem is covered with bracts. During flowering, very small buds are formed, the corollas of which consist of three pairs of petals, with the tips bent back. The petals are painted in a snow-white color scheme. The shape of the corolla is in the form of a bell or an asterisk; the petals, when opened, are far apart from each other. The flower contains from three to six stamens, which are crowned with bright yellow anthers. The color of the filaments can be either white or yellowish. There are varieties that, when blooming, have a pleasant aroma. For example, it resembles the oily sweetish scent of vanilla. From the flowers, grape-shaped or panicle-shaped inflorescences are collected. The life of tarchianra flowers is very short.
After pollination, fruits ripen in the form of small bolls filled with small seeds of black or grayish-brown color. The surface of the seeds is smooth or in pimples that look like warts, and it is also sticky.
The plant is not quite difficult to care for, but when purchasing this exotic, you should find out which variety you have: winter or summer, since the rules of care vary slightly.
How to grow trachyandra - houseplant care
- Lighting. If the type of "jellyfish tentacles" is winter, then it is recommended to choose a place for it with good illumination, but shading from the direct rays of the sun at noon in summer. It is best to place this caustic with spiral leaves on the sill of an east or west window. There will be no light on the northern plant, and the leaves may become thinner. On the windowsill of the southern location for Trachyandra on summer days, when the heat rises, it will also be uncomfortable and you will need to organize shading.
- Content temperature. For the winter variety of trachandra, cooler temperatures should be maintained, no more than 18 degrees, since the heat has a bad effect on the plant, it immediately stops curling. In this case, sufficient ventilation of the air is necessary, but it is important to ensure that the "space plant" is protected from the effects of a draft. The best heat indicators will be a range of 20-22 degrees.
- Watering. The plant is intolerant to too moist soil. It is recommended to irrigate no more than once a week. And the main thing is used in this case, "bottom watering", when water is poured into a stand under the pot, and not into the container itself. After 10-15 minutes, the remaining liquid is drained so that the soil does not become waterlogged, since the succulent will easily tolerate a lack of moisture than an excess of it. When the cold season comes, watering is reduced to a couple of times a month. The water used for irrigation should be well-separated and warm. To do this, you can take distilled or bottled water, then there will be confidence in its purity.
- Fertilizer. Like many plants, trachyandra also requires additional feeding with the arrival of spring days. They are used as preparations intended for decorative leafy home crops. It is better to use those products that are made in liquid form so that they can be diluted in water for irrigation. Do not violate the recommendations for frequency and dosage.
- Repotting and advice on soil selection. When the trachandra is young, you can change the pot for it annually, but over time, such operations are performed only once every 3-4 years, since its growth rate is not too high. When the plant is removed from the pot, the root system is examined and rotten, blackened or dried root shoots are removed. Places of cuts are powdered with crushed activated or charcoal. A new container can be selected made of ceramics, at the bottom of which a drainage layer is laid, which allows water not to stagnate in the container, and will protect the roots and soil from waterlogging. You can use a ready-made substrate intended for succulents, or prepare it yourself from sod soil, leafy soil, humus and coarse sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1.
After transplanting, the substrate in the pot is compacted, watered, and a couple of centimeters of dry soil is laid on top.
Trachyandra: tips for breeding
Basically, you can get a new unusual plant with spiral leaves by sowing seeds or vegetatively, rooting cuttings or dividing an overgrown bush.
Seeds are quite difficult to get and they are ordered through online stores, but if you become the happy owner of such seed, you can use these rules. Seeds are sown in the spring using a loose substrate, such as a sand-peat mixture. The seeds are spread over the surface of the soil and are slightly pressed into it. Then the soil can be slightly sprayed with warm and soft water from a fine spray gun. Here the main sense of proportion is that it is important not to fill the substrate. The seed pot is covered with cling film or a piece of glass is placed on top. Then the container is placed on a windowsill with bright, but diffused lighting and a temperature of 20-24 degrees. When leaving, it is recommended to carry out daily airing for 10-15 minutes and if the soil begins to dry out, then moisten it a little.
When seedlings appear, the duration of airing is gradually increased, accustoming young trachyandras to room conditions, in order, in the end, to remove the shelter. When the plants grow up and get stronger enough, transplantation is carried out in separate pots with selected soil.
The easiest way to reproduce is by cuttings. Spring is also suitable for this. With a well-sharpened and sterile knife, the workpieces are cut off and placed in water with a root formation stimulant diluted in it (it can be Kornevin or heteroauxinic acid). After that, you should wait for the formation of root processes, which should be at least 1 cm in length. Or, the cuttings are planted in moistened river sand. After the cuttings develop roots, you can plant the blanks in pots filled with a peat-sand mixture. When rooting takes place, they are transplanted into a new container with a diameter of about 12-15 cm and with more fertile soil. A new transplant is performed next spring using a larger flowerpot.
Another way of reproduction of the "space plant" is the separation of young shoots with roots from the mother specimen during transplantation.
If you choose the right composition of the solution, then Trachyandra is suitable for growing in hydroponics.
Diseases and pests arising from trachyandra home care
Like many indoor plants, trachandra reacts negatively to high soil and air humidity. If the substrate in the pot is constantly in a waterlogged state, then root decay may begin. In this case, too softened and thinned leaf plates become symptoms, they begin to stop curling. At the same time, it is recommended to adjust the watering, but if negative changes are noticed, then you may have to urgently transplant into a new disinfected pot.
When the exotic is removed from the container, it is recommended to carefully examine the root system, remove, if necessary, damaged root shoots and treat the plant with a fungicide. It can act as a foundation, diluted in water at the rate of 1 liter, 1 gram of the drug is taken. After that, a transplant is performed using sterile soil. It is pre-steamed in the microwave or oven for 30 minutes. After transplanting, do not start watering until signs of improvement appear. And it is important to remember that the plant is a succulent, and can easily tolerate a little dry land than its bay.
The pests are spider mites or mealybugs, which attack Trachyandra in low humidity and heat. Then treatments with insecticidal or acaricidal preparations are recommended. However, despite all the efforts of the trachyandra, even grown in conditions of sufficient lighting and favorable temperature indicators, but if there is no ventilation in the room, the leaves begin to suffer and most of all are affected. The leaf plates acquire thin outlines, "unwind" and greatly weaken.
Notes to flower growers about trachyandra, photo
The first mentions of the plant were made by the Belgian Barthelemus Dumortier in 1829, but the full description dates back only to 1843.
Types of trachyandra
- Trachyandra adamsonii can reach 180 cm in height with its shoots, while the form of growth in the variety is shrub. All shoots cover the remains of solid bases from loose leaves, and the tops of the branches are decorated with narrow, weakly succulent leaf plates. Such foliage is located in the form of bunches.
- Loose trachyandra - this variety has no name in Latin, but its natural habitats are located in the Kalahari Desert. The species is of interest in that the plant has spherical inflorescences due to the bending of the pedicels, with abundant branching and spreading outlines. After the formation of fruits occurs on it, the inflorescence is separated from the bush itself and, like a "tumbleweed" driven by the wind, easily moves away from the parent specimen. Then there is an ejection of seeds over a large area, which contribute to reproduction far from the place of their ripening.
- Trachyandra tortilis. The area of natural distribution covers the territories of the Northern and Western Cape (Richtersveld and Namaqualand south to Vredendhal, Hopefield and Saron) and South Africa. It prefers to settle on well-drained sandy or rocky soils, often in channel and quartz areas. The plant in those areas is widespread and not threatened. It is a perennial and is a geophyte, in which the buds of renewal and the tops of branches can tolerate unfavorable climatic conditions below the surface of the soil. Has an underground tuber. In height it reaches 25 cm. The leaf rosette has 3–6 leaf plates, which take their base practically from the tuber. The color of the leaves is grayish green. The length of the leaf plate is 6–10 cm with a width of up to 2 cm. Basically, all trachyandra have filiform or linear leaves, and this one is distinguished by linear outlines, bently folded in a very peculiar transverse manner. Fold and spiral twist varies from plant to plant. Pubescence may be present on the surface. When blooming, buds with petals bloom, whose color varies from snow-white to pale pink, with a green base. The shape of the petals is linear-obovate, their parameters are not more than 5 mm long and about 2 m wide. Inside the corolla there are stamens that grow up to 2-3 mm in length, the ovary is spherical, with a diameter of about 0.75 mm. Apical branched inflorescences with a length of up to 9, 5 cm are collected from the flowers. There are up to five pairs of lateral branches in them. When opening, the diameter of the flower reaches 1.5–2 cm. The peduncle is also pubescent, but over time it becomes bare and arcuate. Its length does not exceed 5 mm. The length of the bracts is 3 mm, their shape is ovate-lanceolate. The fruits are formed in the form of bolls, 7 mm in length, filled with seeds with sharp tops inside.
- Trachyandra saltii. Mainly grows on pastures in tropical and southern Africa. It has herbaceous leaves, an unbranched stem that reaches half a meter in height and white flowers that open during the day and close at dusk.
- Trachyandra falcata is a sturdy plant, up to 60 cm in height. It naturally occurs in various habitats, but most often prefers to settle on sandy and clay substrates and slopes, which are abundant in Namibia to the south to the Western Cape and Western Karoo South Africa. This species has 4 to 5 leaf plates, originating from the base of the stem, which have wide, flat, curved outlines, with a leathery surface and may or may not be hairy, whitish pubescence. The flower petals range in color from lavender to white, marked with a brown base. They are densely packed in a branched or weakly branched cylindrical inflorescence.
