Description and types of plants, advice on watering and feeding, recommendations for reproduction, transplantation and soil selection, possible pests and diseases. Podocarpus (Podocarpus) belongs to the Podocarpaceae or Nogocarpaceae family, which contains about 19 genera and almost 200 species. The plant is an evergreen representative of the flora, and takes on a shrub or tree-like form. It can be found in the literature under the name of the pedunculus. It is quite ancient, since the representatives of this family (Podocarp) were settled in the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. The plant got its name by merging two words of the Greek language "????", which means foot and "??????" - the fruit. He mainly likes to settle in the mountains with a tropical climate - these can be territories extending south of Chile and New Zealand, and in the northern direction the podocarpus is found from Japanese to Mexican lands. The problem is that the vast podocarp forests that are found in the southeastern African regions are being mercilessly deforested and are now on the verge of extinction. But nevertheless, such forests, consisting of podocarpuses, are still preserved at heights inaccessible to humans.
The plant is distinguished by a wide variety of forms, giant trees are described in the literature, whose height reached about 80 m, and in the girth of the trunk was measured 2 m (podocarpus usambar), and there are some species in which refined shoots creep along the soil surface (podocarpus snow).
Podocarpus is a coniferous plant that can measure from half a meter to 2 m in height. In conditions of natural growth, its tree-like form stretches its branches up to 12 m. The stems of the legcarp grow straight and become lignified with age. The leaf plates have nothing to do with the needles of the representatives of the coniferous trees we are accustomed to. They differ in an elongated-elongated shape in the form of knives, but there are oval or ovoid, with a pointed tip. Some varieties of podocarpus are distinguished by a pronounced pattern of veins. The surface is shiny and smooth, deep green, can reach 0.5-15 cm in length and ten cm in width. The needle-leaves are located on the stem in a spiral order, but in some species the leaf plate is twisted, and such leaves are arranged in two horizontal rows. The podocarpus blooms with dioecious flowers (when there are flowers of both sexes on the same tree or bush), although this feature is not found in all species.
Some species of podocarpus are grown in gardens, where their fruits in the form of berries are used for food. They have a reddish, purple or bluish tint and can be eaten raw or cooked. The inside of the fruit is somewhat sticky and has a sweet taste. But, nevertheless, the plant has a slight toxicity, therefore, it is recommended to eat the fruits in limited quantities. Podocarpus is also often used in traditional local medicine. Birds love to feast on the fruits of this plant, and then the seeds of the podocarpus are carried by them around the circle with droppings.
In the homeland of these plants, podocarpus wood is highly valued, which is distinguished by its beauty and strength. The footcarp appeared in Europe only at the beginning of the 19th century and began to be grown both in gardens (in a southern climate) and in a pot culture. The plant has the inherent ability of all conifers to purify the air by releasing phytoncides. The footcarp is quite unpretentious when growing it at home. If this plant is grown in a pot, then it is customary to form a bonsai from it. But sometimes the view is considered ampelous, since without a specially made support, the branches and the podocarpus stem itself begin to droop down. The shape of the plant is given by pruning and with the help of improvised fastening means (for example, wire). The growth rate of the pedunculus is very low.
Creation of conditions for the cultivation of the podocarpus
- Lighting. The plant is very fond of sunlight, so it can be installed on windows with a south orientation, but window sills are also suitable, where the rays of the luminary look at sunset or dawn hours. But the plant can also be quietly in the shade. The only thing is that if the podocarpus does not have enough sunlight, then its needle-leaves will begin to lengthen greatly. And yet, it is customary to hide the plant from hot rays at noon, as they can cause burns on leaf surfaces. The plant must be protected from possible drafts. If the podocarpus is located outdoors, then they try to find an appropriate place (without bright sunlight and not in a draft).
- Content temperature. The plant needs to be grown at moderate thermometer readings. 18–20 degrees, but this is on condition that there was a cold wintering. With the onset of autumn, the podocarpus must be kept in cool, unheated rooms, in which the temperature would not drop below 12 degrees, since this mark is already destructive for the legcarp (but, in some literature, there is a mention that the plant can endure 8 degrees during the wintering period). The most important thing is to provide an optimal winter rest for the podocarpus with a temperature of 12-13 degrees. If such conditions are not maintained, then the plant will not have a winter rest period and at high temperatures in city apartments, it will continue to grow, deplete and die.
- Air humidity. Podocarpus is very fond of high humidity, especially those periods when the temperature becomes higher than comfortable for the plant. To do this, it is necessary to periodically spray with soft water. This procedure can be daily in hot weather. You can also use various humidifiers to raise the moisture readings. Sometimes it is useful to set the pot with the plant in a deep tray, slightly filled with moistened expanded clay or small pebbles.
- Watering the podocarpus. It is necessary to water the plant regularly and abundantly enough (about once a week), the soil in the pot should never dry out, as this will adversely affect the crown of the tree and its root system. It is customary to cover the soil in a pot with a layer of sphagnum moss, it not only delays the evaporation of moisture and drying out of the soil, but also serves as a kind of indicator for moistening the podocarpus, if all the moss is dry, then it is urgent to water the legcarp. However, if the bottom of the flooring is still damp, then watering is delayed for a day. For humidification, soft water is used, which is obtained by settling or boiling tap water, and you can also pass tap water through a filter. In the winter rest period, soil moisture is halved. If the plant begins to change the color of the leaves to gray, then the watering is too abundant.
- The introduction of fertilizing for the nodocarp. You can use liquid fertilizers for bonsai-style plants - they are used once every 14 days in the spring-summer period, but as soon as the plant is in winter dormancy, then the podocarpus is fed only once every one and a half months. You can use iron chelate and acidify the water, since the plant loves acidic soil - this fertilizer is applied once a year. Such fertilizers will relieve the plant of possible chlorosis.
- Soil selection and transplantation of the podocarpus. For transplanting plants, choose pots made of ceramics in light colors. If the plant is young, then its pot and soil changes every year, in adult specimens this change takes place only once every 2-3 years. The time for this procedure is chosen in early spring (but when pruning the roots, cool temperatures are required and the transplant is carried out from late autumn to early spring). Since the roots grow well, you should prune from 1/3 to 1/2 of the entire root system. Then the plant is planted in a large prepared container. On the root processes of the podocarpus there are small tubers with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, they look like grains of semolina. Therefore, if this is noticed, then this is not a cause for concern.
Soils for the legcarpe are required with sufficient acidity, with a pH of 6, 8–7. You can buy specialized soil for ornamental deciduous plants and add peat soil to it to raise the acidity indicators. Also, the soil mixture is compiled independently from the following components, but it must be sufficiently dense:
- compost soil, clay turf soil, river sand, you can add finely detailed brick chips (the proportions of all ingredients are equal) and a little deciduous soil, about 0.5 parts;
- garden or sod land, humus from needles or leaves, peat soil, coarse-grained sand (all parts of the components are equal);
- clay-sod or leafy soil, humus from bark, river sand, heather soil (all parts are equal);
- leafy soil and compost soil, in equal shares;
- humus earth and coarse sand, in equal proportions.
Reproduction of the podocarpus at home
In order to propagate the legcarp, the method of seed propagation and cuttings are used. However, any of the methods is rather complicated.
After the seed material of the podocarpus has been collected or purchased, it must be stratified. For this, the seeds must be placed in a small container in which the peat-sand mixture is poured. Seed material is poured on top of the substrate, and on top it is also covered with this mixture. The height of the container should be measured no more than 15 cm, otherwise there will be the likelihood of uneven seed emergence. The soil mixture with the crops is slightly moistened, the container is covered with a plastic bag and placed in the refrigerator in the compartment with vegetables, where the temperature indicators are always within the range of 0-5 degrees. Care must be taken to ensure that the substrate in the container does not dry out; for this, moistening is done once every 2 weeks. As soon as the seeds hatch, they must be transferred to a mini-greenhouse for further growth. This most often occurs in early summer. If necessary, such sowing is carried out at the end of winter.
Breeding time should be in the spring months. For cutting the cuttings, woody shoots are chosen, and the planting takes place in a siliceous substrate. Prerequisites for rooting are constant heating of the soil in a pot with cuttings (within 18–20 degrees) and clay-sandy soil (in proportions of 1: 2). Phytohormones are also used for successful rooting. The plants are kept in these original pots until the next spring.
You can rooting non-lignified cuttings (this year's growth) by placing them in a container filled with water. Once the roots of the plant are formed, it can be planted in the ground for plants in the form of a bonsai.
Harmful insects and problems in growing podocarpus
If the leaf plates acquire a yellow tint or begin to fade and this is accompanied by stretching of the shoots - a consequence of insufficient lighting, and if these symptoms appear without pulling out the branches - the reason is insufficient moisture of the substrate.
The podocarpus is quite resistant to pest infestation, but nevertheless, with increased dry air, it can be affected by spider mites. To combat this harmful insect, modern insecticides are used. Podocarpus must be thoroughly sprayed, preferably covering the soil in the pot with a plastic bag. To consolidate the result, the operation is repeated after 3 weeks. Rarely, but pests such as scale insects, mealybugs, thrips can be seen on the podocarpus. When these problems appear, and mostly pests manifest themselves with a sticky formation on leaf plates or a flour-like bloom. In this case, the plant must be sprayed with the solutions described above.
Sometimes, if the podocarpus cuttings have just rooted and have been transplanted, aphids may be affected. It is necessary to spray immediately with pesticides or insecticides. In addition to this method, you can also use folk - processing the leaves and stems of the plant with soap, oil or alcohol solutions.
The footcarp can be subject to various rot or fungal infections. This is due to the stagnation of water in the pot and the lack of high-quality drainage in it. With such a problem, the plant must be treated with a fungicide.
Formation of the crown of the podocarpus
When the plant begins to grow and some branches begin to go beyond the forms established for the podocarpus, you will have to trim these shoots, and treat the cut sites with a special disinfectant (for example, well-ground activated carbon), which can be purchased at a flower shop. It is also advised not to use a disinfectant such as garden pitch, as it penetrates very deeply into the bark of the plant and leaves an ugly spot. If shoots appear that sprout from the root itself, then they should also be removed, since over time such shoots close the stem.
Types of podocarpus
- Large-leaved podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophyllus). Native habitat of China, Japan and Taiwan. This species grows in northern areas. It can settle at an altitude of 1000 m above sea level. It was recorded in Yunnan province as a low bush form at an altitude of 2400 m. The plant never changes leaf color, reaching a height of 5–20 m and sometimes having a trunk diameter of up to 60 cm. Leaf plates are arranged alternately in a spiral sequence. Their shape is pointed-ruled or lanceolate with sharp tops at both ends. The length of the leaves can vary from 2.5 to 14 cm, with a width ranging from 3–13 mm. The flowers of the plant are dioecious: staminate male flowers are in the form of elongated pineal earrings, reaching 3 cm in length; female - single. Fruiting occurs with rounded berries of a green shade of a centimeter in diameter, which, when ripe, acquire a purple color. The inside of the fruit is quite fleshy and riddled with purple veins. In the middle of the berry there are egg-like seeds of light brown tones with a size of 10x8 mm. The flowering process lasts from mid to late spring. The trunks have a gray-red-brown bark, which can lag behind in the form of fleecy long plates. The outer bark is about 4 mm brown, the inner one 3-5 mm pinkish.
- Podocarpus Nageia (Podocarpus Nageia). A tree that has flowers of both sexes and grows up to 24 m in height. If the plant is in the form of a shrub, then its shoots grow very wide and have a curved shape. The buds of the leg are cone-shaped and measure 3 mm.
- Podocarpus totara (Podocarpus totara). A tree-like plant with a slender trunk, which in natural conditions can reach 40 m with a diameter of 2.5 m. When the plant is young, the trunk is covered with thick fibrous reddish-brown bark, which becomes light brownish with age.
For information on how to grow a podocarpus and form a bonsai from the crown, see this video:
