Description of the plant, advice on location, recommendations for watering, keeping and replanting, independent reproduction, growing difficulties and insects. Pogonatherum belongs to the numerous Gramineae family, which includes up to 900 genera and over 11,000 species. The homeland of the plant can be considered the territories of Southeast Asia, Chinese, Malaysian and Australian areas, in which a warm and humid climate prevails. Pogonaterum is often found under other names; it is called indoor reed or bamboo. Growers have begun to grow it quite recently in indoor conditions. The plant takes on herbaceous and bushy forms. It has the ability not to shed leaf mass with the change of seasons. The name is derived from the merger of the Greek words "pogon" - beard and "ather" - flower. This was served by the appearance of the reed, flowers in the form of spikelets, as if bordered by a bearded growth, which is a hard awn. In fact, the pogonaterum is not a relative of either sugarcane or bamboo, they are connected only by their relationship to one family.
If the pogonaterum grows in a natural environment, then it usually settles on rocks and spaces saturated with moisture, near small ponds, lakes, waterfalls and streams. They began to call it bamboo for the shape of leaf plates and hollow stems in the middle, similar to straw. Also, the habits of this plant, like a blueprint, repeat real bamboo. The plant has a very high growth rate, a compact pogonaterum bush can, over time, occupy a one-meter diameter in area.
The leaf plates of indoor bamboo are quite beautiful and unusual. On the stem, leaves are very densely located, which have the shape of elongated knives with a characteristic sharpening at the top. With the growth of the pogonaterum, the stem acquires bizarre bends in the form of an arc and it also looks very decorative. To date, flower growers have bred reed varieties that have a varied leaf color, casting a mixture of green, yellowish and white shades.
Alas, if the plant is grown indoors, then it will not be possible to wait for flowering. However, in the natural environment, it is very rare, but the flowering process occurs only in adult specimens. Pogonaterum flowers are small enough and painted in purple or burgundy with a shade of blue.
When grown indoors, the pogonaterum can reach a height of up to half a meter. But there are species of this bush that are only 10 cm in height. In nature, specimens were seen that reached one and a half meters, but this is very rare. Indoor bamboo can be cultivated in a pot for 5 years.
The plant is not at all capricious and not demanding to care for, so a florist who does not have sufficient experience can grow it. This beautiful green bush is also very fond of designers who decorate rooms in Japanese or Chinese style, since the pot with the pogonaterum resembles a miniature bamboo grove. Young shoots like to eat pets (for example, cats or dogs), the plant is completely non-toxic. And if you believe the Chinese beliefs, then the pogonaterum attracts good luck and happiness to where it is.
Creating conditions for growing pogonaterum indoors
- Lighting. Indoor bamboo loves very much when the rays of the sun fall on its leaves and based on this, the pot with the plant can be placed on windows facing south, window sills of windows facing south-east or south-west exposure are also suitable (this is even recommended by Feng Shui masters). Shading is required only in the hottest hours, since the leaf plates of the pogonaterum can easily fade in intense sunlight. If the plant is located on the windows facing the north side, then it is advisable to arrange additional lighting with special phytolamps. With the arrival of warm days, the pogonaterum can be taken out into the fresh air, a balcony, terrace or garden will do. It is necessary to ensure that the plant is sheltered from drafts.
- The temperature of the content of the pogonaterum. The plant will not be able to withstand a decrease in thermometer readings less than 15 degrees, especially in the winter season. The comfortable temperature for indoor bamboo is 18–20 degrees.
- Air humidity. This representative of the green world is very fond of high humidity levels. They should be within 60%. Pogonaterum will prefer frequent spraying during the hot season; in summer, this procedure can be performed several times a week. When the cold season (autumn-winter) comes, it is better not to put the plant next to central heating batteries and different heaters, since hot and dry air is detrimental to foliage. To increase the humidity of the air next to indoor bamboo, it can be placed in a low and wide pot, into which small pebbles or expanded clay are poured, and water is added. The main thing is that the bottom of the pot with the pogonaterum does not touch moisture. It evaporates and will compensate for the lack of humidity in the room. Although, if you do not do this (do not increase the humidity by spraying and other tricks), the plant still grows well and does not show its displeasure. However, if you still do nothing, then where young leaves have just begun to grow on the shoot (at the base of the leaf plate), multiple dry scales may begin to develop. This phenomenon begins to spoil the appearance of indoor bamboo, and these growths will need to be periodically removed.
- Watering indoor bamboo. The plant equally poorly tolerates both the complete drying of the soil in the pot and its excessive watering. It is necessary to develop such a ratio so that the soil is always slightly moist, especially in the hot season. If the substrate in the pot dries out completely, then the pogonaterum will turn yellow very quickly and die. With the arrival of the cold period of autumn-winter, watering is reduced so that the soil only dries out a little between humidifications. Water for watering indoor bamboo is taken soft; to obtain it, you can settle water from the tap, pass it through a filter or boil it.
- Fertilization. When it becomes clear that the plant has confidently started to grow, and this happens in the month of April, they begin to apply fertilizers at monthly intervals. It is important that the solution contains many nitrogen and potassium compounds. You can also take balanced fertilizer solutions for feeding. With the arrival of mid-autumn, they stop fertilizing the plant. If some yellowing of the deciduous mass has begun, but everything is in order with watering and other indicators, then it is worth increasing the number of times when fertilizing will be applied.
- Transplantation and selection of soil for the pogonaterum. If the plant is young, then it is recommended to change the pot and substrate annually, but this operation is performed less often with age. But many growers recommend changing the container and soil to a plant of any age every year. Floor pots should be chosen (vases or vessels), which should be made of transparent material. The new pot needs to be taken much larger than the previous one, since the root system grows very quickly. In a new container, high-quality drainage is needed, since indoor bamboo does not tolerate stagnant water in a pot. It is necessary to transplant the plant extremely carefully, since if the root system is damaged, brown spot immediately appears on the leaf plates.
The soil for transplanting can be of any acidity; Pogonaterum tolerates any substrate normally. The soil mixture is made up on the basis of the following components:
- clayey sod land, peat land, humus (in proportions 2: 1: 1);
- humus soil, soil for greenhouses (acidity pH 5-6), taken in equal parts.
Reproduction of pogonaterum at home
When propagating indoor bamboo, the method of dividing the rhizome and grafting is used.
To divide the root of the pogonaterum, it is necessary to combine this time with the time of its transplant. The plant is removed from the pot, the earthen ball is not destroyed. The substrate is shaken off a little from the rhizome and everything is carefully examined. If there are slightly dry or rotten roots, then they need to be removed. After that, the indoor bamboo bush must be pulled with your hands in different directions, it must be divided into parts. If you can see that the roots are a little tangled, then they are carefully divided using a wooden stick. But it should be remembered that indoor bamboo reacts very negatively to damage to the root system, so this procedure should be extremely careful. The resulting parts must be immediately planted in pots prepared in advance with a substrate and drainage at the bottom. The soil should cover the drainage by 2–3 cm and it should be slightly moistened. Then a part of the pogonaterum is placed in the pot and soil is poured on all sides of the root. When the soil fills half of the allotted volume, it is again slightly moistened. Then the rest of the substrate is poured and all the earth in the pot is watered again.
Pogonaterum can be planted by cuttings if there is a possibility of heating the soil in pots to 25 degrees. A shoot for rooting is cut out at least 10 cm long and planted in a moistened substrate. It is also necessary to create increased humidity for the cutting, so future plants are covered with a plastic bag or glass jar. The planted branches are periodically required to ventilate and moisten the soil.
Many growers breed indoor bamboo with seed, but it is quite difficult to acquire it and the result is unpredictable. In order for indoor bamboo to grow well, branch out and give new shoots, regular pruning of the bush is necessary. Since this plant is growing rapidly, it will have to be divided often and the pot must be large enough for transplanting. Pogonaterum also grows well in hydroponic material. If there was a discharge of most of the foliage, then these shoots are cut off almost to the very base, since the plant will very quickly grow new branches.
Possible difficulties in caring for the pogonaterum
The plant is rarely affected by harmful insects, however, with increased dryness of the air, it can be attacked by a spider mite. Pogonaterum must be treated with a soapy or oil solution. In a bucket of water, 100 grams are diluted. laundry soap (or dishwashing gel), this liquid is infused for several hours, then it must be filtered and thoroughly wiped off the leaf plates and stems of indoor bamboo. If this method does not give a positive result, then it is necessary to spray with modern insecticides. May be affected by fungal diseases, as evidenced by a soft dark spot on the leaves. If the watering was too abundant, then the root system of the pogonaterum could begin to rot, and this is expressed by yellowness on the leaves and their discharge. In such cases, the plant must be treated with a fungicide solution.
If the plant lacks moisture, then the leaf plates are covered with brown spots. The tips of the leaves may also begin to dry out, and they acquire a brown tint. If the leaf plates have darkened, began to deform and become soft to the touch, this is a sign of low temperatures for indoor bamboo. If there are not enough nutrients for Pogonaterum, then it reacts with slower growth and the leaves become yellowish. With even a small overdrying of the soil in a pot, the leaf plate and shoots of the plant begin to turn yellow.
Types of pogonaterium
- Pogonatherum paniceum. This species is not closely related to sugarcane and true bamboo. In the literature, it is sometimes referred to as a member of the Poaceae family. The plant is not very tall and has beautifully curved, arched stems. The native habitat is East Asian, Chinese and Malaysian territories. The stems of this species grow vertically, but with age, the branches begin to drop slightly down to the ground. The height in an apartment does not exceed 30 cm, but the plant can grow up to 1.5 m in width. The leaf plates are placed very densely, have a pale green color and a lance-shaped shape.
- Shaggy Pogonatherum (Pogonatherum crinitum). A very compact houseplant, which has heights ranging from 10-30 cm. The stems resemble straw in appearance, the leaves are elongated and pale green in color. It looks like a small bamboo grove.
Check out what the crossover pogonaterum looks like in this video:
