Description of sparmannia, interesting facts, tips for growing indoors, soil selection, transplanting and watering, fertilization, reproduction. Sparmannia belongs to the Tiliaceae family, which contains about 350 species and 35 genera of green fauna. In the modern classification of plants (taxonomy), it has already been introduced into another family - Malvaceae. But this type of science knows only 4 plants. The homeland of sparmannia is considered to be the forests of South Africa, as well as areas of the island of Madagascar, where, in natural conditions, it grows to the size of a tree. This flower is gaining popularity in Europe and, especially in Germany, while in our country it is rare and very few people know about it. The plant took its name from the resident of Sweden Anders Sparmann, who lived in 1748-1820 and accompanied the legendary Captain Cook on the second expedition to explore the southern continent and discovered during its time the island territories of New Caledonia and other adjacent islands.
Basically, in indoor conditions, it is customary to grow only one variety of sparmannia - African sparmania. This flower is very similar to the common linden in the outlines of its leaf plates, however, when cultivated in greenhouse or greenhouse buildings, its height rarely exceeds 4 m, but in the rooms the plant will reach no more than 60 cm in height. In width, "indoor linden" can reach a meter in diameter. Sparmania begins to grow as a shrub, but later it can become a small tree. A plant that will branch strongly with age. Its leaves are covered with hairs-villi. Their color is pale light green. The shape of the leaf plates is quite large, differs in serrated edges, but sometimes it can also be lobed, heart-shaped or pointed.
Sparmannia blooms with delicate white flowers with pinkish-red or golden anthers-stamens. The flowering process itself falls on the winter-spring months and pleases the eye with its tenderness, when the weather is still outside the window. But some of the representatives of this species can bloom at any time, completely irregularly (sporadically). Usually, racemose or umbellate loose inflorescences are collected from the flowers, which are highly sensitive to touch. Inflorescences are mainly located in axillary leaf buds or at the tops of shoots. There is a variety called Flore Pleono, which has double-flowered flowers. The buds of the "room linden", like those of its usual relative, are quite fragrant. The flowering process lasts almost one and a half months. After that, it ends, during the fruiting period in sparmannia fruits ripen in the form of prickly pods. Some varieties are distinguished by rounded fruit.
Most often, with the help of a plant, you can decorate large rooms, since sparmannia is very beautiful in the interior. And since the growth rate of the bush is quite high, and it can please the eye with proper care for more than one year.
Interesting facts about sparmannia
Sparmannia does not like the presence of other plants nearby, such a hermit flower. It is best to make a purchase in the spring or in the first month of summer, when the color of the leaves of the "room linden" is clearly visible - it should be saturated, green. Transportation must be carried out very carefully, since the young shoots and branches of the plant are very fragile.
It is very important to withstand cool temperatures in winter, and annual pruning is needed, only in this case the plant will delight in lush color.
Recommendations for growing sparmannia indoors
- Lighting. "Indoor linden" is very fond of sufficient lighting, in which it feels more at ease, but bright sunlight can cause burns, therefore, if the plant is on the windows in the south, you will have to arrange a little shading in the midday heat. To do this, you can use light curtains or curtains made of translucent fabric, or sew curtains from gauze. Also, paper or tracing paper is sometimes glued to the glass of windows. If the illumination is insufficient, then the pairing will react with yellowing of the leaf plates. The plant can be grown quite calmly on windows facing north, but in this case additional lighting with special phytolamps or fluorescent lamps is necessary. The plant is very fond of the flow of clean and fresh air, therefore, frequent ventilation of the room where the "indoor linden" is located is necessary, but it is important to protect the green bush from the effects of drafts. With the arrival of constant heat, you can take the plant out into an open area - it can be a balcony, terrace or garden. Sparmannia is not afraid of rain, but drafts are harmful to her.
- Content temperature. The plant does not like high temperatures in the room, it is necessary to select a place with a cool atmosphere for it. In the summertime, thermometer readings should vary between 19-24 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn and during winter, they should not exceed 10-12 degrees at all. The minimum that can painlessly tolerate sparmania is 7 degrees Celsius.
- Humidity when growing "room linden". The plant does not require spraying, since all its leaves cover the villi, and the ingress of water can negatively affect them - it will contribute to subsequent decay. Therefore, to clean the contaminated leaves, the plant is exposed to a stream of rain or a shower is arranged. Sparmannia should dry only in the shade so that the sun's rays cannot burn the leaves. Only in extreme cases can spraying gently be carried out with soft water at room temperature.
- Watering sparmannia. When the thermometer readings approach the 20-th mark, you should thoroughly moisten the soil in the pot. This must be done every other day, and if the heat increases, then every day. It is important to remember that even a slight overdrying of an earthen coma will kill the plant. At low temperatures during the fall-winter period, watering is reduced to once a week. For humidification, use only soft water at room temperature, it is best to use collected rainwater or melt snow to get the necessary liquid. Then it is brought to 20-23 degrees Celsius and only then can it be poured over the soil. If this is not possible, then you will have to pass the tap water through a filter, boil it and then settle it for several days. There is another way to get water devoid of salts and harmful hardness - take a handful of peat soil, wrap it in gauze or put it in a cloth bag and put it in a bucket of tap water overnight. In the morning, you can moisten the earth in a pot with sparmannia.
- Plant feeding. It is necessary to fertilize "room linden" during the period of activation of the growth of its leaves and shoots. This time starts from the beginning of spring days and lasts until late autumn. Therefore, every week, or even 2 times in seven days, top dressing is applied. It turns out that it is better to add fertilizer solutions to water to moisten the soil. Additives are chosen for green house flowers and plants, but it is important that potassium chloride is reduced in them. You can alternate these preparations with organic fertilizers - mullein solutions.
- Bush formation … When the plant is already old enough, it easily tolerates the procedure for pruning branches and shoots. After the flowering process is complete, you need to prune the sparmannia a little. After this procedure, "indoor linden" will intensively begin to build up a leaf mass, and then bloom violently. In other periods of the year, you can pinch the tops of the branches. When the shoots become old enough and long enough, props will have to be made for them so that they do not break off.
- Transplantation and choice of substrate. This plant is distinguished by a very high growth rate, therefore, until it reaches the age of 3 years, it is necessary to carry out transshipment (transplantation without destroying the earthen coma) twice a year, from the beginning of spring to the end of September days. When sparmannia becomes an adult, they change the pot and soil only once during the specified period.
Humus (nutritious) clay soils are suitable for replanting. You can also make your own soil mixture from the following options:
- leafy soil, humus, coarse sand (in a ratio of 1: 2: 1);
- clay soil, sod, humus soil, leafy soil, river sand (in proportions 2: 1: 1: 1: 0, 5).
It is important that a layer of drainage material is poured into the pot before planting the plant. It can be fine-grained expanded clay, pebbles or detailed bricks. In the flowerpot, holes are also made without fail to drain excess moisture. The drainage material must be such that it does not spill out through the drain holes. The height of the drainage is measured no more than 2 cm. A 1–2 cm layer of substrate is poured onto it and slightly moistened. Then the plant is carefully removed from the pot. If this cannot be done easily, then it is necessary to turn the flowerpot over while supporting the bush and, tapping on the walls of the pot, pull the sparmannia out of the container. After that, it is necessary to install an earthen lump without destroying it (so as not to injure the root system) into a new pot and add it along the edges of fresh soil. When the soil layer reaches the middle of the container, moisten the new soil mixture a little again and add the remaining soil to the upper edge of the flowerpot. It is recommended to slightly moisten the soil in the pot again and place the plant in a place with good lighting, out of direct sunlight, so that it gets away from the stress of transplanting.
Also, "indoor linden" can be grown in hydroponics or ion exchange soil, using any nutrient mixture.
Self-breeding tips for mating
To get a new plant, it is necessary to use the cuttings method. It is required to cut off part of the top of the flowering lateral shoot. If you cut cuttings from vegetative stems, then the flowering process will begin much later. A cut of cuttings can be treated with any means of stimulating rooting and planted in separate pots. The soil mixture for planting cuttings is prepared on the basis of sod, humus (humus soil) and sand, taken in proportions 1: 1: 0, 5. In order for the branches to take well and start up the roots, it is necessary to maintain the temperature within 20 degrees. As soon as it becomes clear that the cuttings of the "room linden" have begun to grow, another transplant is carried out into pots with a diameter of about 9 cm. And the small sparmannia is placed in a well-lit place, but shading from the scorching sun streams.
You can also wait for the appearance of root shoots if you put the cut branches in a vessel with water. As soon as the cuttings have roots and they reach a centimeter in length, it is recommended to plant the branches in 9-centimeter pots.
Watering the seedlings from the moment of planting is necessary very abundantly, the plants are distinguished by rapid growth. In order for the future bush to be branched enough, it is necessary to pinch the tops twice on the cutting. As the root system of the "room linden" assimilates the soil provided to it, the next transfer is carried out into pots with a diameter of 11-15 cm. With the arrival of the autumn period, another pinching of the tops of the shoots will be required.
Problems in indoor cultivation
Among all the troubles that can accompany the cultivation of "room linden" in an apartment or office, the following can be distinguished:
- if there is a sunburn of the leaf plates, then their color will fade and a brown spot may even appear;
- when the temperature of the content in the winter was too high or the substrate was poorly moistened, then the sparmannia can deform, curl, dry and fall off the leaves;
- also occurs with insufficient illumination, then the leaves also turn yellow and fall off;
- if a plant has an obvious growth retardation or flowering does not occur in any way, then this is evidence of a very poor soil for nutrients or a lack of fertilizing.
The plant can be attacked by pests such as:
- Spider mite. It is characterized by the appearance of a thin cobweb on the shoots and leaf plates, the leaves begin to turn yellow and deform.
- Mealybug. On all internodes and subsequently on the leaves, a cotton-like whitish bloom begins to appear.
- Shield. Its appearance is characterized by brown dots on the back of the leaf plates, and later, when the pest population grows very much, the leaves are covered with a sticky sugary bloom - the pest's waste products.
- Whitefly. At first, this insect manifests itself by the appearance of white dots on the back of the leaves, but when midges begin to hatch from these eggs, then with each touch of the plant, their swarm rises up.
To combat these harmful insects, it is recommended to use folk remedies such as soap, oil or alcohol solutions.
When making a soap solution, you need to take 30 grams. laundry soap, grate it or cut it not coarsely with a knife, and dissolve in a bucket of warm water. Leave to infuse for several hours. After this time, it is necessary to strain the resulting mixture and wipe the leaf plates and branches with a cotton pad moistened with the mixture. This will help to manually remove the pests. Then you can spray the plant itself and the place on the windowsill or in the room where the pot with the "room linden" was located. Instead of laundry soap, you can use any dishwashing liquid.
When you need to take an oil solution, you can buy rosemary essential oil at the pharmacy, and dissolve a few drops of it in a liter of water. After that, similar actions described above are carried out. For treatment with alcohol solutions, a tincture of calendula is purchased, and it is applied to a cotton pad to wipe the spar from harmful insects.
If folk remedies did not have the proper effect, then you will have to purchase a systemic insecticide in the flower shop, such as "Aktara", "Confidor", etc. For the prevention and consolidation of the result, the treatment must be repeated after 2 weeks.
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