Description of common signs and types of tetrastigma, advice on care, recommendations for transplantation and reproduction, difficulties in cultivation, interesting facts. Tetrastigma (Tetrastigma) - a plant that belongs to the family of Grapes or Ampelidea (Vitaceae). This family also includes green shrubs of 16 genera, and there are more than 90 species. The homeland of this representative of the flora is considered to be the territories of southeast and south Asia, the island of New Guinea, and one species is found in the northern areas of the Australian continent. The plant got its name from the merger of two Latin words such as "tetra", which in many other languages means the number "four", and "stygma" - meaning stigma (however, in Greek it is translated as a spot, sign or mark). This name best describes the part of the tetrastigma pistil - the stigma, which divides into four lobes, or as many see four lobes. This vine is often popularly called "home grapes" or "indoor grapes" and is used to decorate rooms.
In general, the plant is a beautiful evergreen liana-like shrub that takes up a lot of space if you do not engage in its formation. Its stems can reach a length of 50 m or more, they are creeping or creeping. But under conditions of home cultivation, the length of the shoots rarely exceeds 3 meters. When the shoots are still young, they are covered with a bark of a dark green or gray shade. Over time, the stems become woody and become curved and dense, and the bark changes its color to light brown. The rhizome of "home grapes" is very branched.
The leaf plates of the tetrastigma are divided from three to seven parts-lobes, each of which has, as it were, its own petiole. These parts-lobes have an elongated elliptical shape, the edge is serrated, there is a sharpening at the top. The leaves are large enough, the diameter can reach 35 cm. Leaf plates are attached to the shoots with 5-cm petioles. The surface of the leaf is quite dense and leathery, and venation appears on the entire surface. But the reverse (back) side of the leaf is completely covered with pubescence - reddish-brownish glandular villi. With the help of them, there is a constant release of tetrastigma juice over the entire surface, which immediately crystallizes.
Flowers are small, of which they are collected in false small-flowered umbellate inflorescences. The flower itself is in the shape of a tube. Inflorescences grow from axillary leaf buds and are located on short flowering stems. The petals and bracts of the tetrastigma are painted in a light green and yellow tint. The stigma, as already mentioned, is dissected into 4 lobes; it is located in the center of the bud. However, in conditions of home cultivation, flowering cannot be achieved. Bears fruit with inedible round berries.
The plant is easy to grow, which even a novice florist can handle. Depending on the conditions under which the testrastigma grows, in one year its shoots can grow from 60 cm to a meter in length or not at all. Due to the fact that the leaves of this representative of the grape family are large enough, it is necessary to regularly prune the plant.
And although there are plenty of species of this plant in indoor conditions, as a rule, only a few species are grown. Today, this liana-like plant is very loved by interior decorators and landscape designers. From it phytocompositions are made, phyto-walls and arches are built, the plant also serves to separate the zones of the premises. However, although the bush does not require special care conditions, the best tetrastigma has growth rates in greenhouses and greenhouses. And also if it is grown in pools where the humidity is high enough.
Recommendations for growing tetrastigma indoors
- Illumination and location selection. The plant requires care and a lot of space, so it is necessary from the first days of its presence in the room to choose a suitable corner, and not to rearrange the tetrastigma pot from place to place. Be sure to think about how the plant will be attached in the future, and choose a support for the vine. Since the branches of "home grapes" are quite fragile, they can be easily broken if all the nuances of cultivation are not foreseen in advance. If the owner does not think about installing a support, then the plant will cling to all kinds of protrusions on the walls, curtains or curtains and furniture, and then you will have to tear off the shoots, injuring the bush. The plant likes good lighting in bright, but diffused light. Such sources of illumination can be windows facing east or west. On the northern window, in the shade, the plant can also feel good enough, but additional lighting with phytolamps will be needed. On the windows of the southern location, if you do not shade, tetrastigma can get burns on the leaves.
- Content temperature. For a plant, it is necessary in the spring and summer months to maintain heat indicators at the level of 20-27 degrees, if they grow, it will be necessary to increase the humidity of the air. With the arrival of the autumn decrease in heat, it is also recommended to lower it for tetrastigma, it is necessary that they vary within 12-18 degrees. The minimum indicators that will not harm the plant are 6-8 degrees Celsius, but it is better to refuse watering at this time.
- Air humidity. High humidity values are best suited for "home grapes", but this green "stoic" can also tolerate dry air of living quarters. But if you want to provide the plant with more comfortable conditions, then you need to carry out regular spraying with warm soft water, put the scent under the shower stream to wash off the dust or wipe its leaves with a wet sponge. You can install humidifiers nearby or lower the pot into a deep and wide pan with water poured to the bottom and a small layer of expanded clay or pebbles. As practice shows, if you install a pot with a plant next to a radiator or heaters, then the leaf mass begins to dry out.
- Watering. Tetrastigma likes to keep the soil in the pot moist, but you shouldn't pour it over. A signal for watering will be a slight drying out of the topsoil. In the warm months of the year, it is necessary to do this often, and with the arrival of winter, the moisture content is significantly reduced, but it is important to prevent the earthen coma from drying out. It is also recommended to water the plant near the walls of the pot, that is, so that water does not fall on the stem of the bush. Bottom watering can be used when moisture is poured into the container under the pot. For humidification, use water at room temperature, devoid of harmful salts. It can be distilled water, rainwater, or melt water. You can get such water by boiling, filtering or thoroughly settling the water from the water supply.
- Fertilize tetrastigmus is necessary if the plant has not been transplanted for a long time. Select liquid solutions suitable for ampel indoor plants or for plants with decorative leaves. Top dressing is performed once every 14 days during the warm season.
- Transplantation and selection of soil. It is necessary to change containers and soil with the arrival of spring every year and only when the plant is young enough. Since, growing up, a tetrastigma can fit into a 2-3 liter container with a shoot length of 3-4 meters, you must immediately choose a container with a volume of 20-30 liters (tub or bucket). With such a planting, over time, you can simply change the top layer of the substrate. For young plants, soil is suitable, composed on the basis of: sod land, leafy soil, humus, peat soil and river sand (all parts of the components are equal). And for adding to adult specimens, the substrate is made up of components: sod, humus soil, coarse sand (all parts are equal). It is important that the acidity of the soil is approximately pH 6. Often, growers, instead of humus, add bone meal or horn shavings to the soil mixture. But their number to the total mass of the substrate is quite small - bone meal is only 1: 100, and shavings 1:30.
Small holes are made at the bottom of the pot, then excess moisture will go away, and a layer of drainage material is poured so that the required amount of water is retained by it and does not allow the soil to dry out quickly. Such material can be small or medium fraction of expanded clay or pebbles.
Tips for breeding homemade grapes
Like any climbing or ampelous plant, tetrastigma propagates by cuttings. It is recommended to do this just at the beginning of the period of activation of growth (in spring). It is necessary to choose a healthy branch that is not yet lignified, but also not quite young. Next, you need to cut a stalk, which will have 1-2 nodes with leaves and at least one bud. Then you can put it in a vessel with water and wait for the roots to appear or plant it immediately in a peat-sand mixture. As soon as the cutting, placed in water, has roots 1 cm long, then you can plant it in a light substrate. Next, it is necessary to create conditions with a temperature of 20-24 degrees, for early rooting, it takes 3-5 weeks from the moment of planting. Planting the cuttings should be done in such a way that the bud is above the ground level, otherwise it will not germinate. When rooting has been successful, it is necessary to transplant into pots with a diameter of 7–8 cm. The substrate is mixed from the following components: sod soil, humus, river sand (in equal proportions). Moisten the soil abundantly and place the seedlings in a bright and warm place. As soon as the young plants grow up, it is recommended to transfer them into pots with 9 cm in diameter, and in the spring they can be transplanted into a container with 11 cm in diameter.
Difficulty growing tetrastigma
When cultivated in ordinary premises (rooms or offices), "indoor grapes" may have the following problems:
- in case of insufficient lighting, shoots and internodes are strongly stretched - it is necessary to rearrange the bush in a more illuminated place, and the stems must be shortened;
- if brownish spots appeared on the leaf plates, and their massive fall began, then this is evidence of low temperatures when caring for the vine;
- if the spotting is brown and the edge of the leaf lobes dries up, then the plant is likely to have been sunburned - shading at noon from solar streams and removal of withered foliage will be required.
Of the pests that may be interested in tetrastigma, one can single out:
- a spider mite, after a lesion, by which the leaves begin to turn yellow, and a light thin cobweb appears on the back side;
- on the back of the leaf lobes, small whitish dots appear and the leaves are covered with a sticky bloom, which means that the cause was the whitefly and these are its eggs, if you do not carry out the processing, then the whole plant will be covered with a swarm of white small midges;
- if the leaf blades on the lower side began to become covered with brown dots and sugary sticky secretions, then this is how the scabbard behaves;
- in the axils of the leaf plates and in the internodes, a bloom similar to cotton pieces appeared and the bush stopped growing, then this is a mealybug lesion.
If harmful insects are detected, it is necessary to carry out the treatment with soap, oil or alcohol solution, and if these folk methods did not help, then spray with systemic insecticides. If you follow all the care tips, then nothing threatens the plant.
Interesting facts about tetrastigma
This plant has a very beneficial effect on human energy, supports any good undertakings. Tetrastigma purifies the air in the room and fills it with positive energy. If the owner or a person staying for a long time in a room where "home grapes" grows is lazy, then the plant pushes to work and contributes to the performance of the necessary work to achieve positive results. It can also help improve the person's relationship with other people. This plant is very useful for the health of people present in the room: it sets the necessary level of energy, helps to maintain the flexibility of the body and consciousness (since its shoots from tetrastigma can take any form), helps to speed up the healing process after past illnesses. Also, this plant helps to protect against the effects of negative energy flows - evil eyes, damage, etc. Promotes spiritual growth and self-confidence. If a phytowall or arch is created from a tetrastigma over a person's bed, then the sleep becomes calm and, upon waking up, the person feels rested and replenished.
Types of tetrastigma
- Tetrastigma voinierianum. The plant is found under the synonym Vitis voinierianum Baltet. The homeland is considered to be the territories of Vietnam and Laos, where the tropical climate prevails. This plant is striking in its gigantic size in relation to other members of this family. In its homeland, its climbing shoots can reach up to 50 meters in length. On young stems, leaf petioles and veins on the reverse side of the leaves themselves, there is a pubescence of a brownish color with hairs. The leaves on the stems grow in succession. Their shape is serrated and complexly dissected. Parts-lobes of a leaf plate are usually from 3 to 5 units. The shape of these lobes can be oval, ovoid, diamond-shaped, and there is a sharpening at the apex. The petiole sometimes reaches 10 cm. Each lobe also has its own petiole, which can measure 3 cm. The surface of the leaf is glossy, wrinkled, painted in a dark emerald hue. The reverse side has a lighter greenish color, and light (darkening with time) glands appear over its entire surface, which secrete a resinous solution (tetrastigma juice). The edge of the leaf lobes is large and finely toothed. The total size of the leaf can be measured 20–35 cm. At each internode, antennae can grow next to the leaf plate, located opposite to the leaf. They have a spiral or curved shape, single and unbranched. Inflorescences are located in the axils of the leaves, corymbose type. They contain small flowers of a greenish-whitish shade. After the flowering process, juicy round fruit-berries appear. Indoors, it usually does not bloom and does not bear fruit.
- Tetrastigma lanceolarium (Tetrastigma lanceolarium). The plant differs little from the previous species, only the leaf lobes have a large elongation, such an irregular oval, the center of which is shifted to the top of the lobe. There is a sharpening at the top, and a slight elongation at the petiole. It is often called "fish grapes". The leaf lobes bend back along the midrib. The shade of the leaves is deep, emerald. The entire surface has venation - as if each vein is pressed into the sheet. The whole leaf is glossy, shiny, fleshy. The number of beats can be 3-4 units.
- Obovate tetrastigma (Tetrastigma obovatum). In the grape representative of this variety, the leaf lobes have the shape of an elongated egg, the sharp part of which is attached to the petiole, but its top is dull. The edge of the leaf lobe is all coarsely toothed. The shade of the leaf is darker than that of the Vaunier tetrastigma - dark emerald, and below there is a yellowish undertone, which is softened by brown hairs of the pubescence.
Find out in more detail about the rules for growing tetrastigma from this video:
