Description of the types of ceropegia, maintenance of agricultural technology during cultivation, advice on transplanting and reproduction in indoor conditions, difficulties in cultivation, types. Ceropegia (Ceropegia) is a member of the Asclepiadaceae family, which has about 3400 species of these succulent plants. A succulent is considered to be the representative of the planet's flora that has the ability to accumulate moisture reserves in its stems or leaf plates in case of unforeseen weather conditions (drought or heat). The homeland of this unusual ivy bush is the Indian territories, the island of Madagascar and the lands of Southeast Asia. It can be found in the Canary Islands, the Arabian Peninsula, regions of southern Africa, including New Guinea. There are about 160 species in the genus, but only a few are cultivated.
The plant took its name from the merger of two Greek derivatives: "keros" meaning wax and "pege" - translated as a source or fountain. That is, a "fountain of wax". Naturally, these are allegories, with which people awarded the ceropegia for its shape of flowers. Sometimes it is popularly called the "African parachute". Ceropegia is a herb or shrub plant that can grow for many years, has such a short rhizome that it resembles a tuber. The stem can be either creeping and climbing, or curly, straight and low, sometimes the shoots are fleshy. The branches reach meters in length. On them, leaf plates of various shapes are arranged in opposite order, there is an elongated lanceolate, belt-like or egg-like. Their sizes are small. The color is mainly green with the presence of silvery patterning. On the reverse side, sometimes the surface can be tinted in a purple color scheme.
In ceropegia, flower buds begin their growth in the leaf axils, they are very miniature, from the flowers are collected inflorescences in the form of umbrellas. The length of the bud is from 1 to 7 cm. The color is greenish, whitish-green or purple. The corolla of the bud grows in the form of a tube, at the base it has an expansion or swelling. The time of appearance and disclosure of flowers directly depends on the type of "wax fountain". But usually you can see flowering in the spring and summer months of the year.
Over time, the plant begins to develop a light yellow shade of nodules in the nodes of the shoots. They give ceropegia a bizarre and very peculiar look. Interestingly, when in contact with moist soil or at very high humidity, root shoots develop very quickly from these nodule formations, and they serve for plant propagation.
"African parachute" is distinguished by its endurance and unpretentious care, even a novice florist can handle it. It is very loved by room decorators, and is usually cultivated in rooms with low heat values. It is highly appreciated by flower growers for highly decorative leaf plates. To grow ceropegia in the form of an ampelous plant, where its graceful attractiveness is fully revealed, it will be necessary to build supports in a horizontal or vertical form.
Agrotechnics for growing ceropegia, care
- Lighting and location. The plant likes to be in bright, but diffused lighting. The western and eastern window sills of windows are best suited for cerepegia, but on the south side of the room, you will need to arrange shading with light curtains or gauze curtains, or put a pot in the back of the room, otherwise sunburn on the leaves is inevitable. With the arrival of spring warmth and until autumn, you can arrange air baths for the "wax fountain", choosing a place protected from ultraviolet fluxes at noon. Lack of light will lead to lengthening of internodes and shredding of leaves.
- Content temperature. The plant prefers moderate heat values. During the spring and summer months, they should fluctuate between 20-25 degrees. With the arrival of the autumn months, the temperature can be reduced by up to 15 degrees. In winter, it is advisable to maintain rates from 12 to 16 degrees. Ceropegia, without damage to its life, endures temperature changes day and night, so it is not afraid of "summer holidays" in the air.
- Air humidity when caring for ceropegia does not play a huge role. Spraying the bush is optional. Even hibernation next to central heating batteries will not lead to problems with the plant.
- Watering ceropegia. During the growing season, which lasts from March to October, the soil should be moistened abundantly, but it is worth not allowing the substrate to become waterlogged. Overdrying is also harmful, new watering is performed when the topsoil is already dry. At low temperatures, the content of irrigation is reduced and becomes rare.
- Fertilization for the "wax fountain" is carried out during the period of active growth of the bush. For ceropegia, it is worth choosing top dressing for cacti and succulents. Do not change the dosage indicated by the manufacturer. The regularity of fertilization every two weeks.
- Transfer and selection of soil. If the plant is young, then a pot and soil change is carried out annually with the arrival of spring. When ceropegia grows up, this operation is performed every 3 years. A small capacity for planting is selected, a good layer of drainage material is laid on the bottom (expanded clay is possible), holes are made in the bottom for the drain of not assimilated moisture.
You can take a substrate suitable for succulent plants or make up a soil mixture yourself:
- leafy soil, river sand and humus (all parts of the components are equal);
- any purchased soil without the addition of peat, coarse sand and crushed charcoal (in a ratio of 1: 1: 1).
Tips for breeding ceropegia at home
You can get a new "wax fountain" by dividing the tubers, cutting or planting seeds.
It is best to propagate ceropegia at home by cuttings in the month of March. It is necessary to cut the tops of the branches, dry them a little, and then plant them in the soil suitable for adult specimens. 2-3 cuttings are planted in a container with a diameter of 7 cm. It is important when rooting to arrange a "lower" heating of the soil, then the roots appear very quickly, otherwise you will have to wait a month and a half.
When multiplying by dividing nodules that are formed in internodes with high air humidity, it will be necessary to plant this formation so that its upper third protrudes from the ground. And they take care of him as usual.
If division of the rhizome is used, then this operation is combined with the transplantation of ceropegia. A shoot with a sufficiently developed nodule is separated; it should reach a size of 30–40 mm in diameter and be clearly visible. The stem is divided into parts so that each part of the branch has a nodule and a pair of leaves. This part of the shoot with a nodule is placed in fine expanded clay, coarse sand or ion exchanger. The delenka is watered regularly with clean soft water until root shoots form. Rooted nodules need to be transplanted into wide containers with 3-5 units of substrate suitable for adult ceropegia. Cuttings develop quickly and form a carpet of intertwined twigs.
When sowing seed, this operation is carried out in the spring in a light soil mixture based on leafy earth and sand (in a ratio of 1: 0.5), not burying it into the ground, but only slightly dusting it with soil. Seedlings must be wrapped in a plastic bag or covered with a piece of glass - this will create greenhouse conditions with high humidity and heat. It is required to regularly spray the seedlings with soft warm water. When a couple of leaves appear on the sprouts, they need to be dived into separate containers with 7 cm in diameter. When the plants get stronger, then they can be transplanted to a permanent place of growth in large containers of 2-3 pieces.
Difficulties in growing ceropegia
Ceropegia can be affected by spider mites, aphids, or rot. Too much moisture leads to powdery mildew.
After a thin cobweb in the internodes is found on the plant, a pierced edge of the leaves, their yellowing and shedding, as well as creeping bugs, it is required to carry out treatment with insecticidal agents.
If some parts began to become covered with wet brown spots or a whitish fluffy bloom, then the affected parts of the bush should be removed, and treated with fungicides, transplant the plant into a new container and change the substrate.
Of the obvious problems that accompany the cultivation of cyropegia, one can single out:
- the appearance of whitish or reddish spots on the leaves from sunburn, especially if the plant after winter is not used to intense lighting;
- if the watering is too abundant and frequent, then the branches of the plant become sluggish, their color turns pale and decay begins;
- if there is not enough nutrients and there is not enough lighting, then the shoots are stretched, and the size of the leaves becomes smaller;
- when flowering does not occur, it means that there is not enough lighting;
- yellowing and shedding of foliage occurs due to a waterlogged substrate and low temperatures of the content;
- with a lack of light, the sheet plates twist.
Types of ceropegia
- African Ceropegia (Ceropegia africana). The homeland of this species is South Africa - the Cape Province or Natal. A herbaceous plant with creeping and fleshy branches. It is a perennial. The leaf plates are lanceolate or ovoid, rather fleshy, small in size, completely naked. Flowering occurs in small flowers with a green or dark purple tint, the length of the corolla tube reaches 1–2 cm, while the petals, which converge at the top, grow from 4 mm to centimeter indicators.
- Ceropegia Barkley (Ceropegia barklui). Homeland is the same Cape province in South Africa. The plant grows as an ampelous culture and is highly decorative. The variety has a herbaceous form of growth, fleshy shoots, creeping species. It is a perennial. Rhizome rounded, tuberous, with small branching. The stems can be either naked or pubescent. The leaf plates are oblong-ovoid, and can reach 2, 5–5 cm in length. They have a fleshy surface, the keel (midrib) weakly protrudes from the reverse side. Painted in light green tones, with whitish venation. They are either sitting on the shoot, or have short petioles. Umbrella inflorescences are collected from the flowers, reaching up to 5 cm in length. The petals have bases in the form of a triangle, their surface is fibrous, at the apex having a sharpness, the inside is painted purple, and the outside is greenish.
- Bulbous ceropegia (Ceropegia bulbosa). The homeland of growth is considered to be the territory of India (Malabian coastal regions, Deccan plateau, Punjab) and southeastern regions of Africa. They prefer dry and sandy substrates. Perennials with herbaceous growth. There may be some variations of the cultivar - Ceropegia bulbosa var lushii. The rhizome is tuber-shaped, round. Creeping shoots, slightly fleshy appearance. The leaves are ovoid, lanceolate or elongated linear, devoid of petioles, or with short petioles. The flowers are small in size with a corolla in the form of a tube and 12–16 cm long. The lower part of it is swollen, the petals are linear in length of 6–8 cm. At the apex they do not converge.
- Graceful ceropegia (Ceropegia elegans). May also be called Ceropegia similis. The main homeland of growth is considered to be the Indian regions (Malabar Coast) and the island coast of Sri Lanka. Prefers to settle on dry soils. This herbaceous perennial plant is distinguished by thin shoots spreading over the surfaces. The leaves are oblong-ovoid, 5–6 cm long and 2–3 cm wide, the plate is thin, with a short taper at the apex, the tip is slightly thickened, ciliate pubescence. From the flowers, an inflorescence is collected in the form of a small-flowered umbrella, at the corolla of the bud, the tube has a swelling at the very base, there is a curvature, a whitish color, covered with purple or purple-red spots, the petals are pointed triangular and their tops are covered with cilia. The petals are flat in shape, their arrangement resembles tiled masonry. On the outside, the petals differ in their lingual shape, they are very close together, and those that grow inside have a concavity in the middle, and they exceed the outer ones in length.
- Ceropegia Sanderson (Ceropegia sandersonii). This plant variety is highly decorative. The homeland of its growth is considered to be the territory of South Africa - Transvaal, Natal, as well as the coastal regions of Mozambique. Likes to settle on rocky and stony soils, near and on the banks of river arteries. It is a herbaceous perennial. The stems spread over the surface, painted in green shades. They are up to 4–6 mm thick in diameter, rounded. Distances between nodes are measured 6–20 cm in length. The leaf blade has a heart-ovate shape, it measures 4–5.5 cm in length and 3-4 cm in width. There is a sharpness or bluntness at the apex, the plate is thick, with deadness pronounced from below. A small number of buds are collected in the inflorescence, it has a thick and short shape. The corolla of the flower reaches 7 cm in length, its color is green with a lighter tone at the pharynx. The petals take the shape of an awl, the corolla tube at the base is slightly swollen, to the top it expands in a funnel-like manner with five petals, which themselves form a dome in the form of a parachute, along the edge they are framed with whitish cilia.
- Stapel-shaped ceropegia (Ceropegia stapeliiformis). The variety is distinguished by highly decorative properties. Likes to grow on rocks and on river banks in shade. The homeland of growth is South Africa. A plant with creeping branches, which can reach a length of 1.5–2 meters. At the base, the shoots are rounded and thick, towards the top they become three-ribbed from node to node, with three reduced leaves, which are whorled in each internode. At the top of the shoot, the branches become thinner, twist around the established support, and from below they are curved in diameter reaching 2 cm. Small leaves have two miniature stipules. The inflorescence contains 4 and a little more buds, the calyx is small, at the top of the sepals they acquire a triangular shape, their length is up to 3 mm. The corolla tube reaches 5–7 cm in length. At the base, it is slightly swollen, and the top is funnel-shaped, formed by 5 petals with arcuate outlines. They have a whitish color on the outside and a dark brown spot.
- Ceropegia Wood (Ceropegia woodii). Areas of South Africa are considered the birthplace of growth. Herbaceous plant, perennial. Creeping shoots with tuber-shaped thickenings in the nodes. The leaves are reniform, ovoid, triangular or lanceolate-elongated with a length of 1.5–2 cm and a width of 1–1.5 cm. The plate is fleshy, colored in a dark green tone, and on the reverse side it is pale greenish. Veins are marble-whitish. The flowers are small, the corolla is painted in a dull flesh color, the petals are dark brown in color with whitish pubescence inside. Blooms all year round.
See what ceropegia looks like in this video:
[media =
