Descriptive characteristics, general rules for caring for tibukhina in indoor cultivation, steps for independent reproduction, pest and disease control, curious notes, species. Tibukhina (Tibouchina) belongs to the botanical classification of all representatives of the flora to the Melastomataceae family. Almost all varieties of this plant are found in America, where a tropical climate prevails in Brazil. The genus is quite abundant, there are up to 200 varieties in it.
Often Tibukhina is called in the local dialect - Tibucchina, but because of the magnificent flowering, the plant bears the name "princess flower", the reason for this is the rather decorative outlines of the opened bud.
This representative of the flora has a long life cycle, takes on a herbaceous form, or its shoots are distinguished by creeping outlines. Its size ranges from 60 cm to two meters if the tibukhina is grown in a pot, but in nature the plant with shoots reaches 6 meters. Shoots, which at first have a greenish color, become lignified over time and acquire a grayish brown tone.
All branches of the Tibukhina are rather strongly covered with ovoid leaf plates, with a pointed tip at the top. The size of the leaf is large, its length generally reaches 12 cm with a width of about 6 cm. The surface can be either leathery or slightly pubescent. The color of the leaves directly depends on the variety and age of the plant. Also, the leaf plate has a rather interesting arrangement of veins. Usually such venation goes along the leaf, there are 3-5 veins that repeat the shape of the plate and because of them the leaf seems a little more voluminous than it really is.
It is because of the flowers that Tibkhin has won the love of flower growers and gardeners, as they are not in vain called "princess flowers". The petals are distinguished by a delicate and velvety surface; there are five of them in the corolla. Moreover, the color scheme is rather non-trivial for the world of flora - bright shades of blue, purple, pinkish and lilac. The buds mostly bloom at the tops of the shoots and completely cover the branches. However, there are varieties that have a dazzling snow-white tint of the corolla or cast with all the tints of red. The size of a flower when fully opened ranges from 6–12 cm. Tibukhin buds can be formed either singly or from them to collect lush inflorescences at the ends of branches.
Also, an exotic addition to the corolla is the huge size of the stamens, with a graceful bend, because of which the flower looks like a bizarre butterfly or a crown of a crowned person. Usually there are 5–7 stamens. The flowering process takes the period from May to November.
To admire the flowering of tibuccina, it will take considerable experience in the cultivation of indoor plants, as a beginner grower may not cope with all the requirements that are necessary to grow a "princess flower". The growth rate is high enough and if the cultivation conditions are not violated, then you can enjoy the flowering of this beautiful exotic for 5-10 years. If climatic conditions allow, then tibukhina can illuminate the garden with its flowers throughout the summer, but still in our latitudes it is customary to grow it in rooms, winter gardens and greenhouses.
If it is necessary to curb the growth of Tibuccino, then retardants are often used, which will allow the plant to take dwarf forms. If they are not used, then the size of the bush becomes normal. When such means are used uncontrollably, the plant will begin to age very quickly, the foliage will soon fly around and this will lead to the death of the bush.
Caring for tibukhina when growing it on a windowsill
- Lighting. This plant needs bright, but diffused light when there is shading from direct sunlight. An east or west window will do. In winter, backlights will be needed.
- Content temperature "Princess flower" should be 20-25 degrees in the summer months, and with the arrival of winter about 8-12 units, but not lower than 5 degrees.
- Air humidity when growing tibuccina, a high is needed - about 70%. You can use any possible means to raise these indicators. For example, spray hardwoods with warm and soft water. It is desirable that this liquid be free of lime impurities, since whitish spots will appear on the sheet plates. Also, next to the "princess flower" they put special humidifiers for air, adapted to work in living quarters. You can install a pot of tibukhina in a deep tray with expanded clay poured onto the bottom and a little water. Only then they make sure that the bottom of the pot does not come into contact with water, since the root system will rot from waterlogging. If this requirement is not adhered to, then the plant may not even please with its flowering.
- Watering held every three days, when the buds are laid and the buds are dissolved. The soil in the pot should not dry out completely. When flowering is over, watering is carried out in winter only once a week. A signal for subsequent moistening is a slightly dried out substrate and a loss of turgor in the foliage. Water for irrigation is well-settled (soft) and warm (with a temperature of about 20-24 degrees). Often, distilled or river growers are used or collected in the rain, but if there is confidence in the purity of the last liquids.
- Fertilize tibukhin is recommended during the period of vegetation activity, which falls on the time from mid-April to mid-autumn. Apply liquid dressings twice a month, which are diluted in water for irrigation.
- Transplanting and soil selection. When Tibuccina is young, they change the pot and the soil in it every year. To do this, do not select too large a container. It is necessary to proceed from the fact that for a plant with a height of 1 m it is recommended to take a pot with a diameter of about 30 cm. Usually, when a transplant is carried out in spring, the overgrown plant is then cut off. If the Tibukhina is old and cut too much, then the pot can be taken in a smaller size. In any case, small holes should be provided in the bottom of the new container through which excess water will flow freely. Before fresh soil is poured into the pot, a drainage layer of medium-sized expanded clay, pebbles is laid on its bottom, or pieces of broken brick are used, which is previously cleaned of dust, shards of ceramics or clay are used (that is, remnants from broken pots, vases etc.). The substrate here is a mixture of deciduous soil (this is collected in forests or parks under birches with the capture of a small amount of rotted foliage), sod, peat and river sand. All parts of the components must be equal. A small amount of crushed or crushed charcoal is also added there.
- Features of care. Since the shoots covered with foliage and flowers have a fairly significant weight, the tibuccine will need support. If you change the location of the pot during flowering, then the flowers can be reset. If it is necessary to stimulate the branching of shoots, pruning and pinching of the tops is used for them. One of the main disadvantages of the "princess flower" is the intensive growth and rapid elongation of branches. After the flowering process is over, the shoots on which there were flowers are recommended to be greatly shortened. Then the reduction of watering is performed.
Reproduction of tibukhina with your own hands with room care
To get a new princess flower plant, it is recommended to do cuttings or sow seed material.
In the period of early spring or June-August, blanks are cut from semi-lignified branches of tibucchina. The handle should have 2-3 internodes. The temperature when rooting the workpieces should be about 25 degrees. Cuttings are planted in moistened river sand or peat is used (peat-sand or peat-perlite mixture). After planting, the cuttings should be wrapped in plastic wrap or placed under a cut plastic bottle - this will help create an impromptu mini-greenhouse with high humidity and a constant temperature.
The place in which the container with cuttings is placed should be brightly lit, but shaded from direct streams of sunlight. In the process of rooting, daily airing is carried out so that the accumulated drops of condensate do not provoke rotting of the cuttings. They also make sure that the soil in the pot does not dry out. Rooting takes place for a month and then you can transplant the plants into separate pots with a fertile substrate. As the young Tibuchin grow up, the shoots are pinched to stimulate branching.
If the seed propagation method is chosen, then the seeds are sown in late winter or early spring. A peat-sand mixture or a substrate of compost soil and river sand (in a ratio of 4: 1) is suitable. The seeds must be fresh. The embedding is carried out shallow, only equal to half the size of the seed. A layer of sphagnum moss is placed on top of the crops - this will help maintain the moisture necessary for germination. If there is no moss, then the container with seeds is covered with plastic wrap or a piece of glass is placed on top. The germination temperature is maintained within 22-25 degrees. The time taken until the first shoots develop is a couple of weeks, but it can go up to several months. If the seed pot is covered with foil or glass, then you will need daily airing, as well as spraying the soil when it dries out.
When steams appear, they are still kept in greenhouse conditions for up to 5-6 months, it is recommended to feed with microelements. When the specified time has passed, you can transplant in separate pots with the selection of suitable soil and drainage at the bottom.
Pest and disease control of tibuchina when grown at home
If the owner of the "princess flower" does not care too much about maintaining the comfortable existence of the plant, then attacks of spider mites, mealybugs and even scale insects are possible. If symptoms such as a thin cobweb on the foliage or stems, whitish cotton-like lumps on the back of the leaves and in internodes are noticed, and flat plaques of brown color are visible on the back of the leaves, then insecticide treatment should be carried out immediately.
If the roots are often flooded, perhaps the beginning of root rot. Then the bush is removed from the pot, the affected roots are removed with a sterile pruner and the plant is treated with a foundation. Then there is a transplant into a sterile pot using a disinfected substrate.
The following issues are also noticed:
- if watering is insufficient or the soil is too dry, then old leaf plates tend to fly around;
- drying of foliage is noticed with low heat and excessive watering, and also in the summer, this is facilitated by heat and dry air;
- buds and flowers begin to fall off if the tibukhina was exposed to a draft or if the pot often moves from place to place;
- when the temperature drops, the edge of the foliage will begin to acquire a reddish tint, the same happens when the moisture is too abundant in cold soil;
- flowering will not occur if the dormant conditions are not met in winter or the soil lacks nutrients in the soil, and the low level of lighting also affects;
- brown spots form on the foliage if the plant is in direct sunlight for a long time.
Curious notes about the tribukhin plant
Other names for Tibukhina are Tibouchina semidecandra or Lasiandra semidecandra. However, these plants do not belong to this species and are distinguished by a smaller number of blossoming buds and a different color of foliage.
Despite the fact that this plant is quite exotic in our latitudes, it is customary to grow it in the United States as an ordinary indoor crop, which is taken out in the open air in the summer. Moreover, the possession of such a plant represents a wide variety of emotions, be it pride or a little bit of boasting, because growing such a flowering bush is also not a necessary skill.
Interestingly, Tibouchina aspera was allegedly used for inhalation and its aroma cured joint pains or dry coughs.
Types of Tibukhina
Tibuchina urvilleana (Tibouchina urvilleana) often referred to as Tibukhina Durville. Of all the species, this plant is most grown as a room crop. In nature, the shrub can reach indicators of 5 meters. The flowering process often happens twice a year and occurs in spring and autumn. Moreover, the entire bush is almost completely covered with spectacular flowers. In diameter, such flowers reach 12 cm. Their color is striking with overflows of blue and purple shades. These tones are so pronounced against the background of green foliage that it seems that the flowers are fluorescent. If such a variety is grown in an apartment, then its parameters are more modest and amount to about 1.8 meters. Also, leaf plates and flowers will be smaller in size, but this does not detract from the decorativeness of the plant.
The foliage is of a dark emerald color, and its saturation and shades vary depending on the age of the shrub. There is a pubescence of small whitish hairs and, due to the special venation, the surface of the leaf seems to be wrinkled. The shoots are densely covered with leafy, hanging to the soil, therefore, they are not allowed to grow without support. But they are very fragile and can quickly become exposed.
It is often possible to find that this variety is synonymous with Tibouchina semidecandra or Lasiandra semidecandra. The number of flowers on such a bush is less, and the foliage of a saturated dark green hue has a reddish edging.
Tibukhina grandiflora (Tibouchina grandiflora) is a rather rare plant, distinguished by large leaf plates of a grayish-green color. The characteristic outlines of flowers, painted in bright purple tones.
Tibouchina semidecandra (Tibouchina semidecandra) is often referred to as a "bush of glory" and is a sprawling evergreen shrub or a small tree, whose native territories are the lands of Brazil. Its height ranges from 3-4.6 m. However, its crown can be cut to any size. The leaves are dark green with a velvety surface. Their length is 10-15 cm, on the upper part of the leaf there are several longitudinal veins, the edge often has a red tone.
When blooming, large royal flowers of a purple hue open up, reaching 12 cm when opened. They are mainly formed at the ends of branches above the leaf plates, covering them. Often, the process of dissolving the buds can be year-round, but flowers become especially numerous between May and January.
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