The origin of austrocylindropuntia, the main varieties, characteristics, features of growing at home, useful tips for care. Austrocylinropuntia is a plant with a difficult mysterious name and a beautiful, outstanding appearance. Having made the decision to grow this wonderful flower in your home, you are guaranteed to remain satisfied with the result. This green decoration of your home will become an appropriate piece of furniture, wherever you “settle” it and will undoubtedly attract the attention of your guests.
The origin of the plant
Austrocylindropuntia (Latin Austrocylindroputia) is a flower that was first noticed in South America. This country is considered his homeland to this day. Scientists attribute it to the genus of succulent plants from a large friendly family - Cactus (lat. Cactaceae).
Varieties of austrocylindropuntium
More than 20 species of decorative flower from South America are known in nature. I present to your attention their most popular representatives and brief descriptions of their features.
- Clavate austrocylindropuntia (Latin Austrocylindropuncia clavarioides). Argentina is considered its homeland, namely its western part. In florist circles, it is known under another interesting name - "the hand of a negro". Differs in high decorativeness. Under the sun's rays, its stem is transformed into a red color with a noble bronze tint. Shoots take the form of a brown colored cylinder, approximately 23–25 cm long, 1.5–2 cm in diameter, and when branched resemble antlers. The shoots themselves form a small shrub. This species cannot boast of thorns, there are about 10 of them, in their structure they are soft, short, their length is about 2 mm. Flowers appear extremely rarely, they are yellow-brown in color, tubular in shape.
- Austrocylindropuncia subulata (Austrocylindropuncia subulata). In the Andes, at an altitude of over 3500 m above sea level, you can find this representative of the Cactus family. Its stem is shrouded in juicy, saturated green leaves, which fall off after a year, leaving the lower part of the stem alone. On the surface of the stem, you can observe the tubercles, on which the thorns are conveniently located, their length ranges from 3–8 cm. The flowers are distinguished by short petals, painted in red or red-pinkish color.
- Cylindrical austrocylindropuntia (Latin Austrocylindropuncia cylindrica). It is found in countries of South America such as Ecuador and Peru. It grows in the form of a large shrub, which reaches a height of about 3-4 m. The stems of this species are distinguished by their "power", their diameter is 5-6 cm. Rapidly falling sharp leaves, which have a pointed cylinder-like shape, adorn young shoots. The spines are in small numbers (1-3), white, but stand out for their length - about 2-2, 5 cm. The flowers are small, have a pink color. A feature of this type of flowers is the very raised edges.
- Austrocylindropuncia Verschaffelt (Latin Austrocylindropuncia verschaffeltii). Bolivia considers this flower its homeland, mainly its great heights. Its distinctive feature is its spherical, very short stature. When climatic conditions change (for example: moving a plant to Europe), the shoots tend to increase their length. Shoots are painted in a matte green color, they are decorated with small leaves (2-3 cm in length). The attraction of this plant is its large flowers, 5–6 cm in diameter, painted in a bright orange-red color.
Cultivation of austrocylindropuntia: care and reproduction
- Reproduction methods. There are two types of reproduction - with the help of seeds or parts of shoots. Vegetative propagation is the most common and reliable method. Its essence lies in the fact that parts of the shoots are carefully separated, slightly dried and the cutting is buried in moistened sand. The result will not be long in coming. As for reproduction by seeds, this is a very scrupulous business, but in turn it is very exciting and an excellent result awaits you.
- How to prepare seeds for planting. For the reason that the seeds have a hard shell, its mechanical destruction will be a necessary measure. The first step to this is to soak them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, which will ensure their disinfection. The next thing is the destruction of the shell itself. This is done with sandpaper or a file on a soft cloth and rubbed with sand or gravel.
- Features of planting care. The temperature regime should correspond to approximately 18-20 degrees. The plant also needs regular spraying and ventilation. After we saw the first stems, they must be placed in separate containers that suit them in size. After the flower reaches the age of about 2 years, it is permissible to take care of it like an adult plant, but the transition to "adulthood" must be carried out gradually.
- Sun rays for austrocylindropuntia. Since in the homeland, austrocylindropuntia is used to receiving an abundant amount of sunlight, it will also require a lot of light in your home conditions. The best solution for this is a window or balcony, which is located on the sunny side. If in summer it is quite simple to do it, then in winter it is more difficult to do this, to the extent of the shortness of the daytime. Artificial light sources can be used. With insufficient insolation, the plant quickly loses its decorative effect, which manifests itself in deformation of the shape and distortion of the color of the leaves.
- Preparing for the winter cold. The plant, by its nature, accustomed to extreme heat and desert sun, is hard to tolerate winter low temperatures. During the summer, it feels great on the balcony at a temperature of 25–35 degrees. But it is necessary to prepare for the meeting of winter. From the middle of autumn, you should gradually "accustom" the flower to a decrease in temperature, this will ensure its readiness for wintering, which occurs at an average temperature of 7-10 degrees.
- Timely watering. Depending on the season, hydration is produced in different ways. In the summer months, our representative of the Cactus family needs regular and fairly abundant watering. This should be done in the pre-evening period of the day, at this time the plant has the most active metabolism. When watering, there are some nuances: they do not tolerate hard water and do not like getting a lot of moisture directly on the stems. The farther from summer, the less watering; in winter, no moisture is required. But a cactus can independently "ask" for water - this is indicated by a decrease in the turgor of the stem.
- Top dressing. Each plant store sells special fertilizers for cacti - this will be the perfect solution for our flower. Top dressing should be done once a month when the growing season begins. You should remember some of the nuances that will come in handy when choosing a fertilizer. Firstly, it is not recommended to use organic feeding. Secondly, it is necessary to control the level of nitrogen in the composition of the mineral fertilizer, its concentration should be lower than other components. The optimal ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium will be - 9:18:24.
- Transplant conditions. There is no exact time when plants should be transplanted, as it depends on numerical factors such as the orientation of the windows in your apartment or house, the annual variability of weather conditions, and of your care for the flower. This time should be chosen on your own, as soon as you see that your child has begun to intensively add in growth. Young plants should be replanted every year, while increasing the size of the pot, adults - if necessary every 3-4 years.
- Austrocylindropuntia flowers and their care. It is a great rarity that our thornless cactus blooms at home, no one knows for certain what it is connected with, but there are versions that it is possible that the culprit is inappropriate climatic conditions, unnatural soil for the plant, limited growth and proper care, which they are in the wild did not receive. But miracles do happen, and occasionally they can please us with their inflorescences. Many of us, having seen the first buds, begin to do completely unnecessary things with joy. It is necessary to remember a few forbidden actions in relation to a cactus with buds: the pot with a plant should not be moved from place to place in search of more light, the conditions of watering and feeding should not be changed, and in no case should a transplant be carried out during the flowering or budding period. Otherwise, the austrocylindropuntium will shed its buds or they will be reborn into vegetative forms. That will reduce all efforts to zero.
Choosing the optimal substrate for planting our thornless cactus. In the era of modernity, it is not at all problematic, it is not at all problematic to purchase a special soil mixture in a flower shop for planting our green children - this is soil for succulents with the addition of sand. A prerequisite is a suitable reaction of the soil - slightly acidic, pH in the range of 4, 5–6, 1. If you decide to take matters into your own hands, then you can prepare the nutrient soil mixture yourself. For this we need the following components:
- 2 parts of humus or leafy soil (completely rotted);
- 2 parts of sod land;
- 3 parts perlite or washed river sand;
- 2 parts of peat;
- a small part of brick chips.
From these "ingredients" we will get the optimal soil, as in the substrate purchased in the store, the growth of plants sometimes slows down. The soil mixture should also provide good drainage for water and oxygen.
Diseases and pests of austrocylindropuntia at home
As soon as the plant stops receiving the care it does not like, it will immediately notify you that specific changes in the appearance of the cactus will be noticeable.
- Changing the shape of the stem, its elongation - this condition can lead to improper living conditions in winter, for example: too high temperature, or insufficient insolation in summer.
- The shriveled part of the stem and spots of rot in its lower part - this condition is typical when excess moisture gets into the soil in cold and gloomy weather.
- Low growth or its absence - this plant tells you that it is either watered too little in the summer, or too much in winter. Another reason for this may be a lack of nutrients.
- Cork spots on the surface of the stem - all this indicates that the flower has been damaged by physical factors, it can be pests or exposure to low temperatures.
- Brownish spots - This is characteristic of stem rot. If austrocylindropuntium grows in the right conditions - this happens extremely rarely, if it has already happened, then the affected area should be carefully cut out, the focus should be treated with a solution of carbendazim. If possible, the conditions for keeping the flower should be improved.
As for pests, the flower, which at first glance seems very bold and powerful, is actually afraid of representatives such as spider mites, scale insects and mealybugs.
How to ensure a safe environment for the flower? This question worries many florists. Confronting the above pests is a matter that requires patience, but does not require special efforts.
There are a number of folk remedies that have shown good effectiveness in killing spider mites:
- Ethanol - a fairly effective means of getting rid of this pest. To do this, moisten a cotton swab with 96% ethyl alcohol and gently wipe the affected area. Due to its property - to evaporate quickly, alcohol will not cause physical harm to the plant.
- Laundry soap - this universal remedy, probably, is in the house of each of us. In addition to all its purposes, it has established itself as a good remedy against spider mites. The essence of this method is that it is necessary to thoroughly wash the plant with a soapy sponge until abundant foam is formed, after which the flower should be left in a soapy form for several hours. During this period, the soap forms a film on the plant, which blocks the supply of oxygen to the pest, in these conditions it is destroyed. After the "soap time" - the plant should be washed under running water and covered with a bag for about 24 hours.
- Garlic infusion. Two heads of garlic must be chopped and filled with 1 liter of water - this mixture must be infused for 5-7 days. After that, the infusion is diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio, this solution should be sprayed on our flower.
The chemicals used against ticks are called insectoacarcides. It should be remembered that the treatment of plants with these agents should be carried out in the fresh air, due to their high toxicity. The most famous of them:
- Actellik;
- Fitoverm;
- Neoron.
The advantage of the biological method is its absolute harmlessness to people and domestic animals, although its essence is quite interesting: this method means the use of predatory mites - amblyiseus and phytoseiulus.
Folk, chemical and biological agents help to fight the shield.
- TO folk remedies include: kerosene, oil, ethyl alcohol, tobacco solution, a weak solution of acetic acid, tinctures based on pepper and garlic. For example: a mixture of vodka and a solution of laundry soap.
- Chemicals. These include the poison for Colorado called "Aktara", you need to use it after preliminary dilution of the sachet in 1 liter of water. The plant should be watered with this substance.
- Biological method consists in the use of beneficial insect predators, such as wasps or ladybugs.
The battle with the mealybug is not at all difficult to carry out, and folk remedies are good for this: using a cotton swab dipped in soapy water, you need to carefully remove the worms and the secretions that they produce from the plant. After that, it will be good to spray the flower with a solution of garlic infusion, tobacco infusion or a weak soapy solution.
Plant contact precautions
As for this beautiful native of South America, then not only must he be protected from all kinds of diseases and pests, but also one must be careful when in contact with the plant. The fact is that this flower, like all representatives of this species, has been endowed by nature with glochidia - these are small unicellular hairs on which the smallest hooks are located, directed downward, they are not accessible to our eyes due to their tiny size. But upon contact with our skin, they cause strong painful sensations, even with the most careful touch. Therefore, it is best to remove glochidia using tweezers and soapy water.
Learn more about astrocylindropuntium in this video:
