General descriptive features of the plant, the rules for cultivating sanchezia, reproduction, the fight against possible pests and diseases, facts for the curious, species. Sanchezia, or as it is often called Sanchezia or Sanchezia, belongs to the Acantaceae family, in which there are up to 60 varieties of such flora. The native area where this "green inhabitant" of the planet grows falls on the lands of South and Central America (mainly the regions of Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador). These areas are distinguished by subtropical and tropical climates, where humid forests, lowlands and woodlands in the mountains are located, but some species of Sanchezia live well in dry forests.
There is a version that the plant got its scientific name thanks to the Jesuit Jose Sanchez Labrador, who lived in the 18th century (1714–1798). However, history has practically not preserved any information about this man. It is only known that this religious leader was a follower of Ignatius Latoya and in 1760 became the founder of a religious settlement of the Guarani Indians, who were converted to Christianity. It was through the missionary efforts of the monks of this order that many secrets of the fabulous and unexplored continent, which they tirelessly explored, became known. In particular, the Jesuits became the first devotees of the domestication of the yerba mate trees (Paraguayan oak, from the leaf plates and shoots of which the widely known mate drink is made), growing wild on these lands. The aforementioned Jose Sanchez Labrador wrote a scholarly work that fully describes what is happening on this topic. In all likelihood, Sanchezia also became the culture that this explorer grew in his cell.
So, sanchetia is a shrub or semi-shrub that reaches a meter in height, although its minimum indicators are only 30 cm. Even when cultivated in room conditions, it has large leaf plates, which measure 30 cm in length. Therefore, the owner of this plant will have to carry out regular pruning of branches, adjusting the height indicators. The leaves are attached to the stems, which have a tetrahedral shape. There are notches along the edge, the color of the foliage is of a rich green hue, and the veins are decoratively shaded with a golden color scheme. There are varietal specimens that not only flaunt with brightly highlighted veins, but specks of golden color are sprinkled along them.
When blooming in sanchezia, yellow flowers are formed, from which inflorescences of panicle or spike-shaped outlines are collected. Inflorescences crown the tops of the shoots. In nature, this process occurs in the summer, but in the conditions of the rooms it is not possible to see the flowering of the sanchetia, therefore, only foliage is its decoration. The fruit is a box.
To cultivate such a plant in a room does not require much knowledge of floriculture, since it is completely undemanding. The growth rate of this representative of the flora is quite high - up to 5–6 leaf plates are formed in the Sanchezia per year. However, over time, the bush grows, the stems are too stretched, and the distances between the nodes are lengthened, all the decorative beauty disappears. Therefore, when leaving, it is recommended to carry out regular pruning or re-rooting.
Sanchezia care when grown indoors
- Lighting and selection of a place for a plant. Since sanchetia is photophilous, from the beginning of spring until the end of summer days it is placed on the window sills of windows facing east or west.
- Content temperature. Since sanchezia is thermophilic, it is recommended to grow it at temperatures of 20-25 degrees, not higher than 28 in the summer, since the plant tolerates heat very poorly. If the thermometer readings are creeping up, then it is better to arrange frequent airing of the room where the pot is installed, and also lower it to the floor, where the heat readings are slightly lowered. In winter, the temperature is reduced to a range of 16–20 degrees, but not less than 14 units. However, as flower growers testify, the plant can be perfectly kept year-round at normal room temperatures, but only with the arrival of the winter months is it necessary to put a pot with a bush in the most lighted place.
- Air humidity when growing, sanchesia should be increased, therefore it is recommended to carry out frequent spraying of the deciduous mass of the plant. Humidity indicators are maintained in the range of 80–90%. You can wipe the leaf plates with a soft damp cloth or sponge, or give the plant a shower. With such procedures, the water should be at room temperature, and the soil in the pot is covered with a plastic bag. When the heating season comes, it is better to protect the bush from the action of the dry air of heating devices and central heating batteries. In this case, the pot with the plant is placed in a deep tray filled at the bottom with chopped sphagnum moss or expanded clay (pebbles) and a small amount of water. It is only important that the bottom of the flowerpot does not touch the liquid, so as not to provoke rotting of the root system. Other ways to increase humidity in the room where sanchezia is grown is to install household steam generators or humidifiers next to the plant, or you can simply cover the batteries with a damp towel, which is periodically moistened.
- Watering. In order for the plant to please the owner with large and brightly colored leaves, it is recommended that in the summer period the drying of the earthen coma reaches the upper third of the pot as much as possible, that is, the soil in the container should always be slightly moistened. With the onset of winter, watering is maintained more moderate and careful. Here they are waiting for the top layer of soil in the pot to dry out, and they are still kept for two days before it is moistened. If the sanchetia is kept in low light, then its need for watering decreases, while the bush begins to grow very slowly. The same happens if the weather is very rainy and the humidity in the room is high.
- Pruning and general care. For a plant, pruning is one of the main steps in indoor cultivation, as it quickly builds up its deciduous mass and stretches out by shoots, becoming a veritable green giant. This operation is performed annually in the spring. Branches are cut two-thirds of their length, in this case, the size of the foliage will be slightly smaller. Over time, pinching of young shoots is recommended to stimulate branching. However, pruning depends on whether the owner sees the plant as flowering, compact or large-leaved. In the last month of winter, sanchezia may have a decrease in decorativeness due to the fact that the leaf plates begin to turn yellow and fall off. Then you should rejuvenate the bush - the apical cuttings are cut off.
- Fertilizers for a variegated bush it is carried out with the arrival of spring until the end of summer days. The frequency of feeding is once every 2-3 weeks. In this case, it is recommended to use preparations for ornamental-deciduous plants (since sanchezia does not bloom under room conditions) or to use complete mineral fertilizer complexes devoid of an alkaline reaction.
- Transfer and composition of the substrate. With the advent of spring time, when the vegetation processes become more active at the sanchetia, a transplant is carried out, but if the plant becomes an adult and acquires a large size, then the change of the pot and soil in it is carried out no more than once every two years. Small holes are made in the bottom of the new container so that excess moisture that the root system has not absorbed flows freely. To prevent waterlogging of the soil in the pot, a layer of drainage material is poured onto its bottom. Florists use medium fraction expanded clay, pebbles, pieces of brick or broken clay (ceramic) shards. The soil for indoor cultivation of sanchezia should be moderately nutritious, but light and drained, and, often it is composed independently of clay-sod soil, peat, leaf substrate, humus, coarse sand (in a ratio of 2: 2: 2: 2: 1) … Soil is also suitable from leafy (peat) soil, humus, sod soil, fine gravel (in a ratio of 1: 1: 10, 5).
Reproduction of indoor plant sanchezia with your own hands
The most popular breeding method for sanchezia is by rooting stem cuttings. Basically, this procedure is timed to coincide with summer time, and parts of the stems that remain from pruning are often used. The blank for grafting should be 8-10 cm in length. The cut of the cuttings is processed before planting with phytohormones (for example, Kornevin or heteroauxinic acid). Planting is carried out in pots with light soil (peat mixed in equal parts with river sand serves as such) or moistened vermiculite is used. After the cuttings are planted, they are covered with a plastic bag or glass container (you can cut off a plastic bottle and use a part with a lid to make it easier to ventilate later). This content will guarantee high moisture readings. Caring for cuttings is to regularly remove condensation from the shelter and, if necessary, moisten the soil in the pot.
The container with cuttings should be placed in a bright place, but devoid of direct streams of sunlight, since the still unrooted sanchezia blanks can easily burn out. It is also recommended to carry out the bottom heating of the soil, at which the temperature is maintained at about 25 degrees.
After a three-week period, the cuttings usually successfully root, and when a pair of real leaves unfolds on the plant, young sanches can be transplanted into a larger pot with a substrate suitable for further cultivation (so that the earthen ball does not collapse). The plant grows the root system rather quickly, it grows in parallel with the aerial part of the cuttings. To make the bush more fluffy, it is recommended to pinch the shoots of young plants 2-3 times.
Diseases and pests arising from the cultivation of sanchezia
If the conditions for caring for the plant are not violated, then it is never affected by harmful insects. From such pests, the scabbard and false scutellum are distinguished, as well as aphids, mealybugs and spider mites. Symptoms of the attack of such insects are the formation of scales on the foliage and sticky plaque (feces of pests, which are called paddy). In the last two cases, there is the appearance of whitish cotton-like lumps on the back of the leaf plates and in internodes, as well as a translucent cobweb. It is recommended to wash the plant under streams of warm shower, and then treat the leaves with soap, oil or alcohol solution. If such sparing non-chemical preparations do not work, then the sanchezia bush should be immediately sprayed with an insecticidal or acaricidal agent, for example, Aktellik, Aktara or Fitoverm.
Often there are the following troubles when growing sanchesia:
- foliage can fly around from the fact that the pot with the plant is moved to another place, watering was carried out with cold water or was insufficient, due to the action of a draft;
- at low humidity, the tops of the leaf plates begin to dry out;
- if the sanchezia is in direct sunlight, then there may be sunburn on the foliage, which manifests itself in the form of brown spots;
- the size of the foliage becomes smaller and the stripes on its surface disappear, if the bush lacks nutrients, it is required to feed;
- when the soil is waterlogged, rotting of the shoots and the root system may begin, which is manifested by blackening of the leaves;
- foliage crumbles with insufficient watering and if the earthen lump in the pot dries out very much.
When the flowers have even wilted a little, that is, the tubular wreaths have become sluggish at the edges, then they should be removed immediately. And when the flowering is over, then it is advisable to cut off all the inflorescences right from the edge of the top of the stem.
Facts for the curious about the Sanchesia flower
A close "relative" of sanchezia is aphelandra, since the color of the leaf plates is similar in them. Some of the varieties of sanchezia are invasive, that is, they have the property of growing as weeds, filling the entire space around them. But there are species such as Sanchezia lampra and Sanchezia parviflora, which are currently considered endangered plants.
It is interesting that Sanchezia flowers in natural conditions are pollinated by small birds - hummingbirds.
Types of sanchezia
- Sanchezia nobilis is the most popular variety that is grown indoors. This plant is represented by a rather large herbaceous shrub with tetrahedral stems in cross section. Its height is approaching the meter mark. The leaf plates are arranged in opposite order on the shoots. Their length varies within 15–25 cm with a width of about 8–12 cm. The foliage is elliptical, with a sharp point at the top, and the leaf petiole is short. The surface is painted in a beautiful rich emerald hue, the veins are highlighted with a golden color scheme. When flowering, the inflorescences take the form of a spikelet, and are located at the tops of the shoots. Flowers with yellow petals are collected in the inflorescences, the bracts are red, the corolla is distinguished by the splicing of the petals and because of this, an elongated tube in the form of a jug is formed. The length of the flower is 5 cm. The plant is often called the beautiful Sanchezia speciosa. The native area of distribution belongs to the lands of Ecuador, where this exotic can be found in humid forests or on the foothills. After pollination of hummingbirds, fruits are tied from the flowers, which take the form of a box. And when it is fully ripe, it begins to open, releasing multiple small seeds.
- Sanchezia nobilis glaucophylla (Sanchezia nobilis glaucophylla). The native habitat of this species is in Brazil. This highly decorative plant has leaf plates of an elongated elliptical shape with a greenish-bluish color (which gave rise to a specific name). The veins are also highlighted in a bright yellow color scheme. Along these veins there is a spot of light yellow and golden hue.
- Sanchezia small-covering (Sanchezia parvibracteata). It is a larger shrub than the previous varieties, which can reach almost two meters in height, but in culture its parameters vary in the range of 80-90 cm. The plant lives in the humid forests of South America, where a tropical climate prevails. The stem of this perennial has a reddish tint. The leaf plates have broadly elliptical outlines, with a rounded top. The midrib of the leaf and those located on the sides also shimmer with a reddish or pinkish color scheme. During flowering, the inflorescence takes on a capitate shape and is formed by flowers of an orange or reddish tone. The size of the inflorescence is somewhat smaller than that of the noble sanchetia - its size is 30 cm. The size of the bracts also does not differ in large parameters.
More on growing sanchezia in the following video:
