Description of pittosporum, recommendations for growing resin seed, DIY breeding steps, methods of combating possible diseases and pests, species. Pittosporum (Pittosporum) or as the plant is also called in literary sources on botany Smolosemyannik, belongs to the genus of representatives of the flora belonging to the Smolosemyannikovye family (Pittosporaceae). This genus contains about two hundred varieties, which are most often found in conditions of natural growth in the eastern hemisphere of the planet, where the tropical and subtropical climate "rules". There, pittosporums prefer to settle in humid forests located in coastal zones, on the mountain slopes, which are found in East and Southeast Asia, and the Australian continent, Oceania and some regions of Africa are also ranked among the natural habitats of resin seed. In our latitudes, pittosporums can be found in the regions of Sochi and Crimea, where it has taken root in the open field.
The genus of these plants has its scientific name from the fusion of words in Greek "pitta", which means "resin" and "spora" translated as "seed". All this is because the entire surface of the seed is covered with a resinous secretion. It is because of this that the second name of the plant went - resin seed. Often it is called, based on the place of growth, "Australian laurel".
All species of this genus are both shrubs and large trees. The range of parameters in the height of pittosporums is quite wide, it is in the range between 2 m and 30 m. The branches are upright, capable of forming a dense crown. The leaf plates are located on the lignified branches in the next order, their shape is simple, along the edge the leaf is solid or has a weak serration. The surface is leathery, the length of the leaf does not exceed 10-15 cm. The color of the foliage is green or light green, a light edging is set along the edge, and the arrangement of the leaves is spiral or in the upper part of the branches they can gather in whorls. There are also variegated (variegative) forms.
When flowering, single buds are formed, but they can also gather in inflorescences that grow in the leaf axils or crown the tops of the shoots. The size of the flowers is small, the diameter of the flower, on average, when fully expanded, does not exceed 1, 2 cm. The shape of the inflorescences takes on the shape of an umbrella or corymbose. The corolla of each flower consists of five sepals and the same number of petals. Their color is white, with some yellow or yellow, and there are varieties in which the flowers are shaded by the red color of the petals. Often, when pittosporums bloom, a sweet aroma is spread, somewhat reminiscent of citrus. The flowering process lasts all spring months.
When fruiting occurs, the fruit ripens in the form of a box, which is filled with sticky seeds. They contain a large amount of resin that appears on their surface. When the fruit is fully ripe, it opens up, opening access to the seeds. If the plant is grown indoors, the fruit does not ripen.
The resin seed plant is easy to grow and can be recommended to flower growers who do not have much experience in the cultivation of indoor plants. When kept at home, the height of pittosporums rarely exceeds one meter, but further growth is recommended to be limited by timely pruning of shoots. The growth rate of the plant is not too high, so the growth of shoots in a year can be only a few centimeters.
Rules for caring for pittosporum at home
- Lighting and location selection. To make the resin seed plant feel comfortable, it is recommended that the light level is high, but the direct rays of the sun do not fall on the leaves. Such a place for a plant can be the sill of a window facing east or west. It is especially important to find the right location for the Pittosporum, which has variegated leaf blades. If the light level is insufficient, the foliage will turn green, losing all shades of white and cream. However, too bright lighting is harmful - under direct streams of ultraviolet radiation, the leaves will turn yellow and curl. You can put the bush in the southern and northern locations, but in the 1st case you will have to shade so that direct sunlight does not cause harm, using light curtains, tulles, homemade gauze curtains or attaching tracing paper (thin paper) to the window glass. In the second case, do supplementary lighting with special phytolamps. With the arrival of summer, you can take out the pot with resin seed in the fresh air - in the garden, on the balcony or terrace, but at the same time they take care of shading from midday ultraviolet streams. If this is not possible, then frequent airing of the room in which the plant is contained is needed.
- Growing temperature pittosporum should be moderate (that is, its indicators are maintained in the range of 20-24 degrees). These requirements apply to the spring-summer period, and with the arrival of autumn, the temperature is reduced and it is better when the resin seed is kept in a cool and bright room. Heat indicators are brought to the level of 10 degrees. This will allow the plant to rest before the next wave of bloom.
- Air humidity. Since pittosporum in nature settles mainly in moist and warm forests, it is advisable to spray the deciduous mass with an increase in temperature and remove dust from the leaves with a moistened soft cloth or sponge. Despite its love for high humidity, the plant calmly tolerates dry indoor air. For hygiene reasons, it is periodically recommended to do showers with warm water, this will also wash away dust from foliage and raise humidity. The soil in the pot is covered with polyethylene.
- Watering. The resin seed plant will require abundant watering during the summer months. The frequency of humidification will be approximately once every 7 days. A slightly dried topsoil becomes a signal for the next watering - if you take a little in a pinch, then it easily crumbles. When winter comes and heat indicators are reduced, then watering should be no more than once every 8-12 days. It is impossible to allow the substrate in the pot to dry out completely, but the bays threaten the onset of fungal diseases and rotting of the root system. Water for irrigation is soft, well-settled, in which there are no chlorine impurities. You can run tap water through a filter, boil it, and then let it stand for several days. Then this liquid is drained from the sediment and used for irrigation.
- Fertilizers. Since from spring to autumn, the resin seed plant is activating vegetative growth, it will be necessary to make additional fertilizing. It is recommended to use a balanced liquid fertilizer. The frequency of fertilization is once a month. The plant responds well to the application of organic fertilizers (for example, rotted manure).
- Transplantation and recommendations for the choice of soil. When pittosporum is still young, its root system develops rather quickly and this process lasts up to three years. Until this time, the transplant is performed once a year, while the volume of the pot increases by one size. When the resin seed has crossed the three-year mark, then you can not even change the pot and soil, but limit yourself to replacing the top layer of the substrate (about 3-5 cm). But this process must be performed carefully so as not to damage the root system of the plant. First of all, a drainage layer is laid in a new pot, flower growers use medium-sized expanded clay, pebbles or broken clay shards. Since pittosporum reacts very painfully to transplanting, transshipment should be carried out. In this case, the bush is removed from the old container, but the soil is not removed from the root system (only that which falls off by itself), and in this form the resin seed is planted in a new pot. Before planting, you need to carefully examine the root system and if there are affected roots, then they are cut off with a sharpened and disinfected knife, and then these areas are sprinkled with crushed activated or charcoal. This will aid in the decontamination of the sections. The substrate for pittosporum is made up of sod soil, leafy soil (it is collected in a forest or park from under birches, with the capture of rotted foliage), humus soil and coarse sand (in a ratio of 3: 2: 2: 1).
- General care feature behind the resin seed plant is that in the springtime you need to cut off too elongated branches. It is recommended to use this plant for bonsai cultivation.
Do-it-yourself pittosporum breeding rules
To propagate the resin seed plant, you will need to sow seeds or carry out cuttings.
When carrying out cuttings, stem blanks are used. In spring (approximately in May), cuttings are cut from semi-lignified shoots. The length of the cutting should be at least 8 cm. The cutting is broken off, and the cut is cleaned with a blade. The sections are treated with a rooting stimulator. Twigs are planted in a pot filled with coarse sand or peat-sandy substrate. The planting depth should not exceed 1–2 cm. Then watering is carried out and the branches are covered with plastic wrap, you can put them under a glass jar or a cut plastic bottle.
Pots with cuttings are placed in a warm place where there is enough light, but there is no direct sunlight. The temperature during germination should not go beyond 23-25 degrees. When leaving, it is important not to forget about the daily airing of the cuttings and moistening the soil if it begins to dry out. After about a month, the workpieces will take root. After that, young rooted resin seeds are transplanted into separate containers filled with a more fertile substrate, and the tops are pinched. When the formation of lateral shoots begins, then they will need to be pinched - this will stimulate further branching. Pittosporums grown in this way will bloom for 2-3 years.
If reproduction is by means of seeds, then in spring they need to be sown in pots, bowls or seedling boxes, into which light soil is poured (sand, turf and peat are combined in equal parts), before planting, the substrate needs to be slightly moistened. The container is covered with a plastic bag or a piece of glass is placed on top. Daily airing is carried out and if the soil begins to dry out, then it is moistened with a spray bottle. Seed development is rather slow. When the sprouts form a pair of true leaf plates, they can be dived into pots or boxes (but the distance between the seedlings is kept at 2x3 cm), with more fertile soil. Young pittosporums develop very slowly in the first year. Flowering can be expected only after the 3-year period of the resin seed plant.
Diseases and pests, difficulties in caring for pittosporum
If the rules of care are regularly violated, then the cultivation of the resin seed is accompanied by the following problems:
- when the plant is constantly under direct streams of sunlight, this will lead to the fact that the leaf plates begin to dry out, curl along the edge, their color will fade and become yellow;
- with insufficient lighting, the stems will begin to stretch, the size of the leaves will decrease and the color will also not be as intense;
- if an excess of nitrogen occurs in the substrate, then the pattern on the leaves will disappear in variegated forms, and they will become purely green in color.
When the air in the room where pittosporum is grown is too dry, it is possible to be affected by harmful insects, among which are spider mites, mealybugs, and occasionally false scutes and thrips. It will be necessary to carry out the treatment with insecticidal preparations, repeated after a week. With high humidity, the disease occurs with fusarium and other spots (infectious diseases). If the disease has just been identified, then you can cure the resin seed by treating it with foundationol, vitaprost, or apply Topsin-M, Bental, Previkur. The solution is prepared by dissolving 2 grams of the product in a liter of water.
Curious notes about pittosporum
Interestingly, resin is contained not only in the seeds of pittosporum, but also in the bark and other parts of this plant, resinous tubules are present, this also made it possible to use the word “resin” in the name - pitta.
If you put the resin seed in the room, then it will actively resist E. coli, since its evergreen foliage has the property of releasing phytoncides that help to improve the environment.
Types of pittosporum
- Pittosporum wavy (Pittosporum undulatum Vent.). The native habitat of the plant is in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria (Australian continent). There, the species settles in coastal rather humid forests or on the slopes of mountains. It takes a shrub or tree-like shape, reaching 6–8 meters in height (up to a maximum of 13 meters). The outlines of the leaf plates are elongated-lanceolate, measuring 10-15 cm in length, the surface is smooth, the edge is wavy. Umbrella inflorescences are collected from the flowers. The flowering process is rather long (extended to May-June) and is characterized by abundance. The flower petals are white with a strong aroma. Recommended for growing in cold greenhouses, conservatories or rooms.
- Pittosporum ordinary (Pittosporum toriba (thumb.) W. T. Aiton) often called Pittosporum odorous or Pittosporum Toriba. It prefers to grow in China and Japan, on marine coastal lands. It is a tree reaching 3–6 meters in height (maximum about 9 m), or it may look like a shrub with dense, highly branched branches. The leaves are distinguished by an obovate contour, they do not exceed 3-4 cm in width with a length of about 5-10 cm (there are also 14-cm leaves). The foliage is glossy, the color is dark green, leathery, along the edge there is a slight waviness, to the bottom it can be with a limb. When flowering, the buds are collected in umbellate or corymbose inflorescences. The size of the flowers is small - 0.8–0.9 cm in diameter. There is a strong pleasant aroma. The flowering process stretches from March to the end of spring days. The fruit is a box filled with resinous seeds. The plant in culture has been grown in European countries since 1840. There is a garden form with variegated foliage - Variegeta.
- Pittosporum heterophyllum Franch grows on the territory of Western China, settling there, in summer-green forests, or can be found in dry rocky areas, in the valleys of mountain river arteries, at an absolute height of about 1000-4000 meters. It may have the outlines of a bushy tree, reaching up to a height of 2–4 m with shoots. The foliage is located on the branches alternately, the shape is obovate to obovate, there is a wedge-shaped narrowing at the base. During flowering, flowers with a white or yellow color are formed, they are collected in 5-7 pieces in inflorescences, which can be both apical and axillary. Fruits in a ball-shaped box filled with small, dark red seeds.
How pittosporum looks like, see the video below:
