Characteristic features of bauhinia, growing conditions, watering, fertilization, recommendations for reproduction, difficulties in growing, interesting facts, species. An orchid growing on a tree is a miracle! But Mother Nature is not capable of that. How to pass by such beauty - exotic butterflies of unusual colors and shapes seem to have sat on the tree. Looking closely, you can understand that these are just flowers, but what! Yes, we are familiar with orchids and their variety, I wonder what kind of plant it is with the shape of a tree and the unusual properties of foliage. So Bauginia.
If you lean towards scientific terminology, then Bauhinia belongs to the genus of plants with beautiful flowers (flowering), reckoned to the legume family (Fabaceae). According to data from various sources, the Bauginia genus includes up to 200-300 varieties, which may take the form of semi-shrubs, shrubs or small trees, but some grow like vines. The native area, where the plant feels at ease in natural nature, falls on South America, China and southeast Asia, you can see this representative in Africa or India. There are varieties that are found on the Australian continent as well.
The plant bears its name in honor of the Swiss botanists, brothers Caspar and Johann Baugin, whom the French botanist Charles Plumier decided to immortalize, who wrote the scientific work "Nova plantarum americanarum genera" ("New species of American plants") … The brothers were engaged in the taxonomy of the plant world, also described the flora of the planet and studied mycology. Later, when Karl Linnaeus created his work "Critica Botanica", the name of the plant finally stuck. People sometimes call bauhinia "Orchid tree" or Bauhinia.
In indoor conditions, the plant is a low tree or bush reaching 1.5–2 m in height, naturally, in natural conditions these indicators will be higher - about 6 meters. The trunk is covered with red-brown-brown bark. The plant has good branching and, if properly shaped, can be grown using the bonsai technique.
Bauhinia flowers are her real pride! They can grow up to 10 cm in diameter and resemble orchids in outline. The upper petal is painted in lemon tones, and the other 4 can be snow-white. But there are also shades of pink, lilac, purple and red colors - it depends on the type of bauginia. Flowers have a fragrant aroma, it can be lemon. From the flowers, inflorescences are collected, containing 2-4 buds, each of which can stay on the plant for up to 7-8 days, but some species reveal their butterfly flowers only for one day. The flowering process lasts from February to the beginning of the summer months.
Why butterfly flowers? An interesting association, but it was made by people who noted not only the appearance of the buds of the orchid tree, but also the "mobility" of the foliage. With the arrival of the night time, the leaves begin to fold along the vein located in the center. By the way, bauginia reacts in the same way if the soil is very dry or the thermometer begins to show the real summer heat, which occurs in July-August. Why does the plant behave this way? So everything is natural, if you want to live longer, then you need not to lose moisture, therefore, the surface from which it evaporates should become smaller.
It happens that when the flowering still lasts, then on the site of already discolored buds, fruits appear in the form of pods measuring up to 10-25 cm in length. When they ripen, they crack and scatter their seeds around, therefore self-seeding reproduction is possible.
Creating conditions for bauhinia at home
- The place for cultivation should be light, you can put a pot on the southern window, but you need to train the plant gradually, in order to avoid burns. In winter, there may not be enough light, and additional lighting will be required. If the lighting is diffused, then the shoots become weeping, and the flowering is not so abundant.
- Content temperature. Heat indicators should not fall below 15 degrees, although bauginia calmly tolerates temperature changes. The number of "empty" buds will grow, they will not bloom, but immediately fall off, in the event of a lack of light and flooding of the soil. In winter, it is necessary to place the plant in a bright place with a temperature of 12-15 degrees. This will greatly affect the further laying of buds and their growth. Bauhinia can overwinter on a windowsill in a sunny room.
- Watering and humidity. The plant tolerates drought perfectly, but only in the summer, if the bauginia is on the southern location of the window, then more watering is needed, which does not happen in the garden, since there is good air circulation. The surface of the soil between waterings should dry out, it is rarely moistened, but abundantly. In winter, watering is reduced, especially if the bush is kept at low heat. When the room is very hot, you can spray the orchid tree. This is also done if bauhinia is kept at elevated temperatures in winter.
- Fertilizer applied in the spring, as soon as the plant begins to activate. First, they take nitrogen preparations - for growing foliage, and from May to July - potassium-phosphorus preparations, so that there is abundant flowering. It is important to overfeed the bauginia.
- Transfer. Such an operation will be required annually, and the pot is taken in a slightly larger one. If it does not work to increase the container, then you will need to carefully get out the bush, cut off the roots a little, sprinkle with crushed coal and re-plant in the same container, adding fresh earth. A drainage layer is laid in the pot and holes must be made in the bottom for the liquid to drain.
The substrate is not too difficult for bauginia, you can take the most common universal mixture for flower indoor plants. If the bush is already large enough, then small expanded clay is mixed directly into the ground. It is only necessary that the soil is moisture and air permeable.
Orchid tree breeding rules
To get a new bauhinia, you need to sow seeds or plant cuttings.
The seeds are taken from ripe pods, otherwise they simply will not germinate. If there is an adult fruit-bearing tree at home, then gauze is placed under the plant or the pods themselves are wrapped in a gauze bag so that the seeds do not fall into the ground.
In the spring, the seeds are soaked for a couple of days and the largest and swollen ones are sown. A mixture of peat and perlite is used, the seed is deepened by 5 mm. To accelerate germination, the seeds are scarified - the seed is lightly wiped with the help of nippers or a nail file (nail file) from the side that will be on top. The seeds are only slightly powdered with soil. The container with crops is covered with glass or polyethylene to create a mini-greenhouse. The container should be placed in a warm place with good (but not direct sunlight) lighting. You can use supplementary lighting with phytolamps. Daily ventilation is carried out and, if necessary, soil moistening. Seed germination is fast. From the moment of planting, such a plant blooms for the second year.
Seeds can also be germinated in a damp cloth. Such daily ventilation will be required. In this case, the sprouts will appear in 3-6 weeks. Seedlings will need to be planted in suitable soil and taken care of further.
As soon as the plant grows up and reaches a height of 25-30 cm, then the top will need to be pinched - this will help the branching of the future bush. However, there are species that perfectly branch themselves and do not need molding.
Bauginia can be propagated by cuttings cut from semi-lignified branches in the spring. You can take the remnants of the shoots after pruning. Their slices are treated with a root stimulator and planted in vermiculite, the planting is covered with a glass jar or plastic wrap. However, rooting in this case takes a long time and does not always give a positive result. It will be necessary to constantly ventilate and moisturize the substrate.
Problems with growing an "orchid tree"
The plant can be affected by the red spider mite or scabbard. Insecticides are used to combat.
If the soil is flooded, then the leaf blades begin to turn yellow, but the green color of the veins remains. When the light is too high, the leaves fade. In the plant, the leaves begin to curl - this indicates a lack of calcium and fertilization is necessary.
Interesting facts about bauhinia
Bauginia flowers can be seen immortalized on the coat of arms and flag of Hong Kong, where a bud is depicted very similar to a stylized flower of white color, which has 5 petals on a red field and each of the elements of the flower (petal) carries a central vein crowned with a small star located on the center of the petal. The color of the asterisk and the vein is red, as is the color of the flag.
If we consider bauhinia as a medicinal plant, then the bark and leaf plates of the plant are used for medicinal purposes. They contain flavonoids, steroid compounds and amino acids. In places where the orchid tree naturally grows (for example, in Asia and Africa), it is customary to treat diarrhea, leprosy (leprosy) and various skin diseases with folk medicines based on plant parts. Mainly for medical purposes, variegated and racemose varieties of bauginia are used.
Types of bauhinia
- Bauhinia corymbosa (Bauhinia corymbosa) is a liana-like plant with small fragrant flowers collected from racemose inflorescences. In the bud there are 5 units of narrow petals and their color is weak lavender, the surface is covered with pinkish-purple veins. Flowering occurs from spring to autumn. After the buds have been pollinated, the fruits ripen in the form of flat pods, equal in length to 25 cm. At first, their color casts a green tone over time, changing to brown. Each pod fruit contains 16 round-shaped seeds with a centimeter in diameter. These pods ripen in winter and can remain on the plant until spring days. The leaf plates are only 4–5 cm long. They have heart-shaped outlines and they are attached to the stems with petioles 2 cm long, which are reddish from the very beginning. The homeland of the growing area of this species falls on the southeastern territories of Asia.
- Bauhinia malaysian (Bauhinia acuminate), which is sometimes called the pointed Bauhinia. It is a small bush or tree, with a height of up to 3 meters. But at night or in cloudy weather, the leaves are folded along the central vein. It has white flowers and a diameter of 1–10 cm. They last only one day, although the flowering process will stretch from spring days to autumn. The leaf blades are very decorative heart-shaped, up to 10 cm in length. The native growing areas are in Mexico.
- Felt bauhinia (Bauhinia tomentosa). The homeland of its growth can be considered the territories of Africa, China and India. It is a small evergreen tree. The leaf plates grow in the form of hearts, painted in a pleasant green shade, and with a dark tint along the veins. The branches of this variety are flexible and thin, they are covered with a brown bark, and they can lean slightly towards the soil due to flowers and leaves. The petals of the buds are cast in a bright yellow color, and there is a dark spot in the center. The flowering process stretches from spring to autumn. However, each of the buds on the plant lasts only a day, and their color changes to purple. There is so much pollen and nectar in the buds that they become a target for various insects (butterflies, bees and similar lovers of "sweet things"), which, arriving, pollinate bauhinia. As soon as pollination occurs, long, thin pod-like fruits begin to ripen, the length of which reaches 10 cm. Each such pod can contain 8-10 brown seeds of a rounded shape, with a diameter of up to 5-7 mm. The pods in the process of ripening change their color to a pale brown, and their surface becomes velvety, as if from felt. This influenced the name of the variety.
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Bauhinia variegated (Bauhinia variegata). The plant is very similar to a variety of the genus Bauhinia purpurea. This is due to the fact that in plants, not only the color of the petals of the buds, but also the foliage can be very different. In a bud of this type, the petals are placed quite tightly, as if they overlap with surfaces of each other. The number of stamens is 5-6, in contrast to 3-4, as in the purple variety.
Bauhinia purpurea
- grows in a natural environment in the southeastern lands of Asia, likes to settle on lands where the tropical and subtropical climate prevails. It is the most common of all varieties, taking the form of a tree with a spherical crown and shoots drooping to the ground. In height, the plant can reach 10-meter indicators, and has a high growth rate. Leaves with heart-shaped shapes are cast in pleasant green tones and a bluish tint. Their sizes can reach 12 cm, which is why they look quite decorative. From September to November, even before the foliage begins to fall, the most delicate flowers bloom, from which racemose inflorescences are collected. The petals of the buds are painted in all sorts of overflows of purple tones. At the central vein, the color goes into a whitish color, and the entire surface is drawn with strokes and dots. Each of the flowers can grow up to 10 cm in diameter. The bud has 5 elongated petals, their placement is free and very graceful. There are 3-4 stamens inside the bud. It is thanks to the beauty of the flowers and leaves that this variety has been nicknamed the Pupurle Orchid Tree. The color of the pods casts green, and in the process of ripening it changes to brown. The growth of the pods is very fast, and at the end they measure 20–30 cm. They hang on the plant throughout the winter, cracking by the spring and summer, and release the flattened brown seeds. So, scattering the seed material, the bauginia multiplies, and therefore there are always many young shoots under the trees.
- Bauhinia blakeana - a beautiful hybrid from crossing variegated and purple bauhinia, purple-red flowers.
- Bauhinia lonely (Bauhinia mababdra) Homeland - the island of Madagascar. Under natural conditions, it can reach a height of 6 meters. The leaves are heart-shaped, reaching a length of 10-15 cm. Due to their heaviness, as well as the many buds, the branches tend to the ground. The inflorescences are collected in a cluster of flowers, the petals of which are painted in a pale yellow shade. After a day, their color changes to pale pink. The surface of one of the petals is completely covered with multiple bright crimson strokes, while the rest of the petals are decorated with pinkish mottling. It is interesting that flowers of different colors can be observed in one inflorescence. Flowering occurs throughout the summer months, although some solitary buds may appear all year round. As soon as pollination takes place, slightly lignified pod fruits are formed, measuring 10–15 cm in length. In them, the number of dark brownish seeds varies within 5–11 units.
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