Description and creation of conditions for growing aucuba, transplantation and reproduction, difficulties in cultivation and ways to solve them, interesting facts, species. Mysterious Japan, how many unknown stories and facts are hidden in itself? How often she amazed with her traditions and way of life. And now there is another plant that never ceases to delight lovers of the green inhabitants of the planet all over the world - this is aucuba. Many people did not even know that there is a representative of the flora with that name, but it turns out that the aucuba has long and firmly settled in gardens and premises in many countries. With its amazing leaves, the bush not only attracts the eye, but also gives rise to the desire to possess such an unusual flower.
Aukuba belongs to the genus of woody plants belonging to the Garryaceae family. According to one of the classifications (namely, in the Kronquist system, created in 1981), this genus was ranked in the Cornaceae family, and using a different systematics (meaning Takhtadzhyan's classification), this genus began to be distinguished into a monotypic family called Aukubov (Aukubaceae) … Most often, the above plant can be found in the northern Indian lands or in the eastern regions of Tibet, right up to the coastal regions of the Yellow Sea. She also did not deprive Aukuba of attention in the natural environment and territory of Japan, Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula.
Aukubu is often referred to as the "golden tree" because the foliage has a bright mottling of a golden tone. But to some people (less lyrical), the leaf blade resembles a cut of a sausage product, and they call it not euphoniously a "sausage tree". The direct translation from the Japanese language of the name of the plant means "green plant".
The varieties are divided according to the place of growth - into the Japanese and Himalayan branches. The plant is a shrub form with evergreen deciduous mass. Its height in natural conditions can reach a five-meter mark, in rooms - less. The shoots are colored in a rich green hue and have good branching.
The leaf plates are located either whorled or opposite each other, have an elliptical shape, slightly elongating towards the elongated ends, but there are varieties with glossy elongated lanceolate leaves. Their length can be up to 20–25 cm. The surface of the leaf is leathery, along the edge there is a wide serration. The petioles with which the leaf is attached to the branch are short, also green. The background of the leaf plate is a rich green or herbal color. It is completely covered with spots of various sizes that are decoratively cast in yellow gold. Some of them are so densely arranged that even the color of the leaf turns bright yellow in some parts.
When cultivated indoors, the plant rarely blooms, but in nature you can see the buds of aucuba open - a red-brown tone. In the Himalayan variety, the flower petals are painted in a more delicate red-coral colors, but the flowers of orange shades also open on the Japanese bushes. The size of the flowers is small. A fairly large inflorescence in the form of a bundle is collected from them. The calyx has four teeth. Plants can have either male or female flowers. The male flower bud is distinguished by 4 anthers. Fruits are tied only when plants with female and male flowers grow nearby.
After flowering, the fruit ripens in the shape of a berry, which is similar in shape to a dogwood.
The rules for growing the "golden tree" are quite simple and an inexperienced florist can handle them.
Aucuba agrotechnics, home care
- Lighting and location. In the conditions of rooms, you can put the pot on any windowsill, the "golden tree" will grow normally both in the shade and in the sun. However, for variegated forms, more illumination is needed, otherwise the leaf pattern will be lost. The best placement option is windows facing east and west. The same rules apply to landings in open ground, as the aucuba grows normally on the Black Sea coast.
- Content temperature. For cultivation, they maintain indicators of 22-23 degrees. Sudden temperature changes are harmful. In winter, it is better to keep it in a cooler place at 10-15 degrees, but not lower than 6. It is important to protect the aucuba from drafts and wind.
- Watering and humidity. The plant is regularly sprayed and especially in winter. Watering is uniform, without drying the substrate, but waterlogging is harmful. Soft water is used.
- Fertilizer for aucuba, it is introduced during periods of increased growth. This operation is carried out together with watering every 7 days. You can use universal preparations for leafy indoor plants. Organic matter is also introduced - once every 14 days.
- Transplanting and soil selection. In the first 2-3 years, the aucuba is transplanted annually, when the bush grows up, then they do it less often, so the plant can live in one pot for 10 years. But a regular change of 1/3 of the top of the soil will be required. Therefore, it is necessary to take this into account when selecting a container for planting a 3-year-old aucuba. Some growers argue that if you do not change the pot and soil every 4-5 years, then the "golden tree" will lose the variegated color of its foliage. The plant must be transplanted by the transshipment method, without destroying the earthen coma. At the bottom, you need a thick layer of expanded clay or pebbles.
The substrate is recommended to be mixed from coarse sand, peat or leafy soil (equal parts). There you can also add a little humus and crushed activated or charcoal.
Self-propagation of the "sausage tree"
Like many plants, Aucuba successfully propagates by sowing seeds or cuttings.
To get a new bush using cuttings, you need to cut them in February-March. There should be 2-3 leaves on the branch. Rooting is carried out in moistened sandy-peat soil or sand. The cuttings are wrapped in a plastic bag or placed under a glass cover. As soon as the twigs take root, new leaves will appear. After that, it is necessary to transplant the seedlings into a separate container (with a diameter of no more than 7–9 cm) and with soil mixed from earth, sand and peat (all parts are equal). A little humus soil or leaf turf is also added there, and crushed charcoal is also added.
It must be remembered that the root system of the sprout is very fragile and will need to be transplanted with extreme caution. When propagating by seed, you need to have two opposite-sex adult bushes, and only in this case you can get berries in which there will be seeds. After picking berries or buying seed, the seeds are soaked in warm water for several hours. Then sowing is carried out in a wide container on moistened sand or peat-sand mixture. They are not embedded in the soil, but only powdered with a substrate. The container is covered with glass or plastic wrap. After germination of the sprouts and as soon as leaves appear on them, a pick is carried out.
This method is not very popular, as the young plant grows very slowly and the parental traits (variegated leaves) may not be transmitted.
Difficulties in plant cultivation and ways to solve them
Most often, problems with the cultivation of the "sausage tree" arise when the conditions of detention are violated:
If potted soil has been flooded and the aucuba is kept at cold temperatures, the plant may be prone to rot. The reason for the staining of the root system in a brown-red color is root rot, after which the bush stops growing and begins to die at a high speed. Either very young plants or those that are not strong enough are affected. If the disease is only detected, then the aucuba can still be saved, but when the whole plant is affected, then its death is inevitable. For rescue measures, the bush is carefully pulled out of the container, the root system is washed and all affected parts of the roots are cut off, treatment with fungicidal preparations is carried out. Then the pot is changed and the substrate is also changed. After the transplantation, the "golden tree" is not watered very much and is expected to be strengthened.
There are also such difficulties:
- when watering is scarce, the leaves begin to break;
- leaf plates become smaller in size, this is a sign of a lack of nutrients;
- if a brown, drying spot appears on the leaves, then this indicates that the plant has been sunburned;
- when the foliage begins to fall off, the cause was the increased dryness of the air;
- blackening of the foliage can be accompanied by improper wintering conditions, too dry air and hot temperature from heating devices.
Most often, aucubes can be annoyed by spider mites, scale insects, thrips and aphids. You can see these insects from the back of the leaf plate or by other symptoms:
- leaves begin to turn yellow, as vital juices go away, wither and fall off;
- a sticky sugary bloom appears, covering leaves and branches;
- black or brownish-brown spots are formed on the back of the leaf plate;
- the entire leaf begins to become covered with bleached spots.
It is necessary to use soap, oil or alcohol solutions that are applied to a cotton pad. Wipe leaves and branches, removing pests by hand. Then you can carry out the treatment with insecticides, such as Actellik, Decis, Intra-Vir.
Interesting facts about aucuba
The plant is not only beautiful, but also very poisonous. This must be taken into account when the "golden tree" is grown in rooms where pets are kept or small children come in. All parts of the aucuba contain poison. It is strictly forbidden to grow this bright bush in children's institutions.
The leaf plates are filled with active ingredients that help eliminate harmful bacteria from the environment. And the aucuba helps regulate the air microflora in the rooms where it grows.
Plant energy experts note the high psychological properties that are inherent in the "golden tree" bush. In the house where the variegated beauty grows, an atmosphere of calmness and general friendship and cohesion is established. It's interesting how the plant affects people who often brag - the aucuba makes them start listening to the opinions of others, and communication with the braggart becomes easier.
In Japan, there is a popular belief that if a "sausage tree" grows in a house, then no one offends its owner and the aucuba becomes a kind of amulet for the owner. Surfactants fill the leaf plates of the plant. Under their influence, the tissues of the body are quickly restored, and the effect of inflammation is removed. Appliques of crushed aucuba leaves will ease the effects of frostbite and bruising. Dried berries of the "golden tree" are also used.
It is necessary to use this plant with extreme caution, in case of an overdose, local irritation may occur if the skin is very sensitive. When using it, it is better to get a doctor's recommendation.
Interestingly, it was not possible to take this bush out of Japan, since the plantings were protected at the level of the national heritage. Only one traveler in the 17th (1783) century was able to smuggle a specimen of the "sausage tree" from the Land of the Rising Sun to the old Great Britain. Oddly enough, the aucuba was able to successfully take root there, flowers and fruits appeared, but there were no seeds in them. As it turned out, the tree brought back was female. And only a few decades later, the English botanist Fortune brought "a couple" to the "Japanese beauty", and only then the tree began to bear fruit normally. Since that time, the aucuba began its march through the countries of Europe. In the open field, the plant has been grown in Russia, namely in the Caucasus, since the end of the 19th century.
An interesting observation was made by a physiologist from Germany G. Molisch in 1931. Aukuba is included in the group of plants (there are three of them), which have the property of "rings of death". In the course of research, a heated glass tube was brought to the sheet plates, and a black ring-shaped mark appeared around this place. Later it became known that this effect (when the drying leaves turn black) becomes possible due to the presence of the herdoid glycoside aucubin in the leaf plates. This substance has a healing effect - it can easily increase the acidity of gastric juice.
Types of aucuba
There are few varieties of aucuba, but the work of breeders is moving towards breeding varieties with different leaf color. Some leaf plates have such a golden decoration that goes only along the edge or the entire surface is gold.
As mentioned in indoor breeding, only two varieties are most commonly used:
Japanese Aukuba (Aukuba japonica). It is an evergreen plant with a shrub form of growth. The stems are colored green and woody over time. The arrangement of the leaves is opposite, their surface is glossy, shiny, but leatheriness is felt to the touch. There are rare teeth along the edge; stipules are absent. The length of the leaf reaches 20 cm with a width of about 6 cm. In shape, they are elongated-oval. The color of the leaf directly depends on its variety: it can be either pure green or motley decorated with a spotted pattern. The petals of the buds are cast in a variety of tones of red. The size of the flowers is small, from which inflorescences are collected in the form of hairy panicles. Flowers are unisexual and dioecious, with 4 members. The ripening fruit resembles berries in outline, shaded with orange or red color, but there are yellow or white colors. It is crowned with a lagging calyx.
Naturally, from the name it follows that the variety originally grew in the territories of Japan and Korea. The species is the most widespread and is successfully used as a parent in breeding work. But the following varieties were created on its basis:
- Variegana it is distinguished by the large size of the foliage and the surface completely covered with golden specks;
- GoldDast has a gold background, and a speckled pattern casts green;
- Dentata has pointed leaf plates, green color and a serrated edge;
- Hillieri, the variety has leaves with narrow outlines and sparse teeth along the edge;
- Picturata has leaf plates with a core painted in bright yellow color, and the edges are dark emerald with a yellow spot.
Aukuba himalaica (Aukuba himalaica). The plant has a shrub growth. It can reach up to 4 meters in natural conditions. The leaf plates have lanceolate outlines or elongated lanceolate. The leaf edge can also be serrated or solid, the top is sharpened to a greater or lesser extent. The foliage is dark green. Small flowers do not differ in attractiveness, only buds of the same sex bloom on one plant.
The native habitat is the eastern Himalayas. When grown in rooms, it is a rare guest. It differs from the previous variety in more pointed leaves of a rich dark emerald color. Their edge is cut with teeth. Shoots grow quite quickly, and timely crown molding will be required.
More about Aucuba Japanese in this video:
