General characteristics of the plant, cultivation of brunfelsia at home, advice on reproduction and transplantation, difficulties, interesting facts, species. If you want to surprise your friends with a plant that over time itself changes the color of its flower petals, then you should turn your attention to Brunfelsia, or as it is also called Brunfelsia.
The plant belongs to the genus Solanaceae and is a shrub or small tree. Most often, in natural conditions, it is found on the lands of the New World, where a tropical climate prevails.
The plant got its name in honor of Otto Brunfels, who lived in 1488-1534. This prominent figure was first a monk of a Carthusian monastery in Germany, but in 1521 he converted to the Protestant faith and then took the path of studying medicine and botany. In 1530 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of Basel. Sometimes you can find the name of this plant - franciscia or manaka.
Brunfelsia can reach a height of 2-3 meters, but the height of some trees reaches 10-12 meters. They have good branching and upright shoots. The branches are usually bare, but at a young age, shoots, leaves and buds may be pubescent.
The leaves are arranged in the next order on the branches, but at the top of the shoot they are more dense. The surface of the leaf is leathery, the color is deep green, at the top there is a sharpness, their shape varies from lanceolate to elliptical. But it also happens to be obovate. The length of the leaf reaches 10-30 cm with a width of 0.1-0.5 cm.
Inflorescences are located in the leaf axils or at the tops of the shoots. In shape, they are corymbose or semi-umbellate. Flowers are practically sessile, funnel-shaped outlines. In diameter, they can measure 2, 5–5 cm. The color of the petals can change over time. So sometimes flowers of a purple or blue hue appear, which later turns white or vice versa. They bloom mainly at night, surrounding the bush with a pleasant aroma.
When ripe, a berry appears that resembles small tomatoes with an elongated or ovoid shape. Depending on the species, this berry can be fleshy or woody, thin-walled and fragile. Its color is from yellow to red. The length of the fruit reaches 1–5 cm. Inside there are multiple seeds (oblong or ovoid), reaching a length of 2–13 mm with a thickness of up to 1–7 mm, their color is red-brown.
Agricultural technology in the cultivation of brunfelsia, care
- Lighting. The plant loves bright light, so for its location it is necessary to choose the southern, southeastern and southwestern directions of the windows. However, the scorching rays of the sun have a very negative effect on foliage and flowers, under their influence, the color of the foliage turns pale, it turns yellow, shrivels and flies around. Therefore, in the hottest hours of the day, on the southern window, you will have to arrange shading for your "angry beauty". However, the lack of light will not greatly affect the growth of brunfelsia. The flowering will only be less intense and the buds not so fragrant. You may have to arrange supplementary lighting using phytolamps.
- Manaka content temperature. In order for the plant to feel comfortable, it will be necessary to withstand heat indicators in the range of 20-25 degrees in the months of spring and summer, but when the autumn days come, it is better to start a gradual decrease in the thermometer. In the autumn-winter period, it is recommended to maintain heat values within the range of 9-14 degrees. It is necessary that such a cool "wintering" lasts 2-3 months - this will be the key to future buds and abundant flowering. If this rule is not adhered to, then brunfelsia may not bloom at all, if during these months it is kept in a room with heating devices working. It is recommended with the arrival of spring and throughout the summer to take the plant out into fresh air, but you will need to find a place protected from the scorching streams of ultraviolet radiation.
- Air humidity. Growing this "fickle blooming beauty" will need to withstand high levels of moisture in its environment. It does not tolerate dry air very well and can be immediately affected by pests. It is necessary to spray the bush regularly until there are no flowers on it, and then, when the buds bloom, place vessels with water or air humidifiers next to it.
- Watering brunfelsia. The plant is very hygrophilous and it will be necessary to carry out regular and abundant moistening of the soil, especially during the period when the bush began to actively develop. When flowering, it is recommended that the surface of the substrate is constantly moist. But it is important to remember that stagnant moisture can lead to rotting of the root system. With a cool winter, watering is reduced, allowing the soil in the flowerpot to dry out a little. Watering is carried out only with warm, soft water, devoid of harmful impurities. To do this, you can use collected rainwater or use river water, with a temperature of 20-23 degrees.
- Flower pruning it is carried out only after the brunfelsia has faded - this time falls on the end of spring days or at the very beginning of summer. It is recommended that the bush subsequently bloom more luxuriantly, cut the branches in half. The shape of the plant can be given as far as the owner's imagination is enough. Most often, brunfelsia is grown in the form of a bush or tree.
- Fertilizers. From the very beginning of the growing season, you will need to make fertilizing for flowering indoor plants, this takes place once a week and lasts until the beginning of autumn. You can use ready-made complex fertilizers. It is important not to use dressings with an alkaline reaction, since Brunfelsia will not tolerate this.
- Transplantation and selection of a substrate. Until the plant reaches 4 years of age, the pot and soil are changed annually, before it begins to actively develop in the spring. Adult specimens are transplanted every 3-4 years, while the top layer of the soil (3-4 cm) is changed annually. It is necessary to lay a layer of drainage material at the bottom of the pot; broken shards, expanded clay or pebbles can protrude from it. The transplant capacity is taken deep and large, since the plant loves spacious pots.
The soil for the cultivation of brunfelsia is loose, nutritious with good drainage properties for water and moisture. Its acidity is pH 5–6. Florists often use soil mixtures for roses. You can compose the substrate yourself from the following components:
- leafy soil, turf soil, peat substrate and river sand (in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 1);
- clay-sod land, leafy soil, humus, peat soil, coarse-grained sand (in proportions 2: 1: 1: 2: 1);
- turf, peat (or leaf) soil, humus soil, coarse sand, pine bark (in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 1: 1).
After transplanting, top dressing is not applied within a month.
Recommendations for breeding brunfelsia at home
You can get a new plant that changes the color of the foliage using cuttings or stem processes.
For cuttings in March or April, cut from the tops of the shoots so that there are 3 internodes on the cut part, and its length is at least 10 cm. Then the cuttings are placed in a root formation stimulator (for example, Kornevin), and then planted in a mini-greenhouse or planted with twigs is covered with a glass jar (wrapped in a plastic bag). The container should be filled with coarse sand or perlite. In order for the cuttings to successfully root, it will be necessary to withstand heat indicators of about 25 degrees. Carry out daily airing of the cuttings and, if necessary, moisten the substrate. After 2–4 months, the branches take root and can be transplanted into separate containers with a suitable substrate for further growth.
Sometimes it is propagated with the help of seeds, but this process is long and not always successful.
Difficulties and diseases when growing a plant
Most often, aphids, mealybugs, or in the open air - snails can annoy Brunfelsia in the garden or in indoor conditions.
When pests appear in a plant, the following symptoms appear:
- leaves turn yellow, young ones are deformed and subsequently fall off;
- on the back of the sheet, cotton-like lumps appear, which can also be noticeable in internodes;
- leaves and branches can be covered with a sticky sugar coating;
- black or green bugs are visible on the plant.
In these cases, it will be necessary to carry out treatment with a soap, oil or alcohol solution, which is applied to a cotton pad, and then pests and their waste products are manually removed. After that, spraying with insecticides is carried out (for example, Aktellik, Aktara or Karbaphos).
They fight snails in the garden, scattering superphosphate and lime on the paths; they do not like coffee solution either. Metaldehyde can be taken from chemical preparations, but it must be remembered that it is toxic to humans.
Problems also begin if the earthen lump is too dry, then the plant loses buds and leaves, and too warm wintering will provoke a lack of flowering.
Interesting facts about Brunfelsia
Some varieties of brunfelsia, in particular large-flowered and single-flowered (Brunfelsia grandiflora, Brunfelsia uniflora), in the territories of its natural growth, are usually added to the traditional auasca drink, which causes hallucinations.
Also, the plant has a neurotoxic effect, which can cause severe poisoning in livestock, since in parts of brunfelsia there is a substance such as brunfelsimidine, the derivatives of which are pyrrole and gaunidine (1 - has a strong acidic effect, 2 - has fungicidal and bactericidal activity).
Since it is called "manaka" in the homeland of growth, the plant owes this name to an old legend. According to her, the most beautiful girl in the Brazilian Tupi tribe bore such a name, and she loved these blue flowers blooming on the bushes most of all. It was she who was the first woman to brew a potion from tender buds that helps with unhappy love. After some heat treatment, brunfelsia, like many plants from the nightshade family, can be used as a psychotropic drug. Therefore, shamans in the tribes of South America or West Indies revered the plant as sacred and used it in magical rituals.
Attention!!! Brunfelsia is considered a highly poisonous plant, therefore, when caring for it, you will need to observe certain safety measures, especially with regard to the presence in rooms where small children or pets are. This is due to the fact that the fruits ripening on the bush, which resemble in their outlines small "tomatoes", colored orange, containing multiple seeds. It is these parts of the plant that are especially dangerous. On the territory of Brazil, Brunfelsia has a very incomprehensible name "yesterday-today-tomorrow" or "morning-noon-night". Naturally, this is incomprehensible to a person who has never encountered a flower. But everything is explained by the rich color palette of various shades of lilac and violet colors that decorate the petals of multiple buds, there are so many of them that sometimes the foliage is completely hidden behind an abundance of flowers.
They say that the phrase, which has become a kind of motto of the plant: “Do not think about yesterday - it will make you cry. Don't think about tomorrow - it will make you worry. Live and think about today - it will make you laugh!”, Thought up one gardener, who only once looked at the multiple brunfelsia flowers covered with different color shades.
Brunfelsia types
- Brunfelsia grandiflora (Brunfelsia grandiflora). This variety is most widespread in floriculture. It is a shrubby plant with rounded outlines. Under natural conditions, the bush rarely exceeds 2 m with a diameter of about 2 m, but when grown indoors, its height does not exceed 60 cm. The stem is covered with a peeling bark, painted in a brown tone. The leaf plates are quite spectacular, with oblong-oval outlines with a pointed apex, with pinnately-depressed veins. They are located on the shoot in the next sequence. Their length reaches 30 cm, and the color is deep green. The buds, like all species of this family, change their color. This includes shades of white, lavender and purple. They have a fragrant aroma and are collected in inflorescences in the form of shields or umbrellas, placed on the tops of the branches. The shape of the bud corolla is tubular.
- American Brunfelsia (Brunfelsia amiricana). A large shrub variety, its height is approaching 6 meters. The leaf plates have an elliptical shape, measuring 10 cm in length. Flowers are mainly painted in a white tint, their aroma is especially distinctly audible at night. It differs from other varieties in the size of the tubular corolla (they are equal to 6–10 cm), while the bend of the petals of the bud is also measured 5 cm in diameter.
- Brunfelsia pauciflora A plant growing in natural conditions can reach 3 meters, but when cultivated in room conditions, it can only reach up to one and a half meters. Its growth form is shrubby, it is an evergreen representative of the flora. The leaf plates have an obovate or oblong-oval shape with a pointed apex, their length varies within 8–10 cm. The surface of the leaf is dull and leathery from above. Leaves are placed alternately on the branches, attached to the shoot with short petioles. The flowers are practically odorless, small in size - the diameter is measured 6 cm. Gradually, the color of the petals changes from snow-white to purple. From the buds, inflorescences of semi-umbrella outlines are collected. The fruits ripen, rounded in the shape of a berry, painted in a bright red hue.
- Brunfelsia large-leaved (Brunfelsia latifolia). The native habitat is the lands of tropical America. Under natural conditions, this evergreen shrub reaches a height of 2 meters. Its trunk is upright and strongly branched, green in color. Leaf plates with larger and wider outlines. The shape of the leaves is oval, the color is dark emerald with a grayish tint, the surface is matte. Flowers are small in size, reaching 3 cm in diameter. Their color is first lavender, and then snow-white tones come to replace them. The scent of the buds is a very pleasant flowering process occurs in the winter.
- Brunfelsia lactea (Brunfelsia lactea). The plant has a shrub or tree-like form of growth. Its height varies within 1, 2-7 meters, the trunk is 10 cm in diameter, covered with bark of a light brown tide. The leaf plates are oval or obovate, the surface is leathery, colored dark green. The length of the leaf is 5–15 cm, the width is up to 2, 5–6, 5 cm. The flowers are arranged singly, painted in snow-white or light yellow tones, fragrant. The corolla is 5–7 cm long, 6 cm in diameter, and has 5 rounded petals. The ripening fruit of purple or light brown color, in the form of a fleshy berry, reaches a diameter of 2.5 cm.
More information about Brunfelsia in the following video:
