Distinctive characteristics of oscularia, how to carry out indoor care, recommendations for reproduction, diseases and pests, curious facts, species. Oscularia (Oscularia), or as it is sometimes called in the literature Oscularia, is a perennial plant that is included in the Aizoaceae family and is mostly distributed in South Africa. It is quite hot in these places, and precipitation is rare, but Oskularia has excellent vitality and is not afraid of direct sunlight, or high temperatures, or frequent drying out of the soil.
This name has been assigned to only a small number of plants, there are only about 25 of them, but only two species are best known in home floriculture: Oscularia deltoid and Oscularia Cowlescens. All species of Oscularia are native to the Cape and are succulent plants that escape the heat by accumulating precious drops of moisture in their stems and leaf plates, which they extract from the air. At the same time, water consumption is quite economical, and this can explain their amazing resistance in such difficult natural conditions.
Oscularia is distinguished by juicy, fleshy and thick leaf plates, which are arranged in opposite order on the stems along their entire length. While the stems are young, they, like the leaves, have juiciness, but over time they become lignified. The color of the stems and leaves is bluish-green, but there is a waxy bloom on the surface, which not only helps to retain moisture, but also serves as protection from harmful ultraviolet radiation. The shape of the leaf plate of this succulent is multifaceted or can be sickle-shaped, often there are small teeth on the ribs. The leaves are distinguished by splicing at the base.
The height of the oscularia can vary from 20 to 25 cm, but the width of the bush often grows to 30–40 cm in diameter. The highest intensity of shoot growth occurs in the period from spring to autumn days, but the annual growth is only a few centimeters. The stems have outlines lodging or drooping to the soil; over time, they give multiple lateral shoots, which are subsequently suitable for reproduction.
The root system of the oscularia is fibrous and usually located in the upper layers of the soil.
When flowering begins, the succulent opens in sunny weather quite numerous decorative flowers, a bit like miniature gerberas of bright colors. The color is mostly white, or pink, purple and red shades. The "core" of the flower, which has a conical shape, formed from the stamens that surround the pistil, is especially beautiful. Flowers are usually either solitary or in inflorescences.
The buds are mainly formed at the top of the stems throughout the summer season, which is very popular with flower growers, since this unpretentious South African beauty is used to decorate balconies and verandas. Usually, a place is selected where there is access to direct streams of sunlight, and the oscularia will be protected from raindrops. Thus, having charged with sunlight, like a battery, the plant can successfully endure the days of winter in our area, which are distinguished by short daylight hours.
Basically, the flowers of Oscularia have a rather characteristic smell of almonds. When the flowers dry out, they are recommended to be removed. If pollination has occurred, then the fruit is formed in the form of a five-nested capsule. It ripens over the next several months, and when the fruit is fully ripe, it cracks, and seeds fall out of it onto the soil. Due to such reproduction in natural conditions, real thickets of oscularia are formed next to the mother specimen.
The plant is quite easy to care for and will be able to delight the owner with flowering for a long time, if you do not violate the following rules of care.
How to grow oscularia, indoor care
- Lighting and location selection. Most of all, the bush will show its growth and flowering if the place has bright lighting, but with shading at midday from direct UV streams. You can put it on the south window, but pull the translucent curtain at lunchtime. In the shade of the oscularia, it will not bloom, and there will be no branching of the stems, on the leaf plates the waxy bloom will become weakly pronounced. If the region is distinguished by warm winters, then the plant can also be planted in the open field, but in this case it is recommended to monitor the protection from direct rays of the sun and precipitation.
- Content temperature. For this succulent in the summer, room temperature is suitable (usually indicators are 20-24 degrees Celsius). But with the arrival of autumn and throughout the winter, the minimum mark should not drop less than 10 degrees. If the temperature drops even more, then the leaves of the oscularia acquire a yellowish color and the plant gradually dies.
- Air humidity is not an important factor when growing a plant, due to its natural endurance, this succulent perfectly tolerates dry indoor air.
- Watering oscularia carried out in the summer so that the top layer of soil in the pot has time to dry out. The signal for watering will be that if you take a pinch of soil, it will begin to crumble. With the arrival of autumn, watering is gradually reduced and by November their frequency reaches once every 10-15 days, by the end of winter - once a month. In the period from December to January, the substrate is moistened only if the foliage begins to wither. If the watering is too excessive, it will lead to the beginning of decay. It is recommended to use only mild water for oscularia. You can use the collected rain or river, but if there is no confidence in the purity of such a liquid, then many growers water their plants with distilled water. Also tap water is filtered, boiled and defended.
- Fertilizers. For a succulent, feeding is necessary during the period of its growth activation, that is, from the beginning of spring and all summer time. They use preparations intended for cacti, but the dosage is almost halved. You can also take complex fertilizers, in which there is a low nitrogen content, but the dosage is also greatly reduced. Fertilization frequency - every 4 weeks.
- Transplantation and selection of substrate. With the arrival of spring time, you can change the pot and the soil in it for the Oscular. But it is recommended to do this only once every 2-3 years. A new pot is selected shallow, and a layer of drainage material should be laid on its bottom - it will help to avoid stagnation of moisture in the container. For planting this succulent, light soil with high permeability to water and air is suitable. You can use a store-bought universal substrate, but mix a little river sand into it. But if it appeared to mix the soil on your own, then you need to use equal parts of leafy land, greenhouse soil, coarse sand. Peat should not be used.
How to reproduce oscularia with your own hands?
To get a new succulent bush with such beautiful flowers, it is recommended to sow seeds or cuttings at home.
For seed propagation, a peat-sand mixture is used, poured into pots, where planting material is sown. The seeds are deepened by no more than 2 mm. After that, care consists of regular watering, but it is important to be careful so that the seeds do not float. Also, if moisture stagnates, the crops will rot, therefore, when planting, it is recommended to lay a drainage layer on the bottom of the container. When the height of the seedlings reaches 3-5 mm, then they can be planted in separate pots, but for greater decorativeness, it is recommended to plant several specimens in one container.
With the arrival of August, Oscularia can be propagated by cuttings. For blanks, parts are cut from the tops of the shoots, which have several nodes. It is advisable to cut the cut in the place where the shoot is already a little lignified. Then the cuttings are dried a little (since oscularia is a succulent, it is necessary that the liquid stops oozing from the workpiece). Then the cuttings are treated with a root or other root formation stimulant. Planting goes into a pot filled first with sand and then with a layer of peat. Leaf plates should not touch the substrate. It is recommended to moisten the soil and place the pot in a warm place with good lighting, but without direct sunlight. When the cuttings take root, they are transplanted in separate containers with more fertile soil, suitable for growing oscularia. The pot is selected low, and several specimens of seedlings are planted in one flowerpot.
Reproduction is also possible by dividing an overgrown bush.
Difficulties in the process of cultivating oscularia and ways to solve them
If the growing conditions for this succulent are violated, then the following problems may occur:
- With an insufficient level of illumination, the stems are stretching at the oscularia, the new leaf plates become smaller, and the wax bloom is not such a saturated gray color, in contrast to the old foliage. The solution to the problem is to change the location of the pot.
- Drying out of the substrate entails wrinkling of the surface of the leaves, the tops of the shoots begin to sag to the soil. To avoid such consequences, it is recommended to water the plant abundantly so that its root system is saturated with moisture.
- When patches of dried tissue form on the leaves, sunburn of the leaves may have occurred. In the midday hours of summer, it will be necessary to shade from direct streams of ultraviolet radiation, and spraying during such a period is undesirable. Damaged leaves or areas on them must be removed.
- If the oscularia stops growing, the foliage located in the lower part of the stems takes on a yellow color and falls off over time, and the root system begins to rot, then this is a consequence of excessive watering of the soil. You will have to remove the succulent from the pot, remove the old soil, cut off any diseased or dead roots, sprinkle the slices with crushed activated charcoal or charcoal and plant them in a fresh substrate.
- When the foliage became flabby, drooping, or began to die off, then, in all likelihood, the succulent froze. This is possible in indoor conditions, if ventilation was carried out in frosty weather, and the oscularia was under the influence of a draft. If the plant is not completely frozen, then the damaged stems can be cut off.
Of the pests of Oscularia, the mealybug is the most annoying. It can be identified by the formation of a blotchy sticky plaque or lumps on the back of leaves or in internodes. In this case, the growth of the succulent stops. It is necessary to remove the pest and its waste products with a cotton swab, which is moistened with alcohol. Then spraying with insecticides is performed. However, if a pest is found on the root system, the plant cannot be saved and it is recommended to remove it.
Occasionally, the oscularia is affected by the spider mite. It can be seen by the formation of a thin translucent cobweb on the leaves and stems. To combat the pest, it is possible to wash the leaf plates with a soap or oil solution, followed by treatment with an insecticidal preparation.
Curious facts about Oscularia
Due to the fact that Oscularia in nature tolerates significant temperature fluctuations and drought for many days, transportation over long distances is tolerated by it quite well. After purchase, the succulent is kept dry, as well as with some shading from direct sunlight.
After the oscularia is brought home, it should be carefully examined for harmful insects. If everything is in order, then the plant can be put into your flower collection. Otherwise, it will be necessary to carry out treatment with the help of special preparations for pests. It is recommended to transplant when spring comes or autumn days come, but not when the Oscularia is in the process of flowering or it is at rest.
Fruits in the culture of this succulent are extremely rare, so there is practically no chance to get your own planting material or buy seeds in a store.
Types of oscularia
- Oscularia deltoides is a plant that comes from lands located on the southwestern promontory of South Africa. Both leaves and shoots are covered with a grayish-blue waxy bloom, which in extreme natural conditions (midday scorching heat) plays the role of a protective layer. Young stems are fleshy, and old shoots become lignified over time. Their color is grayish-green or gray-blue. Leaf plates are located on the shoots in opposite order (in pairs). They are attached to the stem with thin, hard petioles. The leaf shape is triangular, as indicated by the varietal designation "deltoides" and there are red teeth on the edge. The stems are often purple-tinged. The height of the plant rarely exceeds 30 cm; during flowering, a large number of flowers with pink color of petals are formed. The flowers have an almond smell.
- Oscularia Caulescens (Oscularia deltoides). This variety is characterized by low parameters in height - only 15 cm. It has abundant branching and can form real clumps from a large accumulation of low-lying shoots. The stems become lignified over time and become gray in color, the leaf plates are cast in a grayish-green or bluish-green color scheme. The leaf reaches 2.5 cm in length, its shape is triangular, there is a slight concavity on the upper side, and the keel is visible from the back. The leaves are collected in whorls of three pairs with opposite placement. The foliage surface is smooth, but close to the top, there are several short, non-rigid teeth. In the process of flowering, a large number of buds are formed, at the top of each stem a flower is formed, which opens up to 1.25 cm in diameter. All shades of pink are found in the color of the petals. The stamens gather around the pistil.
- Oscularia piquetbergensis is a long perennial shrub with juicy reddish stems. The shape of the leaf plates is sickle-shaped, their color is gray-greenish, the leaf has a characteristic ending. On the edge there is a serration in rare cases, it is mostly smooth. With the arrival of spring and until September-October, the flowering process takes place, while mainly pink flowers are formed on the bush, although varieties with whitish petals are also found. The buds usually open in the afternoon when the sun is at its zenith. The stamens are mostly white and can be large or low in height. The stamens are collected in a cone in the center of the flower around the pistil. There are five separate nectar glands. The fruits are hygrochastic capsules (re-opening when wet and closing when dry). The seeds are ovoid and are brown in color.
