What are the differences between Mikania and other representatives of the flora, recommendations for care, steps for reproduction, difficulties in cultivation, curious facts, species. Mikania (Mikania) is a herbaceous plant with ampelous shoots, which is attributed by scientists to the Compositeae family, or as it is also called Astraceae. Almost all varieties grow in South and North America, as well as Brazil, but there are 9 species that grow in the tropics of the Old World. The genus is quite extensive and there are up to 450 varieties in it.
Mikania received its scientific name in honor of the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan (1743–1814).
This plant is, as already mentioned, a herbaceous vine with a long life cycle, in which both the stems and leaf plates have pubescence. The shape of the leaves is finger-like, the color is green, if the foliage is in direct sunlight, then its color changes to purple or reddish. Reddish streaks are sometimes visible on the surface. The shape of the leaf lobes is diamond-shaped, with the upper lobe larger than those located on the sides. The petioles possessed by leaves with a pubescent surface are rather thin, brown in color.
On rather long shoots (they can reach a length from half a meter to 2.5 meters), hanging down to the soil, daughter rosettes are formed, with aerial roots, which can easily take root upon reaching the ground. Therefore, mikania is often used not only as an ampelous culture, but also as a ground cover.
The growth rate, especially in young specimens, is very high and they can quickly cover all closely spaced plants and structures with their branches. In some countries, Mikania is considered a rather serious weed and people try to control its plantings with herbicides, parasitic plants or fungi and insects.
Mikania can please its owner for a rather long period if the following cultivation rules are supported for it.
Rules for growing mikanii, home care
- Lighting. To make the vine feel comfortable, it is recommended to put the pot with it in a place where there is bright light. This level of illumination can only be created on the windows of the southern and eastern locations. Mikaniya requires at least three hours of direct sunlight per day. However, when the summer heat sets in, then on the southern windowsill you will have to slightly shade the plant at midday so that the streams of harmful ultraviolet radiation do not burn the foliage.
- Content temperature. For the normal growth of vines, moderate heat levels are necessary, too high or low temperatures are harmful for meking. In the spring and summer months, the thermometer should be in the range of 18–20 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn and the entire winter season, they are lowered to 14–15 degrees, and they should not fall below 12 units. Drafts are harmful to the plant, but it is necessary to ventilate the room where the vine grows, then you just need to remove the pot in a protected place.
- Air humidity. For mikaniya it is better when the moisture content in the air is normal or slightly higher (50–70%). If the humidity decreases, then foliage can be shed. Spraying is undesirable, since the leaf plates and stems of mikanii have pubescence and moisture drops can lead to decay of plant parts. If in winter the heat indicators exceed 15 degrees, then the pot with the vine should be placed in a pallet, where expanded clay or pebbles are poured and a little water is poured. You just need to make sure that the bottom of the flowerpot does not touch the liquid. If spraying is carried out in the summer heat, then a fine spray is used or the air is sprayed next to the plant.
- Watering. In order for the vine to feel comfortable, it is recommended to moisten the soil in the pot with it abundantly and with constant regularity in the spring-summer months. However, you need to make sure that there is no gulf and soil acidification, since the root system will quickly begin to rot and mickey will die. Typically, the watering regime for this time is once every 3-4 days. With the onset of winter, the substrate in the pot should dry out a little, but its complete drying is unacceptable. Only warm and soft water is used for irrigation.
- Fertilizers for mecania, they are introduced only during the growing season, which lasts from April to early autumn. The regularity of feeding should be twice a month. Apply drugs in which equal parts of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. However, purchased products should be used at a dosage 2-3 times less than that indicated by the manufacturer. Liquid fertilizers are often used and dissolved in water for irrigation.
- Transplants and recommendations for choosing a substrate. When the vine is still young, then it will have to change the pot and the soil in it annually, since the growth rate of Mikania is quite high, but over time, such transplants are performed only as needed, if the plant fully masters the soil offered to it and braids it with root shoots. This usually happens 2-3 years after the last transplant. The best time to time is in the spring months. The bottom of the flowerpot should have small holes so that excess water flows out and does not stagnate. Also, before laying the soil, a good layer of drainage material is poured onto the bottom.
You can take specialized soil for transplanting, but if it is too dense, then mix a little peat and sand into it. In general, the substrate should have good air permeability. Also, florists for mikaniya mix the following components:
- River sand, peat, leaf and sod soil (in a ratio of 1: 1: 2: 1).
- Sod soil, leafy (taken from under birches), peat and coarse sand (in a ratio of 1: 2: 1: 1).
- Sod soil, river sand and perlite, peat or humus (leafy soil can be used) with proportions of 1: 1: 1: 2. A little chopped sphagnum moss is added to this composition.
How to propagate mikaniya on your own?
Get a new vine, possibly by planting daughter rosettes, cuttings or occasionally sowing seeds.
To carry out cuttings, it is necessary in the spring to cut blanks from the apical shoots from the parent plant, which will be at least 5–8 cm in length. It is necessary that they have a pair of internodes and leaf plates. It is recommended to treat the cut with a rooting stimulant, for example, Kornevin or heteroauxin - this will facilitate rooting. Cuttings are planted in moistened sand or sandy-peat substrate. Then the cuttings must be wrapped in a plastic bag or placed under a glass jar or a cut plastic bottle to create conditions for a mini-greenhouse (with high humidity and constant heat). The germination temperature is maintained at about 20-25 degrees. Every day, such a greenhouse should be ventilated and condensate removed and, if necessary, sprayed on dried soil.
If it is conceived to sow seed, then such an operation is carried out in early spring. The seeds are placed in pots filled with a mixture of chopped sphagnum moss and peat. They are spread over the surface of the substrate and slightly pressed into the soil; they should not be sprinkled. Watering in this case is carried out only lower, when water is poured into a stand under a pot of seedlings. Then the container with Mikania seeds is placed in a warm place (on a battery, high cabinet or refrigerator) and the substrate is regularly sprayed.
The easiest way is to reproduce with the help of daughter sockets. Such formations are carefully separated from the mother vines and, since they already have their own root shoots, they simply plant a pre-prepared pot with drainage at the bottom and a suitable substrate for further cultivation.
Potential pests and diseases of Mikanii and their control
If the conditions for keeping mikania are violated, then the plant can be affected by the red spider mite, aphids, thrips or whitefly. If signs of harmful insects are found, for example:
- thin cobweb on leaves and internodes;
- green or brown small bugs;
- white specks on the back of leaves or whitish small midges;
- tiny dots of brown color on the back of the leaves;
- leaf plates begin to deform, turn yellow and fly around;
- a sticky sugary bloom forms on the surface of the leaves,
It is recommended to wipe the leaf plates and stems with oil, soap or alcohol solutions. But if the pests do not disappear, insecticidal and acaricidal preparations are used until the insects and their waste products are completely destroyed.
If we talk about diseases, then most of all Mikania suffers from powdery mildew or gray rot. In the first case, the foliage has a whitish bloom, which grows strongly over time, while the leaves dry out and fall off. This problem occurs when the humidity level in the room is high and there is no ventilation. Fungicides and antibiotic solutions are used to combat. Re-processing is carried out after 7 days.
Gray mold appears at low temperatures and high humidity. A fluffy bloom of gray color forms on the leaves. Over time, if you do not take action, mickling will simply die. To solve the problem, they use foundation treatment and regulate the conditions of detention.
You can also highlight the following problems when growing macinia:
- if the lighting level is low, then the size of the leaves becomes smaller, and the shoots are strongly elongated;
- with low humidity, foliage begins to fly around;
- if the ends of the leaves turn brown, and then the entire plate dries up and falls off, then the reason may be both insufficient moisture and warm and dry wintering conditions;
- when the leaf plates begin to fade and droop, then the reason may be stagnation of moisture in the flowerpot, the absence or lack of drainage material, or waterlogging of the substrate.
Curious facts about Mikania
The plant varieties Mikania laevigata and Mikania glomerata are referred to by the local population as "guaco" and are actively used in herbal medicine.
The growth rate of mikania micranta is high: so in a day a young plant can add from 80 to 90 mm, while its branches cover other growing plants, bushes and even trees nearby. In Nepal, for example, the species presents a real problem, as it covers over 20% of the area in Chitwan National Park.
In India (Kerala) and Malaysia, the stems and leaves of Mikaniyah are often used as feed for sheep and cattle, especially in the summer, when there is not enough grass for animals. But at the same time, there is evidence that eating Mikanii leads to hepatotoxicity and liver damage in dairy cattle.
There is evidence of its antibacterial effect that the local population uses mikaniy for wound healing. In Assam, Nevada, the Kabi tribes use foliage juice as an antidote to insect and scorpion bites. Leaf blades are also used to relieve abdominal pain or itchy skin. However, in all cases, the therapeutic evidence is not precise enough or is lacking as such.
On the African continent, mikania foliage is usually used in the preparation of soups, as a vegetable dressing. As a weed, liana is used to cover rubber plantations in Malaysia. Rice crops in Mizoram (India) are also mulched with cut foliage and shoots, which greatly increases their yield.
Types of Mikania
- Mikania climbing (Mikania scandens) possesses liana-like curly shoots and can grow as an evergreen or semi-evergreen representative of the flora. In length, the branches reach a limit of about 2.5 meters. The arrangement of leaves is opposite, in swollen internodes. The leaf plates are triangular in shape or can take on a heart-shaped shape, their surface is glossy, the color is medium green or rich bright green. The length of the sheet is measured up to 15 cm with a width of about 10 cm. The edge is solid or there are asymmetrical teeth along the edge. When flowering in the leaf axils, panicle inflorescences are formed, with a length of 2–5 cm. They usually collect snow-white, yellowish-white or light pink, and occasionally purple or purple flower heads. The flower head is 1.5 cm long. The fruit is dark resinous up to 1.5 cm long; a center of white or purple bristles is visible on it. Homeland are the eastern or central regions of the United States, and it is also common in Tamaulipas in Mexico. There are reports of a find of this species in Canada, Ontario, but they are false. It is a bred and invasive (introduced and widespread) species in many island lands of the Pacific Ocean and in some areas of South Asia.
- Mikania ternata (Mikania ternata). Perennial herb. When the specimen is still young, its stems grow straight, but over time and as mikaniya matures, they sink to the ground and spread over its surface. Because of this, the plant can be grown in hanging pots and planters. The leaf plate of this variety has a complex structure: it consists of five lobes with diamond-shaped outlines. The uppermost leaf-lobe is larger in size than those that grow in the middle and bottom. The petioles with which the leaf is attached to the shoot are thin, brown in color, with a velvety surface. The color of the leaf lobes on the upper side is dark green, veins with a red tint appear on the surface. The reverse side casts a purple tint.
- Mikania micrantha is a tropical plant also known as bitter vine or American rope. The native habitat falls on the lands of the subtropical zones of North, Central and South America. It is considered a widespread weed there. This is a vigorously growing perennial vine that likes to merge in natural conditions in areas with high humidity, freshness and fertile soil, although the species can adapt to poorer substrates. The seeds formed are carried by the wind, and help the natural reproduction of this vine. One stem can produce 20 to 40 thousand seeds per season.
- Mikania cordata comes from forests in Borneo, Cambodia, Indonesia (Java), Laos, New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. According to all data, the plant is widespread throughout Southeast Asia. Likes to settle at an altitude of 100-1700 meters above sea level. It is a perennial climbing herb with thin stems with multiple branches. The surface of the shoot is very rarely pubescent or bare. The average leaves have a petiole of 2.5–6 cm in length, the shape is triangular-ovate, with parameters 4–10x2.7 cm. Both surfaces are sparsely pubescent, glossy or glabrous. The edge of the sheet is solid. The sizes of the upper leaves gradually decrease, have short petioles, their outlines are triangular or lanceolate, at the base they are truncated or wedge-shaped. The flower's corolla is white, with a thin bell-shaped tube, reaching 3.5–5 cm in length. Fruits are narrowly elliptical, about 3.5 mm, ribbed and glandular. The flowering and fruiting process lasts from August to November.
