The main distinguishing features of the plant, the rules for cultivating hypocyrtes, advice on reproduction, diseases and pests, interesting facts, species. Hypocyrta belongs to the Gesneriaceae family, which numbers more than 30 representatives of the planet's flora. Almost all of them have delicate outlines and shrub or semi-shrub growth. Among them there may also be epiphytic liana-like plants existing on tree branches or semi-epiphytic varieties. Most often they are found on the lands of South America, namely in humid and warm tropical forests. It is also customary to refer to the genus of the same name the following examples of the green world: neomortonia, besleria, drymonia, codonant, columnea, coritoplelectus, paradrimonia.
The plant got its name thanks to the translation from the Greek phrase "hypocyrta", which connects the two words "hypo" and "kyrtos" meaning "under" and "curved" or "thickened below", hinting at the structure of the flower, which has a deflection in the lower part. And the famous botanist-anthropologist and physician who lived in the 19th century Karl Friedrich Philip von Martius gave such a fancy name to the flower. It was he who singled out the exotic-looking bush among the whole variety of plants in the Amazon. For some peoples, the hypocyrt is called the "humpbacked flower" for this very reason.
In height, the plant reaches parameters within 10-15 cm, if the species has creeping shoots, and when the stems grow upright, they can measure 40-60 cm. Most often, this exotic bush is grown for the decorative outlines of foliage and flowers. Foliage from oval (elliptical) to obovate outlines, there is a sharpening at the apex, the surface is dense, fleshy, pubescence on the leaves may be present or they grow naked. The color of the upper side is bright green, and sometimes the bottom of the leaf can be lilac. Aerial roots usually develop from the leaf sinuses, which help the plant, which leads an epiphytic lifestyle, to receive all the necessary nutrients and moisture from the environment.
In the summer, tubular flowers appear in the axils of the leaf plates. Their buds in the lower swollen part have a bright orange or reddish color scheme. The top of the petals bizarrely bends and repeats the outlines of human lips folded for a kiss, which is why some peoples call the hypocyrtu “the kiss of summer”, but some see it as a “goldfish”. For example, in an old woman in England, this plant is called the "flower-boot". The bud can grow up to 5 cm in length.
Requirements for caring for hypocyrt at home
- Lighting for the "flower-shoe". The plant feels best in bright, but diffused lighting, when it is not exposed to direct sunlight. Install a pot with a hypocyrt on the windowsills of windows "looking" to the east or west, south-east or south-west locations are suitable. With the arrival of winter, it will be necessary to carry out artificial lighting, otherwise it will be difficult to wait for flowering. On the southern orientation of the windows, it is necessary to provide for shading, using light curtains or gauze curtains, and on the winter direction window, a constant increase in daylight hours is recommended.
- Content temperature. It is necessary for hypocyrtes to withstand indoor heat indicators in the spring-summer months, their range varies within 20-25 degrees. With the arrival of autumn and throughout the winter, it is better to lower the temperature to 12-16 degrees so that the plant can rest. But the minimum indicator that a plant can withstand without damage is still 12 degrees.
- Air humidity when growing "flower-shoe" should be increased. Therefore, it will be necessary to regularly spray the leaf mass of the plant, but only when there are no buds on it. Then it will be possible to increase the moisture content in the environment by placing vessels with water or mechanical humidifiers next to it. It is also recommended to install a pot with a plant in a deep tray, on the bottom of which a little expanded clay or pebbles are poured and water is poured. It is important that the bottom of the flowerpot does not touch its level.
- Watering hypocyrtes in the summer require abundant, and with the arrival of autumn it is reduced. If in the winter months the "flower-shoe" is kept at low heat values, then moisture is quite rare, but it is impossible to allow the complete drying of the soil substrate in the pot. Only warm water is used for irrigation, otherwise the foliage will be hopelessly spoiled by brown spots. However, it is better to take rain or river water, but if this is not possible, then it is recommended to filter the tap water, pre-boil and settle for several days. Then carefully drain the liquid, being careful not to shake the precipitate.
- Fertilizers. As soon as the hypocyrta begins an active growing season (this time falls in the month of April), then it is necessary to support your exotic beauty with regular feeding until August. Fertilizers for flowering houseplants or any complete mineral complex are used. The regularity of feeding once a week, in the autumn-winter period they are not used.
- Pruning a plant. Before the hypocyrte bush enters dormancy mode, it is necessary to prune its shoots, removing the length of each stem by a third. This will subsequently help ensure good branching and more bud formation, as they only grow on young branches.
- Carrying out hypocyrte transplantation. Every spring, it is necessary for the "kiss of summer" flower to change the pot and soil in it while the plant is young, and then perform this operation every 2-3 years using the transshipment method (without destroying the earthy coma). But the new container should not be too large compared to the previous one, but should correspond to the size of the root system. If this rule is violated, then the roots will begin to rot over time.
The substrate is used light and loose; purchased soil for Saintpaulias (violets) is suitable. Or the mixture is made up of the following options:
- leafy soil, peat soil and coarse river sand (in proportions 3: 1: 0, 5);
- humus (compost or greenhouse soil), peat soil, coarse sand and leafy substrate (all parts are equal).
You can also add a little chopped bark or crushed charcoal there.
Recommendations for self-propagation of a hypocyrte flower
To get a new beautiful "kiss of summer" bush, the method of grafting is used. Usually in the spring-summer period it is customary to cut apical cuttings with 4-5 nodes. From these branches, the lower pair of leaves is removed and then the cutting is placed in a vessel with water or deepened into a prepared small pot with a peat-sandy substrate. If the planting is carried out in a soil mixture, then the branch is immersed in the soil to the first leaf blade from below. Then the cuttings are covered with a glass container or wrapped in plastic wrap. This will help create a mini-greenhouse environment where humidity and heat readings will be high. The planted twigs are placed in a warm (with a temperature of 20-24 degrees) and well-lit place, but without direct rays of the sun.
If the branches are placed in water, then you need to wait until they have root processes that will reach 2-3 cm in length, then you need to plant the plant in loose soil. It is important not to forget to regularly moisturize the substrate and ventilate the seedlings.
When young hypocyrtes grow up and get stronger, then you can carry out the first transplant into prepared containers with soil suitable for further growth. 3-4 seedlings are planted in a pot, if it is necessary to have an ampelous plant, and when a bush form of growing a "humpbacked flower" is required, then only one stalk is placed in the container, which must be regularly pinched in the future.
There is information that you can get a "flower-boot" by sowing seed. It is usually bought from a flower shop or harvested from a mother bush. Seeds are sown in a container with peat soil, in shallow grooves made. Sprinkle them a little with a substrate on top. The soil is sprayed with a fine spray gun and the container is covered with a piece of glass or a plastic bag. The place for germination is selected the same as when rooting hypocyrtes cuttings. The first shoots can be seen within 14–20 days. It is important to ventilate the seedlings regularly and moisten the soil if necessary.
When the seedlings reach 2-3 cm in height, they are first thinned out and gradually begin to accustom them to the room atmosphere. After a couple of weeks, a dive is carried out in separate containers to a permanent place of growth.
Difficulties in cultivating hypocyrtes and ways to solve them
All the problems that arise when growing a "humpback flower" are due to violations of the rules for its maintenance:
- if the winter temperatures are not lowered, then the plant can be affected by aphids and they are treated with insecticides to fight;
- when hypothermia or soil flooding has occurred, then the hypocyrt can react by dumping foliage or buds;
- if the pot with the plant is in direct sunlight, then the leaves begin to turn yellow and curl, you will need to put the pot in a shaded place;
- when the foliage loses its intense color and begins to turn yellow, then the reason may be too low air humidity or overfeeding with fertilizers;
- when watering with very cold water, a brown spot appears on the leaf plates at the "kiss of summer", the same happens with irregular moisture, when the substrate dries out very much and then becomes waterlogged;
- when it is impossible to wait for hypocyrtes or buds to bloom, very few appear, then this is due to insufficient lighting or clay soil in which the flower is planted, the same can give very cold or dry air, or in winter the plant was grown at high temperatures and insufficient lighting;
- little or no flowering when last year's old shoots have not been pruned.
Of the diseases and pests that can annoy the hypocyrte, there are:
- Powdery mildew (gray rot)which manifests itself as a gray bloom on the foliage surface. It appears when the conditions for keeping the plant are violated. It is recommended not to spray the bush, cut off all the affected parts of the "humpback flower", and treat it with fungicides.
- The appearance of harmful insects - aphids, scale insects, whiteflies, spider mites. These pests manifest themselves by the appearance of a sticky plaque, a thin cobweb or deformation and yellowing of the leaves. Spraying with an insecticidal preparation is carried out, repeated after 2 weeks.
Interesting facts about hypocyrt
If we talk about the healing properties of hypocyrta, then first of all it is necessary to remember that with its help all home room "flavors" are healed. Even if the flower has already completely decayed or is ill for a long time, then next to the "kiss of summer" it quickly, after a couple of months, is transformed. But this “humpbacked flower” also has a rather positive effect on a person, the plant quickly takes away all negative emotions and replaces them with peace of mind and balance. But this is possible only if the hypocyrta itself is healthy and does not get sick.
There is some evidence that this genus, called Hypocyrta, was aging and was abolished. Almost all of its varieties have been attached to the genus Nemantanthus. This genus is named due to the fusion of Greek principles, such as "nema" meaning "thread, hair" and "anthos" translated as "flower". This indicates the shape of the flowers, which hang down from the leaf sinuses as if on strings. These strings are thin peduncles.
Types of hypocyrt
- Hypocyrta nummularia It is an ampelous culture, since it grows in its natural environment as an epiphyte, the shoots of which have weak branching. The leaf plates are rounded in shape, along the edge there is crenation, the surface is fleshy, reminiscent of the leaves of a money tree. The foliage is painted in a light greenish color scheme. The length of the leaf reaches 2 cm, there is a weak pubescence of shoots, petioles and leaf plates with small hairs. The arrangement of the leaves is alternate. The flowers grow in a bright red hue with a yellow corolla limb. As soon as the flowering process is completed, the foliage is discarded and the hypocyrt passes into a state of dormancy. Due to the fact that the classification has changed, this plant can be found under the name Neomortonia nummularia.
- Hypocyrta naked (Hypocyrta glarba). The plant has a semi-ampelous growth form and its shoots with little branching, there are practically no lateral processes. In height, an adult specimen can reach 20–25 cm. The leaf plates have elliptical contours, the surface is fleshy and glossy. They have small petioles, the arrangement of the leaves is opposite. The color of the foliage is a beautiful rich green color, there is no pubescence. The length of the leaf plate reaches 2–4 cm with a width of up to 1.5 cm. In the leaf axils, flowers of 1–3 units are formed on short flowering stems. Corolla petals are waxy, they grow together, forming a tube with a small limb. They are painted in a bright orange tone, there is a characteristic swelling from the bottom. After flowering stops, the leaves remain on the bush. Today, since the variety is included in the genus Nematantus, it can be found in literary sources under the name of Nematanthus strigillosus.
- Hypocyrta tropicana. The plant has shiny dark emerald leaf plates with diamond-shaped contours, they are attached with short petioles to upright shoots. The flowering process will extend over all summer months. The petals of the humpbacked bud are decorated with yellow-terracotta stripes.
- Hypocyrta gregarius. Available in yellow and red varieties. The plant has small oval leaves, the top of which is pointed, the surface is glossy. The shoots of this variety are creeping, so it can be grown as an ampelous crop. Miniature flowers with a tubular corolla appear in the leaf axils. Their petals take on red and yellow hues.
- Hypocyrta columneia. To date, this variety is singled out as a separate genus and is dearly loved by flower growers. She has semi-ample or semi-erect shoots. They are covered with large dark green foliage. The leaf plate has a sharp point at the top. Flowers with petals of scarlet color and a small bend of the corolla, they seem to rise above the entire bush and serve as a decoration for it.
- Hypocyrta veriegata (Hypocyrta veriegata) famous for the color of its foliage - it is two-tone. There are varieties in which the core of the leaf blade is lighter or there is a strip along the vein located in the center, and foliage is also found with a whitish edge.
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