Distinctive features of the plant, recommendations for the maintenance of hypoesthesia, advice on reproduction, diseases and pests annoying hypoesthesia, interesting facts, species. Hypoestes (Hypoestes) or as it is also called Gipestes, refers to the genus of plants growing in the tropical zone of the African continent and the island of Madagascar, and ranked in the Acanthaceae family. This genus numbers up to 150 representatives of the green world of the planet. The plant got its name due to the word combination in Greek "hypo" and "estia", which translates "under" and "house", respectively, which justifies the structure of the flower (bracts, in which they completely cover the calyx). And the translation from English sounds like "a plant in a pot", as it is one of the most popular and beloved domestic green "pets". In some countries, for a particularly decorative color of the leaves, the hypestes are called the Freckle Face. In some countries, if weather conditions permit, it is customary to grow hypoestes on the streets and flower beds.
Basically, in their natural growth, they have a herbaceous or shrub form, with very good branching. In height, the plant rarely exceeds 50 cm. The stems are very juicy and hard, their growth rate is high.
The leaf plates are arranged in opposite order, ovoid in outline with a pointed apex. Their length reaches 7–10 cm and, moreover, at the base there is a smooth narrowing into a petiole. The edge of the leaf is smooth or serrated, the surface is covered with a patterned spot, which has a variety of outlines, sizes and sizes. The main background of the foliage is greenish or with a deep purple color scheme. There are specks and streaks of whitish, yellowish and pinkish tones along it.
Heads or semi-umbrellas are collected from flowers. The bracts of the hypestes are spliced and have a veil outline. At their base 1–3 buds are located. The corolla is tubular, and the bracts cover the calyx. The flowering process occurs in the summer-autumn period.
Growing from seeds, hypoesthesia care
- Lighting and location selection for the pot. To appreciate all the decorative beauty of the leaves of the hypestosis, it is recommended to place it in a well-lit place. This can be the sill of a window facing the southeastern, southwestern, eastern or western parts of the world. If the bush is on the window of the southern location, then in the summer, at noon, it will be necessary to create a light partial shade so that direct sunlight does not burn the leaves. For this, light curtains, gauze curtains are suitable, or sheets of paper can be glued to the window glass. If the pot with the plant is located on the north-facing window of the room, then you will have to carry out mandatory supplementary lighting with special lamps. The same actions will be necessary in the autumn-winter period, when the duration of daylight hours will noticeably decrease. The backlight time should be about 16 hours.
- Content temperature. For the growth of hypoesthesia, moderate heat values are required so that the thermometer marks fluctuate between 20-25 degrees. Overheating of the substrate and root system, as well as direct sunlight in the summer afternoon, will be detrimental to the plant. Since there is no dormant period in hypestes, a decrease in temperature in the autumn-winter period is not recommended, you can only slightly reduce them to a range of 18–20 degrees.
- Air humidity when growing a "freckled plant", it should be increased, especially in winter, when, due to the operation of heating devices and central heating batteries, the humidity in the rooms is greatly reduced. Therefore, it is recommended to regularly spray from a finely dispersed spray bottle with warm soft water.
- Watering hypoesthesia. Since the plant does not go into "hibernation", that is, it grows constantly without periods of rest, then watering should be abundant and regular all year round, as soon as the surface of the substrate in the pot dries out slightly. It is interesting that in winter they do not shrink, but do this only after pruning the shoots so that new leaves begin to grow. Water is used only warm and settled.
- Pruning bush "freckled face". At the end of the autumn-winter period, decorativeness in hypoesthesia is slightly lost and it is required to radically cut off the shoots. To make the bush always look beautiful, it is recommended to regularly cut and rejuvenate the plant. In early March, as soon as signs of new growth appear, the old stems should be completely shortened so that only 1–3 cm remain, practically leaving the hemp from the shoots. The tops of the stems are constantly pinched.
- Fertilizers for hypestosis they are carried out almost all year round, since, unlike many domestic plants, it does not have a dormant period. Special mineral and organic preparations are used. They are required to be made regularly every two weeks. With the arrival of autumn, the frequency of fertilizers is slightly reduced, but they do not stop at all, otherwise, with a lack of nutrition, the edge of the leaves may begin to darken and dry out.
- Transplantation and selection of a substrate. For hypoesthesia, replace the pot and the substrate in it, it is better in the spring every year. The capacity is selected larger than the previous one by size. The contours of the pot should be wider than deep - this will allow you to grow several specimens in one pot, which may differ in the color of the foliage. Holes are made in the bottom of the pot to drain excess moisture and 1–2 cm of drainage material (for example, pebbles or expanded clay) is poured.
The substrate for planting requires light and good nutritional value and neutral acidity, such as universal soils sold in flower shops. They also prepare the soil mixture on their own, combining compost, leafy soil, peat soil and coarse river sand in equal parts.
Tips for breeding gipestos
Since hypoesthesia has a feature of rapid growth, therefore, after 2-3 years, it is customary to rejuvenate it. Get a new "freckled" bush with spotted leaves, possibly using seed sowing and cuttings.
Cuttings are cut from the tops of the stems in the spring and summer. The branch should have 2-3 internodes. Prepared cuttings are rooted in a loose, moist substrate (sandy-peat soil can act as it). The germination temperature is maintained within 22-25 degrees. It is necessary to create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse, covering the planted branches with a glass vessel or a plastic bag, you can use a cut plastic bottle, and its upper part, where the cork is located. This will help to subsequently easily ventilate and moisturize the substrate. When clear signs of rooting are visible, it will be necessary to transplant into new pots, at the bottom of which there will be a small layer of drainage and a soil suitable for gybestosis.
You can also place the cut cuttings in a container of water, where they will also release root shoots. But a transparent jar is not suitable for this, you need a dark glass container, a ceramic pot or a frosted plastic cup or similar containers. When the roots of the branches reach 2-3 centimeters in length, you can plant in small hotel pots with soil suitable for further growth.
Hypoesthesia seeds can be purchased at flower shops or left flowers on the mother bush and get planting material. Sowing of seeds is carried out in early spring. A moistened nutrient substrate is placed in a container for seedlings, seeds are carefully scattered on its surface and lightly powdered with the same soil on top. The container is covered with plastic wrap or placed under glass. After 5 days, you can already see the first entrances. After that, the shelter is removed, and the seedlings are placed in a well-lit place, but without direct sunlight. As the seedlings grow, pick them up. You can plant the sprouts at a distance of 5 cm from each other or provide a separate small pot for each young hyposthesis. In this case, the soil must be constantly moistened. The main thing is not to flood the substrate. When the plants are fully strengthened and grow, the next change of the pot to a larger one is carried out, in this case the soil is selected in which the adult specimens are grown.
Grown young hypoestesses are planted in open ground and grown as annual garden vegetation, but then they are planted only after the morning frosts do not kill the "young". The distance in the flower bed between the plants is maintained at 15 cm.
Difficulties in cultivating hyposthesis and ways to eliminate them
The "freckled face" plant is a rather unassuming domestic culture, but if the conditions of its keeping are violated, the following problems immediately arise:
- if there is frequent waterlogging of the substrate or the soil is rather scarce, then the leaf plates begin to turn black;
- in case of insufficient lighting, the shoots quickly become bare, and the foliage becomes smaller, its color becomes simply green;
- when the plant is exposed to cold temperatures or cold air currents, leaf blades may be shed;
- the same is observed when the earthen coma dries up;
- in the case of a decrease in humidity in a room where hypoesthesia is contained, the leaves begin to wrinkle and their ends dry out;
- with a highly waterlogged substrate, the leaves acquire a yellowish tint;
- when the plant is in direct sunlight for a long time, sunburn of the leaves may occur.
Hypestes is rarely affected by harmful insects and this is due to violations of growing conditions, most often the pests are whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs or spider mites. It is urgent to carry out treatment with insecticidal preparations and, in case of incomplete destruction of harmful insects, repeat it in a week.
Interesting facts about hypestes
Cut flowers of gipestos can stand in a vase for a very long time, delighting the owners.
A "flower in a pot" should not be grown in large phytocompositions, since next to the numerous leaves of even modest domestic plants, all the decorative beauty of hypoesthesia leaves is reduced to zero, its peculiar "textile" structure disappears and all the shortcomings begin to be too visible. Therefore, it is better to grow it apart.
Gepestus looks good with winter flowering plants, such as Camellia Sasanqua with white and pinkish flowers, and it also looks great next to various ruelle varieties that also like shading. It is not bad if a silver sparrow grows nearby.
Often the foliage of Hypoestes aristata is used in salads, replacing spinach with it, in some areas of growth. And also it can be used in traditional medicine. If the leaf plates are crushed, then they are used as a poultice for sore eyes. With the help of a decoction of leaf plates and roots, mixed with the leaves of Ampelopteris, they successfully fight meningitis and encephalitis.
Types of hypesthesia
In home gardening, only a few varieties are most often grown.
Hypoestes phyllostachya (Hypoestes phyllostachya). Popularly it can be found under the name Freckle Face, and the plant is very close in appearance to Hypoestes sunguinolenta. The native territories of growth are the lands of the island of Madagascar. The leaf plates of the plant are also cast in a lilac color with a reddish tint. The variety got its popular name due to the fact that the surface of the leaf is completely covered with speckled and spotted, and resembles a person's face with freckles. These markings are painted in all sorts of whitish, pinkish colors, but sometimes a green or red tone is present. The spots on the back of the sheet are of a lighter shade, often there they are just white. The sheet is simple.
In this variety, small flowers with lilac, pinkish or purple petals appear in the leaf axils. The bud has two lips, the corolla is tubular. Mostly corymbose inflorescences are collected from the flowers. It can be grown as an annual crop, but in the natural environment it is an evergreen perennial, with a semi-shrub or shrub form of growth.
There are the following varieties of this type of hypestes:
- Crimson confetti has dark emerald leaves with a pale pink spot;
- Confetti red - a plate of mainly red color, but there is a pattern of green veins;
- Confetti Red wine with dark green leaf color with burgundy tones, on the surface there are multiple specks of crimson tones;
- White confetti has leaf plates with a dark emerald color, but mottling is whitish in color;
- Splash Pink with leaves of a pale pinkish tone, only the leaf edge and veins are green;
- Splash White has leaves with a whitish color and veins of a greenish tone;
- Splash Red is distinguished by foliage, which is equally decorated with mottling of a red, crimson or green hue;
Hypoestes Pink veil strikes the eye with leaf plates with a green background, which is unevenly colored with multiple specks of pink tones of various sizes and shapes.
Blood red hypoestes (Hypoestes sanguinolenta). May be referred to in the scientific literature as Eranthernum sanguinolenta. It is found on the island of Madagascar and the east coast of the Australian continent, likes to settle in shady areas. Possesses a semi-shrub form of growth. The plant can grow up to 50 cm in height. There is good branching. The leaf plates are narrowly ovoid, the general background of the leaf is dark green with small reddish specks and purple-bloody veins. The size of the leaf reaches a length of 5-8 cm with a width of only 3-4 cm. Its edge is wavy, all-edged. The flowers are small, their petals are light red or light purple in color, and their throat is snow-white.
Hypoestes aristata. The native growing areas are African lands, it is one of the types of flowering plants. It has a herbaceous form of growth and erect stems, which can reach 1–1.5 meters in height. Likes to settle in forests, on mountain heights in the northern and southern parts of Nigeria, Cameroon and Fernando Po. The description first appeared in 1817 and was published in The Taxonomy of Vegetables.
Most of all, it attracts with its pink flowers, which serves as a real color in the garden or room. From the buds, spike-shaped inflorescences are collected, the flowering process begins in May and lasts almost all winter until early spring. The growth rate of this variety is very fast. The leaf plates appear with a soft hairy surface, their color is dark green, the shape is oval.
More information on hypoesthesia in this video:
