Description of external features and features, agricultural technology when growing lamprantus, do-it-yourself reproduction, pests and diseases, facts to note, types. Lampranthus (Lampranthus) belongs to the genus of plants that are part of the Aizoaceae family or as it is sometimes called Aizoonovye. These representatives of the green world received their classification in 1930. The native area of natural growth is in South Africa. There are up to 150 varieties in the genus.
The plant got its name due to the fusion of two ancient Greek words: "lampros", which means "shiny" or "prominent" and "anthos" translated as "flower". The reason for this was the petals of flowers, which, like silk, glittered and shimmered in the sunlight.
Lampratnus has a herbaceous or semi-shrub form of growth and can grow as an annual or perennial. It is presented in the form of a succulent - a plant that can accumulate liquid in its stems and leaf plates in order to survive in dry periods. The stems grow erect or take on a creeping shape, that is, the lamparatnus can play the role of a ground cover. In height, the bush reaches only 15–40 cm, but some specimens reach a height of 60 cm.
The leaf plates are rather long, their surface is succulent, with three sides or cylindrical. From above, the leaves are smooth, usually covered with a waxy bloom, painted in bluish-green, bluish-green or light green color, often spliced at the base, sessile (devoid of petioles). The leaves are located on the shoots in an opposite order.
During flowering, large buds with silky petals are formed, the length of the petiole is rather short. The buds open only at noon, when the sun is very bright and stands at its zenith. The color of the petals is quite varied: this includes all shades of pink, red, purple and orange, as well as yellow. The flowering process is very abundant and occurs from mid-summer to October. In full disclosure, the diameter of the flower reaches 7 cm. The outlines of the flowers resemble small chrysanthemums or daisies.
After the flowering is completed, the fruits ripen in the form of bolls filled with multiple seeds.
The growth rate of the plant is quite high - a few centimeters per year. Because of its unpretentiousness, this succulent fell in love with flower growers, and with its inflorescences it can compete with many flowering representatives of the flora.
Rules for caring for lamprantus in room conditions
- Lighting and location selection. Most of all, a place with bright, but diffused lighting is suitable for this bush with silky flowers. These can be the sill of windows facing the southeast or southwest, as well as the southern location. Shading is recommended only in the hottest summer afternoon. True, in conditions of natural growth, lampranthus grows on mountain slopes without cover from direct sunlight, but there is a natural circulation of air masses and the foliage will not have sunburn, this cannot be ensured in room conditions. If there is not enough light, then you will have to carry out supplementary lighting with special phytolamps or fluorescent lamps.
- Content temperature. In order for the lampratnus to feel comfortable, it is necessary to withstand moderate heat indicators - 20-23 degrees. Since the plant needs rest in winter, it is recommended to reduce the temperature to 10-12 units for this time, but it should not drop below 8 degrees. There is information that the plant can withstand frost up to 7 degrees for a short time.
- Air humidity when growing lamprantus does not play a big role, since it easily transfers dry indoor air. Only in the summer months, in extreme heat, you can humidify the air from a sprayer next to the bush, but in such a way that not a single drop falls on the foliage.
- Watering. When caring for lamprantus, it is required that in the spring-summer period the soil dries out from above between waterings - if you take a pinch of the substrate, it easily crumbles, after which they wait a couple more days before watering. It is important not to overmoisten the soil, since the root processes easily rot. When the plant is at rest, especially during cold wintering, the soil is only slightly moistened, almost a teaspoon of moisture. Slightly wilted leaves become a sign for watering. Soft and warm water is used for humidification.
- Fertilizers for lamprantus bring in from late spring to early autumn. Regularity - every 14 days. Preparations are used for decorative flowering plants, but the dosage is reduced by 2 times from that indicated on the package by the manufacturer. Some people use fertilizers for cacti, but here, too, the dosage should be reduced by 4 times.
- Transplantation and selection of a substrate. The plant grows, albeit quickly, but it is transplanted only when the root system has mastered all the soil in the pot, usually after 2-3 years. The pots are chosen shallow, but wide. When carrying out transplantation, it is recommended to remove bare shoots. A drainage layer should be laid on the bottom of the container. You can use any soil mixture for succulents with good water permeability. A little coarse sand is added to it. But flower growers often make up a substrate on their own from garden (universal soil), river sand, gravel chips, coconut substrate (all parts are taken equal). The following composition is also used: leafy soil, greenhouse soil, coarse sand or perlite (in equal proportions).
Reproduction of lamprantus with your own hands
In order to get a new bush with silky flowers, cuttings and seed sowing are carried out.
When propagating with seeds, the material must be sown in winter or early spring. The seeds are placed in a peat-sandy substrate (equal parts), laid in a bowl. Since the seeds are small, they are not buried, but distributed over the surface of the soil and lightly powdered with soil (a layer of 1–2 mm). Crops are moistened from a spray bottle, the container is covered with a piece of glass or wrapped in a plastic bag - conditions for a mini-greenhouse are created.
The germination temperature is maintained at about 15 degrees. The main thing is not to forget to ventilate the crops and, if necessary, moisten the soil. As soon as the shoots have appeared (after about 3 weeks), the shelter is removed and the plants are accustomed to indoor conditions. After the formation of a pair of real leaves, young lamprantus are transplanted in separate pots.
If it is not planned to carry out planting (since in nature plants grow in dense clumps), then initially reproduction is carried out a little differently. In a wide pot, it is required to lay a layer of drainage on the bottom, and then pour a substrate suitable for growing adult specimens (this is described above). Then a layer of coarse-grain washed sand (about 5 mm) is poured onto this soil. Seed material is distributed on it. At the same time, the seedlings will hatch, take root and calmly continue their growth without transplanting.
At the end of the summer period, lamprantus can be propagated using cuttings. Seedlings are cut from the tops of the shoots. There should be several nodes on the handle and the cut is made where the shoot has already begun to lignify slightly. Revenge of the cut is recommended to be treated with a root (any root formation stimulator) and then the cutting is planted in a pot with a moistened peat-sand mixture. The leaves should not touch the substrate. The container with cuttings is placed in a warm place with bright but diffused lighting. In the first week after planting, watering is not recommended, and on the following days and before rooting, watering should be very economical. If the leaves begin to wilt a little, then it is recommended to spray them from a spray bottle.
When the cuttings take root, they are transplanted by transferring them into separate pots with suitable soil.
Diseases and pests of the lamprantus flower and methods of dealing with them
If the conditions of detention are violated, then the plant becomes a victim of an attack by a mealybug or downy mildew. Root rot is also possible with constant waterlogging of the substrate, while the lamprantus stops growing, the leaf plates turn yellow and begin to fall off. With the manifestation of pests or diseases, then in the first case, spraying with insecticidal preparations (for example, Aktra, Aktellik or Fitoverm) is carried out. In the second case, the affected areas should be removed and treated with fungicides.
You can name the following problems when growing this bush:
- if the bush is in direct sunlight, then areas of dry tissue appear on the leaves, as a result of sunburn;
- with insufficient watering, the leaf plates begin to wrinkle, and the shoots droop - you will need to place the lamprantus in a container of water for a while;
- when the illumination is weak, the stems begin to stretch strongly, and the leaves become smaller in size, the same happens when there are not enough nutrients;
- It will be difficult to wait for flowering when the dormant period is violated;
- roots and stems rot when water gets on the stems and foliage during watering, and the substrate is constantly flooded, especially during dormancy.
Interesting facts about lampranthus
The plant, due to the color of its inflorescences, serves as an excellent interior decoration, which is used by phytodesigners. And since some varieties have both creeping and hanging shoots, the bush with shiny flowers is applicable as an ampelous culture.
Types of lamprantus
- Golden lampranthus (Lampranthus aurantiacus) also sometimes called Lamprantus orange. It has erect, bushy shoots with a brownish surface and can reach a height of 15 cm. Over time, the branches droop and begin to creep along the surface of the earth. The stems are covered with triangular leaf plates painted in green color; there are small specks on the surface. The length of the fleshy leaf is about 2-3 cm. During flowering, which stretches from mid-summer to October, beautiful flowers are formed with a diameter of up to 4-5 cm. The color of their petals is orange, but there is also a pink, purple or red color scheme. The flowers are crowned with elongated pedicels. In the process of ripening, the fruit forms a capsule filled with seeds. According to some reports, this variety is synonymous with Mesembryanthemum aurantiacum, but the status of this species has not become officially approved.
- Gentle lampranthus (Lampranthus blandus). This plant has leaf plates with three sides, striated, up to 5 cm in length, their surface is smooth, decorated with small transparent speckles. Flower petals are cast in a light purple color scheme, flowers are multi-petaled, with a diameter of up to 6 cm.
- Lampranthus amoenus is a bushy perennial, reaching a height of 50–100 cm. Shoots, when the plant is young, have an erect appearance, and then they begin to droop and subsequently spread along the ground. The leaf plates are juicy, with three sides. Flowers sit on long stalks. Their color can be very diverse from white to purple. In opening, their diameter reaches 4–5 cm. The flowering process begins in July and continues until mid-autumn. The fruit is a polyspermous capsule.
- Lampranthus conspicuus. This variety is the most common in floriculture. The leaves take the form of a half-cylinder, their color is green with a speckled pattern. Foliage often has a pointed reddish top. When flowering, flowers are formed, the diameter of which is 5 cm. Their color is bright red.
- Lampranthus filicauilis (Lampranthus filicauilis). The shoots are curved, grayish in color, reaching a height of 15 cm. The outlines of the foliage are almost cylindrical, juicy, succulent, painted in a medium greenish color. The flowers have a chamomile shape, the petals are cast in a light lilac tone, they are loose and narrow, there are thin whitish stamens inside the bud.
- Blue lampranthus (Lampranthus glaucus). It has a shrubby form of growth, not wide with shoots reaching a height of 30 cm. The size of the foliage is small, the species is succulent, they are painted in a gray-green tone. On young shoots, flowers of a yellow color are formed, with a diameter of up to 3 cm. Fruits are capsules with seeds.
- Lampranthus haworthii. A plant with branched shoots, which lignify over time, painted in a brown color. The length of the leaves is 2–4 cm, they are covered with a grayish bloom. The flowers have a light purple shade of petals, the shape of the petal is narrow, the diameter of the flower reaches 7 cm.
- Lampranthus inconspicuus (Lampranthus inconspicuus). The succulent has a bushy shape and low height. The outlines of the foliage are cylindrical, the color is green, the length varies 3-5 cm. The flowers are arranged singly, the petals are cast in a dark pink tone, the middle is whitish.
- Lampranthus multiradiatus. A semi-shrub with creeping shoots, reaches a height of 50 cm. The leaf plates are almost cylindrical, succulent ones can grow to a length of 3-4 cm. The flowering process begins in May or June. They are distinguished by bright iridescent flowers with chamomile-like outlines. The color can take on white, light pink, purple, and fuchsia, pink-red colors. When fully expanded, the diameter of the flower is about 4 cm.
- Lampranthus primivernus is a bushy perennial plant that grows in height up to 30 cm. The leaves are only 3 cm long and about 0.9 cm thick. The leaf plate is fleshy, the surface is bare, painted in a bluish tone with a reddish blush, the shape is sickle-curved. When blooming, buds are formed with bright pink petals, inside there are yellow anthers. The corymbose inflorescence is collected from the flowers.
- Lampranthus spectabile. It has the shape of a semi-shrub and can reach a height of 30–45 cm by its shoots, while its width is about 60 cm. The foliage is almost cylindrical in color, the color is green, and they grow up to 8 cm long. chamomile flowers. Their diameter ranges from 5-7 cm. Petals with color ranging from pink to purple.
- Lampranthus villiersii. This succulent plant has creeping shoots. Its shape is in the form of a half-shrub. The leaf plates are almost cylindrical in shape with a green color. Flowers of dark crimson color have petals.
- Deltoid lampranthus (Lampranthus deltuides). The native habitat is the Southwest Cape of South Africa. Grows in the form of wide clumps, reaching a height of 30 cm. Leaves with 3 edges, fleshy, sessile, light green and grayish tint. Reddish teeth run along the edge. The flowers are light yellow, lilac-pink in the center.
What lamprantus looks like in the video below:
