Distinctive features and places of growth of the plant, rules for growing cussonia, breeding guidelines, difficulties in cultivation, species. Kussonia (Cussonia) is classified in the classification as representatives of the Araliae family (Aarliceae) and belongs to the genus of evergreen plants that have a tree or shrub form of growth. In natural conditions, it is possible to meet up to 20 varieties of cussonia. The native habitat is in South Africa and the island of Madagascar. These plants are often found in cool pastures located in mountainous areas, climbing to an altitude of 800 to 2500 m above sea level. They usually settle in cracks in rocks, in which nutritious organic humus is collected.
The genus of these representatives of the flora is named after a professor who teaches botany at the University of Montpellier - Pierre Cusson. And due to the fact that the cross-section of the cussonia can reach 60 cm, the people call it "cabbage tree".
The plant can grow up to 7 meters in height under natural conditions, but when grown in rooms, its parameters rarely exceed 1, 2 m. Also, thanks to the molding of the crown with the help of pruning, cussonia give more compact outlines. The growth rate of this tropical exotic is quite high, so in a year the usual growth is up to half a meter in height. The trunk is covered with a grayish bark, the surface is rather strongly striated. Above the surface of the soil, plump and fleshy root processes are usually visible, as if rising above it. It is in such root formations and trunk that the cussonia stores water and various nutrients in order to be able to survive dry periods. When grown in a tight container, the roots are intricately intertwined with each other and add even more decorative effect to this representative of the flora. The roots can be eaten, so cussonia is highly valued in its native growing areas. In adult specimens, the trunk gradually becomes bare in the lower part, and the bulk of the deciduous mass remains only at the top.
Also of an attractive appearance there is a rich shade of the crown formed by opposite densely sessile leaves. From the beginning, on short petioles of the plant, finger-like double-pinnately dissected leaf plates are formed, composed of 8–12 segmental lobes. Over time, the petioles stretch out and begin to exceed the length of the leaf by approximately 3-4 times. The foliage is bright green or grayish green. The shape of the leaves is rather unusual, and their surface is covered with a wax coating, which also serves as a kind of protection from adverse natural conditions, namely from low temperatures. Some argue that this African plant closely resembles papaya with its leaves.
When blooming, an adult cussonia has small flowers with greenish-yellow petals, racemose inflorescences are collected from the buds, but they have no decorative value. After flowering, seeds ripen with a length of up to 6 mm, which very quickly lose their germination. However, it is almost impossible to wait for this African exotic to bloom in room conditions, and since there is no self-pollination in the plant and it is necessary to transfer pollen from the flowers of one specimen to the flowers of another, otherwise there will be no seeds.
Some of the plant species are recommended to be grown in rock gardens, since the cussonia has a rather colorful combination with compositions composed of stones. But most often bonsai is formed from it. Despite all the diversity, when growing in rooms, only two varieties began to be used most popularly - spike-shaped Kussonia and ball-headed Kussonia.
Recommendations for home cultivation of cussonia - watering, care
- Lighting and location. A place with bright but diffused lighting is most suitable for growing a "cabbage tree". This level of light must be maintained throughout the year. So in the spring and summer months, cussonia will feel good on the windowsill of the east and west windows. But with the arrival of winter, it can be rearranged to the window of the southern location or supplemented with phytolamps. It is important that the duration of daylight hours year-round was at least 12 hours a day with a constant intensity. Otherwise, the petioles of the African exotic grow strongly and the whole bush will take on a spreading and loose outlines.
- Content temperature. In the spring-summer period, it is important that the thermometer is at 25 degrees, but the cussonia is able to withstand high temperatures. By winter, temperature indicators are gradually reduced to 16-18 units. There is information that the plant can, for a short time, without damage to itself, endure a decrease in heat to 5 degrees. The best option for wintering a "cabbage tree" is an insulated loggia or balcony.
- Air humidity when caring for cussonia, it is maintained with high rates, which should not be reduced to less than 50%. It is recommended to constantly (especially in the heat) spray the deciduous crown of the plant, and also do this in winter if it is kept in a room with working heating devices.
- Watering. For this African exotic, waterlogging is much more dangerous than a dry period, since for some time it can make do with the accumulated reserves of moisture and nutrients in its caudex. But still, in the summer, regular watering is important, as the topsoil dries up. In the winter months, it is recommended to greatly reduce moisture, but if you completely forget about watering, this will lead to foliage falling. Only warm and soft water is used.
- Fertilizers are introduced from mid-spring to late summer. Regular feeding every 14 days. Liquid preparations are used for cacti or indoor plants - complete mineral complexes. It is recommended to halve the dosage by diluting in water.
- Pruning for cussonia carried out regularly, since the plant has a high growth rate. In the spring, the shoots can be shortened quite strongly, but during the entire growing season, if some branches began to protrude strongly, then they must also be cut. At the very base, it is recommended to remove the shoots almost to the base so that the African exotic looks more attractive.
- Additional conditions for care. When wintering cussonia, it is necessary that in a small pot for a plant the heat indicators do not drop to 10 degrees, as this is fraught with hypothermia of the root system. In this case, watering should be very careful. It is recommended to wrap the pot with the plant in a thick woolen cloth (for example, in a scarf) and install it in a larger container, and pour dry sawdust or sand into the walls.
- Kussonia transplant. When the plant is still young, they change the pot with the substrate annually, but as it grows, such an operation becomes necessary only once every two years. So that the cussonia does not grow too much, it is better to transplant without increasing the capacity too much. The new pot should be only 1 cm larger than the previous one. A transplant is carried out in the spring. Drainage (shards, polystyrene or expanded clay) is laid on the bottom of the new pot.
You can use ready-made mixtures for palms with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction (pH 5.5–7.5). Soil can also be composed of the following options:
- sod land, leaf and humus with the addition of fine gravel chips, in a ratio of 1: 1: 1: 2;
- greenhouse soil, rotted compost, zeolite granules (Barsik cat litter, with particles of 3-5 mm) in a ratio of 2: 1: 2.
DIY tips for breeding cussonia
You can teach a new plant with a caudex base: sowing seeds or cuttings.
Seed material is sown in late winter or spring. However, it is important to remember that seeds lose their germination very quickly. Before sowing, it is recommended to soak the seeds for a day in warm water, but growers insist that it is better to use a thermos with water of about 36-40 degrees for this, and the seeds are kept in the liquid for about 5-6 hours. Then the seed is laid out in bowls with a loose peat substrate, the depth should be 1–1.5 cm. To create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse, the container with the crops is covered with glass or plastic wrap and placed in a warm place with a little shading. It is important not to forget to carry out regular ventilation in order to remove condensation. After 3–8 weeks, you can see the first shoots (but often it depends on the variety of cussonia).
As soon as the seedlings appear, the place changes to another - with good lighting, but with protection from direct rays of the sun (eastern location of the window). It is important to maintain high air humidity with moderate soil moisture. Since the development of caudex in a plant occurs almost simultaneously with the leaves, then when the soil is flooded, general decay begins.
When the plants have 3-4 leaf plates, then picking is carried out in separate pots into a mixture of sand (you can take gravel crumbs), humus soil and peat. With the arrival of the next spring, young cussonia should be transplanted into a substrate that is suitable for adult specimens. It is important to transplant by the transshipment method so that the root system is not injured, the earthen lump is not destroyed.
When propagating with cuttings, it must be remembered that caudex does not form in the lower part of the trunk.
Pests and diseases of kussonia, methods of dealing with them
The following problems can be identified when caring for an African exotic:
- with insufficient watering or the action of a draft, foliage falls;
- if the tree is in direct sunlight, then the foliage will certainly acquire a reddish tint;
- with an insufficient level of illumination, the shoots do not begin to stretch out aesthetically;
- decay of the roots and base of the trunk occurs from excessive watering.
When the indoor temperature is too high and the humidity is low, the plant can be attacked by spider mites. In order to prevent this from happening, spraying of cussonia should be carried out, and if the pest has already appeared, then first the deciduous crown is washed under streams of running warm water, and then insecticidal zooshampoo or other preparations are used with which the treatment is performed (for example, Aktara or Aktellik) …
Facts to note about cussonia
Since the plant in its native lands is called the "cabbage tree", and the outside observer does not see anything in common with the cabbage with its outlines of the trunk, it becomes clear that apparently the cussonia has edible roots. Local people clean the bark from the succulent roots of the "cabbage tree" and use them as a source of water and food.
Since cussonia wood is quite light and soft, it is used in the manufacture of brake pads for railway cars, as well as doors and mole traps.
In traditional medicine, it is customary to use a grated mass from the roots of Cussonia puniculata to cure a variety of infections, inflammation and malaria, and it also has analgesic properties. Cussonia spicata leaves are used to treat indigestion.
Types of kussonia
- Cussonia spicata called the "cabbage tree". Under natural growing conditions, it can reach parameters in height of 7 m with a trunk diameter of 60 cm. It is distinguished by excellent bushiness and grayish-green deciduous mass. The shape of the leaf plate is double pinnately dissected, formed from 8–12 segments (leaf lobes). Their edge is serrated, the arrangement of the leaves is opposite, they are attached to the branches with elongated petioles. When the tree becomes an adult, its trunk begins to gradually bare at the bottom, and all the deciduous mass is grouped at the very top of the shoots, the leaves are planted very densely. Over time, the petioles become so long that they begin to exceed the size of the leaf plate by 3-4 times. During flowering, yellow-green flowers are formed, from which inflorescences are collected in the form of brushes. It is customary to use it as a medicinal plant in the territory of natural growth from fever, as a diuretic and laxative, if a decoction is prepared from its roots. When bark is used to make a decoction, it is prescribed for the treatment of malaria.
- Ball-headed cussonia (Cussonia sphaerocephala), has a tree-like growth, can reach 2 m in height with a trunk diameter of approximately 25 cm. The leaves are dark green in color, with a serrated edge. Their shape is doubly pinnately dissected, the segment located in the center is 8 cm long and about 5 cm wide. The leaves are attached to the stems with elongated petioles. During flowering, flowers with creamy green petals are formed, from which the apical inflorescences are collected in the form of dense spikelets, their length is 15 cm. The dimensions of each flower are 5-7 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter.
- Cussonia natalensis can acquire both bushy and tree-like growth. Caudex is quite pronounced in the lower part of the trunk (the formation in which the plant accumulates moisture and nutrients). The foliage has beautiful finger-like outlines, the structure of this plant is very similar to its "relative" Fatsheder. The leaf has five-membered lobes, which differ in a cut that does not reach the base of the plate, as in spicata cussonia, but only by 2/3 of its length. Popularly, this variety bears the name of the African "cabbage tree", rock "cabbage tree".
- Cussonia puniculata has stunningly large leaf plates of gray-green color. Florists love to plant this variety on the territory of rock gardens, next to stones. It is a short and thick tree, which in natural growing conditions reaches a height of 5 m. The trunk is covered with gray, thick and cork bark, covered with longitudinal cracks. The tree is characterized by weak branching. There is a caudex in the lower part of the trunk, which is why cussonia is considered a succulent that can accumulate moisture. The roots are thick and swollen. The growth rate is low. Leaves are large, finger-shaped, very reminiscent of bluish cabbage leaf plates. All this is due to the fact that there is a thick waxy coating in several layers on the surface - this helps to protect the foliage from frost. The leaf can consist of 7-9, and sometimes 13-leaf lobes, which originate from the top of the elongated stem. Segments often reach a length of 30 cm, while the total length of the leaf is about 60 cm. Segments of some shapes have a deep cut to the base. New foliage appears in a lighter green hue. When blooming, small greenish flowers are formed, which are collected in the final branched inflorescence. The flowers are followed by the ripening of purple-burgundy fruits. They ripen from May to June.
Look here for what the cussonia looks like:
