Common features of the crossandra, how to create conditions for the cultivation of a flower on the windowsill, reproduction, pest and disease control, facts to note, species. Crossandra (Crossandra) is a member of the genus of plants that are native to tropical areas and classified in the Acanthaceae family. The native habitat of this "green inhabitant" of the planet falls on the lands of Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula, as well as the regions of India and Sri Lanka, wherever the tropical climate zone dominates. Today, botanical scientists have up to 50 varieties of crossandra.
This representative of the flora got its name thanks to its fringed stamens, because of which the ancient Greeks combined two words: "krossos" meaning "fringe" and "andr" translated as "male" or "male", an indication of the reproductive organ.
The flower growers have duly taken into account the ability of the crossandra to start the flowering process quite early, it is quite long for her - it stretches from spring to autumn.
These specimens of the Acanthus family can take a herbaceous or shrubby form of growth, in height with their shoots reaching from 50 cm to meter sizes. The growth rate of the crossandra is quite high. However, in the conditions of rooms, it is customary to grow undersized varieties, which only reach 30-50 cm in height. Erect shoots with branching, painted in brown-violet or greenish color. The bushiness of the plant can be increased by regularly and often pinching the tops of the shoots. The leaf plates have a shiny surface, they are distinguished by a bright green color. The length of the sheet can vary in the range of 3-9 cm.
During flowering, buds are formed that have red, orange, yellow or apricot petals. From the flowers, spike-shaped inflorescences are collected, differing in four faces. The length of the inflorescences can reach 15 cm. Each of the flowers has a large bract, the surface of which is covered with pubescence. The flowers have a thin funnel-shaped corolla, and at its top there is a division into five open petals. The diameter of the flowers can vary within 2.5 cm.
Cultivation of crossandra, home care
- Lighting and location selection. Like many tropical plants, this flower prefers good lighting. It is best to put the crossandra on the window sills of windows facing the east or west side. You can also put the pot on the window of the southern location, but you just need to provide for shading at midday from the direct streams of ultraviolet radiation, which can cause sunburn of the foliage. If the plant stands in a room with a northern orientation, then it will be difficult to wait for flowering, and also from the lack of light, the crossandra will begin to stretch out shoots, which will reduce its decorative appearance. It is possible to alleviate the fate of a flower in such a place, only by intensive illumination with special phyto-lamps or fluorescent lamps.
- Temperature when growing crossandra. When cultivating a plant, this parameter is probably the easiest to solve. It is only important that in the room where the tropical flower is located, sharp jumps in heat indicators do not occur, otherwise it threatens to dump the deciduous mass. In the rooms, the crossandra easily copes with the temperature of about 28 degrees (no higher than 30), and in winter the minimum that is suitable for her is 18 degrees, but then dry conditions of detention must be organized. The plant can survive for a short time without harming itself the lowering of the thermometer column to 16 units.
- Air humidity when growing this tropical flower, it should be increased - more than 50%, but experts say that it is better not to spray the deciduous mass and even more so the flowers. In this case, other methods of increasing the moisture content in the air of the room where the crossandra is contained will come in handy. You can put an ordinary vessel with water next to the plant pot, which evaporates and helps to overcome dry air. Or humidifiers are placed nearby, but if you want to provide comfortable conditions for growing this exotic, then the container with the plant is placed in a deep container, at the bottom of which a little water is poured and a layer of expanded clay, pebbles or chopped sphagnum moss is laid. Make sure that the edge of the liquid does not touch the bottom of the pot, so as not to provoke putrefactive processes. In the wintertime, you can throw a wet towel over the running batteries - this method will also increase the humidity in the room.
- Watering Crossandras are carried out quite abundantly in the summer, the drying of the top layer of the soil in the pot can serve as a guideline. With the arrival of autumn, soil moisture should be gradually reduced, but complete drying of the earthen coma is prohibited, otherwise the bush will throw off all the foliage. A constant wet state of the soil is also not encouraged, as this can give rise to rotting of the root system. An important factor here is the water that will be used for irrigation. Ideally, it should be rain, river or melted snow. But since in urban conditions this does not guarantee the purity of the liquid, it is better to take distilled water. If this is not possible to get, then they resort to boiling and settling tap water. Also, experienced flower growers pass water through filters before boiling. When watering, do not get on the leaves and flowers - this will ruin their appearance.
- Fertilizers when growing, crossandra are used in liquid form, containing a complex of all the necessary mineral elements. If this is not done, then the plant will react with its nondescript appearance of foliage and flowers. The regularity of top dressing is once every two weeks in the spring and summer. With the arrival of winter, it is not necessary to fertilize the plant, it is necessary only in those rare cases when the flowering process is in progress.
- Plant transplant. While the crossandra is still young, it is recommended to change the pot and the soil in it annually, and when it develops well, then such manipulations are carried out only once every 2-3 years. It is recommended to lay a drainage layer of 2-3 cm on the bottom of the pot in front of the substrate, medium-sized expanded clay or pebbles can protrude from it, in the absence of a brick, you can crush a brick and select small pieces or use broken shards. Holes must be made in the bottom of the container so that excess water that has not been absorbed by the root system can drain freely. The substrate for the crossandra is selected light, loose and nutritious. Sometimes such a soil mixture is made from sod and leafy soil, humus soil, peat and river sand, the proportions of the components are equal. Or you can apply the following composition: compost soil, coarse sand or perlite, peat, sheet soil (in proportions 1: 1/3: 1: 1).
- Cropping the crossandra is simply necessary in order to maintain the decorative effect of the bush. Before the start of the growing process (from the end of winter days or at the very beginning of spring), it is recommended to cut the length of its shoots to half. Also, from time to time, pinching of stretched branches is carried out.
- General advice. Since after a two-year period the crossandra bush has a peculiarity to grow, it will have to be rejuvenated by cutting or grafting.
Reproduction of a crossandra flower in indoor cultivation
To propagate a bush with fringed stamens, seed sowing or cuttings should be applied.
Cutting is the simplest propagation method. For rooting, the time is selected in the spring months, however, if conditions are created, this can be done in the summer. The length of the cutting should be 10-15 cm. The workpieces should be planted in a substrate made up of sod, leafy and humus soil, where river sand is also mixed (equal parts). It is recommended to cover the cuttings with a glass cover or plastic bag. In this case, do not forget to regularly ventilate the branches and, if necessary, spray the soil. It is important to maintain constant heat readings of 20-22 degrees. If a shelter is made and the bottom heating of the soil is provided, then rooting will take place faster, but otherwise, the appearance of roots should be expected in 3-4 weeks. When the cuttings are rooted, they are transplanted into pots with a larger diameter and more suitable soil and drainage at the bottom.
Before planting the seeds, they are soaked for several hours in warm water - this will increase their germination, and the germination process will accelerate. Sowing substrate is mixed from peat soil and river sand (equal shares). The seeds are sown and the container is covered with glass or plastic wrap. It is recommended to keep the temperature in the range of 22-24 degrees during germination. You should also not forget to air the crops every day for 10-15 minutes, and if the soil is dry, moisten it.
After 14–20 days, the first shoots can be seen. Here it is already important to monitor watering so that the soil is not waterlogged, as the seedlings can quickly rot. After a month has passed, the young crossandras are transplanted into pots, and after another month, a new transfer into a pot with a large volume and the first pinching is carried out, which will stimulate branching.
Diseases and pests of crossandra when cultivated indoors
It happens that a plant becomes a victim of damage to various kinds of leaf mold - usually the reason can be constant waterlogging of the substrate or increased moisture levels at low temperatures. To combat the problem of watering, it is recommended to adjust, remove the affected leaves and treat with fungicides.
With a decrease in humidity in the rooms, the crossandra is affected by aphids or spider mites. If the number of identified pests is small, then a simple solution to the problem is washing the entire plant in the shower. Otherwise, it is necessary to spray with an insecticidal preparation. In both the first and second cases, it is recommended to cover the soil in the pot with plastic wrap for protection.
You can also highlight the following problems when cultivating crossandra in indoor conditions:
- wilting and then falling of the foliage occurs due to insufficient moisture in the air and soil;
- with sudden changes in temperature, the foliage of the plant can completely fly around;
- if flowering does not occur, it is possible that the plant does not have enough light level;
- reddening of the leaves indicates that a sunburn has occurred, you need to transfer the crossandra to a more shaded place, since if the location is not changed, the foliage will begin to age faster and fall off;
- blackening of the leaves indicates that the plant is at reduced heat levels in the room, or has been exposed to a draft.
Facts to note about crossandra
If we talk about a variety of funnel-shaped crossandra (Crossanda infundibuliformis) or wavy-leaved crossandra (Crossanda undilifolia), then their domestication took place at the very beginning of the 19th century. The most popular variety Mona Wallhed has been developed by Swedish plant breeders.
The flowers of this plant have always been loved by the women of India. Usually preening before going to the temple, they adorned their hair with jasmine and crossandra flowers.
Types of crossandra
- Funnel-shaped crossandra (Crossanda infundibuliformis) is a semi-shrub plant, reaching the parameters in height within the range of 30-50 cm. The leaf plates are located oppositely on the shoots, taking a shape from narrow-lanceolate to lanceolate, there is a pointed tip at the top. The length of the leaf varies in the range of 7–12 cm. The color of the foliage is dark green, the surface is glossy, sometimes more or less wavy, the leaf plates are bare or bare. When flowering, an inflorescence appears, originating in the leaf axils. It looks like a very dense spikelet with tetrahedral outlines. Its length reaches 10 cm. The flowers of salmon color have petals, when opened, the diameter can be measured 2.5 cm. The plant prefers to settle in the lowlands in dry areas in the south-east of India and Sri Lanka, in a clarified area. Sometimes it is mistakenly referred to as Wavy Crossandra.
- Wavy crossandra (Crossanda undilifolia) differs in rather dense green leaf plates. Inflorescences are distinguished by scarlet or orange color. The plant is quite demanding to grow.
- Crossanda pungens is a perennial, with a herbaceous form of growth and small parameters in height. Differs in abundant flowering. The leaves take on a lanceolate shape: those that grow in the lower part of the plant are measured in the range of 10–12 cm with a width of up to 2.5 cm, tapering to the base, wing-like formations are also present in the lower part, the surface is decorated with a pattern of silvery veins. The upper foliage is shorter, half the size of the lower one, attached to the branches with centimeter petioles. During flowering, an inflorescence is formed with a length of about 6 cm, collected from their yellowish-orange flowers.
- Crossanda nilotika. Herbaceous perennial plant, which can reach 50-60 cm in height. It is distinguished by elliptical leaf plates with a glossy surface. Tubular flowers, consisting of five lobes, have a brick-red color, from which the apical inflorescences with the outlines of spikelets are collected.
- Crossanda guineensis can reach a height of 15–20 cm. It has a long life cycle and grassy outlines. The color of the flowers is lilac. In domestic cultivation, it is a rather rare species.
- Crossanda Fortuna in height it can reach 30 cm. The color of the leaf plates is green. The inflorescences consist of orange-colored flowers, they can grow up to 15 cm in height. The flowering process is quite long. If the flowers are orange, then the plant maintains its buds for a long time.
- Crossanda blue sometimes she is called Crossandra "Blue Ice". The flowers, collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence, have a beautiful and juicy shade of blue color scheme, effectively highlighted against the dark green background of the leaf plates.
- Crossanda variegata differs in the foliage of a rich bright green color scheme with a pattern in the form of longitudinal stripes of a lighter tone. Flowers in spike-shaped inflorescences have orange shade of petals. The species is very demanding on the level of lighting during cultivation than other varieties.
- Crossanda red is a bush plant, which with its shoots can reach a height of 60 cm. The leaf plates are of a dark saturated green hue, the surface of the leaves is smooth, the shape is oblong. The inflorescence is composed of flowers of pink or dark scarlet color.
- Crossanda green also has a second name Crossandra "Green Ice". It is a rather rare variety, which has flowers of an interesting turquoise hue in the inflorescence. The foliage has a glossy green surface.
Learn more about caring for crossandra from the following video:
