General description of the grub, cultivation techniques, recommendations for the reproduction of senezio, pests and diseases in the care process, facts to note, species. The groundwort in Latin is called Senecio, apparently this was the reason for his second name, since his name (transliteration) is also found in literature - Senecio. Its botanists attributed it to the largest genus of all flowering representatives of the flora, possessing numerous species and belonging to the Asteraceae family. According to scientific sources, there are from 1000 to 3000 species that can be found almost all over the planet, from the hot tropics to the Arctic regions. However, a large number of them have perfectly settled on the lands of South America and the Mediterranean, and the peasants did not bypass the regions with a temperate climate in Asia and North America. Moreover, they take on the most diverse forms of growth: they can be both herbaceous annuals and trees.
The plant got its name and generic name thanks to the Latin word “senex”, which means “old” or “bald”. And this strange term is connected with the fact that after the seeds ripen, the baskets are for a short time, so to speak, naked and seemingly "bald." The Russian name was given to the peasant because of some similarity with the watercress plant, which is called the Klopovnik sowing (Lepidium sativum) and there is information that even at the beginning of the 20th century there was a different pronunciation - Krestovik. And indoor culture, which is very common in European countries, is often referred to as a "bunch of peas", but here it is known to flower growers under the name "strings of pearls".
Most of these plants are grasses with a one-year or long-term life cycle, however, vines, shrubs or dwarf shrubs can also be found in nature. And on the territory of South Africa, senezio looks like a succulent. On the African continent, in the highlands (on Mount Kilimanjaro), you can find a tree-like tree-like tree, such a rosette tree can grow up to 10 m in height, has a trunk devoid of branching, and only its crown is crowned by a leafy crown that looks like a rosette. Even looking at the pea-shaped shoots in some varieties, it is hard to believe that others with pine-like greenery or those similar to ivy are representatives of the same plant genus.
Differences are observed not only in the shape of the bush and its structure, but also in the outlines of the foliage. And the shoots of senezio plants are also very different from each other, they can be drooping or grow straight, their surface is pubescent or completely naked. The leaf plates are striking in their variety: whole or with a dissection, obovate or in the form of an ellipse, in the form of lobes or feathery contours, they can have fleshiness to varying degrees.
However, the commonality of all species of the groundwort is determined by the outlines of the inflorescences. In most of the Senezio varieties, the basket inflorescences are collected from the flowers formed at the tops of the branches, in appearance the flowers are very similar to the open buds of daisies. The color of the petals can be varied, including yellow, red, purple, violet or blue. Flowers are median, tubular, bisexual. Those at the edges are distinguished by tongues and pistils. The groundwort is usually pollinated by insects. After this process, the fruit ripens in the form of achenes.
The plant is quite simple to care for and even a novice flower lover can handle it. The groundwort is quite a hardy specimen of flora, considering that it is related to succulents, and arid conditions for it are not too scary.
How to grow a rose flower, rules for caring for a flower
- Lighting and site selection for senezio. The plant will most of all amaze with its outlines in bright, but diffused lighting, which can be provided on the windowsills of east or west windows. In the northern location of the room, its shoots will be ugly stretched out and you will have to carry out additional lighting.
- Content temperature. The grower requires careful selection of heat indicators. And although these plants, which grow in hot regions of the planet, do not like to be at high temperatures. The most comfortable temperatures are in the range of 22-26 degrees. When the autumn-winter period comes, it is recommended to keep the senezio in cooler conditions, gradually reducing the thermometer readings to the limits of 12-16 units. However, if the plant cannot provide such a cool wintering, then the groundwort can grow under room conditions. This will slightly reduce the spectacular appearance of the exotic, but it will not bring big losses. The minimum is allowed for the temperature to drop to 7 degrees, but this is for a fairly short period of time. The plant does not tolerate drafts, and temperature fluctuations harm it. It is important to constantly ventilate the room where the groundwort is grown, but protecting it from cold air currents. You can take out a pot of succulent to the fresh air - a balcony or loggia, a garden or a terrace, but first take care of protection from direct rays of the sun, wind and precipitation.
- Moisture content - is not an important parameter in the cultivation of this unusual succulent, since the groundwort feels good in dry air, which is inherent in rooms, and you should not additionally moisten its deciduous mass.
- Watering for the groundwort in the spring and summer months, it is required to be carried out in moderation, trying not to overfill the substrate in the pot and not overdry it too much. Usually the plant is moistened 2-3 days after that. The top layer of soil can be picked up and it crumbles without leaving any traces. With the arrival of autumn, watering is reduced and during the winter, humidification is carried out extremely rarely, or they are not done at all. Only soft and well-settled water is used for this. It is important to remember that if the liquid is glass in a pot holder, then it must be removed immediately, since waterlogging has a bad effect on senezio.
- Fertilizers are applied according to the classical rules. With the arrival of early spring, they begin to apply top dressing to the groundwort once every 2 weeks until the very end of summer. It is recommended to use formulations for succulents and cacti.
- Transplantation the groundwort. It is better for a plant to change the pot and the soil in it when it is fully mastered by the root system. When the senezio is young, then it is necessary to carry out such an operation annually, and over time, when the bush develops enough, then such a frequency is every 2-3 years. It is best to do transplants in the spring. The plant is removed from the old pot and moved to a new container, but the depth level should not be changed. At the bottom of the pot, a layer of drainage material should be poured, it can act as expanded clay or medium-sized pebbles, and broken shards of clay or ceramic pots, or slightly detailed and then sieved bricks. The plant shows good growth as a normal or ampelous crop.
The substrate for the groundwort should have neutral acidity, be sufficiently loose and nutritious. You can use ready-made soil mixtures for succulents or cacti, but as practice shows, the grub grows well on more scarce soils. You can make up the substrate yourself from leafy soil and river sand (in a 2: 1 ratio). However, some varieties are recommended to be grown in clay-sandy soil. When cultivating this plant, it is worth considering what kind of soil it was contained in before, or not changing its composition with each transplant.
Rules for breeding a grub at home
Senezio can be propagated by sowing seeds, cuttings and using cuttings.
The simplest one is grafting with green twigs. In this case, you need to cut off the top of the shoot (about 8-10 cm), then 2-3 lower leaves are removed, and it is recommended to dry the cut for several hours so that the liquid stops oozing from it. Cuttings are planted in small pots filled with sandy soil. The containers are placed in a warm and bright place. The soil mixture is usually not moistened, it is only slightly sprayed. When rooting takes place, the transplantation of young plantlets of the groundwort is carried out in separate pots of 2-5 units - in the future this will become the key to the decorative effect of the grown bush.
If the senezio shoots are creeping or they droop to the soil, then they can be used for layering. At the same time, containers with a substrate suitable for this succulent are placed next to the pot of the parent specimen. The shoots are neatly laid on top of the ground and secured with stiff wires or a regular hairpin. After a short period, young roots appear at the points of contact of the branch with the substrate, and when the active development of the layer begins, it is recommended to carefully separate it from the bush and continue to take care of it as usual.
When seed propagation is used (which is quite rare), then seeds are used, the appearance in room conditions, which practically does not exist. However, even having planting material, you need to be sure of its freshness, since the seeds quickly lose their germination properties. It is recommended to soak the seeds before planting and germinate a little before sowing in the ground. Several seeds are placed in one bowl at once, the soil is used typical for growing senezio. After planting, the soil is slightly moistened with a spray bottle. As soon as it is noticed that the seedlings are forming cotyledons, it is recommended to transplant in separate pots with drainage at the bottom and selected soil.
Pests and diseases of the senezio flower
If the conditions of detention are not violated, then the plant practically does not get sick and is not damaged by pests. However, otherwise, it becomes a victim of spider mites, various species of aphids and mealybugs. When fighting these harmful insects, it is required to carry out treatment with insecticidal preparations. Also, the groundwort can be affected with high humidity by rot and fungal infections. In this case, it is necessary to cut off the damaged parts and carry out a fungicide treatment.
The following troubles can be distinguished when cultivating senezio in room conditions:
- if there is no watering and there is increased dryness of the air in the room, then black spots form on the foliage of the plant, then they begin to dry out and fall off;
- in direct sunlight, dry spotting forms on the leaves;
- when irrigation is disturbed, yellowish and brown spots appear on the surface of the leaves;
- growing in strong shade, the groundwort immediately reacts by crushing the foliage, its rare location on the shoots and stretching the branches;
- with an insufficient level of illumination or the need to increase the pot, variegated senezio has a loss of color.
Facts about the groundwort
Important to remember!!! All varieties of rosemary contain poisonous substances in their parts. A special danger is concealed by the fact that the action of these components is not immediately noticed, as if there are hidden processes. These poisons tend to accumulate in the liver, and a change in biochemical processes in it begins. All this is due to the pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Although the plant is inedible, it looks so tempting for little children, especially if it is represented by green berries strung on a string. It is necessary to ensure that it is impossible for children and pets to consume parts of the groundwort.
However, despite its toxicity, senezio is actively used for medical purposes, as a raw material for the manufacture of medicines.
The closest in the green world to the groundwort are Buzulnik (Ligularia), Cineraria, and Farfugiium.
Types of rosemary
- Rowley's groundwort (Senecio rowleyanus) is an evergreen perennial plant that has a high growth rate and extraordinary appearance. Its stems are hanging or creeping, rather thin, reaching 60 cm in length, and a pea forms at their top, which effectively hangs from the flowerpot. It is these leaves with their outlines that provide the plant with all the extraordinary. They are spherical, with a green color, pointed at the top, in width they can approach 1 cm. The filamentous flexible and long shoots are completely covered with such small pea leaves, as if strung on a string with beads. The shape of the inflorescences, also with the outlines of a ball, is a white basket, from which the stamens, emitting a cinnamon aroma, stick out interestingly.
- Creeping groundwort (Senecio serpens) differs in stunted parameters. Its thickened shoots grow up to 10 cm in height. They are densely covered with leaf plates in linear-lanceolate forms, fleshy, with the contours of reeds, their length varies in the range of 3-4 cm. Such leaves are collected in rosettes and stick straight up, sitting on the stem. The green mass has a bluish-gray color scheme. The whole plant looks like a pillow formed by protruding blue leaves, if the groundwort is planted in mulch from stone chips, but against its background the foliage is simply inimitable. Little flowers are formed, and they are collected in inflorescences-baskets.
- Rooting groundwort (Senecio radicans). It is a succulent plant that never sheds foliage from its creeping shoots; their length rarely exceeds half a meter. The branches have spectacular branching, thinness. The foliage on them is arranged in opposite order, varying in length within 2–3 cm. The berry leaves are quite fleshy with a sharp point at the top, painted in a dark gray color, their surface is decorated with darker longitudinal stripes, and there is a bend in the form of a claw.
- Haworth's groundwort (Senecio haworthii). The plant has a bushy form of growth, the height does not exceed 30 cm. Erect shoots with a smooth surface. Leaf plates with unusual cylindrical shapes, narrowing at the top, the arrangement on the branches is very dense in a spiral order. There is a whitish-gray felt bloom on the surface of the leaves. The maximum length parameters, which the leaf plate reaches, are 5 cm. The inflorescences have a spherical shape. The flower petals are yellowish or orange in color. The variety is quite rare, which is a rather rare guest in indoor cultivation.
- Stapeliiformis (Senecio stapeliiformis) is a succulent plant with a long life cycle. Shoots reach 50 cm in length with a thickness of 2 cm, their surface is thick and ribbed. The branching of the shoots comes from the very base, and they have a few, but rather spectacular thorns. The entire stem is covered with longitudinal stripes of light and dark colors. The leaf plates are represented by small scales, which are no more than 0.5 cm long. They are painted in a grayish tone. Inflorescences with the shape of baskets, the color of the petals is red, placement in the form of bunches, crowning the tops of the stems.
For more information on Rowley's groundwort care and flower propagation, see here:
