General characteristics of a representative of the flora, agricultural techniques for growing eugenia, recommendations for reproduction, difficulties in cultivation, interesting facts, species. Eugenia or Eugenia (Eugenia) is a plant that is part of the Myrtaceae family, which also includes over a thousand more varieties. The places of natural growth of this representative of the flora with a human name falls on the territory of the tropical or subtropical belt of the planet. Namely, most of the varieties "settled" on the lands of the American continent, where a completely tropical environment dominates. Many of the eugenias can be found in the Northern Andes, as well as on the islands of the Caribbean, or in the Amazonian floodplain forests of eastern Brazil. There are those who are doing well in Madagascar and New Caledonia. Once eugenia grew only on the territory of Brazil - it was endemic, but over time it was moved to other lands, where the tree was successfully acclimatized and began to be cultivated.
The plant got its name thanks to the Austrian commander Eugen von Savoyen, who lived in the period 1663-1736, as well as the prince and generalissimo.
All varieties of this genus are evergreen representatives of the flora and can grow in the form of trees or shrubs. Their height varies from two to 8 meters, however, in the conditions of the rooms, Eugene rarely exceeds the parameters of a meter and a half in height. The branches can bend arched to the ground, which makes the plant decorative. Most often, it is used in growing as an ornamental crop, since the leaves look plankly beautiful.
The leaf plate has a glossy surface and a rich dark emerald color on the upper side, the reverse is slightly lighter. The shape of the leaves is oval-lanceolate, simple, with a pointed tip. The length of the leaf can reach 4 cm, the arrangement of the leaf plates is opposite. When the leaf is still young, it has a reddish-bronze tint, but over time the color changes to dark green. If the leaf is crumpled in the fingers, then a resinous aroma becomes clearly audible.
When flowering, delicate buds appear with a whitish or pale pink tint. The shape of the flower varies greatly depending on the variety. The bud may have the outlines we are accustomed to - with four petals in the corolla and stamens in the center of the flower. But there are also those that resemble a fluffy lump. It's all about the elongated filaments. In the former, they are small and do not exceed the length of the petals, in the latter, the threads are so elongated, then because of them the petals are not visible at all. The stamens are crowned with a yellow anther. Flowers are located either singly or can gather in axillary inflorescences, which often reach 30 cm in length.
The property of Eugenia is her fruits, which ripen depending on the territory of the plant's cultivation. This time can fall from April to May, or stretch from November to the end of the winter months. Fruit development is very fast - about three weeks after flowering. They grow in different varieties of different shapes and colors. But in any case, it is a berry with from one to 4 seeds inside. There are varieties in which the shape of the fruit is spherical, and there are those with flattened contours or the surface is ribbed. Inside the berry, under a thin skin, you can find juicy and tender flesh of a golden or reddish hue, while the skin has the same color scheme. The taste of the pulp is sour or sweet-sour, sometimes there is a slight bitterness. In places where eugenia grows, its fruits are not uncommon in culinary dishes.
Maybe, like all myrtles, it can be grown not only in gardens, but also indoors, but only in cool temperatures. Bonsai-style mini-trees are also cultivated from eugenia.
Recommendations for growing eugenia, plant care
- Location and lighting. It is best when the plant is located along with diffused lighting - the east or west location of the windows. Although there is information that direct sunlight will not damage the foliage, but it does not withstand partial shade well. In the summer, you can take the eugenia pot out into the open air - in the garden, on the terrace or balcony.
- Content temperature. The plant feels most comfortable at room temperature (20-24 degrees). To wait for flowering and fruiting with the arrival of autumn, you need to lower the temperature to 7-15 degrees. However, even at summer temperatures, Eugenia can survive, but then the irrigation regime changes.
- Air humidity. For this green beauty, conditions with normal or high humidity should be created, since it does not tolerate the dry air of our premises. With an increase in the column of the thermometer, it is required to carry out daily spraying of the leaf crown with soft and warm water.
- Watering in the summer period, eugenia is carried out plentiful, and with the arrival of the winter months, it can decrease if the plant is kept at low temperatures. Moistening is performed as the soil dries up - if the soil is taken in a pinch, and it easily crumbles, then it is time for watering. Only soft water at room temperature is used.
- Fertilizers. As soon as eugenia shows signs of growth and until the beginning of the autumn days, feeding is carried out every 3-4 weeks, using complete complex mineral preparations, in which there is a lot of nitrogen and potassium. The plant responds well to organic matter.
- Transplantation and selection of a substrate. It is recommended to change the pot and the soil in it as needed, a small container is suitable for Eugenia, and if the plant has not grown much, the pot is not changed. A layer of drainage material is laid at the bottom of the new flowerpot, and it is important to make holes in the bottom to drain excess moisture. The substrate for eugeia can be very diverse, but most of all it "likes" sandy, sandy loam, clayey and loamy soils. They should have good drainage, looseness and nutritional value, with an acidity of pH 5, 5-6, 5. The soil mixture is made independently from garden soil, coarse sand or perlite, peat or leafy soil (humus) - all parts of the components should be equal.
- General care and pruning. For eugenia, it is recommended to pinch the stems after every second pair of leaf plates. If pruning is performed, then the time of this operation should fall in the spring, with the beginning of vegetative activity. These actions do not harm the "scent" at all and it quickly recovers.
Tips for breeding eugenia at home
To obtain a new young bush, cuttings or sowing of seeds are used, or grafting is carried out.
When grafting, the branches are cut in the summer from the tops of the branches and planted in pots with a sand-peat mixture. The soil temperature during germination is maintained at about 25 degrees. Before planting, it is recommended to treat the cut with a stimulating drug. Cuttings are placed under a cut plastic bottle or covered with plastic wrap. The place for the pot with cuttings should have diffused lighting. When rooting, transplant is carried out in large pots with fertile soil.
In the period from mid-winter to early spring, you can sow seeds, since their germination lasts only a month. Seeds are spread on the surface of a peat-sandy substrate poured into a container, and only a little sprinkled with soil. The container is covered with a lid, a piece of glass or foil. Germinate together with diffused lighting and at a heat index of at least 21 degrees. The first shoots will appear in 3-4 weeks. Then the seedlings dive and after some time pinch the sprout in height - this will help form the crown in the future.
Pests and diseases of eugenia
If the plant is outdoors in summer, it can be attacked by caterpillars, and in indoor conditions, its enemies are spider mites, aphids, mealybugs or whiteflies. If pests are found, they are treated with insecticidal preparations. If the light level is insufficient, then the shoots are ugly lengthened, and the leaves become pale.
Interesting facts about eugene
The fruits are used in the cooking of the local cuisine where eugenia grows as a cultivated plant. On their basis, not only carbonated and non-carbonated drinks are made, but you can cook ice cream, jelly and canned fruits. And some varieties have such a pleasant fruit taste that they are eaten naturally like candy canes.
Since the fruits of the Surinamese cherry have a high content of vitamin C, they are eaten both raw and cooked (preservation, filling for baking). If you do not like the bitter taste of the berries, then after removing the seeds, it is recommended to cover them with sugar and keep them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
Types of eugenia
Eugenia brasiliensis (Eugenia brasiliensis) bears the botanical name - Grumichama. It is a straight tree with evergreen foliage, which can reach 7, 5-10, 5 meters in height. The leaf plates are glossy and oblong-oval in shape. The length of the leaf is measured at 9-16 cm with a width of 5-6 cm. When fruiting, a flattened berry appears in the range of 1.25-2 cm. Its color varies from rich bright red to almost black, dark purple (when the fruit is fully ripe) … The berry is covered with a thin skin and underneath there is a juicy pulp of a whitish or red hue, as well as 1-3 seeds. The seed material has a brown color, the pulp has a pleasant cherry aroma. The period in which the fruit ripens is from April to May, if the plant is grown in Florida, or from November to February, when it is cultivated in Brazil.
You can also meet the groom in the wild in the southern lands of Brazil and in Paraguay.
Eugenia luschnathiana also bears the name Pitomba. It is an evergreen tree with small size and rather low growth rate. Its height parameters rarely exceed 6-9 meters. Leaves are oval or lanceolate in outline, with a glossy surface and slight waviness. In length, their size reaches 2, 5-7, 5 cm. The color on the upper side is rich dark emerald, and on the back it changes to a paler one. When flowering, small flowers appear, which, when gathered together, form fairly branched inflorescences, placed at the tops of the shoots. The length of the inflorescence fluctuates at 30 cm. When the fruits begin to ripen, they all appear at the same time from the inflorescence.
The fruit is an oval formation, measuring in length within 2, 5–3, 2 cm. It is covered with a very delicate and thin skin of an orange-yellow hue. Inside there is a soft and full of juice pulp of a golden yellow color, which has a strong aroma. The fruit has a central cavity in which from one to four seeds are located. Their size is large, and the ebb is brownish-red. Usually, a seed occupies a large area of the seed nest, it contains one or a pair of nuclei surrounded by an arillus (this is an outgrowth of the seed stem that surrounds the seed, but does not grow together with it). Such a formation is edible, soft and juicy with a glassy white tint, its thickness reaches 5 mm. Arillus is attached to the shell of the seed and has a sour aroma.
The plant is most widespread in southern Brazil, where it is also cultivated. Outside Paraguay and Bolivia, this species is little known. Likes to grow in low-lying plains and in industrial garden plantings. A related variety is Logan (Euphoria longana - Euphoria longana or Dimocarpuslongan), which has taken root well in Asian lands. The plant is used in cooking for the preparation of jelly, carbonated drinks or for canning. Often it is eaten straight from the bone, replacing it with candy-candies.
Eugenia stipilata (Eugenia stipilata, Araza) is found under the name Araza. The tree can reach 2.5 meters in height. The leaf plates are simple with an oval shape, in length, their measurements range from 6-18 cm with a width reaching 3, 5-9, 5 cm. Inflorescences are formed in the leaf axils, have racemose contours and are made up of flowers with snow-white petals. In the process of fruiting, a spherical berry is formed, reaching a diameter of 12 cm. Its weight can reach 750 grams, and the seeds are covered with a thin peel with a glossy yellow surface. The pulp contained in the fruit is also golden yellow. The seeds are large and oblong. There are several of them in the berry.
If you want to see araza in the wild, then you should visit the territory of Brazil, namely its forests, located in the Amazonian floodplain, in the eastern lands of Peru and Ecuador. Only in the XX century this variety began to be grown as a cultivated plant in the above countries.
Also, like its predecessor, araza is used for its fruits in cooking, where ice cream, soft drinks and fruit preservation are prepared on their basis. Due to the rather sour taste in their natural form, the fruits are practically not consumed.
Eugenia one-flowered (Eugenia uniflora) bears synonymous names - Suriname cherry or Pitanga. This fruit tree reaches a height of 7, 5 meters and has elongated branches, which often hang down beautifully like an arc. The leaf plates are oval-lanceolate, with a pointed apex. Their lengths range from 4 to 6 cm and have a pleasant aroma. On the shoots are located opposite. On the upper side, the leaf is painted in a dark green color, and the back is lighter. Until the leaf has grown, then a reddish tone appears.
When flowering, a bud with four sepals and four snow-white petals appears, flowers are arranged singly or are collected in an inflorescence, originating in the leaf axils. The fruit is a berry with a ribbed surface. The diameter of this berry varies within 2–4 cm, the surface has 7–10 elongated small ribs. As the fruit ripens, its color changes from greenish to yellow-orange, and at the end it becomes bright red or maroon color. Like other varieties, the peel of the berry is thin, and the flesh is reddish here, and this fruit is similar to cherry. Their taste is sour or sweet and sour, but bitterness is often felt. The fruit contains from one to three seeds, their taste is very bitter, and they are not suitable for food.
If we talk about the territories of natural and cultural distribution, then the pitanga is found most often and is grown in Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana, and you can also see the plant in the lands of Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Today, the variety has also been naturalized and is successfully cultivated in the American continent, in India and southern China, as well as in the Antilles, the Philippines and on the farms of Israel.
Due to the highly decorative type of fruit, Surinamese cherry is usually grown as an ornamental crop.
