General characteristics of the columnea, the rules of cultivation, steps for reproduction, difficulties in cultivation and ways to solve them, types. Columnea (Columnea) belongs to the plants that are part of the Gesneriaceae family. This floral compound numbers more than 200 representatives of the flora of the world, who prefer to settle on the branches and trunks of trees for their growth (that is, they lead an epiphytic or semi-epiphytic lifestyle and need support). In culture, it is customary to grow a columnea in the form of an ampelous plant. Under the conditions of natural growth, the plant is found on the lands of Central and South America, in tropical climates, and more precisely, in Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other states.
Its scientific name Columnea bears in honor of the Italian Fabio Colonna (1567-1640), who was engaged in botany, and his surname in Latin pronunciation gave the name to the plant. The people usually call it "goldfish" or "flower - flying goldfish", because with its outlines and color it resembles this inhabitant of the waters.
Surprisingly, compared to its relatives koleria, gloxinia or saintpaulia, this representative of the flora is less popular in home floriculture. Although if you plant a columnea in hanging baskets or pots, then it decorates the premises quite effectively.
Shoots of the "goldfish" can grow upright or drooping, take a shrub or semi-shrub form of growth, and can also differ in creeping or drooping stems. Columnea has a fibrous root system. The length of the shoots can often reach up to 1, 4 meters. At first, they grow mainly upward, but over time, the stems lengthen and begin to droop. They have evergreen foliage and a long life cycle. The stems are well leafy and are covered with fleshy leaf plates, which have an opposite arrangement.
The leaves are oblong-oval or ovoid in shape with sharp edges at both ends. The size of the foliage is small (about 1, 2-3, 5 cm), the surface is glossy, leathery, smooth to the touch, or they may have pubescence. Each leaf is attached to the shoot with a short petiole. The color of the leaves varies from dark emerald to bronze-purple, occasionally a reddish tint may be present on the underside.
The property of the columnea is its multiple flowers, their shape is quite decorative, the corolla is tubular, characterized by a two-lipped limb. In it, the size of the upper lip is much larger than the lower one, lateral lobes with triangular contours are located on the sides, sometimes bristles grow along the edge. Two pairs of anthers form a square shape.
Flowers take their origin in the leaf axils in the central part of the branches, their color often takes on red, orange, purple, yellow and whitish colors. The corolla is 4–7 cm long. The flowering process occurs in winter or can begin at the beginning of spring days, when summer begins in the native lands of the columnea (in the southern hemisphere).
After flowering, the fruit ripens in the form of a berry, inside which there are dust-like seeds.
Conditions for growing a flower columnea, care
- Lighting for a "goldfish" preferably bright, but diffused, which the owner can provide by placing a pot with a plant on the windows of the western and eastern directions. In winter, if the heat indicators are not reduced, then it is important to carry out additional lighting with fluorescent lamps.
- Growing temperature from spring to autumn days it is kept within the range of 22-27 degrees, but the plant can transfer heat values of 30 units for a short time. If in the autumn-winter time it is impossible to provide the column with additional lighting, then the thermometer should be gradually reduced to 16-18 units.
- Air humidity when growing columnea, the florist must maintain at an elevated level. It is recommended to irrigate foliage from a fine spray gun. The water used is soft and warm, well settled. And you should also shower the crown of the columnea with warm water, the plant is dried in a warm and strongly shaded place.
- Watering for the "goldfish" should be carried out throughout the year in moderate doses, as the top layer of soil in the flowerpot dries out. The substrate is always kept moderately moist, the owner should not allow drying and gulf. For humidification, only soft settled water with a heat indicator of 20 degrees is used. If in winter the plant is kept in a cool room, then watering should be more careful to prevent waterlogging.
- Fertilization for the columnea. Since the "goldfish" does not have a pronounced dormant period, it is required to make additional feeding all year round. From spring to autumn, it follows that their frequency is once every 14 days, and complex fertilizers are used. If in the winter the owner provided additional lighting and sees that the plant is actively continuing to grow, then fertilizing is also applied, but with a frequency of up to 1 time in three weeks.
- Conducting a transplant columnea. You should change the capacity and substrate in it when growing "goldfish" once a year, as soon as the plant finishes blooming. In this case, its shoots are greatly shortened. A new pot is taken 3-5 cm larger than the old one, holes are made in the bottom so that moisture does not stagnate. Before pouring the soil into the container, a layer of drainage material is laid on the bottom - this will protect the substrate from the bays.
The soil for growing columnea should be light and loose so that air and water can be easily supplied to the roots. From ready-made mixtures, you can select those that are suitable for epiphytic and semi-epiphytic representatives of the flora, it is recommended to add chopped sphagnum moss, coconut chips and other loosening components to them.
Tips for breeding columnea at home
To get a new plant "goldfish" experts recommend sowing seed and planting cuttings. The second method is the most common, since it guarantees the preservation of maternal properties in the new columnea plant. And since the seeds are very small, specialists in breeding work are engaged in sowing them, since during germination it is necessary to maintain high humidity and a constant temperature in the room.
In winter and spring, you can harvest branches for grafting. For this, the leftovers from the trimming will do. It is advisable to take cuttings from the tops of the branches, which should be cut into five-centimeter pieces, so that each has a pair of leaf plates. It is recommended to plant cuttings in containers of 4–5 units. The pot is selected from 6 cm in diameter, or the workpieces are planted directly into the distribution boxes. Rooting soil is made up of the following options:
- on the basis of equal parts of leafy, humus soil with the addition of river sand;
- peat soil and coarse sand in a ratio of 1: 2.
When rooting, they withstand the heat indicators of the substrate of about 20-24 degrees. In order for rooting to be successful, it is necessary to regularly moisten the soil in the container, but spraying is not carried out, as the leaves may begin to rot. As soon as the cuttings take root, then they should be transplanted into pots with a diameter of 8 cm. The soil mixture in this case is made up of leafy soil, peat soil, coarse river sand and light turf soil, in proportions of 2: 1: 1: 1.
When 2–2, 5 months have passed and the entire earthen lump offered to young columbians is entwined with roots, it is recommended to change the pot with a diameter of about 10 cm again.
Disease and pest control when caring for a columnea
All the problems that arise when growing a plant in one way or another are associated with a violation of the above rules for caring for a plant. Among them, experts distinguish:
- Yellowing of foliage and its fall, while the stems are ugly bare. This happens due to the rumor of low humidity in the room, low heat indicators, and it can also cause an insufficient light level or the temperature is too high, and a similar nuisance will arise if an earthen lump dries up in the summer.
- The entire surface of the foliage is covered with a light brown spot. This is possible when watering with very cold water.
- If in the room where the columnea is located, the heat indicators are too high, and the air is very dry, then this will lead to the fact that the tips of the leaf plates dry out and begin to turn yellow. In this case, it is recommended to spray the foliage or install air humidifiers next to the pot.
- If the "goldfish" does not bloom for a long time, then the reason for this is the unrestrained temperature during the period when the flower buds are laid, and it should be within 16-18 degrees, and also during this period (December-January) the heat indicators should be reduced up to a month in nighttime.
- If large drops of moisture get on the flowers, the corollas will turn brown and crumble prematurely.
Also, when the columnea experiences frequent floods of soil or is kept at high levels of moisture, the plant may be affected by gray rot. In this case, you will need to remove all damaged areas and treat with a fungicide, you should also transplant the "goldfish" into a new pot with a new substrate.
Of the pests that harm the plant, the scabbard, thrips, aphids and spiderwebs are isolated. In this case, it is recommended to treat the foliage with insecticidal preparations.
Column facts for the curious
Columbus is sometimes referred to as the "room orchid", although it does not belong to this family. Apparently, this comparison gives the unusual shape of the flowers of the plant.
This representative of the flora is famous for its effect on a person, as it normalizes his emotional state.
Most of the varieties (out of more than two hundred) became known in the 20th century, although some of them have been popular in floriculture since the 40s – 60s of the 19th century.
Columnea species
- Columnea small-leaved (Columnea micriphilla) is a flowering bush, on the shoots of which bright orange buds are formed. If you look at the plant from a distance, then they resemble gold jumping fish against the background of the foliage, which is why this variety is popularly called the Goldfish. In natural conditions, this beauty grows only on trees - it is an epiphyte. The root shoots for the flower are needed only for coupling with the support, but not for receiving nutrition.
- Columnea kewensis (Columnea kewensis) is an ampelous plant with long hanging branches with dense pubescence over time, there is a tendency to their lignification. The shoots are densely covered with dark emerald or brownish foliage, which has a reddish-brown tint underneath. The leaf surface is dense and glossy, giving the impression that it is cut from pieces of leather. The length of the leaf reaches 3.5 cm with a width of up to 1.5 cm. On top of some plants of this variety, pubescence may be present. In flowers with a corolla in the form of a tube, the length can be 7 cm, to the top there is an expansion reaching 1 cm in diameter. The color of the flowers is scarlet-red. This species is considered one of the most popular in floriculture.
- Columnea x Banks (Columnea x banksii) It is distinguished by long drooping stems, which grow up to 90 cm in length. The stems are covered with large leafy plates, with a dark green color. The flowers are large and highly decorative with a scarlet color corolla with light spotting.
- Columnea blood-red (Columnea sanguinea). The native habitat is in forests located in the mountains of the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The plant can take the form of a shrub or grow as an epiphyte. The shoots have a creeping look, they are quite thick and can grow to a length of 1.2 m. The leaf plates are large, their length is 10–30 cm, and their width varies within 3, 5–10 cm. Their shape is oblong-lanceolate, there is a slope at the base, on the reverse side there is a spot of red color from large elements. Flowers originate in the leaf axils and are collected in several pieces in inflorescences. The corolla of a flower is 2 cm long, has pubescence, and a dark red color. The flowering process is very abundant. The most common variety in the culture.
- Columnea Allenii (Columnea allenii) honors the territory of Panama with his native lands. The shoots are thin, can be either hanging or crawling along the soil surface. The arrangement of leaves on the branches is opposite, they take on an elliptical shape. The length can reach 2 cm, the color of the foliage is dark green, the surface is shiny. The flowers have densely pubescent pedicels, they are located in the axils of the leaves. The length of the corolla is 8 cm, its color is red with a pattern on the throat of a yellowish tint. If you measure the upper lip, then it can reach 5 cm.
- Columnea Krakatau can be found under the name Columnea suspended. The native area of growth falls on the territory of Central and South America. This variety was bred by selection from the Banksa variety. This species bears its name in honor of the eponymous volcano, since when the flowering process begins, it is very reminiscent of an eruption of volcanic lava. The leaf plates are colored in a rich green hue, their shape is lanceolate and are located on the branches in an opposite order. It is the foliage that provides such an effective backdrop for the bright red color of the blooming flowers. Corolla is tubular in shape. The flowers grow from the leaf axils singly or in bunch-shaped inflorescences.
- Columnea crassifolia he respects the lands of Mexico and Guatemala as his homeland. The plant has erect shoots, covered with elongated narrow fleshy leaves. The surface of the leaf plate is glossy, the length varies within 5-10 cm. The color of the corolla is orange-red, it is up to 8 cm long. Its surface is covered with reddish hairs.
- Columnea nicaraguensis grows naturally in Central America. This succulent plant is an epiphyte with abundant flowering. Its stems are strong and creeping in shape, in length they can reach up to 75 cm. The leaves are equal to 12 cm in length, their color is green, the surface is as if satin to the touch, there is a reddish tint on the reverse side. The flowers also have a red corolla color, with a length of about 8 cm. The upper lip is pronounced, in the neck there is a yellowish tint.
- Columnea linearis grows in the lands of Costa Rica. This succulent representative of the flora can take on shrubby outlines with stems reaching a height of 45 cm. The stems are covered with dark green leaves with a length of about 9 cm. The flowers are arranged singly, have a two-lipped corolla, which is measured in length 4 cm. The color of the flowers is apricot pink, with whitish hairs.
- Climbing Columnea (Columnea scandens) shoots often grow either straight or hanging in shape. The flowers are shaded with an orange-red color scheme.
For more on growing columnea, see the video below:
