Distinctive characteristics of coccoloba, agricultural technology during cultivation, reproduction, pest and disease control, facts to note, species. Coccoloba belongs to the Buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). Representatives of the genus of the same name can take on a tree-like, shrub form during growth, or grow like a vine. All varieties of coccoloba are found on the lands of both Americas, where the tropical climate fully reigns, but you can also find this sample of the green world in the Greater and Lesser Antilles, he did not ignore the regions of the West Indies. In the genus today there are up to 150 varieties.
Popularly, because of the shape of the brushes in which the fruits of the coccoloba are collected, it is called "Sea grapes" (Seagrape), which or even "Sea cucumber". But not only because of this, the plant is often planted in the coastal beach area. The height of the coccoloba can vary from 2 to 20 meters, but many species have an average of about 8–10 m. Depending on the growing conditions (and cultivation), it has only one trunk, covered with light gray bark, smooth to the touch.
The leaves are arranged on the branches in the next order, they can be either sessile or petiolate. Their shape is rounded, often heart-shaped or oval, there is a sharpening at the top, the leaf plate can bend. The leaf is whole-edged, the surface to the touch is leathery and dense, shiny. The length of the leaf plate can grow up to 20–25 cm. When the leaf is still very young, then in good light, a reddish color veins are visible on the surface, but as they grow older, this color changes to cream. The color of young foliage also changes - as soon as the leaf opens, it casts a bronze color, which gradually becomes olive green. And the old leaf can become completely red in color, which looks quite impressive.
Kokkoloba is a dioecious plant, that is, there are both female and male flowers. During flowering, small buds are formed, from which elongated inflorescences are collected, bearing the form of brushes or spikelets. They are often located at the tops of the branches. There are 6–8 stamens inside the flower. The flower petals have a whitish-green tint. The flowers have a very fragrant aroma. Flowering indoors is almost never observed, but in nature the plant is an excellent honey plant.
The ripening fruit is a berry that casts a purple tone from the very beginning, and then takes on a dark purple color. The fruit is 2 cm in diameter. A thin layer of pulp surrounds a large seed. Her taste is nutmeg, sweet. The fruits are collected in bunches, very similar in shape to the grape. The fruits can be used as food.
Growing this exotic plant is quite simple if you follow certain rules. The growth rate of coccoloba is average, which will allow you to enjoy the beauty of its foliage for a long time, but over time it grows and loses its attractiveness, so rejuvenation will be required.
Requirements for growing coccoloba, care
- Lighting and location. Best of all, sea grapes feel in bright, but diffused lighting, which can be provided for them on the windowsills of windows in an eastern or western location. Direct sunlight can burn the leaves of the coccoloba, and too much shading will cause the shoots to lengthen and thinner and the foliage to fall off. The place for growing sea cucumber is selected more spacious.
- Content temperature. Since the plant comes from lands with a tropical climate, it is recommended to recreate similar conditions when growing. That is, on spring and summer days, heat indicators should not go beyond 18-25 degrees. With the arrival of winter, the thermometer should be kept in the range of 16-18 units. Keep in mind, however, that colder temperatures will simply kill the coccoloba. Also, you should not allow the plant to be exposed to a draft.
- Air humidity. When keeping sea cucumber in the summer months, when the thermometer column grows, it is recommended to spray the deciduous mass. The water should not be hard or from the mains, it is usually defended or boiled, and the water temperature is desirable at room temperature. You can put vessels with water, humidifiers next to the kokkoloba, or install a pot with a plant in a deep pan with a small amount of liquid and pebbles (expanded clay). In winter, especially if the plant is located in a room where heating devices work, it is recommended to spray sea grapes.
- Watering for coccolobas in the spring-summer period should be abundant, and in the autumn-winter period they should be reduced to moderate. It is important to monitor the state of the substrate in the pot, drying out should in no case be allowed, but the bay can also lead to acidification of the soil and the onset of putrefactive processes. A week with moderate watering, about 2.5 liters of water is used. The liquid should be soft, free of lime impurities, and also warmed up to room temperature. If possible, it is recommended to use river or rainwater.
- Care feature for sea grapes is that its shoots grow mainly vertically upwards, and in order for them to start branching, it will be necessary to prune in the spring. Also, this operation will help control the growth of the plant. When the term for the growth of coccoloba expires in 3-4 years, it will be necessary to rejuvenate the bush.
- Fertilizers are applied all year round, namely in the spring and summer period, when the coccoloba is actively growing, the regularity of fertilizing should not exceed once every 14 days, with the arrival of autumn and in the winter months, the plant is fertilized only once a month. To make sea grapes feel comfortable, complete mineral complexes are used, alternating with organic preparations.
- Transplanting and soil selection. It is best to transplant a young coccoloba every year, while a new pot is selected more, since this plant has the ability to quickly build up the root system. When sea grapes grow big enough, there is no point in replanting it, so the top layer of soil in the flowerpot is simply replaced (about 3-5 cm). Holes are made in the new container so that excess moisture drains through them, and before pouring the soil, a layer of drainage material is laid (expanded clay, pebbles or broken shards can act as it). The substrate for growing sea grapes must be rich and loose. They make up a soil mixture of equal parts of garden soil, coarse river sand or perlite and peat.
Reproduction of indoor plant coccoloba at home
To get a new plant of sea grapes, you can sow seeds or cuttings.
Seed material is recommended to be placed in the ground, immediately after collection, but since the coccoloba does not bloom under indoor conditions, seed reproduction is rather difficult. When stored, such seeds quickly lose their germination.
In the summer, cuttings should be cut from the tops of the branches. The blank should have at least 4-5 leaves. Cuttings can be placed in water, planted in moistened sand or sandy-peat substrate, and also peat tablets with a diameter of 4 cm can be used. In any case, cover with plastic wrap or a glass cover is required. This will create conditions with high humidity and heat, such a mini-greenhouse.
If a decision is made to plant the cuttings directly into the substrate, then the sections should be treated with Kornevin or another root formation stimulator. Regularly you need to ventilate the cuttings and moisten the soil in the pot when it dries. If the branches are in the water, then after they develop roots and reach a length of 1 cm, then the cuttings are planted in small pots with suitable soil. On average, rooting took up to a month. When young coccoloba are sufficiently strengthened, the polyethylene or glass shelter is removed and transplanted into a new large container with a suitable more nutritious substrate.
It is also a good idea to propagate sea grapes by layering, which can be the lower shoots of the plant. The branches are pinned to the soil and when they take root, then they carry out a neat separation from the mother specimen.
Coccoloba pest and disease control methods
If the growing conditions for coccoloba are often violated, then there is a high probability that the plant will be affected by harmful insects such as aphids, scale insects, mealybugs or spider mites. If correct signs of pests are found, an urgent treatment with insecticidal preparations will be required.
Also, with flooding of soil and high humidity, the plant can be affected by powdery mildew (fungal disease), in this case, if no measures are taken, then all the leaves are covered with a bloom, which is very similar to dry powdery mildew or dried lime. To combat this disease, sea cucumber is treated with colloidal sulfur, an inorganic fungicide. You can also take funds and stronger - from chemicals "Topaz", "Acrobat" or the like.
If there is not enough light, then the coccoloba shoots towards the source of illumination, and foliage may also fall off. In winter, leaf plates can sometimes begin to turn red and then fly around.
Facts for the curious about coccolob
A variety of berry coccoloba helps to cleanse the body of radionuclides and heavy metals, it will also help to strengthen immunity and normalize metabolism. If you use the fruits of this plant, then they will help eliminate the possibility of blood clots. Tinctures, fees and other preparations made from berry coccoloba are designed to maintain the thyroid gland, lower blood cholesterol levels, and help normalize the human cardiovascular system, they also fight viral infections. Extracts from the bark of varieties of coccoloba are used to treat throat diseases, and the drug obtained from the roots copes well with dysentery.
In the West Indies, as well as in Jamaica, the plant sap is successfully used for dyeing and tanning leather. Due to the fact that the wood of the coccoloba is quite strong and beautiful, furniture is made from raw materials obtained from old trees.
Types of coccoloba
Coccoloba diversifolia (Coccoloba diversifolia) may be referred to in literary sources as Pigeon plum. This representative of the flora is a fruit tree and in its natural environment grows on the territory of the lands off the coast of the Caribbean Sea, namely Belize, Guatemala, southern Mexico, South Florida and the Bahamas. The height of such a tree often varies within 10–18 m, the trunk is covered with smooth gray bark. The leaf plates have oval-oblong outlines, the surface is glossy. The length of the leaf varies within 3–13 cm with a width of 1–7 cm. Their color is bright green on top, and on the back it is paler. During flowering, a large number of buds are formed, but when they open, they are rather inconspicuous, flowering occurs in the spring. When the fruit ripens, a berry is formed, suitable for food. The diameter of the fruit varies in the range of 6-10 mm, the color of the surface is dark purple, the berries fully ripen by autumn. The variety shows increased resistance to strong winds, salinization of the substrate and arid conditions, but does not tolerate frost at all.
The pubescent coccoloba (Coccoloba pubescens) is short, reaching only 10–20 m in height. Their crown is also small and compact. The leaf plate is distinguished by almost rounded contours, its dimensions are large - they are measured in the range from 2 to 50 cm in diameter, it happened that this parameter even reaches up to 90 cm. The leaves grow sessile, tightly wrapping around the branches. Their color is green on top, and on the back there is brownish pubescence, with veins of yellow-red color. The edge of the sheet is smooth, wavy.
During flowering, buds are formed, the petals in which are greenish-white in color, the flowers have a fragrant aroma. They are attached to pedicels up to 60 cm long. After flowering, fruits ripen, reaching a diameter of 2 cm.
Often this variety is used when grown in botanical gardens or because of the large size of the leaves for decorating large interiors (halls, terraces, foyers, etc.). Most often, in conditions of wild growth, this plant can be found on the shores of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, in America, where a tropical climate prevails, as well as in Antigua, Barbados. This species is present in the Dominican Republic, Martinique and Puerto Rico.
Berry coccoloba (Coccoloba unifera) is also called by the synonymous name - Sea grapes. It is an evergreen tree that naturally grows in some areas of America (where tropical climatic conditions are present), and they can also be found in coastal zones in the Caribbean, and plants of this type of area in Florida and Bermuda have not yet been bypassed.
The maximum height of such trees is 8 m, but often their parameters do not exceed 2 m. The bark of the trunk is yellowish, the surface is smooth to the touch. The leaves have a rounded oval or broadly ovate shape. Their length varies within 10–12 cm with a width of 10–20 cm. The foliage is entire, the surface is dense, to leathery, glossy. The color on the upper side of the leaf can be both light and dark green, when the leaf is young, then its veins are shaded with a reddish color, and with age it changes to cream. On the reverse side, the foliage is just green.
During flowering, long racemose inflorescences are formed, drooping in shape, made up of small flowers that have a fragrant aroma and creamy petals. Ripening fruits are rounded, with a diameter of up to 2 cm. The peel of the berries is woody, purple. Inside the fruit there is a thin layer of flesh with a sweet nutmeg taste, it encompasses a large seed. The fruits are also collected in a bunch, which is very similar to grapes, which is why the plant has a second name. The berries begin to fall off as soon as they are fully ripe.
It is customary to use the fruits of this variety both raw and prepare jelly on their basis, and wine and vinegar are made on the basis of the juice. It is an excellent honey plant.
Sea grapes are completely frost-intolerant, but they successfully tolerate soil salinization. Therefore, it is not in vain that the plant was chosen for decorating coastal zones, with the help of its plantings, beaches are stabilized, but it is also used as an ornamental culture if climatic conditions permit. In culture, the berry coccoloba is grown in large rooms or in greenhouses, but it is almost impossible to achieve flowering.
What a coccoloba looks like, see below:
