Distinctive characteristics, recommendations for growing ixora, rules for flower reproduction, pest and disease control, interesting facts, types. Ixora is a member of the extensive family of Rubiaceae in the genus of the same name, which also includes up to 500 species. However, in indoor floriculture, only two are popular and well-known: Ixora bright red (Ixora coccinea) and Ixora javanica (Ixora javanica). Despite the fact that this representative of the flora is widespread throughout the planet, but its native habitat is considered to be the territories of tropical Asia, as well as the lands of India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
People call Ixora "the flame of the forest" for the rich color of its flowers and the high decorativeness of the resulting inflorescences, which stand out with bright caps against the background of dark green foliage.
The plant is an evergreen shrub that thrives in tropical climates. Shoots can vary in height within 3-5 meters, however, when grown at home, they rarely exceed meter values. The surface of the branches can be reddish or brown.
The leaf plates are located opposite each other on the shoots, their surface is mainly leathery, glossy. The length of the leaf can measure 7, 5-15 cm, but there are varieties in which the leaves are quite large; they reach 25-30 cm in length. The shape of the leaf can be either elliptical, lanceolate, or narrow-ovate or obovate. The leaf narrows strongly towards the base, turning into a short petiole. There is also a narrowing at the apex, which may end in a styloid sharpening. Young foliage has a bronze tint.
Naturally, the pride of Ixora is its flowers, which are formed in small sizes at the tops of the shoots, gathering in corymbose or umbellate rather dense inflorescences. The color of the petals can vary from white to bright red, the flower stalks of the buds are also short. The corolla has a ring-shaped four-membered limb and can reach 3–5 cm in diameter; there is also a tube that reaches 2.5–5 cm in length. Inflorescences are often 10 cm in diameter. Some varieties have a strong flower aroma.
The flowering process can be year-round, especially if care or natural conditions are conducive to this. But Ixora blooms more magnificently during the beginning of the rainy season in its homeland, which in our latitudes falls on the summer period. The growth rate of the "forest flame" is not high. When grown indoors, the plant can be pleasing to the eye for up to seven years and it is preferable to keep it in greenhouses.
Recommendations for growing ixora, care
- Lighting and location selection. For this flowering plant, you need a place with good illumination, but without direct rays of the sun, therefore it is recommended to put a pot of ixora on the window sills of windows facing the southwestern or southeastern sides of the world. In the south, you will need to shade the plant so that there is no sunburn of the leaves and flowers. In the north, this exotic bush will have to be constantly illuminated, the same is done in winter, so that the illumination time is at least 4 hours a day.
- Content temperature. In the summer, heat indicators are maintained within the range of 22-25 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn they gradually decrease to 14-16 degrees.
- Air humidity when growing ixora should be at least 60%. It is recommended to spray the foliage daily with soft and warm water. It is important that drops of liquid do not fall on the flower petals. You can put air humidifiers next to the "forest flame" pot, or the pot with the plant itself is placed in a deep tray with wet expanded clay or pebbles. Only the main thing is that the bottom of the flowerpot does not touch the moisture, as this can provoke rotting of the root system. Sometimes flower growers grow Ixora in a “flower window” - a glass display case, in which high humidity and heat are always maintained.
- Watering. When the plant begins to bloom, watering is abundant with regularity three times a week. The soil should not dry out. It is recommended to add lemon juice to the water twice a month (for 1 liter a couple of drops). In the autumn-winter period it is watered every 6–8 days. The water must be soft and warm.
- Fertilizer for ixora, it is applied from spring to autumn, using liquid preparations without lime, you can try to feed it with fertilizer for orchids. The regularity of feeding is once every two weeks.
- Transplant and selection of substrate for Ixora. To make the "forest flame" feel normal, a small flowerpot is chosen for it, since its root system does not differ in its large volume. While the plant is young, they change the pot and soil in it annually, since during this period the bush begins to grow very quickly. Already in subsequent years, such an operation is performed only once every 2-3 years, the diameter of the pot becomes a guideline - if it has become equal to 45 cm, then the transplant is not so frequent, or only the top layer of the earth can be changed. A good drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the container so that there is no stagnation of moisture.
The soil for transplanting is selected acidic (acidity in the region of 5, 0-6, 0 pH) and with sufficient looseness. It should contain a large amount of peat. If you don't want to mess with the ground, then use ready-made purchased soil for azaleas and rhododendrons. In the case when the soil mixture is prepared independently, then its composition should include: deciduous soil, sod land, coarse sand and peat. Also, a little humus substrate is introduced there.
How to propagate Ixora with your own hands?
You can get a young plant with magnificent inflorescences by cuttings or sowing seeds.
When grafting, branches are cut from the apical semi-lignified shoots in the spring, until the buds begin to form. The length of the cutting should not exceed 8-10 cm. It will also be necessary to carry out bottom heating of the soil and maintain the heat indicators in the room in the region of 25-30 degrees. Sections of cuttings must be treated with a root stimulator (for example, heteroauxin or "Kornevin"). Planting is carried out in pots filled with peat-sand mixture or peat mixed with perlite in equal parts. Then the cuttings are placed in a mini-greenhouse, under a cut plastic bottle or wrapped in a plastic bag. It is important not to forget conducts airing and, if necessary, moisten the soil in the container. After 4–6 weeks, the twigs take root and are planted in separate pots with soil more suitable for further growth. To stimulate further branching, it is necessary to pinch the cuttings when they reach 15 cm in height.
If seed reproduction is carried out, then a thin layer of fertile substrate is poured into the bowl. The seeds are planted shallowly into the ground and sprayed with a fine spray gun. Then the container is covered with plastic wrap and placed in a warm and bright place, but without direct sunlight. After almost half a month or a little longer, the first sprouts will begin to cut through. The shelter must be removed and the sprouts must be accustomed to indoor conditions. As soon as a full-fledged pair of leaves appears on the ixora plants, they dive in separate pots. When the sprouts become more mature, their tops are pinched.
If necessary, propagation can also be carried out by layering branches or using root shoots.
Ixora pest and disease control
Most often, thrips, spider mites, nematodes or scale insects deliver troubles to Ixora. To combat these pests, wipe the leaf plates of the plant with alcohol, soap or oil solution. Also, these tools can be used for spraying foliage. If non-chemical preparations do not give the desired result, then Ixora will have to be treated with insecticides (for example, Aktara, Aktellik or Fitoverm, or agents with a similar effect).
If the soil is not acidic enough, then this leads to the development of chlorosis, when the leaf plate becomes a pale green hue, but in the area of the veins the color remains deep green. Irrigation with cold and hard water will give the same result. To overcome this problem, it is required to feed with microelements in which there is an iron chelate and it is necessary to replace the soil in the pot with a more acidic one. And it is recommended to humidify the "forest flame" only with water, devoid of lime and other impurities with a room temperature (20-24 degrees).
If a disease of the root system began, then this became a consequence associated with excessive watering and hypothermia of the roots. At the same time, the renewal of Ixora is carried out faster by grafting. If the buds and flowers began to fall off, it means that the heat indicators changed dramatically or just the pot with the plant was turned in relation to the light source.
Interesting facts and the flower of Ixora
Ixora flowers, painted in a red tint, are used in Indian folk medicine. Also, leaf plates have a strong antiseptic effect, while the root of the "forest flame" is used to cure fever and diarrhea. In Asian folk medicine, it is customary to reduce toothache with the help of drugs prepared from Ixora root.
There is a recommendation not to change the location of the flower, otherwise the plant will die, but this is not entirely true. You can safely rearrange the ixora pot, but put it in the same position to the light source as it was before. To do this, the pot should be designated by putting a mark on it, which side it stood to the window.
Ixora species
- Ixora bright red (Ixora ciccinea) is a shrub plant, reaching 1, 3 m in height. The leaf plates have a bronze sheen, the shape is rounded, turning at the ends into a non-thorny sharpening in the form of an awl. Petioles are practically absent. When flowering, small buds are formed, but their number is large. And although the name of the variety indicates the color of the petals in its colors, there are instances of pink, whitish, yellow, dark orange or beige tones (for example, hybrid varieties such as Flamingo, Kon-Tiki, Maui Yellow, and Chaing Mai). With proper care, flowering will last throughout the summer.
- Ixora javanica also grows in the form of a shrub, reaching a height of 120 cm. The native area of growth falls on the territory of the island of Java. Shoots have a brownish or reddish bark. Leaf plates are oval or narrow-ovate in shape, located on the branches in opposite order, in length can be measured in the range of 10-12 cm. The leaf has a narrowing, turning into a very short petiole, at the apex there is a sharpening. In the process of budding, flowers appear on the tops of the shoots, gathering there, in dense complex-corymbose inflorescences. The color of the petals is orange-red. The length of the calyx can reach 3 mm, it has a red tint. The corolla has a wheel-shaped limb formed by four segments, measuring up to 2.5 cm in diameter; it resembles a narrow tube up to 5 cm long in outline. The corolla is formed by petals with a wheel-shaped limb. The stamens are crowned with reddish anthers, grow curved outward and downward, located between the lobes of the limb.
- Ixora crimson (Ixora bandhuca, Ixora incarnata) in natural conditions it can reach 3-5 meters in height, but in home cultivation it rarely exceeds meter indicators. Leaf plates, painted in green color, have a glossy, leathery surface. Their shape is oblong-oval, in length they can reach 5-10 cm with a width varying in the range of 1.5-5 cm. Flowers, which are formed in the period from April to August, have a bright red hue and they collect shortish dense racemose inflorescences, which can reach 10 cm in diameter. In flowers, however, the length usually varies in the range of 2.5–3 cm. The flowering process is very abundant. In culture, it is customary to grow multiple hybrid varieties and varieties.
- Chinese Ixora (Ixora chinensis) very similar to a variety of bright red Ixora. He respects the territory of southern China, namely the province of Yunnan, as his native land of growth; it is also a fairly common species in Southeast Asia, which includes Malaysia, the region of Burma, and is found in the Philippine Islands, Vietnam and Cambodia. Often settles on acidic soils, on the banks of river arteries. It is an evergreen shrub plant that does not exceed one meter in height. The leaf blades have a dark green color, the surface is leathery, and the shape of the leaf blade is oval, with a sharpness at both ends. The petioles are shortened. The emerging flowers are small in size, the color can be varied, which includes pinkish, orange, orange-red and bright red, and in rare cases whitish tones. Corolla with tubular outlines and five-lobed limb. Flowers, gathering in 50-60 buds, form lush corymbose or umbellate inflorescences, placed on the tops of the shoots. The flowers have no aroma. Most often, this variety was cultivated in botanical gardens and greenhouses. Today the plant is available for hobbyist cultivation. The available variety Prince of Orange has waviness along the edge of the leaf plates, and the flowers are pleasing to the eye with an orange-red tint. Already now, forms have been found that have both lilac and cream color of the petals of the buds.
- Ixora griffithii may occur under the name Ixora congesta (Ixora congesta). The native area of distribution falls on the lands of Singapore and Burma. The form of growth is shrub, the maximum height to which the shoots reach varies within 80–100 cm. The leaves have elliptical contours, rather large, can reach 25–30 cm in length and about 12 cm in width. Umbrella-shaped carpal inflorescences are collected from the flowers. The color of the petals of flowers first casts an orange tone, and then acquires a reddish tint. The flowering process is abundant in the summer.
- Fragrant Ixora (Ixora odorata) he revered the lands of the island of Madagascar as his native places of growth. The leaf plates can often approach up to 30 cm in length. The petals of flowers are at first snow-white, but over time the color changes to yellow. Large inflorescences are collected from them, measuring 30 cm in diameter. The flowers have a strong aroma.
- Ixora finlaysoniana he respects the territory of Thailand and South China with his native lands. The leaf plates can measure up to 15 cm in length. The flowers have snow-white petals and a strong aroma.
- Ixora undulata the distribution area falls on the territory of Bengal. Sheet plates have a wavy edge. Flowers are painted in coral red or snow-white colors. The corolla has tubular outlines, not exceeding 1, 2 cm in length. The apical inflorescences are collected from the flowers.
More about growing Ixora in the following video:
