Stapelia - home care, photo species and varieties

Perennial Stapelia (Stapelia) belongs to the family Gustovye (Asclepiadaceae) and is a succulent with a stalk height of 10 to 60 cm. The homeland of the stapelia is the southern and southwestern African regions, where the succulent plant prefers to grow on mountain slopes and sands.

A distinctive feature of the plant are fleshy tetrahedral stems branching from the base, covered along the edges with sharp teeth, without leaves. Shoots of green or pale - bluish color under intense light can acquire a violet - red tint.

Five-petalled flowers, similar in shape to a starfish, ranging in size from 5 to 30 cm, bloom on long, bent pedicels. Original, spectacular flowers have a motley or plain color, but exude a not very pleasant smell.

Also see how to grow homemade stephanotis.

Useful properties of slipway

It is believed that stapelia improves the psycho - emotional state of a person, the energy of the room in which it grows, extinguishes negative energy, favorably affects the state of the musculoskeletal system. It does not emit toxic substances.

Stapelia: home care. Briefly

Care for the slipway at home. In detail

The plant is easy to care for, but requires compliance with certain rules and microclimate parameters for an attractive appearance:

Flowering stapelia

The flowering period occurs more often in the summer. Initially, large, like a chicken egg, air buds are formed at the bottom of the shoots, or at their tops. The bud opens on a long, drooping peduncle. Flowers have a bell-shaped or flat five-petalled shape. The fleshy petals fused at the base form a funnel in which the same fleshy roller can be located.

The sizes of stapelia flowers in diameter can be from 5 to 30 cm. The surface of the petals is covered with long glandular villi. They are white or light pink, and the flowers themselves are colorful, original colors. Flowering plant stapelia at home the flowers look wonderful, but exudes a terribly unpleasant odor.

Temperature mode

In the spring-summer period, stapelia prefers warm growing conditions, air temperature from +23 to + 28 ° C. You can keep the plant indoors or on the balcony, it is important that there are no drafts. Between November and February, the temperature is significantly reduced, to + 14- + 15 ° C.

Lower temperatures contribute to the development of diseases.

Spraying

Caring for the slipway at home does not include spraying the plant and air to increase humidity. It is a natural succulent adapted to life in arid conditions. Spraying may only be needed for hygiene purposes to remove dust.

Lighting

The need for slipway in bright sunlight is also dictated by its origin. With a lack of sunshine, the shoots are stretched and thinned, flowering does not occur. With prolonged, intense exposure to sunlight, especially glass, burns may occur.

The reaction of the plant to excess sun is the redness of the shoots. You can correct the situation by lightly shading or moving the pot away from the south window.

Watering a slipway

Homemade stapelia is a fairly drought tolerant plant. Some drying of the soil tolerates better than excessive moisture and stagnation of water. The intensity and frequency of irrigation directly depends on the growing season:

• from March to September - in 7-10 days;
• from October to November - in 20-30 days;
• from December to January - you can not water if the plant has conditions for winter dormancy.

If the plant remains in a warm room for the winter, vegetative processes do not stop and watering must be continued so that the plant does not dry out. For all periods, the approach to irrigation is the same: plentiful, but rarely, warm, settled water.

Pot

The root system of the succulent is poorly developed and has a surface location, so the capacity for planting is chosen not too deep, but wide. The size of the pot should correspond to the growth of the plant, without excess stock. A prerequisite is the presence of a drainage hole. At least 1/4 of the volume is diverted under the drainage layer.

In the absence of drainage holes, the drainage layer is increased to 1/3. The best material for utensils - unglazed, clay ceramics, which provides through the pores additional air exchange and the prevention of putrefactive processes.

Priming

In nature, the plant grows on low-fertile sandy soils with a minimum amount of humus. Stapelia at home is also not demanding on soil fertility, prefers water- and breathable soil mixtures with a neutral level of acidity.

Ready soil for succulents is best suited. For loosening, use large river sand, which is added to the finished mixture or mixed in equal amounts with turf soil. The addition of charcoal prevents the development of putrefactive processes. Nutrient humus is not added to the mixture.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

Succulents do not need frequent top dressing, as they are not demanding on mineral nutrition by their natural origin. Top dressing is carried out only from spring to autumn with a frequency of at least 2-3 weeks. Use special complexes of nutrients in doses recommended by the manufacturer. In the autumn - winter period, top dressing is not carried out.

Attention! Nutrient soil of their own preparation before planting is disinfected by heating in the oven or a solution of potassium permanganate.

Slipway transplant

Succulents do not transplant too often, as their root system develops slowly, and not too nutritious soil is a normal habitat. Young bushes are replanted as needed once a year, mainly in the spring.

Older bushes need replanting every 2-4 years, and annually renew the top layer of the earth. A stapelia transplant into a larger container is performed by transshipment without destroying the root coma. In parallel, the bush is rejuvenated by removing old shoots.

Attention! The transplanted plant is watered only after a few days.

Pruning

There is no need to carry out planned pruning. Periodically, the bush is inspected and cleaned damaged, with signs of disease and dried shoots. Plants grow quickly enough, but old faded shoots lose their decorativeness and are gently pulled from the middle of the bush when transplanting or updating the soil.

Rest period

To stimulate the slipway to plant flower buds and flowering, it is necessary to artificially organize a change of season. The plant is placed in a cool room, reduced, and then practically stop watering it. The winter dormant period lasts from November to February.

With an increase in the length of daylight, the temperature is increased and watering is activated. Succulent reaction to stress - the beginning of flowering. If there is no way to reduce the room temperature to a temperature of +12 -15 ° C, then flowering can not wait.

Growing stapelia from seeds

Seeds ripen within 12 months. When sown in a light sandy substrate with virtually no deepening, they germinate after 3-4 weeks. Seeds are sown in April. To preserve moisture, the container with seeds is covered with a transparent film.

Germinate in a warm, well-lit place. Seedlings dive into shallow containers with a diameter of about 6 cm, where they are grown for a year. In the further, the size of the pot is increased to 9 cm.

Stapelia propagation by cuttings

For rooting with a sharp, disinfected knife, petioles are prepared from faded stems. Work is carried out from May to July. Slices are treated with activated or charcoal and dry for several hours in the open air. Cuttings can be separated during transplantation of the mother bush.

As a substrate for rooting, wet sand is used. The rooted cuttings eventually pass into a looser container. A mixture of sand with sheet and turf soil, in equal proportions, is suitable. To prevent the development of rotting processes, charcoal is added to the mixture.

Diseases and Pests

Stapelia is a fairly disease-resistant plant and its problems are most often associated with violation of the conditions of detention:

• The stalks of the slipway became soft, lethargic. The cause may be root rot, which develops with prolonged excessive soil moisture.
• Stapelia does not bloom with a number of mistakes made in the care: lack of sunlight, warm and humid microclimate during the wintering season, excess nitrogen nutrition, too fertile soil and a large volume of the pot.
• The shoots are thinned and extended in low sunlight.
• Brown spots appear on the shoots as a result of sunburn.
• Shriveled stems of a plant with chronic drying of the root system.

Stapelia is more often damaged by mealybug, less often - aphids and spider mites.

Types of homemade slipway with photos and names

Out of the whole variety, no more than 6 types of slipways are cultivated in indoor floriculture:

Giant, S. gigantea

The largest of succulents, which is grown at home. Its flowering smell is unpleasant, but more restrained compared to other species. Powerful, upright shoots in the form of tetrahedrons with blunt edges and small teeth, in diameter reach 3 cm. The length of the stems is from 20 to 35 cm, the size of the flowering bud in diameter is up to 35 cm. Flowers have five hairy creamy yellow petals, shaded with burgundy blotches. The villi are white along the edges.

Golden Magenta, S. flavopurpurea

The stems are dark green, ribbed with denticles, short (up to 10 cm). Light green or light green petals are gathered around a pink or golden yellow crown. The flower is similar to a starfish with tentacles of ovoid or triangular, bent to the edges of the petals. Flowers (about 4 cm in diameter) bloom at the top of the stem, one at a time or from inflorescences of 2-3 pieces. The smell is waxy, not too strong.

Large-flowered, S. grandiflora

Green tetrahedral stems branching from the base form a wide bush. Large flowers (about 25 cm) bloom at the bottom of the stem. The color of the petals is purple or burgundy, they are covered with silvery villi, bent at the edges of the shape of the cilia.

Ferruginous, S. glanduliflora

Bush with ribbed, serrated shoots 3cm thick and up to 15cm long. At the same time, 2-3 flowers bloom at the base of the stem. On the yellow-green, bent petals of a triangular shape, pinkish dots and stripes are located. They are gathered around a contrasting brownish crown. The surface is covered with club-shaped colorless hairs, and the edges with white villi.

Volatile, S. mutabilis

Shoots of medium size (15-17 cm). Triangular petals with small cilia along the edge. Inside is a wide double crown, round from the outside and star-shaped inside. The creamy background of the petals is covered with a burgundy pattern.

Hairy, S. hirsuta

The shape of the flowers is similar to a variable slipway, but the background of the petals is dark, the pattern is light. Long burgundy villi cover the edge of the petal and the middle of the flower.

Watch the video: Stapelia Family Update - Starfish Flowers (May 2024).