Pandanus: care at home, description, photo

Pandanus, whose photo is familiar to many florists, is a tropical inhabitant. In nature, it occurs in Madagascar, in Vietnam and in other tropical regions of the Eastern Hemisphere.

Description

The plant has long and narrow leaves. As a rule, they are only green or have white stripes. The leaves grow in a spiral, and in several rows, so the second name of this plant is a screw palm, or pine. But few know that pandanus has nothing to do with these plants. It is a completely different representative of the flora. Often the pandanus, whose photo resembles the dracenus, is confused with the latter. And this is not surprising, because they are very similar.

Such a beautiful tropical plant, like pandanus, home care for which is simple enough, can even grow a beginner florist. However, many believe that it is not worth keeping in the apartment. And it is right. The fact that the plant very quickly grows up to a very impressive size, and if the room is not wide or does not have high ceilings, then the owners start problems. Nevertheless, today many florists in the apartment still can meet a young pandanus.

Home care

If the dimensions of the room still allow you to grow this screwed house at home, then it can decorate any interior. In addition, in the care of the plant is very inexperienced.

A helical palm (pandanus) refers to a family of pandanas. The plant grows well in warm rooms. The summer temperature should be at least twenty, and the winter temperature should not be less than sixteen degrees of heat. Like many domestic flowers, the pandanus also does not like drafts, although in the winter he needs a little airing.

Peculiarities of growing

The light should be bright and scattered. Harmful to sunlight on the pandanus. Leaves can quickly burn in this case. The best option for placing the pot will be the east or west window, but not the north, where it may not have enough light. In the autumn and winter months the pandanus, home care after which requires certain knowledge, loves artificial lighting. To do this, experienced flower growers install a light bulb about a meter away from the plant and leave it turned on for six to eight hours a day. It is not recommended to take out a screw palm on the street. Pots standing on the windowsill should be rotated periodically, so that the development is even.

Watering

Every two weeks the pandanus needs to be sprayed, although experts say that it tolerates the dry air around itself. Not bad feel the plant, if you periodically wipe his leaves with a damp cloth, clearing the dust. It is necessary to avoid the accumulation of water in the sinuses, otherwise rotting may begin. And to prevent the drying of numerous air roots of the plant, it is better to cover them with moistened moss.

Watering should be moderate: it will be optimal to bring moisture to the pot in the spring or summer every other day. Beginning in autumn, you should generally cut it to two times a week. To the next watering the soil must dry thoroughly.

The mechanism by which the pandanus is watered is interesting. Care at home involves abundant watering, but maximum after thirty minutes all excess water is removed, since stagnation is harmful to this helical palm. You can not use a cold liquid; the best is suitable for soft, room-temperature water at room temperature.

Transplantation and fertilizers

Pandanus needs a nutritious and slightly clayey soil. For him, you can use ready-made mixtures for palm trees. The substrate itself can be made up of turf and leaf land, as well as humus and sand, taken in equal proportions. For fertilizing plants in the spring and summer seasons, it is better to use liquid fertilizers intended for decorative and deciduous varieties. The frequency is one time in fifteen days. In autumn and winter, the supply of fertilizers should be reduced to a month.

Young plants are recommended to be transplanted once a year. But mature individuals require this procedure approximately every two to three years. The sign of the need for a transplant is almost completely ground root in a pot. The roots of the pandanus are fragile, airy, so you need to do it so that you do not accidentally damage them. For this, the plant needs to be transferred from the pot to the other, while not releasing the roots from the ground.

The new pot should be a third deeper. A prerequisite is good drainage at the bottom. It is not necessary to deepen the pandanus in a large pot, it is better to plant it on the same level as before. And in order to not injure the hands during the transplantation, experts recommend collecting spiny leaves in a bundle.

If you need to restrain a little growth of the plant, it is better not to touch it for several years, leaving it in the same pot. Young individuals should not be immediately placed in a large tub to prevent their root system from becoming decayed as a result of the lack of soil. Propagation of pandanus cuttings and seeds, as well as the division of the bush.

Possible problems

From pests, a helical palm can be amazed with mealybugs, scabbards and spider mites. If the first species of pests appears from the waterlogging of the soil, the latter - from too dry air or insufficient soil moistening. Get rid of them with the help of special chemicals.

When the pandanus on the leaves appear dry brown tips, the cause may be too dry air. If the plant "lives" on the window above the battery, it must be regularly moistened and sprinkled. Another reason for this problem may be a lack of fertilizer.

Due to low illumination, the leaves of the pandanus may lose their color, and the new ones will grow small. In turn, due to the overabundance of light, the plant may become dim in color.

Bloom

For someone who likes to care for unpretentious fast-growing domestic "pets," the pandanus fits the best. With age, the plant gradually assumes the shape of a false palm. It grows several dozen centimeters and has long, arcuate-curved leaves. Its trunk is spirally twisted. The reason lies in the screw-like leaf scars located on it. Most pandanus species and leaf margins, and their middle veins below are covered with strong sharp spines. This circumstance should be taken into account when buying a plant in a house where there are small children or pets.

Pandanus, whose flower has a sweet and fragrant smell, very pleasant and a bit like the fragrance of a rose. Depending on the species, it can grow as much as one meter or twenty centimeters. Leaves of large varieties are very heavy and strong. Small species, as a rule, grow slowly and have a wide visor.