Among the vines grown at home, there are many unusual and exotic varieties. But few plants can compete uniquely with dischidia.
Botanical characteristics
Dyschidia Russifolia (lat.dischidia ruscifolia) is a spreading liana, whose homeland is the tropical forests of India, Polynesia and Australia. Liana belongs to epiphytes, feeds on the juice of plants to which it is attached. When grown in a house, it grows well in a mixture of moss with pine bark.
Dyschidia Russifolia
Belongs to the Lastovnie family. The shoots are long, pace-green. It has two types of foliage. The first type is opposite leaves, resembling a heart with a pointed tip. The second type of leaves is similar in shape to coconut, reaching 5 cm in length. They are storerooms. Flowers are nondescript, small, there are pink, white. The appearance of lianas may vary depending on the variety.
Care Features
This tropical plant needs to provide optimal conditions for normal growth. Properly selected care is important.
Temperature
Liana is a heat-loving crop. It tolerates heat well. But it does not tolerate a drop in temperature. The temperature in the room should not be below +18 ℃. At temperatures from +25 to +30 ℃, dyshidia blooms actively.
Lighting
Prefers to be constantly in the sun. In this case, the sun's rays should not be direct. It is best if the light is scattered. Delicate leaves are prone to burns, so direct sunlight for the creeper is fatal.
Watering
Soil irrigation should be moderate. The soil must not be allowed to dry out constantly. Watering should be done as soon as the substrate has dried. In summer they are watered 3-4 times a week. In winter, one watering per week is enough.
Additional Information! Water should be warm and boiled. It is also possible to water with water or melt snow that has been kept for 3 days.
Spraying
Spraying is carried out regularly with the same water as for irrigation. In winter and summer, spraying should be frequent, at least 4 times a week.
Humidity
Like all tropical plants, the liana loves high humidity. The minimum value is 40%. The higher the humidity, the better the flower will feel. In winter, next to the vine, you can put a plate with wet expanded clay and regularly add water to it.
Priming
Breathable soil with good drainage is best for planting. Heavy dense soil for planting vines is not suitable. As a soil mixture, you can use a substrate for orchids. How to prepare the soil yourself:
- sphagnum;
- peat;
- sheet soil;
- river sand;
- charcoal.
All the necessary ingredients are mixed so that a homogeneous soil is obtained.
Top dressing
Caring for Ovata dyshidia at home, as well as for other varieties, involves the application of fertilizers. Fertilizers are used as fertilizers for succulents or for decorative and deciduous crops. Fertilizers are applied no more than twice a month during the period of active growth of shoots.
Additional Information! Overfeeding the plant is undesirable. It is necessary to alternate root and foliar top dressing.
Transfer
Liana does not like frequent transplants, she is transplanted only as a last resort. When do you need a transplant:
- after buying creepers in the store;
- if the pot was damaged or too small;
- if the soil is depleted (transplantation is done every two years);
- parasites wound up in the soil or the plant became ill.
The best time for transplanting is spring. The pot should not be too spacious, but not small.
Attention! Before transplantation, the root system is washed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
When blooms
There is no certain period when flowering occurs. Liana can bloom both in early spring and late fall. In rare cases, buds may appear even in winter. Flowering occurs once a year. Flowers are solitary and collected in small inflorescences. Petals are usually white, pink or red.
Flowering creeper
How to breed
Liana propagates in two ways - cuttings and seeds. Most gardeners prefer to grow dyshidia from cuttings.
Seeds
Seeds can be purchased at a gardening store, or collected from a houseplant. After flowering, a small box is formed, inside of which there are seeds.
Landing process:
- Mix peat and sand, moisten the soil well.
- Plant the seeds so that there is enough space between them.
- Then sprinkle with peat.
- Cover the box with polyethylene, put in a warm place so that the seeds germinate faster.
- Until the sprouts appear, the container can stand in direct sunlight.
- Every day, film must be removed for 30 minutes to ventilate the soil.
After the seeds have sprouted, the film is removed, and the container is cleaned in a place with diffused light. They are transplanted into pots after several full leaves have appeared.
Important! The whole process of growing seedlings from seeds takes about 3 months.
Cuttings
How is the plant propagation at home:
- As cuttings, young shoots are used, from 8 to 10 cm long.
- The bottom side is cut at an angle of 45 degrees.
- Then the slice is dipped into crushed charcoal and into a growth activator (Kornevin, succinic acid).
- Moisten the soil before planting the cuttings.
- After the cuttings are planted in the ground and cover with a glass cap.
- The container is placed in a sunny place.
Every day for 30 minutes the cap is removed. Also, the soil must not be allowed to dry out. Rooting takes about 1.5 months.
Possible problems
Growing creepers does not always go smoothly. Often there is such a problem as pests. If you do not start a fight with them in time, the plant may die.
Pests
Liana suffers from two types of pests - mealybug and spider mite. Mealybug infects all parts of the plant. The first sign of this insect is a white coating.
A sign of a spider mite is the appearance of a spider web on the underside of the leaf. Ticks of the small size, up to 1 mm long. The treatment of insecticides helps against these pests. If necessary, several sprayings should be carried out.
In addition to pests, other problems may arise. For instance. Burns appear on foliage if the pot is standing in the bright sun. With excessive watering, the measles system begins to rot.
Note! Due to lack of moisture or if the room is too dry, the air will fall.
Common varieties
The best varieties for dischidia for growing at home.
Ovoid (Ovata)
A distinctive feature of the variety dischidia Ovata is the long, pink shade of the stems. The leaves of the species Ovata dyschidia are rounded, pierced by light veins. Young leaves differ in a pink tint, which gradually turns into green.
Nummularia
Dischidia Nummularia is one of the most popular varieties for growing at home. It is usually grown as an ampel plant in hanging flower pots. Shoots hanging down, grow up to 1.5 m in length. Leaflets are small, rounded in shape. Looks like coins. The flower can be grown like a vine, if you install a support nearby.
Nummularia Dyschidia
Ruskolistnaya (Russifolia variegata)
Ruskolistny dyschidia in length grows from 50 to 150 cm. The flowering period lasts all year round. White flowers. Small, five-petalled. Exhaust a weak honey aroma. A characteristic feature of this variety is small fleshy leaves resembling a coin in shape. Varigatnaya prefers to grow dyshidia on light, slightly acidic soil with good drainage.
Additional Information! This variety is also called dyshidia Million hearts.
Scallop
This variety differs from other varieties in a large number of aerial roots. The foliage is oval, scallop-shaped, due to which the plant received this name. The leaf plate is a light green hue. Crohn is compact. Pink or saturated cherry flowers. Looks like small jugs.
Apple leaf
Apple leaf dischidia got its name due to the shape of the leaves. Leaflets resemble a green apple. Sometimes a sheet plate is of a marble hue.
Vidalia
The second name for dyshidia is Vidal. Unpretentious plant growing. The shoots are long, thin. They are covered with two types of leaflets along the entire length. The first type is light green leaves. The second type has small bubbles, inside of which there is water. Twice a year, pink flowers bloom on the plant.
Hirsuta
Hirsut's dyshidia is one of the rarest and most unusual in appearance. Leaflets are rounded, the tip is pointed. Foliage is not only green, but also burgundy with a silver tint. The leaf plate is pubescent. Inflorescences are single, pitcher-shaped. Petals rich wine color.
Raffleza
Dischidia Rafflesiana has very long shoots that grow up to 5 m. A large number of thin white roots are formed on each shoot. On the shoots there are leaves of two types - one oblong-oval in shape and the second small, rounded in shape.
Singularis
Dischidia Singularis is distinguished by long shoots. Dyshidia Singularis with hard leaves, green in color with white stains throughout the leaf plate.
Dyshidia Singularis
Dyschidia is beautifully written in any interior. The main advantage - the plant is unpretentious in care. Thanks to the liana, you can add a little tropical jungle to the city apartment.
