Cardamom

Cardamom is a perennial herb that can be easily grown at home. After all, its fruits are a healthy spice.

Seasoning Cardamom: plant video

Seasoning Cardamom: plant description

It is a perennial crop that belongs to the ginger family. There is only one type of "eletaria cardamomum". This is an evergreen plant. The root system is quite fleshy. Foliage of a dark green hue, located neatly on elongated thin petioles. In its length, a leaf can reach sixty centimeters, and eight centimeters wide.

If you crush a leaf of culture with your fingers, then you can feel a spicy smell with a soreness. On the main stem, on which there is no foliage, inflorescences are formed. Flowers of a very unusual color. Namely: one petal is whitish, the other with lilac blotches, and the rest are pale greenish. After the plant fades, small fruits, two centimeters long, are formed on it. Its seed is very fragrant, deep black in color.

Cardamom: home care

Cardamom plant: photo

Suitable illumination

Cardamom needs bright but diffused sunlight. In the summer, you need to protect it from direct sunlight with curtains or blinds. In winter, he still needs light, if there is not enough natural light, then you will need to turn off the additional one.

Suitable temperature conditions

Cardamom is a thermophilic plant. In the spring-summer period, when the plant is actively growing and developing, it needs twenty to twenty-five degrees of heat. And in the winter period of rest, about twelve to fifteen degrees Celsius.

Suitable air humidity

Cardamom plant: photo

This plant loves to constantly moisturize its foliage with a spray bottle. You also need to periodically remove dirt from its foliage using a damp cloth.

Watering rules

In the summer, watering should be regular, so that the soil is evenly moistened. But make sure that the liquid does not stagnate in the soil, this can lead to rotting of the root system. In winter, the frequency and volume of watering should be reduced, but it is reasonable so that the earth lump does not dry out.

Top dressing and fertilizers

Cardamom plant: photo

In the spring-summer period, you need to feed the plant once every two to three weeks. You can take any universal fertilizer for vegetable plants.

Subtleties of cardamom transplant

Since this plant is growing rather quickly, it must be transplanted every year. The mixture of the substrate can be prepared independently from organic humus, sod land and coarse sand. But you can also buy soil for decorative deciduous crops in a garden store. It is recommended to take a transplant capacity, low, but wide. There should be a suitable drainage layer at the very bottom.

Breeding methods for cardamom

Cardamom plant: photo

Three ways are great for cardamom: using the rhizome, using the seeds, and using the apical cuttings.

Reproduction method by dividing the rhizome.
You need to divide the rhizome directly at the time the transplant begins. It is necessary that on each part there are at least two buds and two healthy roots. The cut sites must be disinfected with the help of coal powder and the seedlings must be immediately planted in the prepared soil-mixture.

Reproduction method using apical cuttings.
To do this, you need to pinch off the top of the stem and root it at a temperature of twenty to twenty-five degrees.

Reproduction method using seeds.
When choosing this method, you need to plant seeds at a depth that is twice their own width. After that, sprinkle the soil with a mixture, pour with settled water and cover with a transparent film to create a greenhouse effect. Then put in a well-lit place with a temperature of twenty-five to twenty-eight degrees Celsius.

Cardamom: insect pests and possible diseases

Cardamom plant: photo

Cardamom, if not properly cared for, can be susceptible to spider mites and scale insects, these are parasites that suck out the plant's nutritious juices. Also, this culture can get sick with various viral diseases.