Piarantus - Piaranthus

Piarantus: flower description

Plant Piarantus: photo

Piaranthus (Piaranthus) is a succulent perennial plant belonging to the Lastovnevye family (Swallowtail, Vatochnikovye). His homeland is Southwest and South Africa.

Creeping shoots of pyarantus, as a rule, consist of segments with 4 to 5 edges, equipped with 4-5 teeth with pointed tops. The length of each segment is about 3-5 cm, the width is 1-1.5 cm. Typical color of the shoots of pyarantus is green or brownish-green. During the flowering period, medium-sized tubular flowers, flattened, or resembling bells, bloom on the tops of the stems. The pointed contours of the triangular petals also give the flowers a resemblance to five-lobed asterisks. The color scheme of piarantus includes a fairly large number of shades; the surface of the petals is usually speckled.

Piarantus: growing and care

Plant Piarantus: photo

Since in the natural environment, the piarantus flower grows in rather arid and sunny regions of the planet, in home growing conditions, it is necessary to organize a competent lighting regime and humidify the air and soil.

Lighting mode

The piarantus belongs to light-loving plants, but it thrives best in diffused lighting conditions. On sunny summer days, it is necessary to shelter it from the direct rays of the sun, creating a slight shade. In the autumn-winter period, on the contrary, direct sunlight has a beneficial effect on the state of the piarantus.

Indoor air temperature

The Piarantus plant prefers a consistently high room temperature - about 22-26 degrees. With the arrival of autumn, it is recommended to gradually lower the air temperature. In winter, the piarantus is at rest, so the air temperature in the room where it is located should be between 14 and 16 degrees. Lowering the room thermometer column below 12 degrees is undesirable.

Indoor humidity level

Since high humidity is not characteristic of the natural environment for the growth of pyranthus, it is not required to spray the plant at home. The piarantus will feel good in the rather dry air of rooms heated in winter.

Watering mode

An inhabitant of the arid steppes of Africa, the piarantus flower tolerates a moisture deficit well. For this reason, in indoor growing conditions, frequent and abundant watering is not required. In the spring and summer period, moisten the soil in a container with piaranthus should be moderate. In the intervals between waterings, the top layer of soil in the plant pot should have time to dry out. In autumn and winter, you need to water the piarantus even less often, but it is also not recommended to dry out the soil in a pot. The earthy ball around the root system of the piarantus flower should not be completely dry, as this can lead to shrinkage of the roots. The frequency of watering in winter is regulated by thermometer readings - the lower the air temperature, the less often you need to water the piarantus.

Fertilization

During the period of rapid growth of their development, which falls on the spring and summer, the piarantus needs additional nutrition. To this end, every 14 days it is recommended to feed it with ready-made mixtures intended for fertilizing cacti and succulents. You can buy them in a specialized store.

Recommendations for transplanting piarantus

A transplant of a pyarantus plant is carried out as soon as it becomes cramped in an old container. In the first years of the plant's life, this has to be done every year due to the rapid growth of young plants.Adult piarantuses need a transplant no more than once every 2-3 years. The best time to transplant is spring. A larger container for transplanting a plant should be filled with a substrate that you can prepare yourself. It consists of sod land and coarse sand in a ratio of 2: 1. Potting soil can be purchased ready-made at a gardening store - soils designed for growing cacti and succulents are suitable. The container for growing piarantus should be quite low, and also have drainage holes in the bottom. The drainage layer on the days of the container is very important to protect the root system of the pyranthus from stagnant moisture in the soil.

Reproduction of piarantus at home

There are three ways to breed piarantus in a home growing environment.

• The simplest way is the method of dividing an adult bush - the procedure can be carried out when transplanting a piarantus.
• Another, low-effort way of propagating a piarantus flower is called cuttings. Cuttings are cut from last year's stems and dried for 5-7 days at normal room temperature. Then the cuttings are placed in their lower part in containers filled with a substrate. It includes coarse sand, as well as a little peat crumb. Rooting of cuttings is quite fast. Once they have formed an independent root system, they can be transplanted into small pots that are about 8 cm in diameter.
• The seed method of breeding piarantus requires a little more effort than the two previous methods. The seed ripening period is rather long - about a year. Sowing is carried out in small and narrow containers filled with light sand-based soil. It is recommended to use fresh piarantus seeds - in this case, the first shoots will appear within 3-4 weeks after sowing. Then a pick is carried out, during which the seedlings are transplanted into small pots no more than 6 cm in height.After a year, the piaranthus seedlings will get stronger and grow, and therefore they can be transplanted into larger pots or containers with a height of about 8-10 cm.

Types of Piarantus

In culture, various types of piarantus are known, which have some external differences from each other.

• Piaranthus Cornutus or horned pyarantus. Horned piarantus is a perennial succulent, whose creeping shoots with a rounded cross section consist of diamond-shaped green segments with a bluish tint. Instead of teeth on the obtuse corners or edges of the segments, there are tubercles - from 3 to 5 on each. White or pale yellow flowers bloom at the tops of the stems during the flowering period. The surface of their petals is covered with elongated specks of purple, brown, or crimson. The heart of the flowers of pyarantus horned is always painted in bright yellow.
• Piaranthus Foetidus or smelly pyarantus. A perennial succulent, smelly pyarantus got its self-explanatory name because of the peculiar smell emanating from its flowers. Moreover, the appearance of this plant is quite attractive. Stems are light green in color with a smooth or slightly rough surface, they can have both creeping and rising shapes. Their length ranges from 2 to 5 cm, and their width is about 1 cm. The segments that make up the stems of the stinking pyarantus are cylindrical or club-shaped and covered with tiny denticles (from 2 to 4 on each of the segments). The flowers, resembling five-pointed stars in their shape, are distinguished by velvety and juicy ivory petals covered with transverse stripes or specks of a dark red-brown hue.

Plant Piarantus: flower photo

• Piarantus Globusus or round piarantus. The perennial succulent of this variety got its name from the rounded shape of its shoots. They are characterized by a smooth surface, as well as the absence of pronounced edges or edges.The stems of the rounded pyarantus can be either creeping or raised. They are about 2 cm high and 1 cm wide. Each of the light green segments has 2 to 4 tiny teeth with a light red tip. On the tops of the stems, single or paired flowers with strongly separated lanceolate petals bloom during the flowering period. Their surface is painted yellow with a greenish tint and covered with lilac or red dots.
• Piaranthus Pallidus or piarantus pallidus. Another perennial succulent, related to the piaranthus, is distinguished by the rather pale color of its creeping shoots. They are characterized by the rounded shape of the segments covered with barely noticeable tubercles. As with other piaranthus, the flowers of the pale pyarantus resemble five-pointed stars in shape. The velvety surface of their petals is creamy yellow and densely dotted with purple dots. The heart of this species is bright yellow.

Piarantus plant: flower photo

Piaranthus Pillansii or Piaranthus Pillans. The shoots of this type of perennial succulents are characterized by a reddish tint against the background of a general pale green color. In height, the stems of the Pillans piaranthus can reach 4 cm, in width - 1.5 cm. There are both varieties with creeping shoots and raised ones. The segments that make up them have blunt edges. The corolla of the five-pointed flowers of the Pillance pyaranthus - the stars can reach 3 cm in diameter and, as a rule, are strongly dissected into separate sectors. The edges of the lanceolate petals of Pillance's pyranthus are often curved and painted in light green or light yellow shades.