Ceropegia

Ceropegia (Ceropegia) is a flowering plant native to African and Asian countries, belongs to the Pinus family. For its growth, it chooses tropical regions. The name was given to the plant because of its vines flowers, which have unusual shapes, which means "candelabrum". At the moment, about 190 species of ceropegia are known, which are combined in this genus, and some are actively used in floriculture.

Ceropegia: variety description and features

Ceropegia flower: plant photo

• If you create the conditions necessary for the plant and properly care for it, then you can enjoy the beauty of decorative flowers throughout almost the whole year.
• For growing, you need to choose a place with good, bright natural light. In the summer, during the midday heat, it is necessary to create a small shade.
• During the period of active wakefulness, the temperature level should be from +20 to +25 degrees. With the onset of the autumn season, the temperature should slowly decrease and by the beginning of winter drop to +14 - +16 degrees. It is important that the thermometer does not fall below +11 degrees.
• During the spring-autumn period, watering should be moderate and carried out only after the top layer of the earthen mixture has dried. With the onset of winter cold, watering should be carried out less often, only three days after the top layer dries.
• The humidity level in the room is not important for the plant.
• At a young age, plants do not need fertilization. As adults, they begin to need feeding. They should be carried out during the spring-summer period with intervals of three weeks. Mineral fertilizers should be used, which are fed to orchids or succulent plants. For feeding, only half of the dosage specified in the instructions is used. No fertilization is required during the fall-winter period.
• The vegetative dormancy of the plant passes almost unnoticed during the winter cold.
• At a young age, the plant must be transplanted every year in the spring, when it reaches a mature age, these activities can be carried out only if there is a need for it.
• The plant can be propagated by cuttings, dividing roots, and seeds.
• Ceropegia is prone to fungal rot.
• Of the harmful insects on the plant, you can find aphids, spider mites, mealybugs.

Ceropegia is a herbaceous climbing or erect perennial. The root system in the form of a tuber or a thickened shape resembling a spindle has the property of storing water, which it uses in case of drought. Also has fleshy creeping shoots.

The small but dense leaves of ceropegia are linear, lanceolate, or egg-like. Their location is opposite. Most of the species have succulent leaves and shoots. The plant produces clear juices. Large five-membered axillary flowers with a tubular corolla are collected in inflorescences in the form of umbrellas or graceful tassels. The fruit is shaped like a cylinder, spindle or linear leaflet.

Ceropegia: growing and care at home

Ceropegia flower: plant photo

Lighting level:

Regardless of the type of ceropegia chosen, all of them need to provide good natural light. This succulent can be placed in direct sunlight and grown on the southern side of the house, the main thing in the summer, during the midday heat, to create a small shade.If the plant does not have enough light, then the leaves will become smaller in size and in a smaller amount, and flowering may not occur at all.

Temperature:

During active vegetation, ceropegia should be in conditions where the thermometer does not drop below +20 degrees. When autumn comes, it is necessary to gradually begin to lower the temperature to +16 degrees, so the plant will be better prepared for vegetative rest. In winter, the plant must be provided with conditions under which the temperature will not fall below +13 and exceed +16 degrees. It is important to know that ceropegia can withstand a temperature drop of up to +11 degrees, but only for a short period of time. The plant will not be affected by a sharp change in temperatures from night to day.

Watering rules:

During the spring-autumn period, irrigation should be carried out with a moderate amount of water, first letting the upper layer of the earthen mixture dry out. The liquid that has dripped there from the pallet must be poured out as soon as watering ends. Beginning in mid-autumn, watering should begin to slowly decrease. With the onset of winter cold weather, watering should be done only three days after the top layer dries. The most important thing, regardless of the time of year, is not to let the earthy coma dry out, as this leads to the death of the root system. Tap water must be allowed to stand for at least a day before being used for irrigation. It is also important to use only lukewarm water. Ceropegia is not demanding on the level of humidity, so no additional measures are required, including spraying, to increase the humidity.

Fertilization:

At a young age, the ceropegia bush does not require additional feeding, therefore, those elements that are in the earthen mixture are quite enough for it. Adult plants should be fed regularly at intervals of three weeks. Top dressing should be carried out with the help of complex mineral fertilizers, which are fed to orchids and succulents. It is necessary to start making them from March and finish only in October. The dose should be half that indicated in the instructions. No fertilization is required from November and the end of winter.

Transplant rules:

Only at a young age do plants need a systematic transplant. It is necessary to carry out such procedures in the spring with the replacement of pots and earthen mixture. Adults do not need transplants and should be carried out only if the need arises, for example, there will be little space for the roots. The transplant is carried out by the transshipment method, shaking off only a small part of the old earth from the roots. For this type of plant, a mixture in which cacti are planted is suitable. It is sold in all specialized stores. It is recommended to add only a small amount of charcoal there. For self-preparation of the earthen mixture, it will be necessary to take river sand, humus, turf, leafy earth and mix them in equal proportions, then add a little charcoal there.

The capacity should not be high, but large in volume. At the bottom, you need to lay out a drainage layer, place the plant and cover it with a newly prepared earthen mixture.

When it blooms:

The flowering of ceropegia lasts all year long, practically without interruption. There are no problems with this, or very rarely. However, not all species have flowers with great decorative value; in some, it is the foliage that is the reason why ceropegia is grown. If the flowers do not like them, you can simply remove them, this will not harm the plant.

Flower propagation

Ceropegia flower: plant photo

Reproduction of ceropegia is possible by dividing the roots, cuttings and using seeds.

Seed method

First of all, it is necessary to fill a suitable container with an earthen mixture, then distribute the seed material over the surface of the earth without deepening it and lightly sprinkle it with earth. Crops should be covered with foil or glass and placed in a room with a temperature of +20 to +25 degrees.Before the first shoots appear, it is necessary to constantly keep the soil moist.

As soon as the shoots that appear soon gain in growth and become strong, this happens quickly enough, it is necessary to dive in separate containers. After the performed procedure, the plants can be looked after as if they were adults.

Using cuttings

If a decision is made to reproduce with the help of cuttings, then their harvesting is done with the arrival of spring, before the start of sap flow. To do this, you need to cut off some of the shoots, leave them to dry and plant them in the prepared mixture for rooting. In one pot with a diameter of 7 centimeters, you can plant 3 cuttings. Watering should be moderate and regular, they should be stored at temperatures from +18 to +20 degrees and with good lighting, but without sun exposure.

Aerial tubers for propagation

Some types of ceropegia can be propagated using air tubers, for example, this can be done with wood's ceropegia. To do this, the stem must be divided into parts so that each of them has a tuber and two leaves. For rooting, such sprouts are placed in containers with sand, as soon as the roots appear, they can be placed in separate pots. If you want to grow a voluminous bush, you need to plant several shoots in one pot.

By dividing the roots

This procedure is always postponed until the plant is transplanted in order not to disturb the plant once again by taking it out of the pot. Having chosen this method of reproduction, it is necessary to divide the tuber into equal parts during transplantation and plant it in separate pots with a good drainage layer at the bottom.

Possible difficulties

Various fungal infections can affect the plant, mainly, this happens if the plant is not properly taken care of. With too frequent and excessively abundant watering, moisture stagnates in the ground, which leads to rotting of the roots.

If signs of decay are found, you must immediately remove the bush from the pot, inspect the roots, remove all areas with damage with a sharp and clean knife and dip the roots in a solution with fungicide for half an hour. After that, you need to dry the roots and plant in a pot with a new earthy mixture.

The formation of sunburn is possible if the plant is constantly exposed to the scorching sun. If you don't give enough light, the shoots will stretch and the bush will look very painful.

While cultivating ceropegia indoors, the appearance of harmful aphids, mealybugs and spider mites is still possible. These pests are sucking and by gnawing the foliage they suck all the juices from the plant. With their appearance, the plant shows signs of lethargy and soreness, flowers and stems begin to deform. In addition to the fact that these insects suck vitality, they are also capable of transferring viral infections to plants that cannot be cured.

If insects are found when there are still a small number of them, then they can be dealt with with the help of a warm shower. With a large number of them, it will be necessary to carry out treatment with insecticides, taking the plants outside or placing them on an open window.

Ceropegia: species and varieties with names and photos

The most common species in the cultivation of cyropegia in the house are only 5 and include such as:

African (Ceropegia africana)- This herbaceous perennial consists of fleshy creeping stems covered with small, but dense leaves with a smooth surface and in the shape of an egg or having a linear shape. When flowering begins, the plant is covered with flowers with petals of green or purple dark shade, which converge at the tops. The tubular corolla, which makes the flower even more beautiful, reaches 2 centimeters in length.

Ceropegia flower: plant photo

Barclay (Ceropegia barklyi) - herbaceous perennial with an underdeveloped rounded tuberous rhizome. This is the owner of fleshy, glabrous, but sometimes slightly pubescent stems, covered with greenish leaves with white veins, attached to the branches with the help of short petioles. The shape of the leaves is lanceolate-ovate, can reach 5 centimeters in length, and can be no more than 2.5 centimeters. Five centimeter flowers, green on the outside and purple on the inside, are collected in umbrella-shaped inflorescences. The flowers are composed of fibrous triangular petals.

Ceropegia flower: plant photo

Ceropegia Wood (Ceropegia woodii)- the owner of a gray tuberous rhizome consists of purple creeping stems that envelop the fleshy, dark green leaves with a marble pattern on the outside. Their shape can be; lanceolate, ovoid, triangular, they grow up to 2 centimeters long and up to one and a half centimeters wide. Sometimes the inner side of the leaf turns purple. When the plant begins its active period, airy yellow tubers begin to form on it, where roots can appear if the plants are placed in conditions of high humidity. With the help of them, you can engage in the reproduction of ceropegia. In the axils of the leaves of Wood's ceropegia, small, dark brown flowers are formed. It consists of a beige corolla of petals with pubescence on their inner side. If you follow all the rules of care and create good conditions for the plant, then you can enjoy the beauty of its flowers almost all year round. Caring for Wood's ceropegia is no different from what is done when growing other species.

Sanderson (Ceropegia sandersonii)- perennial with thin creeping stems and fleshy leaves 5 cm long and 4 cm wide. Their shape is ovoid, heart-shaped, with a blunt tip at the top and with a convex central vein on the inside. The inflorescences are short and are collected from a small number of flowers with a green tubular corolla of 7 centimeters, the base of which has a slight swelling. Its upper part looks like a funnel. The flowers resemble a parachute-like dome, due to the 5 subulate expanding petals. The petals are covered with whitish hairs.

Ceropegia flower: plant photo

Stapeliiformis (Ceropegia stapeliiformis) -shrub plant with thick, creeping stems 2 centimeters in diameter. Their lower part is rounded, the upper one has three ribs. Each reduced axial organ is covered with three annular leaves and stipules. The upper part of this ceropegia is covered with very thin leaves, which have the ability to wrap themselves around the support. When it begins to bloom, it is covered with inflorescences collected from flowers in small quantities. The corolla can be from 5 to 7 centimeters in length, its base has a slight swelling, and at the top its shape is similar to a funnel. Each flower is assembled from 5 curving petals. Their outer side is painted in snow-white color and covered with brown blotches.

Ceropegia flower: plant photo

Also, you can often find variegated ceropegia in the collections of florists. This hybrid plant is similar in appearance to the derivative, but also with a lot of distinctive properties. Despite the large number of existing species, the work of breeders does not end and they continue to work on breeding new hybrid species.