Solerolia: how to grow home nettle

Solerolia is an ornamental plant of the nettle family. In its natural environment, it covers the entire surface of the earth with a green carpet; at home, an adult plant looks like a green fluffy ball. Today we will discuss the subtleties of growing home nettle and the features of caring for it.

Soleyroliya: what is this plant

Solerolia - a groundcover, creeping plant, perennial. The bush has long processes of filamentous type, on which lush green leaves grow. The leaves are oval-shaped, up to 5 mm in diameter, grow in groups. During flowering, the plant is covered with white or cream-colored small flowers. Native environment for saline water - humid tropics, banks of reservoirs, forests.

At home, the culture is used as a ground cover, it decorates aquariums, winter gardens, greenhouses. Decorative nettles are planted in ordinary and hanging pots, decorated with terrariums.

Solerolia is the only species of the genus, but breeders have deduced several varieties:

• "Argentea" - leaves of silvery tone;
• "Variegata" - the leaves are bordered with a white stripe;
• "Aurea" - golden yellow leaves.

How to care at home

Tropical plants at home are capricious: they need a strict temperature and humidity regime, strict observance of the frequency of irrigation, the rules of planting and transplanting, feeding and so on.

Location and lighting

If you put a home ground cover plant in the shade, its shoots will be strongly drawn, the foliage will grow less often and the view will not be too decorative. In order for culture to develop well and correctly in the northern prituyenny window, it should provide additional lighting.

The ideal condition for the development of salt-free will be diffused lighting.

Air temperature and humidity

Starting from the end of spring, in warm weather conditions, the temperature is desirable not higher than +20 ° С. The maximum allowed is +25 ° C, but at this temperature the bush needs to be sprayed more often, wetting the soil and the air.

In winter, indoor air temperature should be around +15 ° C, if the temperature drops below +8 ° C, the bush will die. In winter, spraying is carried out once a week.

Watering

Soil lump in the bitter should not dry out, make sure that the soil was constantly moistened. In this case, the moisture should not linger at the bottom of the pot or in the pan. In order to prevent rotting of the roots, a good layer of 3-5 cm of drainage is put on the bottom of the pot, water is drained from the pan.

Young bushes watered more often every 2-3 days. In winter, watering is reduced, in the summer in the heat increase.

Feedings

The plant is fed from the beginning of spring to September inclusive, and feeding is stopped for the winter. The procedure is carried out every two weeks, using complex fertilizers for deciduous ornamental crops.

With a lack of nutrients, saline will begin to stretch, her foliage will turn pale.

How to transplant: soil and pot

Transplanting saline is carried out in the spring. If it is not possible to prepare the soil yourself, ready-made soil for palm plants will do. The main condition - the acidity of the soil should be low or neutral. For self-preparation of soil mixture using leaf soil, sand and peat in equal parts.

For culture it is preferable to cook a wide pot in circumference, but not deep.

At the bottom it is imperative to put a drainage - large pebbles, expanded clay, vermiculite. After planting, the soil around the stem is not tamped: it must be loose and well pass oxygen.

Reproduction at home

Soleyrolium grows well, so its reproduction by dividing the bush and also by grafting is possible.

The division is better to do during transplantation. From the mother bush, carefully separate the part with the roots and strong stems, plant in a separate pot. The first days of the delenok are not watered and kept cool. Then the plant adapts, and caring for it is the same as for an adult bush. The best period for this method is spring.Closer to the summer, a bunch of shoots with roots and a clod of soil are separated from the bush, these cuttings are planted in a single pot. At the bottom of the pot drainage is required. Such cuttings root well at high temperatures. After a short time, shoots are thickly overgrown with foliage.

Possible difficulties in growing

The main problems in the cultivation of salt-water are associated with errors in the care of the crop at home, the most common ones are:

• missed watering and, as a result, dry earthen clod;
• water remaining in the pan;
• location under the aggressive sun.

As a result of a lack of moisture, even if the soil has dried out only once, the plant may die, if they ate in time, do not drain the water from the pot tray - this can lead to rotting of the root system. In the first case, the foliage and shoots begin to turn yellow and dry out, in the second a signal of rotting will be the weakness of the nettle and the foul smell. It is necessary to water carefully in the winter, at low temperatures, it is not worth spraying at all in the winter.

Place for culture should be chosen with special care. The lack of light is bad: shoots are drawn, the plant loses its shape. With an excess of sunlight, in the direct rays of the summer sun, tender leaves will get burned. In order for the plant to please you as long as possible, carefully follow all the manipulations carried out with it: timely and dosed watering, feeding, perfect lighting. Every two or three years the plant needs to be put in order with the help of pruning, as a neat appearance with time, due to the growth of shoots, is lost.