Stonecrop is characterized by unpretentious care, beautiful juicy leaves, some species bloom profusely, and are used in cooking. There are two main groups of stonecrops - for street and indoor cultivation.
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Stonecrop: varieties and types of plants
Stonecrop or sedum is an ornamental herbaceous plant in the family Crassulaceae. Naturally found on all continents except Australia. In the world there are about 500 species of plants, most of them grow in Mexico.
Stonecrops are annual and perennial, stunted, groundcover and tall shrubs. It is believed that the name in Russian comes from the word “cleanse”, the plant is considered medicinal, used in folk medicine.
In indoor floriculture, these types of stonecrops are popular:
- Stonecrop Weinberg - the shoots are upright in a young plant, as they grow, they begin to spread, the leaves are collected in a star-shaped rosette, and require regular renewal as the stem is exposed.
- Stonecrop - upright stems grow to a height of 30 cm, thickened cylindrical leaves, salad-colored with an orange tip, are like outlandish flowers. For the stems to grow vertically, they need support, under the weight of the leaves they droop, and hang over the edge of the pot.
- Scroll of Siebold - blue-green, small leaves with a beige stripe in the middle are collected in three, the stems are thin, long. There are varieties with a different color of leaves.
- Scum of Morgan It has an unusual appearance - long ampelous stems form a lush cascade of small bluish-green leaves pointed at the end.
- Scummy high - shrub about 50 cm high with long shiny leaves.
Some types of stonecrops are also called rabbit cabbage, they are spice-flavoring plants, and are eaten. To taste, the leaves resemble leaf mustard, they are added to vegetable salads.
In the open field are grown visible stonecrop - bush up to 50 cm in height, with fleshy leaves on a stem without a petiole. It blooms luxuriantly and beautifully in autumn, when all other plants in the garden are already dropping leaves and fading.
It looks like him in appearance stonecrop purple with pink, purple or purple flowers, but it blooms in mid-July. Stonecrops overwinter in the open ground, cut the stems under the root at the end of October, they do not need shelter.
Sedum scum - Another representative of the genus, popular in landscape design, a groundcover. Unpretentious, like all stonecrops, blooms with small yellow flowers from late spring to mid summer. The juice of the plant is poisonous.
Growing sedum from seeds
Flower stonecrop can be propagated by seeds, they sprout well. They are sown in the spring, when all living things start to grow.
Sowing order:
- Loose, breathable soil is poured into a small container. A mixture of sand and universal soil for seedlings or land for succulents from the store is suitable.
- The soil is watered with a solution of phytosporin.
- Sedum seeds are distributed on the surface in random order.
- Sprinkle lightly on top of the ground, no deep digging is necessary.
- As the soil dries, spray from a spray bottle.
When the seedlings appear on 2 real leaves, they are peaked in different pots. Continue care, providing good lighting, moderate humidity (succulents do not like dampness). Fertilizers for cacti are fed.
Propagation of the plant by cuttings and division of the bush
The plant propagates well by cuttings. Stonecrop is very tenacious, pieces of shoots and individual leaves give roots, they can be used as cuttings.
It is enough just to put or stick into the soil the broken off stalk or leaf of a succulent, and from time to time to moisten the earth from the spray gun, you do not need to make a greenhouse. Soon, a new, tiny plant will appear at the base of the leaf, which will grow, take root, it can be transplanted into a larger pot.
By dividing the bush, adult stonecrops are propagated. During the transplant, you can divide the overgrown bush into several parts, and plant in different pots.
Features of growing plants
To successfully grow stonecrop at home, you need to remember a few rules:
- The plant is photophilous, any shading for him is undesirable.
- Any soil is suitable for stonecrop.
- It is drought tolerant; do not water it too often.
- Sedum needs a period of winter rest. It is advisable to withstand it for several months in a room with a low temperature. After "rest" the plant can thank the spring bloom.
If you put the pot with stonecrop on a well-lit windowsill, it holds its shape well, becomes loose in shading, and loses its beauty.
Home Care
The stonecrop plant is unpretentious, but there are features that you need to know in order to achieve greater decorativeness.
Optimal conditions
Stonecrop needs an abundance of light, if you put it in the shade, the stem will stretch and lose the lower leaves. It grows well on southern windows even without shading. But he should be accustomed to bright light gradually.
In addition to lighting, the plant needs proper watering, in accordance with the season, air temperature and its need for moisture.
In summer, sedum is watered sparingly, as the topsoil dries by 1/3 of the pot. With prolonged drought, the leaves lose their elasticity, wrinkle, and may fall. In winter, while being kept in a cold room, watering is reduced to 1 time per month.
Optimum summer air temperature is from 23 to 27 ° C.For winter maintenance, the flower can be taken out to the heated veranda or insulated loggia, where the air temperature does not drop below 5–7 ° C.
Stonecrop does not need increased humidity. It can be sprayed from time to time with warm water to wash off the dust that has settled on the leaves. It is undesirable to wipe the plants with a sponge, as they break easily.
Fertilizer and fertilizing
In the spring-summer period, stonecrop is fed once a month with fertilizers for cacti and succulents. In the autumn-winter time, the plant is not fertilized.
You can use the usual fertilizer for decorative and deciduous crops, diluted in weaker concentrations than written in the instructions. The plant responds especially well to top dressing with organic fertilizers.
Transplant and soil requirements
Young plants are transplanted annually or once every 2 years. The stems of the stonecrops are fragile, easily broken, so you need to transplant very carefully. The plant has few roots, and the pot should be small, preferably not deep, but wide, with drainage holes at the bottom.
Stonecrop is undemanding to soil; it can be either neutral or slightly acidic. Roots in any soil for which it can cling. It grows well in loose soil for succulents.
When planting at the bottom of the pot, a layer of expanded clay is poured, about 2 cm high, then the prepared soil. To give it a lighter structure, add fine gravel or powder from pieces of red brick.
Immediately after transplanting, the plant can not be watered, since store soil is always a little wet. Watering is carried out after 3-4 days with clean, filtered water at room temperature.
Pest and Disease Treatment
In summer, stonecrop is taken out into the open air, where it develops better and grows faster. If you put a plant in the garden, insects can attack it. For example, sedum love to eat caterpillars. If you do not fight them, they will gnaw all the leaves. You can get rid of this trouble by treating the plants with Senpai (1 ml per 2 liters of water). The bush is sprayed on the leaves.
Also, aphids or scale insects sometimes settle on the leaves. In case of severe insect damage, plants are sprayed with insecticides, for example, Fitoverm. Treated leaves are not consumed.
A plant can also become ill from improper care. With excessive watering, the base of the stem rots. In this case, the shoot is broken off, and rooted in fresh soil. Residues affected by fungi or bacteria are burned, the soil is treated with fungicides so that the disease does not recur.
Stonecrop - one of the most promising plants for young gardeners, it survives in any conditions, does not require special care. Stonecrop is prominent and purple grown in the garden, they are even more unpretentious than indoor varieties. Young leaves of these plants are eaten, used for the preparation of salads and medicinal tinctures.
