The homeland of indoor Araucaria is Australia and its islands, in particular, Norfolk. This coniferous evergreen plant, which has tiers of branches with tetrahedral soft needles, was discovered by the Englishman Joseph Banks.
Indoor Araucaria is a slow-growing plant, losing its decorative effect with maximum growth. The branches are arranged horizontally and covered with centimeter needles, which acquire a bright green hue in the spring, and in the rest of the period they have a dark green color.
In natural conditions, the needles grow to 60 meters in height, and at home it reaches no more than 2 meters. Unlike natural, indoor species do not have cones.
Many loved the indoor araucaria. Tree care should be started as soon as the plant has appeared in the house. For its growth, indoor araucaria requires a lot of light, in the worst case, in a cool, slightly shaded room there should be a lot of space and good air circulation. Modern condos with central heating are not suitable for this conifer . A plant needs a lot of space for proper and free growth. Araucaria loves fresh air very much, but, taking it out into the garden or on the terrace, it must be protected from sunlight.
If indoor araucaria appeared in the house, caring for the plant will require a lot of strength. For its comfortable existence throughout the year, you need a cool place with a temperature of no higher than 12 degrees, if higher than +15, then the needles begin to turn yellow. As a substrate, an ordinary soil mixture for domestic plants is suitable, in which peat crumbs can be added with an acid reaction (such a mass is sold for rhododendrons). The plant does not tolerate dry microclimate. In a warm room, needles should be sprayed 3 times a day, in cool rooms no more often than once in two days. The soil in the pot should be overlaid with sphagnum moss and moisten it regularly.
Araucaria indoor: care and watering
The plant needs a lot of moisture; in the summer, drying of the earth should not be allowed. It is necessary to ensure that the soil is always moist, but you need to avoid waterlogging. Excess moisture around the roots will cause massive yellowing and falling of the needles. It is necessary to check with your hand the top layer of soil, which should dry out slightly between irrigations. In winter, you need to water at a minimum, while not allowing the land to dry out. Do not use hard water, it is best to take boiled, rain or well-settled liquid.
Once every two years, it is necessary to perform a transplant so that indoor araucaria develops better. Plant care also includes transplanting an adult tree more than a meter high, which should be done every 3 years. Instances older than 5 years need to be rejuvenated. To do this, after making a shallow incision around the entire circumference of the trunk, they put on it a package with sheet light soil. When rooting occurs, the top is carefully cut. When planting needles, you can not deepen the root neck.
Reproduction is done by seeds, this is how araucaria spreads in nature. Seed planting care is a very long, delicate and laborious process. Therefore, it is better to buy an already rooted plant.
With good content, the plant will delight for a dozen years. To ensure the long life of the needles, the plant must be kept at a temperature of no higher than 15 degrees. When yellowed dry needles appear, the tree should be moved to a room with cooler air, water well and spray more often. It is also necessary to make a support for the barrel. It is necessary to feed with special fertilizers for azaleas, the use of organics is unacceptable. Top dressing begins in April and ends in August.
Araucaria can be affected by aphids and mealybugs.