The flower an elephant leg is a very interesting and unpretentious house plant. It is also called a horse's tail, nolina, scorpion, bottle palm. It came to us from the southern arid countries, therefore, it is used to storing moisture for a long time. This moisture accumulates at the base of the trunk, and in this part it becomes thicker. At the top of the flower are collected thin leaves resembling a palm tree. Such an unusual appearance made the elephant leg indoor flower popular.
The photo will remind you of a plant that I saw, but did not know what it is called.
Description
The elephant leg is a perennial tropical plant of the eagle family. In the wild, it grows in southern Mexico, sometimes found in the southern regions of the United States.
The elephant foot looks like a low tree with a puffed base of the trunk. This feature allows plants to survive in a drought. After flowering, lush branchy greens appear on the ivory leg. This effect can be achieved faster with a haircut. Of course, an adult shaped plant is very expensive, so young specimens are more common on sale. They cost less, but to form a typical ivory leg, you will have to spend a lot of time (more than one season). Indoor flower elephant foot blooms extremely rarely.
The plant has a very interesting root system - the roots do not grow in depth, but in breadth. Therefore, the elephant foot is grown in a wide bowl with good drainage. So that the crust does not form on the soil, the top can be covered with fine gravel. It will also serve as an additional decoration.
Flower species
There are several varieties of the ivory leg:
- Bent away. The trunk of this plant is erect, with a bulbous bulge below. In natural conditions, this is a real tree with a height of 8-10 meters, and the diameter of the base is about 1 meter. The height of the greenhouse plant is up to 1.5 m. The upper part consists of an abundant sheaf of thick leaves of a linear shape.
- Longleaf. It is grown in greenhouses on the Black Sea coast of Crimea and the Caucasus. This elephant foot is distinguished by long inflorescences with numerous small flowers.
- Small fruited. In appearance, it is very similar to the long-leaved and the elephant leg is grown in the same flower.
The photo shows how this original plant grows in nature.
Care
The elephant leg is a fairly unpretentious plant, and even novice lovers can grow it. Moreover, she is very fond of bright places, but direct sunlight affects her negatively. In the autumn-winter period, the plant needs additional lighting. It can be provided using fluorescent lamps.
In spring and summer, the elephant’s leg grows well at room temperature, but does not tolerate drafts, they can destroy the plant. In the summer, you can leave it in the open air, you only need to protect it from rain and winds.
In autumn and winter, the plant is at rest, so the temperature must be gradually reduced to 10 degrees. In principle, an elephant’s leg can be kept at the same temperature as cacti. In the apartment, it is very difficult to provide normal conditions for a flower, so this is not necessary. It should be borne in mind that at room temperature the plant does not come to rest, and it will have to provide good lighting.
Flower elephant foot requires plenty of moisture. It is good to use a lower watering system (the pot needs to be lowered into water, removed and allowed to drain excess water). Next time you need to water when the soil is completely dry. So the elephant foot is watered in spring and summer. If the plant is kept at low temperatures in winter and autumn, watering should be reduced to a minimum (either by the drip method, or simply periodically spray the plant). It is important to remember that excess moisture is fatal to this flower.
At room temperature, the elephant foot does not need to be sprayed; it is better to wipe the leaves with a damp sponge. You can also simulate the dew on the leaves (this is typical for plants in the wild). It is better to do it in the morning or in the evening.
In the early years, the elephant leg grows quite quickly. By the age of 6-7 years, the flower turns into a large outdoor plant. Therefore, additional feeding is usually not required. With a strong desire, you can feed the plant with liquid mineral mixtures, but you need to do this no more than once every 3 weeks. The finished fertilizer must also be diluted so that the concentration is about 2 times lower. They feed the plant during the period of active growth and after heavy watering.
Possible difficulties in growing a flower (disease)
As already mentioned above, the indoor flower, the elephant leg is unpretentious in care, so it rarely gets sick. However, with improper care, the following difficulties may arise:
- Leaves become small and pale. This can happen due to a cramped pot or lack of light and elevated temperature.
- Leaves drooped, wilted, darkened. This is due to insufficient lighting.
- The tips of the leaves have dried or turned brown. This happens due to too dry indoor air.
- The stem became softer, springing under the fingers - it began to rot due to excessive watering.
- The bulb has become smaller - the plant does not have enough moisture. Watering should be plentiful, but sparse.
Reproduction and transplantation
The elephant foot flower does not like bulky pots, since the roots there do not have time to absorb moisture. From this they can get wet. The pot should not be too high and 3-4 cm wider than the trunk. Transplanting a flower, you must definitely make a good drainage. The soil should be a third of sand or fine gravel. If perlite is additionally added to the soil, it will remove excess moisture.
Often you do not need to transplant a flower - no more than 1 time in 3 years. If you wish, you can simply sprinkle fresh soil on top.
The elephant leg is propagated using apical cuttings. If the flower has several leaf growth points, one can be cut and planted again. That's just she takes root very badly.
You can also grow an elephant leg from seeds - in this case, they will most likely have to be bought, since it blooms quite rarely at home.
Flower pests
The elephant's foot is a flower that can be damaged by scabs, thrips and spider mites. To get rid of parasites, they need to be removed with a swab dipped in soapy water. After that, the leaves are treated using special tools.
In principle, the plant is resistant to pests, they can appear only with improper care.