Crassula or Crassula is a member of the Crassulaceae family. It includes about five hundred plant species. In nature, all of them are found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. Most species can be found in South Africa, Madagascar, slightly fewer representatives on the Arabian Peninsula. Purslane crassula is grown at home, but we are used to calling it “money tree”. In the article we learn about the rules of propagation of a fat woman by cuttings and a lot of other useful information.
Plant description
Crassulaceae have one main feature - on the stem, their leaves are arranged opposite each other crosswise. In nature, you can find aquatic and herbaceous plants, tree-like shrubs. Of course, at home, Crassula cannot reach the size that it reaches in nature. Indeed, in an apartment or house, there is much less space, the soil is significantly different, there may not be enough light or some nutrients. However, even homemade fat women eventually turn into beautiful trees with a solid stalk, on which powerful, fleshy leaves are located.
In indoor conditions, the crassula blooms quite rarely, so you should not expect this moment. As for inflorescences, they can be racemose or umbelliform paniculate. There are red, blue, white and yellow flowers. Now this plant is quite popular, due to its unpretentiousness and endurance. Even novice flower growers will master the care of a fat girl (money tree) home care.
How to care for a rossula
Most representatives of this genus are not at all afraid of the sun's rays, therefore they feel quite comfortable on the south window. If possible, it is best to place a pot with a plant on the southwest or east side. There, the plant will look more magnificent. If the flower has little light, then its shoots will begin to stretch, and the leaves fall off. In the summer, it is better to place the crassula on a balcony, terrace or street. This will benefit the plant. Money tree loves warmth, so in summer it feels great on the street. In winter, it will not give up its close proximity to a heater or battery. But this does not mean that the flower should be kept exclusively in a warm room, since it can easily tolerate low temperatures. Crassula does not stop growing at a temperature of ten degrees. Low humidity in the room will not cause any complications. As you can see, a fat girl (money tree) is rather unpretentious. Home care of this plant rarely causes difficulties.
Features of watering
Crassule is not enough frequent watering. Periodically, you need to rinse the leaves and feed the plant. In summer, watering is carried out when the topsoil becomes dry, in winter the plant is watered even less often. Even if you have to leave for a few weeks, you should not force neighbors to water your flower, because the money tree is not afraid of drought, which can not be said about waterlogging.
Fertilizer and fertilizer
As for fertilizer, it is applied in the spring-summer period once a month. It is recommended to use a special liquid fertilizer for succulent plants and cacti. And in autumn and winter you need to give the fat girl a break from dressing.
Formation process
It is necessary to form a money tree while it is still young. If shoots are removed from an already adult plant, then stumps will remain in these places, because of which the decorativeness of the bush suffers greatly. With all responsibility, you need to approach the choice of a pot for a plant. If you plant the Crassula in a too deep pot, then its root will tend inward, and the trunk will begin to grow rapidly upward. This is not a good sign, because over time it will become thin and greatly weaken. Therefore, it is better to choose a not very deep pot.
Where to put
To answer the question of how to plant a shoot of a money tree, you need to tell in what soil this shoot should be planted. Soil should include three parts of turfy soil and one part of sheet, humus, sand and brick chips, which can be replaced with fine gravel. Here is such a simple composition on the ground for a fat woman. When the fat woman reaches a height of fifteen centimeters, the smallest upper leaves should be plucked from its top - this is the future branching place. Instead of two leaves, here after a while four will appear. You can remove the upper leaves until you are satisfied with the formed crown. But only between such "operations" should some time pass in order not to injure the plant. In such a simple way, you can create a beautiful crown for your favorite money tree.
Transfer
It is not necessary to transplant a fat woman every year, but if you have a desire to admire its flowering, it is better to carry out this procedure once every two years. According to the rules, a transplant is carried out only if the roots have already completely filled the entire pot. In the spring, a fat woman begins a period of active growth. Therefore, it is at this time that it is best to plan a transplant. The pot should be slightly larger in size than the one in which the Crassula previously grew. A drainage layer should be placed at its bottom. Expanded clay is best suited for this. After this, the crassula, together with the earthen lump, moves into a new pot, and the remaining free space is filled with a new substrate.
If you do not want your plant to become too large a plant, then a transplant is not needed at all. It will be enough only to change the top layer of the substrate annually.
Useful properties of Crassula
Fat girl is a real guardian of your health. It releases into the air such substances that have antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial effects. But that is not all. Crassula leaves are used in folk medicine, as its juice has many beneficial properties. This tool is used for lotions, which are especially effective for herpes, insect bites. Also, juice can be used to treat various cuts, bruises, abscesses. For sore throat or gum disease, it is recommended to rinse using the juice of the pulp, and for arthritis, they should be rubbed overnight. But during treatment using this juice, one should not forget that it contains a rather large concentration of arsenic. If swallowed, it can be life threatening. Therefore, the juice of Crassula is suitable only for external use.
As for signs and superstitions, it has long been believed that the money tree brings luck and wealth to the house. That is why this plant is often placed not only in residential apartments and houses, but also in offices, shops and other workrooms.
Reproduction of Crassula by seeds
Before sowing the seeds of the Crassula, it is necessary to prepare the necessary capacity and soil for this. You should choose a wide bowl, which is filled with soil with the following composition: one part of the sheet soil, half of the sand. When the seeds are sown, the bowl is covered with glass, which must be opened every day to remove condensation.
In just two weeks you will be able to see the first shoots. When they grow up a bit, you can dive. Young seedlings are planted at a distance of one centimeter from each other. The composition of the soil remains the same, but you should also add the floor of a part of the light sod land. After a dive, the seedlings should be placed in a place where the scattered light will fall on them.
When the crassulas grow a little and get stronger, they can be planted in separate pots. They should be no more than seven centimeters in diameter. They are filled with soil, which contains equal parts of sand, turf and sheet land.
Until the seedlings take root, they are kept at a temperature not exceeding eighteen degrees. When it will be seen that they have grown, you can transfer them to a permanent place. Next, I want to pay attention to the peculiarities of the propagation of the fatty by cuttings. This method is considered more simple and affordable even for beginners.
Propagation by cuttings
Propagation of a fat woman by cuttings at home is considered the easiest and fastest way. It is much simpler than seed and takes much less time. For this, not only fragments of the stem, but also single leaves are suitable.
You can cut off the shoot or leaf only with a sharp knife. After this, the cut site is immediately treated with crushed coal to avoid various infections getting there. After that, within two or three days, the cut-off shoot or leaf is dried, and after this time they are planted in soil, which consists of equal parts of leafy soil and sand.
In addition, the propagation of the Crassula by cuttings in water is carried out, which is also quite effective. Charcoal must be added to the water. When you notice the first roots on the cuttings, you can safely transplant them into pre-prepared pots with a diameter of five to seven centimeters. Soil should consist of sand, turf and sheet earth in equal parts. Such pots are immediately placed in a permanent place. Young fat women are provided with care as an adult plant. Here in such a simple way is the rooting of cuttings of the Crassula.
Diseases and Pests
The most terrible enemy for Crassula is excess moisture, which leads to rotting of the roots. In some cases, rot begins at the base of the trunk. It is important for flower growers to remember that the fat woman tolerates its drought more easily, like all succulents, the leaves have moisture reserves that it uses with a lack of water.
Drafts are also quite dangerous for the plant, which lead to the fact that the leaves begin to gradually dry and fall off.
As for insects, then mealybugs are considered the main enemies. It is very simple to remove them, it is enough to moisten the cotton wool in medical alcohol and wipe the leaves of the plant. Less commonly on a fat woman, scale insects parasitize. Here you can’t do without the treatment of the Actellic plant. If you do not water the plant for too long, then spider mites can settle on it. It is not difficult to notice them, since a thin web appears on the plant, mainly on the leaves. Here again, “Actellik” or “Fitoverm” will come to the rescue.
Types of Crassula
This plant has so many species that it is impossible to mention each of them in one article. We will consider only the most popular:
- Crassula is oval. This is perhaps the most common species that can be found in culture. He came to us from southwest Africa. In nature, an oval krassula is a three-meter plant with shiny, oval leaves painted in silver gray or green. In an apartment, it does not reach a height of more than one and a half meters. This species produces quite a few shoots that grow and develop quickly. If you manage to achieve flowering from this species, you will admire pink or white flowers that gather in umbrella-shaped inflorescences. This is one of those species that practically does not need a lot of sunlight. Crassula oval has become the basis for the breeding of most new varieties of crassula.
- Crassula is tree-like. Pretty much similar to oval crassula. This fat woman has a bare trunk, and the branches are covered with flat fleshy leaves up to seven centimeters long. At home, it blooms quite rarely. If she succeeds, she pleases the owner with pale pink or white flowers that gather in small panicles. This species does not tolerate the shadow.
- Crassula is floating. This shrub plant, which reaches a height of only twenty-five centimeters, has tetrahedral fleshy shoots, in which the tops are wrapped. It got its name because of the structure and arrangement of leaves, which makes it look like a clown. If you put this look in bright light, then its leaves will acquire a red tint. This kind of krasula tolerates well and stay in the shade.
- Crassula Buddha. Many flower growers call it pyramidal. Outwardly, this plant resembles a certain column, which is formed from triangular leaves. They are located along the entire length of the trunk and are tightly pressed against each other. This column is not too high, but it is necessary to prevent it from falling to its side under its own weight. This species can bloom and please the eye with red flowers that form in the apical inflorescences.
So we examined the main types of fatty plants that can be grown not only in open ground, but also at home.
Conclusion
In this article we learned what constitutes crassula, what useful properties it has. We also learned all about planting a fat woman with cuttings and the features of its cultivation. Based on the information received, we can conclude that this plant is absolutely unpretentious, can grow in almost any conditions. It is worth noting that special attention should be paid to the frequency of watering the plant and its location in the apartment. Now that you know how to plant a sprig of a money tree, you can easily save on buying a new flower and just ask sprouts from friends who already have this plant.