Golden epipremnum - is popular both among amateur gardeners and professionals. The name of this flower in different countries of the world is its own. For example, in England it is called "bloody ivy", and in America - the "golden lotus".
The flower is a vine with a large number of aerial roots. To form a flower, arches, tubes with a porous spongy surface or plastic tubes with holes filled with constantly wet sphagnum are suitable as support. The roots of the plant are hidden there so that they receive additional moisture and nutrition.
Description
Epipremnum (scindapsus) golden is an ampelous herbaceous plant of the aroid family. The natural growing conditions are the tropics of Southeast Asia, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia. In nature, a liana grows in length up to forty, and at home - up to six meters. The root system is fibrous. A flower is a cob surrounded by a veil.
Cultural breeding rarely blooms, however, this disadvantage is easily compensated by the rich green mass. An adult plant has large ovoid leaves. They have a dark green tint with yellowish stripes. Their surface is smooth. The young creeper has a leaf plate of a uniform juicy green color. Golden stripes and spots appear after a certain period.
Golden epipremnum top dressing
Caring for a vine involves fertilizing. Most often, liquid top dressing is developed specifically for plants of this type. Mineral fertilizers are purchased in specialized flower shops.
They feed the flower at least twice during the month from spring to late autumn. In winter, once is enough. It is best to use fertilizers containing a complex of minerals.
The lack of nutrient components is reflected in the leaves - they are smaller, and an excess of nitrogen contributes to the excessive lengthening of the stems and the disappearance of the pattern from the leaf plate.
Lighting and air temperature
The most important thing in winter is to provide the flower with protection against drafts and a lack of light when leaving at home. Epipremnum golden is quite demanding on these conditions, and if they are not met, then the plant dies. Therefore, in winter, a prerequisite is the presence of artificial lighting and a room temperature of at least thirteen degrees.
Liana prefers diffused light. Direct sunlight must be excluded. Otherwise, growth slows down, and the sheet plate loses its elasticity. It is ideal to place a container with epipremnum from a well-lit window at a maximum distance (about two meters). In spring and summer, the optimal temperature for the plant is about 20 degrees. Liana does not need to be taken out onto the street, balcony or terrace. She is very afraid of drafts, and this should be remembered when leaving.
Watering and spraying
For spraying and watering the golden epipremnum, they take standing water at room temperature. Between treatments, the topsoil should dry. In the autumn and winter, watered every seven, and in the summer and spring - every five days. Liana easily survives the drought.
When the heating is on and in hot weather, spraying is done. As the leaves become dirty, they are wiped with a damp soft sponge and bathing in the shower.
Pruning
The golden epipremnum, the photo of which is presented in the article, has the ability to pretty well weave and curl. In addition, it is characterized by intensive growth of shoots. Therefore, to give a beautiful appearance to the vines, formative pruning is performed. It is usually done in the spring, shortening the shoots to half the available length. The result is a contented lush bush. Sometimes pruning stems are used as cuttings to obtain a new plant.
The choice of capacity and soil for transplantation
For golden epipremnum, a shallow wide container with holes in the bottom is suitable. Soil can be purchased at a specialty store or prepared on your own. This will require one part of coarse sand, soddy soil and three parts of leafy soil. You can also mix sand in equal proportions with humus, sod and peat.
The only condition is that the soil must be moisture- and breathable. A layer of drainage is laid at the bottom. Creepers begin to transplant once every three years after they reach the age of three. Until this time - annually. For young plants, take a larger diameter pot. No further increase in tare is required. In order not to make a mistake in choosing a pot, you need to focus on the size of the root system.
Breeding
Breeding is carried out mainly by apical cuttings, which are cut with three leaves. In rare cases, stem processes are used. The shoots are divided into parts so that one leaf remains, from the sinus of which a young sprout can appear. Cuttings are planted in small containers with a height of about 8 cm. The composition of the soil is sheet, peat and humus soil.
Each take one part and add 1/2 part of sand and turf land. A container with a handle is covered with a glass jar or a plastic bag. After two weeks, the plant will take root. Before landing on a permanent place, the liana is treated with a special tool (“Heteroauxin” or “Kornevin”) to improve root formation.
Diseases and Pests
Malicious microorganisms infect the vine with high humidity. Botritis disease is manifested by redness of the leaf plate. For treatment, fungicidal agents are used.
Despite good care, various pests can affect epipremnum at home. If the flower was attacked by thrips, spider mites and scabies, then they are removed with a sponge moistened with soapy water. Further, fungicidal preparations are treated. After a week, the manipulations are repeated, which will prevent the development of offspring.
The spider mite hides on the underside of the leaf plate and gradually captures the entire plant, enveloping it with a thin web. The danger of this type of pest is that insects live in colonies. Both the larvae and adult individuals feed on the plant's juice, which helps to dry the stem and leaves. If timely measures are not taken, the cobweb-covered plant dies. It is important to remember that ticks can exist in the upper part of the soil, as well as in dead shoots. Therefore, with a severe defeat of the flower, it is destroyed along with the container in which it was located.
From two weeks to a month, the incubation period of the infection lasts. The female survivability is four weeks, and during this short period she lays about a hundred eggs. They are able to be stored in the ground and in a pot for up to five years. Therefore, first of all, to combat this pest, they use tools that can destroy eggs. Further, the juice of the plant is poisoned, by sucking that, the tick receives a lethal dose of poison and dies.
The smallest colonial thrips pests feed on foliage sap. You can only see them under the magnifying glass. When these insects become many, the plant ceases to receive nutrients. As a result, the sheet plate acquires a silver-brown hue, blackens, curls and dries. The peculiarity of thrips is that they secrete a secret in the form of a sticky liquid, which can easily get on other indoor flowers, as well as a window sill or window. Washing it is quite problematic. Remove insects from the plant with a sponge dampened in soapy water, treating every centimeter. Remove the flower from the pot and rinse the root system in the shower. Then it is transplanted into a new container and treated with chemical agents. Affected parts of the plant and the earth are thrown away.
If outgrowths of a brown hue appeared on the flower, then it was attacked by a scale shield. This is a viviparous pest, the female of which is capable of producing about 150 larvae. As a result, the flower turns yellow and dries. If insects are found, the liana is placed in the quarantine zone, and the pests are removed with a sponge moistened with a soap-kerosene solution. At the end, the vine is sprayed with a fungicidal agent.
Mistakes in leaving
At home, the golden epipremnum, a photo of which is in the article, with poor care and mistakes made by inexperienced gardeners, the following troubles arise:
- The tips of the leaves dry out - this is a consequence of insufficient watering.
- Falling and yellowing of foliage occurs due to insufficient intake of nutrients and light.
- Dark spots indicate excessive watering.
- The faded color of the leaves is explained by the negative influence of sunlight.
- The decay of the root system occurs with hypothermia in the winter.
Interesting Facts
The golden epipremnum is surrounded by many superstitions, myths and interesting facts:
- Western scientists have proven that epiprenum belongs to the top three plants that effectively purify indoor air. It is able to absorb harmful and toxic substances that secrete objects used in everyday life.
- Feng Shui experts state that the liana accumulates vital energy and places it in places where it is not enough.
- Flower juice is very toxic and, if it enters the mucous membranes, provokes irritation or swelling.
- The plant effectively affects the mental and physical health of the individual. In rooms where there is a liana, there is optimism, pep and inspiration.
- The energy power of the flower provokes intellectual development, increases resistance to negative factors, and even favors career progression.
Conclusion
From those who decided to grow the epipremnum golden, leaving at home will not require much effort. The plant pleases with its rich and vibrant greenery all year round. Fulfillment of simple rules, which include diffused lighting, maintaining a certain temperature, protection from drafts, moderate watering, regular spraying and top dressing, is quite possible even for beginner growers.