A special place among indoor compact plants is occupied by pylaea. Small and modest in size, very neat in appearance, the cultures are used to decorate a variety of rooms. Thanks to its spectacular foliage, these indoor flowers look great and catchy.
The plant got its name due to the ability to spread pollen over considerable distances. However, it is impossible to appreciate such talents in a room culture, but the beauty of their leaves is undeniable.
General information
The flower belongs to the Nettle family. A perennial and annual herb (less commonly a shrub) grows in the tropical forests of both hemispheres of the Earth, excluding the only mainland - Australia. The genus has about 700 species.
The name of the plant comes from the Latin pileus, which translates as “cap” or “hat”. And in fact, one of the tepals in most varieties of this plant is similar in shape to a hood. Pilea can be grown as an ampel plant. She perfectly adapts to the conditions of home cultivation.
It is sometimes called the "artillery tree." This is due to the fact that when flowers bloom, a unique phenomenon occurs - the release of a cloud of pollen. The homeland of pylaea is the moist tropical zones of Southeast Asia.
Variety of species
Almost all plants related to decorative and deciduous plants are distinguished by the richness of the most diverse and attractive accents suitable for decoration of any premises. Some of the most beautiful in colors, textures and shapes are rather compact plants - pilei. They include so many varieties and varieties that it is even hard to believe that all these bushes belong to the same genus.
Unpretentious and fairly hardy pylaea, although they do not differ in life expectancy, are unparalleled in the luxuriousness of their small foliage. They are grown quite simply, and also reproduce is not at all difficult.
Kinds
The main advantage of the plant is diversity. There are so original among them that it is impossible to guess their kinship with other pili. Some have velvety luxurious leaves, others are glossy. And differences in size and shape can confuse anyone at all.
1. Small-leaved pylaea - a plant that conquers with a huge number of small leaves on drooping, lying shoots. This saw in home growing conditions in the interior of the room looks great. Miniature fleshy leaves give it a wonderful "curly". The effect is enhanced by branching and spreading shoots. The color of this saw is quite bright, mainly in bright colors. The convexity of the sheet plates is enhanced by a glossy sheen. The dwarf species, formerly known as the bryophyta, which looks like a bump of moss, is also included in a number of small-leaved ones.
2. Pylaea thick-leaved - velvety beauty, a very popular species among gardeners. Due to the reddish-green leaves with a relief, tuberous surface and light stripes at the edges, they seem velvety and powdered with light dust.
3. Pylaea monetifolia (photo presented in the article) - a soil plant, which is a "curly" bush. Her leaves, unlike the small-leaved variety, are rounded (in the form of coins), with a very delicate whitish-green color. It cuts well and creates a wonderful cascade or spectacular elegant rug.
4. Spruce pylaea is a strange, rather rare plant, growing only up to 20 centimeters in height. It is distinguished by opaque folded leaves with a basic brownish-reddish hue, with notches along the edges and longitudinal stripes. All this, together with the pearly sheen of the leaves, gives the plant a resemblance to snake skin or the skin of a lizard.
5. Pilya wrapped conquers with bubbly protrusions on leaves with a copper, red or bronze-green color. It brings original metal effects to the interior. The bushes reach a height of 30 cm in height. The surface of its leaves is a bit like a Byzantine cleaner, but its bright green color, through which drawings of dark brown veins are peered, looks very original.
6. Peperomoid (the article presents a photo of pylaea). Caring for this miracle, as well as for other species, is not complicated. The flowering of this plant is very difficult to notice, and it occurs extremely rarely when grown indoors, but its foliage may well compensate for this drawback. This saw is luxurious: almost perfectly round leaves grow on a green-brown short stem.
7. Pilya Kadier has green leaves with spectacular silver stripes, emphasizing the oval shape of fairly large leaves (length - 10 cm, width - more than 4 cm). Gloss is clearly visible on beautifully curved leaves. In height, the bushes reach 40 centimeters.
Lebanese pylea, pressed, creeping - all these are magnificent varieties of the described plant, which are popular in floriculture.
Home Care
Pilea is a rather light and unpretentious plant in home maintenance. Therefore, it is very popular among gardeners.
Prefers pylaea penumbra and light places. Direct sunlight is undesirable for her, so she should be placed at the east or west window. With the advent of the first warm days it can be kept in the fresh air (on the balcony, in the veranda, in the loggia or in the country). It should be remembered that bright light for this plant is destructive. However, in the winter period it is necessary to take care of additional lighting with artificial light (up to several hours a day).
The preferred temperature for pylae is up to 25 degrees. Lowering the temperature below 20 degrees for most of the species (including the monolithic) is undesirable. Also, drafts are contraindicated for this plant, especially in winter.
In terms of watering pilya, home care is very simple. Watering frequency should be determined by soil. When the topsoil is dried, the flower should be watered, only in the winter it is worth waiting a couple of days before drying when the soil is dry. This flower tolerates drought better than overflow. A sign of overmoistening of the soil can be wilting of leaves with a simultaneous decrease in the brightness of the color. Water for irrigation is desirable settled, soft and room temperature.
The plant needs high humidity, but you should not spray it. It is better to install a container with a flower in trays filled with water with sand or expanded clay. You can put dishes near the plant with wet sand, moss or just with water.
Pilea soil is preferably humus. Summer feeding should be carried out once a week, and winter feeding once a month. Suitable for flower is a liquid fertilizer intended for indoor ornamental plants.
Monolithic pylaea
This plant in its homeland, which is South America, naturally lives in shaded areas of tropical rainforests.
In floriculture, a houseplant is used as a potted, stem, and ampelous. Planted it together with erect, large species of indoor trees, bushes and flowers.
The variety under consideration is the shortest, with creeping stems and small (diameter - 1 cm) leaflets, which look like coins in their appearance. Thanks to these properties of leaves, the plant is popularly called the "Japanese dollar". The upper part of the leaves is as if quilted. The color above is green, and the bottom is reddish-purple. And the stems of this variety are reddish, which, combined with foliage greens, gives the plant a special decorative effect.
Growing at home
The monolithic sawmill is practically not capricious. Home care for this flower is relatively simple. This plant, like other varieties of the genus, needs light, but slightly diffused.
As for other saws, western and eastern windows are suitable for the monolithic variety. She feels great on covered balconies and verandas. Under these conditions, it is grown to a greater extent as an ampel plant in wall pots.
Humidity and temperature
He likes moderate humidity and the warmth of a monolithic saw. Caring for her is not complicated. It is not demanding on temperature conditions. Of course, a native of tropical forests is well related to heat and sufficient humidity, but the creation of such conditions is quite feasible. The optimum temperature, as noted above, is in the range of 20-25 degrees in the summer and about 16-20 degrees in the winter.
It is important to remember that in winter it is forbidden to allow the air temperature to drop below 10 degrees, as this may cause the plant to become sick.
The optimum air humidity should be 60%. Especially should be observed such conditions during the heating season. In addition to the above methods, you can use a humidifier or decorative fountains.
Diseases and pests
Monolithic pylaea, like other varieties of the plant, could be considered invulnerable, but under not very comfortable conditions, at inappropriate temperature or insufficient humidity, they are susceptible to attack by spider mites, scutes and thrips. Such pests are especially difficult to notice on a moss and small-leaved saw. Traces of defeat in them appear only after the plant is completely depleted. And it is advisable to start the fight earlier, adjusting the growing conditions and actively using insecticides.
Although home care is not so difficult, a monolithic saw may suffer from some diseases. The most common problems:
- with poor lighting, a loss of brightness occurs, drying of the ends of the leaves or their grinding;
- with excessive soil moisture, the leaves fade and fall, the stems become sluggish;
- extremely low air temperatures or a long period of drought lead to wrinkling and drying of the leaves;
- hit by direct rays of the sun contributes to the appearance of yellow and brown spots;
- the collapse of the bush and exposure of its shoots (dropping the lower leaves) is a signal for rejuvenation.
Plant transplantation and propagation
Pilae should be transplanted annually in spring or summer. These plants do not need deep containers, since their root system is quite compact. Ideal are pots with a depth of about 10 centimeters. Due to the fact that pylaea is a plant with irregular growth, young shoots should be plucked during transplantation, and the oldest cut off. A new flower can be grown from cropped shoots. Reproduction occurs both by cuttings and by seeds.
The peculiarity of the Monolithic pylaea is the reproduction of self-seeding from seeds formed on the plant itself.
For germination of purchased seeds, it is necessary to provide them with light and heat. Sow them in a flat dish with soil consisting of sand and earth. The container must be covered with glass, which should be removed when the first sprouts appear. As soon as three or four true leaves are formed, each sprout must be planted in a small pot.
The fastest and most affordable method of propagation is cuttings. For this, workpieces of 10 cm length are used, which are cut from young apical shoots and placed in moistened sand or earth. For better rooting, it is necessary to create a microclimate by covering the plant with transparent material made of plastic or glass. When propagating pylaea with a monolithic cuttings, in order to obtain a more magnificent bush, several cuttings can be planted in a container at once.
This species can be germinated from the leaf. The best leaves for this are the lower leaves, cut off at the very base of the main stems. Rooting should be done in the same way as when grafting.
It should be noted that only some species can form seeds for propagation by self-sowing.
Possible difficulties and ways to overcome them
- Pilea is very sensitive to waterlogging of the soil and is quite easily affected by powdery mildew. With strict adherence to the recommendations on humidification and watering, this problem can be avoided.
- If a grayish coating appears on the stem and leaves and a putrid odor is felt, prune the plant or treat it with a fungicide.
- Most of the parasites this flower bothered mealybugs, spider mites and thrips. They should be destroyed by insecticides.
- When wrinkling and falling leaves of pylaea, it is necessary to normalize the temperature regime in the room.
It is also important to remember that the plant (including the monolithic sawfly), whose age has reached 4 years and older, becomes unattractive. The lower leaves completely fall off it. It is better to get rid of such a flower, and to grow a new plant from cuttings.
In conclusion, some interesting properties of the plant
In connection with an interesting feature of this plant, which was noted in the article, it is called the "artillery tree." Blooming flowers are able to throw out a huge amount of tiny pollen in the form of a cloud. The sight is surprisingly beautiful and slightly reminds a salute.
The favorable energy emanating from the pyla flower is able to relieve anxiety and fatigue, as well as lift the mood.
The versatility of growing this spectacular plant has gained popularity among many gardeners. It is planted as a regular or ampelous indoor flower. Pilea grows quite quickly and is not particularly demanding of care, and therefore even beginners and inexperienced gardeners can cope with its cultivation.