Florists grow at home many interesting types of plants. Such flowers can decorate almost any interior. A plant that looks healthy and well-groomed fits harmoniously into different design styles. The room at the same time looks cozy, at home. One of the popular plants is the money tree. It requires some care. How often to water a money tree will be discussed later.
Plant description
Money tree, otherwise Crassula, Crassulaceae, Gingerbread woman, is very popular among flower growers due to its unpretentiousness and decorative properties. The birthplace of this plant is South Africa. In nature, there are more than three hundred varieties of Crassula.
At home, the ovoid or oval crash is most often found. This is a perennial tree plant that belongs to the category of evergreen species. Crassules with a rounded shape of grayish-green leaves are found. They have a bluish waxy coating. In the people it is also called "monkey tree", "tree of love" or "tree of happiness."
Crassula has the ability to accumulate moisture in its fleshy leaves, therefore it belongs to a group of plants called succulents. Proper watering plays a huge role in the life of such plants, since an excess of moisture can destroy the tree. However, a lack of moisture can adversely affect the condition of the plant. Therefore, you need to consider in detail the recommendations of experienced gardeners. This will allow you to get a beautiful, healthy, full-bodied plant. It will decorate any room.
About the benefits of the plant
Crassula not only decorates the interior, but also has many useful properties. It purifies indoor air. Its leaves contain juice that can fight pathogens. It is used to treat many inflammatory processes, as well as for bruises, sprains, and swelling.
In addition, according to the ancient Chinese doctrine of Feng Shui, the money tree brings wealth and good fortune to the house, attracting financial income to its inhabitants. It is believed that the thicker the leaves, the better the financial situation of the family. And the appearance of any plant depends on how well it is taken care of. It is not for nothing that they say that a fat woman will attract wealth and wealth only to the house where she will be provided with proper care. Therefore, when planning to grow a money tree at home, how to care for it should be considered in more detail.
Care Rules
Crassula is an unpretentious plant. However, she has her own requirements and preferences. Does the money tree like sunlight? Loves very much. For well-being, the plant needs to be settled on the south or southeast windows. It is not afraid of direct sunlight. In summer, the air temperature, comfortable for the rossula, is about 22 degrees. In winter, during the period of rest, the required temperature is 12-15 degrees, it is allowed to smoothly decrease to +6 degrees.
The growers who planted the money tree, how to care for it, they know - easily. They feed it with special additives for succulents purchased in the store. Fertilizers are applied after watering in the spring and summer once a month. In winter, top dressing is done every three months.
Plant propagation
The simplest and most often used method of propagation of the Crassula is breeding by cuttings. They are rooted in water or immediately planted in the soil. The choice of propagation method depends on the preferences of the grower. Rooting in water is popular with many owners of this plant.
Which pot to choose for money tree? The basic requirement is that it must be sustainable. The aerial part of the plant is quite massive, so the flowerpot should be wide and not too high. The small process should not be immediately planted in a large container. A small pot is enough, which, as the flower grows, needs to be changed to a larger one.
How to plant a shoot of a money tree? The selected container is filled by a third with a drainage layer, on top of which soil is poured. The shoot is planted to a depth of about five centimeters. There is a belief that you need to put any coin on the bottom of the pot, and tie the branches of the plant with ribbons of a necessarily red color. And then the fat woman will attract money into the house, like a magnet.
Soil and planting dates
Experienced flower growers believe that the main condition for the flowering of a money tree is its planting in March-April. Cuttings planted in mid-summer have much less chance of blooming. However, this is far from the only requirement. It is necessary to pay attention to the right choice of soil.
What soil is suitable for money tree? Plant the shoots of Crassula should be in a special soil for succulents, purchased in a store. Sod land is the best option for a fat woman. However, it feels good both in the mixture for growing cacti and in universal soil. The soil should be sufficiently nutritious. In this case, the plant will be strong.
For all its unpretentiousness, the fat woman makes very high demands on watering. Everything is important here - both the quality of the water, and its quantity, and the frequency of the procedure.
Water requirements
Like most houseplants, Crassula loves soft, pre-settled water. It should be at room temperature, in no case cold. It is good to use melt water for irrigation. To prepare it, they pour liquid from a tap into a plastic bottle and freeze it in a freezer. When the liquid is half frozen, its non-frozen part must be drained, since it contains all harmful impurities. The remainder is thawed and used for watering.
For these purposes, you can use filtered or rainwater. To soften the water, wood ash is used at the rate of half a teaspoon per liter of liquid. It is defended for 12 hours and used for irrigation.
Watering Methods
You can water the crassula in two ways - from above or through a pallet. The choice depends on the preferences of the grower. For top watering you will need a watering can with a narrow neck and diffuser. The advantage of watering from above is that maximum nutrients are delivered to the roots with water.
Crassula is not afraid of moisture on the stem or leaves. On the contrary, it is recommended to spray the plant from the spray with warm water. In summer, this should be done once a week. In winter, it is better to replace the shower by wiping the leaves with a damp cloth approximately once a month.
After top watering or spraying, moisture settles in the pan - it needs to be drained after about an hour.
Watering from below
This method is used when the plant has not been watered for a long time and the soil in the pot is completely dry. It is also used in the exact opposite case - to combat waterlogging of the root system and the prevention of fungal diseases. With this method of irrigation, the prepared liquid is poured into a pan, put a flowerpot with a plant in it and wait until the moisture is absorbed into the soil. After half an hour, the remaining water is drained.
The disadvantage of this method is that the nutrients with water rise from the bottom up, so the roots will receive them much less than with the top watering. A deficiency of nutrients is indicated by a whitish calcareous coating on the soil surface in a pot. It should be removed along with the topsoil to prevent the development of pathogenic bacteria in it.
Experienced growers are advised to alternate upper and lower watering. This allows you to maintain the necessary balance of moisture and nutrients in the soil.
Watering Rules
Since the plant tolerates drought much easier than moisturizing, it is especially important to know how often to water the money tree. Abundant soil moisture leads to the development of root rot and subsequent death of the plant. A signal of excess moisture is the lethargy and pallor of the leaves, the appearance of brown spots on them, the falling of branches. With a lack of moisture, the leaves darken, become soft and fall off.
To determine how often to water the money tree, you need to monitor the condition of the soil in the pot, and also adhere to seasonal recommendations. The dryness of the soil is checked not on the surface, but at a depth of about two phalanges of the finger, otherwise the plant can be poured. A transplanted plant can be saved only by transplanting into fresh soil or into old, but well-dried.
Watering seasonality
How often to carry out the irrigation procedure depends on the time of year. In summer, it is recommended to irrigate the plant up to two times a week. If the weather is hot, the earth dries faster, you need to water more often.
In the fall, red watering is enough for one watering per week. The soil should be almost dry, because during this period the plant is preparing for the winter dormant period.
If a fat woman hibernates in a warm room, it is watered up to two times a month. In a cool room, it is not watered throughout the winter.
How to water a money tree in spring when the plant awakens and begins to actively develop? Watering is resumed up to twice every seven days depending on soil moisture, which, in turn, depends on the conditions in which the fatty fish is kept. Young, fast-growing trees should be watered more often.
Conditions of detention
To determine how often to water a money tree, you need to take into account the conditions in which it grows. The drying speed of the soil depends on the temperature and humidity level in the room, on the amount of sunlight in it, on how close the plant is to the window or to the heating radiator. For example, if in summer the plant is on the balcony, it will have to be watered more often, because the soil will dry faster.
Proper watering of the rosula, taking into account all external factors and seasonal rules, will allow you to get a beautiful healthy plant that can decorate any interior. And of course, enrich the one who cares about him, in gratitude for the good care.