Jatropha Gouty, Dissected Jatropha, Growing At Home

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

According to the horoscope, the zodiac sign Aquarius (January 21-February 19) corresponds to indoor plants, well known to many flower growers. This stromanta is pleasant, calathea (striped decorated, wonderful), dracaena Gosfera, Rowley's cross, silver-veined fittonia, arrowroot tricolor ("prayer tree"), coleus (Blume, dwarf), striped abutilone (indoor maple), beautiful poinsettia and goutyatropha.

Among the plants of the genus Jatropha (according to various estimates of experts, it includes from 160 to 175 species) there are trees, shrubs and perennial herbaceous plants. Their homeland is considered the tropics and subtropics of Central and South America, Africa. The genus is part of the Euphorbiaceae family, and its very name comes from the Greek words "jatrys" (doctor) and "tropha" (food), which is associated with the medicinal properties of its individual representatives.

In tropical areas, these plants reach significant sizes, they are successfully used for landscaping streets and creating hedges.

As an indoor culture, flower growers most often keep gouty jatropha (J. podagrica). It is a deciduous succulent shrub, reaching a height of 60-70 cm (sometimes up to 1 m) in 15-18 years of cultivation, with rather large (10-20 cm long), deeply cut (3-5-lobed) leaves.

The color of the leaves depends on the age. For example, young leaves are usually dark green and glossy, and as the plant develops, they brighten. Having reached the "adult" state, they darken again, become dull. The reverse side of the leaf and the petiole are usually lighter in color, covered with a bluish bloom.

Due to the lignified stem, covered with brown bark, tuberously thickened at the base and tapering towards the apex, very similar in appearance to a bottle, jatropha is also called a "bottle" plant, although this name does not carry any scientific definition.

Probably, readers will be interested to know that in some countries it is called Buddha Belly, which means "Buddha's belly" in colloquial English. By the way, the wide base of the trunk becomes even more effective over the years.

Jatropha blooms from April to June, but with good care (an abundance of light is also important), it goes on continuously from spring to late autumn, although in nature it generally lasts all year round. A flower brush in the form of a complex umbrella emerges from the point of growth. At the first stage, these are modest buds, among which only the largest are visible so far. They develop gradually, and when they reach the level of leaves, their growth is especially accelerated. The buds begin to color and finally, one day, bright red flowers (1-3 cm in diameter), odorless, open up.

On one umbrella you can find female and male flowers. Male flowers usually last for a day, but they are constantly replaced by new ones. Thus, the flowering of one umbrella lasts several weeks. To maintain a pleasant appearance, wilted flowers (as well as dry damaged leaves) are regularly removed by growers.

Jatropha is considered a completely unpretentious plant, if the minimum requirements are observed when caring for it. For a favorable development, it is better for her to choose a bright, constantly warm room. You can define it on the east or west window, even on the south (with good ventilation). But, according to experienced flower growers, in the latter case, more water is important, since the lack of the latter in strong light causes the leaves to wilt and even burns on them.

A warm greenhouse or winter garden is ideal for a jatropha. She does not need to be sprayed and is not afraid of drafts. In summer, it is advisable to shade the foliage of the plant, avoiding the direct rays of the midday sun (there is evidence that with excess illumination, the leaves grow smaller, with short petioles, which makes the plant look more compact).

It is watered often (every 5-7 days) in small portions, as the top layer of the earth dries up (while the soil lump should always be slightly moistened), and in the fall, at least once a month. In a fairly warm microclimate of the room, the earth is only slightly moistened; sometimes a wide bowl with evaporating water is placed next to it.

Some growers evaluate the need for watering by "weighing" the pot: they lift it up and determine by weight whether watering is needed or if you can wait. Other practices focus on the state of the leaves: they begin to sink - the plant should be watered (a real drought for jatropha occurs if the foliage begins to turn yellow and fall off). However, an adult specimen is watered with large leaves (especially on hot days) literally every day because of the strong evaporation of moisture. However, jatropha tolerates drought much more easily than excess moisture in the soil.

The plant is fed from April to September (once a month) using fertilizer solutions offered in the trade network for succulents and cacti. They practice taking the plant out for the summer in the open air (in the garden and on the terrace) or moving it to a glazed loggia, taking it into the house in the fall.

Note that an important feature of the successful cultivation of jatropha is the presence of a clearly defined period of winter dormancy, which begins in late autumn (it is important to create a temperature of 15 … 16 ° C). Although in winter it is relatively tolerant of increased dryness of the air in the room, nevertheless, due to the lack of light and dry air in our apartments, as a rule, it sheds leaves.

Then watering is stopped completely until early spring or late February (the earthen lump should be almost dry), when peduncles with small red flowers appear. A little later, the jatropha begins to "dress" with leaves again. In winter, the room temperature should not fall below 13 ° C; for the period of growth, the temperature is set at 18 … 25 ° C. The main thing is that there are no sharp changes in it.

Usually, jatropha pruning is not carried out so as not to reduce the effectiveness of the plant. But if the stem is cut, it may have several branches, although it is extremely reluctant to branch.

For those flower growers who want to have a perennial jatropha (life span of 15-20 years or more) in their collection, it is still better to purchase a ready-made young plant in the retail network, since the reproduction of this culture is rather problematic and it is better to entrust it to professionals.

By the way, some amateur flower growers manage to buy plants in the winter in flower shops in the form of one "bottle" (trunk without leaves), since due to the low decorative effect the price for such specimens may decrease slightly. At the same time, they keep an eye on specimens with thicker and more round trunks.

Gouty jatropha is propagated in spring by seeds (at 24 … 25 ° C) or in early summer by young shoots (green cuttings). Sections of the latter are dried for 2-3 days, after which the cuttings are planted in slightly moistened soil or sand; for successful rooting, a special bottom heating is desirable (but not on the heating system battery). It is important to note that when harvesting cuttings, it is necessary to take into account the high toxicity of the white milky juice flowing from damaged areas for the skin.

Jatropha has a powerful root system, so it quickly assimilates the soil ball. A slight decrease in growth rates and deformation of leaves are important signals for replacing the old saline soil substrate with a new one. But usually it is transplanted every 2-3 years (March-April).

According to experts, the soil substrate needs light and nutritious, for example, consisting of equal parts of high moor peat, deciduous humus, sand and fine gravel. Also for the jatropha, it is necessary to select a sufficiently deep container so that there is room for both a high drainage layer (from potted shards) and for powerful fleshy roots.

It must be borne in mind that excessive watering of the plant, especially in the autumn, often leads to rotting of the lower part of the stem and root system. With a high dry air, leaves may be damaged by a spider mite or thrips, as well as colonization of the plant with a worm. Regular preventive examination of the jatropha will help to start the fight against them in a timely manner. Insecticidal preparations are usually used against these pests.

Although jatropha from the category of exotic rarities in recent years has already turned into a rather popular indoor ornamental plant due to its unusual "bottle" shape and undemanding care, it is more often still interested in especially keen flower growers. It is becoming fashionable as it fits perfectly into a modern interior.

Somewhat less often, cut jatropha (J. multifida) with a less rounded stem than that of gouty jatropha, is grown as indoor plants from this group. She comes from Central America and Brazil, where in natural conditions her bush reaches a height of 2-3 meters. She has beautiful dark green (with a slight bluish tint and a lighter center) leaves up to 30 cm in diameter, divided, like a snowflake, into 7-11 feathery lobes.

A young plant in culture resembles a small palm tree and looks very decorative. Its wonderful coral-red flowers are gathered in umbrella-shaped inflorescences raised above the long-stemmed leaves emerging from the point of growth. In its homeland, after flowering, it forms yellow triangular fruits (2-2.5 cm long), in the white oily pulp of which there are three "nuts". Seeds are brown, oval, up to 1 cm in size.

Collectors can also find quite rare species of jatropha - Berlandier (J. berlandieri), maple (J. cuneata) and heart-shaped (J. cordata). They are less decorative than the first two described species.