Callisia Graceful And Other Callisias, Growing At Home

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

Callisia graceful - a beautiful variegated ampelous plant for apartments and premises

According to the horoscope, the plants of the zodiac sign Gemini (May 21 - June 21) include asparagus (feathery, densely flowered, asparagus), ferns (heart-leaved, humpbacked blehnum, auricular mnogoryadnik), feathery palms (Canarian and Robelena dates, Veddelena cocaine), traebrina purpurea reticulum, crested chlorophytum and ivy, cyanotis chiwis and callisia graceful.

Callisia belong to the genus (Callisia) of the Commelinaceae family, consisting of 40 genera and about 600 species of mainly herbaceous plants. The name of the genus Callisia itself comes from the Greek words "kalos" - "beautiful" and "lis" - "lily".

It includes 12 species native to the tropical regions of South and Central America and the Antilles. They are perennial herbaceous plants with erect, erect or creeping stems. In callisia, flowers are typical for plants of the entire specified family: all 6 stamens in a flower are not the same: three stamens opposite the petals are longer than three others, the stamens are bare.

Among the types of callisia, three are most popular in room culture - Graceful (or elegant) (C. elegans), Fragrant (C. fragrans) and Tehuantepec (C. tehuanteresana). The first species are native to Mexico.

In places of natural growth in open ground, Callisia graceful is widely used as a ground cover plant. When grown indoors, its remarkable ampelous qualities are used. It represents a plant with creeping, elbow-rising stems. It has alternate, ovate or elongated-ovate leaves (5-7 cm long, 2.5-3 cm wide) with tubular sheaths, with a pointed tip.

Above they are dark green, as if velvety, with narrow longitudinal silvery-white stripes along the veins, below - purple or violet-green. From the side it seems that the whole plant is covered with short velvety. Callisia has graceful modest white flowers in sessile paired curls on the tops of the shoots (free sepals and three petals).

Fragrant callis is somewhat larger than the previous species. According to scientists, it is even atypical for plants of the genus Callisia. It is characterized by two types of shoots: the first are erect, fleshy, 70-80 cm high with normally developed leaves, the second - they extend horizontally from the first with underdeveloped leaves, with long tubular sheaths that fit the shoot, with cilia along the edge.

She and the leaves on erect shoots are larger (20-30 cm long, 5-6 cm wide), oblong-lanceolate, fleshy, with sheaths bearing cilia along the edge. Its fragrant flowers are especially notable. Small (up to 1 cm in diameter) with whitish translucent sepals and white petals, they are located in dense bunches and are collected in paniculate inflorescences.

Their aroma resembles the smell of hyacinths. The garden form of fragrant callis, Melnickoff, is very popular, in which white or light yellow stripes of various widths appear on the leaves. In folk medicine, fragrant callis is also called "golden mustache" (somewhat less often - "home ginseng", "Far Eastern mustache", "venus hair", "live hair" or "corn"), actively using it as a biostimulant.

Callisia tehuantepec is very similar to the previous species, differing from it in the absence of silvery stripes on the leaves, as well as in the bright pink color of the flowers.

For the spring-summer period, a necessarily warm place is selected for her in the room, while it is watered abundantly, preventing stagnation of water in the sump, and every two weeks they are fed with a weak solution of complex fertilizer.

Considering that callis is a resident of the humid tropics, it is advisable to spray it with water at room temperature or a little warmer as often as possible. It should also be borne in mind that a characteristic feature of callisia is its dislike of direct sunlight, although for normal growth during the active growing season, it needs 8-10 hours of daylight hours and high humidity (preferably at least 70-75%).

For a favorable development, the shoots of callisia are supported. From the above, it is now clear that this plant requires serious attention from the grower. Experienced flower growers believe: if it is not possible to constantly monitor the humidity and temperature of the air when cultivating callisia, then it is better to grow unpretentious Tradescantia, with which, by the way, it is in some relationship.

In addition, under conditions of room culture (due to low illumination and low humidity), callis passes a forced dormant period, which for a rather long time - from October to February - is watered much weaker and is not fed with fertilizers at all. In this case, the optimum temperature must be ensured 16 … 18 ° C, but not lower than 14 ° C.

Professional florists recommend transplanting callisia in a year or two, always choosing shallow and wider pots. They explain this by the fact that the root system in plants is rather weak, although it can grow rapidly. With each subsequent transplant, a slightly wider container is required than the previous one, so as not to constrain the root system, which will further grow along the upper layers of the soil. A mixture of sod and leafy soil, sand (in a ratio of 1: 2: 1) is used as a substrate.

The main method of reproduction of callisia is considered to be the rooting of cuttings taken from the upper part of the shoots. These pieces can be placed in water that has settled from chlorine (the roots appear no earlier than 8-10 days) or planted in the soil, having arranged there a micro greenhouse for normal aeration (close it on top with a large plastic bag).

With these breeding options, it is advisable to periodically spray the cuttings. Sometimes they resort to reproduction through rooting of lateral shoots, without separating them from the mother plant, and somewhat less often - by dividing the bush or seeds. Some growers succeed in rooting in a light substrate (peat and sand in equal proportions). The optimum rooting temperature is 20-24 ° C.

Callisia grows very quickly, so experts advise to carry out light pruning every spring or periodically rejuvenate it by cuttings. Callisia tolerates such pruning quite painlessly, therefore, if necessary and with some imagination, it can be given any shape. To provide the callisia on the surface of the pot with more splendor, especially if it grows in a large container, several cuttings are immediately planted there.

Of the pests on callisia, aphids, spider mites and thrips are possible. The description of measures to combat these pests is the same as on other indoor plants, I wrote about this more than once in previous articles about horoscopic plants.

Callisia diseases usually occur of a physiological nature; they appear, as a rule, due to non-compliance with the irrigation regime. So, with excessive watering, rotting of roots and stems is possible, which is immediately accompanied by the active development of saprophytic fungal microflora in the soil. Callisia will initially respond to low air humidity with a slight change in the color of the tips of the leaves - they acquire a brown color, but with such a prolonged mode, the death of individual shoots is possible.

If you are thinking about where to place the variegated enchantress callisia, then I will tell you: she will feel especially good and look great in the form of an ampelous plant in hanging pots located near the window on the wall or on the closet.