Cissus (Cissus) Indoor Grapes, Varieties, Conditions Of Detention, Diseases

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

Cissus - indoor grape - a plant that will help you turn a room into a jungle

Many plants grow easily and quickly indoors, responding willingly to minimal care. With their help, you can quickly green corners and entire walls, turning them into real exotic thickets.

One of these useful and interesting plants is the cissus (Cissus) from the family of Grapes (Vitaceae). It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, America and Australia. In the wild, there are about 350 species, among which are dominated by curly evergreen perennial vines with whole or ternary toothed leaves. Their climbing stems cling to supports with antennae. Sometimes there are erect shrubs and even perennial stem succulents.

Amateur flower growers most often grow only some types of unpretentious herbaceous vines, popularly called "indoor grapes". Perhaps the best known cissus rhombifolia is a herbaceous liana with dark green, triple-compound diamond-shaped leaves with a jagged edge. Its stems and petioles are densely covered with small hairs, there are small antennae. In nature, it blooms with small greenish flowers, collected in racemose inflorescences. After flowering, red edible berries are formed. This species is the most unpretentious for indoor cultivation.

Antarctic cissus (cissus antarctica) is another herbaceous vine. Leaves are dark green, alternately arranged, ovoid, up to 10 cm long, with a jagged edge. Stems, petioles and antennae densely covered with brown hairs. The flowers are greenish, collected in corymbose inflorescences.

Less common is the cissus discolor, a rather demanding plant. Leaves are ovoid with a heart-shaped base and a finely toothed edge, arranged alternately. The leaf surface is velvety, reddish-green or olive with silvery spots between the veins. The underside of the leaf, petioles and stems are purple.

Conditions of detention

Cissus is completely non-capricious, it can be grown on a vertical support or simply as an ampelous plant. Rooms with an east and west orientation are best suited for placement, these vines grow well on the north side, under artificial lighting, they require shading from direct sunlight near the south window.

Cissus rhomboid is the most photophilous, it feels great near a sunny window, and in summer it grows well in partial shade in the fresh air. With a strong lack of light, cissus shed their foliage in the lower part of the stems, slowing down growth. But their main enemy is drafts, especially cold ones. With this in mind, it is necessary to select a quiet place for cissus, where the wind will not walk.

The air temperature for cissus rhomboid and Antarctic is preferable to be moderate, and in winter - coolness of 15 … 18 ° С, at least 10 … 12 ° С. They tolerate dry indoor air well, but the heat oppresses them, causing the leaves to dry out and fall off. Cissus multicolored loves high air humidity and higher temperatures, in winter - 16 … 22 ° С. In a centrally heated room, daily spraying is beneficial, as is a weekly warm shower.

Cissus needs abundant watering from spring to autumn, from October to February it should be watered moderately. Overdrying the soil does not tolerate well, but excessive watering in the winter can lead to death due to decay of the roots. Make sure that no water stagnates in the pan. Cissus grows very rapidly, so the soil supply of nutrients is quickly depleted. Considering this, it is necessary to feed the plant with a liquid fertilizer solution weekly from mid-spring to mid-autumn.

Planting and breeding

The soil mixture for cissus is made up of equal parts of sod, leaf, humus soil, peat and sand. Young plants are transplanted into fresh soil and a larger pot every spring. The tops of the shoots are pinched to enhance branching. Mature plants over five years old are replanted every two years, renewing the old soil.

Cissus propagates by apical and stem cuttings in spring and summer, by root suckers. To do this, cuttings with 2-3 buds are cut from biennial shoots and rooted in water or a light substrate. At a temperature of 20 … 22 ° C, they give roots in 2-3 weeks, after which they are planted several pieces in one pot.

Possible growing problems

Yellowing of leaves - due to insufficient watering, lack of nutrients in the soil, excess calcium in the soil when irrigated with too hard water.

The leaves become pale - too bright lighting, and it is also possible to be affected by a red mite. At the same time, continuous whitish spots are formed on the surface of the leaf, the leaves fall off prematurely. Dry indoor air contributes to the development of the pest.

Brown leaf tips - too dry indoor air, insufficient watering, exposure to cold air or from touching cold window glass in winter.

Brown spots on the leaves - appear with a sharp drop in temperature or waterlogging of the soil, due to watering with very hard water. In addition, brown spots appear when the scabbard is affected.

Drying and falling of leaves - occurs when kept in a hot room and when the air is too dry, with poor watering, or, conversely, when the water is flooded and stagnant.

Of the pests on cissus, aphids, scale insects, spider mites are sometimes found, against which a suitable preparation must be applied.