Callistemon (Callistemon) - an evergreen tree or shrub from the Myrtle family. It features a well-branched dense crown. Dun shoots are strewn with bright green elongated leaves with sharp edges. The tree grows at an average speed and over many years can grow up to 15 m. At home, callistemon grows up to 1.5 - 2 m.
It blooms in late spring - summer. On the tops of young shoots spike-shaped inflorescences appear, consisting of numerous stamens. In appearance, the flowers resemble brushes with which they wash dishes. Thanks to the bright fluffy inflorescences, the tree looks elegant. Under natural conditions, the plant is found in New Caledonia, Tasmania, and the birthplace of callistemon is Australia.
Also look at the wonderful myrtle plant from the same family.
| average growth rate. | |
| It blooms from mid spring to late summer. | |
| Average ease of cultivation. | |
| Perennial. |
Useful properties of callistemon
Callistemon leaves contain essential oils. You can feel the pleasant smell by rubbing them with your fingers or accidentally damaging the leaf. Essential oils, escaping, enrich the air with volatile, thereby reducing the risk of colds. Callistemon's aroma calms the nervous system, improves mood. The healthy cuttings remaining after trimming are used in the home beauty salon: decoctions and tinctures that improve the condition of problem skin are prepared from them.
Callistemon: home care. Briefly
To callistemon at home grew a beautiful tree, you must try and create optimal conditions:
| Temperature mode | in summer - no higher than + 22 ° C, in winter - 10 - 12 ° C. |
| Seasons Care | in winter, a young tree is kept in good light; in the summer they take to the street; a year later, for a warm season, they plant it in the garden, take it home in winter and arrange a cool wintering; callistemon will bloom in summer |
| Air humidity | moderate in the summer every other day they spray, arrange a shower |
| Lighting | bright; placed on the south, southwest or southeast windows. |
| Watering | in winter - once every 12 days, in summer - once every 8 days; need good drainage. |
| Callistemon Primer | universal soil for flowers or a mixture of equal parts of humus, leaf soil, sand and turf soil. |
| Fertilizer and fertilizer | every 2 weeks - with universal mineral fertilizer, diluted several times; sometimes with diluted organic fertilizer. |
| Callistemon transplant | young plants - every year, in the spring; adults - every 3 years. |
| Breeding | using seeds and cuttings. |
| Growing Features | With the onset of warm weather, the bush is taken out to the balcony or to the garden: an influx of fresh air is necessary for vegetation. After each flowering, the shoots of callistemon are cut to stimulate the branching of the plant and lay the foundations of a new flowering. |
Callistemon care at home. In detail
Even a novice gardener can successfully grow a beautifully flowering callistemon bush at home if he truly loves plants and tries to create optimal conditions for his green pet.
Callistemon bloom
In late spring, the flowering of callistemon begins. The spectacle impresses with its originality and beauty. The unusual nature of the flowering plant is not in the elegance, tenderness, or color of the petals (they are generally poorly visible), but in a large number of bright stamens with a golden dot at the end. Red, raspberry, cream, orange and even green stamens on the tops of young shoots are collected in fluffy spike-shaped inflorescences.
Their length often reaches 13 cm, and their width varies from 5 to 10 cm. After flowering is completed, the stamens are replaced by round fruits that cling tightly to the shoots. Callistemon does not form seeds at home, because birds do not pollinate it here.
Temperature mode
In order for the callistemon plant to develop correctly at home and bloom beautifully, it is necessary to observe the temperature regime. To do this, in winter, the tree is kept cool, without raising the temperature above + 12 ° C. In summer, callistemon develops well at + 20 - 22 ° C and frequent ventilation.
The plant should be protected from draft and should not be placed next to air conditioning.
Spraying
Home callistemon is reserved to air dryness, prefers moderate humidity from 35 - 60%. In the summer, several times a week, spray the trees and arrange a warm shower. The procedure will also protect the plant from pests. Open pots of water are installed near the pot. This is especially important during the heating season.
Lighting
Callistemon tree is sensitive to light, for normal vegetation he needs not just good, but bright lighting. It should be borne in mind that an excess of light can cause leaf burns, and its lack will negatively affect flowering.
Therefore, caring for callistemon at home recommends placing the plant in the southern, southwestern or southeastern parts of the room. If you put a pot with a tree on a window facing south, it must be shaded from the bright sun at noon. If there is insufficient light, include phytolamps.
Watering Callistemon
Callistemon is a hygrophilous plant. When caring for it, it is important to ensure that the soil does not dry out. In summer, callistemon is irrigated every 8 days, in winter - every 10 days. Watered with well-maintained lukewarm water.
If the water contains a lot of chlorine, it is softened by adding 0.2 g of citric acid or 2-3 drops of lemon juice per liter of water. Such water is useful to water callistemon up to three times a month. Do not allow moisture to stagnate in the soil. Stagnation leads to decay of the root system. To prevent the death of the plant, create a good drainage layer, and baking powder (vermiculite, perlite, agrovermiculite) is added to the soil.
Callistemon Pot
The development of the plant depends on a properly selected pot. The callistemon pot is needed in moderately deep so that its root system and drainage layer are placed there. In this case, the capacity should be a bit cramped. This is necessary for the beautiful flowering of callistemon.
If there are no drainage holes in the purchased pot, you need to make them yourself.
Priming
The tree can be planted using a universal substrate for flowers that has a slightly acid reaction. You can also prepare the soil for callistemon with your own hands, taking sheet soil, humus, sand, turf land in equal shares. To improve the quality of the substrate and enhance the drainage properties, chopped sphagnum, brick chips, vermiculite, coconut substrate are added to it.
Fertilizer and fertilizer
For beautiful flowering and maintaining the plant in good shape, fertilizing and fertilizing are used. From March to mid-autumn, they use a universal remedy for flowering plants in half diluted form. It is necessary to pay attention that the top dressing contains a minimum amount of calcium: it acts poorly on the tree.
Sometimes organics are used in a highly diluted form. Callistemon is fed every 14 days, after evening watering. Having fed, the plant is shaded for a day. In winter, all fertilizers are canceled. After the transplant, 2 weeks should pass, then top dressing is resumed, otherwise the tree can be easily overfed.
Transfer
Young trees transplant every spring. Callistemon grows rapidly, rapidly developing the root system. A transplant of callistemon mature occurs when its roots completely cover an earthen lump - approximately every three years.
Most adult plants update the topsoil. When transplanting, the pot is replaced with a larger diameter container.
How to prune callistemon
In order for the crown of callistemon to look flawless, pruning of thinned and damaged shoots is carried out every year after flowering. Pruning contributes to good branching and beautiful flowering of the plant. Pinch young specimens so that they do not stretch to gigantic proportions.
Callistemon Bonsai
Original compositions in the style of Callistemon bonsai perfectly revitalize the interior. To create a unique tree, use wire and small loads. Using these materials, callistemon shoots are bent in the desired direction and secured with weights.
When the branches are lignified, the devices are removed. The shoots are shortened to the desired length. A neat mini-tree will please with its unusual shape.
Rest period
From mid-October, callistemon begins to be prepared for wintering. Reduce watering and gradually lower the temperature. Callistemon's resting period falls in November - February. At this time, the plant is not fed; rarely watered, but make sure that the soil does not dry out and is not covered with a crust. It is not necessary to reduce the light intensity, otherwise callistemon will bloom poorly.
If there is not enough light at home, turn on additional lighting.
Callistemon propagation
At home, callistemon propagation is carried out in two ways.
Growing Callistemon from Seeds
Spend in the first half of February. Seeds are soaked in potassium permanganate, then spread on a moistened substrate and cover with glass or film. The container with crops is kept in a warm room at + 23 ° C. Shelter is removed for irrigation and ventilation. When shoots appear, the shelter is removed. Young seedlings, grown to 7 cm, are planted in separate pots.
Callistemon propagation by cuttings
Carried out after trimming the plant. Cut off strong cuttings are treated with a stimulator of root formation and planted in moist soil. A sign of successful rooting will be the appearance of young leaves. Then the cuttings are transplanted into separate containers.
Propagation by cuttings is the most affordable and fastest way to grow callistemon at home. A tree obtained in this way will bloom earlier.
Diseases and Pests
With improper care, callistemon is sometimes affected by diseases and pests. The appearance of the plant will immediately tell you about the troubles:
callistemon leaves dry and fall - excess moisture, lack of lighting (change the substrate, adjust watering and rearrange in a brighter place);- callistemon dries - substrate with an alkaline reaction (apply fertilizers that do not contain calcium; transplant into slightly acidic soil);
- grows slowly and blooms poorly - poor lighting (rearrange in a lighter place);
- leaves fall - excess moisture or placement in a draft (transplant into another soil, adjust watering; protect from draft);
- yellow and brown spots on callistemon leaves - sunburn (in the heat they cover from bright direct rays of the sun; spray in the shade or in the evenings).
callistemon leaves dry and fall - excess moisture, lack of lighting (change the substrate, adjust watering and rearrange in a brighter place);Callistemon is resistant to attack by pests, but sometimes it is affected by a scab, a spider mite, and a mealybug. Insecticides are used from insects.
Types of callistemon home with photos and names
There are different types of callistemon that take root well at home.
Callistemon Lemon (Callistemon citrinus)
A low tree with a dense crown and red blossoms, the length of which reaches 0.1 m. Green leaves spread a pleasant lemon smell. A popular species with many varieties.
Callistemon rod-shaped (Callistemon viminalis)
Low shrub with drooping shoots and bright orange or red inflorescences.
Callistemon loosestrife (Callistemon salignus)
A tall, well-branched shrub with whitish thin shoots and creamy or bright white inflorescences with many golden stamens. It resembles a blossoming willow.
Callistemon hard (Callistemon rigidus)
A tall tree with erect upright shoots and fluffy raspberry blossoms.
Callistemon bright red (Callistemon coccineus)
Tall (up to 4 m) shrub with gray - brown shoots and inflorescences of pink - red shades.
Callistemon pine (Callistemon pityoides)
A tree up to 3 m high. Leaf blades are short and refined, similar to the needles of coniferous plants. The bark of young trees is painted gray with a silver tint; in adult plants, it turns into a dark emerald. Cream inflorescences with a greenish tint.
Bright fluffy inflorescences of callistemon bring comfort and joy to the house. The original appearance of the exotics, combined with the absolute pickiness, explain its growing popularity.
Now reading:
- Myrtle
- Lemon tree - growing, home care, photo species
- Oleander
- Home-grown rose in a pot - care, cultivation and reproduction, photo
- Alocasia home. Cultivation and care
