Indoor nightshade - home care, photo species and varieties

Solanum (Solanum) - a perennial houseplant from the nightshade family. Under natural conditions, it reaches a height of 1 meter or more, in the room the bush size does not exceed 30-50 cm. The birthplace of nightshade is Brazil, Uruguay and Peru. The main decoration of the plant are round, brightly colored fruits.

On the plant, they hold up to six months. The most popular among flower growers are dwarf varieties of nightshade. Their neat, compact bushes densely covered with orange or red berries look very impressive.

Be sure to pay attention to the beautiful Brugmansia plant.

Nightshade: home care. Briefly

Nightshade at home requires some care:

Caring for nightshade at home. In detail

Caring for nightshade at home is quite simple. When creating favorable conditions, plants aged 5-7 months begin to actively bloom and bear fruit.

Flowering nightshade

The nightshade blooms in summer. Plants are abundantly covered with small star-shaped flowers. A little later, in place of flowers, berries begin to be tied. At first they are green, but as they ripen, the fruits turn bright red or orange.

It takes several months to fully ripen. The most decorative plant usually reaches the New Year.

Temperature mode

The plant nightshade at home develops best and blooms at moderate temperatures + 18-22 °. In the summer heat, he can even lose some of the flowers and leaves.

In winter, nightshade needs a temperature within + 15 °. The fruits on the plant in such conditions hold almost until spring.

Spraying

Indoor nightshade must be sprayed frequently. To do this, use pre-settled water at room temperature. Spraying is especially important when kept warm in the winter. To increase the moisture level, a small container of water can also be placed next to the plant.

Lighting

For normal development, nightshade needs bright sunlight. Therefore, windows of a southern orientation are best suited for its placement. On them, the plant feels as comfortable as possible.

When placed on the north side, the plant needs additional illumination, especially in winter. In order for the nightshade bush to develop evenly, it is periodically rotated.

Watering nightshade

Nightshade at home often and abundantly watered. In summer, especially during flowering, on average once every two days. The soil should never dry out, otherwise the flower can lose flowers and fruits. In winter, under cool conditions, one watering per week will be sufficient.

At the same time, irrigation water must be soft and warm. The use of hard water leads to rapid salinization of the soil, which negatively affects the condition of the plant.

Nightshade pot

A plastic or ceramic pot is suitable for growing indoor nightshade, the main thing is that there are drainage holes in its bottom. Its size should be slightly larger than the root system of the plant. In a too spacious container, the soil can become acidic, which will lead to the death of the plant.

Priming

The soil for growing nightshade should be sufficiently nutritious and loose. It is made up of equal parts of turf land, humus and sand. For growing, you can also use a universal substrate for indoor plants of industrial production.

At the bottom of the pot, a drainage layer of expanded clay or river pebbles must be equipped.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

During the period of intensive growth from March to August, nightshade is fed with full mineral fertilizer for indoor plants with a frequency of 2 times a month. When breeding, the recommended dosages should be clearly observed. A too concentrated fertilizer solution will burn the root system.

Transfer

Transplantation of nightshade is carried out in early spring. The plant is simply gently transferred to a slightly larger container. During the transplant, shoots are also shortened.

They are cut off by about a third. Immediately after transplanting, the plant is abundantly watered and put in place with diffused lighting for 2-3 days.

Pruning

With a lack of lighting, nightshade shoots stretch very quickly. In this case, they are shortened by about half. Immediately after trimming, nightshade is fed with fertilizer with a high nitrogen content. To form denser bushes, nightshade is pinched several times during the summer.

Rest period

In winter, nightshade needs a rest period. To do this, put the pot with the plant at the end of October in a cool, well-lit place. The optimum temperature for nightshade in winter is + 13-15 °. With a warmer content, the plant begins to suffer from spider mites and whiteflies.

Growing nightshade from seeds

Nightshade is very easy to propagate by seed. They are extracted from fully ripened, shriveled berries. They begin sowing in January. To do this, prepare a light substrate from a mixture of peat sand and vermiculite. Before sowing, the seeds are etched for 30 minutes in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

In the future, this will protect the seedlings from fungal diseases.

Seeds germinate unevenly. The first shoots appear after 2 weeks, the last after 2 months. At the age of one month, seedlings dive into separate containers. Young plants bloom in 6-7 months.

Propagation of nightshade by cuttings

At home, nightshade can be propagated by cuttings. They are rooted in a mixture of peat and sand at a temperature of 22-25 °. To create a greenhouse effect, the container is covered with a film. In conditions of high humidity, rooting is much faster.

As soon as the cuttings start growing, the film is removed. To form dense, fluffy bushes, pinch plants 3-4 times. All parts of nightshade are poisonous; therefore, rubber gloves must be used when working with it.

Diseases and Pests

If the growing conditions are not respected, a number of problems may arise.

• The leaves and fruits of nightshade dry. The problem most often arises due to too high temperature and dry air. The pot with the plant must be rearranged in a cooler place and sprayed as often as possible.
• Fruits shrink and leaves fall. Most likely, the plant suffers from a lack of moisture in the soil. It is necessary to strictly observe the irrigation regime, and not to allow the substrate to dry out.
• The nightshade leaves turn yellow. Yellowing leaves may be due to excessive watering or lack of lighting. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the recommendations for caring for the plant. To prevent gulf in the bottom of the pot must be drainage holes.
• After flowering, fruits are not tied. In most cases, the plant is self-pollinating. But sometimes pollination is carried out manually. To do this, do not shake the pot with the plant or put it in a well-blown place.
• Nightshade is slowly growing. Growth lag is observed with a lack of lighting. The plant must be rearranged to the south side.
• Leaves are discolored. The problem arises with a lack of batteries. Recommended fertilizers must be applied on time.
• The nightshade leaves turn pale. Nightshade is deficient in potassium. To eliminate the problem, potash fertilizers are applied to the soil.
• The lower leaves of nightshade are yellow with brown spots. The plant suffers from a lack of magnesium in the soil. Feeding with fertilizers with trace elements is necessary.
• Yellow rings on nightshade leaves. The described symptoms are characteristic of viral diseases. Effective measures to combat them do not exist. Affected plants are destroyed.

Of the pests, nightshade most often affects a spider mite, aphid, whitefly, scutellaria. To combat them, systemic action insecticides are used.

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