AFELANDRA AT HOME CARE, PHOTO, TRANSPLANT, WATERING. HOW TO CARE

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Afelandra (Aphelandra) - grassy tall shrub - A frequent luxurious "guest" of home greenhouses hailing from the American tropics.

At home breeding, the height of the representative of the Akantov family reaches 30-70 cm. It is characterized by the rapid growth rate of leaves and shoots (more than 4 per year). The life expectancy of young plants is no more than 2 years.

It differs in large spike-shaped inflorescences and dark green foliage with a wax tint topped with veins of white or cream color.

Domestic florists know the perennial as a home for a long flowering decorative culture. The flowering phase falls at the end of summer or the beginning of autumn, lasts more than one month.

	High growth rate. In one year, 6-7 new leaves.
	It blooms in summer, with high humidity it can bloom in winter.
	Afelandra blooms in summer. Flowers with yellow inflorescences.
	Annual plant. It blooms for one year. Next, the plant is cut.

Useful properties of afelander

You should know that the tropical representative is not only beautiful, but also very useful for human health:

Focusing on the variegated color of foliage, you can get rid of depression, the effects of stress, headaches, plant relaxation - one of the best methods to improve performance;
the healing composition of the leaves is an excellent helper for burns, frostbite and skin abscesses.

Afelandra care at home. Briefly

Fans of tropical beauties should know that this plant requires special attention. In order for the afelander at home to feel comfortable and to please with periodic emissions of large inflorescences, she needs to create special conditions, namely to pay attention to the following moments of her cultivation:

Temperature	The heat-loving plant does not tolerate too sharp temperature changes, the plant survives well in the summer at an air temperature of + 24 ° C, in winter, the indoor temperature should be kept at not lower than + 15 ° C.
Air humidity	Afelandra is hygrophilous, it must be periodically nourished with water, but not flooded. The best option - spraying leaves, stand pallets with wet pebbles. The flowering period requires a decrease in irrigation intensity.
Lighting	Bright tropical light is still acceptable for a tropical shrub, so the eastern part of the housing is the best place for its development. If this option is not possible, the plant should be protected from excessively scorching sunlight.
Watering	Overflows negatively affect the development of the root system of the plant, therefore, to ensure its viability, one should adhere to the following irrigation frequency: growth phase - 2p per week, flowering phase - 1p per 2 weeks, recovery phase after flowering - 1p per month, growth resumption phase - 2p in a week.
Priming	Demanding plants for breathability of the soil leads to the use of drainage to fill flower pots. The universal composition of light soil for planting afelander: turf, coarse sand (perlite), peat (humus) in a ratio of 1/1/2.
Fertilizer and fertilizer	To prepare plants for sustainable flowering and improve growth, the soil must be fed with growth stimulants, as well as fertilized with mineral and organic compounds. The optimal period of support for Afelandra is March-November. Fertilizer is performed 2 times a month. In the winter dormant period, insignificant feeding of a shrub with nitrogen fertilizers is required to preserve foliage.
Transfer	To ensure viability, the plant must be transplanted every two to three years. If propagation by cuttings takes place, transplantation is mandatory before flowering.
Breeding	At home, afelander can be propagated both by cuttings (cuttings with two leaves take root well) and by sowing seeds (appropriate at the beginning of the spring period). Care for cuttings and rooted specimens is the same.
Growing Features	The heat-loving plant is afraid of drafts, whimsical to clean air (the smell of gas and oil soot negatively affect growth), with the onset of the summer season, the plant needs to be ventilated - taken out into shady areas of the household.

Afelandra care at home. In detail

Domestic afelander survives only if it creates the natural conditions for its growth and flowering, to which it is familiar. In order for a flower to retain its attractiveness and freshness for a long time, one should know the important nuances of its vegetative development.

Landing

Afelandra at home takes on a luxurious look if seasonal restrictions are observed during her landing. So, a favorable time for planting a houseplant in a pot is the beginning of March. During the spring and summer periods the plant:

gets the maximum number of fertilizers, which accelerates the growth of shoots;
manages to prepare for seasonal flowering.

When planting, you can use several options for light soils, while you need to consider what type of plant is subject to home cultivation. Coarse-grained bulk components are preferred. Drainage base is mandatory.

Flowering afelander

The beginning of the flowering of afelander falls in late August - early September. The formation of inflorescences can be one to two months. The number of spikelets ejected depends on the age of the plant and the correct application of fertilizing.

Sufficiently large yellow, red, orange flowers (20 cm) after withering should be removed. Although many flower growers do not do this as an experiment, which leads to the formation of fairly large fruits of a houseplant.

Afelander spends a large supply of nutrients on this process, therefore, due to the preservation of the viability of the plant in the winter and subsequent periods, inflorescences should be cut off in time.

Temperature mode

The thermophilic Tropican "guest" dies at an air temperature below + 10 ° C. It is not recommended to expose pots with afelandra to frequently ventilated places, to place them on cold balconies.

He does not like a flower and too sultry conditions. At high air temperatures (+ 26-35 ° C), the plant does not have time to stock up on moisture and dries.

Spraying

Afelander flower at home growing is demanding on indicators of humidity. Excessive watering can cause rotting of the root system of the plant, so the best methods of humidifying indoor air are:

spraying water in places where flower pots are installed;
spray foliage treatment;
the use of humidifiers designed for domestic use.

The percentage of moisture can also be increased due to the components that hold moisture in the flower pot. In many cases, sawdust helps to achieve the desired result. They are laid in a thin layer on the first layer of soil.

Lighting

Moderate lighting is the main condition for the development of full and strong shoots of the plant.

Too bright light causes the formation of high and weak processes, lack of light leads to disruption of shoot growth, and it is impossible to achieve the formation of a dense crown of a shrub.
In the summer, the afelander requires more abundant lighting than in the period of winter dormancy, so the grower does not need to resort to additional measures to increase the duration of daylight hours.
Beautiful foliage of afelander is very sensitive to ultraviolet radiation.

Watering

The guarantee of longevity of afelandra is proper watering.

To moisten the soil, it is advisable to use settled water at room temperature.
Watering the foliage of a flower is fraught with wilting.

Pot for afelandra

When choosing containers for growing tropical shrubs at home, preference should be given to pots with a diameter of not more than 15 cm. The larger the capacity, the more difficult it is to achieve splendor and accuracy of the crown.

Volumetric packaging is a deterrent to the development of the root system, and this in turn reduces the growth rate of the formed processes.

Ground for afelandra

The soil for planting a tropical plant can be purchased in a specialized store, for example, "Biogrunt", or create the soil yourself. The main components of the mixtures are: peat, humus, sand, deciduous sod, charcoal, bone meal, moss, vermiculite, coniferous or leafy land.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

To ensure effective growth, experienced flower growers feed the afelander with fertilizers for decorative and deciduous indoor plants, and for more sustainable flowering, they select samples for decorative flowering shrubs.

The most popular fertilizers for afelander: "Energene", "Agricole", "Baikal-M1", "Bona Forte", "Gumi-omi". Fertilizing the soil is recommended according to the instructions offered by the fertilizer manufacturers.

Transfer

The afelander is transplanted by transshipment from one container to another. This procedure requires replacing the soil with fresh, as well as examining the root system of the plant. If necessary, damaged parts of the root system are cut off. The ratio of the amount of soil and drainage in the flower pot should be 1: 3.

A transplant is appropriate to do in early spring. If the plant withers, then its transshipment is not critical in other months of the year, except winter.

Pruning

It is impossible not to notice the afelander in the flower greenhouses. Her beautiful crown itself attracts attention. Each beauty grower can form such a beauty. With the help of pruning, you can transform the plant at times, especially as malleable as afelander.

Home care does not go without mechanical removal of tall shoots, damaged foliage, which contributes to better flowering of the plant afterwards.

Pruning is recommended to be performed in early February before the plant leaves the dormant phase.
An additional measure is the removal of buds from young shoots.

Propaganda reproduction

Propagation by cuttings

Many flower growers often resort to the vegetative method of propagation of afelander. The procedure is appropriate to perform in early spring or early winter.

The sequence of cuttings is as follows:

cutting of cuttings - it is possible to root both leafy cuttings, apical with two young leaves, and stem;
processing cuttings of cuttings with a growth stimulator;
planting cuttings in pots with moistened sand or peat, placing containers under glass or film;
holding seedlings in a warm place at + 25 ° C, ensuring spraying and ventilation for a month.

Growing afelander from seeds

Sowing of seed material is appropriate in late February - early March. The greenhouse seed germination technique is often used:

collecting ripened seed material;
soil preparation for sowing - sheet earth, sand in a ratio of 1 / ¼;
sowing seeds;
holding the container with seedlings under glass in a temperature regime not exceeding + 20 ° С;
soil moisture and ventilation;
calibration of germinated seedlings;
diving strong shoots into separate containers for seedlings using a soil mixture - turf, leafy soil, sand in a ratio of 2/2/1;
transshipment of seedlings with four leaves in separate flower pots until the first flowering.

Diseases and Pests

If you do not follow the recommendations for caring for a tropical pet at home, the risks of developing various plant diseases increase. So, the following problems are possible:

leaf tips Afelanders dry out - the room has dry air;
decays the base of the stems of the shrub (stem rot) - excess soil moisture, it is cold in the room;
flower grows slowly - lack of top dressing, improper fertilizer application;
does not bloom - poor soil fertilization, rejection of pruning;
plant discards leaves in summer - excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, drafts;
leaves fall in winter - insufficient soil moisture;
the appearance of brown spots on the leaves - sunburn, lack of ventilation in the room;
fade away - low air temperatures, drafts, root rot development;
sagging foliage and wave-like twisting of the tips - high air temperature, excessive light;
leaf edges Afelanders became brown - development of leaf mold, fungal infection (treatment with fungicides is required), dry indoor air;
puckering leaves - the development of gray rot;
blackening foliage - the development of corini-sporic spotting.

The viability of the afelander can be undermined by insect pests: mealybug, aphid, scale insect, whitefly, tick, nematodes.

Types of homemade afelandra with photos and names

Today, more than a hundred varieties of Aphelandra are known, but only two of them have taken root in the temperate continental climate and are available for home cultivation:

Protruding afelander

The plant is native to Central America. The height of the shoots reaches 40-50 cm, the length of the leaves is ovate, pointed, crowned with white veins - 30 cm. The inflorescences are bright yellow with orange bracts, spike-shaped, height 10-15 cm. The shoots are bare, painted in red. It blooms from late spring to mid-autumn.

Orange afelander

The plant is native to Mexico. The height of the processes is 30-50 cm. The leaves are egg-shaped with silver streaks and a wavy border 20-25 cm long. Tubular inflorescences of bright orange or orange-red color with green bracts in the form of an open spike, height 10-15 cm. Young shoots of a red hue, mature shoots lignified. It is characterized by short flowering in early autumn.