The plant, best known as the “money tree", also has a scientific name - ovata crassula. In indoor floriculture, it is considered one of the most popular, because its beautiful appearance is preserved with a minimum of care.
Crassula ovata (lat. Crassula ovata) - how it looks
The ovate Crassula, as it is also called, belongs to the Crassulaceae family (lat. Crassulaceae). Grassy succulents come from South Africa, where they are found in arid rocky areas. Today it is a very famous garden and indoor plant that can decorate any home.
Crassula ovata
In the natural environment, the succulent of Crassul is able to grow up to 180 cm in height. As they age, the stems of this shrub become woody and turn brown.
Numerous leaves - ovoid, thick and juicy, never have cuts, painted in different shades of green, there is a reddish border.
For reference! The heat-loving plant can withstand a short temperature drop even to 0 ° C.
Popular varieties of indoor floriculture Crassula ovate varieties:
- Crassula Lactea is a creeping (ampoule) shrub with shoots up to 60 cm long. The stems are brownish in color, and the leaves are light green with white dots along the edges, representing salt crystals;
- Variegate - Crassula with light green leaves, covered with chaotic spots and stripes of a lighter or darker color. The border around the edge of the foliage may be red or yellow;
- Tree-like (Latin Crassula Arborescens) - its green leaves (up to 5 cm wide and up to 7 cm long) are almost regular round in shape with a bluish tint and a reddish underside. Needs very bright light and extremely scarce watering;
- Crassula Horn Tree is an oval variety in which young shoots are pink and then turn brown. The leaf is initially oval, and then fuses in half, turning into a tube. The tips of the leaves may be red;
- Tricolor - Crassula, in which a light green leaf is covered with white stripes, and a red border is located on the edge;
- Mix is a small-leaved variety of succulent (leaf up to 4 cm long and up to 2 cm wide), easily forms a tree with proper pinching;
Crassula - a flower ideal for bonsai
- The hobbit is a compact species up to 60 cm tall with funnel-shaped leaves elongated in length. In bright light the crown turns yellow and a reddish rim appears along the edge of the leaves;
- Minor is the smallest leaf variety, the width of the sheet is up to 1 cm, and the length is up to 1.5 cm. A dark green sheet in bright light acquires a reddish narrow border;
- Flood-shaped - on its straight stems in 4 rows there are scaly-shaped triangular-oval leaves of green or yellowish color, sometimes with a reddish border. Upright shoots up to 25 cm long with time lie down and are easily self-rooted;
- Convolute - is distinguished by a darker color of leaves, which gradually grow together, folding into tubes. In bright light, the edges of the leaves become burgundy.
Crassula horn tree
Briefly about the history of the appearance
In Europe, succulents appeared at a time when colonization of South Africa took place (Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mozambique). From there, trees were brought with thick leaves, like coins.
Since they practically did not need leaving, and rumor secured the glory of the “tree of fortune” for the plant, its popularity only grew every year.
Homemade okrasula rosula care
Along with chlorophytum and zamioculcas, Crassula is an ideal office plant. You can not remember about her for weeks and not be afraid of her death. Very rare watering - that's all she needs except heat and light.
- Illumination and temperature
All varieties of money tree, without exception, need bright lighting. With a lack of sunshine, the shoots stretch and wilt.
Optimum temperature of keeping - room temperature within + 15 ... +35 ° С.
- Watering rules and humidity
Water the plant only after the soil has completely dried in a pot. In summer - no more than 1 time in 7-10 days, and in the cold season - 1 time in 4 weeks.
Spraying is strictly contraindicated, but from time to time the bush can be washed with a warm shower to remove dust.
- Top dressing and soil quality
During the season, it is allowed to make fertilizer 1-2 times intended for succulents. The abundance of nutrients in the soil is fatal for fat women.
The soil for planting is prepared independently. To do this, add sand, broken fine expanded clay, vermiculite, charcoal to the universal mixture. The result should be a very loose neutral mixture that perfectly passes water and air through it.
Plant Transplant Features
Young plants need an annual transplant. After 5-6 years, they are transplanted much less often - every 2-3 years. Replace the soil completely, brushing it off the roots.
The pot is taken wide and low, since the root system is superficial. The capacity is selected according to the size of the root system, giving preference to heavy ceramic pots, as they are more difficult to accidentally overturn.
Crassula pot - low and wide
How and when a houseplant blooms, dormancy
Depending on the variety, flowering can occur in November, winter or March. It is single, after the withering of inflorescences the next time the fat woman will blossom only after a year.
In autumn or winter, the oval crassula expels umbellate peduncles, consisting of 5-petalled, looking like asterisks, corollas of white or pink color. When polluted, seeds are formed.
For reference! Blooming Crassula becomes the pride of the owner, because not many can achieve this at home.
Propagation of oval Crassula
Like other representatives of the vast Tolstoyankovye family, the ovata crassula propagates by leaves, shoots, seeds, and division of the bush.
Leafy and stem cuttings
Any part of the plant is a potential stalk. The step-by-step process of grafting looks like this:
- A leaf or twig is easy to break off.
- Then you need to put it dry for a day or two.
- After this, the stem is immersed with the end in the soil and left to root. It takes several months, but somehow special care is not necessary. Watering the cuttings is very rare, when the soil is completely dry, otherwise rot will appear.
Any broken twig is a potential stalk
Possible problems in growing oats
The main problem that flower growers are facing is the death of the fat girl due to the bay. In 9 cases out of 10, the plant dies, being too abundantly watered. Like all succulents, the money tree will survive a relatively long drought relatively painlessly, but a root bay almost always leads to rapid death.
Are there any diseases and pests
Fat women almost never suffer from diseases. But with the appearance of dark, weeping, putrefactive spots, the sore spot is cut out, sprinkled with powdered coal, and the plant is sprayed with a fungicide solution.
Spider Mite Escape
Of indoor pests, the most dangerous are scale insects and spider mites. Against them, they are treated with specialized acaricides.
Crassula ovata has become a real favorite for thousands of gardeners around the world. She does not care for drought, the heat is only good, and should be watered as little as possible. It grows very slowly, but every year it only grows prettier.
