For many years, the most diverse types of succulents are almost the leaders in sales in the flower market. They won the love of flower growers for their unpretentiousness and the most unusual look.
Crassula - what is this flower
Crassula has no less well-known names: common fat girl, money tree. The plant is a classic representative of succulents. Homeland - Southern Africa and the island of Madagascar. There are more than 300 well-known representatives.
What does the money tree look like?
Short description of what it looks like
The size of the flower can reach 2 meters. Most often, the species is presented in the form of a tree, sometimes bush specimens are found. Rounded dense leaves literally stick around the shoots of the plant. Flowering is a rare phenomenon, but compliance with the rules of care still allows it to be achieved. Before caring for the flower of the rosula, you must familiarize yourself with the varietal features of the species.
Varieties of Home Succulents
In the world there are a number of varieties of money tree. But for professional flower growers, there are some of the most beloved and valuable representatives of the crop.
Crassula perforated
For Crassula perforate, home care is practically no different from growing other subspecies. Diamond-shaped leaves are literally strung on flower stems. Leaf plates are not just painted green, but also tinted with a bluish bloom. The edge of the leaf is red.
Note! The main rule of care for a fat woman with a hole is good lighting. When placing a flower in the shade, a spectacular color can noticeably fade.
Crassula perforata
Crassula Nealiana
The flower is endowed with horizontal shoots, which can reach 15 cm. Leaf plates of a very dense structure are painted in silver color. Flowers grow directly on the tops of the species. Propagation of the Nealiana Crassula is carried out using any process or leaflet. Extremely unpretentious look. An individual feature - when placed in the open sun, the leaves acquire a red tint.
Succulent Nealiana
Crassula Nile
Outwardly, it resembles a low tree with erect stems and triangular leaves with a red edging. Blooms in small creamy single flowers. Leaf blades are pairwise strung on a thin shoot.
Additional Information! Inexperienced growers call Crassula Nile Nealian. This statement is erroneous. Even with similar external features, these are completely different subspecies of the fatty.
Crassula Marnier
A distinctive feature of the variety is short stems, which are practically devoid of the ability to curl. In a young flower, the branches are directed upwards, with age, they begin to droop. The leaves are rounded and painted in a bright green color, at a certain angle they acquire a blue tint. White flowers of the species do not grow more than 3-4 mm.
Variety Marnier
Other varieties
Another common plant variety is a mix. A distinctive feature is the flat leaflets located as close as possible to each other. Often you can meet in flower shops another type of fat girl - Marginalis. A tall flower can reach from 60 to 80 cm. The variety is prone to branching and has a large number of aerial roots. Creeping stems are oval.
Money variety mix
Care for varieties of Crassula at home
For a Crassula flower, home care consists in following certain rules. Timely watering and top dressing are the main components of a healthy plant. For a fat woman, it is important to maintain the cleanliness of the leaf plates, it is the care of the leaves of the rosula that allows it to receive oxygen in a timely manner.
Illumination and temperature
Crassula Crassula plant tolerates almost any level of illumination. For the money tree, the eastern or southwestern part of the house is best suited.
Additional Information! Direct sunlight is absolutely harmless to the tree. Placement on the south window is acceptable.
Nevertheless, it should be remembered that a lack of light will adversely affect the decorative qualities of the flower. Lack of light in most cases leads to falling leaves and elongation of shoots. In the summer, flower growers recommend moving the plant to the street. In this regard, all succulents are extremely thermophilic in nature, they respond perfectly to the sultry heat and when they are near heating appliances in the winter.
On a note! Extremely picky money tree feels good at low temperatures. The main thing is that the indicator should not fall below +10 ℃.
Watering rules and humidity
This variety of succulents is a real find for "forgetful" gardeners. The plant will easily tolerate drought, even for a very long time. In the summer, watering is carried out at the slightest drying of the upper soil layer. In winter, hydration is only required when the earth is deeply dried. It is important to prevent stagnation of water - this plant may not survive.
When caring for the rossula, you can not pay attention to the level of humidity in the room. Equally exactly the flower refers to both high and low humidity.
Top dressing and soil quality
It is categorically not recommended to top-dress this species in the autumn-winter time - it is undesirable to "disturb" the flower. In spring, the tree must be fertilized at least once a month. In the summer, top dressing is applied less often - once every 35-40 days.
Transplanting and size of flower pot
Before transplanting, it is important to be responsible for choosing a pot. Too much capacity will lead to a deepening of the root system. Because of this, the upper part of the flower will cease to develop correctly and the trunk will greatly weaken. Experienced flower growers advise to use low and wide flowerpots for Crassula.
The substrate for succulents should consist of sheet soil (1 part), humus (1 part), turf soil (3 parts), fine expanded clay or gravel (1 part), and sifted river sand (1 part).
On a note!To create a compact tree, the plant can not be transplanted. For the prevention of diseases, once a year, it is necessary to remove the top layer of the earth in a pot and add new soil.
An adult bush transplant is performed as the root system grows. The flower is not picky about annual transplants. But for flowering, the procedure should be carried out at least 1 time in 2 years. The best time is spring, the moment when the succulent just wakes up and begins its intensive growth.
Each subsequent container should be slightly larger than the previous one. A thick layer of drainage is laid at the bottom of the pot. In the absence of expanded clay as a drainage layer, the use of broken bricks or chipped shards is permissible.
The transplant of Crassula is carried out together with an earthen lump by the method of transhipment. After the flower is evenly installed in a new container, all voids are filled with nutrient mix. With this procedure, it is allowed to shorten too long roots.
Crown Tree Formation
Creating a beautiful shape is an important condition for the full life of a flower. The formation not only gives decorativeness to the plant, but also allows you to get good nutrition for all branches without exception, since in the process of formation all damaged and diseased shoots are removed.
Note! Thanks to the timely pinching, it is possible to give the young plant the desired shape in a fairly short time.
The first trimmings and nipples must be performed with a very young fat girl. If you begin the formation of an adult plant, then stumps will remain at the place of removal of the stems or leaves. This will negatively affect the appearance of the tree.
When the young plant reaches 10-15 cm, then the upper leaves located on the main shoot should be ripped off. This procedure stimulates the growth of new leaves.
Propagation of Crassula by Cuttings
The simplest and most productive method of propagation of crassula is cuttings. For this species, not only leaflets, but also shoots can be used as planting material. It can be just falling parts of a flower. Before planting a seedling in the soil, it is recommended to treat the cut or wound with charcoal powder. Some gardeners also advise to "wither" part of the plant for 2-3 days.
Crassula breeding
Due to the fact that the flower is absolutely unpretentious, the seedling can be rooted in different ways:
- after brief drying;
- having previously rooted it in a glass of water;
- without preliminary preparation, land immediately in the ground.
Note! If, before planting, preliminary preparation of the seedling is nevertheless carried out, then you should wait for the first roots to appear.
Growing problems, diseases and pests
Most often, flower diseases occur in violation of the rules of care. For example, stagnation of water contributes to the decay of the root system. Drying of the leaves and flying around the green mass occurs due to a violation of the temperature regime and drafts.
Money Tree Diseases
Of the pests, the mealybugs are considered the most dangerous. To get rid of insects, you must use a cotton pad soaked in alcohol. When a scale appears, it is urgently necessary to sprinkle with water with the addition of the actellic preparation. If we allow long-term drying of the soil, spider mites can settle on the succulent. In the fight against them, the pesticide - phytoverm proved itself to be excellent.
Flowering species
It is important to study the species characteristics of the fat woman and not to forget about observing the rules for caring for the rosula. Creating a suitable climate for the plant will allow you to get a real home decoration, as well as provide an opportunity to achieve the formation of flowers. A well-groomed succulent species will not only delight its owner for many years, but, according to folk signs, will bring prosperity to the house.
