Any florist who has ever seen this plant immediately fell in love with its unusual appearance. Ixora - a flower with bright or snow-white inflorescences, in combination with glossy foliage looks very impressive. And thanks to its pleasant aroma, it is widely used to decorate garden plots.
Botanical Description
Ixora is a plant belonging to the Marenova family. It is a small bush with dark green oval or lanceolate leaves. Inflorescences consist of many tubular flowers of various shades. The bush blooms at home at different times, depending on the conditions of cultivation and care.
Bright Red Ixora
On the territory of Russia, two varieties of ixora were spread: Javanese and bright red. The first was discovered on the territory of the island of Java in 1846. The birthplace of the second is India.
Additional Information! Ixora got its name in honor of the deity of the tribal tribe tribe.
Species and popular varieties
In total there are more than 400 varieties of ixor. Breeders have bred several species that can be grown at home.
- Bright red
Shrub reaching a height of 130 cm. Many flowers form a lush inflorescence of beige, pink, white or red. The leaves are glossy, rounded.
The bush begins to bloom in April and ends in September.
- Javanese
Ixora Javanica, as she is also called, is bicolor with red flowers of orange hue. The leaves are oval, pointed at the edges. It can grow up to 130 cm.
Ixora bicolor Javanica blooms profusely
- Chinese
The bush, reaching a height of not more than 100 cm. The leaves are dark green, spiky. Flowers can be white, pink or yellowish.
- Karmazinovaya
Karmazin Ixora is a J2 variety in the botanical classification with long, oval leaves. It grows to 100 cm in height.
For reference! Flowers appear in May and have a bright red tint.
Xora flower care at home
Ixora is a thermophilic plant that needs to provide proper care. Only in this case, the owner will see beautiful flowers.
Chinese Ixora flowers
Temperature and lighting
You need to plant a flower so that it receives a sufficient amount of natural diffused lighting. Heat-loving ixor in the summer is better to take out on the balcony. She needs a temperature of + 16 ... +25 ° C.
In a room it is better to place it on window sills facing the west or east side of the house.
Important! In winter, the plant needs to provide additional lighting.
Watering and spraying
During flowering, the bush must be watered at least 3 times a week. The soil should always be moist, but water should not stagnate.
On particularly hot days, it is recommended to spray Xor from the spray gun.
Humidity in the room where the flower grows should be at least 60%. A small water tray is recommended next to the pot.
Soil and transplant
For planting and transplanting plants, it is necessary to select loose, slightly acidic soil. It can be made from peat, turf, humus and sand. Be sure to arrange a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot.
You can transplant the plant in early spring. Young specimens need an annual procedure. Adults need to be transplanted every 2-3 years.
Important! When transplanting the plant, it is necessary to provide a high drainage layer - about 7 cm.
Top dressing and pruning
During flowering, the bush is fed 2 times a month. In winter and autumn, once every 30 days is enough.
It is recommended to use mineral complexes for indoor flowering plants - you can buy them in gardening stores.
At the end of the flowering period, the ixor must be pruned. This removes all dried buds and shoots. If this is not done, decorativeness will noticeably decrease. In addition, the flower will spend energy on supporting wilted parts.
Breeding
You can grow a new plant by the method of cuttings. Planting material can be harvested at any time of the year.
Karmazinova Ixora is very beautiful
The cut stalk is placed in a glass with warm water and covered with transparent material. After 3 weeks, the first roots will appear.
After their growth, the seedling is transferred to a peat-sand mixture and for the first time it is covered with a film.
Possible growing problems
Very often, gardeners ask themselves why brown leaves dry on ixor. Most often this is due to improper care. The leaves may dry and become brown with the following problems:
- insufficient amount of watering;
- direct exposure to sunlight;
- insufficient acidity of the soil.
The plant may slow down in growth or cease to bloom when there is not enough fertilizing.
Quite often, ixor can become infected with chlorosis. This is due to iron deficiency in the soil or irrigation with hard water. Also, with improper care, spider mites, aphids or insects may appear on the leaves of the flower. You can get rid of them with the help of insecticides.
Despite the difficulties in growing and caring, with due attention you can get an unusual and bright indoor plant. Ixora is not often found in Russia, but is gaining popularity rapidly.
