Pilea is a genus of tropical plants with several hundred species. Despite its exotic appearance, this perennial belongs to the well-known nettle family. In Latin, "pyleus" means "felt cap". The plant got such a name because the leaves of its perianth (leaf corolla, covering the base of the flower) resemble the shape of a hood or hat. Another name is "artillery tree", since the flowers, when opened, shoot out a small cloud of pollen.
Beautiful and diverse appearance, as well as ease of maintenance - all this makes the sawfly an excellent option for a beginner grower, and a large number of different varieties attract collectors.
Description
Pilea is a creeping herbaceous plant, and some of its varieties belong to shrubs. They all prefer the lower tier of the rainforest, and tend to grow in shady or humid areas. Pilea grows to no more than forty centimeters in height. Its stems are juicy, thick, but, despite this, they are fragile, and tiny flowers grow either singly or gather in umbrella inflorescences. The shape of the leaves can be varied, and depends on the species.
A well-known feature of pylaea is the shooting of ripened pollen during the flowering period. Stamens are capable of throwing their contents to a distance of several tens of meters. Seeds are similarly distributed.
Kinds
The list of types of pylaea, the most popular for indoor breeding, is presented in the table below:
| Name, height | The stalks | Leaves | Features |
| Kadera, or Pilya Kadya, silver, Kadya (up to forty centimeters) | Young - straight, mature - creeping, juicy, bare, well branched. Shoots become curly (or ampelous) with age, bending downward. | Oval, with a pointed apex, length 20 centimeters, width - 5 centimeters. The color is bluish or bright green, along the leaf are two light silver stripes. | The flowers are white. Inflorescences are in the form of a brush. |
| Monolithic (up to fifty centimeters) | Sprawling shoots. | Round, small, coin-like. Color light green | A large cluster forms on the soil a kind of mossy rug. |
| Small-leaved (up to fifteen centimeters) | Branching shoots, with dense foliage, are able to creep along the ground and, when in contact with it, take root. | Small (up to 5 millimeters), round or oval, glossy, bright green. | Inflorescences are corymbose, located in the leaf sinus. The flowers are small, both bisexual and of both sexes (male and female). Variegate type grows, forming a carpet of plants. |
| Wrapped up (up to thirty centimeters) | Straight, vertical. | Oval, with a sharp tip, 7 centimeters long. The surface is tuberous, light green, with brownish veins. | Used to produce hybrid types such as creeping pylaea. |
| Wrapped Bronze Grade (up to thirty centimeters) | Oval, seven centimeters long, the tip is pointed, the surface is covered with folds and tubercles, veins are dark green, the surface is silver. Another type has dark green leaves, with a silver stripe along the middle vein. | ||
| Wrapped, Norfolk (up to thirty centimeters) | The surface of the leaves is wrinkled, with a small fluffy pile, green, veins reddish-brown. | It is a hybrid. | |
| Spruce (up to twenty centimeters) | Well branching. | Rounded or obovate, pointed tip, sessile or with a short petiole, the edge is uneven. The color is golden (bronze) with silver stripes. | Small (up to 2 mm) greenish flowers. |
| Spruce, grade "Silver tree" (up to twenty centimeters) | Oval, with a serrated edge. The color is golden green, along the central vein there is a silver stripe, along the edges are light spots. The surface is velvet, the pile is white and reddish. | It is a hybrid. | |
| Pepermiform (up to thirty centimeters) | The stalk is straight, slightly branching, with age becomes covered with bark at the base. | Round, glossy, bright green. Petioles are long and stiff. When the plant reaches maturity, gradually fall off. | One of the varieties most resistant to cold and dry air. The flowers are reddish. |
| Creeping (up to twenty five centimeters) | Creeping stalk. | Round, with a wavy edge, 2 - 2.5 centimeters long. Dark green, copper-cast, glossy, underside of the sheet purple. | Hybrid type. |
| Compressed, another name for this species is depression (up to fifteen centimeters) | Creeping shoots on the ground. | Very small rounded green leaves give the bushes an elegant curly look. | Growing, the bushes form a green carpet. |
| Thick-leaved (up to thirty centimeters) | Sprawling shoots. | The color is reddish green, the surface is tuberous. Framed with a light stripe. | Small flowers collected in small inflorescences. |
| Sizaya, she is Lebanese or glauka (up to thirty centimeters) | Creeping plant, shoots have a red tint. | Bluish-greenish, with a silvery sheen. | Contained in wall and hanging planters. |
| Pinocchio (up to twenty centimeters) | Flexible creeping shoots. | Small, bright green. | Hybrid variety. |
| Moon Valley, or Moon Valley (twenty to thirty centimeters) | Creeping plant. | The color is green with brown veins, the surface is folded, corrugated. | It is a hybrid. |
All of these types and varieties can be purchased at flower shops. In the table above, you can read a brief description of each type, which will help you choose the most suitable variety. The price of one bush pilea varies from 100 to 2-3 thousand rubles.
Seasonal Home Care
Caring for a saw at home is simple and does not require much care. It is only necessary to observe the light mode indicated below and maintain the necessary temperature and humidity.
Season | Autumn winter | Spring Summer |
| Humidity | During the heating period, the room must have a humidifier. At other times, additional moisture is not required. Watering is less common than in the warm season. | Must be high. You can not spray the plant, since the pile on the leaves is sensitive to moisture. You can place a container of water, a humidifier near the plant, or put the pot in a tray with a wet substrate (expanded clay or sand), making sure that the hole on the bottom does not touch the surface of this tray. It is necessary to water after the soil has dried, it is best - often and little by little. Excessively plentiful watering is dangerous: if the soil is too wet, the plant may become sick. It is necessary to pour out water that has accumulated in the bilium on time. |
| Temperature | + 16-20 degrees. For a short time, a lower temperature is permissible (not lower than 10 degrees Celsius). Avoid drafts. | About 25 degrees. The plant can be kept both in the room and on the balcony, taking care of the absence of drafts and direct sunlight. |
| Illumination | It is necessary to move the saw to a sunny place, or use additional artificial lighting. | The light should be bright, but diffused. It is better to keep the plant in light partial shade. Direct sunlight must be avoided - they can burn the foliage. The best option would be a window facing east or west. |
Planting, transplanting, pruning, reproduction
Pylaea is transplanted every year, as it is constantly growing, and requires a more spacious capacity. This plant has very thin, delicate roots that are easy to damage, and they spread more in width than in depth. Therefore, the pot should be shallow (seven to eight centimeters) and wide, with drainage holes at the bottom. Any material is suitable - both plastic and ceramic.
For the cultivation of sawnings, they take soil with good breathability, light and not very dense - the more loose the earth, the better. The easiest way to buy a ready-made soil mixture. You can make a mix at home by mixing equal proportions of coarse sand, peat, turf and humus. Before use, this mixture must be calcined (in the oven or oven), or frozen.
At the bottom of the pot put a small drainage (thickness - about 2 cm), on top of it - a few centimeters of soil. Then carefully dig the earth around the plant, and transfer the roots into a new container, so as not to injure them. The rest of the soil is poured around the root system, forming an even layer.
It is strictly forbidden to plant a plant to a great depth, pressing it firmly to the bottom, or tamping the soil - it should not be dense.
Since the sawfly is characterized by rapid growth, pruning should be done often, otherwise the crown will look unaesthetic, and foliage will begin to crumble from the shoots stretched over a long length. To make the plant magnificent, you can pinch the tops of the branches. If you trim it more radically, there will be cuttings - they are best preserved and used for breeding.
There are two ways to propagate the sawmill:
- Cuttings - for this, segments of the upper shoots having two or three leaf nodes are suitable. The length of the cuttings is about ten centimeters. They can be put in a jar of water, planted several pieces in sand or in small pots with soil. New seedlings quickly take root, after which they can be grown like ordinary bush branches, after holding a couple of weeks in moderate coolness.
- Growing seeds, which is not suitable for all varieties. Seeds are purchased in the store and planted on a thin (not more than a centimeter) soil layer, and covered with glass or wrapped with plastic wrap. Watering should be moderate to simply moisten the soil. Within a month, the seeds must sprout, then the covering material is removed and the young plants are transplanted into separate containers.
The simplest is propagation using the first method - if only because cuttings from the bush can be taken as cuttings, and this will not require additional cash costs.
Top dressing
Growing a saw at home, you need to regularly feed it - otherwise it will grow poorly, and the leaves will become small. In the warm season, top dressing is done once a week and a half, in autumn and winter - once a month. It is most convenient to use mineral or liquid fertilizers that are sold in stores.
Possible difficulties and their overcoming
Despite the fact that caring for the saw is very simple, it is easy to make mistakes that will lead to the fact that the plant becomes sick and loses its beauty. The following is a list of the most common problems and measures that should be taken to resolve them:
| What happens to the leaves | Cause | How to treat |
| Dry and crumble. | The room is too hot, cold, or too dry. | Maintain a normal temperature (not higher than +25 and not lower than + 10-15 degrees), water in a timely manner. |
| Turn pale and flabby. | The plant is constantly in the light. | Shade - direct rays of the sun are not needed, partial shade will be ideal. |
| They turn pale, become small, and the shoots are too long. | Lack of light. | Move to a more sunny place, or add artificial lighting (as an option - a phytolamp). |
| Yellowish dry spots form on the foliage. | Sunburn. | Remove from direct sunlight, create partial shade (for example, hang a curtain). |
| Blacken, wither and fall off the branches. | Excess moisture in the soil. | Water only after the soil has dried. |
| Wail, become soft, flabby. | Dry soil. | Water more often, depending on temperature and humidity. |
| The lower leaves crumble, while young shoots and foliage regularly grow. | A sign of plant growth. | Trim if necessary. |
Pests, diseases, control measures
Both harmful insects and diseases attack the saw when it is weakened - this is due to non-compliance with the conditions of detention. So that the plant does not get sick, you need to properly care for it and regularly inspect the leaves for parasites.
| Pests and diseases | Causes | Symptoms | Treatment | Preventative measures |
| Rotting of the stem and root system. | Excessive moisture in the soil against the background of too low air temperature, which leads to infection of the roots and stem of the fungus. | A drooping, flabby plant with crumbling foliage. The stalk near the roots is abnormally soft, swollen, and the root system rots. | Transplantation into new soil and parallel treatment with Topaz. | Observe the temperature standards and the optimal irrigation schedule for the plant. |
| Spider mite. | The most suitable conditions for the defeat of pylaea by insects are heat, dry soil and insufficient air humidity. | Fading, flabby and crumbling leaves dotted with dots (traces of tick bites, through which he drinks plant juice). On the underside of the foliage and on the stems you can see a web. | The use of drugs such as Fufanon, Decis or Actara. | Maintain normal temperature and humidity. As an additional way to deal with the tick, spraying the pilya with water is suitable, after which you need to shake off the moisture from the leaves and let them dry. |
| Mealybug | The plant weakens, stops growing, shoots and foliage are covered with a sticky whitish substance. | Use Actara. | ||
| Thrips | The spots of dead tissue on the leaves, twisted, dried shoots, with severe damage - a light coating that covers the foliage. All these signs indicate the presence of thrips larvae that draw juices from foliage. | Treatment with Fitoverm at a concentration of 2 ml per 200 milligrams of water. After the procedure, wrap with a plastic bag and stand for 24 hours. Another option is the use of Actellik (1 ampoule is diluted in a liter of water, and the room is ventilated - the drug has a specific smell). | Treat with celandine tincture, remove the topsoil and change it to fresh, set sticky traps for insects. | |
| Shield | Dried, twisted, deformed leaves, covered with brownish-orange tubercles (carapace of scale insects). | Two (with a difference of seven days) treatment sessions with therapeutic agents, such as Fitoverm or Actellik. | Wipe the leaves with a cloth soaked in soapy water to remove shells, after six to seven days, check the plant again. |
