Guernia - growing and care at home, photo species

Guernia (Huernia) - a perennial succulent plant of the Doves family, living in the rocky arid areas of Africa and Arabia and on the windowsills of amateur gardeners. In nature, there are about 50 varieties of plants. The birthplace of guernia is South and East Africa.

In the process of growth, guernia forms many fleshy branched stems from 5 cm to 1.5 m long. Shoots can be ampelous, drooping or erect, in most species they are painted in a light green color and have several wide faces. During flowering, medium-sized star-shaped inflorescences with sepals of a deep burgundy or pale yellow hue, decorated with a strip, spots, specks or strokes, appear on the stems.

Also, be sure to pay attention to the stephanotis plant.

Guernia: home care. Briefly

Guernia care at home. In detail

Flowering guernia

Guernia at home usually blooms in the summer. At this time, single stellate flowers appear on the stems, collected in inflorescences of 2-8 pieces. The guernia flower is formed by sepals bent outward and fused together, with their bases converging into a wide tube.

Coloring of flowers, as a rule, is maroon or pale yellow, sepals can be decorated with bright stripes, strokes, specks, spots, etc. Flowering plant produces an unpleasant smell of rotting meat.

Temperature mode

The plant is thermophilic, during the period of active growth it feels especially comfortable at an air temperature of + 22- + 27 ° С. Guernia can tolerate even more intense heat, but at the same time its shoots become shriveled, and the flowers quickly wither and fall.

To book flower buds of guernia you need a cool wintering.

The air temperature in the room where the plant is resting in the cold should be + 15- + 18 ° С.

Spraying

Guernia feels great at low humidity, therefore, does not need additional spraying. This can only be done occasionally for hygienic purposes, in order to remove dust and dirt from the shoots, excess moisture should be immediately removed with a napkin or soft cloth.

Lighting

The plant is photophilous, year-round it needs a constant bright, but diffused light. However, direct sunlight is “welcomed” by guernia only in the morning and evening hours, at other times they can leave deep burns on the stems.

Guernia is best placed on the east or west windowsill. If you put a pot with a plant on the north window, its stems will stretch out due to lack of light, and flowering may not occur at all. Guernias living on the southern windows necessarily shade from the midday sun.

When caring for a plant, it is important to remember that it "gets used" to a certain angle of illumination. Turning and moving it from place to place is not recommended, otherwise the risk of losing all formed buds by guernia is great.

Guernia Watering

In the spring-summer period, the plant is watered sparingly, preventing overflow and stagnation of moisture in the soil. The frequency of watering during active vegetation is 1 time in 10-15 days. Domestic guernia needs short dry periods. To organize such conditions for her, the substrate between irrigations is systematically dried approximately half.

With the onset of the dormant period, watering is limited to a minimum: moisten the soil no more than 1 time per month. At the end of the rest time, the soil in the pot with guernia can dry out so much that it no longer absorbs moisture. To “water” a plant in such a situation, you need to immerse the pot in a deep container filled with water for half an hour. After the liquid is allowed to drain and put the flower in place.

The following irrigation is carried out in the traditional way.

Guernia pot

The ideal container for the surface root system of the guernia is a flat and wide pot with a drain hole to remove excess moisture. The roots do not grow very much during the season, so you do not need to choose a too spacious pot, its diameter should be only a few centimeters larger than the diameter of the root system of the plant.

Priming

The substrate for growing guernia should be loose, air- and moisture-permeable, slightly alkaline. You can choose a suitable soil mixture from industrial options intended for succulents and cacti, or prepare it yourself from river sand (perlite), leaf and clay-sod land, peat and charcoal (fine gravel).

The components of the substrate are taken in a ratio of 3: 2: 2: 2: 1. Before planting the plants, a thick layer of drainage is necessarily poured to the bottom of the pot to prevent stagnation of moisture in the soil.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

Guernia is recommended to be fed only during the period of active vegetation: once a month, using fertilizers marked "for cacti and succulents." During the rest, top dressing is completely stopped.

Guernia transplant

The young plant is transplanted annually in the spring months before the formation of inflorescences. Guernia transplantation, which has reached a more mature age, is carried out every 2-3 years.

It is recommended to combine this procedure with plant renewal: old dry shoots should be completely removed, leaving only young cuttings - they will be able to give the greatest number of inflorescences in the new season.

Pruning

It’s not necessary and even dangerous to cut the fleshy stems of guernia this can provoke the development of rot and further death of the plant. If necessary, excess or damaged shoots can be periodically carefully removed entirely.

Rest period

Guernia care at home includes organizing an annual dormant period in the winter months. At this time, the plant is transferred to a cool, well-lit room. Watering in November and February is minimized (up to 1 time per month), and in December and January they are completely suspended.

Growing guernia from seeds

A guernia plant propagates by seed rather rarely at home, since this process is very painstaking and time-consuming. However, it is quite possible to get a new plant in this way, they do it like this: in the spring the seeds are sown in a container with a peat-sand mixture, sprayed with warm water and covered with polyethylene or glass.

In the warmth under diffused lighting, seedlings appear after about a month. The greenhouse should be regularly ventilated and protected from drafts so that the seedlings do not rot.

When the plants get stronger, they are planted in individual pots and continue to care like adult specimens.

Guernia propagation by cuttings

Guernia is easily propagated by stem cuttings. Planting material is separated from the mother plant with a sharp knife and left to dry for a couple of days. Prepared cuttings are planted in a well-moistened mixture of sand and peat.

Strong roots appear within 1.5 weeks, after which young plants can be transplanted into individual pots. For some time, seedlings should not be watered so that they do not begin to rot. If the stalk has been prepared and rooted correctly, it can bloom approximately 10-12 months after planting.

Diseases and Pests

Guernia is not afraid of many diseases and pests, since it has very good immunity. For her, only the rot of shoots and roots, arising from excessive watering, is truly dangerous. Some other errors in care can also lead to poor health and appearance of the plant. Among them:

• The stems are stained - most likely, these are sunburns, the plant needs to be moved away from the glass and be sure to shade in the daytime from too bright aggressive sun.
• Guernia stalks lose their brightness due to insufficient lighting. Often this phenomenon is observed in the winter, in which case you should organize a flower backlight using lamps.
• Guernia shoots are thin and elongated, if the soil in which it is planted is depleted in nutrients. The plant should be fed with a suitable fertilizer.
• Guernia doesn't bloom when the light regime is systematically disturbed or the plant lacks nutrition. In order for buds to reappear on the stems, it is necessary to eliminate errors in the care of it.
• Whitish bloom on the plant - a signal of the defeat of guernia by the mealybug. The most effective way to get rid of it is to use modern drugs with insecticidal properties.

Other pests are almost not interested in guernia.

Types of guernia home with photos and names

Guernia striped (Huernia zebrina)

A low-growing variety with stems no more than 10 cm long. Shoots are erect, light green or burgundy. The flowers are large, unusual: the tubular maroon pharynx passes into a wide ring of the same shade, framed by sepals, fused into a 5-pointed star. Petals lemon yellow in a burgundy strip.

Guernia of Kenya (Huernia keniensis)

Mid-sized semi-ampelous species with shoots about 30 cm long. Stems creeping, light green in color. The sepals of the flowers are almost completely fused, forming a wide funnel, they are painted in a purple-burgundy color.

Rough Guernia (Huernia aspera)

A medium-sized plant with a height of about 20 cm, has thin erect shoots of a soft green hue and large single burgundy red flowers in the shape of a 5-pointed star.

Guernia primrose (Huernia primulina)

A short, highly growing variety with stems no longer than 10 cm long. Creeping shoots, gray-green hue. The sepals of the flowers are bent outward and painted in a cream-yellow color, pink-red speckled tube at their base.

Guernia hanging (Huernia pendula)

Large ampel plant with drooping stems up to 1.5 meters long. Shoots of a cylindrical shape, painted in a pinkish-greenish tint. The flowers are small, star-shaped, red-burgundy.

Guernia prickly (Huernia hystrix)

A small-sized species with drooping shoots of pale green color no more than 12 cm long. The sepals of the flower form a kind of "bird's nest" on a wide tube. The surface of the corolla is burgundy in a small whitish strip, all of it is covered with dense growths, papillae, which makes the flower appear prickly.

Guernia boleana

A compact plant with upright bluish-green stems about 10 cm long. The flowers are star-shaped, pale yellow, the entire surface of the sepals is covered with a dense maroon speck.

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