Myrtle

A photo

Myrtle (Myrtus) is an evergreen tree plant from the Myrtle family. In vivo occurs on the Azores, in the southern parts of Europe, Crimea and North Africa. The birthplace of myrtle is the Mediterranean. In nature, a decorative-deciduous plant reaches 4 m over many years of life. To grow a tree at home, you will have to make an effort and be patient.

It develops slowly, grows to a maximum of 0.2 m in one year. It can reach no more than 1.5 m in many years. But the contemplation of a flowering plant will more than pay for all expectations. In late spring, fragrant snow-white flowers dotted with thin elongated stamens appear on the background of green glossy leaves. They resemble cherry flowers. Then, in their place, white or dark blue edible berries form.

Look at no less beautiful flower for the house - gardenia jasmine.

	It develops slowly, in one year it grows by a maximum of 0.2 m.
	It blooms from mid-spring.
	The plant is easy to grow.
	It is a perennial plant.

Useful properties of myrtle

Photo of myrtle in the interior

Plant cells secrete healing substances - volatile, harmful to pathogenic microorganisms. Placing two bushes in a room with an area of ​​about 18 m² reduces by 45% the risk of inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Having a strong bactericidal effect, it does not cause allergies.

Essential oils of the plant increase immunity, relieve bronchospasm. Dried leaves are added to tea, used as a spice. Wood is used as fuel for grilling. Liqueurs are prepared from fruits and leaves. Flowers and leaves are used in cosmetology. It is believed that such a tree in the house has a spiritual relationship.

Features of growing at home. Briefly

Mediterranean handsome myrtle at home requires increased attention. To see the flowers on a healthy beautiful tree, you need to create optimal conditions for it:

Temperature mode	In spring - in autumn - no higher than + 22 ° C, in winter - about + 12 ° C.
Air humidity	High, often sprayed.
Lighting	In the summer - plentiful, 3-4 times every 7 days; in winter - once every 10 days; need good drainage.
Watering	The surface of the soil should dry out; in summer they water up to 2 times in 7 days, less often in winter.
Priming	Universal slightly acidic substrate or soil mixture of equal parts of humus, garden soil and perlite.
Fertilizer and fertilizer	During active growth, every 2 weeks with complex mineral fertilizer, diluted several times.
Transfer	Young trees - every spring, mature - every 3.5 years; without deepening the root neck.
Breeding	Apical cuttings and seeds.
Features of growing myrtle	The plant needs regular spring pruning to form a beautiful crown. In the warm season, they take them out into the air, choosing a place protected from draft.

Myrtle care at home. In detail

The plant is moody. If something in the conditions of detention does not suit him, it will immediately throw off the leaves. Keeping this in mind, the grower should try and create comfortable conditions for the tree.

Bloom

If the gardener manages to get along with the plant, he will be lucky to see the myrtle bloom. A flowering tree is a spectacle of amazing beauty. In early summer, small (no more than 20 mm) five-petal flowers “decorated” with many stamens appear on the myrtle.

Snow-white fluffy creatures look especially delicate against the background of bright green dense leaves. Flowers and leaves have a pronounced pleasant smell. It rarely blooms at home. But if you try very hard, in the apartment you can create optimal conditions for its flowering:

• the tree should receive enough light and fresh air;
• in winter, you need a good rest in the cool and with rare watering;
• it is necessary to abandon pruning or spend it at the end of winter;
• capacity should be small for the plant.

If everything is done correctly, from the beginning of June to the end of August it will be possible to enjoy the magnificent flowering of a tree. Edible berries will appear after the flowers.

Temperature mode

It is very sensitive to temperature, therefore it is very important to observe the temperature regime. In winter, the plant is kept at + 10-12 ° C. From spring to mid-autumn, a temperature of + 20-22 ° C is considered comfortable. For the content in a warmer atmosphere, the plant will be indignant and discard the leaves. The tree must be protected from a sharp temperature drop and draft, can not be placed next to the air conditioner.

In summer, in warm weather, the tree is taken out to the balcony.

Spraying

Myrtle plant does not tolerate dry air. It is often necessary to spray the tree. The plant can be placed on a pallet with wet pebbles or placed next to the aquarium. You should often turn on the humidifier, put an open container of water near the tree.

Lighting

Properly selected lighting is the key to a good plant vegetation. It is recommended to keep the tree in a well-lit room. Bright sunlight with a little shade is good for him.

In diffuse lighting it will bloom poorly, although the leaves will be brighter and denser. In a dimly lit place, the tree will stretch and will not bloom. It is best to place the plant on a window facing southeast or southwest.

Watering

This is a hygrophilous plant. Watering should be plentiful. During intensive development, the tree is watered up to 4 times a week (the substrate should dry 1 cm between waterings). In winter, the frequency of watering is reduced to once every 10 days.

Use well-defended lukewarm water, otherwise the salts of magnesium and calcium with white spots will settle on the leaf plates. The trunk circle is mulched with a coconut substrate or crushed bark so that moisture is stored longer in the soil. It is very important to prevent stagnation of moisture, for this a good drainage layer is created.

Pot

A deep myrtle pot with drainage holes at the bottom is chosen so that the developed root system of the plant, a thick layer of drainage and there is no stagnation of water freely enter it. When transplanting, the pot is replaced with a container whose diameter is 3.5 cm larger than the previous one. It should be noted that the pot should constrain the roots a little, otherwise flowering can not wait.

Priming

For you can buy ready-made universal primer having a slightly acidic reaction (pH 5.3 - 6.4) or a substrate for citrus. You can independently prepare the soil mixture from garden soil, humus and perlite taken in one portion. The main thing is that the soil should be nutritious, breathable and loose.

To do this, add vermiculite, coconut substrate, brick chips to the soil. Ground moss and coal powder will improve soil composition.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

To strengthen health and maintain decorativeness at a high level, fertilizing and fertilizing are necessary. From the first half of March to the beginning of October, myrtle is fertilized every 14 days. Before flowering, a solution for decorative and deciduous plants containing nitrogen in a large dose is used.

When the buds begin to set, use a tool with a high concentration of phosphorus and potassium - for flowering indoor plants. Fertilizer is diluted twice and give the tree after watering. After top dressing, the plant is kept in the shade for 24 hours.

Myrtle transplant

The frequency of transplants depends on the age of the plant. Young bushes need it every year, and mature ones after 3.5 years, when the roots completely embrace an earthen lump. Myrtle transplantation is replaced by transshipment so as not to damage the roots of the tree.

The plant is carefully immersed in the soil, without deepening the root neck, so that the growth does not stop. Adult specimens do not transplant; they refresh the topsoil.

How to crop?

It responds well to haircuts. Trimming is done to form the crown. To form a rounded crown, pinch the upper shoots, the lower ones do not cut. To grow a tree with one powerful trunk, choose a strong beautiful cuttings in the center, and the lower shoots are removed completely or cut to the desired length, giving the desired shape.

Only mature plants are experimented with the crown shape. Young trees have not yet become stronger, the operation will slow their development. It must be remembered that the plant does not tie buds on pruned shoots. If you really want to see the flowering of a tree, they refuse to prune or transfer it to the end of February.

Rest period

At the end of October, they begin to prepare for rest: they reduce feeding and watering, and gradually lower the temperature of their maintenance. The rest period runs from mid-November to mid-February. At this time, the tree is kept at a temperature not exceeding + 10 ° C and in good light. Maintain high humidity.

The plant is sprayed daily; humidifiers are used.

Is it possible to leave myrtle without leaving on vacation?

If you go on vacation for a long time, you can ask relatives to take care of the plant. You can put the pot in a container of a larger diameter, and lay wet moss between their walls.

Myrtle breeding

Reproduction is possible in two ways.

Growing Myrtle from Seeds

It just goes by. Seeds treated in a potassium permanganate solution are sown in moist soil, covered with a film and germinated at + 20 ° C. Seedlings will appear soon. When two leaves appear, the plants are planted in separate pots. After 2.5 years, it can bloom.

When propagated by seeds, the varietal properties of the mother plant are not preserved.

Myrtle propagation by cuttings

It happens faster than seed propagation. Cuttings, the length of which is about 80 mm, are cut from the lateral upper shoots, treated with a stimulator of root formation, removing the lower leaves. Planted in moist soil under the film. After 2.5 weeks, when the cuttings take root, they are planted in separate containers.

Diseases and Pests

In adverse conditions and with careless care, the plant can be affected by diseases and pests, as announced by a change in the appearance of the tree:

• rotting roots - when deepening the root neck during transplantation (resuscitation is useless);
• leaves myrtle turn pale, and the stems lengthen - lack of light (rearrange in a brighter place); leaves grow dull from direct sunlight (pritenit plant);
• rot the base of the stem - deepening of the root neck during transplantation (it is impossible to save the plant);
• leaf edges are curled - in direct sunlight (pritenit);
• fast leaf fall in winter - keeping warm in an unlit place, waterlogging the soil (rearrange in a cool, bright place, adjust watering);
• leaves fall myrtle - little light, improper watering, dry air (rearrange in a brighter place, spray more often, adjust watering);
• leaves turn yellow myrtle - nutritional deficiency (feed).

More often than other pests are affected by scale insects, mealybugs, spider mites. Insecticides are used against them.

Varieties of myrtle home with photos and names

In home culture, only one species is grown - ordinary myrtle - a low tree with short shiny leaves and snow-white flowers. Studying the characteristics of the plant, breeders bred several varieties based on it. The most popular of them are:

Compact (Compacta)

A low tree with terry snow-white flowers and a dense glossy crown.

"Tarentina" (Tarentina)

A low plant with variegated varieties and with rich cream fruits.

"Boetica" (Boetica)

A low, slowly growing bush with malachite leaves. The length of the sheet plate is up to 70 mm.

Variegata

A tree with variegated leaf plates (yellow spots are located on a light green background).

Alhambra

A bush with elongated saturated green leaves and pale green fruits.

Myrtle "Flo Pleno" (Flore Pleno)

Beautiful flowering bush with bright green dense leaves and white double flowers.

An ideal plant for the lover of flora. It is beautiful, fragrant, allows you to "play" with your hair, creating bizarre shapes. The task of the grower is to provide gentle care for the plant, and then it will make happy the lush flowering.

Watch the video: KOTA The Friend - MYRTLE (May 2024).