Cypress in a pot - how to care at home
Content:
Cypress is a plant associated with the sea, relaxation and joy. Having grown it at home, this smell of joy can be preserved in the apartment for many years. To provide the cypress with conditions for development, you need to know the features of its cultivation. A healthy and beautiful potted cypress is the result of careful care of this peculiar plant.
What kind of cypress can be grown in a pot
The Cypress family includes a large number of genera and species. Cypress, thuja and juniper are the most famous of these.
Common varieties
There are few domestic cypress trees. These plants are distinguished by their slow growth. Next, we will talk about the most popular of them.
- Evergreen has a pyramidal crown and leaves pressed to the trunk. It grows up to 2-3 m. There are small horizontal and pyramidal varieties that got their names from the shape of the crown.
- The height of the large-fruited reaches 2 m. Its lower branches are dark green, and the upper ones are light green. The Goldcrest variety is popular, which has golden needles and a lemon aroma. It is also called New Year's cypress.
Indoor cypresses fill the room with an incredible aroma
Among these or other species and varieties, you can choose the most suitable cypress or cypress, home care for it should be provided in accordance with the characteristics of the culture.
Features of proper care for indoor cypress at home
Caring for a home cypress tree requires careful attention from the grower. How to plant a cypress and grow it is described below.
Temperature
The room temperature conditions that indoor cypress needs are optimal during spring, summer and autumn. However, the situation changes in winter. Since the heating is turned on at this time, the currents of hot and dry air can harm the crop.
When growing, it must be borne in mind that in the wild, where these bushes grow, the temperature is 10 ° C. In order to ensure the care of the cypress tree during the dormant period, it is recommended to put it on a loggia or balcony, where it is cooler.
Lighting
A cypress in a pot does not tolerate direct sunlight. It is recommended to put it on the windowsill in the apartment by the north-facing window. You can also put it next to the south window, but to the side, so that the sun's rays do not fall on it.
It is believed that the cypress belongs to shade-tolerant plants, but you need to be careful with this. With a lack of lighting, its growth and decorative qualities will deteriorate.
Watering
How to care for a cypress in a pot at home? First of all, it is necessary to provide a certain amount of moisture. This plant needs regular watering.Do not allow the topsoil to dry out. As soon as the moisture begins to evaporate, it's time for another watering. This usually needs to be done 2-3 times a week. Larger plants can retain moisture longer, so they can be watered less frequently.
In winter, there is no need for frequent watering, at this time, once every 10-15 days is enough.
Although moisture is necessary for the plant, care must be taken to avoid stagnant water. In this case, the roots may start to rot.
Spraying
Homemade cypress loves high humidity. The branches dry out much faster than the soil, so not only watering, but also spraying is necessary. In hot weather, you need to spray it more often to prevent the plant from drying out.
During the autumn and winter period, when caring for cypress, spraying should be carried out much less frequently than in spring and summer.
Evergreen cypress requires a lot of water
Humidity
This plant prefers high humidity. To provide it, you can do the following:
- spray the branches with water several times during the day;
- hang wet rags in the immediate vicinity;
- put the pot on a pallet with high sides and a layer of drainage and pour water into it;
- use specialized devices for air humidification.
At the same time, you need to take into account the time of year, since during the fall and winter, the decorative cypress on the balcony will not need to humidify the air.
Priming
You can purchase a special soil for conifers or make the soil of a suitable composition yourself: take two parts of leafy soil, one by one - crushed peat and sand.
Top dressing
Fertilizers are not always helpful. This statement is a myth. Cypress roots are very tender and too frequent feeding can cause burns. It is recommended to use fertilizers that are intended for conifers.
Instead, you can take a complex top dressing, but the concentration should be half the usual one specified in the instructions.
Features of winter care
In winter, the plant needs special conditions.
- You need to limit watering. The need for moisture is reduced, since the roots can begin to rot when waterlogged.
- In winter, the temperature is required to be between 5 ° C and 10 ° C. It is easier to provide if you put the plant pot on the balcony for a dormant period.
- Top dressing in the winter for the plant is not required.
In winter, the life of the plant slows down. He will remain in this state until spring comes.
Pruning
It is necessary to trim old and diseased branches so that they do not take away the vitality of the plant. To form a beautiful crown, formative pruning is carried out.
How indoor cypress reproduces
How to grow a cypress tree? You need to choose from the existing methods of reproduction: using seeds, cuttings or aerial shoots.
Germinating seeds
Reproduction can be done using seeds. They are germinated in plastic containers, provided with heat, moisture and light. When rooting occurs, the sprouts are planted in separate pots.
Tree in vivo
Rooting cuttings
Cuttings are carried out in the spring or throughout the fall. To do this, cut off shoots 10 cm long with a heel. Remove the leaves from the bottom. Before planting, you need to hold it in the root solution.
When grown, the stalk is planted in the ground at a third of the height, watered and covered with a film or an inverted jar. Germinate in a warm and well-lit place. In this case, exposure to sunlight is undesirable. Once every two days, you need to remove the shelter and ventilate. Water every time as soon as the soil begins to dry out.
Air layering
Can be propagated with aerial roots. They are formed from the kidneys over a period of several months. Then they are detached and germinated in a pot.
Transfer
For the plant to grow well, it must be transplanted. In the first years of life, this is done every year, when the cypress grows, a transplant is required every few years.
The new pot should be larger than the previous one. For young plants, increase the container by 1-2 cm, for adults by 5-7 cm. The soil in the pot should be for conifers. If you prepare the soil yourself, you need to take for it:
- leafy ground - 2 parts;
- peat - 1 part;
- sand - 1 part.
Use in garden design
Before pouring into the pot, the composition is thoroughly mixed, and a drainage layer in the form of small stones is added to the bottom.
Step-by-step transplant procedure:
- Water well during the day.
- Drainage and a small layer of new soil are poured into the bottom of the new pot.
- The tree is carefully transplanted to a new location.
- The soil is poured between the walls of the pot and the plant, then compacted a little.
- The earth is poured from above in the required amount.
- Watering.
The pot is placed in the shade for a week.
Possible problems in growing indoor cypress
Problems arise during cultivation due to non-observance of the rules of care or in the event of the appearance of diseases or pests.
Leaves turn yellow and fall
This can happen when there is not enough moisture or when humidifying the air or spraying the spruce branches is not performed. If you provide the plant with sufficient moisture, the leaves will be healthy and beautiful and will stop turning yellow.
The tips of the leaves dry
Foliage can dry out when moisture stagnates in the ground. As a result, the roots began to rot, and this led to the rapid drying of the tips of the leaves. The damaged parts of the roots must be removed and the plant transplanted.
Pests
They are especially dangerous for cypress when it lacks moisture. The appearance of a spider mite can be determined by the large number of spider webs on the plant. An attack by a scabbard is also dangerous.
To control these insects, an effective method is spraying with an appropriate insecticide.
Is it possible to plant an indoor cypress on the street
For cypress, planting and nursing outdoors in the garden suggests that it needs to provide the same conditions that it used to grow in the wild. In the temperate and northern climatic zones, this is not possible. However, in the southern regions of the country, conditions allow cultivation in the country in the open field.
Indoor cypress, with its decorative qualities, is able to create a special atmosphere at home. However, it must be remembered that it needs careful care, otherwise it may lose its unique decorative qualities.
