How to transplant a money tree at home
Content:
The money tree, known to many as a fat tree or krasula, is not just a favorite plant of flower growers, it is for many a symbol of well-being and prosperity in the family. The South African evergreen shrub, which reaches a height of 10 m in its homeland, in a temperate climate has turned into a small indoor tree that needs the careful care of the owner.
Growing a money tree
The mystics say that in order for the miraculous talisman of wealth to bring prosperity to the house, it is not enough to observe rituals and pronounce conspiracies to attract money. It is necessary to grow a healthy strong money tree from a seedling on your own - only then it will help its owner.
Money tree in conditions close to natural
To accept such statements as true or to consider them superstitions - the owners of fat women decide. Every florist can create optimal living conditions for a home plant.
After a small crayfish sprout appears in the house, you will need to decide:
- In which pot and which soil to plant it (choose a plastic or ceramic container with small drainage holes, use a mixture of peat, leaf earth, sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 3).
- Where to place (in a room with bright diffused lighting, air temperature from 20 to 30 ° C, air humidity within 70%).
- When to water and feed (watering is carried out after the top soil layer dries up by 1/3, fertilize only during the growing season from March to September).
Flower growers usually propagate the money tree in indoor conditions by cuttings. Small stems for rooting are planted in temporary thin-walled plastic containers or disposable cups.
Crassula stalk in a temporary cup
Transplanting a jungle cut
For rooted cuttings, a not too large pot is selected - with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm wider than the crown of the plant. The transplant is carried out by the transshipment method: without disturbing the earth clod. A thin temporary planting container is cut if there is no guarantee that the flower can be removed so that the soil does not crumble from the roots. The seedling is installed in a new planting pot, the empty spaces are covered with pre-prepared soil.
After a while, the flower grower will become small for the grown tree, the soil will be depleted, the fat woman will begin to shed its leaves, will stop growing, so the question will arise of how to transplant the money tree in such a way that after transplanting it does not dry out.
Fat woman after the first transshipment
When and how often the money tree is transplanted
Transplantation of fat women up to 3 years of age is carried out annually, then the plants are transplanted once every 2 years. The timing of the transplant depends not only on the condition of the flower, but also on its type.
Fat women can be:
- tree-like - they include a plant that is called a money tree - Crassula ovata;
- creeping - with fleshy shoots;
- columnar - with thick accrete opposite leaves.
The leaves of various types of fat women can have an oval, lanceolate, elliptical, pointed shape. Small glossy fleshy leaves that resemble coins grow on the money tree.
Crassula ovata hobbit
How does a fat woman grow
A young seedling Crassula ovata gradually develops into a plant with a strong thickened stem and short branches covered with a gray-green skin. In old paints, the skin thickens, it can be separated by horizontal stripes. The plant blooms at a mature age, during this period the bush is decorated with pale pink star-shaped inflorescences, collected in bunches.
In nature, flowers are pollinated by insects. At home, this process can be carried out by house flies, but if there is a need to obtain high-quality seeds, artificial pollination is carried out using a brush. As a result, small capsules filled with many small seeds will appear in place of flowers.
Craula bloom
When do the transplant
Before planning the transplant of a fat woman that has reached the age of 1 year, it is necessary to observe which periods are active for the plant. It is at the stage of their development that they will take root well, suffer less from damage to the root system.
The money tree belongs to the succulents (accumulators of moisture in the stems and leaves) of the southern hemisphere, in which summer begins in the month of December. At home in November, they begin to grow new roots, leaves and stems. In winter (according to the northern calendar) fat women bloom, in spring they reproduce. Then, from May, they pass into the resting stage.
In a plant adapted to the conditions of the northern hemisphere, the active growing season begins in March-April. Most of the money tree species grown in Russia have been adapted to dormancy since the end of November. Since that time, fat women practically do not water, do not feed, do not cut, do not form a crown.
Reproduction and transplantation of Crassula ovata from one year old and older in another pot is carried out from late spring to mid-July. Fans of the advice of the lunar calendar believe that it is necessary to plant a money tree during this period on the days of the growing moon.
Fat girl with a crown formed in the bonsai style
How to transplant a money tree into another pot
Step-by-step process of transplanting an adult Crassula ovata plant:
- Choose a thick-walled pot made of ceramics or earthenware with drainage holes, 5-10 cm high and 5 cm in diameter larger than the previous one. The heavy container will balance the weight of the tree's growing crown. The pot is washed with pink potassium permanganate solution.
- They buy a special soil for succulents or prepare a loose soil mixture with a neutral level of acidity on their own. The soil is disinfected or calcined in a hot oven. 2-3 days before planting, spill with settled or spring water. By the time of planting, the land should be semi-dry.
- A layer of expanded clay, agroperlite or vermiculite is poured onto the bottom of the pot, these materials will not let the roots of the fat woman rot in case of an accidental strong overflow of the soil. Fans of the mystical qualities of the money tree put charmed coins at the bottom of the planting container. A small layer of soil mixture is poured on top.
- An adult plant is taken out of the pot with great care: the trunk of a 1-2-year-old flower, which has not yet grown a sufficient thickness of the surface skin, may break. Gently shake off half of the earth from the roots. The tree is placed in a pot, all empty places are covered with moist crumbly soil.
- The soil in the pot is watered, the water is allowed to drain, the soil is poured to the level of the root collar. A few days later, after the earth has settled again, wet soil is added again.
Root system of an adult money tree
Craula appendage transplant
When forming a crown, side shoots are usually removed from the lower part of the central trunk of the bastard. They can be used to get a new tree. The shoot with a thickness of 3-5 mm up to 5 cm from the mother plant is separated using a disinfected pruner. The cut is made at a slight sharp angle. After cutting, a hole should not form on the main stem. In order not to damage the skin of the flower, a 2-3 mm stump is left on the trunk.
A couple of lower leaves are removed from the process. The lower end of the cutting is dipped for a few seconds into a solution of any rooting stimulant, diluted according to the manufacturer's instructions. It must be remembered that a remedy such as succinic acid dissolves in hot water, while the plant is dipped in a cooled liquid. After immersion in the solution, the shoot is dried in the open air for several hours.
In order to control the degree of immersion of the cutting in water, a restrictive cover with a slot is put on the top of the glass with a liquid, through which the leaves of the appendage cannot slip. Water is periodically added.
The container with the plant should be in a warm, well-lit place. Direct sunlight is not allowed on the leaves of the appendix. The first filaments appear 10-15 days after the cutting is placed in water.
Basal process of the fat woman
For rooting in a wet substrate, the plant needs to provide a greenhouse effect. For this, a container is prepared - a mini-greenhouse. This can be a tall plastic container with a lid, or a low pallet that can be covered with a cut plastic bottle or glass jar. Both types of greenhouses must have drainage holes.
The lower part of the appendix is immersed in the ground to a depth of 3-4 cm. The greenhouse is placed in a room with diffused light. Ventilate daily for 20-30 minutes, moisten the soil substrate.
After the first pair of new leaves grow on the rooted cuttings, the young plants are transplanted into a pot of a suitable size.
Sometimes in the root zone of the plant, fallen leaves of the bastard take root on their own. The owner of the flower can only make sure that the soil near such seedlings is always moderately moist. Some growers resort to rooting the lower shoots by bending them to the soil and fixing them in this position with a wooden staple and moist soil.
A sprout of a fat woman from a rooted leaf
Caring for the money tree after transplant
Proper care of succulents, to the group of which the money tree belongs, is to observe the correct watering regime. Plants that naturally accumulate moisture in their stems and leaves during rainy seasons and then gradually consume it during dry hot weather, and in indoor conditions live in the same rhythm.
Watering
Craula is watered in spring, summer and autumn 1-2 times a month, after checking the condition of the soil in the root zone of the flower: the surface of the soil must be dry.But infrequent spraying of leaves from a spray bottle in the heat will only have a positive effect on the flower.
From November to February, the soil in the pot should be almost half dry, only then can watering be carried out. Excessive watering of the fat woman during the period of winter dormancy will lead to decay of its roots, the appearance of rot, weakening of immunity, and as a result, it can cause the death of the tree.
Top dressing
Fat women are undemanding to soil fertility, because they grow slowly and also gradually consume food from the soil. Therefore, trees are fed only in spring - during the beginning of the growing season, in summer and early autumn.
In spring, complex fertilizers are used for vegetative succulents containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements. In summer and autumn, mixtures are used for feeding, which include potassium and phosphorus.
Indoor bastard can be a large tree with a dense crown.
The main mistakes in the process of transplanting a money tree
Transplant the plant as the crown of the tree begins to far exceed the boundaries of the walls of the pot. The new pot shouldn't be much larger than the old one. The plant is not suitable for acidic or alkaline, very dense or fertile soil. A newly transplanted plant should not be kept in a draft or in a place where it will be exposed to direct sunlight.
Taking care of a well-established money tree is not difficult and very interesting. After all, from it you can form both a large exotic plant and a miniature bonsai. In any form, it will delight the owners with its appearance, and, possibly, will bring to their homes the prosperity they dream of.
