Amazon lily - what kind of indoor flower
Content:
Representatives of the Amarallisov family have amazing beauty. Perhaps the brightest representative is Eucharis or Amazonian lily. A flower belonging to the class of monocots. This unpretentious flower can be grown even by a beginner in gardening. To get an abundantly flowering plant at home, you need to familiarize yourself with its representatives and growing characteristics.
Amazon lily - general description
Under natural conditions, eucharis grows in tropical forests in Central and South America. It appeared as a house plant in Europe in the middle of the 19th century. In the wild, the flower reproduces vegetatively, so the bulbs are rarely located in the ground one by one.
Eucharis grandiflora
Lily leaf plates can be up to 55 cm long and 20 cm wide. A single eucharis flower resembles a daffodil in appearance. But there are several of them and they are located on a high peduncle of 3-10 pieces on an umbrella-shaped inflorescence. The color of the bud can vary from green to yellow and even white. Under the right conditions, flowering occurs up to 3 times a year.
Eucharis: varieties of indoor flower and their description
At the moment, about 20 representatives of this genus are known. Among them are the species that gardeners grow most often.
Eucharis grandiflora
The inhabitant of the mountains located in Colombia has a bulb with a diameter of 30 to 60 cm. Its leaves are broad-lanceolate.
White, pleasantly scented flowers grow up to 12 cm in diameter and form inflorescences of 3-6 buds. They are located on a long peduncle that grows up to 80 cm.
Eucharis white (Eucharis candida)
Another representative of hot Colombia grows from an ovoid bulb with a diameter of 50 mm. Its leaves are in the form of a wide ellipse, pointed towards the top and tapering towards the base.
White flowers with a pleasant scent form an umbrella consisting of 6-10 buds, which forms on a brown-green peduncle. The plant blooms in March.
Eucharis candida
Eucharis mastersii
The plant, which is quite easy to confuse with Eucharis white, was also originally discovered in Colombia. Its bulbs have the same shape and size as those of their relative. Wide-oval leaf plates, round at the base, grow on short petioles. The largest leaves can be 15 cm wide and 25 cm long.
The peduncle, round in cross section, is formed from two umbellate inflorescences. The growing season begins in March.
Eucharis mastersii
Eucharis Sanderi
The South American member of the family has egg-shaped bulbs. The leaves of the plant are quite large - up to 30 cm long and 17 cm wide. They are located on 15-centimeter petioles.
White flowers form umbellate inflorescences of 2-3 buds that grow on long peduncles. Flowering, depending on conditions, begins in February-April. This representative is often grown on an industrial scale.
Eucharis sanderi
Eucharis subedentata
This species is native to the rainforests of Colombia. Representatives sprout from an oval bulb. The oblong triangular plates grow up to 11 cm wide and 23 cm long. They grow on long petioles that have a groove-shaped section.
White buds grow in 4-6 pieces on umbellate inflorescences, which are located on long peduncles.
Eucharis subedentata
Eucharis - home care
The Amazon lily will bloom at home for many years if properly cared for. At the same time, it is necessary to provide conditions close to the natural habitat.
Illumination and temperature conditions
A representative of the tropics during the growing season must maintain the temperature within + 18-22 ° C. In the cold season, it is recommended to keep the room temperature at least + 15 ° С.
In order for the plant to receive enough sunlight, it must be located on the west or east side of the house. It is allowed to put the pot on windows facing south, but then it is necessary to provide shade for the bush.
If you put Eucharis deep in the room, then it will not bloom.
Watering rules and humidity
With proper care of eucharis, drying out and waterlogging of the soil is not allowed. He should provide regular, not abundant hydration. It is necessary to water the plant when the soil dries to a depth of about 3 cm. This should be done so that water does not get into the center of the outlet.
When watering, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- use boiled or settled water;
- to create conditions close to natural, watering must be alternated with spraying;
- the plant loves melt or rainwater.
During extreme heat, you should monitor the humidity in the room. To do this, you should regularly spray the plant or put a tray of water next to it.
Top dressing and soil quality
A fertile substrate is essential for proper planting of the Amazonian lily. It can be mixed from the following ingredients:
- part of the peat;
- part of the sand;
- a piece of turf or leafy land.
You can use humus instead of turf.
It is necessary to feed eucharis during active growth and flowering. For this, special fertilizers for indoor plants are used. They should be brought in once every two weeks.
You need to choose fertilizers that contain phosphorus and potassium - the presence of nitrogen provokes the active development of green mass instead of buds. When the flowering is over, the feeding of the flower stops.
Flower container size
For the Amazonian lily to bloom faster, it needs a cramped pot in which the bulbs grow next to each other. Thus, when choosing a container, you should be guided by the size and number of plants.
Pruning and replanting
You need to transplant the bush no more than once every 2-3 years. For these purposes, a pot is selected several centimeters larger than the previous one. It is better to perform the procedure in the spring, when the plant has already bloomed, but the rest period has not yet come.
In order not to damage the root system, plant transplantation is performed step by step:
- The bush is watered abundantly and carefully pulled out of the pot along with a lump of earth.
- In a new pot, a drainage layer is covered and sprinkled with soil.
- The flower is placed in the center of the container, the cavities are covered with soil.
- It is not allowed to deepen the bulb by more than 4 cm.
- The plant is watered immediately after transplanting.
Bush pruning is done only when necessary - to remove old, damaged or diseased areas. After the lily has faded, you can trim the wilted buds.
How eucharis blooms
A feature of eucharises is that all varieties start flowering at different times. The buds can form up to three times during the year. The blossoming corolla retains its decorative shape for about 7 days, after which a dormant period begins.
For those varieties in which the growing season falls in the winter, maintain standard care conditions and ensure sufficient humidity in the room.
Reproduction methods
The Amazon lily can reproduce in two ways: by bulbs and by seeds.
Plant seedlings
The first option is used when transplanting adult flowers. In a three-year-old eucharis, several children are formed on the bulb. To perform the division, the flower is carefully removed from the pot and the shoots are carefully separated from the mother bulb. The resulting shoots are planted in separate pots or in a common container.
The seed propagation method is used by experienced florists. To do this, artificial pollination must be carried out at home.
When the seed pod is formed, it is necessary to wait for it to dry and cut off. A small greenhouse is created for the seeds obtained. If everything is done correctly, then in 20 days the first shoots will appear. When three leaves appear on the shoots, they can be planted in separate containers.
Diseases and pests
The main reason why the Amazon lily can feel bad is gray mold. It appears with high humidity in the room. As soon as the first signs of the disease are found, the number of watering is reduced, and the bush is treated with antifungal compounds.
For a plant that is highly resistant to pests, the scabbards, thrips and spider mites become the most terrible enemies. When they appear, the leaves of the plant should be treated with insecticides.
With proper care of the Amazonian lily, you can get a plant in your own home that will delight with its appearance and bloom even in the cold season.
