Dioecious "golden", "sausage tree" - or Japanese aukuba from the country of the rising sun. Its name in translation means "always green". Grow an aucoube for the sake of bright foliage, the plant can decorate as an ordinary apartment, and a representative hall or office.
How does a houseplant of an aucuba look like?
Semi-arboreal shrub in the description is characterized by impressive growth - it reaches a height of 1.8 m. Its shoots are upright, well branch, light green. The leaves of the culture are magnificent - they are elongated (up to 20 cm in length and 6 cm in width), with scattered yellow specks, as if a golden shower fell on the bush. The plant rarely blooms in March-April with tiny, unattractive hairy panicles. Purple or dark cherry rosettes are decorated with petals of elongated-lance shape with a diameter of up to 4.5 mm. After flowering, crimson berries of 7 mm are formed.
Flower of the aucuba - planting
The best place for a room akuba is a light, penumbra. Planting it does not need to be too bulky pots - they must match the size of the root system. After buying the aukuba, the Japanese is advised to move to a more suitable container with a drain of claydite at 1/3 of the height of the vessel. The transplantation is carried out after a couple of days by the method of transshipment, so as not to tear the tender roots of the plant. Watering the bush at once is not necessary - it is better to do it the next day. All areas of the Japanese flower are poisonous, it is necessary to wear gloves during the procedures, wash hands with soap after work.
Cultivation of aukuba
The Japanese aukuba prefers heat within + 22-23 ° C, it does not like appreciable fluctuations in temperature, drafts. In the summer it can be moved to the street in the garden in the shade or on the ventilated balcony. At the same time, the bush should be placed so that it does not harm it with sunlight, wind and rain. For wintering, you can find a cooler place with conditions + 10-14 ° C, but less than + 6 ° C, the temperature should not decrease. Flowers and leaves of Japanese aukuba decorativeness are acquired with shade lighting. So her plates better preserve the variegation of the sheet.
Aucuba - soil
To house a healthy evergreen aukuba, such indoor flowers should be planted in a light soil. The substrate can be prepared independently: mix sod, leafy earth (or humus), moistened peat and coarse sand in equal parts. The vessel should have a hole and a good drainage , otherwise from the stagnation of the liquid the foliage on the shoots will cover with brownish spots.
How to propagate the auscube?
Decorative-leafy Japanese aukuba is propagated by two methods:
- Seeds. At home, quality seed can be obtained only if there are two heterogeneous plants, otherwise embryos of seeds in fruits do not form. On some bushes the flowers have stamens, on others - pestles, the culture must be manually pollinated with a cotton swab. Seeds of germination lose very quickly, so there is no point in storing them.
- Cuttings. This is a more rapid method of reproduction. The procedure is carried out in February or March. From the mature aukuba in propagation by cuttings, an appendix with 2-3 leaves is separated and placed in a moist peat-sand mixture, covered with cellophane or a plastic bottle. When the seedlings have roots, small leaves grow on it. The hardened stalk is planted in a separate vessel with soil from the ground, sand and peat, the tops of it immediately pricked to form a thick crown.
Freshly picked up seeds are soaked for several hours, sowed in a wide container with moistened peat and covered with glass. The container is placed in a warm place, systematically aired and moistens the soil. When the shoots have 3-4 sheets, the covering material can be removed. Sprouts are transplanted into soil consisting of turf ground, humus and sand in a combination of 2: 1: 1. When propagating by seeds, the variegation of leaves may not be preserved;
Aukuba - home care
In the future for Japanese aukuba care consists in timely watering, periodic feeding, transplanting the bush. To form a beautiful crown in the spring period at the beginning of the vegetation period, prickles and pruning of the apical shoots are made. The Japanese aucuba thus gives new shoots and branches, becomes lush and beautiful, actively increasing the green mass. The remaining cuttings are suitable for propagation of the culture.
Aucubic transplantation
Japanese aukuba with home care does not need a frequent transplant. In one container, an adult specimen feels well for 5-10 years, it is better to disturb it when the roots completely cover the pot. Before this, a partial replacement of the soil is possible - about a third of the upper part. Young Japanese plants up to three years in the period of active growth are transplanted annually in the spring. In this case, the container is purchased more than the previous one. Plant transplantation is carried out by the method of transshipment, without destroying the earthen lump, carefully so as not to damage fragile and brittle roots.
Aucuba plant - watering
The unpretentious Japanese aukuba as a houseplant needs a moderate, but systematic irrigation from May to August. Moisten the flower when the upper layer of the earth dries out, avoiding excessive sputum. In winter, watering is reduced, the rule is used - it is better to undercharge than overdo it. The aukuba is not afraid of short-term dryness, but stagnation of water will lead to the appearance of black spots on the foliage. For irrigation it is necessary to use a constant and warm water.
In the autumn-winter period, Japanese culture is recommended spraying, especially in rooms with central heating, so that the bush does not begin to dump foliage from excessive dryness of air. When the plant is kept in cool temperatures, it must be watered carefully, making sure that mold does not appear. In the summer and spring, sprayings are not necessary, they can not be done.
Japanese aukuba plant - additional fertilizer
Evergreen Japanese aukuba when nursing at home requires feeding. Feed it once a week from March to August with mineral fertilizers for deciduous crops, combining the procedure with watering. Concentration is used according to the instructions on the package. Well, the bush also reacts to organic chemistry - in the summer it is fed with diluted slurry once every two weeks. It is necessary to water the moist soil with fertilizer, so as not to burn the roots of the plant. The well-fed crop has powerful leaves and bright patterns.
Diseases of the aukuba
When growing a bush, you can face a number of problems. Indoor flower of an aucuba on the wrong care reacts immediately, the first signal is always served by leaves:
- The most common problem is the disappearance of yellow spots. The main reason is the lack of light. The pot must be moved to a lighter place.
- Black clearings on the leaves mean that the culture receives a lot of moisture. Several times you have to skip irrigation, so that the land is dry, then adjust the frequency.
- Leaves pale, if the bush stands in the sun, it is better to rearrange it into the shade.
- If the leaves turn yellow, the air in the room is too dry. The bush should be irrigated from the spray.
- The slow growth of the aukuba signals a lack of nutrients, the application of mineral fertilizers can help.
- When waterlogged, overcooled and improperly watered, the bush is damaged by rot, especially young specimens. The root system becomes reddish while the Japanese aukuba quickly dies. The plant must be removed, the underground part washed, the affected processes cut off, the capacity and the soil changed. After a transplant, water it a little. You can save the bush only at the initial stage of the disease. In the future, he needs to ensure the correct temperature and watering regime.
- If pests are seen on leaves, it is often a spider mite (white plaque) or thrips (blemishes), a Japanese aukuba must be treated with the insecticide Decis, Actellik, Inta-vir.
- Shields and aphids first settle on the lower part of the leaves, then cover the entire surface. Plates subsequently become sluggish due to the fact that parasites suck out all the juice from them. The aphids further cover the plant with a sticky coating. Noticing the signs of their appearance (black or brown spots), the plant must be treated with a soap solution, then sprayed with the insecticide Actellik, repeated three times at intervals of 14 days. The shield is additionally cleaned with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.