Chocolate tree in the room – features of growing cocoa – Beautiful indoor plants

Chocolate trees are plants almost as mythical as their fruits. And, perhaps, it is the association with a favorite treat that makes indoor cocoa such an exclusive part of any plant lover’s collection. Cocoa trees are some of the most difficult potted indoor crops to grow. They look original, but not so exotic, they cause a lot of hassle with leaving. And the conditions they need can rather be called a greenhouse. Nevertheless, the cocoa plant is actively gaining popularity, breaking into the ratings of the best indoor fruit crops along with pomegranate and coffee.

Chocolate tree in the room – features of growing cocoa. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com USCapitol

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Chocolate indoor miracle – what is it?

The plant, the fruits of which give the world its favorite delicacy – chocolate, belongs to one of the most valuable fruit-bearing crops on the planet. Cocoa, chocolate tree, or Cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) Is a tropical plant, represented in culture by more than 30 varieties and countless varieties, differing in taste and aromatic qualities. This plant is native to the hot and humid forests of the Amazon, which is still the most widely cultivated in South America.

Representatives of the genus Theobroma (Theobroma) used to be ranked in the Sterculiaceae family, but modern classifications have long changed this confusion and enlisted cocoa in a much more similar plant community – Malvaceae.

In nature, chocolate trees are not the largest of the tropical giants, but are easily recognizable and powerful evergreens. With a trunk width of 15 to 30 cm, cocoa trees rise up to 8 m in height, in a room format cocoa is akin in size to citrus fruits – it completely depends on the formation. It may not grow taller than 50-90 cm, but it may become a true giant.

The rhizome is rather compact and shallow, although the presence of a stem root requires more careful handling of the plant during transplantation. The bark is brown-brown, on young branches it is green, the color changes unevenly. Indoor cocoa prepared a lot of surprises, surprising with its beauty the crown of large and spectacular leaves. Due to the whorled branching and spreading, the silhouette of the cocoa trees looks massive and impressive.

Reaching a length of 30 cm with a width of only 15, lanceolate-oval, leathery cocoa leaves drooping, resembling tissues with their light roughness, they stand out against the background of any other plants both in the natural environment and in indoor culture. Leaves develop unusually, 3-4 leaves bloom at the same time, the plant seems to be renewed in jerks or flashes with breaks between the release of new leaves from 3 to 12 weeks.

The green color of cocoa trees is classic, medium green, with a rich cold tone on the upper side and lighter on the lower side. The reverse side of the leaves is matte, but the top is glossy, their surface is wrinkled and embossed. Young leaves are light yellow or pink, gradually repainted and become more rigid. The leaves are attached on thin and short petioles.

The cocoa bloom is very original. In small bunches, and in indoor cocoa – more often one by one, small flowers, about 1,5 cm in diameter, sessile on short stalks with beige-yellow petals and pink sepals of rich color bloom on the shoots and trunk. The shape of the flower is very original, somewhat reminiscent of garden aquilegia due to its complicated structure.

The unpleasant aroma of cocoa is a kind of compensation for much more appetizing fruits. With a repulsive smell, chocolate trees attract pollinating insects in nature; for indoor cocoa, cross-pollination is necessary for fruiting. Plants are able to bloom from the second year, but they begin to bear fruit only at the age of 4-5 years. In rooms, they rarely bear fruit, only in ideal conditions.

Cocoa fruits are oval, elongated, ribbed yellow or reddish berries, hiding colorless juicy pulp under a rough and thick skin. The seeds – the very cocoa beans – are arranged in two rows. One fruit ripens up to 50 seeds. Fruits ripen from 6 to 12 months, slowly and gradually. When overripe, seeds can germinate in fruits. After extraction, the seeds need a weekly fermentation and thorough drying.

Cocoa trees are some of the most difficult to grow and maintain fertile plant species.Cocoa trees are some of the most difficult to grow and maintain fertile plant species. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com organically

Conditions for growing indoor cocoa

Cocoa trees are some of the most difficult to grow and maintain fertile plant species. This is an amazingly delicate and capricious culture, sensitive to pollution and changing conditions, which largely explains not only the constantly rising prices for cocoa beans, but also the critical situation with the preservation of plantations in a changing climate.

Chocolate trees fully inherit their capricious sissy character even in indoor culture. This plant is not for everyone, because very specific conditions need to be created for cocoa trees. For potted cocoa, you need to recreate difficult conditions – secluded lighting and very high humidity.

Chocolate trees are more suited to growing in greenhouses or warm conservatories, flower collections of tropical plants than to ordinary living rooms. It is not easy to grow them exactly as a houseplant, but it is possible with careful control of lighting, temperature and humidity.

Lighting and placement

In nature, cocoa is used to growing in the lower tier of a multi-layered tropical jungle, in semi-darkness, diffused, soft lighting. In the indoor format, chocolate trees change their habits a little, developing poorly in strong shading, but still cannot stand direct sunlight. Due to their shade tolerance, they do not require seasonal changes in lighting.

Cocoa trees feel great on the eastern window sills. Partially south-facing windows are also suitable for them, on which plants are placed with protection from direct sun. Cocoa trees can be introduced into the interior only where there are panoramic or southern windows, and even then without moving them too far from the window.

Temperature control and ventilation

Cocoa trees are extremely thermophilic tropical plants. They die when the temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius, at rates of 15-16 degrees, problems and visible violations in their development begin. To grow a cocoa tree, you need to create really stable warm conditions for it. Ideally, the air temperature should remain at + 24 … + 25 ยฐ C degrees all year round. Too extreme heat, indicators above 28 degrees, the tree does not like, but falling below 23 degrees begins to affect its leaves. The same temperatures are maintained all year round.

Cocoa does not tolerate drafts, sudden temperature changes, proximity to heating appliances. It is better not to move the plants or move them frequently. Cocoa trees cannot stand outdoors.

The unpleasant aroma of cocoa is a kind of compensation for much more appetizing fruitsThe unpleasant aroma of cocoa is a kind of compensation for much more appetizing fruits. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com MUCC

Home cocoa care

Cocoa is capricious and demanding to care for. He needs attention, careful procedures and careful handling. The most difficult thing to care for is maintaining a very high air humidity.

Watering and air humidity

Despite the fact that in the Amazonian forests, cocoa grows with partial flooding and tolerates damp conditions well, in indoor culture it is extremely sensitive to waterlogging and stagnant water. Cocoa should be watered very carefully, making sure that no water remains in the trays, and the substrate partially, in the upper 2โ€“3 cm, dries out between these procedures. In winter, even at absolutely stable temperatures, waterings for cocoa are reduced, increasing the interval between waterings by 1-2 days after the top layer of the substrate has dried and reducing the amount of water.

For cocoa trees, use soft, warm water. Its temperature should be higher than the air temperature in the room.

High air humidity, from 70% and above, is a condition without which a plant cannot be grown. Chocolate trees cannot tolerate dry air and quickly wither away in a normal room environment. When growing this crop, it is worth considering all possible comprehensive measures to create high humidity – from spraying to installing humidifiers.

When grown in tropical collections, the plant is content with a common moisturizer along with other tropical plants. If cocoa is the only moisture-loving plant in the collection, then instead of a special device, you can try to create high humidity with home counterparts – pallets with wet moss, indoor fountains, bowls of water, frequent spraying. When spraying, you need to choose small sprayers and avoid strong wetting of the leaves, carrying out this procedure at some distance from the plant and from a height.

Flowering chocolate treeBlooming chocolate tree. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Anne Elliott

Top dressing and composition of fertilizers

Even indoor cocoa trees prefer organic over mineral fertilizers. They can be combined and alternated. When choosing complex preparations, preference should be given to fertilizers with a high nitrogen content – preparations for decorative deciduous plants.

For cocoa, the frequency of dressings is suitable once every 1-2 weeks for mineral fertilizers and once a month for organic fertilizers. Fertilizer is applied all year round, halving the frequency in winter. For young plants, you can alternate liquid foliar dressing.

Trimming and shaping

Without forming, cocoa will not preserve either the compactness or the beauty of the foliage. There is nothing difficult in pruning a plant: if desired, starting from a young age and a height of 30 cm, you can shorten the tops of the shoots in cocoa to create a certain silhouette and thicken the crown. Usually, the tops of the plant are pinched or pruned from 1/3 to XNUMX/XNUMX of the most actively growing and elongated shoots.

Regardless of age, shape and size, any chocolate trees must be cut dry, damaged, weak, thin, too thickening unproductive branches.

For this plant, pruning is carried out in early spring.

Transplant and substrate

Cocoa has a stalk root, but does not form a very deep root system. The plant must be grown in containers with a shallow depth or diameter and height equal to each other. Cocoa prefers containers made from natural materials. The diameter of the container is increased by a few centimeters for young plants and by 2 sizes for adults.

The frequency of transplanting depends on the intensity of the development of the root system. Cocoa is transferred into new containers only when the roots are completely entwined with an earthen ball.

For chocolate trees, you need to carefully select the soil. A mild acidic reaction within a pH range of 5,8 to 6,0 is ideal. The structure of the soil should be well-drained, light, nutritious.

When transplanting a plant, only free soil can be removed. Avoiding contact with the roots, the cocoa is transferred into new containers.

Diseases, pests and growing problems

Cocoa can suffer from spider mites and scale insects, but more often difficulties are associated with improper care. If there are signs of mold on the leaves, a depressed state, or pest damage, the fight is immediately carried out with the help of insecticides and fungicides.

Rooted cuttings of indoor kakakoRooted cuttings of indoor cocoa. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Dallis Church

Reproduction of indoor cocoa

Indoor cocoa is often touted as a plant that is easy to grow from seed. But in fact, the seed method of reproduction is far from the most optimal. Plant seeds are sown immediately after harvest or at least for 2 weeks after ripening. They lose their germination very quickly even when stored in cold weather.

Sowing is carried out in a universal loose substrate or inert soil. For cocoa, medium-sized individual pots are used, and not sowing in common boxes. The seeds are buried by 2-3 cm, following the strictly vertical arrangement of the seeds with the wide end down. The soil is watered after sowing, further maintaining a stable light moisture content of the substrate. For seed germination, not heat is needed, but a temperature of 23 to 25 degrees Celsius.

Lighting matters only after germination: the seedlings are moved to bright but diffused lighting, the air humidity is increased, or the plants are placed in a greenhouse. Young shoots of cocoa develop very quickly, in a couple of months they reach a height of 30 cm and release up to 8 leaves. It is during this period that they are transferred into larger pots and begin to form. Plants require very strict adherence to the rules of care.

An easier and more productive way of propagation is cuttings. In cocoa, semi-lignified shoots are used, partially retaining their green color, but with completely green leaves. The length of the cuttings is up to 15-20 cm. Only 3-4 leaves are left on them. Treatment with growth stimulants accelerates rooting.

Cuttings are planted in a moist light substrate or inert soil, in large common containers. At very high air humidity, rooting should take place at temperatures from 26 to 30 degrees Celsius. The shelter from the cuttings is removed gradually, the plants are watered carefully. Cocoa is transferred to individual containers only after the formation of a strong root system, several months after the appearance of signs of rooting. The older the plant, the more cuttings can be cut from it, starting with no more than 3 cuttings for cocoa trees 1-3 years old.

Occasionally, plants are propagated by leaf cuttings, which are cut, leaving 5 mm shoots above and below the bud. The cuttings are fixed on miniature sticks, buried with the lower cut into the soil and rooted in the same way as ordinary apical cuttings. The conditions of detention are similar, but rooting takes twice as long.

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Anna Evans

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