Colorful and in many ways extravagant, Afelandra is one of the dazzlingly vibrant indoor plants. Everything is beautiful in it – and leaves, and inflorescences, and details. Thick, shiny veins give the plant austerity and perfection. And the emerald colors of greenery seem to have been created in order to set off the original spikelets of the apical inflorescences. Afelandra is not a plant for everyone. And quite demanding to care for. Before buying bushes, it is worth considering its location and measures to maintain a comfortable air humidity. But with due attention, it will become the main decoration of your interior for many years.
Extravagant Alefandra is moisture-loving but reliable. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Justin Charles
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Description of the plant
Representative of the Acanthus family afelandra, or Afelandra (Aphelandra) – one of the most spectacular indoor decorative leafy species, which is rightly ranked among the strict, ornamental and fashionable. These are low, evergreen shrubs with large leaves and apical pineal spikelets of inflorescences. As a houseplant, mainly one species is grown – protruding aphelandra (Aphelandra squarrosa), or rather, its undersized, compact varieties specially bred for greenhouses and rooms.
At a height of 30 to 50 cm, aphelandras appear to be very voluminous – mainly due to their large leaves. They are bushy, evergreen plants with straight, weakly branching shoots that, over time, release more and more lateral shoots when properly formed. Pointed, oval leaves conquer not only with skeletal veins, highlighted with light thick stripes of light yellow or silver color, but also with a slightly wrinkled effect of a convex surface and an intense emerald color. The foliage of Afelandra is very large, up to 25 cm in length with half the width.
Blooming aphelandras on sale can be found almost all year round. Afelander blooms for a very long time. But not because of the persistence of the flowers, but because the most decorative part of the inflorescences are tough, waxy, bright bracts that do not wither for many months. From June to October, in some varieties – with a shift in timing, inflorescences-spikelets bloom on the tops of the shoots, somewhat similar to colored cones. You should take a closer look at their structure. Yellow, tubular, double-lipped, extravagant flowers fantastically knock out of the “cones”, looking out between tightly overlapping bracts and breaking the symmetry of the inflorescences.
You can safely choose the varieties of Afelander according to your taste. After all, all varieties presented in flower shops usually remain without names and differ only in shades of patterns, size and density of bushes.
Growing conditions for indoor afelandra
The bright patterns of Afelandra themselves suggest that this is a plant that cannot stand shading. Even in gentle penumbra, the plant quickly loses its special variegated colors, so the placement for the aphelander is limited to the maximum proximity to windows and sills. Afelandra should be protected from the direct sun, but the brighter the lighting, the better. In winter, the lighting level should remain the same; the plant will prefer rearrangement to southern windows or supplementary lighting.
Afelandra is a thermophilic culture that does not tolerate a decrease in indicators below 15 degrees. Even during the dormant period, which lasts 9 weeks for aphelandra, the plant is not placed in the cold, lowering the temperature slightly if possible, adjusting the care, but maintaining the level of lighting. The heat-loving nature of Afelandra is compensated by resistance to heat, but it manifests itself only with a corresponding increase in air humidity. With normal care and maintenance not in a greenhouse, it is better to limit the maximum temperatures to 25 degrees.
Drafts are not for the aphelander. Even when ventilated, it is better to protect the plant from too abrupt changes.
Home care for Afelandra
Moisture-loving Afelander is one of the main problems in growing this plant. It is so demanding on the stability of conditions that it will develop normally at home only with quality care.
Read also our article The best indoor plants with bright bracts.
Watering and air humidity
To avoid problems with aphelander, you need to constantly check the degree of drying out of the soil. This plant prefers a stable, uniform, light soil moisture with drying in the upper layer and preventing water from accumulating in the trays, even for a couple of minutes. For the winter, watering is reduced, adjusting it depending on the temperature. Drought is unacceptable for this plant.
For Afelandra, water hardness plays a critical role: it can only be watered with soft water, ideally with melted or filtered water. Even ordinary water that has settled for a long time is not very suitable for her. Watering with cold water is unacceptable: its temperature must correspond to the air in the room.
The higher the air humidity, the more beautiful the aphelandra. If the values fall below 50%, the tips of the leaves begin to dry and the colors begin to fade. With the help of spraying, you can compensate for the usual conditions of apartments, but it is easier to install water containers or additional trays with wet pebbles or expanded clay for Afelandra.
Top dressing and composition of fertilizers
It is better to feed Afelandra more often, but in a lower concentration. This plant perfectly tolerates weekly feeding with divided portions of fertilizers in half during the entire period of active growing season. For the rest period, for 9-10 weeks, feeding is stopped (after the end of flowering).
For Afelandra, universal, complex fertilizers are more suitable.
Trimming and shaping afelandra
From this plant, it is imperative to remove faded inflorescences as decorativeness is lost. But the main pruning is carried out at the end of the dormant period, before transplanting and the beginning of active growth, focusing on the first signals. Shoots are shortened by cutting off from ⅓ to half of the branches. Usually – to a height of 20-30 cm. It is better to supplement regular pruning with pinching of young shoots.
Transplant, containers and substrate
Young aphelanders and healthy, high-growth plants are replanted annually, adult or slow-growing plants as needed. The plant prefers transshipment.
For this culture, any versatile, loose, breathable substrate designed for decorative deciduous plants is suitable. Additional loosening additives are welcome. The drainage layer should be at least ⅓ of the height of the pot. For aphelander, select low, with equal depth and diameter, or wider, not very large containers. Ceramic is preferred.
After transplanting, Afelander needs to be watered more carefully, protected from the bright sun and kept in high humidity. Afelandras can be grown hydroponically.
Diseases, pests and growing problems
Hypothermia, drafts, overflow for Afelandra are much more dangerous than any pests or diseases. On neglected plants or when the collection is infected, scale insects with aphids can also spread to it, but they are usually quickly dealt with with systemic insecticides. But mistakes in the selection of conditions or care lead to the dropping of leaves, their “wilting”, drying, lack of flowering.
Read also our article 5 of the most spectacular houseplants with large leaves.
Reproduction of afelandra room format
Afelandru is propagated at home by cuttings. It is not necessary to use stem cuttings, but tops of shoots with several internodes – branches from 10 to 15 cm long. Rooting requires greenhouse conditions with lower heating, a light substrate, treatment with growth stimulants.
Seeds are sown in early March, superficially, crops need conditions similar to cuttings. Diving is carried out only after the crops grow up to 10 cm.
