Types of milkweed are very popular among gardeners, professionals and amateurs. These plants are diverse in form, but equally toxic in content. Euphorbia Laktey Kristat euphorbia has the most unusual form.
- About milk Milk
- Crested form
- How to care for Laktea milk
- Features of watering and top dressing
- Optimal lighting
- Temperature for Healthy Milkweed Growth Milk
- Milkweed pruning
- Transplantation and reproduction of milkweed
- Milkweed Diseases Milk
Euphorbia is difficult to find on the shelves. This is a special decorative culture, the best choice for true connoisseurs and lovers of extravagant forms.
About milk
Crested Euphorbia lactaea (Euphorbia lactea f. Cristata) belongs to the large family of Euphorbia plants.
This family is characterized by a variety of forms, as can be seen from the numerous photos. Euphorbia Milk, even an inexperienced grower will not be able to confuse with another plant.
Euphorbia Laktea refers to succulent perennials. She comes from the Asian tropics. In the wild, Milkweeds have large and powerful shoots of an unusual shape that is difficult to describe. In the culture of Laktey, Cristata is most often grafted onto other species of the family.Milkweed shoot in shape resembles a rounded comb or fan.
Milkweed Milkweed is prone to mutations. Two mutational forms are known:
- variegate (lack of the ability to photosynthesis);
- crestate.
Among gardeners, the most popular are crests. They are not deprived of chlorophyll, they produce energy for themselves, therefore Laktey Kristata (f. Cristata) can grow independently, on its roots. Variegate cristata (f. Cristata f.variegata) must be grafted onto another euphorbia.
Most often, the crest of Euphorbia Cristata is grafted into a more stable and unpretentious stem species. In the shops you can find a scallop on a ribbed bright green leg.
Kristatnaya form
Euphorbia Lakteya Kristata attracts florists with her extraordinary form. The silhouette of the plant resembles an open fan. Some compare it to coral. The shoot has irregularities, outgrowths, prongs and spikes are visible along the edges.
Euphorbia also has a very unusual color. The light green shoot has a center point of white color. Some plants are decorated with reddish spikes. The edges of the fan are often covered with a pinkish coating. There are varieties that have a metallic sheen in color.
Euphorbia Kristata is a flowering plant. Flowers are located on the edges of the scallop. They have a very small size, so they are almost invisible. Blooming euphorbia at home is a rare and exceptional phenomenon.
How to care for Laktea’s milkweed
It is very difficult to grow and preserve Kristatiy euphorbia at home. This unusual plant and standard care rules do not suit him.
Caring for Kristata should be unobtrusive, but very careful and attentive. The plant has a dual nature. It is necessary to take into account the growth characteristics of the scion and stock. Euphorbia Lacteya can develop normally in the temperature and light conditions of the room. The plant tolerates heat and cold equally poorly.
Improper care at home leads to loss of the plant. Before you purchase and start growing milk euphorbia, you need to carefully study all the features of the growth and development of euphorbia.
Features of watering and feeding
Special attention when growing Euphorbia Cristata at home conditions given to watering. To ridges were large and fleshy, you must constantly maintain moderate soil moisture. Dryness or excessive moisture can lead to the death of the stock. Excessive moisture promotes decay, and when moisture is lacking, the shoot dries out.
No need to water Euphorbia often. Watering regime for milk milk milk, depending on the season:
- Spring and summer. Watering is carried out 1 time in 10 days.
- Late autumn and winter. Watering of Euphorbia is carried out once every 30 days.
In this mode, in the interval between waterings, the topsoil completely dries out.The middle layer of soil retains a small amount of moisture. After watering, optimal humidity is created in a short time.
Euphorbia does not tolerate humid air. Do not spray the plant. The stock and crested area can die when wet.
You can apply fertilizer only in the summer and spring, not more than 1 time per month. For Laktei, they select special feeding for cacti.
Optimum lighting
It is very difficult to create the optimal level of lighting for the healthy growth of milkweed Lakteya Kristata. Beautiful juicy ridges like light, but Do not tolerate direct sunlight. Shade and partial shade will make the plant frail and faded.
It is best to choose a place for milkweed closer to the window so that the level of natural light is maximum. You can’t add artificial lighting. The illumination was uniform throughout the day.
Temperatures for the healthy growth of Milkweed
Euphorbia is a thermophilic plant. Laktea Kristata is capricious in temperature conditions. The plant does not tolerate heat and
Features of the temperature regime for Milkweed:
- in the summer, the temperature should not exceed 25-27 ° С;
- in winter the temperature should not drop below 22-20 ° С.
The threshold minimum temperature for milkweed – 15 ° С, maximum – 30 ° С. The optimum temperature for the milkweed is room temperature.
It is best to keep milkweed in the room with air conditioning. This will allow maintaining a healthy temperature regime at any time of the year.
Trimming milkweed
The unique form of Kristatii milkweed needs constant support. The shoot will retain its appearance in the absence of unnecessary load.
From the stock you need to regularly cut or break off the side branches, sheets with your hands, otherwise the food will be divided into two. On the scallop, additional shoots also grow. They also need to be broken off.
It is advisable to prune when the branches just appeared: this way the plant will not be injured.
Transplantation and reproduction of milkweed
Milk euphorbia should grow in a small pot. Transplanting a plant is necessary only if the root system occupies the entire soil. The size of the container for transplantation increases slightly (1-2 cm). The roots should be cramped, otherwise all the food will go to the development of the root system, and the growth of the upper shoot will slow down.
How to transplant the euphorbia:
- Make holes in the bottom of the pot.
- Fill the bottom with a high layer of drainage material.
- Remove the plant from the old pot with soil.
- Lightly clean the roots from the substrate.
- Place the plant in new capacity. The level of penetration during transplantation should not change.
- Fill the soil substrate, squeeze.
- Water the plant.
Euphorbia Lakteya Kristata needs to be grown in light soils . Soil substrates for cacti are selected. They have increased moisture permeability.
Propagate the plant yourself can only cuttings. The comb or part thereof must be carefully cut and put into water. This is necessary to remove milk secretions. Then the slice is dried and processed. The root is rooted in the greenhouse, but it’s best to immediately graft the comb to another milkweed. Propagating Cristata at home is very difficult, this is a task for experienced gardeners.
Milk Milkweed Diseases
Laktea can get sick if the rules of care are violated. The most common disease of crested euphorbia is rot.
Putrefactive processes develop on the shoot of a stock or ridge with increased humidity of air or soil. When rot appears, you need to immediately trim the plant. If the disease develops on a stock, the comb can be grafted onto a new shoot.
Laktey Kristata pleases the eye and excites the imagination. This is a noble plant that requires attention. For the healthy growth of milkweed Laktey Kristata you need moderate temperature, moderate lighting and moderate watering. The efforts made will not be in vain.
