Popularly nicknamed “lingonberries” or “goldfish”, nematanthus is one of the most spectacular indoor crops with beautiful flowering. Plants developing in the form of compact bushes or ampels are equally conquering with dense shiny leaves of a dark color, and flowers, the unusual shape of which really resembles goldfish. Despite their growing popularity, these plants remain full-fledged indoor exotics. And the point is not only that the bright appearance of nematanthus favorably distinguishes it from tropical competitors. Growing them is not at all difficult, but they require very careful, thorough care.
Nematantus gregarius (Nematanthus gregarius). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com floradania
Contents:
Flawless greenery and outlandish nematanthus blooms
With name nematanthus (nematanthus) there is a lot of confusion. Today, plants formerly known as hypocyrtes (hypocyrta). Despite the fact that in the genus of nematanthus, separate groups of plants are still distinguished according to the peculiarities of the structure of flowers and inflorescences, they are all surprisingly similar to each other both in growth forms and in the type and attractiveness of foliage.
On sale, the name “hypocyrt” is still very common in our country. But according to all modern botanical classifications, it is more appropriate to call this plant nematanthus. Popular nicknames, which glorify the similarity of flowers with either goldfish or lingonberries, are relevant for all plants belonging to this genus. Popular and English-language name ‘Goldfish plant’.
Despite the fact that exotic flowering remains the most striking detail in the appearance of nematanthus, these plants can rightfully be called crops in which flowers of outlandish shape and beautiful classic fleshy leaves are equally attractive. During flowering, the nematanthus really seems to be a real miracle: on a luxurious crown of dark leaves and elegant shoots, somewhat reminiscent of noble boxwoods, original yellow or orange flowers flash.
In nature, nematanthuses develop as epiphytic dwarf shrubs or full-fledged vines. But plants adapted for growing in greenhouses and rooms are mostly formed as shrubs. Compact, elegant and dense bushes of numerous straight, rising, climbing or creeping shoots conquer with a very dense, attractive crown with beautiful growth forms. All nematanthuses are compact-sized plants, even at a considerable age not exceeding 10-60 cm in height. But rather modest sizes are not a drawback, but rather a huge advantage of this culture.
Nematanthus are characterized by a unique ability to harmonize space, favorably influence the visual perception of rooms, and create a feeling of greater spaciousness. At the same time, medium-sized forms do not allow the plant to have a negative impact on the interior, and bright details of the exterior allow these cultures to always and everywhere remain noticeable and important accents. Amazingly beautiful silhouettes and graceful forms of nematanthus are best revealed as solo, elegant interior decorations.
Climbing or creeping shoots of nematanthus are capable of rooting in nodes, are densely leafy, and the type of structure of the branches and the nature of the placement of leaves resembles boxwood or lingonberries and blueberries. Denser, fleshy, succulent leaves are not so small (from 3 to 10 cm), glossy and as if shiny surface favorably distinguish nematanthus against the background of other indoor crops. The leaves of the plant are obovate or elliptical, beautiful, with a deep midrib. The intense dark green color contrasts effectively with the purple or light underside and is accentuated by the glossy sheen.
These evergreen crops adorn with strikingly noble textures of greenery, conquer with severity, simplicity and at the same time impeccable appearance. A spectacular dark green background during almost the entire warm season is colored with bizarre flowers, the shape of which outwardly makes them look more like wax fruits or unusual berries. Outlandish nematanthus flowers bloom right in the leaf axils. They are tubular, with a narrowed, almost completely closing pharynx, unusual dense textures and an original bulge in the lower part.
The pocket-like shape of the corolla with swelling in different species of nematanthus is expressed differently: among them there are plants with a more modest and classic appearance, and more original and unusual ones. But the flowers of this plant do not leave anyone indifferent. They evoke many associations with pears, cannon, animals, various berries and tropical fruits. The unusual flowering of nematanthus is only emphasized by the fiery palette of colors. Yellow, orange and orange-red replace each other in soft watercolor variations, and the play of halftones and individual nuances of the color scheme makes the plants even more interesting.
Southern Nematanthus (Nematanthus australis). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com floradania
Species diversity of nematanthus
This plant belongs to the Gesneriev family. The genus is represented by 28 species, which are often combined into separate subgroups according to flowering characteristics. In room culture, 7-8 species are common.
- Nematantus Vetstein (Nematanthus Wettsteinii) Is the most common type. It used to be known as hypocyrtes – hypocyrta dusenii and hypocyrta wettsteinii. This is an excellent ampelous and potted culture, producing numerous climbing shoots up to 90 cm long, on which small oval brightly shiny leaves flaunt. They conquer with a waxy glossy surface and a rich dark green color. Between the leaves, orange-red tubular flowers with a slight swelling look like strange fruits, reaching about 2,5 cm in length.This nematanthus is able to bloom tirelessly from spring to mid-autumn.
- Much less common nematantus Fritch (Nematanthus fritschii), better known as the “goldfish”, and formerly called hypocyrta fritschii. This is a rather large species with beautiful green leaves decorated with a reddish underside with a light edging, forming bushes up to 60 cm high with bright pink, funnel-shaped, unusually curved flowers and very large leaves.
- Riverine nematantus (Nematanthus fluminensis) Is an excellent climbing houseplant with rather large, opposite leaves up to 10 cm long, with a purple back. The flowers of this species are elongated, lemon-yellow, up to 5 cm in length, with an expanded pharynx, unlike most nematanthus, and a tube pubescent outside.
- Nematanthus ankle (Nematanthus longipes) Is a climbing shrub with unusually light and large leaves for this genus, reaching 7-10 cm in length, almost the same long thin pedicels and single scarlet-red flowers with a strong swelling on the tube.
- Nematanthus small-bristled (Nematanthus strigillosus), formerly known as hypocyrta glabra and hypocyrta strigillosa – an evergreen epiphyte, limited to a height of 20-25 cm, releasing ascending or straight, rarely branched shoots with oval, small and shiny leaves and blooming one by one or in bunches of up to 3 pieces of tubular flowers. The tube has a globular bulge, a small bend corolla, and a classic yellow-orange color.
Hybrid nematanthus, which, thanks to long-term selection, have acquired an expressive, very strong odor, should be singled out separately. A rare but unique variety “Santa Teresa”, for example, produces a few flowers that can fill even a large room with an intense aroma, reminiscent of a mixture of olive oil and citrus zest. But the hybrid nematanthus Tropicana, in addition to the beauty of glossy, densely sitting leaves, offers to admire the yellow-orange flowers with spectacular golden and red stripes and is more famous not for the aroma, but for the beauty of the flowers.
Nematantus Wettsteinii
Nematantus gregarius (Nematanthus gregarius). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Bellatrix
Nematanthus hybrid (Nematanthus hybrid). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com floradania
Caring for nematanthus at home
Nematanthuses are not at all capricious and overly demanding indoor crops. Even their exotic status and outlandish flowering are not signs that the cultivation of these plants will be beyond the power of inexperienced growers. But since this culture needs regular and very careful care, reacts poorly to improper watering and feeding, requires annual pruning, carelessness in growing nematanthus is unacceptable. The only difficulty associated with creating conditions comfortable for any nematanthus is to ensure a cool wintering, which is the key to the abundant flowering of this indoor plant.
In the development of nematanthus, periods of rest, active development and preparation for flowering are pronounced. In nature, nematanthus bloom in summer, and in indoor culture, the period during which the bushes are decorated with outlandish flowers stretches for a very long time until October. After shedding flowers, and in some species and complete shedding of leaves, the plant begins a winter dormant period, which should be accompanied by a change in temperature and care.
Lighting for nematanthus
Nematanthus can be considered light-loving indoor plants. They love stable lighting throughout the year: in seasons when most indoor plants suffer from a lack of light, nematanthus need to be either supplemented or moved to brighter places. In winter, this culture is not afraid of even the sunniest places and southern windowsills. In the active period of growth and flowering, the lightest locations on the eastern and western window sills or in the lightest parts of the interior with panoramic windows are chosen for them – the nematanthus needs to be provided with stable bright diffused lighting.
Despite the fact that the density of the nematanthus leaves in many ways resembles the most hardy succulents, this plant does not tolerate direct sunlight, suffers greatly from burns when placed on windowsills with a southern orientation without appropriate dispersion. Nematanthus can only accept light shading during the hottest months of the year. Normal partial shade or shade will cause the plant to bloom much more poorly, or even provoke its absence. But on the other hand, partial shading does not affect the beauty of the leaves.
One of the main advantages of nematanthus is the ability to grow in both natural bright light and full artificial light equally well. Thanks to its good reaction to artificial lighting, this culture can be used in interior decoration as you like.
Comfortable temperature
The most difficult thing in growing nematanthus is the selection of comfortable temperature conditions. In this regard, the plants are not much different from other flowering indoor plants, in the development of which a period of almost complete dormancy is pronounced. The phase in development that the plant needs to rest and prepare for future flowering requires the creation of cool conditions. In winter, only the temperature range from 14 to 16 degrees Celsius will be comfortable for the nematanthus. Stability, constancy of temperatures in this case is no less important than their specific indicators.
If the nematanthus is dormant in a warmer environment, it will bloom very poorly, for a limited summer period, or may not bloom at all. Usually, the plant itself signals that it should be transferred to cooler conditions. After the nematanthus has thrown off all the flowers, for some species of the former hypocyrt – and leaves, the plants need mandatory annual pruning, after which they should be placed already in the winter maintenance regime.
But on the other hand, in the warm season and at the stage of active development, the nematanthus will not require any atypical conditions. These crops are quite comfortable in the usual “room” temperature range: from early spring to mid-autumn they are content with any conditions not exceeding 20 degrees Celsius. These plants, as a rule, achieve the greatest decorativeness and abundance of flowers at a stable temperature of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. If the temperature drops below 20 degrees, the plants may stop flowering.
When choosing the right temperatures for keeping nematanthus, it is necessary to remember that this exotic, despite all its classic beauty, is very sensitive to temperature extremes and fluctuations in keeping conditions. Sharp cold snaps are especially dangerous for nematanthus, but heat also adversely affects the ability of plants to bloom for a long time and abundantly. This culture should be protected in every possible way from any drafts and sudden changes in temperature.
True, intolerance even to the slightest drafts is surprisingly combined in nematanthus with a love for fresh air in summer, in the hottest months. Thanks to the latter characteristic, nematanthus can be placed in sheltered outdoor locations.
Nematanthus gregarius. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Barbara
Watering and air humidity
If the temperature regime is the most difficult moment in creating comfortable growing conditions for the nematanthus, then in caring for the plant, the most difficult component is rightfully called maintaining the moisture content of the substrate. It is watering that determines that this plant needs meticulous, very careful and tireless care. Nematanthus are moisture-loving plants that require abundant watering. But at the same time, it is unacceptable to simply carry out procedures often enough for this culture.
Before each watering, it is necessary to strictly control the degree of drying of the substrate, maintaining a stable soil moisture in the pots. Abundant and frequent procedures, between which only the upper layer of the substrate dries out, are necessary for the plant during the entire active period of development. Excessive soil moisture should not be allowed, as well as drying out, even in the middle layer. After each procedure, the water from the pallets must be drained immediately, not allowing it to stand even for the standard 5 minutes.
One of the difficult moments is the need to keep plants in a much drier winter than during the period of active growth. During the entire dormant phase for this plant, it is necessary to maintain a stable, but very light moisture content of the substrate, still not allowing it to dry out completely even for several hours, but at the same time drying not only the top, but also the middle layer of soil in pots between procedures. Watering in the fall should be moderate, rare, using a minimum amount of water. In this case, the main difficulty is the correct transition to the winter maintenance regime.
It is necessary to reduce watering as smoothly as possible, gradually, slowly. Despite the fact that the plants should be transferred to the winter watering schedule only after the end of the flowering period, it is necessary to begin to reduce the frequency of procedures even when the nematanthus is blooming. Ideally, it is necessary to reduce watering within a month, but if it is not possible to start the transition on time, then all the same, the plants must be transferred to the new conditions within at least 2 weeks.
Nematanthus partly compensates for the capriciousness to watering by its much greater lability to air humidity. For him, the most comfortable environment is with a humidity of 50%. Nematanthuses do well in any living space, except during the extreme summer heat and the operation of central heating systems. If the air is too dry, it is advisable to increase the humidity level either by spraying or by installing simple artisanal humidifiers in the form of pallets with wet pebbles or expanded clay. Spraying plants is complicated by the fact that the accumulation of moisture is undesirable not only on the flowers, but also on the leaves.
For this culture, it is necessary to use fine sprayers and spray high above the plant, so that even the slightest drops of moisture dissipate even before it hits the greens. Another feature in procedures for increasing air humidity is that for nematanthus they are never carried out during a dormant period. From the moment of entering the final phase of flowering, spraying is gradually reduced, and after the mandatory pruning is carried out, they are completely stopped. Wintering in dry air complements the changes in temperature and care, which stimulate the nematanthus to bloom more abundantly and longer in the next year.
When buying nematanthus, be sure to check the air humidity it needs, because many hybrid varieties are well adapted to dry conditions and do not need any other worlds, even on the hottest days.
Water for watering and spraying this plant should also be given special attention. For nematanthus, as for most indoor plants, only well-settled water can be used. But the main parameter is temperature. For nematanthus, it is better to use slightly warm water, the temperature of which is several degrees higher than the room temperature.
Nematanthus (Nematanthus). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com floradania
Top dressing for nematanthus
The fertilization schedule for nematanthus should be fully consistent with the stages of plant development. From October to February, during the dormant period, fertilizer should not be applied in any form. But during the period of active growth, especially when releasing young shoots and throughout the entire flowering stage, nematanthus need rather frequent feeding. For them, it is advisable to use the full dose of fertilizers recommended by the manufacturer, applying them with a frequency of 10 or 15 days between procedures. It is not worth feeding this culture more often than once every 10 days.
For nematanthus, special fertilizers for flowering crops with a high content of potassium and phosphorus are most suitable.
Pruning nematanthus
Unlike most indoor crops with such succulent, fleshy leaves, nematanthus needs to be pruned annually. Forming shearing on the plant is carried out at the end of the active growth stage, immediately after flowering is complete, and usually at the beginning of leaf shedding in the species formerly known as hypocyrtes. Without annual pruning, nematanthus will not only lose the beauty and density of the crown, its silhouette, density, but also the nature of foliage towards a more rare arrangement of leaves. But the most important consequences always relate to flowering. Nematanthuses produce flowers on young shoots, therefore, without pruning before the dormant stage, they will bloom very poorly or will not bloom at all.
The trimming procedure itself is extremely simple. All shoots of this plant are shortened by 1/3 of the length. For old nematanthus in need of rejuvenation, pruning is carried out 1/2 of the length of the branches.
Nematanthus. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Barbara
Transplant and substrate
Finding the right soil for this culture is not easy. For comfortable development, a lover with abundant watering during the entire active phase of nematanthus growth must provide a very light, loose substrate with good air and water permeability. Soil mixtures for Saintpaulias or any ready-made substrates consisting of equal proportions of leafy soil, peat and coarse sand with the addition of pieces of pine bark or sphagnum are considered optimal in composition for these plants.
The compact size of nematanthus is explained by rather moderate growth rates and slow development. Nematanthus not very actively grow not only aerial shoots, but also rhizomes. And thanks to this, they do not need a very frequent, and even more so an annual transplant, even at a very young age. The optimal frequency of procedures for this plant is one transplant every 2-3 years. At the same time, you always need to focus on the development of the plant itself, then at what rate the roots fill the earthy clod.
With the timing of the transplant, everything is much easier. A change in the capacity of the substrate for nematanthus is carried out as soon as the first signs of growth of new shoots and leaves appear, at the very beginning of spring.
The procedure itself is carried out according to the standard transshipment technique with minimal removal of only the free substrate and the top contaminated soil layer. The plant must be handled very carefully, trying not to allow even the slightest contact with the roots, all the more to avoid injury or breaking off even peripheral roots. It is very important for nematanthus to lay a strong and high drainage layer to ensure that your plant does not suffer from waterlogging.
Pay special attention to the fact that when transplanting nematanthus, the containers cannot be increased by more than 2-3 cm. This plant has a small rhizome, for which compact, medium-sized pots are selected. A spacious container increases the risk of diseases and pests, poor soil permeability and disturbances in the stable moisture content of the substrate. And in large containers all nematanthus bloom very poorly.
Diseases and pests
Nematanthus cannot boast of their status as a stable, invulnerable houseplant. Pests simply adore them, and at the slightest problems with care or the wrong choice of conditions on the beautiful crown of the bushes, you can see traces of aphids, spider mites or scale insects. For this plant, the complexity of pest control is due to the fact that mechanical processing methods are unacceptable and problems can only be dealt with with the help of insecticides. Of the diseases for nematanthus, the most dangerous are rot, which spreads when the substrate is waterlogged. But this plant can also suffer from powdery mildew, which must be combated by treatment with fungicides.
Common problems in growing nematanthus:
- leaves turn yellow on the bushes at low air humidity, too frequent dressing;
- the appearance of spots and dry fragments on the leaves when exposed to direct sunlight, heat;
- shedding buds and leaves at too low temperatures and dampness;
- weak or absent flowering with insufficient lighting, disturbances during the dormant period, lack of pruning, wrong choice of substrate or feeding regime;
- the appearance of brown spots on the leaves when using too cold water and improper watering.
Nematanthus hybrid (Nematanthus hybrid). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com floradania
Reproduction of nematanthus
Reproduction of plants at home is complicated by the limited methods. Seeds of nematanthus practically do not ripen and very rarely sprout, and this culture does not form daughter plants without releasing root shoots. Nematanthus cannot be obtained by dividing adult bushes. So the only breeding method for nematanthus is cuttings. Cuttings can be cut both in spring and throughout the summer, choosing powerful mature shoots with 4-5 internodes (both apical and stem cuttings are suitable).
For rooting, it is enough to remove the lower pairs, treat the cuttings with a growth accelerator, or simply place them in water or a mixture of sand, perlite and peat in equal parts. For rooting, it is important to create greenhouse conditions with high air humidity and a temperature of at least 25 degrees. Frequent spraying and airing of the “caps” has a beneficial effect on the rooting process.
After rooting, cuttings of nematanthus are best planted 3-4 plants in one small pot. A few weeks after planting in normal soil, young nematanthus should be formed by pinching the tops of the shoots to create a beautiful bushy shape.
If you manage to get purchased, well-ripened seeds, then they can be germinated in a carefully sifted and leveled substrate, without covering the top with soil and providing a stable level of moisture. Crops are covered with glass, placed in a warm room in the brightest place. After the emergence of seedlings for plants, bottom watering is carried out and they are grown until the seedlings release the first pair of true leaves. As with grafting, plants obtained from nematanthus seeds are planted in several pieces in one container.
