Hello dear gardeners, gardeners and flower growers. There is very little work left on the street in our gardens. We do raids occasionally. But, in general, we are not doing any big work there. And, of course, we miss the plants very much. Therefore, now I pay great attention to my houseplants. For example, not so long ago I saw such a plant in stores called plectrantus. A very interesting plant from the labiate family. There are many different types of this plant. Mostly in the European part, they came to our windowsills from South Africa from the Limpopo river valley.
Nikolay Petrovich Fursov, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, about plectrantus
This plant is also sometimes called “indoor mint”. Because if we pick a leaf, shake it a little in our hands like this, then we will really feel a very, very pleasant aroma, extraordinary. The plant can sometimes be used, for example, for insect bites. They also squeezed the leaf a little, tore it off, crumpled it and attached it to the site of the bite of an insect, say, some mosquito.
The plant has properties such as repelling moths and flies. So it’s the same: whoever suddenly has some kind of flies even in indoor flowers, put this flower next to it, and the midges will scatter. I do not advise, of course, without the recommendation of a doctor, to use this plant, but I want to note right away that this plant is very good, for example, it helps with a sore throat, eliminates headaches. It is used for infantile enuresis, making baths. But, again, my dears, just buying a flower and making a bath for a child, please, do not do this. Consult your doctor. If he prescribes, then please, he will tell you what proportions you need to use.
Dear friends, you bought such a small plant in such a small pot, brought it home and must understand that this is just the container in which the plants came to us, as a rule, from abroad. It is clear that the pot is small, the plant is cramped.
Plectrantus plant in a planting container
For example, you went to a child’s store to buy fish. It is clear that you do not take a large aquarium with you, but some water will be poured into your bag somewhere, three fish will be thrown there, and you will quickly carry it home. It is the same with these plants.
Already such a plant requires a transplant. You say: โHow is that? It blooms. Is it possible to do a transplant now? ” Yes, you can. Nothing wrong. Only we will not do a transfer with you, but a transshipment. That is, we will place the plant in a large container and we will not touch the roots. Let’s not damage the root system. Moreover, the plant blooms. In general, in the future, know that these operations are best done somewhere from mid-April to mid-July. At the same time, it is good to practice breeding.
Flowering plant plectrantus
Plants love moisture. The soil should be somewhere on the order of ph = 6, the structure should be good, contain organic matter, peat, humus, and sand. At least in the same proportions. Loves water. Dislikes very bright sun. Here, on the south side of the window will suffer. It is a little worth shading it. Everything. And for the rest, if you do not forget about watering, it will grow so strongly and quickly that you will not have time to cut it or form a crown for it.
Take a look. Now I will take the plant out of the pot. Neatly like this on the bottom. See how? This is how I press the bottom with my finger. We got the plant. Here’s what a lump. Take a look. All entwined with roots. And, of course, he is cramped. We will not do anything terrible with him if we carefully pull it out of the pot, take an earthen pot. These plants love so that the air is in the root system, there is enough water. And all together would create very good air and moisture exchange.
We take out the transplanted plectrantus from the container
So, we will put moss on the bottom of the pot. This is good for both drainage and moisture maintenance in the bottom of the pot. Here, using moss, we pour. Sphagnum moss. It is both loose and moisture-consuming. This is how we pour it. After we poured it, we compacted the moss a little and pour the earth into it, as if sprinkling the moss on top with earth in this way. We seal. We put our plant. And we fill all the voids with pretty soil, which really should consist of organic matter, and sand, and peat, and ordinary, maybe even garden soil.
Put moss on the bottom of the ceramic pot
Sprinkle the moss on top with earth
Dear ones, the temperature for good development, good growth of this plant is enough if it is somewhere between 20-21 degrees. At night, let it go down a little. When breeding – the same thing. The temperature can be maintained as low as 16 degrees.
We transfer the plectranthus into a ceramic pot, filling the voids with fresh soil
It is very easy to graft due to the large number of leaves formed in the axils. Having cut off a 4-5-centimeter petiole, it can be lowered into water by a centimeter and rooted in water, or it can be deepened by about 1-2 cm into the soil, the substrate of which should consist of sand and peat. Water gently, do not overfill. But don’t let your plants dry out either. After drying, they simply do not recover. I wish you success and hope that such a flower will decorate not only your home during spring, summer and autumn, but even for the New Year.
Nikolay Fursov. PhD in Agricultural Sciences
