In principle, it is difficult to imagine a more original plant than butcher. And among indoor plants, she is completely an exceptional phenomenon. Stem evergreen miracle, in which the modified shoots look like leaves, and even giving stunning beauty red berries – butcher’s broom will conquer anyone. But the appearance of this dense, neat berry bush is just the beginning of miracles. After all, butterflies are able to grow even in extreme conditions.
ะะณะปะธัะฐ (Ruscus). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com MIRAFLOR
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The originality of ruscus in details
When the butcher is called the most extravagant houseplant, they are not far from the truth. This crop only looks like a classic shrub. But in practice, it turns out that absolutely everything in it is unusual – from roots to shoots, leaves, flowering and fruiting. This plant is so hardy that the low distribution of butchery defies any logic at all.
Butcher’s botanical name is ruskus (Ruscus), although the “translated” name is much more popular among flower growers, since it clearly indicates the main decorative advantages of these mountain inhabitants. Butchers represent the Asparagaceae family in indoor culture. In nature, ruscuses can be found mainly in the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean countries.
Representatives of the genus Butcher (Ruscus) – evergreen semi-shrubs or stem-like perennials with a powerful densely branching rhizome. The maximum height of butchery even in nature is only 70 cm. These are compact and very bright plants, attractive, regardless of the period of their development.
Butchers look like compact, bushy, densely leafy shrubs. And this is the biggest paradox. In fact, real butcher leaves are not easy to spot. Very small and almost imperceptible, genuine leaves develop best underground and simply “break through” the way for young shoots. But above the ground, they are presented in the form of easily falling white scales.
A unique feature of these plants is leaf-like modified shoots, or false leaves – phylloclades. They look so much like ordinary leaves that it is very difficult to believe that they are not. Flat, leaf-shaped shoots of an oval or elliptical shape with a pointed tip create the same deceptive effect of thick foliage.
But only unusual greenery does not end with all the wonders that the butchers have prepared. The flowering of the plant is inconspicuous, but it precedes a spectacular berry show. Greenish, inconspicuous and very small, similar to fleshy stars, flowers with six “petals” appear in the middle, below or above the phylloclades.
If pollination occurs, then in place of each tiny flower, a by no means tiny berry with a diameter of about 2 cm begins to develop. Bright ruby, with a stunningly shiny surface, one or two seeded, these luxurious berries look almost like jewelry against the background of pseudo-leaves. The only drawback is the dioeciousness of butterflies: in order for fruiting to occur, you will have to work on cross-pollination yourself.
Butcher’s species
Despite the fact that butterflies are unique in all respects and are easily recognizable, these plants are also able to surprise with an unexpected choice of very similar varieties. In indoor culture, butcher’s are represented by three species.
Butcher’s broom or Pontic needle,ย or Needle spiked (Ruscus aculeatus) – the most popular plant of ruscuses with a height of about 60 cm.This species is distinguished by tough shoots. Leaf-like oval or heart-shaped shoots with a pointed tip are too easy to mistake for ordinary leaves from a distance. The flowering of butcher’s broom is completely nondescript, the flowers covered with scaly bracts may not be noticed, but the bright red berries are very effective. They decorate the plant in autumn.
Butcher’s leaf (Ruscus hypophyllum) looks very similar to prickly. Differences can be seen only by the lighter shade of leaf-like shoots and flowers blooming only from the bottom of the false leaves.
Buttock sublingual (Ruscus hypoglossum) Is a type of ruscus, distinguished by its elongated lanceolate pseudo-leaves and beautiful white bracts, which make flowering more attractive. Small flowers bloom at the top of the pseudo-leaves in the axil of a whitish two-centimeter bracts-leaf. Red berries with a diameter of about 2 cm are typical.
The prickly needle, or the Pontic needle (Ruscus aculeatus). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Dominicus Johannes Bergsma
ะะณะปะธัะฐ ะฟะพะดะปะธััะฝะฐั (Ruscus hypophyllum). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com freenatureimages
ะะณะปะธัะฐ ะฟะพะดััะทััะฝะฐั (Ruscus hypoglossum). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Benjamin Zwittnig
Caring for ruscus at home
Butchers are considered unique plants, not only because of the presence of pseudo-leaves. These cultures adapt not only to uncomfortable, but even extreme conditions. Ruscus are able to grow almost without lighting, require minimal maintenance, and can withstand almost any care mistakes. And they simply do not have equal plants in invulnerability.
Lighting for Ruscus
It is not for nothing that this culture is called exceptionally hardy: it is almost impossible to find a culture that is more resistant to shading. The lack of foliage allows the butchers to endure even a strong shadow, put up with illumination below 200 lux, in which even the most persistent Spartans die. At the same time, the absence of normal lighting does not affect the beauty of the plant and persists not only during the cold dormant phase.
Shade tolerance does not mean that Ruscus will not be able to grow in more intense lighting: any mode, except for direct sun, will suit this culture. But since it is difficult to find competitors for butterflies, they usually always use the opportunity to place a plant in the depths of rooms and revive the interior.
Comfortable temperature
During the active growing season, butcher’s broomsticks feel great in almost any conditions, except for cold: the main thing is to make sure that the air temperature exceeds 16 degrees. Ruscus perfectly adapt to both normal indoor conditions and heat, but they achieve the greatest decorative effect in moderate temperatures (about 18 degrees Celsius).
For the flowering of butcher’s broom and the normal development of the plant as a whole, in winter it is necessary to ensure the transition to a full dormant period with a smooth decrease in air temperature. Ruscus prefers to overwinter in a temperature of about 13 degrees Celsius, permissible deviations are from 12 to 15 degrees.
Watering and air humidity
Butchery is one of the most unusual indoor succulents. It requires very careful, moderate watering, avoiding excessive waterlogging, even for a short period. The substrate should be allowed to dry out between waterings, try to carry out more frequent procedures with less water.
One of the main advantages of this rare but persistent indoor plant is its excellent tolerance to dry air. For butterflies, there is no need to take measures to increase air humidity and even simple spraying. In the hot summer months, spraying will intensify the color of the foliage, but it is not necessary. Unlike many other indoor crops, ruscus do well in rooms with operating air conditioners and heating devices, although it is better to avoid their immediate proximity.
Mandatory plant care measures include cleaning the leaves from dust, which can be gently wiped with any soft cloth.
ะะณะปะธัะฐ (Ruscus). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com rosenerds
Top dressing for ruskus
Fertilizers for this plant are applied only when the bush is actively growing, new shoots appear and the green mass is growing. But even at this time, it is enough to feed with a frequency of 1 time in 3 weeks.
Any universal complex fertilizer is suitable for this indoor plant.
Butcher’s trimming
Crown formation is considered optional when growing this plant. It is enough to remove dry or damaged shoots. The thing is that, even without trimming, the butcher is not prone to “falling apart”, loss of compactness, and chaotic visual disorder. But at will, the plant can be formed. In order to give the contours more rigor, and the silhouettes – expressiveness, if desired, they annually cut off excess shoots, shorten long branches, controlling the density and density of the crown, the direction of development.
Ruscus transplant and substrate
Butchers are content with a standard substrate – loose, nutritious and light. Any universal commercial substrate is suitable for them, as long as it is not dense. If you mix the substrate yourself, then add a double portion of sod soil to equal amounts of sand, leafy soil and humus soil.
It is better to transplant butterflies only as needed, when the plant has nowhere to develop. Transplant times are limited to the spring months.
For rumpets, drainage must be laid on the bottom of the containers. And the choice of the container itself should be taken responsibly: its shape, the ratio of height and diameter determine the shape of growth. In tall and narrow pots, butchers develop as trees or slender bushes, in wide and low pots – like lush shrubs with a large crown diameter. So the choice is made not according to some practical parameters, but according to the desired appearance and silhouette of the plant.
Butcher’s blossom. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com GH Shimizu
Diseases and pests
The stability of butterflies is also manifested in the fact that this houseplant rarely gets sick. Only in very uncomfortable conditions for ruscuses are spider mites, scale insects and thrips dangerous. It is better to fight insects with insecticides.
Reproduction of ruscuses
Butchers can be obtained from seeds or by splitting old bushes.
The seed method is quite complicated, because it is believed that young seedlings are easy to lose, and the seeds do not germinate sometimes even for several years (at best, seedlings appear only after 3 months), and it is not so easy to get the seeds.
The seeds are freed from the wax shell in warm water, dried before sowing. Cold stratification at temperatures from 0 to 10 degrees Celsius in a soaked state can accelerate germination, but it will still take a long time to wait.
Sowing is carried out in light soil mixtures. For the emergence of seedlings, you need to maintain a stable cool temperature of 18-20 degrees and light humidity under glass or film. Plants are planted as they grow, but usually it can take about a year before picking: transplanting is carried out when the sprouts stretch up to 7-8 cm. Young Ruscus are often arranged a kind of cold stratification, temperatures are lowered to accelerate growth to 13-15 degrees.
The easiest way to breed butchery is by separation. It is carried out during transplantation and only on old, very large plants. The rhizome is divided into fragments with a large number of roots and at least three ground shoots. Plants must be handled carefully, shoot injuries are unacceptable. Rooting takes quite a long time.
