Brachychiton

Brachychiton

Life form Wood, succulent
Family Stercullaceae
Origin Australia
Ease of cultivation Easy with little difficulty
The size At room conditions – 0.5 m, in vivo -. 6 m Characteristic “bottle” trunk (caudex) develops to 8 years.
Growth rate Low
Lifespan Many years
Temperature In summer: up to 95 ° F, in winter, if kept at rest, a temperature of at least 50 ° F is desirable.
Humidity Moderate.
Lighting Bright sun or slight shadow. Suitable south window.
The soil Shop soil for succulents is suitable with a small addition of sand. For a mixture of own preparation, take:   3 parts of coarse sand or perlite, 2 parts of garden land, 2 parts of humus (leafy earth), 1 part of charcoal and bone meal, lime or a little egg-shell. Good drainage is required. The pH is ideal at  5,5 – 6,5.
Watering The top layer of soil between waterings in the summer should dry up. Watered about every 10-15 days, in November and February 1 once a month, in December and January, almost no watering.
Fertilizer Young plants need a fertilizer rich in phosphorus to form a normal root system. Adult plants should be fertilized 2-3 times during the summer with a complex liquid fertilizer, alternating with conventional fertilizer with fertilizer for cacti.
Reproduction The most suitable way is to multiply pre-soaked seeds for 24 hours, which are planted in a mixture of peat, perlite and sand. Sprout at high temperature not light. It sprouts in 1-3 weeks, but as a whole it grows quite a long time. When the seedlings reach a height of 2.5 cm, dive and transplant them into a small pot. It is propagated also by cuttings about 12 cm long, which, after drying, are placed in a loose substrate of sand, moss and perlite with the addition of fungicide. Cover with a film.
Bloom In indoor culture it blooms extremely rarely in the middle of summer. The flowers are very small and yellow.
Transfer In spring, young plants should be transferred every year and adults every 3-4 years. Transplant to the same depth on which he grew earlier or slightly higher. Adult plants require a fairly heavy pot, because A massive overhead part may outweigh the underground.
Features of care A period of winter rest is needed. Suitable for bonsai. The plant can be very drawn out, in this case needs to be served in the spring pruning.
Difficulties It is affected by spider mites, scale insects and whiteflies. Root rot is possible with excessive watering. Suffers from lack of light: it grows slowly, shoots are stretched, leaves become less, they become pale. Young plants can suffer from excess light because sunburn occurs on the leaves.
Air cleaning
Toxicity The juice that is released during pruning irritates the skin, therefore avoid contact with the eyes.

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