| Life form | Bush |
| Family | Aral Sea – Araliaceae |
| Origin | Madagascar, South Africa |
| Ease of cultivation | For florists with little experience |
| The size | In nature up to 7 m, at home to 1.2 m, but usually with the help of pruning the plant is given a compact shape. |
| Growth rate | High, up to 50 cm per year. |
| Lifespan | Perennial |
| Temperature | Thermophilic. In summer it grows well at room temperature, up to + 77 ° F, can withstand the heat. In winter, it is better to keep the plant at a temperature of + 60,8-64,4 ° F, can withstand short-term temperature drops of up to +41 ° F, but it is better not to allow hypothermia. |
| Humidity | It prefers high humidity more than 50%. Regular spraying of the plant is required, especially in winter with heating on |
| Lighting | The plant prefers bright scattered light. On the southern window, shading is desirable. The plant should be gradually accustomed to sunlight in the spring. |
| The soil | Suitable substrate for palm trees with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction (pH from 5.5 to 7.5). To a mixture of own preparation may be used: 2 pieces of garden earth, one part compost and coarse sand or perlite. You can make a mixture of 1 part of leaf land, 1 part humus earth, 1 part peat, 1 part sand. Instead of sand, you can use perlite or vermiculite. In the finished soil for palm trees, sand should be added. Drainage is required. |
| Watering | For this plant, overflow is more dangerous than inadequate hydration. Nevertheless, regular watering is necessary in the summer as the soil dries up. In the winter, the irrigation frequency is significantly reduced. Long drying of the soil will cause the leaves to fall off. |
| Fertilizer | In summer, fertilize every two weeks with a complex fertilizer for deocrotic plants. |
| Reproduction | It propagates well vegetatively, but with this method of reproduction, there will not be a caudex at the base of the trunk. Therefore, seed reproduction is more often used.Seeds very quickly lose their germination. It is best to plant them immediately after ripening. Before sowing the seeds should be about half a day soaked in warm water.Planted in a mixture of peat and sand, pressing the seed into the substrate. Gently watered by sprinkling the soil from the spray gun. Shoots appear within a month. The first year they should not be seated. The next year, when transplanting, it is very cautious to handle root systems, because they are easily injured. Young plants quickly form a caudex. |
| Bloom | Flowers are unconscious in cassia, collected in umbellate or spicate inflorescences. Only adult plants bloom, rarely in the room. Several seeds are needed to produce seeds, because the plant is being pollinated crosswise. Fruits ripen about half a year. |
| Transfer | Initially transplanted about once a year. In the future, it is required to reduce the transplantation of an adult plant to 1 time in 2-3 years. The plant does not grow too much, therefore use a small fairly tight pot. For formation of the plants in the form of the bonsai at each transplant thickened roots placed higher above the soil surface. |
| Features of care | At the base of the plant there is a thickening – caudex. The plant grows fast enough and requires regular pruning. In the spring, its shoots can be shortened very much, they are also cut during the whole growing season. The plant looks more attractive when shoots growing from a thickened rhizome are constantly shortened almost to the ground.In summer, it is useful to take the plant on a balcony or garden. |
| Difficulties | When there is a lack of lighting, the plant quickly stretches. The roots and base of the trunk can decay from excessive watering. The plant is affected by aphids and spider mites. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | – |
