| Life form | Bush |
| Family | Rubiaceae |
| Origin | India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia |
| Ease of cultivation | Requires special care |
| The size | Usually about 60-120 cm in height in a pot |
| Growth rate | Low |
| Lifespan | With proper care of up to 7 years, however, for a plant, greenhouse conditions are preferable. |
| Temperature | In the summer: 71,6-77 ° F, in winter 57,2-60,8 ° F. Iksora is thermophilic. |
| Humidity | Not less than 60%. Spray at least once a day from above with soft water so that large drops of water do not fall on the flowers. Put the pot in a tray with wet pebbles so that the bottom of the pot does not touch the water. The plant is well grown in a closed shop window. |
| Lighting | A bright place, but not direct sunlight. Suitable for the south-western, south-eastern window, for the south – with shading. In winter it is necessary to refresh for 4 hours. |
| The soil | Suitable soil with acidity pH 4.5-5.5. For soil of own preparation it is possible to take equal parts of peat, sheet, turf and sand. It is mandatory to use drainage. |
| Watering | During flowering in summer abundant regular watering 3 times a week, the soil should not dry up. Use only soft water. Twice a month, add lemon juice (several drops per 1 liter of water) to the water for irrigation. In winter, moderate watering: every 6-8 days. It is required not to fill the plant, but at the same time, the soil should never dry out, even in winter. Water should not be cold. |
| Fertilizer | From spring to autumn every two weeks with liquid fertilizer without lime. You can use fertilizer for orchids. |
| Reproduction | Semi-matured apical cuttings about 8-10 cm long from July to September in a greenhouse (or covered with polyethylene) with a lower heating in a mixture of peat and perlite using heteroauxin. After rooting (after about 3-4 weeks), plant it separately in a pot. |
| Bloom | Ball-shaped inflorescences of red, orange, pink tubular flowers. Blossoms in spring and summer. Iksora can not be rearranged during flowering, in order to avoid the fall of buds. |
| Transfer | Each year, the pot is larger until the pot reaches a diameter of 45 cm. After that, it is enough to only change the top layer of the soil. |
| Features of care | In winter, the ixora loses its lower leaves. Do not allow drafts and sudden temperature changes. Do not put the pot in a tank of water. It is useful to trim the branches after flowering by half. It is also necessary to pinch to activate flowering and branching. However, strong pruning can inhibit flowering. |
| Difficulties | It is affected by a spider mite, scutellum and aphids. Flowers and buds can fall due to sudden temperature changes, or, if you just turn the plant. The leaves turn yellow (the veins remain green) in alkaline soil, as a result of watering with cold and hard water. On the leaves may cause bacterial spot. Sometimes there is a root rot. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | – |
