| Life form | Succulent |
| Family | Portulacacea |
| Origin | South Africa |
| Ease of cultivation | Suitable for beginners |
| The size | In height up to 1,5-2 m, however, usually form in the form of small plants. |
| Growth rate | Average |
| Lifespan | Many years |
| Temperature | In the summer: room, in winter it is desirable not lower than 50 ° F. |
| Humidity | Low. |
| Lighting | Bright sun. The southern window is best suited. The plant should be rotated every few weeks, so that it grows evenly. It is especially important for the city of portalacary to have bright illumination in winter. The best option is artificial planting of plants. |
| The soil | Suitable store is weakly acidic or neutral infertile soil for succulents with a slight addition of sand. For a mixture of own preparation, take: 3 parts of coarse sand or perlite, 2 parts of garden soil, 2 parts of humus (leafy earth), 1 part of charcoal and bone meal, lime or a little egg-shell. Or just mix equal parts of leaf, turf and sand. It is useful to add to the soil coarse sand, brick chips and other components are disintegrating. Good drainage is required. |
| Watering | The top layer of soil between waterings in the summer should dry up. Watered approximately every 13-15 days, in November and February 1 time a month, in December and January almost no water. Portulacaria is drought-resistant, like all succulents, can withstand a prolonged lack of watering. Do not leave water in the pan. The need for irrigation of the portularia is evidenced by the appearing wrinkles on the leaves, after watering, they are smoothed out. |
| Fertilizer | In April – July 3-4 times a year soluble fertilizer for cacti with a moderate content of nitrogen. |
| Reproduction | In spring (April-May) it is easy to propagate by stem stems. Choose the thickest branches with at least 4 pairs of leaves, about 12-15 cm long and make an oblique cut.Cuttings should first be dried for 10 days and remove the leaves from the bottom of the cut (approximately 7-8 cm from the cut). Appearing after 10 days, the firm wrinkled tissue and small white spots near the cut indicate the beginning of the formation of the roots. Root in a plastic pot 5 cm deep in a mixture of peat and sand, which is pre-watered with a quarter of a glass of water and allowed to dry. Make a pit in the substrate depth of 7.5 cm and put a shank. Root in a warm place with scattered light at a temperature of 68-77 ° F. Usually rooting lasts 2-3 weeks. In 2 months you can transplant the plant into a permanent soil. If the place near the cut turns black, it indicates the rot, should be cut off the rotten parts, treated with coal powder, dried and again try to root. Multiplication takes place by seeds, which very quickly (within several months) lose their viability, they are sown in moist peat with sand or perlite, sprayed, covered with polyethylene, germinated at a temperature of 75,2-82,4 ° F, periodically moisturizing. Place on scattered light after emergence of seedlings. Seeds multiply the plant much less often.It can be propagated by layering, bending the long branch to the soil. When roots are formed, separate this branch from the mother plant. |
| Bloom | Blossoms with small star-shaped pink flowers from late winter to spring. At home, it blooms very rarely. Only old specimens can blossom if they are not cut off for a long time and kept in winter almost without watering. |
| Transfer | In the spring, every 2 years. |
| Features of care | The leaves of the pearl lance can blush from the bright sun. Requires regular pricking to form the crown. Care is required with watering, a layer of gravel can be placed on the bottom of the pot and on the surface of the soil to prevent root rot. Suitable for bonsai, especially good for beginners. In summer the plant is useful to take out in the garden or on the balcony. |
| Difficulties | Portulacaria is quite resistant to pests. It is stricken with a scabbard, a spider mite, mealybugs. Root rot is possible with excessive watering in conditions of insufficient illumination. The first sign of root decay and problems with waterlogging is the dropping of foliage.In winter, the paternelaria can discard partially or even completely leaves due to lack of illumination or other harmful factors. However, in spring the leaves are restored.Shoots of the portularia are excessively stretched with a lack of light, excessive watering and fertilization of the plant. In this case pruning is necessary. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | – |
