Indoor palm trees: types, names, photos. Tub culture - expanding the boundaries of growing heat-loving woody plants Placement of containers, tubs with woody plants in the country
Among indoor exotics, plants of tropical origin have always enjoyed the status of special stars. Such cultures, accustomed in nature to warmth and rather specific conditions, retain their capriciousness and demandingness in interiors. But complex care, however, does not deter experienced flower growers from growing tropical plants. But more bright colors and exotic flowering cannot be found. Each such plant turns into a true pride of the collection.
The special character and habits of tropical forest plants
Unlike crops that came into indoor collections from the subtropics, plants of tropical origin have very specific requirements for growing conditions and intensive care. It would be most correct to classify all crops from tropical forests as complex plants, the cultivation of which can only be done by experienced gardeners who are ready for difficulties.
Tropical crops include indoor plants that originate from equatorial latitudes and are found in nature in tropical moist monsoon forests. Tropical plants introduced into cultivation include both classic herbaceous perennials and tuberous plants, epiphytes and lianas. The latter are especially widely represented, since the number of species of steeplejacks that form the unique landscapes of the tropical jungle is amazing.
Most herbaceous and flowering crops in tropical forests receive access to a fairly limited amount of light, grow in the shade of the trunks and crowns of large trees and vines, are content with rather modest conditions and are not dominant species. But despite the fact that in nature plants most often grow in poor lighting, room conditions Almost all tropical stars are light-loving crops.
Home common feature All tropical crops are moisture-loving. In my homeland, in natural conditions, such plants fully enjoy high atmospheric and soil humidity. Love to high humidity air and stable soil moisture, tropical exotics are preserved in room conditions. Maintaining a comfortable atmosphere for them is quite difficult; plants require regular moisture, and sometimes completely non-standard growing techniques.
It only complicates the life of a florist and the absence of two very important characteristics, allowing for some mistakes in cultivation: Tropicanas are not characterized by either cold resistance or drought resistance. Skipping even one watering procedure and lowering the air temperature even by a few degrees (or hypothermia of the earthen clod as a result of contact with a cold windowsill) can lead to the death of plants.
But most tropical crops, with the exception of bulbous-tuberous ones, have a rather weakly defined dormant period. As a rule, for them to bloom there is no need to create any special conditions, differing from the general growing strategy and requiring a radically different environment or care.
All tropical plants, without exception, are elite and quite expensive plants. Propagating them yourself is not so easy, and adult plants cost a lot. But they really are selected exotics, which are used as real stars of collections and the pride of every gardener.
The most valuable feature of all tropical crops is their unusual appearance. Such plants display either very original designs and patterns on the leaves, or truly dazzling colors of not very classic inflorescences, which surprise with their structure, shape, and details.
No matter what kind of exotic we are talking about - a small and modest plant or a truly gigantic vine capable of reaching amazing sizes without control; about crops that can only be grown in a greenhouse or flower display, and that can also tolerate careful care in an ordinary room - tropical exotics always make a special impression and change the atmosphere in the rooms, bringing joyful colors and a festive mood into our lives.
Let's take a closer look at five favorites among indoor tropical crops with the most vibrant flowering.
For a list of the most colorful indoor plants from the tropics, see the next page.
More and more often you can find live palm trees in city apartments and country houses.
This amazing tropical plant is an original and beautiful interior decoration item and attracts gardeners with its large exotic leaves.
There are more than three and a half thousand palm trees in the world, but the list of plants suitable for growing in pots and tubs is much smaller.
This is due to the fact that most species reach gigantic size and it is not possible to contain them in a limited space of land. And those palm trees that have been “domesticated” need care and attention from the grower.
Therefore, before purchasing a palm tree of one type or another, you need to study the characteristics of each and correlate your desires with the possibilities.
Description and photo will help with this different types palm trees suitable for indoor floriculture.
Phoenix
Today it is the most popular of the palm trees. Its fruits, sweet dates, can be found everywhere; they are a favorite delicacy for young and old.
And, in this regard, flower growers are tempted to plant a date seed. This enterprise will be crowned with success, because the date seeds are easily germinated and the palm tree will grow and delight you, but not for long.
Varieties
Robelena– adapted for growing at home, grows to a height of no more than three meters. And, what’s especially nice, it can bear fruit at home. The peculiarity of the date palm is that it can have more than one trunk;
Date palmate- a spectacular palm tree, growing both in the wild and in apartments. As a potted plant, it reaches a height of two meters.
Washingtonia
Often used in decoration. Its leaves are quite large and palmate (fan-shaped). It easily adapts to indoor conditions and includes several varieties suitable for this.
Varieties
Washingtonia filifera (filamentous)- a species native to North America. Its dried leaves do not fall off, but go down, forming a kind of “beard” and practically hiding the trunk.
Washingtonia robusta (robust)- comes from Mexico and has a more compact size than the filamentous one.
Those who decide to have such a specimen at home should remember that Washingtonia grows very quickly and after 5-6 years there will not be enough space in the room for it. Loves good lighting, abundant watering, warmth and high humidity air.
Howea
Originally from the coast of Australia. It is distinguished by large feathery leaves.
It takes root quite well in indoor conditions and tolerates a lack of light, while the leaves remain green, do not dry out or turn yellow, even with insufficient air humidity.
The palm tree is immune to spider mite and other pests.
The plant is almost not affected by spider mites and other pests. In addition, the palm tree grows very slowly and will delight you with its beauty longer.
Rapis
The palm tree is native to Asia. It is well adapted to home conditions and easily tolerates drought and low soil moisture.
But if she doesn’t have enough light, then this directly affects her appearance.
Has its own varieties of indoor palm trees.
Varieties
Rapis excelsa (high) – does not respond well to direct sunlight. It is characterized by slow growth and can be planted several times in a pot to achieve greater decorativeness;
Rapis multifida (multi-cut) has large cuts on the leaves that look like fingers.
Chamaedorea
The palm tree comes from Mexico. Under natural conditions, it grows in groups or “hides” in forests because it is afraid of the hot sun and wind. To the apartments and their low humidity adapts quite easily.
It grows slowly and can be planted in a pot of two or three pieces. Grows in one stem. The feathery foliage dries out and droops. It is affected by spider mites, slugs and pests that eat the leaf blade, provided that the palm tree is taken out into the garden in the summer.
If the palm tree is poorly cared for, the leaves will turn brown or brown.
Varieties
Hamedorea metallica. The leaves, divided into feathers, have glossy surface and a metallic or bluish sheen;
Hamedorea gracilis. Grows well, not capricious, loves shade. The leaves are pinnate. It blooms with small yellowish fragrant flowers;
Hamedorea unicolor– has thinner and longer leaves than graceful;
Hamedorrhea high– grows up to five meters in height. The long branches are abundantly covered with narrow green foliage. Several palm trees are planted in a pot;
Hamedorrhea Ernest-Augustus- the smallest palm of this species. The leaves are wide and glossy, the flowers are bright orange.
Caryota
The palm tree has original rich forked leaves, reminiscent of a fish tail in shape - that’s why it was popularly called that way. It loves the sun and frequent feeding, thanks to which it easily adapts to home conditions.
But in order for the plant to be strong, with shiny leaves and to be immune to pests, it is necessary to maintain fairly high air humidity.
While the palm tree is young, it grows very slowly, but when it reaches a height of one and a half meters, it accelerates. One of the few palm trees that blooms, but only once a year.
IN flower shops can be found mitis (soft)– grows into 2-3 stems; And kariota urens (burning)– has only 1 stem.
Livistona
Fan palm is characterized by fast growth and unpretentiousness. However, with a lack of air humidity, the hanging ends of the leaves begin to dry out. At the age of five it reaches its maturity.
Several varieties are adapted for indoor floriculture.
Varieties
Livistona chinensis (Chinese) despite small size palm trees, it does not have enough strength to grow and develop normally at home, even if fed and transferred to larger pots;
Liviston saribus– the leaves are shorter and the plants themselves are noticeably more compact.
Other types
bamboo palm, got its name due to the similarity of the leaves to the leaves. It grows quickly and does not require care. Main condition good growth– this is frequent and abundant watering.
Weddel Coconut can be grown at home, but the tree is demanding in terms of air humidity, temperature and light.
Brachea– has leaves shaped like a fan. Unpretentious. Grows well on clay-sandy substrate. Does not like waterlogged soil.
Bhutia- a gorgeous, but very capricious palm tree: it grows for a long time, does not like drought and stagnant water. Requires good lighting and high soil moisture.
Giophorba- a small but spectacular palm tree. Requires daily spraying of foliage with lime water. It is necessary to provide it with high air humidity and good sunlight, without direct rays.
All of them are impressive enough to be tempted to have them at home. And most of them require compliance with a set of standard rules, which we will describe below.
Care
Flower shops offer us palm trees not only of different varieties, but also of different ages. Nowadays it is quite affordable to buy an already mature, developed palm tree grown in a special nursery, but there is no need to rush into such a purchase.
Firstly, such a specimen will be quite expensive, and secondly, an adult palm tree adapts much less well to environmental conditions and care.
Therefore, when choosing a palm tree, you should give preference to younger trees.
They may not be as spectacular as adults, but you will be able to observe all the features of their growth and development.
Palm leaves are of greatest value for decorating a room. Palm trees different varieties differ in leaf shape.
Leaves can be wide or narrow, straight or round. It is important to remember that palm leaves cannot be cut off - this can lead to the death of the plant.
Damage to the growing point is especially dangerous.
Watering
Reproduction is carried out exclusively by seeds while maintaining a constant temperature of 27°C. This is a rather complex and time-consuming process, so it is recommended to buy a ready-made seedling.
Pest protection
To do this, you will occasionally need to wipe the foliage with a soapy solution.
When starting a palm tree at home, it is worth remembering that it is a representative of the tropical flora and indoor conditions, despite adaptation, are not very suitable for it.
According to statistics, only a few out of a hundred sprouted palm trees survive in indoor conditions!
However, if you provide her with everything the necessary conditions and constant care, then it will harmoniously fit into the interior of the house and will delight you with its appearance and health.
Add a real live palm tree to your collection of indoor flowers? Why not? Indoor palm trees are unpretentious plants, caring for them is not so difficult, and there is no point in talking about how impressive this tree will look in the house. True, they have one drawback - indoor palm trees grow very large.
But they do not reach their giant size soon. So you will have a long time to enjoy the sight of a small and neat palm tree. The only thing left to do is choose suitable look palm trees and learn how to care for them. All types of indoor palm trees are divided into two main groups (according to the shape of the leaves): pinnate (date, coconut, chamedorea, howea) and fan-leaved (trachycarpus, chamerops, Liviston palm). What are they?
The date palm (genus phoenix) has as many as seventeen species. IN wildlife grows mainly in Africa and India. But the actually popular one home palm“Date palmate” is in the wild and does not exist. This tree with a columnar “shaggy” trunk eventually grows to the ceiling! Its leaves are dark green, feathery, curved in an arc and can reach six meters in length. By the way, this particular palm tree is easy to grow from a dried date seed, which will certainly germinate in an ordinary flower pot (although this will take a lot of time). And this tree will acquire a more or less decorative appearance only after five to seven years.
Therefore for indoor growing A date palm with inedible fruits, the Robelena date, is more suitable. It is low (up to two meters) decorative tree with a lush crown, gracefully curved leaves and an indispensable attribute of a palm tree - a “shaggy” trunk (and sometimes with several trunks).
Areca is a beautiful palm tree that came to us from the tropical forests of India. It has a flexible trunk, ringed with many characteristic scars (remnants of leaf petioles). And the crown of the areca is a powerful bunch of feathery leaves at the “crown” of the trunk. In indoor conditions, it grows up to two meters in height, and its leaves reach a meter in length.
Trachycarpus is considered the most indoor variety of palm tree. This is a palm tree with a straight “bottle-shaped” trunk and huge fan-shaped leaves. It is noteworthy that Trachycarpus blooms with fragrant white or yellow flowers and even produces fruits - blue-black berries. Its two most famous species are Trachycarpus Martius and Trachycarpus Fortune.
Complements the varieties of indoor palms and the genus Caryota. This amazing tree outwardly very different from their fellow “palm tribe”. The unique leaves of this palm have the shape of an elongated triangle, the wide ends of which seem to be deliberately but carelessly torn off. In addition, this is the fastest growing tree of all indoor palm trees, but it lives relatively short - about twenty years.
Coconut palm - no the best option For home grown. It is very, very light-loving, and therefore more suitable for winter gardens and greenhouses. In indoor conditions, they usually contain only Weddel coconut and nuciferous coconut. Palm trees such as Howea Belmora and Howea Foster, all types of Hamedorea, Liviston palm, Hamerops squat are excellent for home cultivation.
Almost all indoor palm trees require the same conditions. Most of them will first need a spacious room. Because even if your palm tree has not yet reached its impressive size, it will not tolerate close proximity to other indoor flowers, since it is essentially a solitary plant.
Like any indoor flowers, palm trees need proper lighting, comfortable temperatures and sufficient air humidity.
- Lighting. Palm trees are light-loving plants - they need bright, but always diffused light, so the room where your palm tree will be kept should be not only spacious, but also bright. Palm trees can hardly tolerate direct sun, so it will have to be shaded from them.
- Temperature. Palm trees are tropical plants (areca, caryota, coconut, chamedorea). Therefore, you understand, they need a room with warm air. However, those palm trees whose wild relatives grow in the subtropics (Brachea, Chamerops, Trachycarpus, Washingtonia) are best moved to rooms with cool air for the winter. What all palm trees, without exception, have in common is their fear of drafts. And they all need to protect their roots from the cold. Therefore, tubs and pots with these heat-loving trees cannot be placed on a cold floor or windowsill.
- Air humidity. Palm trees are moisture-loving plants. They can hardly tolerate dry air and need constant spraying, especially in hot weather. To alleviate the suffering of these tropical creatures, they should not be sprayed, but only take warm water and moisten the leaves on both sides.
How to care for a palm tree?
This indoor plant as a houseplant palm tree besides suitable conditions content also needs something that is not burdensome, but regular care. How to care for her? Basic care for indoor palm trees comes down to: proper watering, timely transplantation, fertilizing and protection from diseases.
Watering. In summer – daily and plentiful, in winter – moderate. In general, the frequency and intensity of watering is directly related to air temperature. The hotter it is, the more often and generously we water the palm tree. However, waterlogging is also undesirable for it. The soil in the flowerpot should be moist all the time, but only slightly.
I replant palm trees as they grow. Young and actively growing trees - annually, older ones - less often. The need for replanting is determined by the tightness of the pot. From a small flower tub, the palm tree is transplanted in the spring into a larger cylindrical container. The new pot should be quite a bit larger than the previous one. The transplant itself is carried out according to general rules indoor floriculture.
Like other indoor flowers, palm trees need to be fed. Young or newly transplanted trees do not need feeding for the first six months. Adult palm trees are fertilized during the period of active growth (March-September) once a week. Feed them with regular flower fertilizers according to the instructions on the package.
As you can see, an unpretentious palm tree room care It requires almost minimal maintenance. If you care for it properly, then your palm tree will not get sick. However, such troubles are still not excluded. So-called diseases of indoor palm trees:
- Brown (dry) leaf tips. The reason is dry air, insufficient watering. Treatment - regular watering, spraying, trimming dried ends.
- Yellowing foliage. The reason is insufficient watering.
- Rusty spots on leaves. The reason is waterlogging of the soil, watering with hard water, and a sharp drop in temperature.
- Drying of young leaves. The reason is excess sunlight. Treatment is shading of the plant.
- Stopping growth. Reason: too cold and damp room, lack of nutrients. Treatment - moving the plant to a warm place, feeding.
- Drying lower leaves. Natural process. Such leaves are simply removed by carefully cutting them from the trunk.
Here is such an interesting indoor palm flower - spectacular, large and unpretentious plant. A small piece of tropical forest in a tub.
Many plants in tubs can be trimmed, giving them various shapes. Boxwood and laurel, Portuguese cherry laurel or privet can be cut into the shape of a ball, bowling pin or pyramid. Some plants, such as tall laurels, even have artificially curved trunks. Others, such as pine and Japanese holly, large bonsai give the garden an Oriental charm. You can arrange the plants in the tubs so that it looks like they are growing straight from the soil. This way you will enrich your garden exotic plants, which, if planted directly into the ground, would survive only one season.
Useful advice from OBI
Surrounded by beds, plants in tubs look even more natural, provided that the tubs are sunk into the ground. The easiest way to do this is to lower an empty tub into a hole in the ground a little bigger size(without soil, to avoid moisture stagnation) and then placing the plant in a tub there. Then the edges will not fall into the hole. In the fall, the plants can be easily pulled out of the hole and placed back in the garden bed in the spring.