How to care for Euphorbia Lactea milkweed at home
Milkweed species are very popular with flower growers, professionals and amateurs. These plants are diverse in form, but equally poisonous in content. The most extraordinary form is in the form of Euphorbia Lactea Cristata milkweed.
Euphorbia Laktea Kristata
Milk spurge is hard to find on the shelves. This is a special decorative culture, the best choice for true connoisseurs and lovers of extravagant forms.
About milkweed Milk
Euphorbia Lactea f. Cristata belongs to the numerous plant family Euphorbia.
This family is characterized by a variety of forms, as can be seen from numerous photos. Euphorbia Milk even an inexperienced grower will not be able to confuse it with another plant.
Euphorbia Lactea is a succulent perennial plant. She comes from the Asian tropics. In the wild, Milkweed has large and powerful shoots with an unusual shape that is difficult to describe. In the culture of Laktea, Kristata is most often grafted onto other species of the family. The euphorbia shoot resembles a rounded comb or fan in shape.
Milkweed Milkweed tend to mutate. Two mutational forms are known:
- variegated (there is no ability to photosynthesis);
- crested.
The most popular among gardeners are cristates. They are not devoid of chlorophyll, they produce energy for themselves, therefore Laktea Cristata (f. Cristata) can grow independently, on its roots. Variegated cristata (f. Cristata f. Variegata) must be grafted onto another spurge.
Most often, the Euphorbia Cristata ridge is grafted into a more stable and unpretentious stem species. In stores, you can find a scallop with a ribbed bright green stem.
Crested form
Euphorbia Laktea Cristata attracts flower growers with its extraordinary shape. The silhouette of the plant resembles an open fan. Some people compare it to coral. The shoot has irregularities, outgrowths, teeth and thorns are noticeable along the edges.
Euphorbia also has a very unusual coloration. The light green shoot has a white center point. Some plants are adorned with reddish thorns. The edges of the fan are often covered with a pinkish coating. There are varieties that have a metallic sheen in color.
Euphorbia Kristata is a flowering plant. Flowers are located at the edges of the scallop. They are very small, so they are almost invisible. Blooming spurge at home is a rare and exceptional phenomenon.
How to care for milkweed Laktea
It is very difficult to grow and maintain Cristate spurge at home. This is an unusual plant and the standard care rules do not suit him.
Caring for Kristata should be unobtrusive, but very careful and attentive. The plant has a dual nature. It is necessary to take into account the growth characteristics of the scion and rootstock. Euphorbia Lactea can develop normally in the temperature and light conditions of the room.The plant does not tolerate heat and cold equally well.
Improper home care leads to the loss of the plant. Before you purchase and start growing milk euphorbia, you need to carefully study all the features of the growth and development of euphorbia.
Features of watering and feeding
Particular attention is paid to watering when growing Euphorbia Cristata at home. In order for the ridges to be large and fleshy, it is necessary to constantly maintain a moderate soil moisture. Dryness or excessive moisture can lead to the death of the rootstock. Excessive moisture contributes to rotting, and with a lack of moisture, the shoot dries out.
You do not need to water Euphorbia frequently. Watering mode for milkweed Milk depending on the season:
- Spring and summer. Watering is carried out once every 10 days.
- Late autumn and winter. Watering Euphorbia is carried out once every 30 days.
With this mode, in the interval between waterings, the top layer of the soil dries out completely. The middle layer of the soil retains a small amount of moisture. After watering, the optimum humidity is created in a short time.
Euphorbia does not tolerate humid air. You cannot spray the plant. The rootstock and crested area may die if wet.
Fertilizers can be applied only in summer and spring, no more than 1 time per month. For Laktea, special feeding for cacti is selected.
Optimal illumination
It is very difficult to create the optimal level of lighting for the healthy growth of the milkweed Lactea Cristata. Beautiful juicy combs love light, but cannot stand direct sunlight. Shade and partial shade will make the plant frail and faded.
It is best to choose a place close to the window for milkweed so that the level of natural light is maximized. You cannot add artificial lighting. It is desirable that natural light is uniform throughout the day.
Temperatures for healthy growth of Milkweed
Euphorbia is a thermophilic plant. Lakteya Kristata is capricious to temperature conditions. The plant does not tolerate heat and cold well.
Features of the temperature regime for Milk Milk:
- in summer, the temperature should not exceed 25-27 ° С;
- in winter, the temperature should not drop below 22-20 ° C.
Threshold minimum air temperature for milkweed is 15 ° С, maximum - 30 ° С. Room temperature is optimal for keeping milkweed.
It is best to keep Euphorbia Milk in a room with air conditioning. This will allow maintaining a healthy temperature regime at any time of the year.
Pruning milkweed
The unique form of Cristate Milkweed needs constant support. The escape will maintain its appearance in the absence of unnecessary stress.
From the stock, you need to regularly cut off or break off the lateral branches, leaves with your hands, otherwise the food will be divided into two. Additional shoots grow on the scallop. They also need to be broken off.
It is advisable to prune when the branches have just appeared: this way the plant will not be injured.
Milkweed transplant and reproduction
Milk spurge should grow in a small pot. It is necessary to replant the plant only if the root system occupies the entire soil. The size of the transplant container increases slightly (1-2 cm). The roots should be cramped, otherwise all nutrition will go to the development of the root system, and the growth of the upper shoot will slow down.
How to properly transplant euphorbia:
- Make holes in the bottom of the pot.
- Fill the bottom with a high layer of drainage material.
- Remove the plant from the old pot along with the soil.
- Slightly remove the substrate from the roots.
- Place the plant in a new container. The level of penetration during transplantation should not change.
- Fill up the soil substrate, press down.
- Water the plant.
Euphorbia Laktea Kristata needs to be grown in light soils. Soil substrates are selected for cacti. They have increased moisture permeability.
You can propagate the plant yourself only by cuttings.The comb or part of it must be carefully cut and placed in water. This is necessary to remove milk secretions. Then the slice is dried and processed. The shoot is rooted in a greenhouse, but it is better to immediately graft the comb to another trunk milkweed. It is very difficult to propagate Kristata at home; this is a task for experienced florists.
Milkweed diseases
Laktea can get sick if the rules of care are violated. The most common disease of cristate euphorbia is rot.
Putrefactive processes develop on the rootstock shoot or ridge with high humidity or soil. When rot appears, you must immediately prune the plant. If the disease develops on a rootstock, the comb can be grafted onto a new shoot.
Lakteya Kristata delights the eye and excites the imagination. This is a noble plant that requires attention. Milkweed Laktea Christata needs a moderate temperature, moderate lighting and moderate watering for healthy growth. The efforts made will not be in vain.