Sprechelia belongs to the bright exotic plants. The splendor and elegance of unusual flowers attract attention. It will create coziness in the house and ennoble the cottage of shtrekelia, the cultivation and care of which can be done by beginner gardeners.
Plant description
The catchy flower represents the Amaryllis family. There are 2 varieties of sphekelia: Formosissima (most beautiful) and Howardii (magnificent). The plant comes from the mountainous regions of Mexico and Guatemala, where it is called the Aztec lily or Indian daffodil. During the festivals, the Aztecs adorned clothes and hair with flowers of sprechelia.
The appearance of the Templar lily in Europe dates back to 1593, where it was brought by Spanish sailors.
Amazing exotic in the interior of the house
The height of the bulbous culture reaches 30 cm. In an adult onion, the diameter reaches 10 cm. The saturated green foliage has a shiny surface, the shape is narrow, lanceolate. The length of the sheets is 40 cm, the width is 5 cm.
When flowering, a smooth hollow red-brownish stem forms inside, which is crowned by a large asymmetric flower. 6 elongated petals are curiously wrapped to form a beautiful shape.
The original shape of the petals
Red petals come in various shades. Many elongated tender stamens are covered with bright yellow pollen. Sprechelia smells nice when blooming. It looks like an orchid in appearance.
Attention! Almost all Amarallis representatives are toxic. The content of alkaloids provokes intoxication. Sometimes contact with sprekelia juice causes irritation of the skin or mucous membranes.
Magnificent Sprekelia is referred to heat-loving cultures, it is afraid of the cold. The plant is considered a perennial, but in the central Russian strip, without special care, it is grown as an annual.
Popular varieties of plants:
- Karwinskii. Raspberry petals have a white border.
- Peru. The flowers are intensely red in color.
- Orient Red. Red petals are characterized by white longitudinal inclusions.
Varieties of shprekelia bloom in May or early June for 3-4 weeks. If you care for the flower correctly, it will delight with re-flowering in September.
Home and Outdoor Care
Sprekelia pot
To grow a plant, choose the right pot. A container is ideally suited, the diameter of which is 3 cm larger than the diameter of the onion of the shcheprelia.
The creation of drainage using gravel, expanded clay, broken brick is appreciated.
Pot with a drainage hole for sprayel
When a crop grows in a tight pot, its flowering occurs faster. To form daughter bulbs, a wider vessel is required.
Soil and fertilizer
Distinctive features of the soil for the flower are lightness, friability, water permeability. The pH level is 5.5-6.5.
Novice growers can take advantage of the purchased soil mix. If desired, prepare the substrate yourself, using:
- sod - 2 parts;
- sand, humus, peat - 1 part each.
Sphagnum moss, pine bark, charcoal are added.
Substrate Preparation
When planting in a pot, the bulb is half buried in the soil. They nourish shprekelia when a peduncle is formed. Top dressing is applied every 2 weeks until the end of the summer season. Use fertilizers for flowering crops.
Important! It is forbidden to fertilize with organic sparkellia: bird droppings, mullein, which provoke the death of flower bulbs.
Humidity and watering
Sprekelia arranges dry air in the room, you do not need to moisturize and spray the plant additionally.
In spring and summer, the flower needs intensive and plentiful watering. It is preferable to moisten the sprayel into the pan or along the edge of the container. Do not allow water to get on the bulb and foliage. The transition to a state of rest is accompanied by a reduction in watering.
Sprekelia after the rain
When the leaves dry, the moistening is completely stopped. Do not allow moisture to stagnate in the flowerpot and do not overmoisten the soil. Excess moisture is responsible for rotting the root bulb and the death of the plant.
Temperature and Light
When the culture is actively growing and blooming, it will need support for the temperature regime. This period falls in the warm season and is without problems for sprekelia. Suitable temperature for the flower is + 22 ... +25 ° C.
On a note! Sprekelia is afraid of temperature changes. In summer, the plant prefers an unprotected flower garden.
With the onset of winter, a rest period begins, which is characterized by a decrease in temperature to + 16 ... +18 ° C.
Sprekelia needs a lot of light. In addition, in the evening and in the morning, the plant will need direct rays of the sun for at least 4 hours. At home, for a flower, choose a place near the windows that open to the east, west and south. For uniform growth of leaves, the flowerpot is rotated.
Culture does not like the location on the northern windows. A shortage of light leads to stretching of the sheets, loss of color and a decrease in the decorativeness of shcheprelia.
On the south side at noon, it is useful to protect the sprekelia from the scorching sun. This applies to plants in open beds. In addition, the culture is protected from wind and drafts.
Shprekelia in the garden
Pruning
Manipulation is carried out after flowering plants. The flower stalk is cut at a height of 3 cm from the bulbous neck. When the ground part of the shtrekelia dies, they dig the bulbs and cut the dried leaves.
Flower propagation methods
Propagate the flower in a seed way and onion-children.
How to plant a bulb
The daughter bulbs that form on the bottom of an adult are planted. 3 cm onions with small roots are suitable for planting.
Planting material
A knife is used to separate the onions. The cut site is disinfected with activated charcoal. Planting material is planted in separate containers.
The procedure falls on March. You will need fresh soil mixture. The onion is not completely buried: open the upper lobe and the neck. Watered a little. The formation of flower arrows is a signal to increase hydration. Feeding is added to water.
Planting bulbs on flower beds in spring is possible.
Seed cultivation
If a seed culture is grown, the process is labor intensive. Seed collection is carried out in mid-autumn. With the onset of spring, seed is planted in containers with moistened fertilized soil.
With the appearance and strengthening of seedlings, they are seated at intervals of 10-15 cm from each other. Strengthened shoots are planted in unprotected soil. Plants grown from seeds bloom only in the third year of life. Sprekelia is actively working to form a full-fledged tuber.
Obtaining seed material shprekeliya achieve after manual pollination of the plant. Reproduction by seeds is not responsible for the conservation of varietal qualities. Fresh seeds emerge for 3 weeks, the sowing is not delayed, carried out immediately after collection. Seed material loses germination over 5 weeks.
On a note! Germination of fresh seeds is 100%, dried - 30%.
Seeds are scattered on the surface of the soil and sprinkled a little. The temperature regime is + 22 ... +25 ˚С, humidity support is required. When 3 leaves appear, young onions are transplanted into individual containers.
Transplantation rules for outdoor cultivation
In the country, the plant is grown as an annual, at home - up to 5 years.
When breeding shcherelia, cultivation and care in the open ground provide for the observance of certain requirements:
- purchase of onions shortly before landing;
- the selection of the area illuminated by the sun, without drafts and stagnation of water, with loose fertile soil;
- planting of seed in March-May.
When landing, use the following scheme:
- deepening of onions - 10 cm;
- the minimum distance between the bulbs is 10 cm.
Peat plantings are mulched. When plants are cultivated in cold climates, the bulbs are dug up after the growing season.
The final death of the leaves signals digging and cleaning of the soil and dried tops. It is forbidden to cut the roots on the bulbs.
Keep the bulbs cool in dry peat.
Peat Cheese
Exceeding the temperature of +10 ° C gives rise to germination prematurely.
On a note! Seedlings are watered twice a week. When it is hot outside, and humidity is low, the number of irrigation is increased to 3. Drained soil eliminates stagnation of water.
Dormant flower care
Sprekelia has a long rest period. It is half a year: it starts in November and ends in March. Prepare a flower for it with the advent of autumn, gradually reducing watering. When the last leaf disappears, the plant is not watered. The onion of shprekelia is left in a flowerpot, the container is placed in a cool, dry room with a temperature in the range + 16 ... +18 ° С.
If desired, the onion is pulled out of the pot, transferred to a container with dry peat and taken out in a cool place (+ 12 ... +13 ° С) until the end of the winter season. With the advent of spring, they again plant the bulbs in a flowerpot. Humidification of the crop is resumed when a flower stalk is formed.
If the plans are to decorate an apartment, office, greenhouse or garden, sprekelia will help out magnificent, landing and caring for which will not be difficult. An exotic plant will delight you with bright colors and a pleasant aroma in mono-plantings and in combination with other garden plants.
