Spathiphyllum

Spathiphyllum (Spathiphyllum) - a herbaceous perennial from the Aroid family. Spathiphyllum hails from the tropical regions of Central and South America. Some species come from Indonesia and the Philippine Islands.

The plant is decorative due to the glossy dark emerald foliage collected in a basal rosette with a height of 30 cm to 1 m. The rhizome of the flower is shortened, the stem is absent. The leaves are oval, pointed to the apex, with a distinct middle vein. Petioles are long, expanding downward.

The inflorescence is a cob wrapped in a delicate snow-white coverlet. in most species, although it also has a light green hue. After flowering, lasting 6-10 weeks, the cover turns green.

Useful and harmful properties of spathiphyllum

The flower is known as one of the best air purifiers from various harmful chemical compounds - benzene, formaldehyde, trichlorethylene and others, as well as from acetone and alcohol vapors. According to some sources, it counteracts the appearance of mold.

However, like most aroid ones, it contains crystals of oxalate, which can cause irritation of the oral mucosa, tongue and even swelling of the larynx, if suddenly a small child decides to try the plant leaf to taste.

Signs and superstitions

Among the gardeners, a conflicting opinion about the energy of the perennial is transmitted - some believe that he is expelling men from the house, others, on the contrary, are sure that he helps to find his soul mate. It is not in vain that the flower is called "female happiness."

They say that if you grow it side by side with anthurium - "male happiness", then harmony and mutual understanding will reign in the house. It is even better to plant them in one pot, however, many flower growers are skeptical of such an omen - the conditions of care and maintenance differ significantly in plants.

One of the most important superstitions associated with a flower indicates the attraction of love and the onset of a long-awaited pregnancy. And the expected event will happen as soon as the bud of the spathiphyllum opens.

If the flower dries, then happiness leaves the family. The plant does not tolerate scandals and quarrels in the room, immediately drops lifeless leaves. Whether these signs are true or not, each grower must decide for himself.

Features of home care (Briefly)

Care for spathiphyllum at home

Beginning florists will replenish their home collections with pleasure with a plant, since it does not impose special high requirements on its content.

Flowering spathiphyllum

With proper care, spathiphyllum is characterized by long flowering - from one and a half to 2.5 months, and this is its main advantage. Miniature flowers are collected in an inflorescence-cob - both male and female on one. Seeds at home are not tied, because their formation requires pollination with a special kind of bees.

The size of the cob varies depending on the type and variety of spathiphyllum, but the color is almost always snow-white, occasionally light green. That is why the plant is popularly called the "white sail", although "female happiness" is a more common name.

According to legend, the goddess of love Astarte on the day of her wedding breathed a small fraction of her happiness into the flower so that he would give them all the girls for marriage. The botanical name of the plant is also associated with its inflorescence and is translated from ancient Greek as a cover sheet.

After the spathiphyllum has faded, the arrow should be cut off at the very base

Temperature mode

Spathiphyllum - plants are thermophilic and normally develop only when maintaining the indoor temperature in the range from +18 to +25 degrees above zero. The heat is tolerated only if there is a sufficient increase in air humidity, but the critical point for them is no more than 32 degrees. In winter, it is undesirable to allow the thermometer to drop lower than 15 degrees. The flower does not like drafts and cold, which blows from an open window.

Spraying

Humidity is an important condition in the cultivation of spathiphyllum. The plant favors spraying, especially in summer heat.

However, the plant is able to adapt to dry air with a constant humidity level of not more than 40-50%.

Lighting

Experts argue about the plant's requirements for light: some consider it shade-tolerant, others, on the contrary, prefer bright, but diffuse lighting. Direct sunlight damages glossy foliage, leaving burn spots. Lack of lighting affects unevenness or lack of flowering.

Optimal for the flower will be the placement on the windowsills of the eastern or western direction, shaded during the hours of the active sun, however, even with artificial lighting, the plant develops quite normally.

Watering

Spathiphyllum requires a constantly wet, but not wet state of an earthen coma. The plant instantly reacts to a lack of moisture in the soil by lowering the leaves, however, turgor quickly recovers immediately after watering.

The flower does not tolerate over-drying of the soil mixture, part of the root system dies, and it seems that the leaves, which restored their elasticity, often subsequently turn yellow and dry anyway. Humidify spathiphyllum 2-3 times a week during the summer heat with soft, settled water. In winter, watering is reduced to once per week. However, they try to prevent stagnation of water in the pan and drain the excess liquid.

Ground for spathiphyllum

The plant is grown in a loose fertile substrate, consisting of equal parts:

• humus
• peat soil
• sheet soil and sand plus twice the portion of turf land.

All is thoroughly mixed and several small pieces of brick chips and charcoal are added. A layer of expanded clay or pebble drainage is laid at the bottom of the flower container.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

The plant needs constant top dressing both in the summer and in the winter period if it continues vegetation, but does not have a rest. From April to September, the spathiphyllum flower in the room is fertilized every 15-20 days with complex mineral fertilizers with the same content of potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. In winter, top dressing is reduced to once a month and universal fertilizers with a reduced dose of nitrogen are chosen.

Spathiphyllum transplant

Young specimens of spathiphyllum need an annual transplant.

More mature plants can be transplanted into a more spacious flower capacity less often - once every 3-5 years. However, for each plant, it is necessary to make an individual decision - quickly overgrown bushes with a large number of daughter side pagons can be crowded in a pot, and they will refuse to bloom.

When transplanting, you should not immediately choose a pot that is much larger than the previous one. The roots will develop the inner space of the vessel for a long time to the detriment of the expected flowering.

Pruning

Home spathiphyllum does not need regular pruning. It is important to remove faded cobs in a timely manner in order to initiate repeated flowering, as well as cut yellowed leaves at the very base.

Spathiphyllum reproduction

At home, the plant multiplies only in the process of transplantation by dividing the rhizome into several parts. It is important that each divide consists of healthy roots and a young rosette of leaves. Sometimes it is not possible to separate the process with roots from the parent plant. In this case, it should first be rooted in water, and then planted in a soil mixture for growing adult spathiphyllums.

It is also possible propagation of plants by seeds, but planting material is not easy to find in a flower shop, and this method is more time-consuming and time-consuming.

• Rotting roots due to the excess moisture of the earth coma.
• Brown leaf tips spathiphyllum signal the presence of this problem at the very beginning of its appearance, although it may indicate a dry environment and the need for spraying.
• Pale leaves indicate an excess of light.
• Drooping foliage always tells the grower about the timeliness of irrigation. True, the plant also often responds to excess moisture by drooping leaves.
• Rotted leaf blades exclusively at low temperatures and high humidity.
• Grows badly perennial due to a lack of soil mixture of manganese and iron, or inadequate assimilation due to the cold content or reduction of air permeability of the soil mixture.
• Leaves are curled with a decrease in room temperature.
• Leaf edges turn yellow spathiphyllum from wetting the flower with too hard water.
• Does not bloomif the plant does not have enough light or sufficient humidity. Often the reason for the refusal to bloom is irregular feeding or a long absence of transplants. Often it is possible to initiate flowering by simply moving the flower pot to more favorable placement conditions.
• Droplets on the leaves called the phenomenon of gutting, when the plant gets rid of excess moisture. It is characteristic of many aroid and does not represent a problem in care.

Among the pests on the spathiphyllum, many insects were noticed - aphids, scale insects, thrips, mealybugs and whiteflies, but spider mites especially annoy the perennial.

Types of homeopathic spathiphyllum with photos and names

In indoor cultivation, the most popular are several types of spathiphyllum from 50 known in nature:

Spathiphyllum Blooming (S. floribundum)

A plant with a dense rosette, sometimes consisting of 40 leaves, glossy and dark emerald, 20-25 cm long. It can bloom year-round, the inflorescence is white and yellow.

Spathiphyllum cannifolia (S. cannifolium)

The foliage of this species resembles the leaf blades of the canna and reaches half a meter in height. The ear of light green color is covered with a delicate white-greenish veil. It blooms with good care twice a year: in April-June and at the end of November.

Spathiphyllum Adorable (S. blandum)

It is distinguished by a pale green veil covering the same shade of cob surrounded by large foliage up to 20-35 cm long on petioles, reaching 30-40 cm.

Spathiphyllum Spoon-shaped (S. cochlearispathum)

A tall view that can stretch up to a meter mark. The leaves are large, about 35-40 cm, on petioles 70 cm high. A characteristic feature of the inflorescence is yellowish at the beginning of flowering, by the end of it it is almost black. The bedspread is white and concave in shape like a sail.

Spathiphyllum Wallis (S. wallisii)

Perennial from 30 to 60 cm high with shiny foliage up to 25 cm long. The edges of leaf blades are wavy. Flowering begins in late spring or early summer, again in autumn or winter. The ear is light yellow, wrapped in a snow-white coverlet, three times larger than the ear.

The best varieties:

Chopin - compact variety not more than 30-35 cm tall with fragrant flowers with an elongated bedspread with a pointed top;

Sensation - considered the largest variety in indoor cultivation, reaching 150 cm in height, with foliage nearly 80 cm long;

Picasso - variegated variety with a white-green pattern on the leaves;

Cupido - Dutch hybrid with an unusual form of bedspreads - elongated and narrowed to the top, painted in various shades of green.

Spathiphyllum is very popular in indoor floriculture due to its unpretentiousness and easy care, accessible even to beginners who master the basics of handling plants.

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