Why does dieffenbachia have a thin trunk. Proper pruning of dieffenbachia with a long trunk. Temperature and lighting

Dieffenbachia (Dieffenbachia) with its chic strong leaves of different sizes and colors cannot leave indifferent more than one amateur grower. Depending on the type of dieffenbachia, it may have one or more trunks. It grows very quickly. Some varieties can reach two meters in height. Requires constant painstaking care.

Region of origin: tropics of South and Central America.

Growth: fast, especially in spring and summer. During the dormant period, in autumn and winter, dieffenbachia can continue to grow.

Place of detention: the plant is shaded from direct sunlight. It is better if the tub with dieffenbachia is placed a meter and a half from the window. Some varieties, such as dieffenbachia adorable, can grow in partial shade. It is not difficult to determine whether your plant will feel good in the back of the room - the fewer white spots on the leaves the variety has, the shade-tolerant it is. If you place a spotted plant in the shade, then over time it will lose its properties and the leaves will become dark green. In addition, when kept in the shade, the leaves may become smaller. Dieffenbachia do not tolerate drafts! It can lead to rapid loss of leaves.

Temperature: The plant must be kept warm. The lower temperature threshold is 16 degrees. At temperatures above 25 degrees, the tips of the leaves may dry.

Air humidity: as with most tropical plants, humidity should be high. To do this, the plant is sprayed every day. You can not do this only if the apartment is cold. Dieffenbachia is very fond of "bathing" under warm shower. To do this, place the plant in the bath, wrap the pot plastic wrap so that water does not fall on the ground and rinse the leaves and trunk well with water. In addition to simple hygiene procedure, You thus protect your plant from the possible occurrence of diseases and pests. If the flower has an impressive size, just wipe the leaves and (required) the trunk with a damp cloth from time to time.

Watering: in spring and summer, Dieffenbachia is watered immediately after it dries out. upper layer land, during the dormant period in autumn and winter, watering is moderate, that is, after the topsoil dries out, a couple more days should pass. The plant cannot be flooded.

Top dressing: during the growth period from spring to autumn, they are fed with mineral and organic fertilizers 2-3 times a month. If dieffenbachia is not fed, it will drop leaves faster. When applying fertilizer with great content nitrogen, the leaves become dark green, while losing variegation.

Flowering: blooms briefly in April-May in the form of a yellowish cob. Blooming dieffenbachia does not cause any interest, therefore, in order not to weaken the plant, it is better to remove the inflorescence. If you want to see how the flower looks, remove it immediately after flowering.

Carefully! All parts of the plant are poisonous! Work with gloves, wash your hands thoroughly immediately after contact with the plant.

Pruning: dieffenbachia is pruned only for rooting. Thus it is rejuvenated. If you do not do this from time to time, you will have a bare stem in the tub with a crown of leaves at the top.

Rest period: autumn-winter, but during this period the plant can continue to grow. Contain at room temperature, illumination is desirable.

Soil: dieffenbachia grows well in a loose, slightly acidic substrate. It itself can be made up of two parts of leafy soil, two parts of soddy soil and one part of peat, crushed sphagnum moss and sand.

Transplant: as Dieffenbachia grows, they are transplanted, but rather they are transferred into a pot a little bigger size than the previous one. When transshipping, it is necessary to replace the drainage, the lower and upper layers of the soil. The plant tolerates a transplant at any time active growth(spring Summer).

Reproduction: this is usually done when the plant loses its decorative effect. It is necessary to cut off the apical part with leaves. The cut should be 2 cm below the extreme knot. After that, it is necessary to rinse the cut from the milky juice in warm water and powder it with crushed charcoal or root. It can be rooted both in the soil substrate and in water, where it is desirable to add Activated carbon. Roots will appear in about two weeks. Rooting is almost one hundred percent, provided that the sprout is kept in a warm place with constant spraying.

The remaining bare trunk can be left in the tub, watering it moderately. After a while, a new sprout will appear from the top node. It is cut and rooted in the soil mixture. In this way, you can get several new young Dieffenbachia.

When breeding stem cuttings the trunk of the plant is cut into 2-3 internodes, the juice is washed off with warm water and dried for 1-2 days. Spread horizontally in a substrate of peat and sand, sprinkled and kept in a constantly moistened state. After the roots appear, they are planted in the prepared soil mixture for Dieffenbachia.
The trunk of the plant cut off and rooted to the maximum can be left in the ground, watered and fertilized as usual, and another plant can be obtained from the apical bud on the trunk.

Possible growing problems:

  • leaves shrivel: move the plant to a brighter place, but not under direct sunlight;
  • leaves turn yellow: overflow of the plant is possible;
  • the plant is losing leaves too quickly: irregular watering, too cramped pot;
  • the tips of the leaves dry: dry air, draft, waterlogging of the soil (maybe with poor drainage in a pot, this leads to stagnation of water), too high or low temperature content, direct sunlight;
  • stalk rots: waterlogging of the plant, low air temperature. Usually starts from the bottom of the stem, so the best way is to cut off the top of the plant and root it. Then you can root the healthy parts of the stem by cutting them into pieces of three buds and burying them horizontally in the soil;
  • lower leaves are curled up: draft, low temperature;
  • the edges of the leaves turn brown: the plant is cold, the soil dries up, hard water;
  • leaves lose spotting: direct sunlight;
  • Leaves turn pale direct sunlight.

Dieffenbachia is a wonderful houseplant of the aroid family. Dieffenbachia has beautiful wide leaves with a variegated color. At home, the plant reaches up to 2 meters in height. If you grow Dieffenbachia in a room where the air is dry, then it quickly becomes bare and becomes completely unattractive. In order for the flower to be both lush and bushy again, it is necessary to regularly prune. How to trim Dieffenbachia at home is collected in this article.

Proper pruning dieffenbachia

For proper pruning of a plant, you need to take:

  • sharp knife;
  • use rubber gloves;
  • charcoal;
  • alcohol;
  • soap solution.

It is recommended to cut a plant with a long stem so that the diameter is at least 3 cm. The cut should be made as low as possible, since nothing grows on a bare trunk. It is required to check that the rudiments, which are presented in the form of semirings, are preserved on the stump. Ideally, there should be two or three. From each germ it will be possible to get a new stem, and the flower will become very picturesque in the future.

The milky juice of dieffenbachia is poisonous, so it is recommended to use rubber gloves during pruning. Pruning is done carefully so that the juice does not get on the skin or in the eyes. At the slightest contact with the juice of the plant on the skin, there may be a severe burn. Try to be very careful when cutting.

To reduce the release of juice, it is necessary to stop watering dieffenbachia 5 days before the procedure. It is necessary to cut the trunk sharp blade Or you can use a thin hacksaw.

Before pruning, you need to wipe the blade with alcohol to prevent the plant from becoming infected. After the procedure, the instrument should be washed well. detergent to remove all residual juice.

You need to cut horizontally. To avoid contamination of dieffenbachia, the cut site must be disinfected with ground activated carbon.

The remaining stump can be covered with a jar or polyethylene. Before the awakening of the kidneys, you need to reduce the frequency of watering. The jar constantly needs to be removed to ventilate the plant. When the rudiments wake up, you can regularly water and fertilize.

The upper part of the plant, which remained after pruning, can be rooted and after a while planted to the stump. Thanks to this, you will get a beautiful and lush bush.

If you cut off a long trunk with leaves at the end, then it is optimal to cut it into several parts. room dieffenbachia excellently propagated by stem cuttings. Before you start rooting the cutting, it should be dried a little, about 2 days.

Rooting of the apical part can be carried out in water or wet sand. If rooting in water, then it is optimal to use an opaque container for this. The water should be changed occasionally.

Care rules

Temperature and lighting

Dieffenbachia loves bright lighting and warmth. The room temperature should be 18-21°C. When the air temperature drops to 10 degrees, the leaves of the plant begin to turn yellow and rot. The plant does not tolerate drafts and excessively dry air.

Indoor dieffenbachia prefers bright diffused light, but at the same time it must be removed from direct sun rays. If you create additional lighting, then the plant pot can be placed away from the windows. In summer, a green pet can be taken out into the fresh air.

In the cold season, the plant needs good lighting. With insufficient light, the leaves of the plant become smaller, and the flower loses its decorative effect.

Watering mode

Dieffenbachia should be watered abundantly from spring to autumn. In winter, watering should be moderate, it is recommended to use warm water for irrigation. Do not flood the plant, because excess moisture leads to rotting of the roots and the appearance of brown spots at the edges of the leaves. But it is also not necessary to allow the soil to dry out, as the leaves fall off because of this.

To increase the humidity of the air, put the flower on a pallet with gravel and water. It is necessary to regularly spray, wipe the leaves with a damp cloth.

top dressing

Then she'll have a superb appearance. With the onset of an active growth period (spring and summer), Dieffenbachia needs to be fed. Fertilizers should be applied once every two weeks. For this, complex mineral fertilizers that do not contain lime. In autumn and winter season the plant does not need to be fertilized.

It should be borne in mind that the form of a plant with white leaves turns green if the flower receives a lot of nitrogen. Therefore, it is best not to use organic fertilizers for such flowers. When feeding dieffenbachia with mineral fertilizers, the dose must be reduced by 2 times.

Transfer

Transplantation must be carried out correctly so that the plant develops well. It is optimal to transplant dieffenbachia in the spring. To do this, use a soil consisting of such components as:

  1. Sod land - 4;
  2. sheet and peat soil - 1;
  3. Sand - 1 part.

Before transplanting, you should select a pot 3 cm larger than the previous one. When transplanting, it is advisable to slightly deepen the stem of the plant. Thus, new roots will grow from its buried area.

Competent dieffenbachia transplant at home Benefit and harm houseplant dieffenbachia for humans: basic precautions

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Dieffenbachia: cultivation features, 5 common problems and their solutions

Dieffenbachia is a tropical plant with big leaves in a characteristic speck and with light streaks. This decorative evergreen culture lives in many houses, as it is beautiful and unpretentious. Let's look at the features of Dieffenbachia care.

Plant features

If you go into the details of taxonomy, the plant belongs to the vast Aroid family (Araceae). The very same genus Dieffenbachia (Dieffenbachia) also cannot be called small: it has about 60 species, although the vast majority of them are wild.

The plant was named by the Austrian botanist Heinrich Wilhem Schott in honor of the gardener of the Imperial Gardens, Josef Dieffenbach. Schott long time studied the Aroid family and revealed many features.

Of particular interest to flower growers and lovers of indoor plants are only certain species, they are described in detail in the table:

Image Description

View 1: Dieffenbachia spotted (dieffenbachia maculata)

It is considered one of the most popular types. Thanks to many years of selection and cultivation in an artificial environment, it was possible to obtain some decorative varieties dieffenbachia.

Characteristics:

  • bushy plant with a powerful developed stem about one meter high;
  • the leaves are wide, large, lanceolate, dark green in color with characteristic light spots and veins in the central part of the leaf.

Among the breeding hybrids, the following varieties of dieffenbachia maculata can be distinguished:

  • Camille. This variety is notable for the color of the leaves: big square The leaf has a milky white tint, while the edges of the leaf have a green border.
  • Tropic Snow. Looking at the leaves of this plant, it may seem that they are covered with snow. Large snow-white marks are a feature of the variety.
  • Bause. This hybrid shrub dieffenbachia with a marble pattern of the leaf plate grows up to a meter in height and has a powerful trunk.

View 2: Dieffenbachia Seguine (dieffenbachia seguine)

Also known as the lovely dieffenbachia (dieffenbachia amoena), this motley beauty belongs to a separate species, although it has significant similarities with the previous species.

There is only one difference in this case: Seguin has a wider leaf blade(up to 16 cm wide).

Distinctive features:

  • shade-tolerant;
  • is tolerant of dry air, which is usually found in apartments in winter period.

Feels good even on the windowsill under the radiators.


View 3: Dieffenbachia Leopold (dieffenbachia Leopoldii)

Leopold is characterized by the fact that the dark green succulent leaves are “cut through” by a white central vein in the form of a bright stripe.

Peculiarities:

  • short trunk;
  • symmetrical large leaves;
  • there are purple markings on the petioles and leaves, and the leaves themselves are a rich green color.

View 4: Dieffenbachia Estreda (dieffenbachia Oerstedii)

The appearance of this tropical shrub differs from related species.

Estreda has pointed leaves, somewhat reminiscent of those of a ficus or spathiphyllum.

The color is bright green, saturated, the leaf has a contrasting white central vein, and some also light spots at the edges of the sheet.

At proper care Under suitable conditions, dieffenbachia grows very quickly, giving a new leaf about once every 7 days.

Often, another houseplant, aglaonema, is confused with a tropical shrub. Spreading variegated leaves with a wide plate are very reminiscent of those of Dieffenbachia, and for good reason: both plants belong to the Aroid. The flower - similar to dieffenbachia, is also successfully grown indoors.

How to care

Dieffenbachia is a tropical shrub, therefore indoors it is necessary to create conditions close to the natural environment, namely:

  • well lit place without direct sunlight. The flower feels great in oriental and western windows, in well-lit rooms with diffused light.
  • High humidity- the plant loves frequent spraying and showering, you can put a humidifier or water containers nearby. And it is better to refuse proximity to sources of heating.

  • Regular watering- drying of the soil in a pot is unacceptable, just like its swamping from excess water. In summer, you can add settled or melted soft water once a day, but in winter it is better to reduce watering by 2-3 times.
  • No drafts- a prerequisite for the successful growth and development of a houseplant.

We must not forget that dieffenbachia - poisonous plant. Its juice can cause severe irritation, an allergic reaction, and if it gets on the mucous membrane, it can burn. At home, it is better to keep the plant in a place where the pot will not be accessible to pets and children.

To avoid the toxic effects of the juice, wear gloves and wash your hands thoroughly after caring for the flower.

The air temperature in the room where dieffenbachia lives should not exceed 30 ° C - in summer, and should not fall below 15 ° C - in winter. Optimal Range- +18 ... +24 °C, subject to constant moisture and the absence of direct sunlight.

Possible problems: 5 solutions

Proper care can avoid most plant diseases. But consider the most popular problems:

  1. Missing marble pattern and bright specks. Perhaps there is an excess of fertilizer in the soil, as a result of which the leaves become monophonic and lose their decorative appearance.
  2. The stem has become soft. A clear sign of rotting of the root system due to excessive watering. They get rid of the problem physically: they cut off the rotting parts of the plant and disinfect the place of the cut. In case of severe lesions, a healthy top is cut off and rooted in order to save a new shoot from rotting.
  3. If the leaves turn yellow. There may be several reasons for this (fungal infections, stressful conditions of detention, burns from ultraviolet radiation, lime in the water). Depending on the situation, the issue of transplanting into a healthy enriched soil, treatment with fungicides and changing the place of growth is being decided.

Dieffenbach I do not tolerate lime, so the water for irrigation should be as soft as possible. But nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizers, on the contrary, will only benefit with moderate top dressing.

  1. The edges of the leaves turn brown and dry up. This symptom directly indicates a lack of moisture.
  2. Leaf blades curl or shrivel. It is worth thinking about changing the location. Such a sign indicates that Dieffenbachia is freezing or exposed to a draft with cold air. The solution to the problem is to "move" to a warmer room in a well-lit corner without drafts.

Dieffenbachia can be fed year-round, even in winter. In this case, it is recommended to enter complex fertilizers. It is desirable that the names and composition of dressings correspond to this particular type of indoor flowers. For example, manufacturers often indicate on the packaging that the fertilizer is suitable for the aroid family.

In winter, fertilization should not be more often than 1–1.5 months, but in the spring, during the period of maximum activity, you can feed Dieffenbachia once every 7–10 days.

When transplanted to new pot or reproduction, the plant can be fed with growth stimulants for better rooting.

Conclusion

Dieffenbachia, of course, attracts flower growers and lovers of indoor plants with its decorative leaves. But we must not forget that for the successful development of this culture, favorable conditions and systematic care. Which? I spoke about this.

Ask questions in the comments and watch the video in this article.

February 11, 2018

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It has become one of the most popular indoor plants. If suitable conditions are created for the culture, it grows rapidly, so dieffenbachia transplantation is milestone care. The procedure will help not only to give the plant new strength, but also rejuvenate the copy that has lost its decorative effect.

Perennial herbaceous dieffenbachia - a native of the Americas. Crops growing in warm climates are often easy to distinguish by large leaf blades, strong stems and high speed growth. Dieffenbachia is no exception.

Flower growers, seduced by the opportunity to decorate their home with a spectacular plant, need to know that their green pet is not too willing to bush, and the stem growing upwards inevitably becomes bare.

You can maintain the splendor of foliage and compactness of the crown with the help of competent care, during which the culture is subjected to both pruning and transplanting.


When and how to transplant dieffenbachia? Does this procedure have limitations, and how to make it easier for the plant to acclimatize in a new pot?

Dieffenbachia transplant at home

Dieffenbachia signals its need for a transplant:

  • a slowdown in growth;
  • reduction in the size of the formed sheet plates;
  • fast drying earthy coma after regular watering.

If such a plant is taken out of the pot, it will be found that the roots have completely occupied the entire volume, and the substrate is practically invisible due to their interlacing. In this case, you need:


  • pick up a pot with a diameter of 1–3 cm larger than the previous one;
  • prepare fresh soil and material to replace the drainage layer.

Before transferring the plant to a new container, it is useful to inspect the root system.

With crowding or violations of watering, it often happens that part of the roots dies or rots. When they are removed in a timely manner, you can not be afraid that after transplantation, Dieffenbachia will suffer not only from acclimatization, but also from infections developing in the soil.

Darkened from rot, weeping or, conversely, dry roots are carefully removed, and the cut points are treated with a fungicide and powdered charcoal. Now the green pet can be transferred to a fresh nutrient substrate. This should be done in such a way as to preserve the integrity of the clod of roots and earth formed during the growth. In this case, the period of getting used to the new conditions will be as short as possible, and the florist will not encounter leaf fall or other alarming symptoms of plant ill health.

Dieffenbachia transplantation at home is carried out at the end of winter or in early spring when the plant has not yet entered the time of active vegetation. The deadline when the culture can be fully and painlessly transplanted is the beginning of May. If circumstances force the plant to be transferred to a new container during the hot season, this should be done without disturbing the roots. Drainage with each dieffenbachia transplant is better to use a new one. And the soil must be sterilized before filling in the pot.

Young specimens are transplanted annually. Such plants grow quickly, but are compact, do not need pruning and are easily transferred to a larger container.

But how to transplant dieffenbachia with a long trunk, when the foliage remains only at the top, and the tall unbranched shoot spoils the look of the plant?

Pruning dieffenbachia with a long trunk

In this situation, transplantation is carried out along with pruning. Sometimes the only growth point of dieffenbachia is at the very top of the stem. Aging, the leaves wither and fall off, and the trunk imperceptibly lengthens. Such plants:

  • lose their attractiveness
  • need additional support;
  • require more intensive care and attention.

But at the same time, dormant buds remain on the trunk in the nodes. If a plant loses a growing point, they will have no choice but to wake up and give life to new powerful shoots that feed on an already existing root system. Therefore, by cutting off the top of adult plants, you can quickly update the existing Dieffenbachia specimen, making it more bushy and lush.

The apical cutting and the bare part of the trunk are excellent material for propagating a houseplant. You can get cuttings already three or four years old Dieffenbachia.

How to renew and transplant dieffenbachia?

It is necessary to cut the stem 1.5–2 cm above the node so that several viable buds remain to the ground level. The cut site is dried with a napkin and treated with activated or charcoal powder.

In this form, the plant can be transferred to a fresh substrate. Before transplanting dieffenbachia, mix:

  • two parts of garden soil;
  • part of the crushed sphagnum moss;
  • part ;
  • part of the washed sand.

Crushed charcoal can be added to the soil, and peat, if desired, can be replaced with soil from under coniferous trees.

The resulting substrate should be loose and not too water-intensive. If the roots of dieffenbachia, after transplantation or in the process of further growth, find themselves in a constantly moist, dense environment, this threatens them with decay and inevitable diseases.

The bare stem and top with foliage remaining after pruning can be successfully rooted in a light sand mixture. Over time, the resulting cuttings will turn into the same beautiful Dieffenbachia as their mother plant.

A video about transplanting dieffenbachia will help you understand the intricacies of this stage of caring for a tropical plant that has firmly settled on window sills. After the plant has got into the new soil, it needs time to acclimatize. So. Until the full growth of new leaves begins, dieffenbachia is carefully watered and protected from direct sunlight. The culture does not need top dressing for the first time after being transferred to a nutrient substrate.

Video about transplanting dieffenbachia cuttings