Decorative-flowering varieties of indoor plants are not the only vegetation that deserves attention. Deciduous forms look no less impressive, therefore, we suggest that you get acquainted with the plant of nolin recurvate, the requirements for the cultivation of which will be discussed later.
Botanical description of the plant
Nolina recurvata, she is a scorpion, is rarely found in indoor floriculture, but in vain. Even in solitary form, it looks bright and impressive, not to mention the beneficial addition to decorative and deciduous plantings. A characteristic feature of the plant is an unusual trunk, swollen in the lower part. Under natural conditions of growth, it often reaches one meter in diameter and provides the tree with the moisture it needs, which is especially important in the dry period, characteristic of the rocky soils of sunny Mexico (the birthplace of nolin). The drier the climate, the thicker the base of the tree.
Did you know? The structural features of recolin nolina served as the basis for the appearance of its other names: bottle tree, ivory tree, horse tail, bent nolin.
The top of the trunk is decorated with a set of dense, narrow and falling leaves of dark green color, 40-60 cm long. The average height of a room nolina is about 1 m, although sometimes there are specimens reaching a height of 1.5 m. In the natural growth environment, many plants reach 8 meters in height, and some species even bloom, which can not be said about their indoor version. At home, nolin recurvate does not bloom, plants grown in greenhouses may be an exception, subject to the requirements for temperature and lighting.
How to choose upon purchase?
If you do not have nolina yet, but you are determined to replenish this collection of flowers with this plant, you will have to look for it in free sale.
There are several selection criteria, and it is worth paying attention to the following characteristics:
- the brightness of the color of the foliage (leaves should be saturated dark green);
- lack of dark spots, drying out or decaying places;
- the abundance of freely hanging leaves (on adult plants, narrow and long leaves should form a voluminous “crown”, without bald spots).
Did you know? From the long leaves of nolins, the Mexicans have long been making hats (especially the famous sombrero hats) and weaving baskets that can withstand a lot of weight (up to 10 kg and more).
Quarantine and transplant after purchase
It is advisable to temporarily place any acquired plant in the quarantine zone, away from existing indoor vegetation. Over the next two weeks, it will become clear whether nolin is sick and suffering from pests. This will avoid mass infection of other crops, and save you from additional difficulties when caring for them.
If the quarantine period has passed successfully and no problems have been found, you can transplant the plant into a new pot and take it out to others. The need for transplantation is due to the insufficient nutrition of the substrate in which the seedling is sold and the limited space in the shipping container where it is usually placed. Adult nolins are transplanted no more than once every 3-4 years, stopping watering for up to 5 days after the procedure.
The soil chosen for recolin nolina should be loose and nutritious, therefore, among the suitable substrate options, a mixture of equal parts of leaf (or garden) soil, peat and sand is isolated. As a drainage layer, you can use small gravel poured on the bottom of the pot with a 2-centimeter layer.
If possible, the nolina transplant pots should be low but wide so that the breadth of the surface root system that grows in breadth fits freely. The presence of drainage holes at the bottom of the landing tank allows you to avoid stagnation of moisture and the associated rotting of the root system. The specific dimensions of the pot depend on the parameters of the nolina itself, but on average the new capacity should be 2-3 cm larger than the previous one.
Important! If you have not found ready-made soil for nolin in stores, a mixture for cacti and succulents will help replace it. When preparing the substrate yourself, eliminate clay and compost from it.
The process of plant transplantation is simple and consists of the following stages:
- Preparation of a new pot, filling it with drainage and a suitable soil substrate (up to half).
- The release of the plant from the previous planting capacity (to facilitate the task to spill the ground in advance with warm water).
- Cleaning the rhizome from adhering substrate and placing nolina in the center of a new pot.
- Filling the landing tank with the remaining soil and easy moistening of the earth.
- When filling the soil in a pot, compact it by hand so that voids do not form between the layers.
Video: nolina transplant
Conditions for successful growing at home
In order for the bottle tree to grow well and please with an abundance of green mass, when placing it in room conditions, it is important to consider the level of lighting, the presence of drafts, the stability of the temperature regime and air humidity. Consider the nuances of each requirement.
Seat selection
Nolin recurvate belongs to the group of photophilous plants that respond well to strong and bright lighting. Some gardeners recommend limiting direct sunlight to leaves, but the tree grows well on southeastern or southwestern window sills, or in suitable places near them. In winter, the ivory tree can be moved to light partial shade, thereby supporting the natural period of rest.
Important! If there are no conditions for wintering, you can leave nolin in the house by moving the pot to a cool room with a reduced level of lighting.
To shade the plant with curtains in the summer season you need only at the peak of solar activity, that is, closer to lunch. In regions where there is not enough natural light in the autumn, you will have to illuminate nolin with artificial light sources (at least 2-3 hours a day), of course, if you want to maintain its decorativeness for as long as possible. The presence of drafts in a room with a bottle tree is unacceptable, especially in the cold season, but in the summer light and warm wind will not be able to harm the plant.
Temperature and humidity
Indices of temperature and humidity in a room with zero recurs depend on the time of year. On hot summer days, the flowerpot should be taken out to fresh air, but the optimum temperature indicators during this period still remain no higher than + 25 ° C, with air humidity within 60%.
In winter, the plant begins a dormant period, therefore, starting in late autumn, the temperature in the room is gradually reduced or the pot is taken out to a cool room with a temperature of at least + 12 ° C. Humidity in the cold season can be reduced to 50% or even lower, which will prevent decay of the tree. At a reduced temperature, life processes inside the plant slow down until spring.
Further care
Having placed the elephant tree in a suitable place, a long stage of care for it begins, including watering, top dressing and pruning. Each procedure should be carried out with strict observance of terms and norms, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve a spectacular decorative effect from the plant.
Watering
Under the natural growing conditions of recolin nolina, moistening of the soil is rare (sometimes precipitation occurs only once a month), therefore, the indoor bottle tree can easily tolerate prolonged drought. It needs moisture during the period of active growth and development, after winter dormancy, transplantation or division of the bush for the purpose of reproduction.
In the spring-summer period, the tree is watered abundantly, but not often so that the soil has time to dry well between waterings and remains dry for another 3-4 days. A dry substrate for nolin recurvate is preferable to waterlogged, because it will not be able to provoke the development of fungal diseases. Water for irrigation should be well-maintained and soft, preferably at room temperature. The ideal solution is rainwater, but since it is not easy to collect, you can filter the tap water.
As for the irrigation method, in addition to the basal method, the method of completely immersing the rhizome is often used, moreover, along with the pot. Of course, for this you need a spacious container with clean water. After the procedure, remove the plant and allow the water to drain. When the soil is completely dry, add some water to the pan of the pot for extra moisture so that the topsoil becomes slightly moist.
In the cold season, along with lowering the temperature, the regularity of watering the indoor tree should be gradually reduced. You can completely stop the introduction of liquid when the temperature in the room with the flowerpot drops to + 16 ° C, of course, if you plan to put the plant in a dormant state. Otherwise, it is enough to reduce the number and regularity of irrigation.
In the summertime, it is useful for an ivory tree to moisten leaf plates by wiping with a damp cloth. This procedure not only increases the level of humidity, but also promotes the processes of air exchange in the leaves, which plays an important role in the formation of a beautiful and lush green crown.
Fertilizer application
Frequent top dressing is not required for the plant, so even during active growth they are carried out no more than once every 30 days. Moreover, no matter what nutrient fertilizer you choose, its concentration should be half that indicated on the package. The introduction of complex mineral compounds can be alternated with the use of organics (humus or manure is dissolved in water in a proportion of 1:15), but in any case, in the autumn-winter period (from late November to early March), nolina should be fed with nutrient compounds.
Pruning
The tree does not need forming pruning, because when creating the conditions for its growth and development, the crown will be thick, lush and green anyway. However, it will not be possible to do without sanitary removal of dried leaf tips, since they not only spoil the decorative effect, but also contribute to the spread of the problem to healthy parts of the plant.
In rare cases, for example, to wake dormant buds and achieve branches like dracaena, the top with leaves is cut off, but when performing this procedure, one should not forget about the possibility of infection of the plant, so it is better for newcomers to indoor floriculture not to risk the health of nolin.
Propagation at home
Bottle tree propagation is often performed in two ways:
- By rooting the lateral processes.
- Sowing seeds, which in comparison with the previous option will require more time.
Each of these processes has its own characteristics and deserves special attention.
Lateral processes
In the role of planting material during the propagation of nolins, lateral shoots departing from the mother plant act. After careful separation (use a sharp knife), they need to be soaked for a day in a solution of phytohormone (stimulates root formation), and then planted in a mixture of peat, sand and vermiculite. When preparing a pot with a nutrient mixture, it is filled with a moist substrate, lightly tamped and small recesses are made, in which the removed processes will later be placed.
Having landed the collected planting material in pots, it must be covered with a transparent plastic cap and taken out into a warm room, with a temperature not lower than + 22 ° C. Before new leaves appear, all “seedlings” will have to be sprayed regularly from the spray gun, periodically removing the shelter for ventilation. After the appearance of its own root system and the growth of processes, the cloak is removed, gradually adapting the new plant to standard growth conditions.
Video: reproduction of nolin by the lateral processes
Seeds
The reproduction of nolina recurvate with seeds begins with preplant seed soaking of the seed material in the root formation stimulator (Epine or Zircon) for 24–48 hours. Further planting of seeds is carried out in a moistened substrate prepared from an equal amount of peat and sand.
Strongly deepen the planting material is not necessary, it is enough to spread it on the surface of the soil and sprinkle with soil, so that the thickness of the sealing layer corresponds to the parameters of the seed. For the appearance of sprouts, containers with seedlings should be taken out to a well-lit place with a temperature of + 21 ... + 25 ° C and regularly moisten the earth from the spray gun.
Important! There is an opinion that nolin calmly does without moisture for a whole year. However, even if such experiments do not destroy the plant, they will still result in a deterioration in its appearance and significant thinning of the stem.
If necessary, seedlings can be illuminated with fluorescent lights, every day including lighting for at least 2-3 hours (this is especially true for seedlings planted in winter or early spring). From the time of planting to the appearance of the first young shoots of nolin, at least 3-4 weeks pass, but this is only if the plants are in a warm room, regularly ventilated and moistened.
A few weeks after seed germination, mature plants dive into separate containers, the size of which corresponds to the size of indoor trees. As the soil, you can use a mixture of peat, leaf substrate and sand, taken in a ratio of 1: 1: 2. In the future, the care of a young seedling is performed similarly to the care of adult specimens.
Video: nolin seed propagation
Possible growing difficulties
With properly organized care problems should not arise when growing an elephant tree. It rarely suffers from diseases, and pests rarely settle on it, preferring more lush indoor plants. However, in some cases, the decorative properties of exotics may deteriorate, so it is so important to timely detect the problem, understand its causes and take appropriate measures to eliminate them.
| Problem | Cause | Remedies |
| The appearance of brown spots on the leaves, softening of shoots, decay of the root system. | Waterlogging plants. | Limitation of watering, control of temperature and level of illumination, removal of decayed parts with subsequent processing of the cut points with crushed activated carbon. |
| The leaves dry and curl, the lower leaf plates may fall. | Low humidity in the room or too high temperature of cultivation. If everything is in order with the indicators, and only the lower leaves fall, perhaps this is a natural process of dying off old leaves. | With reduced humidity, spray the tree from the spray gun, but only so that moisture gets on the leaves, not on the trunk. Intensify watering and replenish stocks of nutrients in the soil by applying extra top dressing. Remove dried leaf plates, and move the plant away from heating appliances. |
| Excessive stretching of the trunk of the nolin, limiting the growth of caudex. | Waterlogging of the soil with insufficient lighting in the room. | Allow the substrate to dry completely (the next watering should be done no earlier than 3-4 days later), organize additional lighting. |
| Limited leaf growth, chopping. | Limited intake of nutrients, the growth of the root system, which is already not enough space in the pot. | Regularly feed the plant by applying nutrients to the soil at least 1 time per month. Refresh the soil in the pot with nolin or transplant it into a new pot. |
| Drying, wrinkling of the trunk and caudex of the bottle tree. | A protracted wintering, a long period of rest. | With the beginning of spring watering and fertilizing, the state of nolina will gradually return to normal, and all the cells of the tree will be saturated with moisture. |
Of the pests on a bottle tree, more often than others settle spider mites, scale insects, thrips and worms, which can be detected by looking at the dark points on the surface of the foliage or tree trunk. Observance of sanitary-hygienic norms of plant growing will help to prevent their occurrence, and in dealing with the problem, an effective method will be to treat the leaves with a wet sponge dipped in soap and tobacco solution, and in advanced cases, spray the leaves with special chemicals like Actellik or Spark .
Thrips and ticks also die after treating nolina with a Dalmatian chamomile, but in this case it is advisable to deal with pests in the initial stages of their activity, since the task of cleaning becomes more complicated every day they are on the plant.
Difficulties are more likely an exception to the rule than the routine of growing recolin nolina, so deciding to decorate a home greenhouse with such an exotic plant and arranging the right care for it, you will win. Unusual and unpretentious care make bottle tree an excellent complement to the interior.
