Latin name: (Soleirolia)
Category: perennial flowering plants
Origin: Mediterranean, Corsica, Mallorca, Sardinia
Soleirolia – amazing delicate fluffy balls
Soleirolia (Soleirolia) is a charming perennial decorative ground cover that belongs to the Nettle family. The monotypic genus is represented by the species of this plant – Soleirolia Soleirolii or Soleirolia Gaud, which is the only specimen in the plant world.
Thanks to diligent breeders, flower lovers can get acquainted not only with the juicy greenery of the spherical original bushes of the main species, but also with the most delicate cultural silvery or golden treasures of various varieties of this interesting wonderful plant.
The native habitat and distribution area of this exotic flower are humid forests, gardens, and mountainous areas, which are famous in the Mediterranean, Italy – its northern part, and the island territories of Corsica, Mallorca, and Sardinia. These unique natural conditions with a tropical climate allow helxine to be a wonderful decoration of the banks of rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water, covering the ground with its thin delicate branches.
The first discoverer of this wonderful plant was the French captain and navigator Solerole Joseph François, who traveled through the Mediterranean and discovered these delicate carpets on the island of Corsica. It was named after him.
The plant soleirolia has small thread-like, thin, delicate branches that are beautifully intertwined with each other. These hairs turn into an unusual delicate miracle thanks to the five-millimeter heart-shaped-oval leaf plates. Their glossy surface, abundantly covered with embossed veins arranged in pairs on the shoots, makes the soleirolia flower unique. It blooms with small, solitary, creamy-white, one-millimeter flowers.
Both in natural and domestic conditions, the flowering of soleirolia can be observed with the onset of spring warmth. In open areas, soleirolia plants delight with their long and abundant flowering and seed formation. In domestic conditions, these flowers in hanging pots bloom with pale and rare, not very long-lasting flowers.
Helxine receives nutrients through thin thread-like roots. This is a low-growing ground cover that does not exceed ten centimeters in height.
The indoor plant soleirolia can ennoble, improve, and radically change the interior of any room if it is skillfully placed. Hanging pots with round fluffy balls or dense green beards that hang down will look very beautiful. These wonderful hanging plants will look interesting on tables, stands, shelves, chests of drawers, windowsills, verandas, bottle gardens, and balconies.
Soleirolia in a terrarium or in an open-type florarium will look charming with the help of a humid microclimate. Hanging indoor soleirolia plants can be placed in the corners of the aquarium, where they will not only be a decoration but also benefit its inhabitants.
This amazing lush carpet is often planted in pots with large flowers, such as date palm, yucca, dracaena, Benjamin ficus, cyperus. This proximity of different types of indoor plants makes it possible to introduce its original feature into the transformation of a modern interior, turning any room into a fairy tale.
This group of plants needs to be monitored so that the small and delicate, but aggressive indoor plant soleirolia does not harm the large neighbor.
The benefits and harms of this unusual harmless plant are already visible after the information described earlier in the text. The main thing is that there are no toxins in the juice, unlike such indoor plants as dieffenbachia or ivy, which are poisonous.
Indoor potted soleirolia flowers are very useful and participate in neutralizing the radiation produced by many electrical appliances. The main thing is that this indoor plant is very sensitive to the atmospheric indicators of the house. It will not like smoky and stuffy rooms.
Like other indoor flowers, soleirolia has its own signs, which are related to its magical properties. This amazing exotic ball carries joyful positivity into the house with its positive energy and improves relationships between residents, helps reduce their depressive states, and even strengthens their well-being.
Of course, these hanging indoor plants can not only be placed in living rooms, but also should be. Helxine will not harm babies in the nursery; they will become calmer and sleep more soundly. With its appearance, the flower can maintain a good mood. Soleirolia and cats will also not suffer if they come into close contact with the indoor plant and chew on its delicate leaf.
Varieties of soleirolia
Soleirolia Green
This amazing sprawling, compact, miniature culture with small green leaves fits perfectly into any interior composition. A very attractive variety of soleirolia with long, thin, and delicate stems. With proper and high-quality care, you can admire a very effective small bush that resembles an original ball, up to twenty centimeters in diameter.
Soleirolia Argentia
This variety is represented by a low-growing ground cover herbaceous plant that has very thin thread-like creeping shoots. Numerous rounded small leaves of an unusually beautiful greenish-silver color are densely located on the stems. It receives nutrients through delicate thread-like roots. Although these unpretentious, fast-growing plants practically do not bloom in domestic conditions, they are the most popular among amateur flower growers.
Soleirolia Aurea
This variety of soleirolia is considered very rare and at the same time very aesthetic and in demand. Thin creeping stems and lush foliage are not distinctive indicators of this variety from other varieties. And the highlight and hallmark of the variety can be considered bright and colorful oval leaves. Its color, in which green dominates over gold, makes the fast-growing indoor plant charming. But the flowering of this unique plant is a very rare sight.
Soleirolia Variegata
This variety is endowed with special originality, which makes it very popular among flower growers. The individual difference from other varieties is a white original border, which makes the edge of the green leaves expressive. This indoor flower practically does not bloom.
Soleirolia Golden Queen
The distinctive feature of this variety is the golden color of the original lush, effective spherical exotics. Bright small leaves have a very beautiful yellow-golden color.
The beauty, originality, and uniqueness of the varieties can be expressed by one name: Soleirolia mix.
Soleirolia care in a domestic environment
Although soleirolia is a rather unpretentious indoor plant, it comes from the tropics. And in order for the hanging flowers in pots to feel comfortable, grow and develop well, it is necessary to fulfill quite simple requirements for cultivation.
We control the temperature, lighting, and humidity of the air in the room, water and feed the soil correctly, and provide regular ventilation, because helxine does not tolerate tobacco smoke and stuffiness. And even a beginner gardener can cope with this not difficult process and enjoy the fast-growing indoor plant.
Choosing a place and temperature regime
Light-loving soleirolia prefers to enjoy diffused sunlight, and with sufficient light, its charming foliage will acquire a dense, juicy, and shiny consistency. And direct sunlight can cause serious burns on the delicate leaves of the flower and spoil its appearance. The natural choice of location for helxine will be areas with east or west orientation. If the fast-growing indoor plant is on a windowsill facing north, it needs additional lighting with phyto-lamps.
To form a beautiful lush ball, the flower must be periodically rotated around its axis.
Comfortable temperature indicators in warm weather are 21-24 ° C. Further warming of the environment will be unpleasant for the flower; it must be periodically sprayed. In winter, the temperature should be maintained at around 15 ° C. The plant will not withstand temperatures below eight degrees.
Place your fast-growing indoor plant away from heating appliances.
Soleirolia does not like drafts.
Air humidity and watering
The air in the room for the comfortable growth of indoor helxine should have a humidity of at least 70%. It is not difficult to achieve these indicators by regularly spraying your pet, placing a small container of water next to it, or purchasing flower pots with automatic watering, which will solve the problem of humid air in the room. The tropical exotic will not refuse a terrarium or florarium with natural and constant humidity.
High-quality watering with soft, settled water without mineral impurities is one of the important attributes of caring for a fast-growing indoor plant. It is desirable to water from below into a tray, in which the pot with the flower is located, every other day in warm weather, and no more than once a week in winter.
A moist state of the soil in the pot will be a sure sign of the correct watering regime.
Soil and its feeding
The indoor plant soleirolia has its own needs for the composition of the substrate. It should be loose and moderately fertile, with optimal air permeability, with a neutral or slightly acidic level of acidity. In the retail network, there is a soil mixture for saintpaulia or date palm with such standards. You can easily prepare it yourself at home if you have the following ingredients, taken in equal parts: sod soil, peat, and coarse sand.
To maintain the chic appearance of indoor soleirolia, it is necessary to regularly feed it during the growing season every fifteen days. You can use peat or complex mineral fertilizers intended for leafy-decorative plants. Fertilizers are combined with watering, dissolving them in water. Liquid organic fertilizers are also suitable. Helxine does not need feeding in winter.
Transplanting soleirolia
The best time for transplanting delicate and fragile soleirolia is spring. For the normal development of the root system, it is desirable to provide the flower with a low and wide pot, a couple of centimeters larger than the previous one.
The bottom of the pot with a hole should be lined with a thick layer of drainage, you can use small expanded clay or vermiculite.
We use the transshipment method, first shortening the overly long stems. During transplantation, you can divide the bush. We add nutritious substrate, but it is not desirable to strongly compact it. We do not water for a few days, and then we provide normal care.
Soleirolia propagation
You can get fresh young indoor helxine by vegetative method: divide the bush, root the stem, or cutting. These methods make it possible to preserve the characteristics of a particular variety of culture. Each gardener decides for himself how to propagate soleirolia.
Soleirolia also grows well from seeds, but this method is laborious. The seeds are sown on the surface of the soil and provided with a humid mini-greenhouse with regular ventilation. When the seedlings appear, they are planted in pots with the following care rules.
Pests and diseases
The indoor plant soleirolia has good immunity and is resistant to pests, so there are practically no unwanted guests on this exotic plant with regular inspection. If soleirolia dries up, you need to check for pests. Spider mites and aphids can threaten helxine. If this misunderstanding does happen, it is necessary to immediately apply insecticides. You can use "Fitoverm", "Aktara", "Aktophyt", "Vermitek".
Difficulties that arise during cultivation
- The leaves begin to turn yellow, the soleirolia wilts and dies - the soil is too waterlogged, it is necessary to control watering.
- The leaves turn pale green, the stems grow too elongated, and the growth rate of the plant slows down too much - the indoor helxine needs to be fed with fertilizers.
- The leaves begin to dry out and fall off, the stems become drooping, and the turgor is lost - the frequency and quality of watering need to be improved, the air in the room is too dry.
- Brown-silver spots appear on the leaf plates - the plant is exposed to direct sunlight.
Soleirolia dried up, what to do? Helxine is a very tenacious plant. And if this misunderstanding happens, the indoor flower must be urgently saved. We cut off all the dried stems and transplant the root system into a new pot with fresh nutritious soil. With proper care, in a month you can admire a lush, bright and beautiful bush.
Soleirolia is a delicate and beautiful living green, which does not require special care. If you fantasize a little and arrange the flower in the form of a geometric figure, it will be a wonderful decoration for any interior and will delight the eye of those around you.
Other indoor flowers with names can be seen and learned more about on the website by opening catalog of indoor plants.
Write comments
Comments