How to care for Decembrist at home

Did you know that in nature there are cacti without thorns, they bloom every year, they can not stand the heat and love water? Of course they did. After all, it grows in many houses. This is the Decembrist. That's just sometimes naughty. It starts to fade, it discards the buds.

How to care for the Decembrist at home, so that he annually delighted the hosts with flowering? Now we learn how to create the most comfortable conditions for him.

Pot selection

The material of the container does not have fundamental value. It can be a plastic pot, clay pot or even an enamel bowl. The main thing is that it be broad and stable. Just a little. The Decembrist has a small root system, so she does not need a huge pot volume. For example, at the age of 20 years, a flower pot with a volume of only 3 liters is enough for a flower.

After acquiring a zigocactus in a store, be sure to transplant it at home. The soil in which the plant was located was transported. It is completely unsuitable for good growth and lush flowering.

What soil does the Decembrist need

This is a cactus. A bit unusual, but still. However, in natural conditions it does not grow on the ground. Usually Decembrists can be found on old trees. The tiny root system allows it to penetrate cracks and beneath the cortex.

At home, it is difficult to recreate this. Therefore, they simply plant a flower in the ground for cacti. Or they collect the mixture with their own hands. Nothing complicated. Sod land, peat and coarse clean sand in equal shares. For greater certainty, you can throw zhenya coals. Only from leafy trees. All mix well and done.

We plant a Decembrist

There must certainly be drainage holes at the bottom of the tank. And a thick layer of the drainage itself. The root system of zigocactus does not tolerate the slightest stagnation of water. Immediately begins to rot. In principle, additional roots that feed the entire plant can then grow. But it takes time.

The next layer is sand. A little, about a centimeter. Then only the ground.

After landing care

Lighting. Decembrist tolerates heat very poorly. But loves good lighting. Best of all, he will feel on the northern or eastern windows. Or in the back of the room, but always with additional illumination with fitolamps.

If it is necessary to place it on a southern or western window, then they certainly shade it. It can be a curtain made of white fabric, thick paper, foil. It is important to prevent direct sunlight. They cause reddening shoots and burns.

Temperature. Its indicators should be in the range from +18 to + 26 ° С. And the strict absence of sudden changes. In the summer it is quite possible to take the Decembrist to the street, under the rarefied shadow of trees. But in the daytime, when the scorching and hottest sun, it is better to bring the flower into a cooler room.

If the room has air conditioning, it is advisable to leave the plant in the house. Just not under a stream of cold air.

Watering. At rest - moderate. After the earth coma has completely dried up. For the flowering period - plentiful. Drying of the soil is prohibited. How to determine the time of watering, if in each case its own conditions of existence? Everything is simple. It is necessary to pierce the soil in a pot with a wooden stick and leave it there for 9-11 minutes. Then they pull out and look at the soil moisture level. Depending on the period of the vegetation cycle, they decide whether it is time to give a drink to the Decembrist or wait.

By the way, wipe the dust shoots more often or arrange a weak warm shower.This is necessary not only to eliminate dust and dirt. A flower loves high humidity, which means it needs to be sprayed very often. And what's the point if the stomata are clogged with dust? Decembrist will not be able to enjoy microdrops.

Top dressing. Any suitable for cacti. If those are not available, then use any complex mineral fertilizer. And be sure to reduce the dose by 2, or even 3 times. Comply with the manufacturer's recommendations on the timing of fertilizer application. An overdose is fraught with the fact that new shoots will be weak, discolored and deformed.

When the Decembrist blooms

As is clear from the name of the flower - in December. If you follow the recommendations, you can achieve long-lasting flowering with a length of almost 3 months! True, a single flower lives only 3 days. But the abundance of buds allows you to enjoy them for quite some time.

In general, it depends on irrigation and temperature of the content whether zigocactus will bloom this year. He has several important points throughout the year. All dates are approximate. Focus on your conditions of detention, the microclimate in the room and the region of residence:

From March 15 to September 30. This is the time of active growth of the Decembrist. The whole period he needs top dressing and good watering. To be sure that the roots do not rot, the pot is placed on another, turned upside down.

Be sure to ventilate the plant, often sprayed. You can rearrange the flower as much as you like, drag it to the street, balcony, loggia. Only protect from rain. Extra watering is useless.

From October 1 to October 31. The first period of rest. At this time, the Decembrist stops growing and begins to gain buds. To bookmark flower buds was as successful as possible, you need to lower the temperature to + 11-17 ° C. This can be achieved by leaving the Decembrist on the street or in an unheated room.

By the way, now you can still rearrange it to another place and turn the pot around its axis.

Watering is practically reduced. They moisten the soil a little only when the shoots begin to lose a little elasticity. And it is advisable to water not just with water, but brewed black tea of ​​medium strength. According to reviews, this helps the Decembrist to lay flower buds.

At the end of the month, it is recommended to feed zigocactus with any fertilizer for flowering plants. This contributes to a long and lush flowering. Or give a mineral water with a high content of phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen is not added.

From November 1 to January 31. At the very beginning of November, the Decembrist was established in a permanent place. If he was on the window, then they do nothing. If on the street - then they bring it into the house. Everything, from this moment on, the pot cannot be moved, rotated, transferred to another place.

At the same time, the Decembrists begin to water. Quite often, but always drained excess water. A little ground egg shell is added to the liquid. Be sure to defend the water itself or make melt. A tap will be enough to boil.

The temperature of the content is set in the range + 18-23 ° C. Lighting - no more than 10 hours a day. Do not wash the flower, do not touch the shoots. All hygiene should be done before this time.

If everything is done correctly, then after about 6-8 days, buds will begin to appear. From this moment, it is strongly discouraged to change the conditions of detention and care. For a Decembrist, dropping flowers at one moment is a trifling matter. This can come from any interference in his personal space. With proper care, flowering lasts 2.5 months.

From February 1 to March 14. For the Decembrist comes the second period of rest. This is the time when the plant falls asleep to rest after flowering. What can be done? Yes all! Form a bush, transplant, remove unnecessary shoots.

Watering at this time is scarce, but drying out the soil is not recommended. Top dressing does not make. But you can rotate the pot, move it to another place.

All dates indicated are relative.A Decembrist can bloom with you until mid-spring, if you have gathered enough strength for this. In this case, the terms of other periods do not shift, but shorten the very first - the time of active growth.

It happens that after the rest the Decembrist is going to bloom again. There is already a choice for you personally. Can you help the plant recover in a short time? So let it bloom repeatedly. Not sure of your abilities? Move the pot to another place. The Decembrist himself will throw off all the buds and begin to build up shoots. Thus, it will enter its normal vegetation cycle.

Correctly form

Zygocactus every year during the growing season throws new shoots in large quantities. If it grows in potted form, then this growth must be controlled. Otherwise, part of the branches will be too long, which is aesthetically ugly.

To do this, in the second dormant period, unnecessary branches are carefully broken off to the required length. Or unscrew to form a lush bush. Fracture of the handle must be done strictly along the line of the "elbow". That is, it is impossible to cut or break in the middle of the sheet. Such an open wound does not dry out for a long time. And it can even cause rotting of the stem. For the same reason, it is not recommended to cut with a knife or blade.

For ampel growing, the Decembrist also needs to be formed. But they unscrew only one joint on the shoot. This will leave the length of the branches, and make them grow longer.

We transplant the Decembrist

The plant is transplanted once a year until the age of 5 years. After this, a transplant is required every 2-3 years. If the Decembrist feels great, develops well and blooms magnificently, then it is better not to touch his root system.

If there are signs of disease or wilting for no apparent reason, then a transplant will cure the flower. Carefully shake off the soil from the roots. Sometimes there are putrefactive processes, but they are not visible from the outside. You will have to trim with scissors or secateurs all the damage to a healthy tissue. After this, you need to soak the roots in a solution of phytosporin for 25 minutes. And only then plant. Surely in other soil. The pot can be left the same, thoroughly washed and doused with boiling water. Or take another, larger in diameter.

Useful Tips

1. In our climate, there are few pests that love the Decembrist. And even then, they can fall in love with a plant while it is in the garden. If zigocactus is constantly in the house, then the likelihood of infection is almost excluded.
2. At the first sign, treat the flower with any systemic insecticide. In this case, it is necessary to close the soil in the pot. If necessary, after 6 days the procedure is repeated.
3. Of the diseases, Decembrist suffers mainly from various rot. And this happens at low temperatures and constant stagnation of water at the roots. Eliminating such conditions of detention, the possibility of a disease can be completely eliminated.
4. Sometimes zygocatus can catch late blight. In this case, you have to grow the plant again, breaking the cuttings. This fungus first affects the root system of the Decembrist. Getting rid of adversity is very problematic. Although, you can try to fight. Use top coat fungicides. What if it works out?

How to care for Decembrist at home? As you can see, it’s not so difficult. We just remember or write down simple secrets. And then he will annually show his beauty during flowering.

Video: how to make Decembrist bloom