Crassula mix - how to care for a flower

Crassula mix is ​​a plant that everyone is used to calling a money tree. Often found in apartments, it is believed that it attracts money to the house. In order for a flower to grow and delight, you need to know how to properly care for it.

Botanical Description

More than 300 species of the Crassula plant are known, which means “fat girl” in Latin. It belongs to the genus Succulents, that is, there are special fabrics for water supplies. Plants of this type are adapted for living indoors - they tolerate dry air well, do not require frequent watering and can grow in pots. In the wild, they are mainly found in the southern hemisphere.

Adult money tree

Most species are perennials with shoots that die off after fruiting. The main growth is in the first 4 years. The root system is branched, represented by many processes. It grows wide. The height of the plants is different - from a few cm to 4 m. The leaves are closely spaced and grow against each other. Sheet plates are simple with a solid edge.

Money tree blooms rarely at home. Usually white, yellowish, sometimes light blue or red flowers, which are most often collected in inflorescences, sometimes solitary.

Crassula during the flowering period

The most common type of plant that you can often find at home on the windowsill is Crassula Mix. The flower has a powerful trunk and a lush crown - many branches and oval leaves. The color of the foliage is green with a red border. Blooms most often with white flowers.

The most famous varieties

Five varieties of Crassula mix, which are most often grown at home:

• Tricolor. The main difference is that on the leaves with a red border there are white stripes. In winter, the reddish border disappears.
• Hummel's Sunset. Hybrid with a pronounced red border and white or yellow stripes on the leaves. Beautiful coloring is preserved only in good light.
• Ovata Minor. A compact plant with a fleshy trunk and small egg-shaped dark green leaves with a waxy coating, on which there may be a red border. It grows to a maximum of 1 m.
• Lycopodioides. A flowering crassula, the leaves of which turn red in good light. A small plant with flexible shoots and small tetrahedral leaves tightly attached to the stem.
• Picturata. Dotted crassula with highly branched shoots and leaves that seem to grow on top of each other. On leaf blades you can see reddish or purple dots.

Another interesting variety is Gollum (Hobbit in other catalogs). It differs in the unusual shape of leaves, which are folded into tubules and fused from the base to the middle. In the bright sun, the leaves turn yellow and a red border appears.

Variety of species of Crassula

How to care for a money tree

Crassula mix - the plant is unpretentious, but, like any other, requires compliance with certain rules. What are the main nuances of caring for a rosula mix at home to help grow a beautiful and healthy tree is described below.

Light and temperature

You need to grow a flower in a well-lit place, but it needs protection from direct sunlight. The most favorable place is the southeast side of the house. After the winter, when the sun appears more and more often, Crassula needs a gradual addiction - put the pot on the window in the morning and put it in the shade after dinner.

The optimum temperature for growing is 20-25 degrees. In the summer, the plant should be placed on a loggia or veranda, so that it grows better.

In winter, the flower hibernates - it does not let out shoots and new leaves. But for this you need to create the right conditions. The temperature in the room should be 8-10 degrees. If the plant does not rest, it can lose all the leaves, and in the spring will not release new stems.

Watering rates

Increased humidity and excessive watering of the Crassule mix are not needed, it is not afraid of drought. The procedure is carried out when the topsoil in the pot dries out, approximately once a week. It is best to water the flower in the evening, with settled water at room temperature.

Sometimes it is allowed to bathe Crassula in the shower - this is necessary to rid the leaves of dust.

During dormancy in winter, watering is carried out once a month. An excess of water at this time is very dangerous for the plant due to the risk of developing fungal diseases and rotting of the root system.

Planting and fertilizer rules

For planting seedlings do not need a large pot. Enough capacity of 10 cm in diameter. Then, when the flower begins to develop, they pick up a new house for him.

Money tree needs a wide and stable pot

What soil composition is needed for succulents? Specialists identify the following criteria:

• The soil should be loose, light, good drainage is important.
• The acidity level should be neutral.
• To improve aeration, it is recommended to add sand and fine expanded clay to the soil.

If you buy the finished mixture, Seliger-Agro, Biagro, Bereginya are suitable. If you prepare the soil yourself, you need to take the earth, sand, coal, small bricks.

As fertilizers, universal mixtures or fertilizing for succulents are used. From spring to September, top dressing is applied twice a month. During dormancy, it is necessary to reduce the concentration and fertilize the soil every 30-40 days.

How to transplant a fat woman

To transplant an adult plant, you need to choose the right capacity. With a powerful trunk and lush crown, the Crassul has a small root system. Therefore, the pot needs a heavy, wide, so that the flower does not turn over.

The transplant is carried out in the spring. The young fat woman needs to be moved to another container with a change of soil every year. An adult plant requires a transplant every 3 years. If the money tree is already very old, so as not to damage it, you just need to periodically replace the top layer of soil.

When an emergency transplant is required:

• the root system has grown;
• the pot broke;
• the flower is sick.

Breeding methods

If there is a desire to grow a red mix, you can do this in several ways:

• Sowing seeds. Material is sown in prepared soil. On top you need to sprinkle a little earth, pour and cover with a glass a box with seedlings. When 2 pairs of leaves are formed on the seedlings, pinch the seedling root and plant it in a pot. Take care of new plants as well as adults.

Roots formed on the cuttings of the crassula

• Propagation by cuttings. Take the stem of an adult fat woman and place it in water. When the roots appear, the stalk is planted in a permanent place.
• Germination of leaves. The leaf of the plant is dried and kept in the ground or water until roots are formed. During this period, good lighting and warmth are needed. This is the most risky method of reproduction.
• Division of the bush. During transplantation of an adult plant, one bush is taken and divided into several parts. The processes quickly take root, because they already have a mature root system.

Growing problems

If you follow the recommendations for growing a money tree, difficulties are extremely rare. With gross non-compliance with the care requirements, the following problems may arise:

• if you pour a fat over cold water or put it on a draft, its leaves will begin to fall;
• red, yellow or brown spots appeared on the leaves - these are sunburn;
• if the crown of the plant has become pale, you need to reduce the frequency of watering;
• if the trunk is bent, then the tree does not have enough light.

Diseases of a flower are rarely affected, most often due to an excess of moisture in combination with a violation of the temperature regime.

Rot

Crassula mix can get gray or root rot. In the first case, a dirty or yellowish coating similar to mold will appear on the leaves. So that the plant does not rot completely, you need to remove the affected parts and treat the flower with an antifungal drug.

If the money tree gets root rot, the root system and the stem at the base suffer - they begin to blacken and rot. So that the plant does not completely die, it must be transplanted into a new pot with a complete replacement of the soil. At the same time, it is necessary in the process to trim rotted roots.

Late blight

First, the fungus affects the aerial part of the plant. Leaves lose their color; brown and brown spots with a fluff similar to mold appear on them. The flower as a whole looks unhealthy. Antifungal treatment needed. Otherwise, the fat woman may die.

Late blight infection

Pests

From insects, a spider mite can attack a flower. If the web is noticed, it is necessary to conduct treatment with insecticides or a soap solution.

Another pest is the mealybug. White bugs, which can be seen with the naked eye, drink the juice of the plant. Live on stems and leaves. To combat insects, wipe the leaves with a cotton pad soaked in an aqueous solution of alcohol.

Crassula mix is ​​an unpretentious flower that pleases the owner with a beautiful crown. It can be easily grown at home. It is believed that the money tree attracts money, cleanses the apartment of negative energy and has bactericidal properties. The fat girl is often presented to relatives and friends as a talisman that brings good luck.