Bacopa or Suthera - perennial native to the tropics and subtropics, distributed in marshy areas of Africa, Asia, America, Australia. There are water and ampelous species. Among fans, the name of the suther is common.
Previously, the bacop was attributed to the Norian family, and now the plantain.
Botanical Description
Bacopa (Latin name Bacopa) grows in a low dense bush with a wide base. Stems - thin, creeping or lodging, creeping, in length can grow up to 1 meter. The bush grows wide.
Small leaves have a greenish-olive or green color.
On the stems are arranged alternately, in underwater species, the distribution of leaves is linear. The sheet has a wide elliptical or ovoid shape.
There are many flowers on the bush, they are small, have the shape of bells or tubes. The range of colors includes white, soft and hot pink, lilac, blue, blue. The flower has five or four symmetrical lobes.
With good care, the flowering of the most decorative ampelous specimens lasts all summer and until mid-autumn. The process takes place in waves: the whole bush is covered with flowers, fades, followed by a period of calm and again a period of lush flowering. Withered flowers do not need to be collected - the suther dumps them herself.
Types and varieties for the home
60 species of perennial plants require a variety of growing conditions: aquatic flowers, succulents, hygrophilous subspecies.
There are many varieties of sutra, for convenience, all information is summarized in a table:
| Title | Growing conditions | Description |
| Karolinskaya | Water grade, kept in aquariums and ponds. | On thick straight stems are paired oval hard leaves. Height does not exceed 30 cm. Bright blue flowers are located on the tips of the stems. Coloring leaves adds decorativeness - in the sun they change the light green color to copper red. |
| Australian | Low bush with thin branching shoots. The flowers are light blue, located on the surface of the fragile stems. Leaves growing up to 18 mm in length are oval or round in shape and light green in color. | |
| Monier, or Monieri (Brahmi) | Succulents are grown on balconies and in aquariums. | The stems are creeping, the leaves are elongated, sessile, rather fleshy, from 8 to 20 mm in length. Their top is rounded, there may be small denticles along the edges. The flowers are located in the axils of the leaves, relatively large - the corolla reaches 10 mm, most often white, but there are blue and purple. The height of the bush reaches 40 cm. Bacopa Monnier is widely used for medicinal purposes: it improves the brain, fights memory impairments. |
| Heart-shaped | Balconies | Low grassy bushes reach a height of 15 cm. Small and medium green leaves. The flowers are white, pink, purple-blue, have five petals and are located in the axils of the leaves. |
| Sprawling or beautiful | Large-flowered variety. It forms a large lush bush-ball with long shoots (60 cm). A flower with a diameter of 20 mm has five petals, located in the axils of the green lanceolate leaves. In summer and early autumn, the bush is completely covered with flowers of pink, blue, snow-white hue. | |
| Blutopia and Snowtopia | Hybrids with abundant flowering. Stems 30 cm long are densely sprinkled with large flowers, at Blutopia - blue with lilac, at Snowtopia - snow-white. The color of the leaves is olive green. | |
| Colorata | Aquariums and decorative ponds. | A species with yellowish-pink foliage, the shade of the foliage changes depending on the lighting. Paired leaves have pointed shapes and are located on the stems crosswise. |
| Madagascar | Low aquariums. | A small bush - the stems do not grow longer than 15 cm. The shoots are fleshy and weakly branched, the lanceolate leaves are opposite and crosswise. |
Bacopa ampelous
Ampoule bacopa has many varieties, the most common of them:
| Grade | Description | Flowers |
| Typhoon blue | Large bush | Blue |
| Blizzard | Plentiful flowering | Tiny white |
| Giant cloud | Rounded bush | Snow white |
| Blue souls | Other name Blue Showers | Very gentle blue |
| Olympic Gold | Tall hybrid with green leaves with a golden tint | White Terry |
Cultivation and care
Landing and caring for the Suther is not very difficult. It is enough to follow simple rules and the bacopa will bloom profusely for several months. The main secret is regular watering.
Terrestrial Plant Care
Bacopa is very demanding on lighting. For abundant flowering, the duration of daylight hours should be at least 11 hours, when grown in room conditions, the bacopa needs to be illuminated.
Suthera can grow in the summer on the street in different climatic zones. In the autumn, the bush is dug up and transferred to a bright, cool room - a glazed and insulated balcony, a veranda. The optimum wintering temperature is + 8-15 ° С. When transplanting, the plant must be heavily trimmed.
Suthera does not like dry air - it cannot be placed above the battery. The plant is native to the subtropics and is very hygrophilous. It is watered every day, in the heat - twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. In the period before the appearance of the buds, the bushes are sprayed twice a day.
During the growing season - in the summer and the first half of autumn - they are fed with complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, potassium, magnesium and manganese. Best every week. The splendor of flowering directly depends on top dressing. From October to March, flowers rest - they stop fertilizing and less often watered.
Bacopa does not like drafts. The soil is slightly acidic, you can mix garden soil and peat in equal proportions, add a little humus and sand. Ready mixes for flowering plants based on peat are also suitable. When growing in pots, drainage is required.
Pruning in early spring or immediately after flowering increases the decorativeness of the flower.
Aquatic Plant Care
In aquariums, the sutra is more common than terrestrial species in gardens and on balconies. Bacopa is not a capricious plant, however, it should be kept in the aquarium at a temperature of + 22-28 ° C, otherwise the leaves will begin to decay, and the growth of flowers will slow down.
Water should have a slightly acidic reaction. A layer of sand or pebbles 2 cm thick is poured into the container. The soil in the aquarium may be silted.
Aquarium plant receives all the nutrients from the water and does not need to be fed. The source of nutrients for bacopa is fodder and vital products of fish, including sludge. Monier species withstands content in hard and slightly salted water. 
Bacopa Monier
Breeding
Breeding bacopa is not very difficult. It is advisable to propagate it by cuttings annually. The vegetative method allows you to save varietal characteristics. In addition, biennials and older adults bloom worse.
Cuttings are carried out in February-March - cuttings are cut, preferably at least 10 cm long (15 cm in tall varieties). Water specimens are planted in pots, not deeply deepening the lower leaves, or allowed to swim until the roots grow.
In land varieties, cuttings are kept in water until the roots appear, then they are planted in loose ready-made soil for seedlings. After rooting, they are moved to the pots for permanent "residence". In summer, you can propagate layering.
Contributes to the rooting of cuttings treatment of heteroauxin, gamma-aminobutyric acid, epin for several hours. After planting and replanting plants, it is very important to often water the soil and spray the seedlings.
Suther is also propagated with seed material - soaked for a day, sown under glass in a vessel with a peat substrate for germination. Seeds are simply pressed to the ground and not buried.
Often moisten the earth from a sprayer - it should not dry out. Germination temperature - + 22-26 ° С. The germination period is 19-14 days. All growth phases can be seen in the photo.
Two pickings are carried out - the first when three leaves appear in separate containers, the second when the tanks become small, while the seedlings are slightly buried. After a week, young seedlings are fed with a complex fertilizer, diluted twice as compared with the dosage for adult flowers.
After 3-4 weeks, the seedlings will be ready for planting. Seedlings "temper" - carried out in the sun and accustomed to sunlight. Seedlings are planted with an interval equal to the potential varietal height of the bush.
Diseases and Pests
Bacopa is practically not sick, and if the flower has a poor appearance, this is due to improper care: lack of light, sparse watering, and unsuitable soil. Pests and methods of control are described in the table.
| Problem | Decision |
| Aphid. Whitefly Spider mite. | Spraying with acaricide. |
| Sooty fungus. Mold fungus. Gray mold. | The cause of the lesion is maintenance at low temperature. In this case, the crown is thinned and treated with fungicide (three times in seven days). |
Therapeutic use
The healing properties of the sutra:
- anti-inflammatory;
- wound healing;
- painkillers;
- antioxidant;
- tonic;
- astringents;
- diuretics.
Bacopa has a very beneficial effect on the brain and nervous system, it is used for cerebrovascular accidents, Alzheimer's disease, stress, memory impairment and cognitive abilities. Bacopa preparations are widely used in folk medicine.
