How to plant Buddha's Hand
Main text introduction: This is an introduction to how to plant Buddha's Hand and the related planting techniques and cultivation management of green plants and flowers. Details are as follows:
Buddha's Hand is a perennial succulent herbaceous plant of the Aizoaceae family, tongue leaf flower genus, also known as tongue leaf flower and treasure green. Buddha's Hand plant is small and cute, with smooth, thick,嫩 green and glossy tongue-shaped succulent leaves, like jade. The flowers are large, golden yellow, and bloom closely against the leaves, with a striking contrast of yellow and green, very attractive. When planted in a small pot and placed on a desk or table in the room for display, it is dainty and very elegant, making it an ideal indoor potted ornamental flower that is easy to cultivate.
Buddha's Hand mainly refers to the fact that its succulent leaves resemble a tongue, and the whole plant looks like Buddha's hand, hence the name. Its succulent leaves are tender and green, semi-transparent, and glossy. It blooms yellow flowers in autumn and winter.
Buddha's Hand is native to South Africa, belonging to subtropical dry area plants. It prefers warm, humid climates and semi-shaded environments. It is afraid of high temperatures, not cold-resistant, avoids direct sunlight, drought-tolerant, and afraid of waterlogging. It is suitable for growing in loose, fertile, and well-drained sandy loam soil.
I. Propagation methods of Buddha's Hand: The propagation of Buddha's Hand is very simple, generally using methods such as division, cutting, and seeding. Home cultivation usually adopts cutting propagation, and it is easy for Buddha's Hand cuttings to root.
1. Cutting propagation: Generally, cuttings are taken during potting in early spring, and after cutting, water should be minimized to keep the soil slightly moist, which roots easily. Leaf cutting propagation is also used. Before spring sprouting, cut a leaf cluster containing 2-3 leaves, let it dry slightly, then insert it into a sand bed or pot with coarse sand, place it in a shaded area, control watering, and disinfect the sand before planting. Generally, roots form in about 30 days after cutting.
2. Division propagation: In early spring, division can be combined with potting and soil replacement. Turn the mother plant out of the pot, remove the soil, cut it directly into several small clusters, and plant them separately in pots. Place them in a shaded area, water minimally to keep the potting soil slightly dry. After about 15 days of recovery, move them to a sunny area, and only water normally after new roots have grown.
3. Seeding propagation: Conducted in April-May. Prepare a mixture of 50% fine sand, 30% garden soil, and 20% horse manure for the seedbed. Broadcast sow, cover with fine sand after sowing, keep the soil slightly moist, and maintain a temperature of about 22°C. Generally, seedlings emerge in 8-10 days. When the seedlings have 3-4 true leaves, they can be transplanted into small pots and placed in a shaded area to care for, gradually exposing to light after 10 days.
II. Preparation of potting soil: For home cultivation of Buddha's Hand, potting is usually done. Potting first requires the preparation of cultivation soil, which is quite important. A pot is a special small environment, and no single type of soil can meet all the soil requirements of Buddha's Hand. The roots of Buddha's Hand are shallow, and small shallow pots can be used for cultivation. Therefore, it is necessary to manually prepare cultivation soil to replace the natural soil and fix the flowers in the pot, which should have certain water retention and drainage properties, and require loose, fertile, and well-aerated sandy soil. The potting soil for Buddha's Hand should be prepared with 70% sand and 30% loam. It is best to disinfect the prepared potting soil at high temperatures (by frying in a wok or steaming) before use, or it can also be exposed to the sun to kill germs.
III. Potting: First, place broken tiles at the bottom of the pot, then add some decomposed cake fertilizer, crushed bones, fish bones, chicken feathers, etc., as base fertilizer, then fill in the potting soil. When planting, trim the long lateral roots, damaged roots, and excess fibrous roots of the Buddha's Hand plant slightly. Ensure that the roots are spread out, fill the soil to half the pot, gently lift and shake the plant, compact the potting soil, and do not plant too deep. Keeping the rootstock level with the pot opening is fine. Planting too shallow can affect survival, and planting too deep can affect the growth of Buddha's Hand after transplanting. Water thoroughly after planting. Initially planted plants, as their roots are not fully developed, should avoid long exposure to direct sunlight. Place the plants in a shaded environment for about a week after potting, then move them to a sunny area for care after the roots have recovered.
IV. Daily care
The main growing period of Buddha's Hand is from April to June. After May, it is best to place the plant outdoors or on a balcony with adequate ventilation. In the hot summer, when the plant enters a semi-dormant state, it is necessary to provide appropriate shade and control watering, as excessive humidity combined with high temperatures can cause rot. Buddha's Hand generally does not require fertilizing. Too much fertilizer not only easily causes deformation but is also not conducive to overwintering. In winter, a cool environment is required, maintaining an indoor temperature of 5-10°C is sufficient.
The above content about how to plant Buddha's Hand and the planting techniques and cultivation management is worth referencing for green plant enthusiasts.