South African Haworthia and Mesembryanthemum succulent plants home cultivation
Sharing small knowledge of South African Haworthia and Mesembryanthemum succulents, home cultivation of South African Haworthia and Mesembryanthemum succulent plants, the site editor will introduce to netizens next.
Seven, fertilizer, and medicine's influence on succulent plants
If the content of the previous six chapters is concluded from repeated testing of practical experience, then this chapter is a bit off-topic.
As an obstinate horticulturist (compared to the technological school), I have always adhered to the local spirit of China's 5,000-year agricultural country inheritance. I always believe that: "Soil is the only reliable source of plant nutrition, and only soil is the necessary medium for plant rooting and growth. Soil has self-protection and regulation abilities. When plants have diseases and insect pests, they will die, eventually causing the diseases and insect pests to lose their breeding ground. When the diseases and insect pests are starved to death, the soil remains healthy. When the soil loses fertility, plants will not grow until the nutrients brought by rain and air restore the vitality of the soil. Sheep that graze on grass will eventually fall on the grassland and become nutrients for the grass. Fruits full of branches, although they consume the nutrients of the soil, after maturity, they return all the obtained nutrients to the soil. In nature, there are no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, but natural soil has powerful strength that humans cannot replicate...
1. The impact of fertilizer on succulent plants
Plant growth requires fertilizer. The "Ten Thousand Whys" tell us that the three essential elements of plant growth, discovered by the British, are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which were analyzed from the ashes obtained by burning plants, along with trace amounts of other elements. Therefore, it was concluded that the three essential elements for plant growth are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Nitrogen is mainly concentrated in the branches and leaves of plants, so supplementing nitrogen fertilizer can promote the growth of plant branches and leaves, and lush growth is the result of nitrogen fertilizer.
Phosphorus is mainly concentrated in the reproductive organs of plants - that is, flowers and fruits. Supplementing phosphorus fertilizer can promote the differentiation of plant flower buds and fruit development. Abundant fruits are the result of phosphorus fertilizer.
Potassium is mainly concentrated in the root and stem tissues of plants. Supplementing potassium fertilizer can make the plant stems thicker, the root system more developed, increase the ability to resist lodging, and increase the ability to resist external invasions. Deep roots are the result of potassium fertilizer.
Except for the trivial trace elements, the function of fertilizer is roughly no more than the above three points. As for whether additional nutrients need to be added for home cultivation of succulent plants, I have reservations. Referring to the soil preparation in the previous chapters, plus regular potting and soil replacement, slow-growing succulent plants almost do not require additional fertilizer supplements. Different from herbaceous flowers, the characteristic of succulent plants growing a few leaves a year results in their minimal consumption. Less consumption means less intake, and moreover, there are several months of dormancy in a year. Therefore, the existing nutrients in the soil are already sufficient.
I have never seen a succulent plant lacking fertilizer, but I often encounter root burn from excessive fertilization. As mentioned earlier, the osmotic pressure of succulent plant roots is mainly aimed at excessive fertilization. Blind belief in the effectiveness of fertilizer can easily cause rotting once applied. As a result, the effect of fertilization is not achieved, but experience is gained from potting and soil replacement.
However, nothing is absolute. Constancy is relative, and change is absolute. Fertilization is unnecessary without the requirement of hybrid pollination. But if there is a need for hybrid pollination, the situation is completely different.
Plant flowering and fruiting require a lot of nutrients, not only the phosphorus fertilizer we mentioned earlier. Flowering and fruiting are an important life cycle of plants, so at this time, all the tissues of the plant will cooperate with this important action of raising offspring, including thickening stems to prevent flowers and fruits from falling due to excessive weight, roots grasping deeper to absorb more nutrients, and some plants even shedding leaves appropriately to avoid blocking insect pollination and fruit lighting.
In summary, plants need more nutrients to support flowering and fruiting, which, in addition to previous accumulation, largely requires timely external supplementation. Wild Haworthia is different from artificially cultivated ones. Although wild Haworthia can grow 3-4 flower spikes with dozens of flowers, not every flower has a chance to be successfully pollinated. On the contrary, this ratio is often zero (determined by the structure of百合科 plant flowers). The case is different for home-grown ones, where the success rate of pollination is much higher, sometimes up to a dozen or twenty seedpods per flower spike. The situation with Mesembryanthemum plants is roughly the same. Therefore, home-grown succulent plants, due to the need to meet the consumption of hybrid pollination, require more additional fertilizer supplements.
Flower fertilizer should be mainly composed of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, with other elements as auxiliary, and it is best to apply in liquid form for quick results. Professional flower fertilizers like "Flower Friends" or "Flower More" can be chosen, or directly apply monopotassium phosphate. The application ratio should be controlled at about 1:2000, that is, 1 gram of fertilizer mixed with 2 kilograms of water. Here, it should be noted again that some "gurus" may think that a 1:1000 ratio is more appropriate, but that is for greenhouse and greenhouse cultivation environments where plants grow vigorously. In home environments, the absorption rate of plants (S-Y) is far less than that in greenhouses and greenhouses, so it's better to keep it dilute.
Fertilization time should be chosen during the flowering period, starting from when the flower spike appears, once every half month, applied with watering. Continue to apply until the seedpods mature. If you need to control the flowering period and coordinate the flowering time of individuals, you can apply less or not at all.
That's all about fertilizer. Let's talk about medicine.
2. The impact of drugs on succulent plants (excluding growth-promoting drugs)
Succulent plants rarely have diseases and pests, even if they come from South Africa. The harsh environment of the African continent has given succulent plants powerful adaptability.估计是外来物种的原因, home-grown Haworthia and Mesembryanthemum give me the overall impression of being non-bitten by chickens and non-bitten by ducks. Common red spiders and scale insects are not seen, and occasionally small black insects will fly out of the soil, which is not harmful.
However, I have heard about diseases and insect pests on some flower friends' blogs, mainly the harm of the larvae of insects such as fungus gnats to the root systems of seedlings. Although I have never experienced this myself, I猜测 this may be related to the soil properties used by these flower friends. These flower friends add natural ingredients such as decomposed leaf soil and coal slag to the medium, or even use these materials entirely. Natural things are environmentally friendly, but it is difficult to avoid the presence of insect eggs and pathogens. Over time, it is natural for insects to appear.
Many times, when a plant has symptoms of rot and disease, I also like to use surgical methods to completely eliminate the lesion. Thinking back, it should be better to focus on prevention. Now that technology is so advanced, not using it well and always cutting and hacking with a scalpel is too bloody... So, for a period of time, I also spent some time doing superficial research on medication. Let me briefly share my thoughts below.
For ordinary horticulture enthusiasts, the most commonly used flower medicines are broad-spectrum fungicides such as carbendazim, methyl thiophanate, and carbendazim, as well as outdated pesticides like furan丹 (which has been banned by the state due to high toxicity and residue). For home cultivation, the above drugs are sufficient to deal with common diseases and pests, but which drug to use and how to use it is another story.
Common diseases of horticultural plants include leaf rot, root rot, and a series of hazards caused by fungal infections. If not treated in time, each of these symptoms can lead to the rotting of plant organs and even the death of the entire plant. However, for South African succulent plants, bacterial leaf rot and root rot rarely occur, except for physical injuries that are not treated in time. The biggest threat to succulent plants is fungal infections, which specifically manifest as large-scale fungal infections in environments with poor ventilation, excessive humidity, and poorly disinfected cultivation media, commonly known as "long hair," especially in the seedling stage.
Here, it needs to be explained that the "long hair" on the soil surface is a fungal infection, a pathological manifestation, while the mycelium inside the medium is a natural phenomenon of the decomposition of soil organic matter, a normal phenomenon. Fungal infections use plant tissue cells as a source of nutrition, ultimately leading to the rotting of plant tissues. The mycelium inside the medium is a saprophytic fungus, which helps plants absorb organic matter in the medium and is beneficial to the plant. These two need to be distinguished and not treated the same.
Based on the above analysis, when using antibacterial drugs, we also need to make choices. We all know that carbendazim and methyl thiophanate are broad-spectrum antibacterial agents mainly targeting bacterial infections, while carbendazim is mainly targeting fungal消杀. In the process of home cultivation of succulent plants, since the main focus is on preventing fungal infections, preventive applications should be based on carbendazim as the main medicine. To avoid resistance, it can be alternated with carbendazim and methyl thiophanate. For wound treatment after pruning and shaping, carbendazim and methyl thiophanate should be the main drugs, as carbendazim's effect is poor.
Drug use should pay attention to the 16-character slogan: "Prevention first, alternate use, increase concentration, reduce frequency."
Prevention first means to control before the problem starts, not after the lesion is visible. Even if controlled, it will affect the appearance and future health of the plant. The key node for preventive application is the transition period between seasons.
Alternating use is to prevent the development of drug resistance. The same drug should not be used continuously more than three times before switching to another. Otherwise, resistance will develop, making the drug ineffective. Moreover, you will have fewer drugs to alternate with, increasing the frequency of using other drugs, eventually leading to resistance.
Increasing concentration is a common medication strategy for animals and plants. For routine diseases and acute infections, increasing the concentration by 30-50% based on the instructions can achieve good results in a short time, allowing the infected individual to recover health through strengthened management and follow-up care in an environment with high-concentration sterile drugs.
Reducing frequency is relative to increasing concentration. As mentioned earlier, there are probiotics in the soil. Sterilizing drugs will kill probiotics without discrimination. Probiotics are beneficial for improving soil quality and preventing compaction. Therefore, medication should consider this factor and not be too frequent. It is necessary to give probiotics appropriate space to grow. In addition, reducing the frequency of medication can prevent resistance. It is recommended to have a preventive medication interval of 2 months, with an appropriate increase during seasonal transitions.
Finally, here are two tips:
1. After sowing, if it encounters continuous rain and the pot soil is too humid, fungi can easily爆发. At this time, it is necessary to medicate. However, conventional medication would add more moisture to the already humid environment, which is very unfavorable for seed germination. In this case, the dry powder of the medicine can be evenly sprinkled on the pot surface without the need for dilution with water.
2. Conventional fungicides are powder with talcum powder as the carrier (the white powder we see is actually talcum powder, and the actual drug component is invisible). After dilution and喷灌, it will form white spots on the plant surface, affecting the plant's appearance and photosynthesis and is difficult to remove. It is recommended to let the medicine stand for 2 hours after preparation to allow the talcum powder to settle, and then only use the supernatant for喷灌 (that is, the effective component of the medicine), which can avoid the above pollution.
The above sharing is about the home cultivation (part 4) of South African Haworthia and Mesembryanthemum succulent plants, hoping to bring a little help to your life!