A guest from the tropics crossandra - home care for a bush that blooms from spring to autumn

How does the crossandra behave in winter, does home care for her during this period change? In September it was my birthday, and my husband gave me a blooming bush. To my surprise, it still stands in buds now, on the eve of the New Year holidays, although there are already very few of them. I have never had such a beautiful and long-flowering plant. While my bush likes everything, I water it often, I fed it in the summer. And what to do with it in winter, does it have a dormant period or will it continue to bloom?

Its shiny, dark green leaves with a beautiful wavy surface are already an ornament themselves. And when the original spikelets-peduncles appear above them and the buds begin to bloom on them, the spectacle is simply indescribable. This is how the crossandra looks and blooms gorgeous, care at home for which many consider too troublesome. Indeed, a thermophilic culture native to the tropics needs a special microclimate. But for the sake of buds, which open one after another within six months, it is worth trying. Few indoor plants have such long flowering.

Characteristic features and description of the crossandra

Crossandra belongs to the acanthus family and grows in the form of a lush semi-shrub no more than 50 cm high. The native land of the plant is the humid Indian and African tropics, where it blooms violently and tirelessly all year round. Spike-shaped inflorescences are formed at the tops of the shoots and consist of many flowers with a diameter of up to 2.5 cm. The main color is salmon, red, orange and their shades.

A beautiful bush even without buds thanks to glossy leaves with a wavy edge. Their length can reach 12 cm, and the color is always rich, dark green.

The closest relatives of the crossandra are Afelandra, pachistachis, ruella.

Crossandra - home care for a whimsical tropicana

Honestly, the whimsical and capricious heat-loving beauty was before. But thanks to breeders, new varieties have appeared that can more easily tolerate unfavorable conditions and quickly adapt to them. Of course, the plant's basic requirements for heat, light and humidity remain. But if deviations from the norm occur, modern hybrids do not react so sharply to them.

Crossandra is an ideal greenhouse plant with its rich light and high humidity. But if desired, similar conditions can be created in the apartment. Place the pot on the lightest window. Just do not forget to shade from direct rays on the south side, otherwise there will be burns. Maintain high humidity by spraying or dripping with wet pebbles. Observe the temperature regime, not allowing the heat on the thermometer to be below 18 ° C.

Although in nature, crossandra blooms year-round, at home she has little light for this in winter. For the winter, send the bush to a cool content with a temperature of about plus 16 ° C.

The rest of the care of a tropical plant consists of the following procedures:

• water regularly, not allowing the soil to dry out, otherwise the plant will shed its leaves;
• in spring and summer, feed fertilizers for flowering plants every 10 days;
• after the end of flowering, carry out a shaping pruning, shortening the long shoots;
• replant as the root system grows.

How to care for crossandra at home