Exotic houseplant and irezine is not so common on the shelves of flower shops, but it attracts many gardeners with its appearance. In order to correctly grow a plant, it is necessary to study all the details of caring for it even before purchase.

Botanical description of the plant

Iresine - a representative of the Amaranth family, has the shape of a small bush, which without formation can grow up to 80 cm in height. The leaves have a red-brown color with bright pronounced veins. Their shape is round, with a sharp end.

Flowering areresin weakly expressed. The buds are small in size and richly covered with fluff in the form of fluff; the petals are yellow-white. Also, the plant has small fruits of light color.

Did you know? The name "irezine" comes from the ancient Greek "eirion", which means "wool".

In the natural habitat, canvases can be found in Australia, the Galapagos and Antilles, as well as in South America.

Main characteristics:

Main types

In the natural environment you can find up to 80 different types of rubber tires. Of these, only 2 are suitable for home growing, each of which has several different forms.

1. Herbst. The bush can grow up to 0.2-0.4 m in height. The stems are red. The leaves are also red, but with a green tint, rounded and have a wide shape; the veins are slightly lighter than the foliage. There are 3 main subspecies. The Brilliantissima subspecies of the significant differences have only slightly curled sheets. Wallisi's shape is characterized by smaller leaves and low bush growth. Sheet plates also have a metallic sheen. Aureoreticulata are characterized by green leaf blades. The color of the vein in this case varies from red to golden, and the stems and petioles are red in color.

2. Linden. The height of the bush is on average 0.5 m. The stems and leaves are painted in burgundy color, while the veins of raspberry color are clearly distinguished. Each leaf has a rounded elongated shape and is pointed at the end, the length is within 3-5 cm. The buds are collected in inflorescences and have a yellow color, more close to white. There are 2 of the most common forms of Linden rubber, which differ in leaf color. Formosa is distinguished by the presence of a bronze shade of foliage; representatives of this form are also found with green-yellow leaves. The veins in both cases remain crimson. In specimens belonging to the Emersonii form, the leaves are green, while the veins are yellow in color.

House growing conditions

Before placing a flowerpot with irisine at home, it is necessary to think over and organize the conditions suitable for the plant in the room.

Did you know? Herbst Iresina in the West is known as the "Purple Lady" - Purple Lady.

Lighting

Iresina needs bright diffused light. A window sill near a large window is quite suitable, but its direction should be taken into account - there will be insufficient lighting from the north side. A window facing the south side is more suitable, but at noon the sun's rays can be too intense, so you need to slightly shade the rubber floor.

Ventilation

Periodically, the room should be ventilated to prevent air stagnation. Drafts are extremely undesirable.

Temperature mode

The bush loves heat, but it does not tolerate extreme heat in the best way. In warm weather, the temperature in the room where the flowerpot is placed with iris should be +15 ... + 25 ° С. In winter, the upper limit can be lowered to + 20 ° C. The minimum temperature at which the plant will be in a healthy state is + 12 ° C.

Air humidity

A typical room humidity of about 50% is quite suitable for irezine. The plant is drought tolerant and will not negatively respond to lower levels of moisture.An exception is when dry air causes too high a temperature in summer or winter heating - then every 7-8 days the leaves should be moistened with a spray gun.

How to care at home

Itresina is extremely important to ensure proper care. Watering, feeding, transplanting and pruning should be regular and carried out in accordance with all requirements.

Watering

It is necessary to water the plant year-round by irrigation of the soil. The main factor affecting the frequency is the drying of the substrate. From March to October, the soil dries faster, so it needs to be moistened as soon as the top layer becomes dry. In cold weather, watering should be moderate, but they can not be completely stopped.

Important! The lower the air temperature in winter, the less often you need to water the plant.

Water should be at room temperature. For irezina, water that has stood up for a day, or melt or rain, is suitable.

Fertilizer application

Fertilizing soil is important for the plant in all seasons. In the period of active growth from the beginning of spring to the beginning of autumn, it is necessary to fertilize the rubber tires every week. With the onset of cold weather and before the end of winter, the frequency of fertilizing should be moderate and the procedure performed every month.

Both mineral products and organic-based preparations are suitable for this bush.

Pruning

In order for the bush to have a beautiful shape, it must be cut every year by pinching. You need to remove the extra parts of the upper shoots. Also, at the end of the winter dormant period, it is necessary to thoroughly cut the stems of the areresin - this will help the bush to quickly enter active spring growth.

Transfer

It is better to transplant the plant at the onset of spring, although some gardeners advise replacing the pot and the earth in any season if overgrown roots have been noticed through the drainage holes.

The procedure should be performed every 2 years. If the root system does not have time to grow over this period, you can reduce the frequency of transplants to 1 time in 3 years.

The substrate for irezine is prepared from the following components:

• peat (1 part);
• sand (1 part);
• peat land (2 parts);
• turf (4 parts);
• sheet soil (4 parts).

A transplant container should be selected with drainage holes. It must be slightly larger than the previous one.

The transplant should be carried out as follows:

1. Pour drainage in the form of chipped bricks, crushed stone or expanded clay into a new pot.
2. Remove from the old flowerpot and rubber tire together with an earthen lump.
3. Shake off the old substrate slightly from the rhizome and move the plant to a new container.
4. Pour the prepared substrate into a container with rubber.

Breeding

The plant can be propagated by two methods: vegetative (cuttings) and seeds.

Cuttings

Cuttings are usually carried out from late February to April.

Before the procedure, it is necessary to prepare the substrate in the form of sand, pouring it into a small container. Part of the stem must be cut with a knife and placed in the sand. The container with the handle is placed in a place where the constant temperature is +17 ... + 20 ° С. Under such conditions, roots will appear in 1–1.5 weeks.

The rooted stem is moved to a new pot filled with soil. It should be prepared by pre-mixing humus, turf and leafy soil in equal proportions and adding a little sand. Then he continues the usual care.

Important! Saplings that have just been planted in the soil need a temperature of + 19 ° ... + 21 ° C until the moment of full adaptation. Otherwise, the usual care.

Seeds

Less common are sowing seeds and irezine, however, this method can also be resorted to for growing plants:

1. First you need to purchase seeds and a substrate in a specialized store.
2. Next, in a container filled with soil, you need to plant the seeds.
3. The container should be covered with a transparent material - glass or polyethylene.
4. Until the first sprouts appear, the crops are moistened with room temperature water from the spray gun as the substrate dries, and aired, removing the cover.
5. Further, when the seedlings have already sprouted from the soil, the container must be opened and placed in a place well kept at a stable temperature above room temperature. Sprouts also continue to moderate watering.
6. Dive seedlings into the pot after 3 leaves appear. Further care for it is necessary, as for ordinary bushes.

Growing difficulties

Despite the general unpretentiousness of the plant, some problems can periodically occur.

Among them, the following most often occur:

1. Pests. Most often on irezin you can see a whitefly, aphid, spider mite and mealybug. First, insects need to be removed with a soap solution, and then treated with an insecticide, for example, Intavir.
2. Leaf fall. If the shoots of young irezine are exposed, it is necessary to increase the amount of light. Also, the reason may lie in the missing trim. In the case of falling leaves, it is advisable to adjust the watering, since the problem can be caused by either too much or insufficient moisture.
3. Stretching shoots. The reason, most likely, is the strong shadowing. It should arrange the plant more lighting.

So, irezine is a plant with incredible exotic beauty, but it’s not very whimsical at the same time. With proper care, a small bush of this plant will decorate the interior for a long time with its beautiful burgundy color.