Crassula (botanical name of Crassul) is also called a money tree, since this plant is very similar to a small tree with leaves resembling coins. This indoor culture is one of the most undemanding and well-known among amateur gardeners, since even a gardener who does not have much experience can master its home growing. But still, this indoor flower needs some care in compliance with certain rules.

Botanical description of the plant

Crassula is classified as a succulent in the family Crassulaceae genus Crassul, with up to 300 species, containing annuals and perennials. Not many of them are suitable for growing a house. Under the conditions of the apartment, this is a small neat tree-like plant, with fleshy leaves, which in the natural environment can grow up to 4 m. All types of money trees are resistant to drought.

Did you know? Adherents of the eastern practice of feng shui believe that when each new leaf grows on a money tree, a small flow of finance is attracted to the owner's house.

The appearance of Crassula has the following features:

• from a thick, ligneous main shoot, many branches grow, densely humbled by simple and integral extreme opposite leaves;
• indoor culture can grow to a height of 1.5 m, in volume it has the same parameters;
• shiny leaflets (up to 10 cm long and up to 7 cm wide) can have green, pale green, silver or dark green with a reddish edging;
• if you provide good care and the right conditions, after 10 years of cultivation, the fat woman blooms with white, bluish, yellow or light red flowers, each of which has 5 petals;
• Being a succulent, the money tree has a root system adapted to conditions with insufficient humidity, since its tree-like trunk and fleshy leaves can themselves accumulate liquid.

The native land of this decorative-deciduous culture is open spaces with an arid tropical climate of South and South-West Africa, Madagascar and South Arabia. The reason why the crassula is called the money tree is because of its certain species, leaves are round in shape, reminiscent of coins. It is believed that the first people to give this name to this decorative foliage plant during the reign of the Han Empire (about 200 BC), who widely used these flowers to decorate temples and in worship of deities. This is confirmed by excavations of the burial place of the Chinese emperor, who ruled in those days. His excavated tomb was decorated with images of bronze and faience fat girls.

Important! Since the fat woman comes from the African continent, the place in the apartment for arranging the flower needs to be chosen on the warm and sunny side, but without ultraviolet radiation.

How to propagate at home

Crassula can be propagated by various methods:

• cuttings;
• sowing seeds;
• processes;
• leaflets.

Next, we will tell how this culture propagates using leaflets, cuttings and seeds.

Leaf

To grow a fat from a leaf, you need to choose a quality leaf and root it in the right way.

How to choose a sheet

To propagate a fat girl in this way, they cut off any sheet or take the fallen, but in no case do not use old and flabby specimens for this.

Methods of rooting and germination

There are two methods for rooting a leaf of a rosula:

• in a growth promoter;
• in the ground.

The method of rooting in the stimulator:

1. Carefully cut off the bottom sheet with a sterile scalpel and hold it in a shaded place for 24 hours.
2. Immerse the sheet with the lower part 0.5 cm into the container with Kornevin.
3. Transfer the vessel with the leaf to a warm place with sufficient diffused lighting.
4. When the roots appear, the leaf must be carefully rooted in a flat container (so that the roots develop better), and after 30 days, transfer the young plant to a suitable container 5 cm wide.

Important! First 3–For 4 years, rooted leaves and cuttings are transplanted annually in containers, slightly more than the previous ones.

How to root a leaf in a soil substrate:

1. Pour peat-sand mixture into a bowl or put moistened moss, pour “Kornevin” solution and drip 1/3 of the leaf in this substrate.
2. So that the leaf does not rot, you can not overfill the plant.
3. Cover the planted leaf with a glass, creating a mini-greenhouse for it.
4. Ventilate the greenhouse several times a day for a couple of minutes, opening it slightly.
5. If the topsoil dries, the sheet is sprayed with warm water.
6. For better rooting, it is necessary to provide the leaf with support.

Cuttings

To plant a fat woman with cuttings, shoots of the desired length are selected.

How to choose and chop cuttings

Prepare the cuttings in the following way:

• choose well-developed processes 12 cm long;
• carefully separate them from the main trunk, and then set aside for a day to fade.

How to root

There are two methods for rooting dried cuttings:

• in a growth promoter;
• in the soil.

Growth stimulator room:

1. On cuttings cut off the leaves that grow at the very bottom.
2. Fill the glass container halfway with water, add “Kornevin” and lower the cuttings into it.
3. Place the container with cuttings on a light windowsill with diffused lighting.
4. After 2-3 weeks, roots will appear, after which the seedlings will be ready for planting in a permanent pot.

Planting in the soil for rooting:

1. To plant each shank, prepare containers of the required volume (7 cm) with holes on the bottom: wash new and previously used ones with soap and water and disinfect.
2. The bottom of the containers is covered with a drainage layer of expanded clay, and then with sand, the soil mixture (up to 1/2 the volume of the container) is poured from above from clean garden soil with sand (1: 1).
3. In each container, small indentations are made with a pencil and the cuttings are placed in them.
4. Add soil to containers, without adding 1-2 cm to the top and without ramming it.
5. Watering seedlings should be moderate. Water is poured onto the edge of the container as soon as the soil surface begins to dry out.
6. The location of the rooted cuttings do not change.
7. After a year, the cuttings are transplanted into permanent containers.

Seeds

Amateur gardeners rarely plant money trees with seeds, because this is a long process, and it will take more time to care for seedlings. Seed culture is propagated mainly by breeders to obtain varieties and hybrids, which is practically not applicable in the conditions of an apartment. But still, if you want to try to do it yourself, you can use the tips described below.

Important! If a money tree grows in a fairly spacious container, it can never bloom.

How to grow seeds yourself

To collect seeds from Crassula, you need to wait a long time for its flowering, since only adult crops bloom over 5 years old.

Here are a few rules, following which you can ensure that the red flower blooms:

1. In winter, the culture is kept in a cool room (+ 13 ... + 15 ° С), and in spring it is exposed to fresh air.
2. It is impossible to arrange sharp temperature drops while maintaining the culture.
3. From September to the end of February, the resting period at the rosula lasts, during which the crop is not fed, but only watered several times a month.
4. In March, they begin to fertilize the fat girl once a month during irrigation using top dressings intended for cactus and succulent crops.
5. The flower provides good lighting with bright diffused light.
6. The leaves must be wiped away from dust pollution with an aqueous solution of succinic acid (1 tablet in 1 glass).
7. During flowering, the plant is fertilized with fertilizing for flowering indoor crops.
8. Seeds ripen when the inflorescences completely fade and dry. To collect seeds, the flowers are cut and left in an open container to dry for a while.
9. Immediately after extraction, the seeds are sown.

Seed germination

To achieve a high percentage of germination of the seeds of the Crassula, it is recommended to germinate them:

1. Lay the soil consisting of a substrate for cactus or succulent crops with the addition of sand (2: 1) in a wide and low disinfected container with drainage, and this mixture should be sprinkled with ash powder on top.
2. Moisten the soil from the spray gun with a warm, weak solution of potassium permanganate.
3. Sow seeds on the surface of the soil without deepening and sprinkling with soil.
4. Cover the top with glass, leaving a small gap.
5. Check daily in what condition the seeds are, irrigate them with warm water, and also ventilate briefly. Gently wipe up any condensation on the glass with a rag.
6. After about 2 weeks, the seeds will begin to germinate. At this time, the glass must be removed. After growing seedlings, they are dived into another flat container at a distance of 1 cm from each other. Soil and care are the same.
7. The grown crassulas are planted in separate containers with a soil mixture of turf, leaf soil and sand (1/2: 1: 1/2), they are provided with the same care as for cuttings.
8. Containers with young plants are placed on a well-lit window sill (without sunlight) and maintain a constant ambient temperature within +15 ... + 18 ° С.
9. In the future, care for young money trees does not differ from care for adult plants.

Fatty Care Tips

In order for the considered indoor flower to grow well and increase the number of its leaf-coins, it is necessary to observe some simple rules:

1. Crassulaceae do not tolerate shading. The best place for them in the apartment is a windowsill with diffused lighting.
2. You can not plant succulent in an excessively deep and wide flowerpot, since the plant will begin to intensively develop the root system, and the shoots and crown will develop unevenly.
3. You can not keep the culture in a cold room (at –5 ° C it dies). The best temperature indicators will be +15 ... + 25 ° С. The plant calmly undergoes a higher temperature, so in the summer it is permissible to put it on the street or balcony.
4. No need to fill the plant - one watering per week will be enough. If it is hot outside, watering is increased up to 2 times a week. In winter, watering is reduced, moistening the soil in a pot only after it dries.
5. Do not spray the decorative tree: it will be enough to wipe the leaves from dust from time to time.
6. Crassula is fertilized only in the summer, 1 time in 2 weeks, using special compounds for cacti and succulents.
7. For the correct and uniform formation of the crown, you need to regularly turn the pot with the plant around the axis and periodically pinch the twigs.

Did you know? Succulent plants got this name thanks to the Latin word “sucus”, literally meaning “juice”, since their leaves are able to store precious moisture in an arid climate.

Possible growing difficulties

If the rules for caring for the rosula are not followed (improper watering or excessive lighting), diseases can occur, as well as damage to the plant by pests.The table shows the causes of problems, as well as measures for their prevention and elimination:

As you can see, to grow a fat woman, patience and some time are needed. In order for your money tree to be healthy and plentifully overgrown with foliage, it is necessary to observe all the conditions for proper care set forth in the article.