The tea tree belongs to the genus Melaleuca, which originates from the Myrtle family. In total, there are about 200 species in the botanical literature that look like low evergreen shrubs or have the shape of trees and grow mainly in Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea.
The leaf shape of the tea tree is oval. They are placed on branches without cuttings and alternately. Dense globular inflorescences look like a brush or a lush panicle. The main vegetative feature of melaleuca is the presence of bundles of stamens in the flowers, which are collected in separate groups. In total, each bundle contains 5 stamens. At the beginning of flowering, the sepals die off. Then, in their place, hard seed pods appear, which are tightly pressed against the branch.
The tea tree is decorated not only with beautiful inflorescences, but also with a light peeling bark. It has the ability to exfoliate in the form of thin long pieces, which is why melaleuku is often also called a paperbore tree.
The medicinal properties of the tea tree a century ago were even recognized by official medicine due to the rich content of essential oils in it, which have antibacterial and antiviral effects. On the basis of its vegetative parts, valuable medicinal raw materials are produced.
Melaleuka care at home
Many growers consider Melaleuku to be a picky houseplant, however, in order to achieve constant and abundant flowering, you must follow certain care rules.
Location and lighting
The growing area should be well lit, but exposure to direct sunlight should be avoided. In some cases, you can use artificial lighting, which is provided with phyto lamps. They turn on for a time equal to normal daylight hours. Some plants grown under these conditions may re-bloom in winter. An insufficient amount of light negatively affects the growth of the tree, the leaves begin to fall off, which leads to the death of the entire shrub.
In winter, plant pots should be stored in a cool room and also provide additional lighting. In the summer, try to avoid hitting the aggressive midday rays on the leaves. They can cause severe burns.
Temperature
Melaleuca tolerates heat quite well in summer. In winter, in the absence of additional lighting, it is advisable for melaleuke to provide a cool air temperature of about 10 degrees.
Watering
Areas of wild-growing tea tree distribution in nature are swamps and river banks, so the plant is hygrophilous and, accordingly, requires regular watering.Otherwise, with insufficient moisture, leaves fall and the earthy coma dries up, as a result, the plant dies. For watering, only settled water at room temperature is used, to which you can add a pinch of citric acid or a couple of drops of vinegar. In winter, the frequency of watering is reduced by several times.
Air humidity
Melaleuke requires high air humidity, so it must be sprayed regularly, especially in the hot summer period. It is advisable to put a layer of expanded clay into the pan of the pot and add fresh water.
The soil
As a basis for growing a tea tree, only neutral soil or an earthen mixture consisting of peat, turf and sand is used, which is taken in a 2: 1: 1 ratio. Melaleuca beautiful prefers a medium filled with sand.
Top dressing and fertilizers
During the growth and development of the plant, Melaleuk needs to be fed 2 times a month with a solution of complex fertilizers, which are used for most indoor plants.
Transfer
Adult specimens of Melaleuca are transplanted every year into a new pot with a larger diameter so that their root system can further fully grow and develop. In order to simplify the task, some growers, instead of transplanting, simply prune the roots of the tree and renew the topsoil.
Pruning
Melaleuku needs to be pruned periodically to maintain the shape of a shrub or tree throughout the year. During pruning, dry seed pods are removed to give the plant a neat and attractive appearance.
Annual shoots of young seedlings are also pruned at a height of 10 cm, so that in the future they begin to gradually branch out in the form of a bush.
Reproduction of melaleuca
The tea tree can be propagated by seed or cuttings. Seed propagation is carried out on a thoroughly moistened soil substrate. After planting, to accelerate growth, the seeds are covered with glass, and the growing containers are stored at room temperature. After a week, the first shoots can be observed, but this process may slow down if the seed boxes are left in a cool room for a long time. The loss of young seedlings is almost inevitable, many of them die at the very beginning.
For cuttings it is necessary to cut off the longest cuttings. Then they are planted in soil or placed in a container filled with water to speed up root formation. Sometimes special phytohormones are also added to the water, which affect the growth of cuttings.
It is possible to expect flowering during seed reproduction only when the plant reaches the age of six.
Diseases and pests
Indoor melaleuca can often be affected by spider mites, mealybugs and other dangerous pests. As an effective means of combating them, regular spraying of infected plants with insecticidal solutions Aktelika, Akarina or Fitoverma is used.
Among the diseases of the tea tree, the most common are root rot, burns or leaf fall. In most cases, the main reason for their occurrence is improper care, which is sometimes not followed by the owners of the plant.
Types and varieties of tea tree
Today the following types of tea tree are the most common:
Melaleuca ordinary-leaved
Homeland is the northeastern part of Australia. This view called one of the most common in the family. Melaleuka is often grown in a room on a windowsill. The plant looks like a low green tree, which is characterized by slow growth. The leaves of this variety are similar to coniferous needles due to their green color and elongated narrow shape. The leaves are about 1-3.5 cm long and only 1 mm wide. The flowering period falls in the spring and lasts until the beginning of summer.Small-diameter cylindrical inflorescences are white.
Melaleuca diosmolystny
It is considered the second most common in the tea tree family, and is grown only indoors. The country of growth of melaleuca diosmolystny is Western Australia. The shrub is a plant with short green leaves that are ovoid and densely distributed along the lateral branches. Inflorescences of lemon or light green color reach a length of about 5 cm. They begin to form on the branches in late spring.
Linseed melaleuca
Originally appeared in the southeast of Australia. On the coasts, you can find low, fast-growing trees that have gray-green elongated leaves. In summer, snow-white flowers with numerous stamens are formed on them. The flowering is so violent that the foliage becomes almost invisible. Due to this property, such a tea tree in most English-speaking countries began to be called "Summer Snow". For home cultivation, florists bred an attractive dwarf variety Melaleuky linen and gave it the name "Snow storm".
Melaleuca is beautiful
This species is also called clawed honey myrtle, found in Western Australia. The shrub also has its own distinctive features from other species, namely: small and dark green leaves, pink flowers of an unusual shape. They gather in the form of swirling inflorescences that resemble claws. Each of them gathers five groups of long stamens, fused together. For this reason, the plant is often called "Claw Flower".
Melaleuca nesophila
This is a large shrub similar to linseed melaleuc, which differs from it only in the color of the flowers. Pink inflorescences are spherical. They grow about 3 cm in diameter. Flowering begins in late spring and lasts for several months.
In addition to the above plants, in any specialized store that sells flower products, you can buy seeds and other varieties of tea tree for home cultivation.
Important! Experienced growers advise to pay attention to the fact that often when describing melaleuca there is confusion, since it has a great similarity in external characteristics with Leptospermum paniculata or New Zealand tea tree. Even in botanical literature, you can find photographs of one species, and the characteristics and descriptions under them will refer to a completely different name. However, Leptospermum paniculata differs from the traditional tea tree in flowers and does not possess valuable medicinal properties, therefore it is not used for medical and cosmetic purposes.
