Catharanthus is an evergreen perennial, annual and less often a shrub from the Kutrov family. There are about 8 species of this plant. Under natural conditions, it grows in Indochina, Madagascar, the Philippines, Cuba and on the islands of St. Mauritius. The most popular of all types is pink catharanthus or pink periwinkle. The flower is also called Madagascar wine, lochner, cayenne jasmine, "old maid".
As a perennial, the catharanthus can only grow at home or in a cool greenhouse, and in the open field, the catharanthus is grown as an annual plant.
Description of the plant catharanthus
It is a tropical dwarf shrub that grows up to 60 cm in height. The roots are in the form of a rod, they have a very specific aroma. The main root grows up to 30 cm, and a large number of lateral roots, which have a light yellow color, depart from it. Stems are erect, branching strongly in the upper part of the bush. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate, glossy with solid edges, dark green in color in the middle with a white vein. Leaves grow up to 8 cm in length. The flowers are axillary, five-membered in diameter up to three centimeters, have a wheel-shaped corolla, can be pink-red or white.
Katarantus is used for the manufacture of various drugs, as well as in folk medicine.
Growing a catharanthus from seeds
Immediately in open ground, catharanthus seeds are planted very rarely, most often seedlings are grown first. The most suitable time for planting seeds is the second half of February and the first half of March. To plant seeds of a plant for seedlings, it is necessary to prepare the soil. To do this, you need to mix pepper with peat, turf and leafy soil in equal amounts. Then the resulting substrate must be sterilized with a strong manganese solution. After that, you need to make small grooves in the soil, distribute the seeds evenly and sprinkle with soil. Spray the substrate with water and cover the planted seeds with plastic wrap. Remove containers with seeds in a place where the temperature is at least 23-25 degrees.
Seedling catharanthus
If you create comfortable conditions, then seedlings can appear in seven days. After the seeds are removed by the abyss, the plastic wrap must be removed, and the containers must be transferred to a well-lit, but cooler place, where the temperature is 18-20 degrees. Caring for the seedlings of the catharanthus is quite simple, it is necessary to regularly moisten the soil and carefully pour it after watering. 2 weeks after the seedlings appear, it is necessary to apply fertilizers with a high phosphorus content. When the seedlings have four true leaves, they must be planted in separate pots (for planting in the garden) or in selected pots for home growing.
Planting the catharanthus in open ground
Planting the catharanthus in open ground should be carried out at the end of May or the first half of June. At this time, good weather will already be established, the soil will warm up enough and the night frosts will definitely not return. In order for the seedlings to tolerate the transplant well, it must be hardened. To do this, you need to start bringing the seedlings into fresh air 2 weeks before the intended transplant, first for 10 minutes and then gradually increasing the time. By the time the seedlings are transplanted into open ground, it should be in the fresh air around the clock.
For planting a catharanthus, it is best to choose an open area of the garden, but so that it is protected from cold winds and drafts. The plant prefers fertile, loose, moist, moisture-permeable and non-saline soil with neutral acidity. Before planting, it is imperative to dig up the soil and add peat, leaf and sod land. An excellent ready-made substrate for garden flowers. During digging, you need to add sand and make a drainage layer of expanded clay. During planting, it is imperative to maintain the required distance so that in the future, adult plants do not interfere with each other's growth and development. The distance between seedlings should be at least 30 cm.
Growing a catharanthus in the garden
In the garden, the catharanthus is grown as an ampel or soil plant. In order to grow a beautiful and healthy flower, you need to take care of it regularly. Caring for the catharanthus is quite easy and not complicated. The plant needs to be watered regularly, loosened the soil, remove the collection grass and apply the necessary fertilizers. The fight against weeds will not be long, the flower will grow quickly and the weed grass will simply not have free space. It is important to regularly prune dried leaves, thanks to which the plant will give abundant growth and will grow well.
Water the plant with warm water. Sprinkler irrigation can be carried out in dry times. The soil near the catharanthus should always be moist. The lack of moisture can be understood by the leaves: they curl into a tube with insufficient soil and return to their normal form literally half an hour after watering. After each watering, it is necessary to loosen the soil very carefully so as not to damage the root system. Catharanthus does not like cool and rainy weather, because of this, it can shed leaves and buds. To prevent this from happening during the rain, you need to cover the plant with a special awning covered with plastic wrap.
During the cultivation of the catharanthus in the open field, it is imperative to apply fertilizers. With an interval of 2-3 weeks, special complex fertilizers or a solution with the addition of wood ash must be applied to the soil. You can start such feeding within a week of days after planting. The plant also reacts positively to foliar feeding. It is imperative to apply all fertilizers in an exact dosage, since non-observance can lead to burns of the root system and the complete death of the flower.
Caring for the catharanthus at home
Location and lighting
Caring for a catharanthus at home is as simple as growing outdoors. Indoors, the plant needs good lighting, just like in the garden. Only there must be protection from direct ultraviolet rays. Catharanthus will grow best on windows in the south, west or east of the house. If you grow a plant in the northern part, then due to a lack of lighting, it will begin to grow worse and may not bloom at all.
Watering
In the warm season, katarntus is regularly sprayed in the evening. Watering and applying the necessary fertilizers is absolutely the same as when growing in open ground. After watering, the excess water from the pan must be poured out. But there is one feature, watering the indoor catharanthus must be gradually reduced, starting in October. Also stop fertilizing until mid-April.This will allow the plant to have a winter rest, during which it will gain strength for a new flowering.
Transfer
You need to transplant the catharanthus once every 2-3 years. The new pot should be a few centimeters larger than the old one, and a drainage layer should be placed on the bottom. Then gently digest the plant along with the earthy clod and fill the empty spaces with the prepared substrate. The substrate is prepared in exactly the same way as for planting seedlings. If you do not want to mix all the ingredients, then you can use the ready-made primer. After transplanting, you need to water abundantly.
Important! It must be remembered that the catharanthus is a poisonous plant, therefore, all work with it must be carried out exclusively with gloves.
Pruning
Pruning will make the bush look more beautiful and lush. It is necessary to carry out pruning in the spring, since at this time the plant tolerates it best and will recover faster.
Perennial catharanthus in winter
The catharanthus does not winter in the garden. Before the onset, it should be carefully dug out and without shaking off the ground into a large container. Store in a room where the temperature is 15-17 degrees. The soil in the container needs to be moistened sometimes. In the spring, the plant is planted again in the garden.
As for the indoor plant, in winter it must be removed to a cool place, the fertilization should be stopped, and watering should be minimized.
Diseases and pests
At home, the catharanthus can be attacked by aphids and worms. You can get rid of a small amount of such harmful insects with a soapy solution. But if the case is neglected, then you will have to treat it with special chemical solutions.
Due to improper care, the catharanthus can infect various bacterial diseases. To cure a plant, it is necessary to revise its care and correct mistakes, as well as treat it with special fungicides.
Types and varieties of catharanthus with a photo
Katarantus has many different species and hybrids. The most popular ones are:
Grape Cooler - The flowers of this variety are lavender-pink in color, have a pink eye.
Peppermint Cooler, Ocellatus - the flowers are snow-white, and the eye is bright red.
Parasol - the flowers are large enough, white, and the middle is red.
Albus - This is a variety with completely snow-white flowers.
First Kiss Is a whole series of plants with different colors. They grow up to 40 cm in height. The flowers are large enough, up to 5 cm in diameter.
