Nolina (bokarneya)

The Nolina plant is a representative of the Asparagus family. Until recently, this genus was ranked among the Agavovs. At the same time, Nolina is often combined with a related sidekarney, a representative of the same family. In the natural environment, plants of this genus are found in the southern United States, as well as in Mexico.

The bush also has funny folk nicknames associated with its original appearance. So for the shape and position of the foliage it is called "horse's tail", and for the characteristic outline of the trunk - "bottle tree" or "elephant foot".

Description of nolina

Under natural conditions, nolina can reach impressive sizes, but domestic specimens usually do not exceed a height of 2 m. They have a bottle-shaped trunk expanding towards the base. In this extension - caudex - the flower stores water, which is gradually used during periods of long drought. The narrow and thin leaves of nolina evaporate little moisture, also contributing to its drought tolerance. They form a rosette at the top of the trunk, making the bush look like a palm tree.

Growing nolina is not difficult. The root system of this plant does not go deep into the soil, so the bush can grow even in a shallow pot. At home, Nolina lives on rocky ground. There she is able to form fragrant panicle inflorescences, but they do not appear in room culture. Most often, nolin is used as the center of flower arrangements or as a tapeworm plant. When planting several copies of nolin in one pot, you can get an unusual accrete tree with numerous bunches of foliage. This flower attracts with its unpretentious care, as well as its original appearance.

Brief rules for growing nolina

The table shows brief rules for caring for Nolina at home.

Caring for nolina at home

Lighting

Nolina needs diffused light both during growth and during rest. Bushes should be protected from the direct sun - they can only get on the plant for several hours a day. The easiest way to grow nolin is on the west or east windows. The southern direction will be too sunny, in this case it is better to keep the pot at a small distance from the window. In winter, when Nolina is at rest, she also needs enough light, so backlighting can be used to compensate for the short daylight hours.

In a semi-shady place, the shoots of nolina begin to reach for the light. To avoid deformation of the trunk, the flower pot must be rotated systematically (about once a week).

Temperature

During the growth period, the nolina is suitable for room temperature. In the summer, the pot with it can be transferred to the air by choosing a place sheltered from rain and wind for it. The main thing is to protect the bush from cold drafts and sudden changes in conditions. Starting in the fall, it is recommended to gradually start preparing the bush for the rest period. The temperature in the room is gradually lowered until it reaches 10-12 degrees. The lower threshold for growing is 7 degrees. In such conditions, the plant is left until spring.

Nolina can overwinter in a warmer room (over 18 degrees), but then her growth will not stop.

Watering

During the growing season, nolina is rarely watered (about twice a month), but abundantly. For irrigation, use boiled or well-settled water. The pot with the plant is immersed in a container filled with it and kept there until the soil clod is saturated with moisture. After that, for half an hour, excess water is allowed to drain from the pot. Re-watering is carried out only when the soil in the container is completely dry. Stagnation of liquid is considered fatal for nolina, the bush tolerates drought much better than overflows.

In the case of a warm wintering, the watering regime is left the same, but if the room keeps less than 15 degrees, watering is carried out less often and more carefully. If nolina spends a dormant period at 10 degrees, it does not need to be watered. The colder it is in the room, the more likely it is to flood the flower. Watering is carried out only if the plant trunk has lost its elasticity and began to wrinkle.

Humidity level

When growing in a pot, nolina does not need to be sprayed. In nature, the flower is content with dew, the drops of which flow down to the outlet, and then down the trunk. Usually the bush is sprayed to wash the dusty foliage. After this procedure, it can be lightly wiped with a soft sponge or napkin. The main thing is to make sure that drops do not fall on the trunk of the plant.

The soil

As a substrate, a sand-based soil with the addition of half of the peat and leafy earth is used. You can mix equal parts of sand with garden soil, and then add small pebbles there. The main requirement is the lightness of the substrate and its ability to pass air well. For nolina, ready-made mixtures for succulent plants are also suitable. You can add some charcoal to the finished substrate.

Top dressing

With proper care, Nolina does not need additional fertilizing - she will have enough regular watering. If it is necessary to fertilize the flower, this is done in spring or summer, using no more than half of the recommended concentration of the mineral composition for succulents. Top dressing is carried out no more than once every 3 weeks. They can be done before or immediately after regular watering. The solution is poured into the pot so that the droplets do not fall on the barrel. In poorer soil, the bush often begins to grow caudex, and in nutritious soil, foliage.

Transfer

The roots of nolina are small, therefore, low and wide containers are used for the flower.An incorrectly selected container can turn over under the weight of the aerial part of the plant or lead to its disease. There must be drain holes at the bottom. At the same time, a drainage layer is laid at the bottom. It will also help wick away excess moisture. The volume of land should correspond to the size of the plant's root system, the rest of the space is allocated for drainage. A pile of earth is poured onto it, and the bush itself is installed on top.

The transplant is carried out in the spring, trying to navigate the pace of development of the root system. 3-4 years after planting nolina, it can be transplanted not every year, but only once every 2-3 years. A week before the procedure, the bush stops watering. The new pot should only be a couple of centimeters larger than the old one. The roots of the bush are slightly freed from dry soil and examined, cutting off the diseased areas, and then transferred to a new pot. The plant should not be deepened below the previous level. After transplanting, you need to wait about 4-7 days, and only then watering. If a heavy shrub does not hold well in the ground, its surface should be covered with pebbles to compensate for the weight of the plant.

Adult large bushes, which are more than 15 years old, are no longer transplanted - this procedure will require a lot of effort and can damage the developed root system of the flower. An exception is made only for sick and decaying specimens. For healthy plants, it will be enough to change the top layer of soil to a fresh and more nutritious one.

A new plant brought from the store is kept in the shade without watering for several days, giving it time to adapt. If the flower was poured there, it should not be watered for at least 1-2 weeks. A bush purchased in an unsuitable pot for him is transplanted. Nolina is taken out of it along with a soil lump and in 1-2 days moved to another pot. Due to the internal reserves of moisture, such a stay outside the soil is not considered dangerous for the plant. Before transplanting, the bush is preliminarily inspected for rot. The affected areas are cut out with a sterile instrument, and the sections are processed with crushed coal.

Nolina breeding methods

Growing from seeds

It is quite difficult to get nolin from seeds, however, it is this breeding method that is considered the most common in home floriculture. For sowing, use containers filled with a peat-sand mixture. The seeds are kept in water or growth stimulant solution in advance for about 1-2 days. The prepared seed is evenly distributed over the soil surface, maintaining a distance of about 2 cm, and then lightly sprinkled with a thin layer of earth, comparable to the size of the seeds themselves.

The seed pot is placed in a warm (about 25 degrees) and bright place. It is important to provide the seedlings with lighting even at night using fluorescent lamps. From above, the containers are covered with a film, which is regularly removed for ventilation and condensation removal. Water should not stagnate in the ground, so watering is carried out carefully, as the earth dries out.

The first shoots will appear about a month after sowing. After a couple of months, when they get stronger, they are dived using the same substrate as for transplanting an adult plant. Nolins are planted in separate pots when they are six months old. After that, caring for seedlings is no different from caring for adult nolins.

Reproduction using shoots

Nolin can be propagated with the help of shoots. The method is not widespread due to the fact that dormant buds on the trunk of a plant wake up relatively rarely.

The lateral cutting is carefully removed from the main bush close to the trunk and planted in a pot of soil containing sand, peat and vermiculite. Sections are pretreated with crushed coal. A small hole is made in the soil, a shoot is placed in it, and then the soil is compacted. You can pre-soak the shoot in water or a solution of a rooting stimulator. Periodically, such a stalk is checked for rotting, if necessary, removing the affected areas.The water is changed from time to time. Planting is carried out after the roots have developed at least 0.5 cm.

The seedling is moved to a warm and bright place, having previously covered it with a bag or jar. The shelter is cleaned regularly to ventilate the plant. Soil moisture is monitored. When the seedling releases at least a couple of fresh leaves, the shelter is removed.

Possible growing difficulties

The main difficulties in growing nolina are associated with mistakes made in caring for it:

• The edges of the leaves dry and turn brown due to the low level of humidity. This is a common problem with many indoor flowers. If the foliage withers at the same time, the cause should be sought in an elevated temperature. The bush is rearranged to a cooler place, you can carefully spray its foliage. The drying of the lower foliage is a natural growth process. It should be replaced by fresh growth from the center of the outlet.
• Dried tips of leaves together with shriveled stem - lack of moisture. The bush needs to be watered.
• Fresh leaves become smaller and pale - due to lack of lighting. The bush should be moved to a lighter corner.
• Browning of foliage and its falling off are signs of overflow.
• Slow plant development - may be caused by a lack of nutrients in the soil. Nolina is fed.
• Thinning of the trunk in nolina (and other bottle species) is associated with constant soil moisture. Frequent watering makes the plant understand that it will not experience a shortage of liquid, therefore the trunk, which stores moisture in case of drought, "grows thin". To preserve its bottle-shaped shape, it is necessary to water the plant only after the soil clod dries out. Adequate lighting also plays an important role in maintaining an interesting barrel shape.
• Rotting trunk - usually caused by the constant stagnation of moisture in the soil. The watering regime must be normalized, and the affected area must be removed by disinfecting and drying the cut. After that, the bush is moved to fresh soil.

Pests

Nolina is highly resistant to pest attacks, but sometimes spider mites, mealybugs or scale insects can appear on it. Their appearance can be prevented by increasing the humidity in the room, as well as by regularly examining and cleaning the leaves of the plant with a damp sponge. Plants weakened by a lack of light or excessive watering are most often the target of pests. You can fight them with soapy water or insecticides.

Types of nolina with photos and names

Nolina longifolia

Or long-leaved bokarnea (Beaucarnea longifolia). This species is usually grown in greenhouses - at home it is almost impossible to create the most suitable conditions for it. Nolina longifolia in its natural environment resembles a tree with a strong cork trunk. Foliage of this species hangs near the trunk as it ages, forming a kind of skirt. Inflorescences are in the form of panicles, they are made up of small pale cream flowers.

Nolina lindheimeriana

Or bokarnea Lindemeir (Beaucarnea lindheimeriana). The trunk of such a nolina is almost invisible under the mass of its foliage. Nolina lindheimeriana has thin and long leaves with increased strength. Due to this property, such a plant is popularly called the "devil's lace". Nolina Lindemeira is considered the shortest species, but is also grown only in greenhouse conditions. During the flowering period, medium-sized inflorescences appear on the bush.

Nolina matapensis

Or bokarnea matapskaya (Beaucarnea matapensis). This species is slightly larger than the previous one in size, but is also considered short. Nolina matapensis usually reaches no more than 2 m in height. The old foliage of the plant hangs on it in the form of a "skirt". Inflorescences are small yellowish flowers. The species is not used in room culture.

Nolina recurvata

Or bent bokarnea (Beaucarnea recurvata). Such a bush can be grown at home. Nolina recurvata grows to a height of 10 meters in its natural environment, but when grown in a pot, its maximum size is about 2 m.The species has a bottle-shaped trunk, at the top of which there is a rosette of long and narrow hanging leaves. The length of the leaf plates reaches 1 m with a width of up to 2 cm. They have a leathery surface. As it grows, the trunk of the bush becomes bare. The flowers are cream in color and are collected in panicle inflorescences. But when grown in a pot, you will most likely not be able to admire them. At home, the leaves of this nolina are used as material for weaving baskets and sombrero hats.