The palisota plant (Palisota) comes from the Camellin family. It is a herbaceous representative, common on the continents of the tropical western territories of Africa.
Palisot is a perennial rosette type. The leaves are large and oblong, densely located at the base of the stem. The flowers are characterized as actinomorphic. The flower petals are free, the ovary is 3-celled. The fruits are white, blue or red berries.
Caring for palisot at home
Location and lighting
The palisot tree, despite its preference for bright, diffused light, will grow and develop and look healthy in low light conditions.
Temperature
In spring and summer, palisot is quite unpretentious to the air temperature, but in winter it should not drop below 16 degrees. The optimum temperature in winter is 16-20 degrees.
Air humidity
The humidity of the air must be constantly increased, therefore, the leaves of the palisota need to be regularly sprayed with distilled water at room temperature.
Watering
In spring and summer, the earthen lump in the pot should be moist all the time, drying out is unacceptable. With the onset of autumn, and then winter time, watering is reduced to moderate or rare - the substrate must dry completely.
The soil
The substrate should consist of a mixture of sand, slightly acidic turf and leafy soil in a ratio of 1: 3: 1. The acidity of the soil should not be higher than 7 pH.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Like any houseplant, palisot needs regular fertilization. They feed it from March to September, when the flower is actively developing. The frequency of fertilization is once every 2 weeks. A complex mineral fertilizer of a universal type is suitable for decorative deciduous plants.
Transfer
The root system of the palisot tree is very fragile; when transplanting the plant, the roots can be easily damaged. For this reason, the flower does not tolerate any manipulations. It will be enough to transplant into a larger pot once every three years. The container for the new habitat of the plant should be wide and spacious.
Reproduction of palisot
Propagating palisote is easy in one of two ways: by seed or by rooting cuttings. When propagating by cuttings, it is necessary to carefully cut off the mother's outlet, separate the young cuttings and root them.
Growing difficulties
When caring for a palisot, a florist may face the following number of difficulties:
- Drying out of the soil and, as a result, weakening of the root system.
- In the absence of the proper level of lighting, the decorative effect of the leaves is lost, they become monochromatic.
- Possibility of damage by spider mites due to insufficient air humidity.
- Dry leaf tips due to low air humidity.
- Yellow leaves can be the result of sunburn. The plant does not need to be transferred to a less bright place, but it should be protected from direct sunlight.
Types of palisot with photos and names
Palisota barteri
It is a herbaceous rosette perennial plant. The length of the oblong leaves is about 40 cm, and the width is about 15 cm. The cuttings of the leaves are long, concentrated at the base. On the leaves and stems there is a dense layer of white, densely pressed hairs, which makes the plant smooth and silky to the touch. The flowers are small, located in a white or light pink panicle. The fruit of this species is a bright red berry.
Palisota mannii
This herbaceous perennial has light green large leaves, oblong in shape, about 30 cm long and up to 10 cm wide. The inflorescence is multi-flowered, collected in a head. The fruit is also a red berry.
Bracts palisota (Palisota bracteosa)
Perennial herb of rosette type. The leaves are elongated, up to 40 cm long, up to 15 cm wide, densely covered with white hairs. The flowers are white, collected in dense inflorescences, sometimes there are several of them on one plant. Gray seeds no more than 4 mm in diameter.
