This plant is native to the subtropical zone. Travelers first saw it in the United States and northwestern Mexico. Best of all, this beautiful tree feels in the Mediterranean climate, while possessing an amazing quality to withstand twelve degrees of frost.
Washingtonia is a palm plant that can drive out a thirty-meter-tall trunk. This is an evergreen beauty with large - up to one and a half meters - leaves. The stem is covered with the remains of wilted foliage. The basal neck may be in the zone of the adventitious roots. The leaves are like an open fan, as they are cut to the center point. During flowering, Washingtonia forms a bisexual flower, which is located on a long peduncle. Inflorescence is a panicle that forms dark fruits during ripening.
Popular varieties and types of exotic palm trees
Usually in our apartments you can find two of the most popular types of indoor palm trees.
Washingtonia filamentous (filamentous)
Its homeland is California, so the plant has another name - the California fan palm. In places of natural growth, it creates whole forests. The leaves of a tree of this species have a gray-green hue and a lot of the finest white threads. For a comfortable wintering of the filamentous washingtonia, it is necessary to provide an air temperature of 6-15 ° C plus a well-lit place.
Washingtonia robusta (powerful)
The tree was born on the shores of Mexico, so it is not surprising that it is also called the Mexican palm. Mature plants have a taller trunk than their Californian cousins and can grow up to thirty meters in height. The foliage of washingtonia has a powerful rich green color, but without snow-white threads. The leaf stalks have thorns, and the crown itself is at the top of the trunk and looks very compact. Wintering of this species does not require special conditions and can be carried out in the usual room mode for the owners.
Caring for washingtonia at home
Location and lighting
The optimal location for Washington is windows to the east or west. The plant needs bright light, but the sun's rays should be diffused, not direct. This palm tree does not tolerate drafts. In summer, on a cloudless sultry day, it is recommended to take it out to a shady place.
Temperature
During the spring and summer months, Washington requires temperatures of 20-24 ° C. It is important not to allow temperature indicators to exceed the thirty-degree mark. If this happens, the plant should be placed where it is cooler. In the winter season, when the flower is resting, 10 ° C is enough for it, even at 7 ° C it will feel comfortable, because the palm tree is able to endure freezing temperatures.
Watering
Moisten the ground with warm water.On summer days, the plant should be watered as soon as the soil becomes dry at the top of the earthen coma. However, the fan palm does not like waterlogging, as well as dryness of the soil. In winter, Washingtonia is watered two days after the top layer dries.
Air humidity
Humid air is very important for the indoor palm tree in Washington. She loves repeated spraying, and on especially hot days - wiping the leaves with a damp natural cloth.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Fertilizing the soil under room washingtonia is optimal in summer and autumn. In the rest of the period, the plant does not need this. You can feed it with various complex compounds that contain a large amount of iron. They should be entered twice a month.
Pruning
Pruning is used in Washington, in order to slightly slow down the natural wilting of the leaves. But this procedure is not necessary, because dry and sagging foliage does not impair the appearance of the plant. If it is decided to carry out pruning, this should be done when the leaf has not yet become completely yellow.
Transfer
Before transplanting, it is necessary to prepare the substrate. It should consist of sod soil, leafy soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 2: 1. The transshipment is carried out at special intervals. If Washington is less than 7 years old, then the transplant is done every two years, if older - by three, but if the palm is more than 15 years old, then it needs to change the soil once every five years. During the transshipment, the soil in adult plants is saturated with organic compounds (up to 5 kg), and earth is poured onto the roots that have emerged during growth.
Note! At the bottom of the flowerpot, where Washingtonia grows, a high layer of drainage is required. The usual composition for palm trees is suitable.
Growing Washingtonia indoor palm from seeds
To get an elegant fan-shaped beauty from a seed, you need:
- Fresh seed. You can buy it, or you can assemble it yourself.
- Mandatory scarification. An incision is made on the seeds with a very sharp knife and kept in water for two to seven days.
- Seed substrate. For him, take leafy soil, sand and peat in a ratio of 4: 1: 1.
It is optimal to start the process of growing indoor washingtonia in the spring. The prepared composition is poured into a tray, the seeds are laid out and sprinkled with the same substrate to a height twice the diameter of the seed. Then the container is covered with glass or polyethylene to form a greenhouse effect, and they try to provide a temperature regime of 25-30 ° C. Crops are regularly opened for watering and ventilation.
The first seedlings should hatch within two to three months. When this happens, the seedling tray is transferred to a well-lit place where there is no direct sunlight. After the appearance of the second leaf, Washingtonia seedlings dive into separate pots. The substrate is taken special for palm plants.
Note! The picking should be done very carefully so that the roots remain intact and the integrity of the endosperm is not compromised.
You can grow a fan palm from seeds in other ways that differ from the above in some nuances.
- When germinating seed, you can use peat tablets. One seed is placed on them and transferred to the ground. The top layer of the substrate is poured after the seedlings are visible.
- You can germinate seeds in a different soil composition - you need to take in equal parts sand, moss and sawdust.
- Preliminarily, before sowing the material both in the ground and in peat tablets, stimulate growth with the "Epin" preparation. You need to soak the seeds in it for 10-12 hours.
Growing problems, diseases and pests
It is incredibly regretful when such a beauty as Washingtonia dies. To prevent this from happening, and your palm tree feels strong and healthy, you need to know some of the nuances:
- Darkening of the tips of the leaves indicates a lack of potassium or improper watering.To remedy the situation, it is necessary to properly water the plant and use feeding formulations with the missing trace element.
- If the leaves continue to darken, then the room palm does not have enough moisture in the air. Washingtonia should be placed on a pallet of water and sprayed more often.
- The formation of spots on the foliage indicates excessive moisture or a sharp change in temperature. Returning to normal conditions for the fan palm will help alleviate this problem.
- Do not worry too much that Washingtonia leaves periodically wilt and dry. Most often these are manifestations of the natural development process, but nevertheless, periodically you should check for signs of decay.
- If the indoor beauty has been attacked by insects, this is manifested by small light spots and curling of leaves. Such damage is caused by scale insects, whiteflies, worms. To get rid of Washington from this scourge, insecticidal agents are used, which are diluted according to the instructions to the required concentration.
Note! Foliage that has died out due to natural drying must be removed. However, it is important not to confuse this normal process with a disease caused by excess moisture during watering.
Blooming washingtonia
Unfortunately, it is quite rare to admire the fluffy white panicles on long stems. It often happens that Washingtonia never blooms for a year, forming flower stalks every few years. And many florists generally note that the flowering phase of the fan palm is simply absent in our apartments.
