Pachistachis

The Pachystachys plant is an evergreen perennial shrub from the Acanthus family. This genus includes about 12 species that live in the subtropics and tropics. In its natural environment, the plant can be found in India and America.

The name pachistakhis means "thick ear" and is associated with the unusual spike-like shape of its inflorescences. Among the popular names for the flower are also "golden candle" and even "golden shrimp". In home floriculture, pachistachis began to be used in the 19th century, but to this day this plant is not very common. At the same time, despite its exotic appearance, pachistachis does not differ in a capricious disposition, and, subject to the conditions for care, will regularly delight with its green foliage and unusual beautiful inflorescences.

Description of pachistachis

In nature, the size of pachistachis is quite impressive: about 1-2 m, depending on the species. Due to its more compact size, yellow pachystachis is most often grown at home. It is an evergreen dwarf shrub with a height of 20 cm to 1 m. The lower part of its green shoots gradually grows stiff. The oval foliage has a pointed tip and a slightly wrinkled surface. The color of the leaves is deep green, the length reaches 15 cm, and the width is about 5 cm. The bright golden spikelets of pachistachis are not flowers, but only bracts. They retain their elegant appearance throughout the entire flowering period. White flowers up to 5 cm long peep out of them, similar to small tropical birds. Unlike bracts, they do not last long.

Brief rules for growing pachistachis

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

Pachystachis care at home

Lighting

Pachistachis is photophilous; at home, the flower requires a lot of bright, but always diffused light. The plant is ideal for windows of the east or west direction, but on the south it will have to be slightly shaded at noon. Otherwise, burns may remain on the foliage or its color will become more faded. At the same time, it is important to ensure that there is no blowing from the windows, otherwise you will have to look for a warmer corner for the flower.

Lighting during the dormant period should also remain abundant - the pot should not be rearranged in the shade.

Temperature

In the natural environment, pachistakhis have ways to withstand cold snaps up to 10 degrees, but the bushes react to a long stay in the cool by dropping their foliage. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to grow pachistachis at home at a temperature of 16-18 degrees. In summer, the bushes grow well at normal room temperature, about 23-25 ​​degrees. During this period, you can transfer plantings to the open air: to the garden, to the balcony or to the veranda. You just need to choose a place for pachistakhis, protected from drafts, strong winds or rain.

Watering mode

The entire period of growth of pachistachis must be watered very abundantly. The flower needs a lot of moisture. The soil should be moistened about 1-2 times a week, depending on the growing conditions. The plant will let you know about the need for watering with drooping foliage, but you should not overdry the soil too much: it is enough to wait for its top layer to dry. For irrigation, use slightly warm filtered, thawed or settled water for more than a day. Air humidity also plays an important role. It is desirable that pachistachis grow in conditions of high humidity, especially this should be monitored in winter, when the air is significantly dried out by the heat from the batteries.

In the middle of autumn, after the end of flowering, the pachystachis begins a dormant period. At this time, the growth and rate of development of the bush slows down. This leads to the fact that the flower begins to consume significantly less moisture. After the onset of a dormant period, the volume of irrigation is reduced. It is advisable that the bush spend the rest time in a cooler room, therefore waterlogging in such conditions can lead to the development of rot. The amount of watering is almost not changed only if the flower hibernates in a warm place.

The soil

The best soil for growing pachystachis is turf, leafy soil, humus, peat and coarse sand. Universal mixtures for flowering species are also suitable. A couple of weeks before planting, the substrate must be disinfected by calcining it or treating it with a bright solution of potassium permanganate. Drainage up to 2 cm thick must be laid under the soil layer.

Top dressing

For healthy growth, pachystachis requires regular feeding. In the warm season, they can be carried out twice a month, using mineral compositions for flowering species. They are diluted in water, and then introduced into the already moistened soil. If the bush is warm in winter, they continue to feed it, but they do it much less often - about once every 1-1.5 months.

For feeding pachistachis, you can also use organic compounds, for example, solutions of chicken manure or mullein.

Transfer

Young pachistachis are transplanted into a new pot in the spring, but certainly before the bush begins to bloom. Older specimens are transferred less often - once every 3-4 years.

For young pachistachis, not very large containers with a volume of up to 1.5 liters are suitable. Their height should be comparable to the diameter. In the future, the bush is transplanted into a pot 1.5 cm superior to the previous one.For adult bushes, containers with a volume of up to 2.5 liters are used. Pots that are too bulky can slow down flower formation.

Before the spring transplant, the bush must be cut off. Pachistachis is moved to a new container along with a soil clod. The voids are filled with fresh soil and slightly compacted. After transplanting, the bush is watered, and then kept in a more shaded place for several days.

Pruning

The natural size of the pachistachis cannot be called miniature, but the free growth of the bush at home leads to a loss of decorativeness. Because of this, the pachistachis will need regular pruning. Without it, the lower part of the shoots will begin to bare, the internodes will elongate, and some of the leaves will fall off.

To form a beautiful compact crown, the bush must be pinched or pruned starting from the first year of life. After the end of the rest period, in the spring, the branches must be shortened to a length of 10-15 cm. The tops of the shoots can be used as cuttings. After pruning, all shoots are pinched over the 2nd pair of leaf plates. In the future, in the spring, it will be enough to simply shorten the tops of the shoots: flowers will form only on fresh shoots.

If the plant was kept in unsuitable conditions and lost its appearance during the warm season, pruning can be done not at the beginning of the growth stage, but in the fall, before the flower leaves for rest. In addition, in the fall, you should also remove all drying inflorescences, capturing not only the spikelet itself, but also a couple of leaves. This will contribute to the laying of future buds.

Bloom

Pachystachis has a long flowering period. It usually coincides with the growing season and lasts from February to October. In some cases, the bush can bloom in winter, but for this you have to use additional lighting.

Pachystachis inflorescences-spikelets resemble flowers of another plant - aphelandra, but have a more elongated shape. The main attention is attracted by bright yellow bracts, which stay on the bushes for several weeks. Real flowers of light color appear from "spikelets", and wither after 3-4 days.

The flowering of pachistachis is significantly influenced by the degree of illumination of the room. With a lack of light, the bush may not bloom. Another prerequisite for lush flowering is correct pruning. Old, elongated and bare underneath shoots practically do not form buds. Young shoots bloom most profusely, so the bushes need regular rejuvenation.

Pachystachis begin to bloom even at a young age, sometimes buds begin to appear in recently rooted cuttings. Fading inflorescences should be removed, this will help prolong the period of their formation.

Reproduction of pachistachis

At home, cuttings are most often used to propagate pachistachis. To do this, use the remaining parts of the shoots after trimming. Each segment must have at least a couple of internodes and leaves. The cuttings are placed in water and kept at a temperature of about 22 degrees. To speed up the rooting process, you can add a stimulant to the water, but sometimes the cuttings do not take root even after it has been added. The main condition is keeping warm, therefore the cutting should be kept under an airtight hood. Rooting in the ground is considered a more reliable method.

During this time, the foliage can fly around, so that this does not happen, the plates are cut off by about half. Sometimes the leaves fly off even after shortening, but instead of them, after transplantation, fresh leaf blades should appear.

The soil for rooting cuttings does not differ from the soil for an adult pachistachis. It should be light and nutritious. The place of the lower cut is treated with a growth stimulant and the cutting is planted in the substrate to a depth of 1-6 cm. From above it must be covered with a bag or a transparent jar. Seedlings should be kept in the light, watered periodically and ventilated regularly. For convenience, you can plant pachistachis in cut bottles.In this case, the upper part of the container will serve as a greenhouse, and it will be possible to ventilate it just by removing the lid. In the lower part, you must first make several drainage holes to drain excess moisture, and also lay a layer of expanded clay or foam. Fallen leaves from the ground should be removed to avoid rotting.

The roots of seedlings are formed for about a month. The percentage of rooting of such cuttings is very high; it is not even affected by the falling of the leaves. A couple of weeks after the appearance of fresh shoots, you can begin to wean the seedlings from greenhouse conditions by removing the cap and gradually increasing the time they stay in the air.

After the seedlings finally take root in a temporary container, they are transplanted into pots to a permanent place. The container for pachistachis should be low, but wide. 3-4 bushes are planted in each: together they will look denser. To stimulate branching, the tops of the branches should be pinched periodically.

Diseases and pests of pachystachis

Diseases

Pachystachis is susceptible to disease only if the plant is improperly looked after or kept in inappropriate conditions. Due to non-compliance with the basic requirements, the flower may lose its visual appeal, stretch out or stop blooming.

Rot is considered the most dangerous disease of pachystachis. In a neglected case, the plant can be lost. If you grow bushes in too heavy soil, water can stagnate in it, leading to rotting of the root system. The affected bush is removed from the pot and carefully examined. With small lesions, diseased areas are cut out, and healthy roots are kept in a fungicide solution. After that, the bush is moved to fresh, lighter soil.

It is worth remembering that even after such a transplant, not all plants survive. For some time after the procedure, pachistachis should be watered less frequently. A fungicidal solution can be used instead of water. Excess liquid after watering must be drained. If the bush is placed on a pallet with damp pebbles, the bottom of the pot should not come into contact with water.

Sometimes the bushes can be affected by powdery mildew. A light bloom appears on the foliage of the plant, and then the plates begin to fall off. Small lesions can be cured with garlic infusion (30 g of garlic per 1 liter of water, infused in the dark for a day). The bush is sprayed three times with weekly breaks. In more advanced cases, Topaz is used. Proper care is considered the best prevention of such a disease: healthy pachistachis are not affected by it.

Possible difficulties of growing

Other possible problems with growing pachistachis include:

• Curling foliage and drying out its tips. A symptom of excessively dry air in the room. Wrapping the edges of the leaf plates can also indicate a lack of moisture in the soil.
• Mass flying around the leaves. Associated with a draft or overdrying of the soil.
• Pulling out shoots, lack of flowering, shrinking foliage. The most common reason is the lack of lighting, the pot must be moved to a brighter place. Sometimes the ugly crown shape is the result of improper pruning.
• Dull foliage color - lack of nutrients, lack or excess of light.
• Rotting and falling off of inflorescences - moisture ingress or weak air movement.
• Exposure of the lower part of the stems. The plant should be rejuvenated with a little pruning.
• The bush hardly grows. The pachistachis is in too tight a container and needs to be transplanted.

Pests

Most often, pachystachis is harmed by sucking insects - mealybugs and spider mites, less often - scale insects.

Worms and scale insects leave small yellow dots on the foliage, and light lumps resembling cotton wool in the sinuses. Such insects are collected with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.

Almost invisible to the eye, ticks leave behind a thin cobweb and small dots on the leaves. The affected bush must be washed with soapy water.The ground is preliminarily covered with a film so that the soap does not get into the pot. After drying, the bush is sprayed with Aktellik or Fitoverm. Treatment is recommended with good ventilation.

Whiteflies and thrips appear less often on pachystachis bushes, but they can be dealt with by the same means.

Types and varieties of pachistakhis with photos and names

Usually in apartments there is yellow pachistachis, described above, but other types of pachistachis can be used for home cultivation. Their inflorescences are of a different color.

Pachystachis red (Pachystachys coccinea)

The large size of this species makes it suitable only for greenhouses. The height of Pachystachys coccinea can be about 2 m. Its foliage is colored bright green and reaches 40 cm in length. On the surface of the leaf blades, burgundy streaks are present. The bracts of this species are green in color and are lost against the background of rich red graceful flowers with a tubular base. Outwardly, such inflorescences resemble lush feathers, which in former times were attached to hats, which is why such a pachistachis is also called the "cardinal's guard".

Pachystachis spikelet (Pachystachys spicata)

Another fairly large species, usually grown in greenhouses or botanical gardens. Pachystachys spicata has foliage up to 25 cm in size. The bract of such a plant resembles a green cone on which bright red flowers are located. Some researchers consider this species to be a subspecies of red pachystachis.

Signs and superstitions

Although pachistachis are not grown in homes as often as more common indoor flowers, a number of folk signs are associated with these spectacular plants.

Bushes with spikelet flowers are credited with the ability to harmonize the surrounding atmosphere, stimulate indecisive people to act, and, on the contrary, calm those who are overly active. Yellow spikelets also contribute to the establishment of marital relations. It is believed that in the house where such a flower grows, there will be less quarrels.

By the appearance of the bush, you can "predict" the future. If a flower is looked after correctly, but its foliage suddenly began to fall off, this promises future troubles. If the plant takes on an even more elegant and bright appearance, joyful events should be expected. Pachistakhis as a gift means a sincere wish for happiness in love.