Jatropha (Jatropha) belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family. The name of this plant is of Greek origin and is composed of the words "Jartys" and "tropha", which translate respectively as "doctor" and "food". It is a tree, shrub or perennial herb that contains milky sap. Places of distribution - tropical Africa and tropical America.
This plant has a completely extraordinary appearance due to the shape of its stem in the form of a bottle. The stem sheds all the leaves for the winter, and in early spring it forms flower stalks in the form of an umbrella with small red flowers. After the emergence of flowers, broad-leaved leaves with long petioles, reaching up to 20 cm in length, grow.
You can rarely meet her in apartments, since she costs a lot of money. But in the greenhouse of any botanical garden, you can admire its extraordinary beauty.
Jatropha care at home
Location and lighting
Jatropha prefers bright and sunny places, but it must be shaded so that the sun's rays cannot burn the leaves. Because of its light-loving nature, it will grow comfortably on the east and west windows. If cloudy weather lasts for a long time, then it will be necessary to accustom the jatropha to sunlight gradually in order to avoid the same burns.
Temperature
The most comfortable temperature for this plant on summer days is from 18 to 22 degrees Celsius, and in winter - from 14 to 16 degrees. Jatropha can also be grown at normal room temperature, which greatly facilitates plant care.
Air humidity
Dry air does not harm the condition of the plant at all, since it can tolerate low humidity in the room quite well. You do not need to spray the jatropha with water. Only sometimes it is worth carrying out wet cleaning of the leaves from the dust accumulated on them.
Watering
Watering any plant is carried out with soft, settled water, and jatropha is no exception. Her watering preferences are moderate. The plant should be watered if the top layer of the substrate is dry. Excessive watering can lead to rotting of the roots and, subsequently, the death of the plant. In winter, watering should be limited, and when the leaves are dropped, it is completely stopped, resuming only in spring.
The soil
The optimal soil composition for jatropha is a mixture of soil from leaf humus, sand, peat and turf in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1.
Top dressing and fertilizers
There is no need to feed the jatropha in winter, but in the spring and summer they fertilize it every month. Cactus fertilizers, which can be purchased at any flower shop, are ideal.
Transfer
The transplant is carried out in the spring, once every few years. Shallow, wide pots are ideal for the plant, and it is also important to ensure that there is a good drainage system.
Reproduction of jatropha
Seed propagation is carried out very rarely due to the rapid loss of germination. Basically, jatropha is propagated using lignified cuttings.
Seed propagation
Seeds can also be obtained at home, artificially pollinating female flowers by transferring pollen from male inflorescences (with yellow stamens) using an ordinary brush. The pollination process is carried out in the very first few days of flowering. For the convenience of collecting seeds, it is recommended to tie a bag of gauze to the fruit, as they are thrown over long distances, up to one meter.
The resulting seeds are sown on prepared soil. Smooth and cover them with a glass jar and put them closer to the heat. Seed germination takes from one to a couple of weeks. Then the hatched sprouts are transplanted into a separate dish. After several months, the transplanted seedlings take on the appearance of adult plants. The trunk increases in thickness as it grows. And the leaves are rounded at first, and later transform into wavy ones. The lobed leaves and the first flowers can be rejoiced only next year.
Propagation by cuttings
With this method, the cuttings are dried for a start, then treated with any growth stimulant, for example, heteroauxin. As soil for planting cuttings, they take humus and sand in a ratio of 1: 1: 1. A prerequisite is maintaining the temperature at 30-32 degrees. Rooting takes about one month.
Diseases and pests
- With excessive watering of the jatropha, root rot and, as already mentioned, the death of the plant occurs. It is necessary to reduce the amount of water intended for irrigation.
- Spider mites they like to attack many plants, jatropha is also susceptible to such an attack. When spider mites cut, the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off. To eliminate parasites, the plant should be sprayed with warm water. And if the lesion began to be extensive, then insecticide treatment is carried out.
- Thrips inflorescences are affected, in which the flowers are deformed and fall off. To eliminate them, the plant is washed with water, always warm, and treated with an insecticidal solution.
- Slow growth indicates an excess of fertilizer. Do not get carried away with them, but moisturize the soil very much before fertilizing.
- Withered and discolored leaves are a sign of a low temperature of water for irrigation (it is enough to warm it up quite a bit).
Jatropha is a rather picky plant, so home care is not difficult even for a novice florist.
