The fat woman is one of the most unpretentious and famous indoor plants. Even a novice florist can grow it at home. The money tree is also popular because, as it is believed in feng shui, it can attract wealth, love and good luck to the house. That is why on the windowsills of many apartments you can see the trees of the fat woman with leaves like coins. But, despite the whimsicality, the plant requires a certain and careful care.
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Description, types and photos of fat women
Fat woman or Crassula belongs to the genus succulents and the Tolstyankov family. A rather small and neat tree, which we are used to seeing at home, grows up to four meters in nature. On its thick trunk, opposite each other, simple and integral extreme leaves grow. They can be green, light green, silvery and dark with a red border. With good growing conditions and proper care, the plant can bloom with white, blue, yellow or light red flowers. All bastards are distinguished by fleshy leaves and drought tolerance.
There are many different types of money tree, among which there are annuals and perennials... Only a few of them are grown at home:
The oval bastard is a plant up to one meter high, the thick branches of which are covered with petiolate oval leaves. The leaves can be up to 5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. It blooms with white or pink small flowers.- Plow-shaped crassula is distinguished by fleshy, but very thin, pointed leaves, along the edges of which there is another dense row of tiny leaves. It blooms with inconspicuous small flowers. The tree grows very quickly and reproduces well. Its shoots hang down and practically fall out of the pot. Small roots do not require much moisture, so the plant can be used as a ground cover.
- Schmidt's fat woman is an annual bushy plant that is often found in Europe. After flowering, the tree is thrown away, and a new one is planted the next year. The narrow leaves of this species of Crassula are pointed towards the end and have a silvery bloom on top. They are slightly reddish below. During the flowering period, red-carmine flowers bloom on the tree.
- The tree-like crassula is a tree up to one and a half meters high. On its fleshy branches grow gray leaves with a reddish border. They reach 8 cm in length and 5 cm in width. It rarely blooms at home, and in nature, small white flowers bloom on the tree, which turn pink over time. The plant loves diffused light, so it grows well on western and eastern windowsills.
- The dotted bastard is distinguished by lodging stems and belongs to herbaceous plants. Its ovoid thin leaves are pointed towards the end.Silvery green leaves are strewn with dark blotches, as it were. It blooms with white flowers, collected in thyroid inflorescences.
- The tetrahedral crassula is an unpretentious and rapidly growing shrub with thin branches. Its shoots spread along the ground and have many aerial roots. Since the plant grows rapidly, it needs regular renewal. This type of Crassula is easily propagated by cuttings.
- Rocky bastard is a creeping plant, the length of the shoots of which can reach fifty centimeters. Its fleshy thin leaves grow in pairs and grow together at the base. There is a red bloom on the leaves, and a red border runs along their edges. During the flowering period, small pink flowers bloom.
Fat woman: home care, photo
Growing and caring for a money tree is quite simple and interesting. Providing a tropical flower with the necessary conditions for keeping, it should be remembered that in spring and summer the plant has a period of active growth, and in winter - a period of dormancy.
Lighting and air temperature
Fat woman refers to light-loving plants, but does not tolerate direct sunlight. It is better to place it near the southeastern windows, where there is enough sun, not too hot and does not burn the sun's rays. In winter, the plant can be placed on the southern windowsill, and in summer it can be taken out to the balcony or garden. In the fresh air, the flower grows well and can bloom. To do this, you need to choose a place protected from wind and scorching sun.
In the warm season, a home-grown Crassula will feel good at an air temperature of + 20- + 25 degrees. In winter, the plant has a rest period, therefore, it must be kept in a cool room with a temperature of about + 10- + 14 degrees.
If it is not possible to provide the fat woman with the required temperature in the winter season, then it is recommended to put it away from heating appliances. Otherwise, from dry air and heat, the leaves from the plant will begin to fall off, and the tree itself will stretch out. The money tree also begins to shed its leaves with constant drafts in the room.
Watering and feeding
When caring for a fat woman, it must be remembered that you cannot fill a plant with fleshy stems. Regular watering leads to decay of roots and loss of leaves... Crassula is watered only after its earthen lump dries out from above by three to four centimeters.
During the dormant period, if the plant is kept in a cool room from November to February, watering practically stops. At this time, you just need to make sure that the substrate in the pot does not dry out completely.
The pot in which the money tree grows must have holes from below through which water enters the pan. Before planting the plant, a thick layer of drainage must be poured onto the bottom of the pot.
It is recommended to water the fat woman only with water at room temperature that has been separated for several days. Do not place the plant in the sun. In this case, the top layer of soil will dry out quickly, while the bottom will still remain moist.
In the hot season and when keeping the plant in a room with the batteries turned on several times a month, you need a money tree rinse under a warm shower... The top of the pot with soil must be wrapped in polyethylene beforehand so that water does not get into the ground. The fat woman can be taken to its place only after the water has drained from it. If there is no opportunity to arrange a shower for the plant, then its leaves are periodically sprayed from a spray bottle and wiped with a damp cloth.
It is often not recommended to feed fat women. It is enough once a month in spring and summer, and once every three months during the dormant period, fertilize the plant with nutrient solutions special for succulents. So that fertilizers do not burn the roots and are well absorbed, they are applied one day after watering the flower.
Features of the money tree transplant
Caring for a fat woman at home involves plant transplant once every two years... Crassula's roots are too small, so the pot for it must match their size. At the same time, the container for planting should be heavy, since with a small root system, a large tree can begin to collapse.
You can transplant the plant into a soil special for succulents, which is sold in flower shops. Prepare an earthen mixture for transplanting a fat woman, you can yourself by mixing for this:
- leafy ground - 1 part;
- sod soil - 4 parts;
- humus - 1 part;
- sand - 1 part.
Expanded clay, pieces of coal or brick chips must be poured at the bottom of the pot.
In the process of transplanting the roots of the plant, it is recommended to carefully examine and remove the rotten ones. In this case, the cut points are sprinkled crushed activated carbon, the tree is left for a day to dry the roots and only then is it planted in a prepared container.
Breeding methods of a fat woman
The money tree at home can be propagated in two ways:
- seeds;
- cuttings.
Seed propagation
Plant seeds are sown in seedling containersfilled with moist soil. From above, the crops are covered with glass or polyethylene. Care consists in spraying the soil as it dries and daily airing the mini greenhouse. The first seedlings should appear in two weeks. The glass must be removed immediately, and the seedling containers must be placed in a well-lit place. It is better not to water the soil around the seedlings of Crassula, but to spray it. As soon as the young plants grow up and get stronger, they can be planted in small separate pots.
Propagation by cuttings
This is the easiest way to propagate a money tree. It is recommended to harvest and plant cuttings in March or April... In this case, according to experienced florists, there is a possibility that the fat woman will bloom.
As cuttings, you can take just a leaf of a plant or a piece of a trunk. The cuttings deepen into the prepared soil by about 6 cm, and the leaves - by 1 cm. For better rooting, a transparent container is put on top of the cuttings. In such a mini greenhouse, the plant will feel much more comfortable and take root faster. You should take care of the cuttings carefully, airing them daily and checking the moisture of the soil.
Possible problems when growing a money tree
At home, with proper care, a fat woman usually does not get sick and is not affected by pests. Therefore, if there are problems with an unpretentious plant, then this is for sure errors in its maintenance and care:
- Watering with cold water and over-watering leads to root rot. The plant first changes color and leaves fall off. Then the table becomes soft and the flower gradually dies. In this case, in the early stages, the soil must be dried and spilled with drugs for fungal diseases. If this does not help, then the plant is pulled out of the pot, and its rotten roots are cut off.
- Insufficient lighting can cause the tree to stretch out and become ugly. Therefore, in poorly lit rooms, the plant is recommended to be grown on window sills.
- If the indoor air is too dry, Crassula leaves may begin to dry out and wither. In this case, the tree can be taken out into fresh air, and regularly sprayed during the winter period.
Pests of fat women are rarely affected, but, nevertheless, they are sometimes attacked:
- mealybug in leaf axils forms a white bloom;
- a spider mite is a very small insect that leaves sticky cobwebs between the stems and leaves;
- scabbard in the form of yellow or brown raised spots can be seen on the trunk and leaves.
In all cases, the plant is treated with folk remedies or special chemicals.
Crown formation
In order for the money tree to have a neat round shape, and not look like a shrub with thin stems, it is recommended to start shaping its crown yourself.
You need to start forming a fat woman still at a young age, when three to four pairs of leaves appear on its branches. For this, a new bud located between the leaves is pinched with tweezers or nails. Some time after the procedure, two or three new buds will appear at the site of the removed bud, and the tree will begin to branch. At this time, you need to make sure that there are no more than four pairs of leaves on each branch. The top of the grown tree is pinched off.
If Crassula was purchased already in adulthood, then its height and splendor can still be adjust by cutting... To do this, a branch is cut over the fourth pair of leaves, and the cut is sprinkled with crushed activated carbon.
For uniform growth and development of the crown, the bastard periodically needs to be turned in different directions towards the light. It is not recommended to plant several Crassula sprouts in one pot at once. In this case, after a while, you will get several shapeless bushes.
An unpretentious and disease-resistant money tree at home can be grown even by a beginner in gardening. With proper care, an ornamental plant will decorate any room and, if you believe in feng shui, will attract prosperity and good luck to your home.
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