- Ready-made fertilizers
Some species of plants of the genus Crassula (Crassula) that have rounded leaves are called money trees. Crassula ovata is usually grown in indoor floriculture. The plant is easy to care for, but to maintain a healthy, decorative appearance, it is necessary to comply with a number of requirements regarding its location, lighting regimes, watering and fertilizing. Let's talk about how you can feed the money tree.
Crassula is one of the most unpretentious indoor plants that can be found in almost every home.
What does Crassula need for good growth?
It is very important that the fat woman receives all the substances she needs in sufficient quantities. Of course, the plant belongs to the group of succulents and therefore is unpretentious and undemanding to the composition of the soil, but it is important to know how to fertilize the fat plant at home for growth.
You can plant a tree in the most common universal soil purchased at a flower shop, but it is best to use a soil mixture made specifically for cacti. But experts recommend adding part of the sand to every 3 parts of soil.
You can prepare nutritious soil yourself by mixing leaf and turf soil in equal parts, adding river sand and small pebbles, one part for every 3–4 parts of the mixture.
Although the fat plant is an unpretentious plant, it needs a sufficient amount of certain elements, in particular:
- Nitrogennecessary for the development of shoots and leaves;
- Phosphorus , without which proper development of roots and their work is impossible;
- Potassium, which regulates the movement of juice within the plant and the supply of nutrients to all parts;
- Calcium , necessary to strengthen cell walls and connect them to each other.
The correct combination of these components and their sufficient quantity allows you to grow a strong and healthy plant, so it is important to feed the Crassula on time by applying special fertilizers.
Why do the leaves become soft?
Plant wilting occurs when the amount of water evaporated by plants is greater than the amount of water entering them from the soil. As the leaves wilt, they lose their elasticity and become soft; the upper, young parts of the stems fall down.
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When to fertilize a money tree
In the warm season, the fat plant is characterized by active growth and therefore needs quite frequent application of fertilizers. With the onset of April, it is recommended to feed the money tree with special fertilizers for cacti, diluting them according to the instructions on the package.
If the fat plant is an adult, you can fertilize it in March, carrying out the procedure 2 times with an interval of 2 weeks, which will help stimulate flowering after winter. However, it must be remembered that the fat plant can bloom only when it is at least 10 years old.
Further, throughout the summer you will need to feed the Crassula more than once, since the procedure should be carried out every 30 days, applying fertilizers in the correct concentration.
There is a lot of controversy regarding feeding the money tree in winter. Many gardeners claim that the fat tree does not need feeding in the winter, but experts recommend feeding the money tree in the winter, once every 2 months, diluting fertilizers for cacti in half the concentration.
Fertilizing by season
During active growth, succulents completely absorb all nutrients. The money tree also has periods of rest. This must be taken into account when applying fertilizing.
The fat woman is fed once a month. The first feeding should be carried out in April. But some gardeners prefer to apply it as early as March to speed up flowering. One way or another, feeding continues until August, then the dormant season begins.
Fertilizing may not always stimulate flowering. Compliance with special conditions for maintaining the money tree will help the plant not only actively develop, but also help it gain color.
When the dormant period begins, which is from September to February, Crassula is removed to a room where it is dark and cool. It is practically never watered. In March, it is taken out again, exposed to light and watered. After two weeks, you can begin feeding by adding fertilizer for cacti.
If you continue to feed the money tree in autumn and winter, the plant will not rest, and too active development can cause harm and the flower will die.
How to feed a fat woman at home
With a lack of substances such as phosphorus, potassium and calcium, the plant begins to change its appearance. It fades, the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off. Therefore, it is so important to feed the plant with mineral and organic fertilizers in a timely manner. However, the procedure must be carried out wisely, without violating the recommended amount of substances and the schedule for their application, since an excess of nutrients in the soil can lead to destruction of the root system and death of the plant.
Ready-made fertilizers for money trees from stores
Most often, to feed the fat plant, people buy special fertilizers in flower shops, which is a good fertilizer option. However, ordinary universal-purpose products will not work here. You can properly feed the plant only with the help of fertilizers for cacti and other succulents.
Many experts recommend using the drug “Gileya” as a complete root feeding. In the summer, dilute 1 capful of fertilizer in 1 liter of water, and in winter, to feed the fat plant, reduce the concentration by half.
Another advantage of this drug is that it can be used to feed not only cacti, but also many other types of plants, which eliminates the need to purchase many products. The concentration of nutrients in this preparation is not ideal, but is very close to the required combination.
Among the universal means for feeding the Crassula, you can also use Effecton DC, which is a special preparation, the composition of which is very similar to natural manure. You can feed it not only the fat plant, but also many other plants in pots, as well as garden crops and even fruit trees.
Feeding the money tree with home remedies
You can feed the plant without chemicals, using folk remedies. Many gardeners try to provide plants with nutritional components in this way, using only natural products to fertilize fat plants at home.
Calcium based fertilizers
Crassula requires the addition of minerals, so the best nutrition for a money tree at home can be considered egg shells, which are a natural source of calcium. Experienced gardeners add crushed dry egg shells to the soil when planting a plant or as part of the drainage.
Before any use, the shell must be properly prepared. To do this, it is collected only from raw eggs, washed thoroughly, then dried and calcined in the oven or in a frying pan.
To feed the plants, you can prepare an infusion from the shells. To do this, take the prepared shells of 10 eggs, grind them thoroughly (you can use a coffee grinder), pour the powder into a clean liter jar and pour boiling water over it.
After cooling, the jar must be closed with a nylon lid and stored in a dark place for 2 weeks. You can feed the fat plant with the prepared infusion, using it as water for regular watering.
Organic fertilizers
For most gardeners, natural wood and plant ash is practically the main organic fertilizer, since this substance helps not only to feed many types of plants, but also to significantly improve the condition of the soil, loosen it, and change its acidity.
Wood ash contains many valuable substances, such as manganese, lime, phosphorus, boron, and potassium. But at the same time, in order to feed plants, including Crassula, you should use wood and plant ash (from burned grass and tops), but not waste from the combustion of coal.
Ash should be added to the soil or sprinkled on top of it in a pot so that when watering, valuable substances penetrate inside. But ash also has another property: it helps fight pests.
To do this, you need to prepare an aqueous infusion of ash, mix laundry soap into it and spray the plants. After 2–3 days, the treated plants should be washed with a mild shower. In this case, not only pests, such as aphids, are destroyed, but also valuable components penetrate through the leaves of plants.
Requirements for soil and planting site, growing plants
The fat woman loves light, but the direct rays of the sun are unpleasant for her.
This causes burns on its leaves. Applying fertilizers to the plant.
The tree is propagated at home by shoots or cuttings. But it is best to place the cuttings in water until the roots grow.
The pot for planting trees should not be too deep, due to the fact that the roots generally grow in breadth. The plant requires good drainage from brick chips, on which a pinch of clay is placed on top. Crassula absolutely cannot tolerate stagnant moisture. The soil is made by mixing humus, sand, deciduous and turf soil in a ratio of 1:1:1:4. The soil must have neutral or slightly alkaline properties. Afterwards, a pinch of ash is mixed with the soil.
The fat plant does not tolerate dust at all, because of this it is recommended to carefully wipe its leaves with a damp cloth. You can put the tree in the bath and rinse it under warm water. The soil needs to be covered with something, then the jets of water will not wash it away and expose the roots. The succulent is replanted as it grows once every 3 years. But here you need to observe how the roots hold the tree in the pot.
In summer, the tree requires an air temperature of 20-22 °C, and in winter from 6 to 12 °C. If the money tree suddenly begins to shed leaves in the summer, then it does not have enough water or you used too cold water for watering.
If you see brownish but soft spots on the leaves, then the succulent is affected by a fungus. It is advised to ventilate it frequently and spray it with an antifungal agent. If the base of the stem rots, the succulent is affected by root rot, then you need to cut off the diseased parts and replant them in a new pot. Due to lack of light, Crassula grows a very ugly stem.
Plant diseases
Necessary nutrients that are used at home To add nutrients to the money plant, potassium and phosphorus nutrients, as well as the trace element calcium, are usually used. Very little nitrogen is added. A deficiency of these elements, as well as an excess, has a very bad effect on the growth and development of the tree.
A lack of potassium is visible by the fact that the stems of the tree have an unnatural color and yellow spots are visible on the plant. And an excess of the element destroys its roots.
Calcium is needed for the proper development of the tree skeleton, and it also improves water balance. It is recommended to add it to the plant in the form of lime, which is added to the soil when preparing the soil, or in the form of calcium sulfate.
To add calcium under the tree, you can also make a composition from eggshells. The shells from raw eggs are washed, dried, crushed to flour and poured a handful into a pot. It can be placed in a pot for drainage. Then it should be at the bottom in a layer of 2-3 cm. It prevents stagnation of water and helps air flow to the roots.
But the most famous way to use the shell is to make an infusion from it. Pour 1 liter of boiling water into a jar, put in the shells of 10 eggs, place in a dark place and leave for 14 days. Then water the tree.
Phosphorus is required for good plant growth. Those trees that are fully provided with the amount of phosphorus they need grow powerful, healthy shoots. With a lack of phosphorus, the leaves of the money tree darken.
“Gilea - fertilizer for cacti” is widely used, it is the most famous. 2 caps of the substance must be added to 1 liter of boiled water and fed to the succulent when it is growing rapidly. Buy Pokon product for succulents, dilute it at 10 ml per liter of water.
You can also use compositions sold in stores: “Lignohumate”, “Uniflor Cactus”, “Effekton DC”, humisol “GUMI”. To prevent plants from losing their leaves, becoming wilted and then dying, it is not recommended to feed them with minerals. Do not buy special additives for flowers, as they contain a lot of nitrogen, and its excess destroys the money plant.
How to properly feed a fat woman
As a rule, to feed the fat plant, you need to dilute the selected fertilizer according to the instructions on the package in the required concentration and simply use the resulting solution for regular watering.
On average, if a pot of Crassula has a volume of about 3 liters, then a glass of solution should be used for one-time fertilizing, distributing the product evenly over the entire surface of the soil.
You can alternate different types of fertilizers. Many gardeners recommend feeding the fat plant with an infusion of wood ash with the onset of autumn, and after 2 months you can add store-bought fertilizers diluted in settled water or in an infusion of eggshells, if the fertilizer does not contain calcium.
Fertilizing should be done regularly, replacing scheduled watering once a month. In winter, the frequency of watering and fertilizing the money tree at home decreases, as does the concentration of nutrients.
In the cold season, when the plant is at relative rest, it needs to be fed at intervals of 2 months, diluting fertilizers at half the concentration and using only half the recommended volume.
Crown formation
In order for the plant to form into a beautiful tree, the young shoot must be pruned correctly.
For symmetry, remove double leaves and make sure that the branches of the fat plant are not too elongated.
When the money tree has already formed, strongly branching or crooked shoots are cut off. This way it looks more decorative, will not tip over under the weight of the thick crown and will direct its forces to the formation of flower ovaries.
How to transplant Crassula correctly
To transplant a money tree, which must be done in the spring, you should choose the right pot. It must be strong, heavy, and wide enough, since the root system of the plant is located below the surface of the soil.
The size of the pot should be 2 - 3 cm larger in diameter than the previous one, so that at least two centimeters of fresh soil mixture fits around the edge of the container around the old soil.
Transplantation is carried out using the plant transshipment method, which must be carried out very carefully so as not to damage the delicate and weak root system of the plant. Old soil can be removed from the roots only if the fat plant is replanted due to flooding and rotting of the roots.
In this case, after removing the tree from the pot, it should be placed in a container with warm water to remove soil from the roots. After this, the root system must be carefully examined and the roots damaged by rot must be removed with a sharp knife, dusting the wounds with ash. Then, the plant should be planted in a new pot and fresh soil.
Yeast
Yeast feeding accelerates plant growth, improves its appearance, and promotes the growth of green mass. It can be prepared from either raw or dry yeast.
From dry yeast:
- pour into a 2 liter container. warm water and add 1 tsp. yeast;
- add 1 tsp to the resulting solution. Sahara;
- leave for 24 hours and you’re done;
Secrets of plant care
After planting and replanting, the plant needs proper care. It is very important not to change the location of the plant, so it needs to immediately determine a permanent place near a sunny window on the southwest side.
The fat tree must be protected from direct rays of the sun passing through the window, as they can cause burns on the leaves and their falling off, which is why the tree loses its fluffiness and beauty.
The plant needs to be watered infrequently, as an excess of moisture leads to rotting of the root system and death of the fat plant. For irrigation, it is necessary to use settled, or better yet, rainwater, which should be warm.
Cold water causes stress in the southern plant, as a result of which the tree may shed its leaves. Water the fat plant only when the surface of the soil in the pot is dry. For a beautiful appearance of a tree, it should not only be fed in a timely manner and washed from dust using a warm, soft shower, but also pruned and crown formed. With proper care, the money tree will not only be beautiful and fluffy, but can also please the owner with flowers, and will also bring prosperity and good luck to the house.
Varieties and varieties
Crassula ovalis is native to the Transvaal and Cape Provinces of Africa and is the most widespread species. This is a fairly substantial plant for indoor succulents, having a thick, upright trunk, a wide crown, a huge number of branches, on which many fleshy leaves grow, having a phthalocyanine green color. An adult fat woman grows up to 0.5 m in 10 years, sometimes it is higher.
The Crosbys Compact variety is a variety of Crassula oval, which has small reddish leaves 1.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. Plants are usually planted in mini-gardens when small flowers are required.
Money tree ovata var. Obliqua has leaves with triangular, somewhat pointed tips. The leaves are slightly curved: their sides point down and the tip points up. This variety consists of 2 variegated forms. One form is "Solana" with leaves having yellow stripes, and the other with white ones is called Tricolor.
Varieties "Hobbit" and "Gollum". They have tubular leaves. The Hobbit has a larger number of leaves, turned outward and fused from the base to the middle. And “Gollum” has all the leaves tubular, having a funnel-shaped extension. The height of the tree is about 80 cm. The flowers are white and pink.
Crassula tree has large, rounded leaves of a bluish-green hue with a reddish bottom. The leaves are 5-7 cm long, up to 4-5 cm wide, many leaves have small black dots on top.
Money tree variety undulatifolia. It has bluish-green silvery narrow leaves, their tips reddish below.
Crassula arborescens, Bluebird form. It has curly fibrous leaves. Crassula ovata, Hummels Sunset variety - this is the name of 2 types of plants, they have yellowish and white asymmetrical stripes on the leaves and a pink tint. This causes the leaves to turn reddish-yellow.
