Цветоводы-любители знают, что многие из их Green pets - come from the warm tropics. These include the ornamental plant Maranta tricolor. The photo shows how unusual and attractive it is. Its flowers are small and inconspicuous, but the brilliant light or dark green leaves of oval shape with contrasting colors are distinguished by their special beauty. Their top, front side is riddled with red veins, around which spots spread (depending on the variety, they may be brown, yellow or black), and the bottom part is purple. In height, the plant reaches 25-30 centimeters, its homeland - the tropics of Brazil.
The second name, which has Marantatricolor - "prayer plant", she deserved it thanks to the leaves, which rise and fold, like the palms, during the night. The flower belongs to creeping species and fits perfectly into decorative compositions with other plants. It can decorate a room if it is placed in hanging pots.
Heat-loving Maranta tricolor, care for her -appropriate. In the room where the flower is located, a constant temperature should be kept at around eighteen to twenty degrees, without sudden fluctuations. Indoors should not be drafts. The plant does not tolerate direct light, so the guest from the tropics must be placed in the penumbra. The leaves may turn white in the sun.
Loves wet peaty soil Marantatricolor. "Prayer plant" at the same time can not be poured. The soil for a flower is composed of the following ingredients: leafy, humus and coniferous soil. A useful addition would be charcoal, river sand and pieces of bark.
It is necessary to spray it in the summerhot period. With insufficient watering at arrowroot leaves may begin to wrap. To maintain soil moisture, the pot should be put on a tray with expanded clay or pebbles, which should be regularly wetted. The rhizome of a green tropical pet needs to be covered with wet moss. In winter, watering is moderate, because at this time for the flower comes a period of rest.
In the fertilizer Maranta tricolor ("prayerplant ") needs from early spring to October. Fertilizers need to choose a poor nitrogen, otherwise the leaves may become more saturated green and lose their decorative effect. Diseases may also develop due to an excess of this element.
You can breed this beautiful flower bydividing the bush or cuttings. Layers must be kept in the ground, in a warm place, covered with foil, until they take root. An adult plant can multiply with the help of "babies", which are formed on aerial roots. Transplantation is carried out every year in spring. In this case, you need to choose a new pot wider than the previous one, but not deep.
Often Maranta is tricolor ("prayerplant ") is affected by pests, among which spider red mite stands out. Signals that a spiderweb is woven around the flower. Signs of the scout’s activity are brown plaques that cover leaves and stems. .
