Arrowroot care at home: how to please a plant with leaves like outlandish feathers

Charming, wholesome and mystical

Arrowroot is a miniature, about 20 cm high plant with very picturesque leaves. They are large (up to 15 cm), resemble an egg in shape and are painted on the upper side with original colored patterns: red, silver, brown or olive spots, dots and veins are symmetrically located on a green background. And the wrong side is usually crimson-pink or bluish-gray. The stems of the young arrowroot are directed upwards. And over time, if the bush does not find support, they hang down or spread. The plant is demanding on home conditions, but it can be successfully grown in apartments, knowing the rules of care.

Arrowroot is valued for its beautiful foliage: on a green background, a symmetrical pattern of red, silver, brown spots and veins

Arrowroot gave the name to the whole family, which includes plants cultivated as indoor plants: ctenants, stromanths and calatheas. Arrowroot is often confused with the latter. But the calathea is taller, the leaves are longer and differ in pattern, and most importantly, the character is more capricious than that of the mother of the family, arrowroot.

One of the most decorative is arrowroot fasciata with tricolor leaves

The arrowroot was born at the very bottom of the South American tropical jungle, in the swamps. Where the air is always humid with vapors and warm, and the sun rarely comes in. The first, three thousand years ago (this was proved by the finds of archaeologists), were domesticated by the Indians. The plant conquered them not at all with its beauty, but with edible rhizomes, leaves suitable for weaving, and healing properties. At home, arrowroot was called arrowroot, and warriors affected by poisoned steles were treated with its juice.

Maranta were the first to be "discovered" by South American Indians

A rare type of starch is prepared from the roots of arrowroot - arrowroot. It is used as a thickener in the preparation of pudding, jelly, and sauce. Used as flour in dietary meals.

Almost all arrowroot varieties develop tubers on the roots.

The grace of a tropical beauty was appreciated in Europe only in the 17th century. A certain planter saw a miniature variegated plant in the bogs near the city of Santa Cruz and brought it to the Old World. The delicate flower was given a name, perpetuating the memory of the Italian scientist Bartolomeo Maranta. A tiny arrowroot struck the prim Englishmen with their folded palms in the evenings and their intricate pattern. For this she was nicknamed the prayer plant and the flower of the 10 commandments, according to the number of specks on the leaf plate. And it has become a good tradition to keep at least one arrowroot in the house. However, the adorable baby turned out to be a rather capricious pet. She did not want to live in a gassed and dry air and forced flower growers to invent special greenhouses to maintain a humid and warm atmosphere, which they called florariums. Arrowroot also settled in greenhouses.

Arrowroot grow well in greenhouses and greenhouses

When the air in the houses became cleaner, and the flower growers learned to humidify it, the whimsical arrowroot moved closer to the person. She is still not considered an easy plant to care for. It should not be started, for example, by a child as the first flower. But an experienced florist will fully cope with the requirements of arrowroot.And growing this plant is an exciting experience. In addition, arrowroot is a great option for shady rooms. For life, she does not need a lot of light, and decorative leaves in partial shade will be even brighter. The high humidity, which arrowroot dreams of, will be useful to other residents of the apartment.

Arrowroot on a high stand or in a hanging planter will decorate the shady corners of the house

White-veined, tricolor, reed and others

A total of 23 species of arrowroot are described. Of these, the most popular arrowroot is white-necked and its varieties: tricolor (tricolor), kerhovena and massange. These plants are considered the least moody members of the demanding arrowroot family. Let's get acquainted with its representatives in more detail.

• Arrowroot arrowroot has gained popularity among flower growers as a not very whimsical plant. The stems, which do not grow higher than 30 cm, have large pistachio-colored leaves, on the front side there are silvery veins and a pattern of spots. The bottom is green or reddish. The tubers are clearly visible on the rhizome of the arrowroot. The plant simply multiplies, not too demanding on conditions and care.
• Arrowroot tricolor, also known as tricolor and fascinator, is the most common and spectacular variety. On oval leaves with red, yellow and different shades of greenery, a pattern is applied, similar to the coloring of the feathers of an outlandish bird. But there is also a less poetic comparison: the tricolor arrowroot was given a nickname - the red herring ridge. This compact plant works well at home, but will look better in a florarium or bottle garden.
• Arrowroot massange is slightly larger than tricolor. Its foliage is dark green, almost black, decorated with silver veins and spots in the center. This variety is more whimsical than other arrowroots.
• Kerhoven's arrowroot is another popular variety. Young plants have two rows of dark brown eye-spots on pale green leaves. Over the years, they turn green. The underside of the leaves can be bluish or reddish-pink. Roots with small tuberous thickenings. This plant is the most hardy of the arrowroot, even an inexperienced florist can handle it.
• Arrowroot reed is the tallest, in nature its growth is more than a meter. Leaves in the form of a long and pointed oval, dark green with a bluish tint. Slightly pubescent below. The plant has thickened tuberous roots.
• There are variegated (variegated) forms of arrowroot reed. Their pattern is not symmetrical like other varieties. White, yellow or red spots and strokes are scattered randomly over the leaf.
• Arrowroot bicolor is a rare plant that is sometimes distinguished as a separate species. Similar to the Kerhoven variety. On reddish petioles, ovoid leaves, wavy along the edge. Above - a pattern of green and brown spots, the underside is reddish and covered with light down. There are no tubers on the roots.

Photo gallery: varieties of arrowroot

Arrowroot white-necked

Arrowroot two-color

Maranta Kerhovena

Arrowroot Massange

Arrowroot tricolor, aka tricolor and fascinator

Arrowroot reed variagatny

Arrowroot reed

Arrowroot reed variagate with red leaves

No mysticism

For a long time, arrowroots evoked mystical awe and delight. People could not explain why, with the arrival of darkness, the plants fold their leaves, stretching them to the sky, as if in prayer. And in the morning, they again open the palms of the foliage, meeting the sun.

With the arrival of darkness, arrowroot folds the leaves, stretching them to the sky, as if in prayer

Botanical scientists have debunked this mystery. It turned out that there was nothing mystical about the touching gesture. Everything is explained by the simple desire of the arrowroot to get a little more light.A plant from the very bottom of a dense jungle changes the angle of the leaves so that they are better illuminated by the sun. During the day, the leaves are located almost parallel to the ground, and in the evening they rise vertically, substituting the inside of the setting sun. And on the eve of a change in weather from sunny to rainy, arrowroots behave the same way. For this they have earned the fame of a natural barometer.

Video: a praying plant picks up leaves

Conditions for arrowroot

When choosing a place for arrowroot, remember its natural habits: love of warmth, moisture and dim light. Direct rays of the sun, a hot, air-drying battery, gusts of cold air - this is not suitable for a plant from the tropics. And the windowsill is not the best place for arrowroot: in spring and summer - too bright light for the leaves, in autumn and winter - it's cold to the roots.

Table: Seasonal Conditions

Floriana or bottle

Arrowroot lovers admit that the most difficult thing is to provide high humidity. The beauty from the tropical swamps does not have enough moisture in heated apartments, no matter how hard you try. She needs a truly greenhouse environment.

For the florarium, you can purchase a special container, or you can use aquariums

But there is a way to please the arrowroot. She lives well in home greenhouses or florariums. Making them is not that difficult. And the arrowroot will become one of the best inhabitants of the toy jungle.

1. For an open florarium, you will need a container or aquarium made of glass, transparent plastic.
2. It is filled with drainage material, a porous soil substrate and tropical miniature plants are planted.
3. The plantings are moistened, covered with a lid or just glass and placed in a warm and bright place.
4. The florarium plants themselves create a microclimate. From time to time, when condensation appears, it is necessary to ventilate the mini-jungle.
5. Once every few months, rain the plants and clean the aquarium garden: remove damaged leaves.

Indoor florarium is sometimes called a garden in a bottle. Its main difference from an open one (aquarium) is that the container should have a rather narrow neck, which is tightly closed with a lid.

A bottle garden is a closed ecosystem, it is planted and watered only once, and then the development of plants is observed

After planting, the bottle garden is watered only once, and then tightly corked and not opened. Plants live in a closed ecosystem for an average of about 2 (there is a record - 50 years) years, independently providing themselves with air and moisture.Few of them are capable of living in a bottle garden. Among them are the whimsical and moisture-loving arrowroot. A garden in a bottle looks very picturesque and does not need to be looked after. However, it is difficult to create such a piece of floristic art. Taste and dexterity are needed to gently and picturesquely plant the green inhabitants.

Plants that are suitable for the florarium: arrowroot, calamus, royal begonia (with small leaves), calathea, saxifrage, ferns, peperomia, pilea, ivy (small-leaved), dwarf ficus, fittonia.

Video: planting an open florarium

Types of arrowroot:

• Arrowroot Reed (Maranta arundinacea).
• Arrowroot Belozhilchataya (Maranta leuconeura).
• Arrowroot Two-color (Maranta bicolor).
• Maranta Massange (Maranta leuconeura var. Massangeana).
• Maranta Kerhovena (Maranta leuconeura var. Kerchoviana).
• Maranta Letzei (Maranta lietzei).

You can read about creating a florarium and a garden in a bottle with your own hands using arrowroot in a separate article: We create a garden in a bottle and a florarium with our own hands.

Transfer

Young arrowroot bushes are transplanted every spring, adult plants - after two years. Usually this operation is combined with reproduction by dividing the root. A newly purchased flower should be transplanted after keeping it in quarantine for a couple of weeks. In stores, they are kept in a depleted substrate to limit growth.

Sometimes the plant is too thick and has lost its decorative effect after summer. A transplant in the fall is also possible. At the same time, try to cut the arrowroot more, its leaves will grow more actively. But reproduction during the autumn transplant will have to be abandoned.

After purchasing, transplant the arrowroot into a wide plastic pot.

A wide plastic pot, slightly larger than the previous one, is suitable for arrowroot. The plant has superficial roots and does not need depth. And plastic, in comparison with ceramics, retains heat better - an arrowroot will like it. If you plan to form an ampelous plant, take a hanging basket or planter.

The tropical beauty will be grateful for the nutritious, loose and slightly acidic soil. Options:

• ready-made store mix for arrowroot, enriched with crumbled charcoal;
• on 3 parts of garden land, one and a half - peat and one sand;
• equally divided humus, leaf and peat soil with the addition of a small amount of coniferous soil and pieces of charcoal;
• on 2 parts of leafy land, one - peat, half a part of humus and sand, for airiness cut sphagnum moss and pine bark;
• peat substrate, compost and leafy soil in equal proportions.

We transplant arrowroot

1. Sterilize (ignite) the potting mix and drainage, scald the pot with boiling water.
2. Place a 3-4 cm drainage layer on the bottom of the pot (coarse expanded clay or broken brick mixed with river sand).
3. Pour some soil on top of the drainage, moisten it.
4. Carefully remove the plant from the old pot without breaking the root ball.
5. Examine the aerial part, remove dried and diseased leaves.
6. Examine the roots, if there are rotten ones, carefully remove them.
7. Move the plant to a new pot.
8. Gradually fill the earth ball with new soil, compacting the void between it and the wall of the pot. Shake the container slightly in the process so as not to leave empty areas.
9. Water the plant lightly, spray it and place it in a slightly shaded place.

Arrowroot painfully tolerates the change of the pot. To help her, add a rooting preparation (Kornevin, Zircon, Epin, Ekogel) to the irrigation water once a week. Can be sprayed from a very fine spray bottle with Epin solution (2-3 drops per glass of water).

Video: how to transplant arrowroot

Arrowroot care at home

At first glance, it seems difficult to care for a demanding arrowroot. She really does not suit the forgetful and too busy florist. But if not only cacti live in your house, but also moisture-loving plants, arrowroot will not add much trouble.Place or hang it next to ferns, begonias, fittonias, and other moisture lovers. Then leaving will be easier. Or grow arrowroot in the florarium - it's original and interesting.

Watering and feeding

Arrowroot prefers very humid air. And it's not always good for excess moisture at the roots. The soil should not turn into swampy, this is fraught with putrefactive root diseases. You need to find a middle ground by watering the plant. The top layer between waterings should be slightly dried, and moisture should be retained inside the coma. In summer, arrowroot is watered often, about every other day. In winter - 2 times a week or less. The frequency depends on the temperature of the content. The warmer, the more abundant watering. Sometimes it can be replaced by showering or spraying.

Arrowroot is sensitive not only to quality, but also to water temperature. For irrigation, you need water, demineralized, filtered or settled, always lukewarm, about 5 degrees higher than room temperature.

Arrowroot is sensitive to water quality and temperature and does not tolerate excess fertilizer

Arrowroot does not tolerate excess fertilizer. During growth (in spring-summer), it can be fed with mineral complexes for decorative leafy plants, but dilute them more than recommended in the instructions. Be especially careful with nitrogen nutrition, because of it the leaves turn green. Top dressing is applied every two weeks after watering. It is not worth feeding in winter. But weakened plants can be fertilized once a month.

Flowers, peace and lamps

Healthy arrowroot in spring and summer produces spikelet peduncles, on which small white, yellowish or purple flowers appear. They, in comparison with patterned leaves, look inexpressive. And flowering takes away the strength of the plant, after which the arrowroot can arrange a dormant period, having lost its leaves. Therefore, many growers cut off barely hatched peduncles.

Flowering weakens the plant, so on arrowroot it is advised to remove all peduncles

In winter, arrowroot can rest. It stops growing, sometimes it loses some of its leaves. It is limited in watering, feeding is stopped. But the humidity should remain high. And be careful about the air temperature. Maranta should not spend the winter on a cold windowsill, it will feel better in the back of the room.

If the arrowroot spends the winter on the windowsill, warm the roots. Place the pot on thick foam or other warmth-keeping support. Wrap it in a cloth.

With an artificial increase in daylight hours, arrowroot will grow variegated leaves in winter. It is noticed that this plant prefers not the sun, but electric light. Incandescent lamps are not suitable for illumination. Plants need special phytolamps (Fluora), gas-discharge lamps (Reflax, OSRAM or Philips) or conventional fluorescent lamps. LED lamps have proven themselves well; they provide the most efficient illumination.

Formation

If arrowroot grows uncontrollably, over the years it can lose its decorative appearance. The stems are bare from below, a weak growth is formed, the leaves, which do not have enough space, become smaller and turn yellow. In especially neglected cases, it is necessary to act radically. Trim the arrowroot completely, place the pot in partial shade, and water very sparingly. After some time, the roots will give a new, healthy growth.

Form a neat bush or ampel plant from arrowroot

But it is better not to take it to extremes, but to regularly devote time to the formation of arrowroot. It is necessary to remove deformed, elongated shoots, to trim dried or sluggish foliage. New leaves will quickly take the place of the trimmed ones.

When trimming arrowroot, try to cut the branches together with the knots-joints. Then they can be used for grafting.New roots will begin to develop from these nubs.

Arrowroot can also be grown on a support or an ampel plant can be formed from it.

Video: ampelous arrowroot

Table: care errors

Video: how to properly care for arrowroot

Brief description of cultivation

1. Bloom... Arrowroot is grown as an ornamental deciduous plant.
2. Illumination... Needs a lot of light to be diffused. You can also grow a flower under artificial light, but in this case, the duration of daylight hours should be 16 hours.
3. Temperature regime... In the summer period - from 23 to 25 degrees, and the temperature of the soil mixture in the pot should be at least 18 degrees. From the second half of autumn to the last spring weeks - from 18 to 20 degrees.
4. Watering... In the spring-summer period, water should be plentifully, immediately after the top layer of the soil mixture dries out. In the cold season, watering should be moderate.
5. Air humidity... Should be elevated. Throughout the year, the bush is moistened with lukewarm water from a spray bottle. To increase the humidity, wet expanded clay is poured into the pallet, and a flower pot is placed on it.
6. Fertilizer... Top dressing is carried out throughout the year 1 time in 15 days, for this, organic matter and mineral fertilizers are alternately used in a half dosage.
7. Dormant period... Not pronounced.
8. Transfer... The procedure is carried out every 2 years in the first spring weeks.
9. Soil mixture... It should consist of garden soil, sand and peat (6: 2: 3).
10. Reproduction... By dividing the bush and cuttings.
11. Harmful insects... Spider mites.
12. Diseases... The plant can lose its decorative effect in unsuitable conditions for it or due to improper care.

Diseases and pests (table)

Breeding rules

In home floriculture, the propagation of arrowroot tricolor occurs through tuber division or cuttings.

The division of tubers should be carried out during the next transplanting. The extracted root system must be freed from adhering soil, after which, using a well-sharpened knife, the tuber is cut in such a way that a sufficient number of roots and shoots with leaves are located on each part. The sections of the cuts must be sprinkled with crushed charcoal. The resulting cuttings are planted in the usual way in a nutritious soil substrate, after which they are watered with warm and settled water.

In order to improve and accelerate rooting, it is advisable to provide the planted young plants with greenhouse conditions by covering the flower pot with a transparent plastic wrap with perforations. Further care consists in frequent watering, and after the appearance of young leaves, the shelter is removed.