ABOUT PILLOWS AND PELLETS

Tell, what are the pileas. And how to write correctly: "Pilea" or "pellei"?

Olga SHTEPA. r. Shymkent. Kazakhstan

Chicken or pelleia?

By ear, the names of these plants are difficult to distinguish., but these are two completely different kinds, belonging to various departments of the flora.

Chicken (Pilea) - a representative of the Nettle family (Urticaceae) department Flowering. About a dozen species are grown in culture. Most often found pilea Kadier (The pile of the chair). Large, with lodging shoots up to 40 cm long. Thanks to the silvery-white strokes along the central vein of the leaves, it is called the "aluminum plant" (aluminium plant). There is a dwarf form, gradually displacing the "parent".

VARIETY OF SAWS

Also of interest Chicken Spruce (The spruce pile): leaf color - bronze, with barely noticeable silvery stripes, Wrapped saw (Pile involved) - leaves are bright green strongly tuberous with a contrasting dark crimson color along the veins, Small-leaved saw (Pilea microphylla) - miniature (to 15 cm) plant, with abundantly branching, densely leafy shoots, the most shade-tolerant and moisture-loving of the pili, and Pilea peperomievidnaya (Pilea ререromioides) with characteristic round leaves on long petioles.

All of the above species have a more or less erect habit at a young age., with age, their shoots can lie down and take root in the nodes. In some other species, the stems grow initially., and they can be attributed to ground cover and ampelous plants: Saw pressed (Pellaea quickly), Monofilament saw (Pellaea nummulariifolia) and the popular Pilea salifolia (Pellaea glaucophylla), whose status has not been confirmed by taxonomists.

FEATURES OF THE CONTENT OF THE PILEY

All saws are relatively plastic, unpretentious and hardy. Prefer bright, diffused light, but grow well and at some distance from the window.

Resistant to dry air. Moderate watering, especially in winter, soft lukewarm water. In the spring and summer, once every 7-10 days watering is combined with top dressing. Optimum temperature throughout the year - +18-25 city. The soil is fertile, medium texture, eg, mixture of equal parts of sod land, leaf humus, peat and sand. The pot is wide and shallow with obligatory drainage.

The disadvantage of saws is the rapid loss of decorativeness., so once in 3-4 it is advisable to update the year of the plant by cuttings. This can be done almost all year round. (in the winter months with supplementary lighting), you can root stem cuttings as in water, and in sand or light earth mixture.

WHAT ARE PELLEYS?

The second plant you mentioned with the consonant name pelley (Pellaea) - fern from the Pteris family (Pteridaceae) Division Ferns. Of this kind, after a significant "revision" of taxonomists, there are slightly more 50 species, of which two are most often bred in indoor floriculture. I pellet round-leaved (Pellaea rotundifolia) - short creeping rhizome, bunches of feathery wai do 20 cm long, round dark green glossy segments. And a larger green pellet (Pellaea viridis) - actively growing creeping rhizome, wai do 50 cm, oval segments, the plant can be used as an ampelous.

Like most ferns, pellea shade-tolerant, but it is better to keep it in diffused light. Doesn't like high temperatures (more +25 city.). Coolness recommended in winter +14-16 city. Water in small portions, but often, preventing the soil from drying out. The water is soft and not cold. Unlike many ferns, pellets tolerate dry air. Planting mix is ​​standard for this group of plants., unless it should be neutral or slightly alkaline.

© Author: AND. Cymbal plant collector, r. Tolyatti