Duranta is an evergreen shrub or tree-like plant with drooping branches, belonging to the verbena family. In our latitudes it is cultivated as a house plant, but so far little is known. How the durant flower propagates and how to care for it, read below.

Botanical description of the plant

Distinguish more than 30 subspecies durants. In the wild, they can grow in the form of shrubs or trees reaching a height of 4-5 m. Duranta is a tropical plant. The stems of the plant are initially upright. As they grow older, they become lignified and become hanging, forming a kind of arch. The shoots branch heavily, which on the one hand adds trouble with pruning, on the other - allows you to create a beautiful crown, adjusting the growth point. Trunks of lignified shoots of some varieties cover small spines.

Leaves of small size, 3–7 cm long, oval-pointed. The edge of the leaf plates is serrate. Externally, they are similar in structure to birch leaves, so the plant received the second name "home birch". Painted in plain green.Hybrid varieties may have blotches of lighter or darker shades. The surface has a glossy structure, shiny, with distinct veins. Leaf plates are arranged on shoots spirally, planted on shortened petioles, up to 1 cm long.

The durant enters the flowering phase in June, and leaves it in late autumn - in October-November. When creating favorable conditions, flowering can continue year-round. Flowers are tubular with 3-5 petals, collected in inflorescences on the tops of shoots. Can be painted in lilac, purple with white veins and blue shades. In some species, the color of the flowers may be white. Flower buds exude a pleasant unobtrusive aroma. After pollination, clusters of orange fruits form.

Important! Flowers and fruits of the Durant are poisonous, so during flowering, keep them away from children and pets. If you do not plan to propagate plants by seed, then it is better to remove the fruit ovary immediately.

Main types

Of the 30 known species of durants, only a few were able to take root at home:

1. Duranta Plume - a tree-like representative, reaching a height of 2.5 m. Leaf blades are large up to 10 cm in length, green in color with lighter impregnations. The flowers are purple and lilac. The fruits are yellow.
2. Duranta variegate - a hybrid plant. The growth form is bushy or tree-like. Medium-sized leaves are colored white-green. The flowers are light blue.
3. Duranta little geisha - a short hybrid grows up to 2 m in height. It differs from other types in unusual colors. The buds are bright purple. The core of the flower is snow-white. Petals are wavy at the edges.
4. Duranta white - grows in the form of a bush or tree. Snow-white flowers exude a strong, pleasant aroma of vanilla.
5. Durant blue or tricolor - different variegated leaves. In the central part they are yellow, and along the edges are a pale green color. Flowers of a blue shade are collected in beautiful brushes on tops of shoots.

Conditions for successful growing at home

When growing durants at home, it is worth considering its tropical origin. This will help create the most comfortable microclimate for the full development of plants.

Lighting

Durant refers to photophilous plants, but does not tolerate direct sunlight. It is best to place plants on the southeast and southwest windowsills. When the plants are so large that they no longer fit on the windowsills, they can be placed in the center of the southern room.

Plants normally tolerate partial shade. But, in such conditions, they do not enter the flowering phase.

Did you know? Nitrogen is not only a valuable fertilizer for home and garden crops. Today it is used for the manufacture of the vast majority of explosive substances.

In the autumn period, plants can be left for several hours in direct sunlight. When daylight hours begin to decline, you need to organize additional illumination with phytolamps, extending it to 12-14 hours.

Ventilation

Plants need access to fresh air, but cannot stand drafts. For the summer, it is best to rearrange the durant on the balcony or in the garden. This will extend the flowering period and increase the immunity of plants.

Temperature

The optimum temperature for durants in the warm season is +20 ... + 25 ° С. Plants do not tolerate extreme heat, above + 27 ° C, and lowering the temperature to + 12 ° C. Plants respond to temperature violations by dropping foliage.

Air humidity

For optimal development, the durant needs a humidity slightly above average, within 60%. An overestimated humidity threshold leads to the development of root rot.Soil moisture should be maintained within 50%. The soil must be constantly moist and at the same time maintain a loose structure.

Home Care

Durant refers to plants of medium difficulty growing. Providing her the right care, you can achieve year-round flowering.

Watering

Watering at any time of the year should be moderate. Water is introduced under the root. It is possible to make several spiral turns around the main stem at a distance of 5 cm from each other with a depth of about 2 cm. Moisture should be introduced into the recesses from the watering can with an elongated nose, until it seeps through the drainage holes. Then, the water must be drained from the pan and wiped it dry. Do not allow the pot to stand in water. As soon as excess water drains, re-drier drip tray. Root watering can be alternated with soaking. The process involves moving the pot into a container filled with water for 15 minutes. After soaking, the plants need to drain and rearrange them on a dry tray.

Important! If it is possible to get waste water from the aquarium, do not neglect it. In the process of settling and vital activity of fish, its own microflora is formed in it, which positively affects the development of plants during irrigation.

Watering is carried out with soft, settled water without harmful impurities. Liquid temperature should not be lower than + 20 ° С. The frequency of watering will depend on the rate of drying of the soil. It is better to focus on the state of the soil, and not on a specific schedule. You can check the humidity by digging a finger into the ground by 1-2 cm. If the soil remains on it, watering is done too early.Peat can be used to soften water. 2 g of water will require 100 g of peat. It must be wrapped in a piece of cotton cloth and immersed in a liquid for 24 hours.

In addition to watering, you need to spray 1-3 times a week, depending on air temperature. The hotter, the more often you need to hydrate. It is not necessary that the water falls precisely on the leaf plates, it is enough to spray water into the air at a distance of 10-15 cm above the plant.

Fertilizer application

Fertilizers for durants are applied according to the schedule, in accordance with the growing season and the needs of the plants at this time:

• mid March - top dressing with a high nitrogen content for the development of a beautiful green mass;
• from the beginning of April 2 times a month - top dressing with a low nitrogen content, with a high proportion of potassium and phosphorus to form a strong root system, protect against pests and bookmark inflorescences;
• from the beginning of bookmark buds (end of May - beginning of June) - top dressing containing boron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus for abundant flowering;
• at the end of flowering (October - November) - top dressing with calcium and potassium to increase winter hardiness.

In winter, top dressing is not applied, except in cases of year-round flowering. In the case of year-round flowering, top dressing continues to be applied 1 time per month.Adult plants, from 4 years old, can be fed in the spring with rotted compost. It is laid directly in the soil along the edges of the pot so that the fertilizer does not come into contact with the root system. To do this, remove the top 5 cm of soil, lay 20 g of fertilizer on 4 sides of the pot and cover with soil on top. In the initial phase of the growing season, in the spring, complex fertilizers for ornamental-deciduous plants are suitable. In this regard, the Gilea fertilizer proved to be quite good. For root dressing, 2.5 caps of the liquid must be dissolved in 1 liter of boiled water. The concentrate is diluted 1: 0.5 with water and water the plants.

In the next phase of the growing season, fertilizer for ornamental flowering plants will be required. The complex preparation "Bona Forte" is suitable. To prepare a working solution, 10 ml of fertilizer is dissolved in 1.5 l of water. Use as root and foliar top dressing. For example, in early April, leaf blades are sprayed, in the middle of the month, fertilizer is watered. "Bona Forte" can be used until the end of flowering.

Important! Any top dressing can be made no earlier than 2-3 weeks after transplantation. Also, fertilizers are not applied if the plants are affected by pests or root rot.

Pruning

Durant is a highly branching, fast-growing plant, and therefore requires regular pruning and crown formation. If you neglect pruning, the plants will not bloom, since the buds are formed only at the ends of young shoots.

The procedure is carried out with a sharpened secateurs disinfected with 40% alcohol in mid-February. You need to calculate the time so that at least 4 weeks elapse from pruning to transplanting.

Plants tolerate the formation well, so the durant can easily give any form of growth, depending on the preference of the grower:

• Bonsai
• bush;
• a tree;
• ampelous.

Before transplanting, shorten the old shoots to the required length, eliminate the branches that thicken the crown, pinch the growth point if necessary. In the summer, drooping shoots shorten by 2-3 internodes to activate the development of lateral buds.

Be sure to remove wilted brushes - this contributes to abundant flowering. At the end of the flowering phase, remove the shoots thickening the crown, young weak and bald old branches.

Transfer

Young plants, under the age of 4 years, dive annually in March in pots 5 cm higher in height and diameter. Plants aged 5 years old are transplanted every 2-3 years. During the period of growth in the same soil, periodically, you need to add a new nutrient substrate and replace each spring with 5 cm of the topsoil. An extraordinary transplant, independent of the time of year, is carried out for plants infected with root rot and recently purchased. New plants need to be given time to adapt (1 month), placing them as far as possible from existing ones in the house. An exception to the rule is the purchase of flowering plants. They can be transplanted only at the end of the flowering phase.

Did you know? One of the latest trends in phytodesign is vertical walls and paintings composed of living plants. Very interesting is the idea of ​​combining durant, grown in ampel form, with palm trees, for example, dracenes.

The pot should not be too spacious or narrow. Its dimensions should make it possible to arrange the root system so that a distance of 3-5 cm remains to the walls and the bottom. If you plan to grow a durant, like a bonsai or ornamental foliage plant, then you need to take the pot 3 cm less than the root system. A small pot combined with trimming of the ground part will provoke growth retardation, which will make it possible to form a beautiful crown.The soil should be quite loose, well permeable to air. You can use one of the following formulations:

• universal soil for hibiscus with the addition of 20% sand;
• United in the proportions of 1: 1: 1 universal soil for domestic plants, turf soil and compost + 20% wood ash;
• United in a ratio of 2: 1: 1 sod-leaf soil, sand, peat.

Step-by-step instructions for transplanting durants:

1. Disinfect the pot with 1% solution of copper sulfate, water the plant.
2. Pour the soil with a hot solution of manganese - 10 g of manganese will be required for 1 liter of boiling water. This will be enough to disinfect 5-7 kg of land.
3. Fill the pot 1/4 with expanded clay, make a sand cushion (1 cm layer).
4. When the soil cools down to + 15 ° C, gently tap the walls and bottom of the pot with the plant, tilt it slightly to one side and remove it with an earthen lump.
5. Lightly shake the ground, taking about 1-2 cm, to be able to assess the condition of the roots. If necessary, remove dried, weak root shoots and place the plant in a new pot.
6. Align the durant so that the root neck is at the same height as in the previous pot.
7. Close the voids with fertile soil.
8. Densify the near-stem circle, make a ditch 2 cm deep at a distance of 5 cm from the trunk and pour 400 ml of warm water (+ 20 ° C) into it.
9. Rearrange the container with the plant in a darkened room. After a week you can transfer to a permanent place.

Breeding

Reproduction of durant at home is carried out in 2 ways:

• cuttings;
• seeds.

Cuttings

Cuttings are best combined with the pruning procedure, autumn or spring does not matter. For propagation, the apical parts of semi-woody shoots are suitable. On the handle should be 2-3 sheets, the rest is better to remove. The optimal length of the handle is 10 cm.A step-by-step scheme of rooting the cuttings:

1. Make a powder mixture consisting of 10 grams of root, 10 grams of activated carbon and 3 grams of foundationazole.
2. Powder slices with prepared powder.
3. Mix peat, sand, perlite in equal proportions and spill the mixture with a hot solution of manganese.
4. For planting, take an elongated container with a depth of up to 10 cm and disinfect it with copper sulfate.
5. Fill the bottom with a 2-3 cm drainage layer.
6. From above place the soil cooled down to + 20 ° C.
7. Arrange the cuttings, having buried them in the ground by 2 cm, at a distance of 5 cm from each other.
8. Fasten the transparent bag to the containers.
9. Install containers in a room with ambient light, where the air temperature is maintained within + 25 ° С.
10. Ventilate the cuttings every 2 days, removing the bag for 30 minutes and moisten the soil with a spray bottle.

After a month, completely remove the bag. With the advent of new leaves, you can pick on individual containers.

Important! Plants propagated by the method of cuttings enter the flowering phase from 2 years of life, by the seed method - from 3-4 years.

Seed cultivation

Seeds can be found on online platforms, since it is problematic to get them at home, and in ordinary stores they are rare. Sowing of seeds begins in late February - early March. It is best for seed germination to acquire a mini-greenhouse with lower heating.The sequence of cultivation of durants from seeds:

1. Pour 60 ml of root solution into a shallow plate - 10 g of powder will be needed per 1 liter of water.
2. Place cheesecloth folded in 2 layers on a plate.
3. When the gauze gets wet, wrap the seeds in it and leave for 24 hours.
4. At the bottom of the mini-greenhouse, lay a 1 cm layer of expanded clay.
5. On top, place a manganese disinfected earth mixture consisting of peat, perlite, sand and sphagnum moss (1: 1: 1: 1).
6. Submerge the seeds in the soil by 0.5 cm at a distance of 5 cm from each other.
7. Cover the greenhouse and set aside in a well-lit place.
8. Keep the temperature within + 25 ° С, soil moisture - 50%, organize ventilation every day for 15 minutes.
9. With the advent of the first sprouts, remove the lid from the greenhouse.
10. When 3-5 sheets are formed, arrange a pick in separate containers.

Seed germination takes about 2.5 months.

Growing difficulties

When cultivating durants at home, the main problems of plant breeders are associated with:

• lack of flowering;
• diseases
• pest attack, especially when plants are exposed to the garden for the summer.

Does not bloom

Lack of flowering can be triggered by the following defects in care:

• excess nitrogen - the plant develops a lush green mass, but does not enter the flowering phase, you can correct the situation by changing the fertilizer to a complex for decorative-flowering plants;
• lack of light - in the shade the foliage gains a darker color, the flowering phase is absent or buds are dropping after laying, you can solve the problem by moving the durant to a well-lit corner;
• neglect of spring and autumn pruning - to correct the situation will help shortening the shoots by 1/3.

Disease

Among the possible diseases, the root can only be affected by durant. This occurs if the humidity regime is not observed and excessive watering is required. To save the plants, carry out an emergency transplant with a complete replacement of the soil. Having removed the plant from the pot, brush off the soil, rinse the root. Remove rotten parts. Powder the affected areas with a mixture of root, foundation, and activated carbon (proportions similar to those described above).

Dry the root a couple of hours in the sun. Then plant the plant in a sanitized, slightly moist soil and set aside in a dark place. The first watering after an urgent transplant can be carried out after 7 days by adding 1 liter of liquid, 5 g of foundationazole and 2 tablets of activated carbon.

Pests

Among pests, on a durant most often settles:

• aphid - eliminated by spraying with tobacco infusion - 400 g of tobacco dust must be poured into 5 liters of water and infused for 24 hours, spraying is carried out daily 2 times in the morning and evening for a week;
• scale shield - It is eliminated by means of a three-time treatment with a phytoerm solution (1 ampoule per 2.5 liters of water) with an interval of 10 days;
• spider mite - destroyed using four-time treatment with phytoderm (dosage is similar to that described above);
• whitefly - you will need to spend from 2 to treatments with the Admiral insecticide (10 ml per 1 liter of water) with an interval of 20 days.

Did you know? Plants of the verbena family are used to create drugs that stabilize the digestive tract.

Duranta is an interesting decorative-flowering plant that arrived in our region from the tropics. When growing it at home, you need to pay more attention to organizing a comfortable microclimate and pruning. In favorable conditions, the durant blooms 3–6 times a year.

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