The flower of the ixor occurs quite rarely on our windowsills. The plant is very whimsical and already during transportation it loses almost all its peduncles. In addition, this pleasure is quite expensive. When buying, be sure to look at the condition of leaflets and stems. The fact is that almost always in one pot there are 2-3 plants and in case of untimely transplantation the roots will be very difficult to untangle.
Ixora: care
If capriciousness of the plant and its cost did not stop you, you should learn how to take care of it carefully.
Temperature. The plant comes from India, so it's quite thermophilic. It is best to keep it in the room, allowed to take out on the balcony or the garden. Keep ixor in the open air in a temperate climate can only be in the period from June to August, because the temperature drops it is very bad. In the daytime, provide a temperature of 22-30 ° C, a little lower at night. If you gradually harden Ixora, then by winter it will be able to transfer the temperature to 15 ° C.
Lighting. A sunny and strongly illuminated place is perfect, penumbra is also suitable. If it so happened that the brightest place in the apartment is in a draft, then you can put a flower there in the summer, gradually tempering it. If you prefer growing under a fluorescent lamp, then the flower grows no more than 15 cm.
Watering. The iksora plant is quite demanding on the humidity of the air and soil. If the soil dries up, the flower will certainly die. If you water irregularly, and the humidity in the room becomes low, it will inevitably lead to the dropping of the lower leaves. Provide soil of moderate humidity, as soon as the top layer dries, start spraying. Remember that the humidity should not be less than 60%. It is best to put the flower of Ixora in a wide pan with wet claydite or gravel. Low humidity contributes to the sprinkling of foliage, but does not affect flowering.
The soil. For a plant, a pot with a round bottom and a good drainage hole is best. On the bottom should be poured pieces of polystyrene for 2-3 cm. The soil consists of garden and turf land, compost, peat and humus. The soil must be slightly acidic, loose enough and allow moisture to flow well.
Fertilizer. To feed the flower follows a special fertilizer for ornamental flowering plants. In summer, twice, and in winter it is enough once. Before flowering, you can make trace elements.
Ixora: transplantation
Since the roots of the plant develop very rapidly, in the first year of life it should be transplanted 2-3 times. In the future, the transplant is carried out every spring. During the transplant, the flower can be fed in this way: a granulated, time-consuming fertilizer is mixed with the soil. If there is no need to replace the pot, then it is sufficient to change 1/3 of the substrate so that the plant receives all the necessary nutrients.
Illnesses of ixors
All diseases of this flower are caused by improper care or in the case of using only peat soil. As a rule, flower growers face chlorosis and deformation of leaflets. In this case, the flower must additionally be supplemented with trace elements, iron chelate, it is necessary to replace the substrate with a more acidic one. There are diseases of the roots with too much watering or lowering the temperature of the earth coma. Only the renewal of the plant with the help of cuttings can save. Among the pests there are mites and a scab. Take action immediately, as the growth of the flower is slow and spoiled leaves will be replaced with new ones not soon.