A detailed guide on how to grow a money tree at home and care for it
Crassula is one of the most popular plants that we grow at home. The more common name is the fat girl or money tree, it received because of the rounded leaves, which are very similar to coins.
The plant is unpretentious and easy to maintain, while it is beautiful and unusual, and its fleshy leaves retain moisture perfectly. Under ideal conditions and with proper care, the crassula can bloom.
How to raise a fat woman at home?
Consider how to grow a fat woman at home. This is not difficult to do. Keep in mind that the natural habitat of plants, the arid regions of Africa and Asian rainforests.
For good growth, it is necessary to create conditions as close as possible to natural ones.Can this be done quickly?
In order for the flower to grow quickly and delight with its appearance, it is necessary to adhere to simple rules:
- The main thing is to create comfortable conditions. Determine the right place for the flower. The fat woman loves sunlight, but from direct sunlight there may be a burn of leaves. Therefore, the plant is best placed on the eastern or western windowsills. In summer, it is better to shade the flower, and in winter to put in a more lighted place.
- Proper care It is necessary to maintain the temperature regime. During the period of active vegetation, a comfortable air temperature should be 20-25 degrees. In winter, the plant is at rest and it is better to keep it cool, at a temperature of 15-17 degrees. Be sure to follow the rules of watering. Also, the fat woman does not like high humidity. Do not spray the plant, it is better to wipe the leaves with a damp cloth a couple of times a month to remove dust.
- Provide ventilation. Crassula loves the air, so in summer you can take the plant to the balcony. In the fresh air, in the absence of drafts, the fat woman can bloom.
What does a plant need to be beautiful?
Beautiful Crassula is, first of all, a correctly formed crown. To create it, pinch the kidneys and trim new shoots. A pinch is needed to create splendor. A new bud is removed between the last pair of leaves, and numerous branches appear instead. For pinching, branches with 3-4 pairs of leaves are selected.
To give the bush of the Crassula a regular or special shape, pruning is performed. Branches are cut by secateurs at the base of pairs of leaves that need to be left. The slice is processed with crushed activated carbon.From a money tree you can grow a beautiful bonsai. It is not difficult to do this, but for a long time, so you should be patient. To plant a bonsai tree, you must follow these rules:
- Choose a container for bonsai. We clear the roots of the money tree from the ground and cut it so that they fit in the selected container.
- Secateurs remove branches. We make sure that the rotation is respected.
- At the bottom of the container, pour a little earth, put a tree in it and fix it with a support wire. We fill up with soil so that there is a place to the edge of the tank. We put moss and small stones on top.
- Water the plant and put in a well-lit place.
We carry out pruning every week. In this case, regularly water and feed. Then the bonsai will grow beautiful.
We offer you to watch a video on how to form a beautiful crown near a money tree:
How to achieve a thick trunk?
The best time to build a trunk for a fat woman is winter. At this time of year, due to lack of sunlight, the plant grows poorly and stretches. To prevent this from happening, you need to pinch all the apical buds or cut off the last pairs of leaves. Due to this, foliage growth will stop, and the trunk, on the contrary, will begin to increase in volume.
Do not forget about timely plant nutrition, to provide all the necessary nutrients.
Is it possible to get a big crassula?
Usually, the grass grows in the form of a bush. To grow a large money tree, you need to make an effort and follow simple rules:
- Crown formation should be started as early as possible. To do this, the side shoots are removed.
- When the tree reaches a height of 25-30 centimeters, you should pinch off the top.
- When the crown begins to grow, the tree may lean toward sunlight. Therefore, to uniformly form the crown, the flower needs to be rotated regularly.
Care
Crassula an unpretentious and hardy plant, for growing which you need the right care.
- Lighting. The plant loves sunlight, but does not like direct rays, from which there may be a burn of leaves.
- Watering. Crassula is a succulent plant, so watering should be moderate. About 1-2 times a week in the summer and once every two weeks in the winter.
- The fat girl does not like high humidity. Therefore, it is better to keep the tree in a dry room, and in the summer to take it to fresh air.
- Leaves must be cleaned from dust with a damp cloth. Sometimes you can wash the crassula in the shower.
- For a money tree, it is important to maintain the temperature regime. In summer, it is 20-25 degrees Celsius; in winter, it is better to keep in a cool room.
- Crassula must be fertilized throughout the entire vegetative period (from the beginning of spring to the end of summer). It is better to use top dressing for succulents or cacti.
- Pruning is required for proper plant formation.
- Soil for the fat girl. An earthen substrate for cacti is perfect, you can buy it in a flower shop or cook it yourself. To do this, mix one part of sand, one part of turfy land and three parts of leafy land.
We offer you to watch an informative video about the proper care of the money tree:
Breeding
Crassula propagates in three ways:
- The seeds. The most difficult way to grow at home. Seeds are planted in the spring, seedlings appear in about a month, seedlings are planted 2-3 months after germination. So you can grow rare varieties of fatty.
- Rooted leaf. A simple and effective way. Break off the leaf from the tree and put it in the same pot on the ground. When the scrap on the sheet dries, it will give small roots, and then small leaves. After this, the sprout can be planted in a separate pot.
- Cuttings. To do this, break off a small shoot and let it dry. After a few days, put it in moist soil.
We offer you to watch a video on how to propagate the rossula:
Landing
When planting a money tree, special attention should be paid to choosing a pot. Its root system develops and grows in breadth, and not in depth. Therefore, the pot must be wide and not deep. A ceramic pot is perfect, as ceramic is a porous material that allows the roots to breathe. Be sure to have drainage holes in the pot. Transplant Crassula enough once every four years.
Seating is necessary if several processes grow simultaneously in a pot. This happens when broken leaves take root. Sometimes quite a few new shoots can grow near a tree. To do this, you need:
- Gently pull out a lump of earth along with all the plants.
- Break it, separating new shoots and trying not to damage the roots.
- Next, return the old plant back to the pot, sprinkling it with new earth.
- Young shoots should be planted in separate, small pots in prepared soil.
Content difficulties
Basically, the problems that arise when growing a fat woman are associated with improper care:
- If the leaves become yellow, soft and fall, then the tree is flooded. In order to cure it, it is necessary to transplant it into new soil, before which it is necessary to cut off rotten roots.
- If the plant does not have enough moisture, then the leaves wither and crumble. It is best to take the plant to fresh air. Regular spraying will also help.
Parasites can affect the crassula:
- Mealybug. White, cottony deposits on the leaves. For treatment, it is necessary to wash the leaves with soapy water and treat with chemicals.
- Ticks Their presence is indicated by the web and yellow spots on the leaves. The plant is treated for ticks with tobacco solution.
- Shield. Brown and yellow spots on the leaves. Damaged leaves are removed and the plant is treated with insecticides.
Providing the fat woman with proper care, you will be rewarded with a beautiful, lush and eye-catching plant. Using Crassula, you can create masterpieces of landscape design for the premises.