Muraya - home care for the tree of the Japanese emperors
Content:
Muraya (murraya) is a plant with snow-white fragrant flowers and rich fruit taste. Where did the culture come from, what properties it has, what types are there, what is needed for planting and what care does Murraya require at home - below in the article.
Murraya: description
Muraya is a striking representative of the Root family, referring to both trees and shrubs. You can see it in India and Central Africa. It has many varieties. Care is easy with proper planting and adherence to temperature, lighting and watering.
Muraya flower
The origin and appearance of the muraya plant
It is a shrub, a relative of lemon and tangerine. The plant was first discovered in the 18th century. Swedish naturalists in the Himalayas. It is named after Murray, the scientist who found the first specimen.
The appearance cannot leave anyone indifferent: a two-meter green plant with thin trunks covered with brown bark, with shiny smooth leaves. Each leaf contains buds, which in the spring turn into snow-white five-leafed flowers with jasmine-scent wrapped ends. At the end of spring, red muraya fruits, covered with an orange peel, appear from the flowers. Each has a yellow seed inside.
Japanese emperors tree
Muraya is called the tree of the Japanese emperors, since since the beginning of the empire in Japan, the leaves and flowers of the plant have been used for medicinal purposes. Each muraya leaf is useful. From them, tinctures with decoctions were prepared, which were allowed to drink only to representatives of the Japanese dynasty to increase the hidden qualities of a person. The imperial drink made it possible to improve sexual energy and masculine strength. Attempts to take the seed home and try to grow murraya at home ended in the beheading.
Plant flower
Muraya is an indoor flower. The buds of the plant are snow-white or milky. Appear in quantities of 10 to 15 pieces. and grow with brushes. The diameter of the flowers is 2 cm. Inside each of them there are yellow stamens, with a scent reminiscent of jasmine flowers.
Flower appearance
Types and varieties of murayi
Botanists have described over 10 varieties of an exotic flower, but today only two species are known as a houseplant - paniculata and Konig.
The most popular flower varieties:
Murraya paniculata
Species bred specifically for home breeding. The leaves are smaller than those of Koenig, reaching 12 cm in length. Each has 11 plates. The flowers are cream colored. The fruits of the murraya paniculata are scarlet. Refers to dwarf plants.
Muraya Paniculata
Muraya paniculata is the same muraya paniculata.Formed by a bush, dwarf tree or as a bonsai. The peculiarity of the species is a strong aroma, which is used everywhere in cooking and cosmetology. In India, they make a seasoning from it. Paniculata murraya as a capricious houseplant, requires constant abundant watering and a lot of light.
Muraya black-fruited Koeniga
The second variety of muraya, which is used as a houseplant. Its habitat is the islands of the Pacific Ocean. In appearance, black-fruited Koeniga muraya is a green shrub with leathery dark green leaves and gray bark of branches. Dissolves snow-white flowers. It differs from paniculata in the size and color of the fruit. Koenig reaches 40 cm, the fruits are black.
Murraya Exotica
Muraya exotic differs from the species presented above in its origin, the number of flowering throughout life and the number of leaves in a group (the Dutch one has 11 leaves). Another name for the species is the Dutch flower.
Muraya exotic
Muraya transplant after buying into a pot
You need to transplant the flower into slightly moistened soil, consisting of sand and leafy earth. The container for growing seeds must be covered with glass and placed in the sun. The transplantation of young shoots occurs one month after the appearance of hardened young shoots. Be sure to take into account the fact that there should not be a sharp change in temperature, otherwise the flower will die.
What is needed for landing
The description of the murraya indicates that for full development and timely flowering, it is necessary to take care of the soil before planting. The best soil is loose and filled with organic additives with acidity up to 7.5 pH. If you decide to buy ready-made soil in the store, it is worth choosing a specialized one for citrus fruits. In this case, it is imperative to add vermiculite - a substance to increase the looseness of the earth.
If you wish, you can create soil for the plant with your own hands, and not buy a ready-made one. It is created by mixing:
- leafy and sod land;
- humus;
- coarse sand.
As for water, you need to water it with settled water at room temperature.
Choosing the best place
For the flower to develop normally, you need to choose the right pot. Its diameter should be several centimeters larger than the previous one. It is also not necessary to select a pot that is too large, since water will accumulate under the roots, which will lead to their rotting. As for the place of cultivation, a window sill, well-lit by the sun, is suitable.
Step-by-step planting process
The step-by-step process of planting a plant in a pot includes performing the following steps in turn:
- Preparing a pot, abundantly fertilized soil, settled warm water and harvested or purchased seedlings.
- Loosening the soil, removing the top layer of the earth and abundant watering.
- Careful transplantation of the flower along with the land in which it was previously grown.
- Spreading with a new layer of earth and a little compaction of the soil.
An important condition for proper planting is the location of the neck of the root system. The main thing is to prevent excessive deepening of the roots into the ground, otherwise the question will then arise why the muraya flower does not bloom.
Planting murayi
Reproduction of muraya
Muraya can multiply using seeds and cuttings. Amateur gardeners note that the latter method is more unreliable than the first, since not all seeds will grow, and if they do, it is not a fact that they will survive.
Propagation by cuttings
To propagate a flower by cuttings, you need:
- take the most mature shoot and cut it in half;
- root it in disinfected potassium permanganate soil or settled water.
The stalk takes root after a month. After that, leaves and full-fledged seedlings appear, which must be transplanted into a pot.
Growing from seeds
To do this, you need to purchase seeds from a store or collect them from another flower yourself, and then place them in the ground and actively water them as they dry. Seedlings appear in a month at a temperature of 25 ° C.
Growing a flower from seed
Muraya: home care
Despite the fact that many consider muraya to be capricious plants, she does not show any special requirements for care. It is worth adhering to certain rules of watering, feeding and temperature regime so that a beautiful and healthy shrub grows.
Watering mode
During the period of active growth of the plant, it is important to provide it with regular watering with purified or settled water. When cold weather comes, the frequency of watering should be significantly reduced. During the rest period, you can completely stop.
Top dressing
It is necessary to feed the plant with mineral and organic fertilizers from March to September. This is the period when the plant actively grows and blooms, and then bears fruit. Top dressing should be done once a month. You can loosen and add specialty additives sold at the store for citrus plants to the soil, or you can make them yourself. From mineral dressings it is better to opt for carbamide or urea due to the high nitrogen content, and from organic ones - on manure or chicken droppings.
During the dormant period, you cannot feed the citrus plant. It will not be assimilated by the muraya. In addition, you cannot fertilize a flower if it is sick with something. Fertilizers are applied to slightly damp soil.
Muraya care
Features of care during the flowering period
Flowering occurs 12 months after transplanting the flower into a permanent pot. Care at this time should be intensified. The first buds should be cut off for preventive purposes, actively fertilize the soil with organic and mineral additives, and also monitor the general condition. If the leaves begin to fade, you need to try to rearrange the plant to another place, water with different water.
Features of care during the rest period
The flower does not have a pronounced rest period. According to gardeners, it lasts from November to February, although the dates may be shifted. Muraya is not capricious in her care during the rest period. At this time, no additional fertilizing is needed, it is enough to provide moderate watering, put the pot in a bright, but not sunny place.
Preparing for winter
Muraya hibernates on the southern windowsill, without touching the cold glass with the leaves. To artificially increase daylight hours, you will need to illuminate with an ultraviolet lamp.
Muraya in winter
Muraya leaves turn yellow: what to do
The leaves can turn yellow if the soil has an increased alkalinity or there are no useful trace elements in it. Also, the plant sheds its leaves due to a sharp temperature drop, natural aging, lack of sufficient watering, excessive oversaturation with dressings, and improper care. A plant may turn yellow, fall off and shed leaves due to improper transplantation, for example, in a too spacious pot. The yellowing of the leaves can be due to the action of chlorosis (a common disease of shrubs).
So that the plant does not hurt, you need to provide moderate watering with settled water, monitor useful additives for the absence of chlorine in the composition.
In general, an exotic citrus plant can decorate any room with its appearance. It is not difficult to take care of it, the main thing is to plant it in a large pot, water it on time and do prophylaxis against diseases, otherwise it can shed its beautiful leaves and flowers.
