Kuflik cytrynowy - roślina która przeżyje pożar. Uprawa, pielęgnacja i rozmnażanie kuflika.

Lemon callistemon is a plant that can survive fire. 🔥 How is this possible? It's time for the third installment of our series on plants found in Mediterranean countries, featuring interesting facts and tips related to callistemon. Enjoy! Callistemon is an evergreen plant belonging to the myrtaceae family. In warmer climates, it grows as a shrub or tree and reaches a height of up to 12 meters. In Mediterranean countries, it is usually smaller, a few meters high, and in our conditions, when grown in pots, it usually doesn't exceed one and a half meters. Interestingly, callistemon is classified as a pyrophyte because its natural habitat is dry brushwood, often destroyed by fire. The leaves of this plant contain essential oils, so they burn very quickly and explosively, thus protecting the branches, which can therefore survive fires almost intact. Young seedlings can also develop faster. The leaves themselves, when lightly crushed, exude a pleasant, slightly lemony scent, earning them the nickname "cauliflower." But the most important feature of this plant, the one we most often notice, is its distinctive blooms. The bright red flowers of the callistemon, gathered in inflorescences at the ends of the shoots, resemble a bottlebrush. Such flowers also appear on plants we can grow at home. These inflorescences are most often red, but there are also varieties with yellow-green or purple-pink flowers. Their size usually ranges from 5 to 10 cm. They are gathered in dense, cylindrical spikes, followed by a continuation of the leafy stem, which is rather unusual in the plant world. The flowers themselves are inconspicuous and unfortunately do not last long on the plant. It is the unique and colorful stamens that create these amazing inflorescences. Apparently, in the early 20th century, when homes weren't as well heated as they are today, the lemon curlew was a fairly popular houseplant. It's less well-known now, as our homes are usually too warm for it in winter. In winter, we should find a spot for it in an unheated room, a cold conservatory, a sunny veranda, or a stairwell. Its hardiness zone is 8-10, meaning it can survive temperatures down to around -5/-10 degrees Celsius in the case of stronger varieties. In my experience, the lemon curlew is one of the easiest plants to grow, considering the Mediterranean species. Mine overwintered in a greenhouse where the temperature never dropped below 5 degrees Celsius, but it also survived an unplanned light frost during a heating outage and was the first to bloom. Now it's blooming again. We already know how to overwinter callistemon, but in summer, it's best to find a sunny spot in the garden, on a terrace, or balcony. These plants don't require pruning, but if you want to overwinter them or shorten selected shoots immediately after flowering, you can. Inflorescences appear at the tips of developing shoots, at which point new shoots will begin to form from the leaf axils of pruned branches. Callistemon responds well to pruning; after more vigorous shaping, you might have to wait longer for flowering, but even if you want to completely rejuvenate the plant and prune it right down to the trunk, it will certainly bounce back. Like most plants in the myrtle family, callistemon doesn't like high calcium content in the soil; it prefers humus-rich and fairly acidic soil with a pH of 5-6. It's best to repot them in April, after overwintering, every 2-3 years. Replacing the topsoil is sufficient for older specimens. In summer, water the plant thoroughly; the soil should be constantly slightly moist, but the callistemon should not stand in water. In winter, watering should be minimized, especially if you have found a cool spot where the plant will go dormant. During the growing season, from April/May until the end of summer, fertilize the callistemon sparingly with a multi-component fertilizer, such as a water-soluble one. This can be a fertilizer for Mediterranean plants or a fertilizer for flowering plants, to provide the plant with the nutrients it needs to stimulate flowering. If your plant isn't blooming, it may be a sign of a nutrient deficiency or that the plant is in too dark a location. Overwintering in too warm a location can also contribute to the lack of flower formation. You can try propagating callistemon from seed or from tip cuttings, which you place in water or in a well-drained, light soil. Callistemon seeds are available in some online stores. Propagation by tip cuttings can be done once you have... Links: Facebook:   / izabella.schick   Blog: https://ogrodnacodzien.pl/ Instagram:   / ogrod_na_co_dzien   #kufli #plants #flowers #flowersarebeautiful #garden #allotment #balcony #terrace #garden_na_co_dzien #tips #guide #care #propagation