How to care for a chef at home

Who said that the chef is unpretentious and easy to clean? This man has never kept a tropical beauty at home. Sure, she's good. It grows very quickly, lush foliage pleases the eye and warms the soul. True, at home does not bloom. But it is so small compared to the decorative.

How to care for the chef at home? Carefully and carefully. The slightest deviation from the usual conditions and leaf fall provided. But do not be afraid in advance. It is possible that the following rules will be for you a mere trifle. Then you should definitely get a chef.

The most important for the plant are watering, lighting and temperature. Everything else is secondary.

Water for cheflers

Watering. Takes the main place. Very subtle science. If you master it, then the chefler will be eternally grateful to you. What are the subtleties?

It is impossible to overmoisten the soil. The leaves will turn black and fall off. Do not allow complete drying of the earthy coma. In this case, you are waiting for litter still green leaves, but with brown tips. The temperature of a wet earthy coma should not fall below + 22 ° C. In the pallet there should not be a drop of excess water, but there must be wet clay or moss.

The water itself is suitable only defended, and better melt. The temperature of the liquid is slightly above room temperature. Chefleur requires very high humidity. Therefore, there should always be a spray gun next to it. The procedure is carried out at least 2 times a day, right on the leaves.

For additional moistening, containers with water are placed next to each other, and the batteries are covered with a wet towel.

Council If sheflera bought in the store, wash it with the leaves of the house with soap. For greater decorativeness, it is customary to coat them with wax. They shine, but they cannot absorb moisture. In a healthy plant, the leaves themselves will be glossy.

Lighting

Second place in importance. Cheflere requires a lot of light, but direct sunlight is contraindicated.Therefore, the window - only the western or eastern. On the northern plant will lose its variegation, if it is implied. And forms with green foliage are strongly drawn out, shrink and turn pale.

South window gives enough light. But the sun burns the plant, up to complete destruction. It is either placed on a table or stand next to a window, or it is shaded by a curtain, white paper, and cardboard. Still, on the south side, the chefler will be too hot and dry. Have to often humidify the air.

Temperature

The chefler feels best at a temperature of + 19-23 ° C. But calmly tolerates cooling to + 13 ° С. But warming is fraught with dried tips of the leaves or even dropping them.

If there is an air conditioner at home, then it benefits the plant. Especially in the summer hell. Just do not put it directly under the stream of air - it absolutely does not tolerate drafts.

Council In the summer, you can take the chef to the street, only in partial shade. It is desirable that the place was closed from the wind.

Pot and soil

Cheflere doesn’t care what material the pot is made of. The main thing is that it fits the size of the root system.It is growing rapidly. For the same reason, the pot should be free.

With the next transplant, you need to take a pot 4-7 cm in diameter more than the previous one. This will allow the plant to grow normally.

The soil should be very loose and breathable, but fertile. You can buy in the store a special primer, well suited for palm trees. And you can make a soil mix yourself. To do this, take in equal shares:

• fat leaf humus
• peat in large pieces
• clean coarse sand

For better looseness, you can add a bit of foam or coarse egg shells to the mix, but not necessarily. At the bottom of the tank stack a thick layer of drainage. This is an immutable condition. Sheflera does not like stagnant moisture at the roots, and immediately reacts with decay. Therefore, expanded clay, gravel, marble chips, pebbles - a layer of at least 4 cm.

Shaping

Many refuse to formulate cheflers, letting it grow independently. She is growing. In one stem. Up to 4 meters long. But thin. It is tied up by its owners to a peg or special support, and it all stretches. But the greatest decoration can be achieved simply by cutting off the top of a young plant over 5 leaves. After the emergence of side shoots they pinch again on the 5 sheet.After this procedure, you get a lush bush, and not one long branch.

Council Be sure to powder the nip place with a crushed tablet of activated charcoal or fine wood ash to prevent bacteria from entering the open wound.

Diseases and pests

The most common disease of cheflers is rot. It appears from:

• excess moisture in the soil
• too low temperature content
• drafts
• fertilizer overfeeding
• mechanical damage

By avoiding these factors, you can completely avoid the appearance of bjaki. If your chef began to wither, throw leaves, blacken or get wet - immediately save the plant. First you need to remove the beauty from the pot and carefully examine the root system. Often the rot begins there.

With a sharp sterile knife or blade cut off the damaged areas. Then stand the roots in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes. And then transplanted into healthy soil.

Pests. In our climate, the chefler is threatened only by three types of insects: the spider mite, scab, and thrips. The first sign of defeat - the plant begins to "cry." That is, the juice drips from the leaves. So the chef is trying to defend himself.You may not see the pests themselves, but drops will be noticed for sure.

Help the plant. Wash the leaves with a warm solution of soap. Just make sure that the mixture does not fall into the soil. After this, treat the beauty with any systemic insecticide.

Fertilizer

Sheflera is completely satisfied with any mineral complex fertilizer. It is made in liquid form after the next irrigation about once every 11-13 days. Once a month, the soil can be sprinkled with finely ground eggshell. But this is only if you did not add it to the ground.

Do not exceed the top dressing dosage shown on the package. This will cause the leaves to drop or yellow.

Council If possible, use stick or tablet fertilizer forms. Then, when watering, the plant itself will take exactly as much nutrition as it needs at the moment.

Useful tips

1. Juice cheflers may cause irritation or dermatitis when in contact with skin. Therefore, all the manipulation of the pinching and transplanting should be done strictly with gloves. If you have small children or pets, discard this plant.Or put it in a place where it will be difficult to get it.
2. Periodically leaves cheflers lose their gloss. It comes from dust that accumulates on the surface. It is necessary to wash it in time with a damp soft cloth. If the plant is already too large, then it is better to arrange a warm shower for him. Only be sure to wrap the pot tightly so that no extra liquid gets there. The shower head must be weak, otherwise damage to the leaves may occur.
3. An adult chef is transplanted no more than 1 time in 3 years. If you do this every spring, she will gladly take advantage of your offer and extend it to its natural size. Is there a place for content? Then give her freedom.
4. By the way, the best way is to transfer it to a chef by transfer. That is, without destroying the old earthy coma. If the pot is already too large, then you can never replant the plant. But it is necessary to replace the top layer of soil with a new one once a year (in spring). Approximately 7-9 cm.
5. Be sure to handle any soil before planting cheflers. A strong solution of potassium permanganate or phytosporin perfectly disinfects purchased or homemade soil. So you can avoid many problems in the future.
6. Cheflers do not have a clearly defined rest period, but it must be arranged in the winter so that the plant rests. Starting in October, stop feeding and reduce watering. The temperature of the content and lighting do not change. In February, watering is gradually increased again and the plant is fertilized.

How to care for the chef at home? As you can see, difficult. But if you wish, all conditions are completely fulfilled. Follow the recommendations and the plant will long please you with decorative foliage and strong growth.

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