General description of the plant, rules for growing cesalpinia at home, advice on breeding, difficulties arising in the cultivation process, facts for the curious, species. Caesalpinia belongs to the large family of legumes (Fabaceae). Botanists have assigned up to 150 varieties to this genus of plants. Moreover, all growing areas fall on the warm regions of both hemispheres of the planet. However, the native area of origin of this plant is the lands of Argentina, Uruguay, the island of Barbados, southeastern regions of Asia and tropical America.
This representative of the flora received its scientific name thanks to the French botanist Charles Plumier (1646-1704), who in 1703 decided to immortalize the name of the same scientist, botanist and philosopher from Italy - Andrea Cesalpino (1524-1603). A little later, this scientific term "caesalpinia" was used by Carl Linnaeus to classify the flora of the planet. But because of the magnificent and exotic outlines of flowers, this plant is popularly called "Peacock flower", "Pride of Barbados" (Barbados pride) or "red bird of paradise", "parrot bush".
All representatives of the genus Caesalpini have a shrub or tree-like form of growth, in rare cases they take the form of lianas (that is, they are presented in the form of climbing shrubs). When grown in room conditions, the height of the plant does not exceed one and a half meters. Their shoots are often covered with thorns. On the branches, leaves are formed with bipinnate and complex-fingerlike outlines, which are somewhat reminiscent of the delicate foliage of acacia, but this representative of legumes has a somewhat more complex structure. The leaf lobes are extremely symmetrical, painted in a bright light green color. It is curious that with the arrival of the evening hours, the leaves of the plant begin to fold, which is also considered more decorative. At the same time, the "peacock flower" has a tiered arrangement, because of which the entire bush, although it is massive, looks elegant, magnificent and weightless.
When flowering at the tops of the shoots, buds begin to bloom, collected in racemose inflorescences. The buds that have not yet opened look like balls or wheels. The flowers that form on Caesalpinia are large in size and yellow, orange, cream or red, but there are also specimens with a two-tone color of the petals. The calyx has five lobes, the outline of the lower one is concave and, as usual, exceeds the others in size. There are also five petals in the corolla, their parameters are often equal or the upper one is smaller than all the others. Five pairs of free stamens grow inside the corolla, the ovary is sessile. It is the stamens that give the flower an exoticism, as they hang freely from the corolla, reminiscent of a mustache. In natural conditions, fragrant and bright flowers attract all kinds of insects (bees), butterflies and even hummingbirds for pollination.
After pollination of the flowers, the fruit ripens in the form of a bean, with a leathery surface, which can be swollen or flat, when ripe, it either opens or remains closed. Inside are seeds that can be scattered by the plant if the bean (pod) opens. This is what contributes to the spread of new young Caesalpinia at some distance from the mother bush.
In tropical climates, cesalpinia is an evergreen for almost most of the months of the year, and when cultivated, it is often given the appearance of a tree by cutting off the side shoots. But in those areas where the thermometer readings fall to a range of 4-6 units, the "pride of Barbados" loses its foliage, and in those countries where frosts reach 6-8 degrees below zero, even the dying off of the entire aboveground part may occur. …
Due to the high intensity of growth, you will have to periodically trim fast-growing shoots. And also, in order to see the beauty of the flowering of the "parrot bush", the owner needs to make a lot of patience and effort, since there are some difficulties in cultivation.
Cesalpinia growing rules, home care
- Lighting and selection of a place for a pot. The plant prefers a brightly lit place where it will have at least 8 hours of good lighting. Better to put the pot on the sill of the east or west window. If there is not enough light, then flowering will not come.
- Content temperature. For cesalpinia in the spring-summer period, the temperature range is 21-25 degrees, with the arrival of autumn, 15-18 degrees will be optimal.
- Air humidity when growing, the plant should be moderate, but it can adapt to dry indoor air, however, it is better to periodically spray the foliage.
- Watering. In summer, regular and abundant watering is required - every 2-3 days. With the arrival of winter, soil moisture becomes more rare, its top layer should dry out slightly. When the plant is young, too much drying of the earthen coma is destructive for it, although adult specimens subsequently easily cope with drought. If watering is insufficient, then flowers may not form.
- Fertilizer Caesalpinia is carried out from the beginning of the growing season with a frequency of once every 14 days. In early spring, preparations with a high nitrogen content are recommended - this is necessary for the growth of deciduous mass, and to improve the flowering process, fertilizers should be used in which phosphorus and potassium prevail.
- General advice on care. As the flowers wither, they should be removed from the bush. In spring, pruning is recommended, but it should be remembered that the inflorescences will develop with the growth of the current year, and if you delay with pruning, then you can not wait for flowering. The plant is used for bonsai cultivation. In summer, it is recommended to take out into fresh air.
- Repotting and advice on soil selection. While the plant is young, it must be replanted annually, but over time, such a pot change is recommended only once every 2 years. A new pot is taken 2-3 cm larger than the old one. A drainage layer is laid at the bottom. It should be borne in mind that the most active growth and flowering in caesalpinia is observed when its root system is completely intertwined and fills the entire space of the pot. Only when the root shoots become visible in the drainage holes, only then is it a signal to change the pot. For cesalpinia, a simple substrate that does not have a very high nutritional value is suitable - for example, a mixture of leafy soil and sod soil, with the addition of coarse sand. You can use store-bought compositions based on high-moor peat with the addition of perlite or vermiculite. The acidity of such a soil mixture should be neutral (pH 6, 5–7, 5).
Important! When transplanting, it must be remembered that damage to the root system of a young cesalpinia will lead to its death, therefore, such an operation is carried out by the transshipment method (without destroying the earthen coma). When the plant reaches a meter in height, it will become more hardy.
Tips for breeding cesalpinia indoors
It is often recommended to root cuttings or plant seeds to get a new peacock tail bush.
Cuttings are cut from semi-lignified shoots, and the cuts are treated with a root formation stimulator before planting. Then the twigs are planted in pots with a peat-sandy substrate. After the blanks are placed in a mini-greenhouse, you can cover them with a transparent plastic bag or put them under a glass jar. In this case, it will be necessary to air it daily, and when the soil dries up a little, water it. It is important that the cuttings are semi-lignified, as the soft and green branches can easily rot and prevent root release. After the cuttings take root, then it is necessary to transplant into a more suitable soil with a pinch of the tops to stimulate branching.
Seed propagation is more common. A day or two before sowing, it is required to soak the seeds in warm water. Then they are scarified - gently wipe the seed shell with a nail file, while it is important not to damage its inner part. Sowing is carried out in a peat-sand mixture, thoroughly moistened before sowing. The planting depth of the seed is equal to 0.5 cm. During germination, the substrate should always remain moist, but not waterlogged. Then the container with crops is covered with a piece of glass or wrapped in a plastic transparent bag.
The place where the seed pot is placed should be well lit, and the temperature is maintained in the range of 20-25 degrees. When caring for crops, the cover should be removed daily for 10-15 minutes, and if the soil begins to dry out, then spray it from a spray bottle. The first shoots can appear both after 10 days and after 4 months. After a pair of true leaves has developed on the plants, you can transplant into separate pots. At the very beginning, the seedling is forming cotyledon leaves, and over time, real adult leaves of a complex shape develop. The "peacock flower" obtained in this way will delight with flowering already for 2-3 years from sowing, but this will directly depend on the conditions of its maintenance.
Difficulties arising in the process of cultivating Caesalpinia
Since the plant is quite resistant to pests, the biggest problem when kept in a dry room is only the spider mite. To combat it, insecticidal preparations are used. It happens that cesalpinia can suddenly shed all the deciduous mass, but then it usually builds up. If the flowering process does not occur, then this is usually due to a lack of lighting, in which the shoots are also strongly stretched and the foliage becomes smaller.
Caesalpinia facts for the curious, photos
In the native places of natural growth, the "peacock flower", namely a variety of the most beautiful Caesalpinia (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) has long been used to cure multiple diseases. For example, in case of fever, the juice of leaf plates was used, and squeeze from flowers was used to lubricate wounds for their speedy healing, seeds were prescribed for severe coughing or chest pains.
Also, the wood of some varieties of the "pride of Barbados" used to be used to extract the dye of red clair, and therefore the plant itself was often called mahogany. And the seeds of the species Caesalpinia coriaria, which was called dividivi, have long been suitable for tanning and black paint was prepared from them.
If you plunge into history, then the state of Brazil bears its name thanks to the rich thickets of a dyeing tree, and according to some reports, since 1193 such a dyeing tree, called brasil or bresil, was brought from India.
Important! Since not only the pods (beans), but also the colorful flowers are quite poisonous, you should not put a pot of cesalpinia in the reach of small children or pets, which may begin to chew on parts of the plant.
Types of cesalpinia for growing indoors
- Caesalpinia the fairest (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) is the most decorative representative of the genus. The flowers have a fiery color and strongly elongated scarlet stamens protrude from the corolla. Under natural conditions, the plant takes the form of a lush bush or tree with small dimensions in height, reaching a maximum of 6 meters, but when grown in room conditions, its branches can reach up to one and a half meters in height. The outline of the crown is compact, although it itself is rather dense. The foliage has a complex finger-like shape and a light green color scheme. During flowering, inflorescences of spherical outlines are formed, in which flowers of a bright red hue are collected. The petals are in a corolla with a corrugated surface, and along the edge there is a border with an uneven yellow stripe. In the panicle inflorescence, the buds begin to bloom one after another, in circles, thus creating the feeling of a "wheel". Long scarlet-colored stamens hanging from the flowers also add to the effect of this process. When grown indoors, bright lighting and room temperatures are recommended for this variety. At the same time, the plant does not tolerate a draft, and being in the open air, it is afraid of rain.
- Caesalpinia bonduc or it is also called Gwilandina. This variety has a liana-like shape with sufficient branching of shoots, which can reach 15 m in height. Occasionally, the plant takes the form of a shrub or a small tree (its trunk does not exceed 5 cm in diameter). The branches that have grown in the new year have a shiny black bark and curved thorns grow on them. The leaf plates on the shoots are arranged in the next order, their shape is double pinnately dissected. The full size of the leaf plate in length is 25–80 cm with a width of about 30 cm. There are up to 6–11 pairs of leaf lobes in a leaf. Their surface is leathery, each lobe has its own petiole. At the base, the leaflet is wedge-shaped or rounded, there is a sharpening at the top. From the upper part, the leaf lobe is glossy, and from the reverse side it is matte, dark. During flowering, bright yellow flowers with a pleasant aroma are formed. From them, racemose inflorescences are collected, measuring up to 30-60 cm in length. The inflorescences take their origin from the leaf sinuses and at the tops of the branches. Sepals grow free, the shape of the petals in the corolla is inverse lanceolate, they are also free, not exceeding 1–1.5 cm in length. The lower petals in the corolla are slightly larger than the upper ones. The number of stamens can be up to 5 pairs. The filaments are thickened. When ripe, the beans take on a flattened and oblong shape, their surface is densely covered with thorns. When the beans are still unripe, their color is red; when fully ripe, it changes to dark brown to almost black. Inside there are 1-2 seeds, ovoid. The plant is mainly found in Asia, Africa, South America, Florida and Hawaii. It is the seeds of this variety that are usually used for the game "cook".
- Tanning Caesalpinia (Caesalpinia coriaria). The native growing areas are on the island of Aruba. Takes the form of a tall shrub or small tree. Usually the outlines of the plant go a little to the side, due to the constant winds in that area. The length of the leaf plate as a whole is 15 cm. During flowering, panicle inflorescences are formed, the length of which does not exceed 5 cm. Each flower has 5 yellow petals. In the lower part, the stamens have pubescence. The flowering process takes time from September to October. The fruit is a brown-brown bean, which reaches 7.5 cm in length and about 1.2 cm in width. It was in the outer shell of the fruit of this species that tannins, acting as natural tannins, were found. Until the middle of the 20th century, tannic acid obtained from the beans of the plant was delivered to tanneries in Holland. Also, the tanning cesalpinia tree is a symbol of the island, and at the film festival, which is held in Aruba, the winner is presented with an image of this representative of the flora made of noble metal.
