Description of the signs of a hatior, advice on growing, the possibility of independent reproduction and transplantation, difficulties in caring for a succulent, interesting facts. Hatiora is a member of the large and varied family of Cactaceae, and is numbered by some taxonomists in the genus Rhipsolis. In this composition, from five to ten representatives of the planet's flora are isolated that meet certain parameters of a given succulent - a plant that accumulates liquid in its shoots and stems and then with its help withstands drought and hot weather. The homeland of the hatiora is considered to be the territory of Brazil. This succulent loves to settle in humid forests, where a tropical climate prevails. The plant has an epiphytic or lithophytic form of growth, in the first case it chooses the trunks and branches of trees for its growth, and in the second it is located in gorges among rocks and mountains.
The hatiora is named after the English scientist, mathematician and cartographer Thomas Hariot, who lived in the 16th century and was engaged in the compilation of geographical maps of South America. Many scientists engaged in botany used the maps compiled by Chariot in their searches and expeditions, so it was decided to call the genus of these exotic plants that way. And in 1923, Nathaniel Britton and Joseph Rose gave a name to the entire numerous genus of similar succulents. But from the very beginning, the name fully corresponded to the surname of the scientist, and was Hariota, and it also included plants that were later isolated into separate genera - these are Rhipsalis and Rhipsalidopsis. All the remaining representatives of succulents began to unite into a single genus of Hatior, which was obtained from the anagram of the name of the scientist Khariot.
This plant is surprising in that its stems have segments and look like a kind of green coral, which knows how has grown on the surface of the soil, although by its appearance the succulent should be on the seabed. It can really be confused in the form of shoots with Ripsalis, and in the structure of flowers with Schlumberger (Decembrist). But the difference between the hatiora is that the bud of its flowers is radially symmetrical, and the tube is not so long and does not have a bend. In Schlumberger, the flower is zygomorphic - that is, a line can be drawn along the flower that will divide it into two symmetrical parts, the symmetry goes along the perianth.
The segments of the shoots in the hatiora have a cylindrical shape, they can be in the form of clubs (pins) or bottles, and there are varieties with flat segments. These long shoots, at the very beginning of growth, try to lead an upright lifestyle, but then, under their weight, they hang down, hanging from the pot, so you can grow the hatiora as an ampelous plant in pots-pots. Segments rarely exceed 3 cm in length with a width of 0.5 cm to 1 cm, and have a fairly strong branching. The height of the bush in conditions of "captivity" rarely exceeds 40 cm, but there are varieties that reach meter marks. Their color is deep green, the surface is matte, smooth.
On the last segments, as a rule, wonderful flower buds that resemble bells bloom. Their diameter is approximately equal to a centimeter. The color of the flowers is very diverse, there are specimens with bright yellow, orange, pink with a lilac undertone, and all kinds of shades of red color scheme of different brightness and color saturation. They bloom in huge numbers. Fruiting occurs with yellow or white berries.
Recommendations for caring for a hatiora at home
- Lighting and location selection. The plant likes soft diffused lighting, but it must be sufficient, otherwise flowers may not appear. Windows of the east or west direction will do. On the windowsill of the northern window, you will have to illuminate the hatior with phytolamps, but having installed a pot with succulent on the window of the southern location, you need to shade it with curtains.
- Content temperature. It is required to maintain the temperature regime with special care, since its violation will lead to the reset of segments or colors. In summer, it is required that the heat indicators fluctuate between 18-22 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn, a dormant period begins, at which it is necessary to set 12-17 degrees. Resting time lasts approximately 6-8 weeks, and if the indicators are within these limits, then the plant in the future will bloom profusely and for a long time. As soon as buds appear on the succulent, and the hatiora is ready to dissolve them, the pot should be transferred to a warmer room.
- Air humidity. For a hatiora, an increased water content in the air is not a mandatory requirement, but if the temperature begins to rise or in the winter months the plant stands next to the heating devices, then the bush is sprayed. Also, dry air can provoke damage from harmful insects. Next to the plant, you can put vessels with water or place the pot in deep trays with expanded clay or pebbles poured onto the bottom, into which a little water is poured.
- Watering the succulent. In springtime and throughout the entire period of growth and flowering, as soon as new segments began to form, it is necessary to regularly and abundantly moisten the soil in the pot. The signal for watering is the drying of the upper layer of the substrate in the container. For humidification, well-settled water at room temperature is used, and after half an hour, it is required to drain the remaining moisture that has leaked into the bowl under the pot. In winter, watering is reduced, and during the dormant period, it is possible not to moisten the soil at all.
- Fertilizer Hatiory begins at a time when the period of activation of growth and movement of juices comes. Complex mineral dressings are used every 14 days. You can buy fertilizers for cacti. Other compositions should not contain calcium, as well as excess nitrogen, since the latter can lead to rotting of the root system.
- Transplantation and choice of substrate. A change in the container in which the hatiora grows must be carried out immediately after the end of flowering. For young plants, this procedure is annual, and for adult specimens every 2-3 years, when the plant has reached a large size, the pot is replaced every 4-5 years. Planting containers must be equal in depth and width. A layer of expanded clay is poured at the bottom of the pot, You can use baskets for epiphytic plants.
The substrate should be light, with good air and moisture permeability, have a slightly acidic reaction (approximately pH 5-6). Hatiora feels best in organic peat soils. You can also use mixtures for cacti, mixing perlite or vermiculite into them, and also make up the substrate yourself:
- sod, leafy soil, humus, river sand - all parts are equal;
- garden soil, peat soil and river sand (in equal proportions);
- deciduous soil, humus, sod, top peat and coarse sand (in a ratio of 6: 4: 1: 2: 2).
Also, some gardeners mix some fine gravel into the soil.
Hatiora succulent self-breeding tips
You can get a new hatiora by grafting or grafting.
It is necessary for grafting to unscrew a cutting 2-3 segments long from the mother plant and leave to dry a little. Then the twig is planted in moist soil or sand. Such cuttings take root very quickly. It often happens that if the segments fell from the mother's house into the same pot or containers with the substrate standing next to it, then the plant may self-root.
Hatiora can be grafted using the stalk of the prickly pereskii - this plant is the ancestor of almost all cacti. This operation is best done in the summer. In pereskia, it is required to remove the upper part of the branching of the stem with leaves, it must be exposed and split. 2-3 segments are unscrewed from the hatior and, after sharpening in the form of a wedge, inserted into the split of the scion stem. It is recommended to secure the vaccination with a paper clip, needle, thorn, thread or plaster. It is not required to wrap up the scion, accretion occurs in 2 weeks. In this case, heat indicators should be within 18-20 degrees. When the grafted stalk starts to grow, the bandage is removed and all leaves that appear below the grafting are removed.
With the help of seed material, the succulent practically does not multiply.
Difficulties in cultivating hatiora
It happens that a plant is affected by a spider mite, mealybug, whitefly or scale insect. In this case, a sticky, cotton-like bloom or cobweb appears on the segments of the stems. They can deform and turn yellow, and the growth of the hatiora stops. In this case, it is necessary to carry out treatment with insecticidal agents.
Also, if the conditions of care are violated, in particular, the soil is flooded or high humidity at low temperatures, the plant can be affected by late blight or fusarium. A dirty brown bloom appears on the stems, which is then replaced by a gray-whitish coating of spores. To eliminate this problem, it is necessary to remove the affected parts of the hathiora, treat the remaining plant with a fungicide, as well as the place where it grows. If this does not help, then you will have to destroy the entire bush.
If the succulent does not bloom or forms a small number of buds, then this means a lack of nutrients in the substrate or the absence of cool wintering. If the dropping of flowers or segments began, then insufficient watering of the soil, a low temperature of the content, decay of the root system or damage by harmful insects contributed to this.
Interesting facts about hatior
In some countries, the hatiora for its strange appearance of the segments is called "Dancing skeleton" or "Cactus of dancing bones" (Dancing Bones Cactus). In the salikornia-like hatiora variety, the segments generally have a bottle shape, and for this there is also the name "Drunkard's Dream" or the softer "Piquant cactus" (Spice cactus). Perhaps the rather sloppy appearance of the plant, when it grows enough, or the fact that the succulent has the ability to settle on other trees and cannot "stand steadily" on the surface of the soil, like a person who "took on his chest" quite a lot, served this.
Types of hatiora
The Hatiora subgenus contains three types of plants - these are Hatiora salicornioides, Hatiora herminiae, Hatiora cylindrical, and in all of them the segments of the stems have a cylindrical shape, they grow almost vertically, their stems quickly lignify, and the size of flowers is not too large.
- Hatiora salicornioides (Hatiora salicornioides). The plant has a height of up to half a meter, the form of growth is bushy. Succulent shoots branch strongly. The color of the stems is dark emerald, they are thin and delicate in appearance, drooping with age to the ground. The shape of the segments is bottleneck, in length they can be measured from one and a half to five centimeters with a diameter of the base of the “bottle” of 0.7 cm. On each apex of the segment there is a white formation of areoles in the form of a cap with miniature bristles. As the plant matures, new segments-pins grow from each areola, from which bundles of 2-6 units are collected. On the lateral surface of the segment, very small areoles can be seen, but most often they are weakly expressed, and resemble smooth micro tubercles. The plant has no leaves as such. Flowering stretches from winter months to spring. Flowers are arranged singly, they sit on a segment (they lack both a peduncle and a peduncle). They grow on the very top and youngest areoles. The calyx of the bud is multilayered, slightly elongated and reaching 2 cm in diameter. The petals are fleshy, translucent, painted in yellow shades. The outer layer is usually spliced at the base, and because of this, a small and wide-opening tube, centimeter long, is formed. This species is the only one that is adapted for indoor cultivation.
- Hatiora Herminiae. The plant can only reach up to 30 cm in height. The branches are colored grayish or dark green. Shoot segments are uniformly cylindrical, measured 5 cm in length with a half-centimeter width, the diameter of the section along the entire length of the segment does not change. The areoles on the sides of the segments are much larger than in the hatiora salicata, and the setae of 1–2 pieces are well defined. Flowering occurs in crimson buds, the length of the tube-shaped part reaches 2 cm, and the calyx in diameter can open by 2.5 cm.
- Hatiora cylindrica (Hatiora cylindrica). This plant seems to have combined all the characteristics of the above-described varieties: the segments of the stems are of equal width along the entire length, and the flowers are painted in a bright lemon shade. The subgenus Ripsolidopsis includes three natural varieties and one bred hybrid. These plants have drooping branches, in which the segments are flat, wide, elliptical in shape, with slightly arboricity, the flowers are large in size and bright shades. Like the above described succulent representatives, these plants have weak pubescence on the tops of each areola, but on the sides of the areola they are located strictly at the base of the edge denticles. In the conditions of apartments and offices, it is customary to grow two species of these cacti - Hatiora gaertneri and Hatiora x graeseri, which is a hybrid of Hatiora gaertneri and Hatiora rosea. These plants are often called "Easter cactus" by the people.
- Hatiora Gartner (Hatiora gaertneri). It is this variety with its flat, oval-shaped segments and a weakly arched edge that resembles Shlumbergera russeliana, which is popularly called "Rozhdestvennik" or "Christmas cactus". However, in the last of the areoles with weak pubescence, 1–2 new segments develop, while in the hatiora, triple branching also occurs. The edge of this succulent variety has a great smoothness along the edge, the teeth are not so pronounced and there are usually 3-5 units of them. The length of the segments reaches 4-7 cm with a width of 2-2.5 cm. The flowers bloom in a red-crimson tone, reaching 5 cm in diameter. They grow from the apical areoles, and originate not only at the very tops of the shoots, but also on previous segments. Where they connect, as if clinging to the protrusions that remained from the tops. When this plant begins to bloom, it is difficult to confuse it with other succulents. Although the bud also has a funnel (cone-like shape) of the corolla, its calyx opens up strongly and has multiple narrow and long petals that are pressed against each other, although they are different in length (long inside and short outside). In Schlumberger, the petals form separate tiers.
- Hatiora rosea (Hatiora rosea). The size of this plant is more compact, the segments of the branches measure 2.5 cm with a centimeter width. It blooms with a pink-crimson shade of buds, reaching 4 cm in diameter.
- Hybrid succulent Hatiora x graeseri has a compact size and flowers 7.5 cm in diameter. Their color varies from pale pink to dark crimson.
- Hatiora epiphilloides (Hatiora epiphilloides). With this plant, amateur flower growers are practically not familiar. It does not grow indoors. The size of the segments is measured within 2 cm in length with a centimeter in width. Blossoming with yellow concrete 1 cm long and 1 cm in diameter.
You will learn everything about growing and breeding hatiors from this video:
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