Cissus is a decorative curly vine. It belongs to the Grape family, so the plant is often called "home grapes" or "birch" (due to the similarity of foliage). Cissus is widespread in the tropical and subtropical zones of Africa and Australia. It is quite popular in home gardening. Long shoots with carved leaves form a dense beautiful crown, which can braid supports or fall beautifully from the cache-pot. Flowers are suitable for decorating a balcony or any room in the house. Lush thickets of unpretentious plants are also found in offices or public institutions.
Plant description
Cissus is a perennial deciduous or evergreen vine. The rhizome is quite compact. Flexible shoots are able to grow in length by 3-3.5 m. Gradually, the base lignifies, becomes less flexible and becomes covered with a rough gray bark. Over the years, it has cracked and peeled off like paper. The stem has internodes in which petioles and antennae are located. Often at the ends of the antennae an extension is formed in the form of a disk. Cissus uses extensions such as suction cups to cling to surfaces.
Petiole leaves are arranged next. The sheet plate is solid, palm-complex or lobed. The leaves have a glossy surface of a plain bright green color. Variegated forms are also found.
At home, flowering of cissus is extremely rare, but this is not a concern. Small flowers cannot compete in beauty with decorative foliage. Small greenish flowers gather in racemose inflorescences in the internodes. If they are pollinated, small rounded berries of red or black color will form. They contain small seeds.
Popular types and varieties
The genus of cissus is very diverse. It has more than 350 species and several decorative varieties. In culture, only a small number of the most attractive plants are used.
Cissus Antarctic (Kangaroo liana, New Zealand grapes). Long shoots are covered with evergreen petiolate foliage. Oval or ovate leaf plates have small teeth along the edge. The front surface is dark green and glossy, the reverse is lighter, with a slight pubescence along the veins. There is a leaf in the internodes, and in front of it there are curled antennae. Petioles, antennae and young shoots are covered with brown pile. Scutellaria inflorescences consist of small yellow-green flowers. The plant adapts well to deep shade and can withstand winter cooling to + 5 ° C.
Cissus is multi-colored. The plant is very popular because of the colorful leaves. On the dark green sheet plates are burgundy-brown stripes and silver spots. The reverse side of the heart-shaped leaves is painted in dark pink. In winter, the plant drops most of the leaves. After this, the shoots are partially cut and reduced watering. In the spring, the crown is restored.
Cissus is rhomboid. Liana has thinner and more flexible shoots. Regular leaflets have a diamond shape and are located on small petioles. The sheet plate has serrated edges and is painted dark green. Small greenish flowers consist of five bracts. Root inflorescences are collected in leaf axils on young shoots. After pollination, red edible berries ripen. The decorative variety of rhomboid cissus - Ellen Danica is very popular. It is distinguished by carved leaflets of a lighter color.
Cissus Baynez. A perennial plant takes the form of a bush. A bottle-shaped stem 40 cm long at the bottom can expand to 20 cm. The upper part of the trunk has several branches. The foliage contains ternary lobes and is located on short petioles in the upper part of the shoots. The sheet length reaches 12 cm. Both sides of the sheet plate are covered with felt pile.
The cissus is tetrahedral (quadrangular). This climbing perennial is distinguished by unusual shoots. Fleshy tetrahedral lobes resemble cactus stems. They combine in long vines. At the junction, there are heart-shaped or lobed light green leaves and twisted antennae. On the shoots, rounded inflorescences periodically bloom.
Breeding methods
Reproduction of cissus can be done in several ways:
- Sowing seeds. Seeds are sown in a bowl with a calcined sand-peat mixture. They are distributed on the surface and pressed into the ground with a plaque. After spraying from the spray bottle, the pot is covered with a transparent material. The container is placed in a lit place with an air temperature of + 20 ... + 25 ° C. Shoots appear very uneven after 4-6 months. When 2 real leaves grow, the seedlings are spread in separate small pots.
- Rooting cuttings. In spring and summer, you can cut the apical cuttings. Well-developed, healthy processes with two or more kidneys are treated with a growth stimulant and placed in a container with water. When young roots form, cuttings are planted in the ground. After planting for a week, it is advisable to add “root” to the water.
- Division of the bush. The cissus bush gradually expands in breadth and gives root processes. During the spring transplant, a large plant can be divided. Rhizomes with growth points are cut with a sharp blade into several parts and immediately planted in the ground. The adaptation process lasts about two weeks, after which the delenki actively enter into growth.
Transplant Rules
Young cissuses are transplanted every spring; for adult plants, one transplant is enough every 2-3 years. If the liana has grown greatly, it is enough to replace the topsoil. The pot is chosen deep, slightly wider than the previous one. At the bottom, lay out a thick drainage layer.
The soil for cissus is made up of such components:
- leaf soil;
- peat;
- soddy soil;
- sand.
Before use, the new soil is calcined in the oven. The transplant is carried out by the method of transshipment of an earthen coma. The procedure should be combined with cropping.
Care Features
Cissus is a plant of medium complexity. If you master some of the rules, the liana will actively grow and form a lush green mass.
Lighting. Almost all varieties of homemade grapes are shade tolerant. They are able to grow even in artificial lighting. However, daylight hours should last 16 hours. In summer, you need to shade the crown from direct sunlight.
Temperature. The optimum temperature for cissus is + 20 ... + 25 ° C. In winter, it can be lowered to + 18 ° C, but this is not necessary. The plant is afraid of drafts and sudden changes in temperature.
Humidity. In order for the crown to grow well, it is necessary to provide increased humidity. It can be provided with regular sprayings. In the summer, it is useful to bathe a creeper under a warm shower.
Watering. The watering mode directly depends on the air temperature in the room. The hotter, the more often you have to water the plant. The soil between waterings should dry only 2-3 cm. With frequent droughts, cissus can lose part of the foliage. In this case, all excess water should freely leave the pot. The pan should also be emptied.
Fertilizer. Top dressing begins to make in the middle of spring. After transplanting within a month, fertilizers are not used. Mineral and organic complexes for decorative and deciduous plants are suitable. They are added to water for irrigation twice a month. Since November, feeding is stopped.
Pruning. In order for the shoots to branch well, they must be nibbled regularly throughout the year. The bare and stretched lashes are cut off. In spring, radical trimming is carried out, removing up to half the crown. This procedure allows the formation of beautiful young shoots.
Diseases and pests. Cissus has excellent immunity to plant diseases. Sometimes parasites (scabbard, aphids and spider mites) bother him. Pests should be treated with an insecticide. If you plan to grow cissus outdoors in the summer, it is better to treat the crown with chemicals in advance.
Possible difficulties
With its appearance, cissus is able to signal errors in care:
- leaves curved or wrinkled - insufficient air humidity;
- sluggish and dull foliage with brown and black spots - a lack of mineral fertilizers;
- too pale leaves - an excess of light;
- sharp falling of leaves - the effect of drafts.
