Palace lantern longevity, also known as red lantern, is a perennial herb of Crassulaceae. The stem is lignified, multi branched, the new branches are soft, the leaves are opposite, long ovate, slightly fleshy. The flower is red, tubular, with 4 petals at the tip, slightly separated, and its shape is similar to a small lantern. Therefore, it is named palace lantern. It has a long life and long flowering period, almost throughout winter and spring. The overall plant is small and exquisite, compact, green leaves and dense flowers. It is an ideal indoor potted flower.
Aspects needing attention in the maintenance of palace lantern longevity flower:
1. Flowerpot: select a ceramic basin with good air permeability. When putting on the basin, lay a layer of broken charcoal or ceramsite on the bottom of the basin, which is conducive to drainage.
2. Soil: like loose and fertile slightly acidic sandy loam, which is easy to rot in heavy clay. Household potted plants can be mixed with rotten leaf soil and vegetable garden topsoil, add a small amount of coarse sand, and then add some bone powder or compound slow-release fertilizer as base fertilizer.
3. Watering: gongdeng longevity has thick leaves and contains much water. It is more drought resistant and afraid of waterlogging. Do not water too much. The basin soil is better to be slightly wet and dry. If the basin soil is too wet, it is easy to cause root rot. The principle of "see dry and see wet, and water thoroughly when watering" shall be adhered to. The water shall be controlled slightly in summer and increased appropriately in spring and autumn. The long-lived flowers raised in the open shall be avoided from rain in the rainy season. The water is easy to rot roots, fall leaves and even die.
4. Light: like sunny environment, shade slightly at noon in midsummer, and try to put it in the sunny place in the rest of the time. Often rotate the flowerpot to receive light evenly, avoid crown deviation and reduce the ornamental value. Although it can grow in the semi shade, it has thin stems, thin leaves, few flowers and light color, which is far less prosperous than that in the sunny place. It is easy to lose leaves and flowers after overcast. Even if the flowering plants are placed in the shade, the flower color will dim, or even fall off and wither.
5. Temperature: gongdeng has a long life, drought resistance and heat resistance are not strong, and its growth state is the best at 15 ~ 25 ℃. It enters semi dormant state at high temperature in summer, and plants below 0 ℃ in winter are easy to frostbite or even freeze to death. It is best to have a small environment that is warm in winter and cool in summer. At noon in midsummer, avoid strong light exposure and place it in a semi shady place with sufficient scattered light, such as under a big tree, under the eaves or a north balcony. Pay special attention to ventilation and cooling. You can sprinkle water on the nearby ground, but don't sprinkle it on the plants. After the beginning of autumn, sunshine can be seen gradually from late August to early September, and more sunshine should be seen from October to promote the transformation from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. When the lowest air temperature drops to about 10 ℃, move it indoors and put it in front of the South or west windowsill to make it more sunny. Keep it at 10 ℃ at night and 15 ℃ to 18 ℃ during the day. It can bloom in about December.
6. Fertilization: Changshou flower prefers fertilizer. After the seedlings are planted in pots or the old plants are divided into plants for half a month, liquid fertilizer dominated by nitrogen can be applied 2 ~ 3 times to promote the growth of stems and leaves. After flowering, it can be applied again to promote its rejuvenation and stop fertilization in summer. When applying fertilizer, do not put fertilizer on the leaves, otherwise the leaves are easy to rot. if you accidentally stain the leaf surface, wash it with water. The flowering period of Changshou flower is long. During the flowering period, thin nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer or 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution shall be applied once a month, so that the later flowers will not become smaller and pale due to lack of fertilizer.
7. Pruning: cut off the flower stems in time after flowering, which is conducive to the next wave of flowering. In the growing season, trim thin weak branches and diseased branches, and properly pick the heart to promote branches and adjust plant type.
8. Pest control: the main diseases are powdery mildew and leaf spot. If they occur, they can be sprayed with methyltobutrazine, cuibei, ether mycoester, etc. Some flower friends also try to dilute the affected area with sulfur and water to treat white powder. It is said that the effect is good. Insect pests include scale insects, small green insects and aphids. Scale insects are treated with Flower God and Guoguang scale, small green insects with Bacillus thuringiensis and aphids with Omethoate.
Propagation method of palace lantern longevity flower:
1. Cutting method
(1) Stem cutting. Before June, the stem segment with 4 ~ 6cm long and 5 ~ 7 leaves shall be cut. After the cut is dried, it shall be inserted into a small basin filled with plain soil and placed in the shade. After half a month, the root and new leaves show that it has survived. Pick the heart for 1 ~ 2 times to promote its multiple branches and flowers. Cutting is not suitable for high temperature in July. Cutting can also be carried out from mid and late August to early September, and flowering can also be carried out in the next spring, but it is not as much as cutting in May and June.
(2) Leaf cutting. Cut the robust and full leaves from the petiole, insert them obliquely or put them flat on the sand bed after the incision is slightly dry, and keep the humidity for about 10 ~ 15 days. They can take root from the base of the leaves and grow new plants.
2. Ramet method
After the old plants spend the summer, turn the pots in the autumn, cut the larger plants with a sharp knife and plant them separately. After survival, they should also pick the heart 1 ~ 2 times to promote their multiple branches and flowers.
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