Pereskia: description of species, care and reproduction

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Pereskia is a plant of the cactus family. Homeland – the tropics and subtropics of America. This ancient representative of the Cactus family has retained its leaves and shrub form due to more or less favorable environmental conditions compared to the desert.

Pereskia is not like the cactus we are used to. It is a shrub with real fleshy, almost succulent leaves, with rare spines on the stem.

There are also tree instances. The stems are very strong. In young shoots, they are smooth and green, but over time they can become covered with light brown bark.

The shape of the branches is somewhat broken. In a cactus such as pereskia, the spines are located in the areoles in the axils of the leaves, which makes them difficult to notice and easily injured. They can grow singly, or they can be collected in bunches.

Sometimes the number of thorns in one bundle can reach 80 pieces, and their length reaches 12 cm. In the natural environment, with the help of thorns, the plant clings to the trunks of trees that are nearby.

As you can see from the photo , the leaves of the pereskia are light green or purple in color, but with age they lose their color, dry and fall off.

Leaves lanceolate, lanceolate-oval or obovate, narrowed towards the end. They grow in succession, one after another. Their edges are solid, the surface is glossy. In some species, the leaflets are slightly bent along the central vein. The length of the leaf plate in small specimens is 1.5 – 2 cm. In large plants, it can reach 25 cm.

The flowers of such a leaf cactus as pereskia are somewhat different from other members of the family – they do not have a typical pronounced tube and have wide petals. Sometimes they have a wide oval shape. They may slightly resemble a wild rose. Flowers solitary or collected in inflorescence. In most plants, they are collected in dense apical inflorescences-brushes. Blooms in September – October.

After that, juicy fruits of a rounded or pear-shaped form are formed. Inside them are quite large black seeds that have a glossy surface.

Pereskia prickly, large-flowered and Godseffa (with photo)

About 17 species of perescia are known. Most popular:
Pereskia large-flowered (P. grandiflora) – pink flowers up to 8 cm in diameter;

Pereskia bleo;

Prickly pereskia (P. aculeata) – long shoots, slightly waxy leaves.

Below is their description.

Pereskia prickly (Pereskia aculeata) . Pereskia prickly is an incredibly branched and winding shrub with a fleshy stem, the diameter of which can reach 1.5 cm. The leaves of the plant are lanceolate or oval in shape, narrowed towards the end. Their maximum length reaches 9 cm, and their width is 4 cm. The old lower leaves fall off over time, and areoles with several straight and hard spines remain on the stem.

In those areoles where there are still leaves, two meek spines are located. Therefore, when caring for prickly pereskey, and especially when transplanting at home, care must be taken. Also, given that the shrub is curly, it would be best to make some kind of frame for it, as well as cut it from time to time. Otherwise, the flower may climb onto neighboring plants. Inflorescences appear at the end of summer.

As you can see in the photo , the flowers of perescia prickly are cup-shaped, have white petals with a slightly pinkish tinge and many yellow stamens in the center.

Their diameter can vary from 2-5 to 4.5 cm. They emit a light pleasant aroma.

Can be collected in inflorescences up to 70 pieces. After the flowers wither, round yellow fruits up to 2 cm in diameter appear. They are quite edible and have a sweetish aftertaste. They are also called “Surinamese gooseberries”.

Pereskia prickly Godsefa (Pereskia aculeata var. godseffiana) . This is one of the most popular varieties of P. prickly.

Pereskia Godsef is a relatively low shrub, the shoots of which can reach no more than 1.8 meters in length.

The leaves are lanceolate or oval, but rather small in comparison with the original species. Their upper part has a light green color with a pinkish tint, while the lower part is richly burgundy. There are also variegated varieties of this plant.

Pereskia grandiflora (Pereskia grandiflora) . This type of parescia plant differs from others not only in the slightly larger size of the flowers, but also in the length of the leaf plates. The flowers of this cactus are approximately 6 cm in diameter, while the leaves on the largest specimens can reach 25 cm in length.

The shape of the leaves is oval, oblong, with a pointed end. The color is dark green, with a red edge around the edges. The flowers of this type of pereskia are collected in inflorescences of 10 – 30 pieces and have pink petals with yellow stamens.

The yellow-green fruits are quite large, their shape slightly resembles pears. The plant itself can be either a shrub or a small tree.

Caring for prickly prickly, large-flowered and Godseff at home

Pereskia is a light-loving plant, but in summer it is better to protect them from direct sunlight. If a flower is grown for the sake of decorativeness of leaves alone, then it is not very demanding – it will feel good in the back of the room. However, if you want to achieve flowering, care for pereskey should be more careful – it is important to provide it with a lot of light, but at the same time you need to make sure that the flower does not get burned from the sun’s rays. The optimal location is the southern windows. It can grow quite well in the western and northern ones, but flowering in this case is extremely rare. The plant thrives best with 10 hours of daylight. Therefore, in the winter season, it will be necessary to install additional lighting.
Pereskia loves a warm and humid atmosphere. However, the flower tolerates dry air quite well even when central heating batteries are running. You can wash the plant from time to time under a warm shower, while covering the soil well. Such an action will help refresh the pereskia and wash off all the dirt from it. Do not carry out this procedure during flowering. In this case, spraying and lightly rubbing the leaves should be dispensed with.
It is also important to monitor the air temperature in the room with the flower. In winter, the plant should be indoors with a temperature of at least 10-12 ° C. Otherwise, it will freeze and die. At this time, the leaves may partially or completely fall off, but you should not be afraid – this is a natural process. Cool conditions are necessary for abundant flowering in the future. In the warm season, pereskia prefers to be in moderate temperature conditions with a thermometer reading of 22 – 25 ° C. For the summer, it is good to take it out to the garden or to the balcony, but you need to monitor the absence of drafts.
The substrate is special for cacti. The soil should be loose and fertile.
In summer, watering is moderate, but the earthy coma should not be allowed to dry out. Between waterings, the topsoil should dry well, otherwise the root system will begin to rot. In hot weather, it is necessary to moisten the soil a little more often than in moderate air temperatures. In winter, watering is very rare. In this case, the leaves may fall off, but this does not harm the plant. Water should be used soft and settled. You can add a few grains of citric acid to it.
At home, when caring for pereskey, from time to time it is necessary to carry out top dressing, as the soil is depleted over time, and substances useful for the plant are scooped out. In summer, it is advisable to feed the cactus with weak solutions of mineral fertilizers. The use of organic fertilizers is undesirable.
When caring for prickly prickly pear, whose branches tend to curl, the shoots should be supported or regularly cut the plant, forming a bush. This procedure must be carried out in the spring season. The same applies to caring for Godseff’s peresia if it grows at home, since the flowers are similar to each other. Pruning can be done during transplantation.
It is better to transplant the plant as needed, preferably in summer or autumn. Given that young plants grow very quickly, they may need to be transferred to a new pot several times a year. More mature specimens can be transplanted after the root system has entangled the entire earthen clod. Since the roots of the pereskia are very powerful, the pot must be chosen large and wide. At the bottom of the container, be sure to put a layer of drainage, which will not allow excess moisture to stagnate in the ground. The flower is transferred to a new pot along with an old earthy clod so as not to damage the roots. After transplantation, a growth spurt usually follows.

Reproduction pereskia

Propagation of pereskia is carried out by apical cuttings or seeds in spring and summer. It is believed that the vegetative method is more effective.
When propagated by cuttings in spring or summer, not yet lignified branches are selected, on which there is at least one node. You can use shoots taken during pruning. Rooting is preferably carried out in a soil mixture composed of peat mixed with perlite. You can also root the cuttings in water by wrapping them in polyethylene, which will create the effect of a greenhouse. Root formation usually takes 15-20 days. The rhizome of young plants is very weak, so planting must be carried out very carefully.
For seed propagation, containers with seeds are placed in a room with diffused lighting and a temperature of about 22 degrees. After 2-3 leaves appear on the seedlings, they can be planted in separate pots.

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