Sansevieria cylindrica belongs to the genus Sansevieria, which includes more than 10 varieties. The homeland of this flower is considered to be the territory of South Africa. Sansevieria began to be used as a houseplant at the beginning of the XIV century. Popularly, this flower has several names: pike tail, devilish tongue or leopard lily.

Botanical description of the plant

A distinctive feature of these flowers is the complete absence of the stem and elongated xiphoid leaves of a deep green color with the presence of a characteristic striation. Cylindrical sansevieria, unlike other flowers of this genus, has leaves twisted into a tube. The height of this plant can reach 1.5 m.

Sansevieria blooms very rarely, since the main reason for this phenomenon is the desire for reproduction with a slow deterioration of environmental conditions. For example, it can be a very overgrown root system, which ceases to be enough nutrients in the soil. Typically, the flowering process occurs in early spring.

Did you know? It is believed that with the flowering of sansevieria, any conceived business will necessarily end in success.

In the process of flowering, the plant produces a peduncle, which can reach about a meter in length. The flower itself has the appearance of an ear on which white flowers are evenly distributed. Flowering usually lasts for 5–7 days.

Benefit and harm

• In addition to its extraordinary appearance and extreme unpretentiousness, sansevieria is also endowed with a lot of advantages:
• ability to emit large amounts of oxygen;
• antibacterial effect;
• improving the quality of immunity and accelerating metabolism;
• neutralization of harmful fumes in the room (for example, from paint);
• The juice of this plant is often used in the treatment of diseases such as cystitis, inflammation of the appendages, otitis media and many others.

In addition, it is believed that the flower can clean the house of negative energy, absorb radiation from a computer or TV. According to Feng Shui, sansevieria is able to promote the assimilation of information, absorb the manifestations of anger and rudeness.

• But, having so many positive qualities, this flower suggests some limitations:
• using sansevieria for treatment, extreme caution must be exercised, since this plant contains the toxic substance saponin;
• the energy of this flower is considered too strong for children's rooms, or games;
• Sansevieria is not put up in the bedroom of the spouses - it is believed that this leads to frequent quarrels, the office or living room will be the best place for a pot with a plant.

Conditions for successful growing at home

This variety of flowers refers to completely non-picky plants that grow easily at home. If the owner knows the basic rules of care, sansevieria will be able to decorate any home with its unusual appearance.

Shine

Sansevieria does not apply to plants that are in dire need of lighting, so a flower pot can be safely placed away from windows. But still, about 10 hours a day, any kind of light should get on the plant - it doesn’t matter, artificial or natural.

Important! The only thing to avoid when creating lighting is direct sunlight, which can leave burns on the surface of the sheet.

Temperature mode

A comfortable ambient temperature for this flower lies within +10 ... + 25 ° С during the warm season and +10 ... + 15 ° С in the cold. Despite its unpretentiousness, sansevieria does not tolerate low temperatures very well and even at + 5 ° C and lower it can become sick and die.

It is worth noting another feature of this flower, which compares it favorably with its indoor counterparts - sansevieria is absolutely not afraid of drafts.

Air humidity

Sansevieria doesn’t care what the humidity of the environment is - this factor does not affect its growth or development. Spraying this plant is required only to remove accumulated dust on its leaves. You can also use a damp cloth or tissue for this procedure.

Home Care

As mentioned earlier, sansevieria refers to unpretentious plants. Therefore, following a few recommendations, it is very easy to grow a flower that can become the "highlight" of any interior.

Did you know? This flower got its name in honor of the prince of Italy - San Severino Raimondo di Sangro, who made considerable efforts to develop the natural sciences, in particular botany.

Watering

Sansevieria refers to succulents, that is, to plants that have special tissues for water supply - which means that it does not need abundant watering. In warm periods of the year, watering is carried out 1 time per week; when the temperature drops, and also if the plant is in the shade, watering is enough 1 time per month. In any case, you should focus more on the state of the soil - watering is carried out only when the earth dries.

The temperature of the water does not play a big role, but we must try to ensure that when watering the water does not fall into the axils of the leaves, as this can provoke decay processes.

Top dressing

During the period of active growth and development (usually from the beginning of May to the end of September), sansevieria requires frequent top dressing - once every 2 weeks. During dormancy, it is sufficient to fertilize the soil only 1 time per month, and under conditions of low ambient temperatures it is not required at all.

As a top dressing, complex mineral fertilizers, or fertilizers for succulents and cacti, are suitable. However, it should be taken into account - when growing variegated varieties, fertilizers with a high nitrogen content are not used, since this element promotes the active production of chlorophyll and increases the leaf greening.

Pruning

The process of pruning sansevieria is not mandatory - rather, it is a way to maintain or restore the original decorative appearance of the flower. To do this, completely cut out the old leaves, as well as all the others, which have an unpresentable appearance: dry, damaged, rotted, yellowed, etc. The tips usually dry out - this is the normal state of the sheet, but you can also trim them carefully if you wish. In this case, one should not get carried away, otherwise the flower will cease to grow in height. There is also the opportunity to slightly cut too thick bushes.

Transfer

The transplant process is carried out as needed - for example, if the flower has grown greatly and ceased to fit in the pot. The frequency of transplants depends on the age of the plant. Young sansevieria transplanted once a year, adult plants - once every 2-3 years. The size of the new pot should not be much larger than the old one - by about 1.5–2 cm. This is due to the fact that the root system of this flower is superficial and does not require a large amount of soil. Typically, a transplant is performed in the spring.

As a soil, a non-nutritious and rapidly drying soil is suitable - this can be purchased at a store with a ready-made composition for succulents or cacti, or made independently. A mixture of equal parts of foliage, turf land and sand is suitable. Before planting, such a mixture is recommended to be calcined in the oven (half an hour at +70 ... + 90 ° C) or steamed.

Video: transplanting sansevieria cylindrica into a coconut substrate

Breeding

At home, sansevieria is propagated in a vegetative way, i.e. by separating the root system, as well as stems and leaves.

Cuttings

For propagation in this way, one of the bottom leaves is selected from the whole flower - it must be adult and healthy, without visible defects. The sheet is divided into several parts (about 5 cm, but not more than 10 cm) and dried for about 2 days. After that, each leaf fragment is placed in the soil to a depth of not more than 2 cm and the pot is covered with a plastic film to form greenhouse conditions. The container itself is placed in a well-lit, warm place. Once a day, the pot must be aired.

Important! Variegated sansevieria can be propagated only by dividing the rhizome, since when propagated by cuttings, colored stripes on the leaves are not transmitted.

On average, cuttings finally take root after 3 weeks, over the next 2 months the first new shoots appear, and after a few more months a new flower will be ready for transplanting.

Rhizome division

This procedure is convenient to do with a plant transplant. For this, the flower bush is dismantled and the necessary part with the rhizome is separated with a knife. Slices that remain after separation are necessarily processed in order to avoid the occurrence of rotting processes - usually crushed coal is used for such purposes. Planting is carried out in a prepared pot with a ready-made substrate for succulents, or with soil prepared independently.

Possible growing difficulties

Most often, problems with the content of sansevieria can be infectious diseases, or damage by pests.

Among the most common diseases are:

1. Soft rot - the main symptoms of this disease are the unpleasant odor exuded by the plant, as well as the softened affected part of the flower, which is located in the basal zone.
2. Root rot - new shoots rot, leaves twist, brown or red spots appear on them.
3. Leaf rot - The symptom is the appearance of round, spore-covered, gray spots on the leaves, which then turn brown.

Such diseases are primarily associated with improper care, which provokes germination in the soil of the fungus. Therefore, when faced with such diseases, it is necessary to reduce watering and use antifungal drugs, such as "Fungicide." Also, this flower is susceptible to attack by pests, among which there may be:

1. Spider mite - The main symptom is yellowed leaves with whitish spots. To get rid of this pest, the sheets of sansevieria are wiped with a piece of tissue dipped in the juice of any citrus fruit. If the lesion area is very large, use any insecticidal drug such as Fitoverma.
2. Thrips - the main lesion falls on the lower part of the leaf, and the surface of the upper acquires a grayish brown color. Insecticides are used to combat this pest.
3. Mealybug - chooses a basal system by its location, the main sign of the presence of this pest is leaf fall. To get rid of the worm, all pests in the field of vision are collected and removed from the flower manually, the leaves are treated first with water using a wet sponge, and then with insecticidal preparations like Karbofos.

In general, caring for sansevieria does not take much time, and it rarely causes trouble. In exchange for minimal attention, the owner of such a flower will receive a beautiful and unusual plant that can decorate any interior.