Jade, or money tree - a plant quite unpretentious. Knowing the basic rules of care, you will not be difficult to grow it. But it is also important to understand that the slightest mistake can cause leaf fall and plant death.
Description of the money tree
The fat woman, or crassula, belongs to the genus Succulents, the family Tolsstyankov. This is a small, neat tree, which many are accustomed to see at home. In nature, it can grow up to 4 meters. On a thick trunk opposite each other, entire leaves grow, which can be either green, silver or framed with a red border.
When creating good conditions and proper care, the plant may bloom with white or yellow flowers. Plants of this genus are distinguished by large leaves and endurance to drought.
There are many different types of money tree, among which there are both annual and perennial. But at home you can grow only some of them.
| Plant type | Description |
| Oval fatty | It can grow up to 1 m in height, has thick branches covered with oval leaves. Their length can be 5 cm, and the width is about 2.5 cm. It blooms with white or pink flowers. |
| Lymphoid Crassula | It is characterized by fleshy, thin, pointed leaves, at the edges of which there is a row of tiny leaves. It blooms in small flowers. The tree quickly grows and multiplies. His shoots hang down a little and fall out of the pot. Crassula roots require a small amount of moisture. |
| Schmidt's fat woman | One of the most common plants in Europe. After flowering, the tree must be thrown away, and next year it will be planted a new one. Characterized by narrow leaves, pointed to the end with a silver coating on top. During its flowering bloom red flowers. |
| Treachery | A tree growing in height to one and a half meters. But its large branches form gray, framed by a red border leaves. Their length reaches 8 cm, and the width is 5 cm. At home, this kind of cuddly blooms quite rarely; in nature, small white flowers can bloom on the tree. It prefers diffused light, so it is better to grow it on the windows from the west and east side. |
| Scatter jerky | Belongs to herbaceous plants. It is characterized by thin ovoid leaves, pointed at the end. It blooms in small white flowers that are collected in inflorescences. |
| Rocky bastard | This is a creeping plant, the length of shoots which reaches 50 cm. Thin fleshy leaves grow in pairs, grow together at the base. During the flowering period, small pink flowers appear on the tree. |
Proper care at home
To care for this plant is quite simple. The main thing - to provide a tropical flower the necessary conditions for life. Also remember that the spring-summer period of this plant is a time of active growth, and winter - rest.
Lighting and temperature
The fat woman is a light-loving plant, but at the same time it does not tolerate direct sunlight. It is best to place the container with the bastard near the south-eastern windows, where there is enough sun, but it is not too hot. In winter, you can put it on the southern windowsill, and in the summer to bring it to the balcony. Outdoors, the plant grows well and can also give flowers.
The main thing - to choose a place protected from drafts and the scorching sun. In the warm season, the temperature for growing Krassula should be around 20-25 degrees. In winter, when the plant is in a dormant period, it is best to keep it in a cool room with a temperature of about 14 degrees.
If it is not possible to provide the necessary temperature in the winter season, it is recommended to put a pot of trees away from heating appliances. In the presence of dry air and heat the leaves will quickly fall off, the plant itself will stretch and die.
Watering and feeding
When caring for the bastard, remember that it is impossible to flood the plant strongly. Regular watering can lead to rotting of the roots and loss of leaves. It is possible to water Crassula only after the earthen clod from above dries out at least 3 cm.
During the rest period, if the plant is kept in a cool room, it is practically not necessary to water the plant. The main thing is to ensure that the substrate in the pot does not dry out completely. At the same time, the tank itself, where the money tree grows, must necessarily have several holes through which water will flow into the pan without lingering in the ground. And just before disembarking, a thick layer of drainage should be poured onto the bottom of the tank. Pudgyanka is watered once every few days with water at room temperature.
In the hot season and when the plant is kept in a room with dry air, 2-3 times a month, it must be washed under a warm shower. In this case, the upper part of the pot with the ground must be wrapped with polyethylene so that water does not fall into the ground.
If it is not possible to arrange a shower procedure for a plant, then its leaves should be periodically sprayed with a spray bottle or wiped with a damp cloth. It is not recommended to feed the plant frequently. It is enough once a month in spring and summer, and once in winter it is easy to fertilize with special nutrient solutions for succulents.
Money tree transplant
Rules for the care of the jersey provide for the transplantation of this plant every 1-2 years. Crassula roots are very small, so the pot for the money tree must match their size. At the same time, the container itself must be heavy, since with a small root system and with a light pot, the tree may be tilted to the side.
It is possible to replant a plant both in soil, which is special for succulents, and in a ground mixture prepared at home. To do this, take 1 part of leafy land, 4 parts of turf soil, 1 part of sand and humus.
At the bottom of the pot you need to pour clay or pieces of brick chips. During transplantation, it is necessary to carefully examine the roots, remove the rotted parts. In this case, the place of the cut must be sprinkled with activated charcoal, and the tree itself is left for a day to dry the roots. Only then can the plant be planted in a prepared container.
Main breeding methods
Junkies at home can be propagated in the following ways: seeds, cuttings. The seeds of the money tree should be poured into seedlings that are filled with moist soil. Top sowing cover glass.
Care is to spray the soil as it dries and airs daily. The first shoots appear after about two weeks.
After that, the glass is immediately removed, and the container from the seedlings is put in a well-lit place. The soil during this period is better not to water, but to spray. As soon as the young plants get a little stronger, they can be planted in separate pots.
Cuttings are the easiest way to reproduce. At the same time, it is best to harvest and plant cuttings in March or April. As the cuttings, you can use the leaves of the plant or a small segment from it.
It is necessary to prepare the ground, deepen the segments by about 6 cm, the leaves - by 1 cm. To make the plant better rooted, a transparent container or glass is placed on top of the container with the cuttings. In such a small greenhouse, the plant will feel as comfortable as possible and take root faster. Care is simple: daily airing, checking soil moisture and spraying if necessary.
Crown formation
In order for a brute to have a round, beautiful crown, and not to look like a shrub with small stems, it is necessary to give shape to it.
Begin this work at a young age of the plant, as soon as 3-4 pairs of leaves appear. To do this, use a pair of tweezers to pinch the new bud located between the leaves. Some time after its removal, several new buds will appear, thus the tree will branch.
During this period, make sure that there are no more than 4 pairs of leaves on each branch. At the grown plants pinch the top. If a fat woman was bought by an adult, then height and pomp are adjusted by trimming. To do this, on 4 pairs of leaves you need to cut 1 branch, sprinkle with the cut area with crushed activated charcoal.
For a uniform growth and development of the crown of a plant, it is necessary to periodically turn it with different sides to the light. Also, experienced gardeners are not advised to plant several shoots in one container at once. Otherwise, in a few months you will get several shapeless bushes.
Diseases and pests
Most often, the painful condition of the money tree is caused by the development of fungal pathologies, the appearance of pests or improper care of the plant. If black brown spots appeared on the leaves, and the tissues began to deteriorate, then the main reason for this is the fungus.
A healthy fat man will quickly grow new leaves, and the crown itself will become even more magnificent. Remember that contributes to the proliferation of spores of fungus high humidity, which often happens with a lack of light. In the future, the plant must be treated with fungicides and be sure to adjust the conditions of its content.
The rotting of the stem is impossible to cure. Most often this happens when watering too often. The roots begin to rot, then the trunk is affected. Since you have planted a succulent, watering should be done very carefully. And here there is one important rule: it is better not to pour than to pour.
Pests attack this plant rarely, however, and this happens. Thus, the presence of a mealybird can be identified by the appearance of white lumps, similar to cotton wool. If your plant is attacked by a scythe, reddish dots form on the leaves.
Whatever pests you encounter, they need to be collected with a damp cloth, after mechanical cleaning of the plant from them. Then the bastard sprayed with suitable insecticides.
Why is the money tree shedding leaves?
There may be several reasons for this. For example, this leads to excessive watering. To identify this problem, pay attention to the plant: when watering too much, the leaves turn yellow first, then they become softer, and then they fall off. Be sure to reduce watering, otherwise your plant will die.
From overheating, in the heat, too, the leaves fall off. Therefore, in the summer, remove the pot from the window or cover it with a light cloth, a piece of paper. In winter, leaf abscission is most often associated with closely located heating devices. In addition, undesirable for succulent and temperature jumps.
Excessive mineral additives in the soil can cause leaf fall. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct top dressing very carefully, as if observing the dosage. If you poured a money tree fertilizer solution on the eye, and it began to lose foliage, you must urgently transplant the tree into fresh soil and add some charcoal.
Omens and superstitions
It is believed that the fat woman attracts wealth, financial well-being to the family.
And if you literally bury 2 coins in a plant pot, wealth will grow even faster. Therefore, many keep Crassula in the house, because it is considered a symbol of wealth.
In addition, some believe that if a plant spike is secretly stolen from a strange house, this plant will increase its magical power.
If you decide to do so, then do not tear too large branch, because it can harm the mother plant.
If we talk about supporters of Feng Shui, they argue that this plant must necessarily be kept in the southeast sector of the apartment.
What are the healing properties of fatty bones?
The fat woman is an excellent filter that purifies the air from harmful impurities and saturates it with oxygen. But the bollard is also often used in traditional medicine for many pathologies:
- When pyelonephritis. Take five leaves of the plant, cover with a glass of boiling water, take 1 tablespoon in before eating.
- In the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers. Eat two leaves each day.
- With neuralgia and varicose veins. Used alcohol tincture.
- With arthritis and exacerbation of osteochondrosis. It is necessary to grind the fatty leaves in a meat grinder and use the resulting mass as compresses.
- When calluses. From the leaf, cut off the skin, apply the pulp to the problem area at night.
- When hemorrhoids. To get rid of the pain in this pathology, mix the juice of fatty leaves with olive oil. Soak a sterile swab with the mixture and attach to the nodules.
- For skin diseases such as psoriasis, urticaria, and so on. Take 5 sheets of bastard, squeeze the juice, dissolve in a glass of water and wipe the skin with this solution. For sore throat and stomatitis, rinse your throat this way.
However, remember that the uncontrolled use of fatty in traditional medicine can be harmful to the body. Therefore, before applying any tinctures and decoctions, you should consult a specialist.
