Ginura is an exotic plant from the Aster family with soft leaves covered with a thick pile. Their peculiarity lies in the unusual coloring of pubescence. Cilia are purple, lilac or pink. This attracts a lot of attention to the plant, both from beginners and experienced gardeners. Ginura at home requires careful care, so that the bush grows actively and delights with new shoots. There are not many secrets and they are easy to master.
Botanical Description
The genus of ginura includes perennial grasses and shrubs. Young shoots most often have an upright shape, but eventually wilted. The plant lends itself well to fixing on supports, but can be used as an ampel form. For the color and length of the shoots, the ginur is called the "blue bird" or the "woman with the tail."
The stems have a quadrangular cross section and are able to reach meter length. However, the maximum height without support does not exceed 30 cm. Lateral processes are formed on the branches, they help create a thicker and more attractive crown.
Triangular or oval leaves are located on the stem next, they are attached to short petioles. The specimens located at the base of the stem have a larger size, their length reaches 20 cm. A leaf plate with carved edges is painted in dark green. Violet, purple or lilac pubescence predominates on the back of the leaves, as well as along its edges and along the veins.
The flowering period of ginura falls on December-May, but under favorable conditions it can continue throughout the year. At the ends of the stems or in the axils of the leaves, corymbose inflorescences with many yellow, purple, red, green or orange flowers bloom. Golden or orange flowers have a characteristic spherical shape. The buds exude an intense pungent aroma that not everyone will like. Therefore, unblown flowers often break off, enjoying only unusual foliage.
After flowering, narrow seed capsules with long brown seeds ripen, with fluffy tails on their ends.
Types of Ginura
According to scientific organizations, there are almost 50 species in the genus of ginura, but only a few are grown in culture.
Ginura is orange. It lives in tropical forests on about. Java. On an evergreen shrub with ribbed shoots, there are blue-green leaves with purple pubescence. The ovoid foliage has teeth of different lengths on each side. Inflorescences in the form of baskets consist of small flowers with narrow petals. Flowers are painted in golden color.
Ginura wicker. The plant is common in East Africa and is distinguished by miniature carved leaves of bright green color. Drooping stems densely pubescent with lilac pile. Their length does not exceed 60 cm. Yellow or light orange flowers bloom at the ends of the shoots.
Ginura pinnatis A rare medicinal plant common in southern China. It has long, creeping lashes covered with bright green oval leaves. Inflorescences are located on a long erect peduncle, they resemble a red-orange ball of the correct form. For its tonic properties, pinnatipore ginura is often called "pseudo-ginseng."
Ginura rising. This rare variety takes the form of a shrub. Regular petiole leaves have serrated edges and are colored purplish-brown. On the surface of the leaf plate, along the veins, are bright green stripes.
Ginura variegate. The plant is distinguished by unusual leaves. Young foliage is completely painted in a light pink shade, but gradually dark green spots appear on it. On the lower leaves, pink stripes remain only along the edges.
Reproduction and transplantation
Reproduction of ginura is carried out by a vegetative method. For this, apical cuttings with 2-3 leaves are cut. You can also use leaf stalk. Rooting is done in warm boiled water. After 7-10 days in a warm and bright place, strong roots appear in the plant. It is transplanted into small pots with soil for adult plants.
Ginura transplant should be carried out in the spring every 1-3 years. The pot is not chosen too large, otherwise the flower will actively increase the root mass, and the ground part may become ill and even die. At the bottom of the pot lay a layer of drainage material. The soil is selected nutritious and light. It can be composed of the following components:
- turf soil;
- sheet soil;
- leaf humus;
- sand.
After transplantation, the ginur should be transferred to a place with diffused light for several days and limited watering. Often the plant grows and stretches, losing its decorative effect. Experienced growers are advised to rejuvenate it every 2-3 years.
Location selection
Choosing the right place for the ginura will help make caring for it less burdensome.
Lighting. Ginura is photophilous. She needs to choose a sunny place, but in the intense heat to shade the leaves from the midday sun with a thin curtain. Optimum maintenance on the southern or eastern windows. In winter, additional lighting is necessary, especially with a warm content. Otherwise, the stems are pulled and exposed faster.
Temperature. In summer, ginuru is kept at + 20 ... + 24 ° C. You can put it on an open balcony or in the garden. The place should be well protected from drafts and heavy rainfall. In winter, the air temperature should be lowered to + 12 ... + 14 ° C. Along with a decrease in daylight hours, cooling will protect the shoots from stretching.
Humidity. Ginura knows how to adapt to the natural humidity of the air, but feels better near water bodies (aquarium, fountain, pond). Spraying and bathing fleecy leaves is undesirable.
Care Features
A gentle ginura is undemanding, home care of it is within the power of a grower with little experience.
Watering. Water the flower regularly. Water should be warm and well purified. It is important to monitor the condition of the soil. It should dry by half, however, it is undesirable for the leaves to lose turgor. It is advisable to water the ginura through a pan so that water does not accumulate on the leaves and near the stems.
Fertilizer. In spring and summer, ginura is fertilized every 10-14 days. The rest of the time, one feeding in 4-6 weeks is enough. You can use universal mineral and organic complexes. They are bred with plenty of water and put into the soil.
Pruning. To form an attractive crown, the ginur must be regularly trimmed and nipped. They begin to do this from an early age, when a flower has 4-5 leaves. It is enough to remove the barely bent leaf with a fingernail so that the shoot will let out several lateral processes. In the spring, you can make more radical pruning and use edged material for propagation. To tame curly long shoots, you can create an arc of wire and fix the sprouts with threads. Some gardeners prefer to grow the flower in a flower pot, allowing the lashes to grow to the desired length.
Diseases and pests. Ginura can suffer from fungal diseases if the water often lingers in the soil or accumulates on shoots and leaves. It is rare to save a tender plant. The only way out is the cuttings. It is important to completely get rid of the fungus: replace the soil, disinfect the pot and treat the crown with fungicide.
In spring and summer, a scab, a spider mite, thrips or a mealybug can be found on the plant. Insecticides will help get rid of parasites. They should be purchased in the form of a spray so that there are no ugly spots on the leaves.
