How to feed a money tree at home
Content:
Often in houses you can see a plant called the money tree. But few people are puzzled by the issue of organizing the correct care for him. For example, many do not know how and what to feed him properly.
About the money tree
Most people will not be able to answer the question, what is the difference between a fat woman, a crassula, a tree of happiness. But they imagine a money tree. Meanwhile, there is no difference between all of the above - all these are the names of the same succulent.
Money Tree
This tree was nicknamed money because of its leaves - small, rounded, like coins. According to Feng Shui, if it is grown in the right place (more precisely, on a southern or southeastern window), then the denser its foliage, the richer the owners of the house will be. Even the popular game TheSims (or just the Sims) has it. True, there, instead of coin-like leaves, real bills grow on it.
The money tree in the Sims game
There are several types of fat women. In houses, the tree-like crassula is most often found. She feels good in the apartment, reaching a height of a meter or two. It is not enough just to place the pot with it on the windowsill and not forget to water it sometimes. The plant needs to be fertilized, so know how to feed the fat woman at home.
What kind of feeding does a fat woman need
In order for the money tree to feel good at home, you need to apply fertilizers in a timely manner. The fat woman especially needs the following:
- Potassium. This macronutrient helps plant leaves turn green. If there is too little potassium, then the foliage of the succulent will gradually turn yellow and fall off. But you need to be careful with it - an excess of this mineral can burn the roots.
- Phosphorus. It is he who is the energy of the flower. Thanks to phosphorus, the money tree will actively sprout, its root system will develop. Normal plant growth is impossible without it.
- Nitrogen. It is necessary for all green plants to live, but in moderation. Like potassium, it can kill flora if the required dose is exceeded. For crassules, as well as for cacti, very little nitrogen is needed.
An example of fertilizer for cacti and succulents
Above are the macronutrients required by the money tree. However, there is also a microelement recommended for addition to the fertilizer. It is not necessary for the plant to exist, but it benefits it. This is calcium. As in humans, the formation of the correct skeleton in a fat woman will not occur without calcium. He is also responsible for the correct moisture storage functions of the succulent.
Fertilizers for the money tree
There are many options for feeding the money tree. All fertilizers are divided into organic, that is, created by nature, and mineral, artificially produced by man.
Organic
One of the best fertilizers for a fat woman is ash. It contains little nitrogen, which is needed by all flora.But there are a lot of components necessary for this particular plant (calcium, phosphorus, potassium). Ash can be used in two ways:
- Prepare a solution. 200 grams of this substance is poured into a glass of water. This mixture is infused for a week, after which the tree can be watered with the finished fertilizer.
- Bury it dry. This means that the ash is scattered with hands on the ground at the roots of the plant, after which it is dropped a couple of centimeters into the depths.
Wood ash
Crassula bone and fish meal are also great. Moreover, in the second variant, there is more phosphorus. This feeding is not difficult: it is enough just to grind the bones of cattle (preferably cow) or fish. Crushed they are introduced into the soil of the plant. Interestingly, this procedure is carried out no more than three times a year - the bones will decompose gradually, feeding the money tree.
To maintain the required calcium level, you can also use regular eggshells to feed the fat woman three times a year. It is also crushed and the resulting flour is added to the ground. This method is suitable for saturating the soil with calcium during transplantation.
Mineral
For a money tree, fertilizer marked NPK 5-10-5 is suitable. The letters of the abbreviation, in accordance with the international names of minerals, mean the following:
- N is nitrogen;
- P is phosphorus;
- K is potassium.
5-10-5 - the concentration of these macronutrients in top dressing. For a fat woman, you will need to dilute not the full dose, but only a quarter of it. It is good to use this fertilizer during flowering and active growth.
In the fall, when the flowering season ends, you can switch to mineral formulations with a NPK concentration of 1-1-1. In this case, only a quarter of the recommended rate is diluted.
The process of feeding a fat woman
Not every fertilizer contains calcium in the composition. It is not vital for most plants, therefore it is rarely added to top dressing. Its components should be carefully examined. It is good if this trace element is among them. If not, then its introduction should be puzzled separately.
How to fertilize a fat woman
It is not enough to know how you can fertilize your home money tree. You also need to know how to do it correctly, at what time, and what nuances of this procedure exist. In particular, Crassula should be fed with fertilizers according to the following rules:
- This succulent has no pronounced seasonality. It is difficult for him to bloom in the house; he does not shed leaves for the winter. Therefore, an inexperienced florist, most likely, will not change the regime of keeping and feeding the fat woman. And in vain - she has a dormant season, and you need to fertilize her at this time differently than in summer.
Blossom bloom, which rarely happens when kept at home.
- Fertilizer should never be applied to dry soil. So you can achieve not an improvement in the well-being of the flower, but its death - the top dressing will burn the roots. Before fertilizing, whatever it may be, always water the succulent.
- You do not need to use cold or unsettled water for watering or feeding. Plants, including Crassula, love pure moisture at room temperature or slightly warmer.
Terms of top dressing
Almost all plants have periods of active growth, when the flora releases new branches, leaves, and blooms. They are replaced by periods of rest, called "hibernation" by flower growers. In these seasons, plants rest, accumulate strength.
In fat women, like most flowers, the growing season begins in the spring and lasts in the summer. A money tree is generally a blooming flora, but it is extremely difficult to achieve its flowering at home and few people succeed. Since the fall, the succulent goes to "sleep", he sleeps all winter, waking up with a spring warming.
In each of the periods, the requirements for fertilizers for Crassula are different.
How to fertilize a fat woman in spring
Those who have a fat woman growing at home need to know how to fertilize it during a period of active growth. For this flora, this time is from March to August inclusive. You will need all the same macroelements important for crassula: nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium. Their concentration should be stronger than during the "hibernation" season.
The most commonly recommended ratio is NPK 5-10-5. 2-3-2 works well too. The main thing is that there is more phosphorus - it is thanks to it that the root of the flora grows, followed by everything else. It is not worth using the full dose of the mineral preparation, only a quarter.
Granular fertilizer with NPK 5-10-5
The money tree is fertilized in spring and summer once a month. Moreover, organic matter can be alternated with minerals as follows:
- Some advise to use alternately ash, then purchased fertilizer.
- Others recommend using ash in early spring and late summer, and minerals the rest of the warm season.
How to fertilize a fat woman in winter
For many plants, a complete cessation of feeding is recommended during the dormant period. Crassula needs her in the apartment in winter too. It is only important to know what and how to fertilize the money tree at this time.
Since in the cold season, the fat woman, like most other flora, does not grow, it rests, there is no need for enhanced feeding. But there is a minimum level of minerals that the money tree needs in winter. To fill the gap, fertilizer with NPK concentration of 1-1-1 should be used. In this case, only a quarter of a single dose will also be required.
It is important to take into account that the frequency of feeding is also reduced. It is enough to conduct it once every two months.
In winter, you can use simple sugar instead of purchased mineral fertilizers. It breaks down in the soil into glucose and fructose, the first being the flora to taste. It is especially recommended to fertilize it with sugar at the end of wintering when the tree needs a lot of energy. They are fed with sugar as follows: a tablespoon of granulated sugar is diluted in half a liter of water and the plant is watered with the resulting solution at the root.
Preparation of sugar solution
Among lovers of home flowers, there is another opinion. If you follow it, then in the period from mid-August to the beginning of wintering, the concentration of fertilizing should be halved. That is, to make not a quarter of the dose, one-eighth. For "hibernation" fertilizers are removed completely, if there is no urgent need for the opposite (for example, if the money tree is sick). The feeding regime is resumed from mid-February, also with a reduced portion of minerals.
In general, there is nothing difficult in growing a tree like the jerky. It is quite simple to feed it, the most important thing is to properly meet the deadlines and monitor the required concentration of feeding. It is important to remember that even the most expensive fertilizer will not save you from the consequences of poor care.
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