2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Kanatnik, or Abutilon (Latin Abutilon) - a genus of annual and perennial grasses, semi-shrubs, shrubs and undersized trees of the Malvovye family. The genus reads over 200 species. Natural range - South America, Africa, Australia, India, China and Hawaii. Various types of abutilone are cultivated as an ornamental and agricultural crop. Some types are used to obtain plant fiber used to make twine, rope and burlap. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the species is cultivated - the Kanatnik Theophrastus.
Common types and their characteristics
* Abutilon hybrid (Latin Abutilon hybridum) - the species is represented by spreading evergreen shrubs up to 1.5 m high, which are a hybrid of American species - Abutilon striped, or variegated (Latin Abutilon pictum) and Abutilon Darwin (Latin Abutilon darwinii). Brown bark. The leaves are five-lobed, soft-pubescent, green, long-petiolate, maple-shaped, up to 12 cm long. The flowers are bell-shaped, drooping, depending on the variety, they can have white, red, golden or burgundy color.
* Abutilon grape-leaved (Latin Abutilon vitifolium) - the species is represented by shrubs up to 2.5 m high. Soft-pubescent shoots. The leaves are large, green, velvety, three- or five-lobed, deeply serrate, up to 15 cm long. The flowers are broadly bell-shaped or wheel-shaped, lavender-blue with dark veins, collected to terminal racemose inflorescences 3-4 pieces each. Flowering occurs in May.
* Abutilon Theophrastus (Latin Abutilon theophrasti) - the species is represented by annual herbaceous plants with a rod-type root system. Stem erect, branched from above, pubescent, up to 250 cm long. Leaves are large, dentate, broadly ovate, entire, covered with soft hairs over the entire surface. The flowers are yellow or yellow-orange, oval in shape, collected in paniculate or racemose inflorescences.
* Abutilon spotted (Latin Abutilon pictum) - the species is represented by shrubs with shortened soft shoots. Leaves are long-petiolate, green, glabrous, cordate, palmate-lobed, equipped with white spots along the periphery. The flowers are bell-shaped, golden-yellow with red veins, solitary, sitting in the axils of the leaves on long pedicels. This variety blooms in August-September.
Growing conditions
Kanatnik is an undemanding plant, it does not need special growing conditions. The cable car feels best in well-lit areas with diffused light, light shading will not harm it. When growing crops indoors, plant pots are placed on the west or east windows. In summer, cable cars are taken out into the street or balcony, but during heavy rains or winds they are brought into the room.
It should be remembered that unfavorable conditions of indoor specimens can lead to the fall of foliage and flowers. The optimum temperature for growth and development is 22-25C, a sharp drop in temperature will have a detrimental effect on plant health. Soils are preferred light, loose, fertile, slightly acidic or neutral. Rope lifts do not accept dry, compacted, saline and waterlogged soils.
Reproduction and planting
Abutilon is propagated by seeds and vegetatively, or rather by semi-freshened cuttings. The seed method is acceptable for non-variegated forms. Seeds are sown in early spring (in March-April) in seedling boxes filled with a light substrate with the addition of sand and peat. Embedding depth - 0.5-0.6 cm. The room temperature should be within 18-20C. Crops are regularly watered and aired. Seedlings appear in 2-3 weeks. Subject to optimal growing conditions and careful care, seedlings bloom in the same year.
When the rope-root is propagated by cuttings, the planting material is cut from the tops of young shoots. Each stalk should contain three leaves, the buds are plucked out before planting in the substrate. Cuttings are rooted in containers with wet sand and peat. It can also be rooted in water, the temperature of which varies from 20 to 22C. Cuttings take root after 4-5 weeks, after which they are planted in containers with a diameter of 7-8 cm for growing. Plants are transplanted into open ground the next year.
Care
The cable cars are watered systematically and abundantly, especially during a long absence of rain. When growing plants in indoor conditions, watering as the substrate dries up, in winter, the number and frequency of watering is significantly reduced. Top dressing for cable cars is mandatory, at least three dressings with mineral and organic fertilizers must be carried out per season.
In order for shrubs and semi-shrubs to have a lush and beautiful crown, formative pruning is carried out in the spring. Sanitary pruning is also required and is done in the spring and fall. Some types of abutilone need to be tied to a support. If all conditions are not observed, plants are often affected by various pests, for example, whitefly, mealybug, aphids, thrips and scabies.
