2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Codonant (lat. Codonanthe) - a flowering plant, which is the brightest representative of the Gesneriyev family.
Description
Codonanta is a flowering perennial, which can be in the form of shrubs, grasses or vines. Its spreading stems can be both upright and creeping, and sometimes there are specimens with woody stems at the bases. They usually take root in nodules.
Equipped with fleshy plates, leathery opposite leaves sit on short petioles, and the flowers of this plant can be either single or collected in luxurious axillary inflorescences - each such inflorescence includes from one to several flowers sitting on short peduncles. The corollas of these flowers can be either white or yellow, lilac, pink or dark purple in color.
Codonant fruits are capsules that look like rather fleshy berries. These berries can be either oval or round or flattened, and the variety of options for their color simply cannot but impress - there are green, and yellow, and orange, and pink, and red berries! As for the seeds, they are characterized by an elliptical shape, the presence of stripes and a yellow, pink or red color.
Where grows
The homeland of codonants is considered to be South and Central America. Especially often, this unpretentious beauty grows in ant nests.
Usage
Most often, the codonant is grown as an indoor or ampelous plant. And in temperate climates, it is usually planted in greenhouses.
Growing and caring
Caring for the codonant is so simple that even a beginner can easily cope with this task. It is best to plant this plant in a nutritious and rather loose soil, characterized by good air and water permeability. It will be very useful to add a little crushed limestone to it, as well as the bark of conifers and leafy soil. And at the very bottom of the pot, they arrange good drainage from shards or expanded clay layer. As for the temperature regime, it is best to feel the codonant at a temperature of nineteen to twenty-two degrees.
Despite the fact that the codonant is very light-requiring, it cannot stand direct sunlight. Water it regularly and in moderation, trying to avoid overdrying. But the water should not stagnate in the pan either - this is fraught with big troubles for the plant.
Also, during the period of active growth of the codonant, it is necessary to give top dressing - with the onset of spring, it is fed once every about a couple of weeks with a liquid complex fertilizer. And starting towards the end of autumn and up to February itself, when the codonant enters the dormant period, watering is significantly reduced, and all feeding is stopped.
When the codonant has faded, its shoots should be cut off - this is necessary in order to limit its excessive spread in the future. And this beauty is transplanted annually or in a year into a fresh earthen substrate. By the way, ready-made soil for violets-saintpaulias is quite suitable for these purposes.
This attractive plant is usually propagated by cuttings, the length of which should be in the range of ten to fifteen centimeters. At the same time, such cuttings can be rooted both in light soil and in water. As a rule, from two to four cuttings are planted in one container at once.
Occasionally, the codonant can be attacked by worms. The spider mite does not shun this plant, and significant temperature fluctuations, combined with overdrying of the substrate, can provoke the leaves to fall off.
