The Gynura plant is part of the Asteraceae family. According to information taken from various sources, this genus unites from 47 to more than 100 species. Under natural conditions, such a plant can be found in the tropical parts of Africa and Asia. The name “ginura” is translated from Greek as “woman with a tail”, most likely this is due to the long lashes of the plant. Today, at home, some of the ginura species are cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Brief description of cultivation
- Flowering . Flowering begins in the spring and ends in late autumn.
- Illumination . A bright light is needed, so it is recommended to put the bush on the south or west window, however, in the afternoon, the plant needs protection from direct sunlight. In winter, the bush needs additional lighting.
- Temperature conditions . During active growth – from 18 to 24 degrees, and during rest – from 12 to 14 degrees.
- Watering . Water the plant abundantly immediately after the top layer of the soil mixture in the container dries well. If wintering is cool, then watering should be reduced.
- Air humidity . It can be anyone. However, if in winter there are working heating devices in the room where the flower stands, then wet pebbles are poured into the pallet and a pot with a flower is placed on it. It is not recommended to moisten foliage from a spray bottle.
- Fertilizer . The plant is fed during active growth once every 15 days, for this, a complex mineral fertilizer is used. During the rest period, feeding is not carried out.
- The rest period . Winter months.
- Transfer . In the spring, only if necessary. However, adult bushes need to be rejuvenated once every 2 years with a transplant.
- Reproduction . By cuttings.
- Harmful insects . Scabbards, aphids, spider mites, mealybugs and whiteflies.
- disease . Root rot.
Features of ginura
Ginura is an evergreen perennial shrub or herb. Creeping shoots, they reach a length of several meters. The plant has fibrous or tuberous roots, fleshy pubescent or bare shoots lignify over time. Simple alternate leaf plates can be sessile or petiolate, thin or fleshy, naked or pubescent, stem or collected in a socket. In some species, the seamy surface of the leaf plates is colored purple. The foliage can be elongated, deltoid, oblong-lanceolate, ovate or lyre-dissected. Large or small denticles are located along the edge of the leaf plates. Flowers can be collected in terminal or axillary corymbose panicles, they are also solitary. Flowers are painted in red, orange, yellow or purple color. In nature, such a plant blooms throughout the year, and the most luxuriant flowering is observed from December to the first summer days. The flowers do not smell very pleasant, in this regard, some flower growers prefer to pick off the buds before they open.
In indoor conditions, the following species are most often cultivated: braided ginura, orange, ascending and hybrid variegated. Ginura is a fast-growing plant, and some of the species are cultivated as an ampelous plant. If you decide to grow ginura, remember that it contains poison. In this regard, when caring for this flower, be very careful and keep it away from children and pets.
Ginura care at home
Illumination
Ginura at home needs a lot of bright light, if there is little light, then the color of the foliage will become less saturated. A southern or western window is best suited for such a flower, but remember that in the afternoon for several hours the bush must be shaded from the scorching rays of the sun. Daylight hours in winter are too short for such a plant, so it requires mandatory additional lighting.
Soil mixture
Ginura will grow best in a soil mixture, which includes humus, leaf and sod soil, and also sand (2: 2: 2: 1). You can also use a different substrate to grow the plant, but remember that it must be water-permeable, loose and neutral.
Temperature conditions
In the warm season, the optimum temperature for growing such a flower is from 18 to 24 degrees. If in winter you do not have the opportunity to regularly highlight the ginura, then it is transferred to a cool room (no warmer than 12-14 degrees), where it can have a good rest. But if a phytolamp is installed near the bush, then it can not be transferred to a cool place.
Watering
During intensive growth, the indoor ginura must be watered abundantly. The soil mixture in the container is moistened only when its top layer dries well. If the flower hibernates in the cool, then the abundance and frequency of watering must be reduced, otherwise water will regularly stagnate in the root system, which may cause rot on it. But in the event that every day you supplement the plant with a phytolamp and the temperature in the room is above 18 degrees, then the watering regime should be like in summer. For watering, use well-settled (at least 24 hours) and soft water, while trying to prevent water droplets from falling on the foliage.
Air humidity
Home ginura grows normally in any humidity. However, if heating devices are actively working in the room in winter, then the air humidity will be too low, and in this case it is recommended to put the bush on a pallet filled with wet pebbles or expanded clay. It is highly undesirable to moisten the foliage directly from the spray bottle, as this may damage the decorative effect of the plant.
Trimming
After wintering, the ginura needs mandatory pruning so that the bush looks neat and effective. In addition, due to pruning, the bush will be more lush, and the growth of the stems will also accelerate. All you need to do is pinch off the tops of the shoots.
Additional fertilizing
During intensive growth, the flower must be systematically fed, and this is done once every 2 weeks. For this, a complex mineral fertilizer is used. During the rest period, ginura is not needed.
Transfer
The transplant is carried out in the spring and only when necessary. Considering that only leaf plates of young plants have a spectacular purple hue, it is recommended to regularly rejuvenate an adult bush, for this it is enough to transplant it once every 2 years.
Reproduction
As a rule, cuttings are used to propagate ginur, because this method is very simple and quick. In the spring and summer, break off the apical stalk, which should have 2 internodes. Put it in water, and after half a month its roots will grow. It only remains to be planted in a separate pot.
Pests and diseases of ginura
Ginura is highly resistant to both diseases and pests. But if the bush is weakened by improper care or inappropriate keeping conditions, then the likelihood that aphids, whiteflies, scale insects, mealybugs and spider mites can settle on it.
The scale insects are small sucking insects that feed on the sap of the plant. Because of this, there is a rapid yellowing of the foliage, it flies around. The development of the bush stops, it has a growth retardation. The bush gradually dries up, and eventually it dies. Spray the flower with Actellik’s solution, after 7 days, re-treatment is carried out, but only if necessary.
Whiteflies are very small white moths that lay on foliage to lay their eggs. To get rid of such a harmful insect, the bush is sprayed with a solution of Mospilan, Fosbecid, Aktellik, Fufanon or Confidor.
Mealybugs (hairy lice) are small insects that suck the sap from the plant. And they call such insects mealy due to the fact that they leave a cotton-like waxy discharge on the shoots and foliage. In the bush on which the worms live, there is a lag in growth. Remember that there are types of worms that live on the roots of the plant. To exterminate this pest, you can use the following chemicals: Aktara, Mospilan, Fitoverm, Calypso and Biotlin.
Spider mites can harm any plant other than aquatic plants. This pest as well as scale insects and scale insects are sucking. Ticks are microscopic in size, so it is extremely difficult to see them with the naked eye. You can understand that they have settled on a bush by examining the seamy surface of the foliage, very small white dots form on it, and you can also see the thinnest cobweb there. Ticks can harm ginura very much, since they are considered one of the main carriers of viral diseases, which are currently incurable. To destroy such a pest, you can resort to the help of such means as: Agravertin, Aktellik, Kleschevit, Fitoverm, Akarin and Oberon.
Aphids are a very common pest, and they also feed on plant sap and are considered a major vector of dangerous diseases. To destroy aphids, the bush should be sprayed several times with a solution of one of those agents that are used in the fight against spider mites (see above).
Types and varieties of ginura with photos and names
A relatively small number of ginura species are cultivated in indoor conditions. The species that are most popular with florists are described below.
Ginura orange (Gynura aurantiaca)
The height of such an evergreen dwarf shrub is about 100 cm. On the surface of its ribbed stems there is pubescence, they are decorated with reddish-purple petiole irregularly serrate alternate leaf plates. The upper leaves of this species are small, and the lower ones have an ovoid shape. On the surface of the shoots and foliage there is a pile of a purple hue; therefore, in bright light, it seems that the bush is painted purple. Small flowers are collected in baskets, they have an orange or golden yellow tint. In natural conditions, such a plant is found only on the territory of the island of Java.
Wicker Ginura (Gynura sarmentosa)
Outwardly, the appearance is similar to the orange ginura, but its shoots are drooping, so it can be cultivated as an ampelous plant. In height, the bush can reach no more than 0.6 m. The length of small leaf plates is about 70 millimeters. The homeland of such a plant is East Africa.
Climbing ginura (Gynura scandens)
Or ginura rising. This species is most often cultivated in greenhouses. It is a semi-shrub with large, sparsely toothed oval-shaped leaf blades. In length, his lashes can grow up to two meters. Such a plant looks great in an ampelous composition.
Ginura: properties and signs
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In addition to poisonous species grown in indoor conditions, in nature you can still meet ginura, which has healing properties. People knew about such a medicinal plant for a long time. For example, the type of ginur pinnacle is considered a very expensive and rare medicinal plant, while it is cultivated on an industrial scale only in one of the provinces of China. This type is used in medicine very widely, since it contains volatile oils, triterpene saponins, bioflavonoids, polysaccharides, amino acids and trace elements.
The common ginura, which is found naturally in America, Japan and China, also belongs to medicinal plants. It is believed that if you eat it regularly, then all diseases will bypass you. The plant energizes, improves metabolic processes, lowers blood pressure, lowers blood sugar, helps to get rid of extra pounds, and also cleanses the kidneys, blood and liver from cholesterol. If you regularly in the morning before breakfast eat two or three leafy plates of ginur, then after only half a month you will feel that the general condition of the body has improved markedly. Ginura foliage can also be used in salads.
Signs
Such a plant is also popularly called “crocodile”. Since the flowers of ginura have an unpleasant scent, it is under the sign of Scorpio. But experts are sure that such a flower is very useful, since it is able to cleanse the atmosphere of the home from negative energy, and ginura also helps to fight the fear of the dark and nightmares. It is also believed that the soft foliage of such a plant can soften the harsh character of a person and a harsh voice. And experts also assure that foul-smelling flowers can save people in love from making mistakes. In this regard, they advise not to pluck the buds, but in order for the bush to better show this property, it is recommended to rearrange it in a shaded place. There is also an opinion that ginura in a home is to women’s happiness …
