Plants and Flowers

In resent years we may observe the growing passion to indoor bamboo growing.
Bamboo
Bamboo descends from tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia. These are the largest plants among cereals, with angular hollow stalks-culms. Bamboo grows near the borders of tropical woods, along rivers’ coasts. The bamboo is known as one of the most useful plants – there are about 600 ways of its use.

Burmese bamboo reaches the greatest height; its native land is India. Its treelike stalks grow in height up to 40 m, and have in diameter from 10 to 20 centimeters. Such giants, certainly, are not used in room culture. For room cultivation go bushy and dwarfish species of the tree.

Other two Arbutus’ varieties are Arbutus andrachne, which fruits are edible, but not especially tasty, and Arbutus glandulosa, which grows in Northern America, with its native land in Mexico.

Arbutus is room ornamental evergreen plant. Leaves are oval and bright-green, inflorescences are cream, similar to inflorescences of the lily of the valley.
After flowering the tree is decorated with bright orange edible, but insipid fruit. Frequently flowers and berries decorate a tree simultaneously.

It is propagated with seeds, which are sowed on a surface of the ground at a temperature 20-25 С and covered with glass. Shoots are sprayed, not watered.

The plant will blossom not earlier, than in 12 months, it grows slowly. In November it starts to shed the leaves. At this time watering should be limited and temperature lowered to 12-14 С.
In 3 months the plant should be put in warmer premise.

Arbutus is a sort of evergreen trees and bushes. There are over 20 varieties. They are spread in the Western Europe, Mediterranean, Northern and Central America, Western Asia. Arbutus red, or Arbutus andrachne is a rare deleted species, grows on Southern coast of Crimea, occasionally can be met in Abkhazia and Adzharia.

Low evergreen trees with smooth coral-red or chinked brown bark which reaching 5-meter height in the age of 50 years. Alternate leaf arrangement, leaves are leatherlike, smooth-edged or dentate. Flowers are fine, gathered in terminal drooping or upright panicles.

The name of this plant is connected to the form of fruits: the red - pink balls reminding huge strawberries. Fruits are juicy and tasty, they are eaten in the raw state or as a jam. This well-known tree is esteemed in Madrid: a bear eating fruits of this tree is a symbol of the city.

Guava positively reacts to monthly one-fold fertilizing and also prefers growind in large capacities with a fertile soil.
It propagates in various ways: cuttings, seeds, grafts and top grafting.
Seeds are sown in pots. Germination of seeds requires the temperature not less than 22-24°С.
Soil mix for seedlings and young plants is made from sod soil, humus and sand (1:1:1). With the years soil is made heavier.

P. littorale is more favorable variant for indoor cultivation. In rooms it blossoms abundantly with small white fragrant flowers. Flowers consist of 8-10 petals; sets of the same white stamens and a small pestle with roundish flat stigma.

Cultivation of these plants is very grateful pastime. It is difficult to not become successful planting them. They are unpretentious, and are likely to take an important place in assortment of room fruit crops.

The native land - tropical America.
It is widely cultivated in the tropical countries; and occasionally is grown in room conditions.
Guava - a tree or a large bush. Young shoots are tetrahedral. Leaves are elliptic, 7-15 centimeters in length and 3-7 centimeters in width, naked on above and fuzzy from below, with nerve.

Flowers are single or 2-3 in a bosoms of leaves, white.
Fruit is green, pear-shaped, up to 12 centimeters in length, with pink, white or yellow fragrantly pulp.
It seldom fructifies in room conditions.
Leaves, flowers and fruits have bactericidal action as they contain volatile oils. Daily use of fresh leaves (9 g) in the raw state or extract from them, as a tea, considerably lowers glucose content in blood and urine at initial stages of diabetes.

This plant prefers light and very warm places, temperature throughout the year should be +22-24°С.
In summer it is put outdoors in protected from wind places. In winter it is placed in a light room.
Plant should be watered lavishly.

Scientists have faced the phenomenon of replacement of less nitrogen-dependent plants from the community not for the first time. In 1980s in Holland because of general use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers, in ground got up to 100 kg of nitrogen per hectare in a year. Result was the sharp change of vegetative community: the deserted area became covered with grass, and then gradually began covered with wood. After that the amount of nitrogenous connections brought in ground has been reduced, however it all the same exceeded an average level.

Nitrogenous compounds are emitted in an atmosphere by factories and automobiles and carried by wind. From an atmosphere they get into the ground. Thus, even in forest reserves and national parks nitrogen content in ground raises.

Ecologist Katharine Sading from University of California considers that the specific structure in vegetative communities can be restored by reduction of nitrogen emissions in an atmosphere. Plants which have been replaced can be restored from the seeds brought by wind. However full restoration of species’ communities can take a lot of time.

Scientists from University of Minnesota have proved, what even the low level of pollution by nitrogenous compounds leads to sharp falling of biodiversity in vegetative communities. Work has been published in edition Nature.
Researchers within thirteen years have observed change of specific structure of meadow plants in the central part of Minnesota with a low level of nitrogenous compounds in an atmosphere. They have shown that the amount of plant varieties has decreased by 17%.

In a zone, observed by scientists, they have increased the amount of nitrogenous compounds from 6 to 10 kg per hectare in one year. That is, have lifted a level of nitrogen pollution from very low to low, typical for many industrial regions.

Scientists have also used lower concentration of nitrogenous compounds, and in all cases found out the effect. Scientists consider that nitrogenous compounds even in small concentration influence plants essentially more strong, than it was considered earlier.

The increase in amount of nitrogen stimulates growth of plants which “uneconomically” spend this element. At surplus of nitrogenous compounds in ground, rough growth of such plants leads to replacement of the species, which do not depend on nitrogen content. As a result, the total amount of species falls.

Always there is certain percentage of plants which are just “unlucky”… The mortality percentage among the plants which have been grown not outdoors, but in artificial conditions of a hothouse, is especially high. In such “incubator” their immune system is weakened, and plants can hardly cope with the smallest stresses - whether it is the change of humidity, illumination, transportation or change of habitual position to the source of illumination. However, even healthy and strong plants, in outward appearance, sometimes perish without obvious reasons.

It is necessary to remember that plants also have “character”, “temperament” and different will to live. You may get such pessimistic specimen, which no way wants to adapt to new conditions - let even a difference in temperature makes a few degrees, and instead of the bright sun, it is temporarily put in a shadow…

To distinguish signs of completely various “diseases” of plants, plant-grower should be very attentive, as many of them sometimes are externally similar.

All flower growers are united by the love to the beautiful! Even a banal ficus has its beauty, grace and vigorous energy of life, if it is well-groomed, healthy and vigorous.
But frequently healthy outwardly plant suddenly fades and nothing can help – it dies for some days. What to do then?

First, you should remember, that there are no ready recipes. The alive organism of plants can not be precisely forecasted and consequently none “miracle recipe” will give an absolute guarantee of success. However our simple attentiveness and knowledge of bases, what is good and what is bad for the plant, will help to lower morbidity and percentage of lost plants.

Second, even the most skilled flower growers are not insured from mistakes and simple inadvertence, in addition, it is not simple to diagnose correctly the “patient” - frequently the plant starts “to mope” without obvious reasons.

Jackfruit is widely used in local cookery, both ripe, and unripe. Fruit reminds a fig on its consistence. Unripe fruit is cooked as a vegetable, and ripe is used in the raw state. Its taste is similar to a melon, mango and pawpaw. Its juice is very sweet, has a yellow, brownish or pink shade depending on a maturity of a fruit. Unripe fruits are cooked, fried and stewed. It is cut in pieces, cooked in the salted water up to readiness and served. Seeds are also cooked, fried and eaten as chestnuts.

Ripe fruits are eaten raw, they are used for jams, compotes and liquors.
Jackfruit fruits are very nutritious and contain about 40 % of carbohydrates (starch) - more, than in bread. Therefore (and because of cheapness) jackfruit in India is called as “bread for poor people”. Seeds are also nutritious - they contain 38 % of carbohydrates, 6.6 % of proteins and 0.4 % of fats; they are roasted and eaten as chestnuts.

Jackfruit wood is not affected by termites and fungi and is used for building and manufacture of furniture and musical instruments.