Kodium is an evergreen plant native to East India. Its variegated leaves of interesting shapes adorn many apartment flower beds. But gardeners often call this plant croton, which is a mistake. It is possible to understand in more detail what kind of plant is kodium, if you study the features of flower care at home.
Common species
Codium belongs to the family of Euphorbiaceae. It includes 17 varieties, which in nature have different heights, shapes and colors of leaves. Some varieties are successfully grown in home flower gardens, but subject to strict observance of the recommendations for maintenance.
This flower can be seen in many apartments or offices.
note: It is very difficult to achieve the flowering of this plant in an apartment or office - for this it is important to observe ideal conditions. Most often, codium is acquired for the decorative properties of its foliage.
This flower has dense leathery leaves. They come in different shapes (wide oval, lobed, oblong) and colors, each has its own unique pattern. On the leaves, two shades are usually combined - green and burgundy.
Description of known types of codeium:
- Kodiyum Mammi - is a lush bush with oblong leaves, wavy at the edges. Each leaf is slightly twisted along the central vein, thereby creating an unusual shape for the entire plant. The color of the flower is bright, usually dark green and bright red shades are combined on the leaves, pink spots and yellow veins are added to them;
- Kodiyum mix - the most popular type of flower for growing a house. It has a large number of subspecies from which varigatum can be distinguished. The leaves of this plant have an oblong pointed shape, their length can reach 20-30 cm. The bush has a motley color that combines maroon leaves with bright green or yellowish veins;
Tamara leaves resemble feathers of an exotic bird
- Kodiyum Sunny Star - has lanceolate, pointed-shaped leaves. They are painted in a light green color, but the tops and veins have a bright yellow color. In appearance it resembles a grade of gold. Young leaflets spotty yellow-green. Old plants of this species have red and burgundy inclusions and veins;
- Codium crispama is a well-cultivated variety. Narrow leaves are also colored in colorful tones, while they have a twisting shape. This flower is often called "curly" because of this feature;
- Kodiyum tamara - leaves of a flower of a light green hue with dark veins and interspersed, sometimes have yellowish spots. The shape is elongated, with wavy edges and a pointed end. This variety was named after the Englishwoman Tamara, who conquered the heart of the Asian emperor.
At home, only motley codium is grown. This species has many varieties and subspecies, so choosing the right option for an apartment or office is not difficult.
Interesting fact: codium and croton are different species of the same family. They are often confused due to the similarity of the leaves. If codium is grown for decorative purposes, then croton is often used for medical and domestic purposes.
Care Features
Despite the differences in the varieties, the flowers of the codiaium variegatum mix in any case require the same growing conditions and content. This simplifies the task for flower growers who are going to plant a plant on their windowsill, since they do not need to carefully study the affiliation of the purchased plant to a particular variety.
Lighting
The saturation of the color of the codium leaves depends on the light intensity. It is best placed on the south window. Direct sunlight will not damage the plant, but it is important not to let its leaves come into contact with heated glass.
In winter, the plant may need an artificial increase in daylight hours with the help of special fitolamps. With a lack of light, the leaves of the flower stretch, turn pale and fall off.
Air humidity
Kodium is a moody flower. He loves moisture-saturated air and is sensitive to temperature rises in the room. That is why in the hot season and in winter when you turn on the heating system, you often need to spray the leaves of the flower, arrange a warm shower for it.
Watering
You should also carefully consider the watering regime. Too dry soil or stagnation of water will lead to the death of the flower.
Water the codeium with soft warm water (a couple of degrees higher than the room temperature) as the substrate dries. The ground should be moist, but not wet.
You can use rainwater in the summer and melted snow in the winter. Hard water will lead to spots on the leaves, their drying. Cold water can rot the roots of a plant.
The soil
For growing and caring for codium, a ready-made mixture for decorative deciduous plants is suitable. To prepare the mixture yourself, you need to take in equal parts sheet and turf lands, peat and coarse sand.
The soil for this flower should pass water well, and in some cases, perlite or vermiculite can be used as drainage.
Fertilizers
As fertilizer, standard dressings for deciduous ornamental plants are well suited. You need to use them during the period of active growth of the codeium, a couple of times every 7 days.
During dormancy, that is, in winter, feeding is not necessary.
Kodiyum, care at home which is not so simple, will delight with a colorful color all year round. For the sake of such lush landscaping, it is worth trying to comply with lighting and watering regimes.
Tip: in the winter season, when heating is turned on in apartments and houses, the air in the rooms becomes dry. Experts advise you to purchase an automatic air humidifier - it will benefit not only indoor plants, but also residents of the apartment.
Such plants will help to give bright colors to the modern monochrome interior.
Breeding methods
Many flower growers dream of buying a codium in their mini-garden. Reproduction of this flower occurs in two ways - seed and vegetative.
Using seeds to grow a plant is almost impossible. This is due to the fact that at home, codium fruit rarely, and in the store the seeds of this flower are very difficult to find. In addition, the process of growing from scratch will be very long and laborious.
Since the codium flower propagates by seeds very slowly, gardeners use the stem and leaf method of cuttings.
Cuttings
Propagation by cuttings is best done in the spring, starting in April. But experienced flower growers, with proper care, can cuttings at any time of the year.
The process goes like this:
- From the top of the plant, a stalk 10-15 cm long is cut;
- The segment is washed under running water in order to wash off the milky juice of the stem;
- After washing, the stalk is dried for 2-3 hours in a natural way;
- To root a segment, it is placed in warm water;
- Coal or pharmacy blue is added to the water - this will help avoid rotting of the roots;
- The plant must be placed in a greenhouse (made of glass or polyethylene), closer to sunlight, but without direct sunlight;
- After 2-3 weeks, the roots will grow a couple of centimeters, and the process can be planted in a pot.
To speed up the process of root formation on cuttings, their lower part can be treated with a special tool - heteroauxin or phytohormones.
Rooting cuttings in stages
Leaf propagation
Another method of grafting is using leaves. It is important that along with the leaf part of the shoot with the kidney is cut off.
The process of propagation by leaves:
- A leaf with a part of the shoot is cut in half;
- Each part is buried 2-3 cm into the ground;
- A greenhouse is created (the easiest way is to put a plastic bag on the pot);
- Every day the shoot is sprayed, ventilated;
- After 2-3 months, the cuttings will give roots, and they can be planted in different containers.
As soon as new pieces appear at the segment, they can be transplanted. The growth of new shoots and leaves means that the stalk not only gave roots, but also gained enough strength for further growth and development.
note: different types of codium are cut in the same way. This is another plus of the plant, greatly simplifying the task of gardeners.
Flowering examples
Since home codium blooms very rarely, many flower growers do not even suspect how its flowers should look. But if all the conditions for the plant are met, caring for it is competent and regular, in the summer period one can observe blooming among the leaves of flowers.
Flowers and fruits of the plant
A peduncle grows in the leaf sinuses of the codium. It contains small flowers of a faded hue, collected in inflorescences. In some varieties, the flowers are so unremarkable that the process of flowering is very easy to overlook, especially if there are a lot of bright leaves on the bush.
Two kinds of flowers appear at the codium: male and female. The first look like small pompons from many stamens. Female flowers have curved pestles. Each peduncle contains flowers of the same sex, but they are all revealed simultaneously.
Picture 6. Twigs with flowers can hide in the thick of leaves
The flowering process takes away a lot of energy from the plant. That is why experts advise providing the flower kodium with thorough home care during this period. A mix of heterosexual flowers will give seeds, but whether you should risk an adult plant for them is up to you.
Important Notice: amateur flower growers often note that after the first flowering, the codium dies. This is due to insufficient knowledge of the processes of flower development. In order not to encounter a similar problem, it is better to immediately remove the flower stalks - this will not affect the decorative properties of the plant.
Add to the interior room bright colors help flower codium. He will delight the owners of the house or office workers not with lush flowering and pleasant aroma, but with bright glossy leaves and a neat bush form.
