The article will tell you about the intricacies of growing and caring for a laurel bush at home.
Contents
- How to plant a bay leaf with seeds?
- Which land is needed for the bay leaf, what kind of pot?
- How to transplant a laurel into a pot?
- How to properly care for laurel leaf seedlings?
- How to propagate a bay leaf at home with a scion, cuttings: Instruction
- How to feed a laurel leaf in a pot?
- Why does the bay leaf dry at home, what should I do?
- Video: "How to grow a laurel house?"
How to plant a bay leaf with seeds?
The Bay leaf is a famous spice all over the world, it is customary to add in the first and second dishes, marinades, sauces and even desserts. The dried laurel leaves have a strong spicy aroma with a slight pleasant bitterness. In addition to cooking, the leaf is actively used in folk medicine, as a diuretic, antiseptic and antimicrobial agent.
On the basis of bay leaves prepare broths and infusions, baths and lotions. The bay leaf is simply added to tea and hot drinks, chews fresh leaves to get rid of the unpleasant odor in the mouth or get a bactericidal effect. A laurel bush deserves special attention, as an esoteric symbol. This plant is attributed to the protective properties for man and the home from negative influences from the environment.
As a house plant, a laurel "tree" or bush is useful in any home. Lavr not only decorate your house, but also make the atmosphere in the home more favorable, friendly and kind. In addition, the leaves of the plant emit special essential oils, which, as aromatherapy, favorably affect the moral and physical health of a person.
The easiest way to grow a laurel bush is with seeds. It is grown in a pot and only from fresh seeds, which can be difficult to obtain( they are taken only in an adult plant).After you get the seeds, and you should always soak. This is done in ordinary and warm water.
Instead of water, you can also use the special tool "Epin" , which is specially designed to regulate the growth of plants. Before you place seeds in the water, you should carefully remove the scales from them( the shell that protects the inside).Scales will prevent the growth of the shoot and therefore its removal will accelerate sprouting.
Seeds are kept in water until swelling( this is noticeable visually).Then they should be put in a plastic cup with moist sand, cover the neck of the glass with a food film and leave at room temperature with enough light. Breakage of shoots may take approximately 3-4 weeks .All this time, you should moisten the sand so it does not dry up.
After the seed gives an escape, remove the film from the glass and grow the plant until 2-4 small leaves of the appear on the .The field of this plant is planted in the ground. The soil of laurel loves with the content of sand, the ideal "soil for succulents" is ideal.
Which land is needed for the bay leaf, what kind of pot?
"Properly" selected soil for a plant is a guarantee of its health and good development. Great value for the laurel is drainage, so be sure to fill the bottom of the pot with a layer of drainage( a special breed in the form of small pebbles, sold in flower shops).
The laurel pot is best chosen from natural material, whether it is clay or ceramics. Such material, unlike plastic, will not allow the roots to "suffocate".The bottom of the pot should have a sufficient number of holes, so that the water well leaves and does not stagnate, provoking the fungus, as well as rotting the roots.
Soil for laurel bush is suitable universal, any, which you can find in a professional store. You can also prepare the mixture yourself, for this you will need:
- Part of the sheet earth
- Part of the turf ground
- Part of the quartz sand
- Part of the humus( can be replaced by compost)
IMPORTANT: All soil components are taken in an equal ratio of one to one.
Soil response to acidity must necessarily be neutral if acidity needs to be balanced( this is often the case when peat is present in the soil), add a little wood ash. The size of the pot depends on how you plan to grow laurels, the more you pick up the pot - the stronger the root system will grow, and hence the bush itself.
How to transplant a laurel tree into a pot?
Plant transplantation should be done only when you see that the plant is not comfortable in a too small pot. Pick up a new pot, which will be 1-2 cm larger in diameter than the previous one. The frequency of lavra transplants is closely related to his age. For example, if the bush is young( up to 3 years old), it should be transplanted every year, best in the spring. If the bush is an adult, then the transplant can occur every 2 years.
During the transplant should pay attention to the root who, it needs to be reduced every third to about one third. This is not noticeable for the plant, but it is useful for the health of the bush. After transplanting or planting a laurel bush in a pot, be sure to feed the bush with organic fertilizer. Loosen the earth very carefully, because the root system of the laurel is not deep, and best of all - cover the top layer of mulch.
IMPORTANT: You should know that the laurel grows very slowly. When a plant becomes an "adult", it can not be transplanted at all, but only to change the top layer of soil to fresh soil.
There are cases when a laurel bush may require an unscheduled transplant. To define it very simply - you will notice that the plant loses the leaves, which become less bright, glossy and elastic. This is because the soil is "tired", i.e.loses all important and nutritious qualities for the plant.
How to properly care for laurel leaf sprouts?
Seedlings of laurel are young shoots grown from seeds. Properly caring for the seedlings, you can achieve that your plant will be strong and healthy. You can grow seedlings in a greenhouse, or you can even go home on a windowsill.
The main thing is that you need to provide seedlings - heat and humidity. Take care that the temperature does not drop below the mark in the minus 12-9 degrees, otherwise you risk losing plants. Cultivate seeds for seedlings should be in the carboniferous soil.
Provide seedlings with sufficient light by placing the pots on the sills or by installing special lighting lamps. In the soil( garden, garden, plot), only the plant should be planted, which has already been strengthened by roots, not earlier than 2-3 years.
How to propagate the bay leaf at home with the scion, cuttings: Instruction
The division of the bush into cuttings is the simplest, most popular and effective way to propagate the plant. In addition, pruning an adult bush should occur regularly, so that the laurel can fully develop. Cut off "trimming" can be fully used for cuttings.
IMPORTANT: For this method of propagation of the bush, those "fatty" shoots, which from time to time appear on the basis of the stem, are also suitable.
Each petiole that you cut for planting should have a minimum of 2-3 buds. Cut the shoot should be obliquely, if there are lower leaves - they are cut off, the top simply cut( one-third or half).Root the petiole should be in:
- Wet sand
- Sphagnum
- Incinerated soil
- Perlite
- Vermiculite
IMPORTANT: Any specially prepared substrate for germination is suitable. Be sure to check the acidity of the soil so that it is not "sour".In an acidic environment, the plant will develop poorly or completely die.
It is important to plant the petiole strictly at an angle, it's good if you pre-dust the place of the cut of the petiole with a special stimulant to form roots. In order for the petiole to give roots, you will have to wait about 3 to 4 months. Keep the plant warm, do not allow frost and drafts, provide regular, but diffuse light. After six months you can safely plant the petioles in pots or flowerpots.
IMPORTANT: If you divide a bush, produce it either in the autumn season, or in early spring. At this time, the laurel "sleeps" and such a process will not be traumatic for him. Divide so that each branch has viable roots.
How to feed the laurel leaf in the pot?
After you have deepened the seedling in the ground( from seed or cuttings it does not matter) it should not be fed for anything during the first year. Full organic fertilizer( organic fertilizer) occurs from the second year of life of the laurel.
In a professional flower shop you should purchase a universal mineral fertilizer that is applied to the soil, based on instructions and proportions on the package, once a month. If you do not regularly fertilize the soil of the laurel bush, the plant will survive this quite normal.
It is much more terrible for the laurel to regularly "feel" an excess of moisture in the ground. Do not worry if the bush grows slowly - it's quite normal for the laurel. Every year after the transplant, listen to the instructions for caring for the plant and you will notice its development.
Why does the bay leaf dry at home, what should I do?
If the laurel bush began to dry and yellow leaves began to appear, which also lose their luster, the plant may have a number of reasons for this condition:
- Overmoistened soil, which results in rotting of the roots.
- "Tired" soil, which does not give the plant an important amount of nutrients.
- In the root system or on the plant there are pests
- Not observed temperature conditions: too cold, plenty of drafts.
- The plant suffers from direct sunlight
- The plant needs a transplant or a larger pot