Albicia is a genus of the Mimozov subfamily that combines several species of tropical deciduous shrubs and small trees. The homeland of the plants are several regions, including the Hindustan Peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Thailand, southern China, Japan, and Azerbaijan. Due to decorative greenery and flowers, albicia is common as a greenhouse and home culture in temperate areas. In areas with mild winters grown in open ground.
Botanical Description
Adult albitsia are densely branched trees or large shrubs up to 10 m high and a trunk thickness of 15–40 cm. The bark is dark gray, finely scaly. The crowns are openwork, wide, umbrella-shaped, their diameter reaches 6–7 m. The root system is superficial, with many long shoots, at the ends of which nodules sensitive to nitrogen compounds are concentrated. Leaves are dark green or bluish-purple, complex, double-pinnate. On the central petiole 17–20 cm long, up to 18 lobes are opposite, consisting of 20–30 pairs of small oval plates up to 10 mm long. In the evening, the plates close along the petioles - the leaves seem to close and wilt.
In May or June, spiky or capitate bisexual inflorescences of light yellow or white color with many long pink or cream stamens similar to thin hairs appear on albicia. Because of them, the flowers look fluffy.
Fruits - elongated pods 12-18 cm long, with a greenish-brown skin. Inside are seeds - flat beans measuring 7–10 mm.
Albicia is a fast-growing heat-loving breed, able to withstand periodic short-term temperature drops to –15 ° C, but frosty, snowy winters are destructive for it.
The main types
The following plant species are grown in culture:
- Albania Lankaran (Albizia julibrissin). Because of fluffy inflorescences, it is often called a silk tree or silk acacia. Under natural habitats, this is a sprawling tree 7–10 m high with a wide crown. The leaves are bright green on the upper side, on the back - lighter, matte. There are varieties with purple and purple leaves. The flowers are fragrant, large, with a diameter of up to 12 cm, with thick fluffy hairs of pink, cream and red shades. The flowering period is June and July. Under favorable conditions, the buds remain on the branches until September. As a home culture, Lankaran albica is grown as a bonsai or compact tree up to 1.5–2 m high.
- Albicia flowered (Albizia lophantha). The species is of Australian origin. Low trees up to 4 m tall. The leaves are slightly shorter than those of Lankaran, the inflorescences are spike-shaped, cylindrical, reach a length of 8 cm, emit a light sweetish aroma. Stamen hairs of bright yellow or cream color. Blossom in March or April. The flowering period lasts until August.
- Albizia amara (Albizia amara). Grows in East and South Africa. Shrub 4–5 m high with a spreading wide crown and openwork leaves. The flowering period begins in May. Inflorescences are capitate, fragrant, 3-5 cm in size, with orange pubescence.
- Albizia saman (Albizia saman). A large species native to Central America. Massive tree up to 20 m high with a powerful umbrella crown. Branches are fragile, easily broken in windy weather. The leaves are bright green, double-pinnate, with wider than other types of plates. The flowers are bright pink with long thick stamens, emit a sweet aroma reminiscent of the smell of violets.
Application
Due to its decorative qualities and exotic appearance, albicia is used in landscape design. In regions with a subtropical climate, its varieties are gradually adapting to unusual winter temperatures: trees are planted in gardens and on the streets. In more severe climatic conditions it is a houseplant.
Lankaran albicia is used in folk medicine. Bark and flowers contain a number of pharmacologically active substances:
- triterpenoids;
- glycosides;
- saponins;
- lignans;
- tannins.
Water infusions and decoctions of albicia have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, sedative effects. They are useful for nervous disorders, insomnia, headaches, tachycardia, gastrointestinal diseases, helminthiases, and genitourinary infections.
During flowering, the silk tree is a good honey plant. The bark, due to the content of pigments, is used as a raw material for natural dye.
Cultivation and care
To cultivate albitsia in open ground, it is necessary to choose areas well lit by the sun, protected from wind and strong drafts. To soil fertility, tropical acacia is undemanding, but does not like clay acidified soils. For her, neutral loose loam or sandy sandstone is preferable. Sand and horse peat must be added to heavy earth.
Planting is carried out in May, when the soil warms up to 15–18 ° C. Seeds must be pre-soaked for 24 hours in hot water, buried 3-4 cm. Seedlings are placed in holes with a volume twice as large as the root system of plants. At the bottom lay a layer of stone drainage.
Home albitsia planted in ceramic pots. A soil mixture is prepared for them from equal parts of leaf and sod land, ¼ of the volume of peat and river sand. You should not choose large dishes - the culture will have to be transplanted periodically.
Humidification mode
Albitsia is very fond of water. Watering often: 2-3 times a week, but try not to swamp the root system. The topsoil should be constantly slightly moist to the touch. It is recommended to use soft, settled or melt water, warmed to room temperature. For irrigation - take nozzles with small-jet sprayers.
The air in the room where the culture is contained does not need to be specially moistened. It is enough to water the soil and carry out cleaning in time, removing dust from all surfaces in the room.
Top dressing
In the first year of garden albition, there are enough nutrients in the soil. From the second season you can start fertilizing. Do not use fresh manure and other concentrated organic compounds. It is recommended to purchase complex mineral compositions for flowering plants. Nutrition is introduced before watering 1 time per year before laying flowers. If the tree develops slowly, top dressing is repeated at the end of summer.
Indoor albitions fertilize once a month until the end of the active vegetation period.
Transfer
Indoor young specimens are transplanted annually. The diameter of the new pots should be 3 cm larger than the previous ones. Before pouring soil, they are washed and disinfected with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. Soil is used fresh.
Transplantation work is carried out at the end of winter or in March, until the plant has started to grow. The root system is gently poked with a small spatula along with a lump of soil and transferred to a new container filled with soil by about ⅔. Then the roots are carefully sprinkled with the remaining soil. After transplanting, the plant is immediately watered.
Upon reaching the age of 3-4 years, the need for annual transplants disappears. Pots and soil can be renewed once every 2-3 years.
Breeding methods
The most common methods of breeding albitsia: seed, cuttings and root shoots. The first method is suitable for garden and indoor crops, but quite long and troublesome. It is recommended to stratify the material within two months. It can be germinated immediately in a permanent place, in a mixture of sand and peat or in a special agrolite. Sprouts appear within 1-2 months.
Vegetative methods allow you to get new plants much faster. For cuttings suitable lignified shoots of a year old. Take their apical parts 10-15 cm long, cutting at an angle of 45 °. The leaves are partially removed, leaving one pair. Before planting in the ground, the cuttings are treated with growth stimulants, deepened by 4-5 cm in a sand-peat mixture. Caring for adult plants. Own root system appears in them after 2-3 months.
Garden crops are propagated by root shoots. In domestic plants, it rarely appears. Subsidiary shoots are dug up in September, carefully separating them from the maternal specimen. You can plant shoots right away at permanent places in the garden or grow up to the next warm season in pots indoors.
Lighting
Indoor plants are placed on the southwestern or southern sides. Young specimens will have to be shaded from the bright sun by translucent curtains or blinds. In cloudy weather and evening hours, the lack of lighting must be filled with daytime lamps. For adult crops, direct rays are harmless.
Garden albicia grows well in open areas and in the light penumbra of higher crops.
Temperature
Ideal temperature level for albition: + 22–27 ° C. With a gradual increase and timely watering, she is not afraid of hot weather up to + 30–33 ° C. Indoors, it is recommended that you maintain a stable background between + 20–25 ° C. In summer, in sunny, warm weather, it is recommended to take out pots with albicia in fresh air.
The plant is afraid of sharp changes both up and down. When switching to winter dormancy, it is necessary to lower the temperature smoothly: by 1–2 ° C during the day.
Winter Care Features
For tropical plants, winter conditions of quite mild subtropics are stressful. Street albitsia quite safely survive the cold under the snow, but severe frosts can destroy them. Young landings are especially sensitive to them. Before the onset of winter, the soil around the roots must be covered with a thick layer of peat, foliage or sawdust. Crowns are wrapped in dense fabric, thin foam rubber or cardboard. Watering and top dressing is stopped until March. Adult trees are not afraid of frosts down to –15 ° C.
Indoor crops in winter are at rest. They are transferred to a cool room, stop fertilizing. Wilted inflorescences and fruits are gently cut or sheared. The frequency of irrigation is reduced to once a month. Often, at rest, albitsia, even indoors, drops foliage. Before the crop enters the next phase of active vegetation, weak and diseased branches are cut off, dusting the cut points with activated charcoal.
Diseases and pests
When planting in a suitable soil and following all the rules of care, albits practically do not get sick. Garden specimens are extremely rarely damaged by parasites. Indoor plants can become victims of scale insects and spider mites. The risk of pest attack increases if there are succulents in the same room as the albits. You can get rid of guards by wiping branches and leaf plates with a swab moistened with insecticide. Brown plaques must be removed manually.
A whitish coating and a thin cobweb entangling the leaves are washed off with infusions of garlic, tobacco dust or onion husks. Spraying greens is required daily until signs of parasites disappear.
Possible growing difficulties
Albitions are capricious and sensitive to changes in familiar conditions. Excessive dryness of the air and inadequate level of moisture lead to blanching, early wilting of leaves and decay of flowers. The reason may be excessive water hardness, the presence of lime salts in it.
Waterlogging of roots during irrigation causes them to rot.. The development of rot contributes to insufficiently loose heavy soil, lack of drainage. In a similar situation, it is difficult to save a dying plant. You can try to restore it by rooting the preserved healthy shoots.
The appearance of dark spots on the leaves indicates an incorrect temperature regime: the content of the plant in a draft or in a cold room.