Erica

The genus Erica (Erica), which many people confuse with the genus Heather (Calluna), unites more than 500 species. These are usually garden crops, but some species are often used as indoor flowering plants. The most common and widely used domestic types are Erica gracilis (Erica gracilis) and Erica meat-red (Erica carnea). These are small evergreen shrubs up to 40-50 cm tall with tiny needle-like light green very dense leaves covering long, erect and upward-looking stems. From autumn to the beginning of winter, many small bell-shaped (or spherical in some varieties) flowers of various colors with transitions to pink, red, lilac, and white colors bloom in terminal racemes.

The genus Erica (Erica), which many people confuse with the genus Heather (Calluna), unites more than 500 species. These are usually garden crops, but some species are often used as indoor flowering plants.

The most common and widely used domestic types are Erica gracilis (Erica gracilis) and Erica meat-red (Erica carnea). These are small evergreen shrubs up to 40-50 cm tall with tiny needle-like light green very dense leaves covering long, erect and upward-looking stems. From autumn to the beginning of winter, many small bell-shaped (or spherical in some varieties) flowers of various colors with transitions to pink, red, lilac, and white colors bloom in terminal racemes.

Cultivation

Erica grows quite well at home, as long as the room is cool and illuminated. It can be grown as an annual plant and discarded at the end of flowering; it can be planted in the garden.

Location

Erika needs a lot of light indoors, but she can't be exposed to direct sunlight. When grown in the open ground, it prefers partial shade.

Temperature

The ideal temperature during the flowering period is approximately 7-8 °C, the maximum is 15°C. When the temperature rises, it is useful to increase the humidity level; for this purpose, Erica is placed on a pallet with pebbles that are constantly kept moist.

Watering

Watering is done quite often, you can use rainwater and in no case hard. Liquid fertilizer is periodically added to the water for irrigation. The aboveground part of the plant is sprayed with water, always maintaining a high level of humidity. If the peaty soil is excessively dry, the pot must be completely submerged in water for 1 hour.

Transplant

If the plant successfully overwintered, in the spring it is transplanted into a new pot. The soil should be acidic, peaty, without lime. The top layer of soil above the roots is thoroughly compacted.

Care

To remove dried flowers, the plant is turned over and shaken from time to time. Lustrating solutions are not used.

Reproduction

You can propagate by cuttings and layering. Apical cuttings are cut in late summer and planted in a mixture of peat (2/3) and sand (1/3), keeping it moist, closed, at a temperature of about 18 °C. Layers are dug in the spring, and after the roots appear, they are separated from the mother plant.

You can propagate by cuttings and layering. Apical cuttings are cut in late summer and planted in a mixture of peat (2/3) and sand (1/3), keeping it moist, closed, at a temperature of about 18 °C. Layers are dug in the spring, and after the roots appear, they are separated from the mother plant.

Diseases

Falling leaves are a sign that the plant is suffering from a drought. If, on the contrary, there is an excess of water, it is fraught with rotting of the roots. Among the pests on erica are worms and ticks. The presence of the former can be determined by the presence of wax scutes on the reverse side of the leaves. Get rid of them with a cotton swab or rags soaked in alcohol. In the future, appropriate commercially available insecticides should be used. To remove ticks, use acaricides, while increasing the level of humidity in the environment.

Acquisition

Erica is acquired when she has very few open flowers.