Araucaria in the photo. Araucaria care

Araucaria is common in Australia, New Guinea, America. Some of its species are cultivated as decorative on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and Crimea. In the middle lane, it is grown as an indoor or greenhouse plant.

The araucaria in the photo most of all resembles a Christmas tree, it is often called a room spruce. It is rather difficult to grow in rooms with central heating, here the air is too dry and the temperature is too high. The optimum temperature for it is about 10-12 degrees. Already at 15-16 degrees, the needles begin to turn yellow and crumble. The plant loves diffused light or partial shade, and in the summer it needs to be taken outside.

Araucaria should be watered abundantly and often, preventing the coma from drying out, otherwise the lower branches will droop and fall off. If the araucaria in the photo has drooping branches, it is already difficult to help the plant, it is easier to cut the upper stalk to plant a new plant. The water should be soft, settled or boiled. Araucaria should be sprayed with the same water 2-3 times a day. The loss of moisture in the plant will be less if the potted soil is covered with sphagnum.

If you bought an araucaria, then after a period of acclimatization, immediately transplant it into a large pot so that it has enough room for growth and development. And do not forget that it needs special, coniferous soil. You can buy land for conifers or add about a third of the coniferous land to the universal soil. The plant grows 10-15 centimeters in a year and can grow up to three meters in height, if the dimensions of the room allow.

Araucaria is rarely transplanted, once every 4-5 years, immediately increasing the pot by about two fingers in width and three in depth. This plant propagates by apical cuttings.