Laurel: care at home. Laurel cultivation at home. Laurel - photo

Laurel is a plant known to all. In our time it is difficult to imagine a dish cooked without laurel leaves, giving the food a specific taste and aroma. Even in ancient Rome, cultivated the home laurel. Care for an unpretentious plant is simple, in addition, he gets along well on the loggias and balconies.

Main characteristics

Laurel - a houseplant, care for which is able even beginners florists. Under natural conditions of growth, this tree can reach a height of 18 meters. By the way, in the area of Sochi, you can find specimens that have a 15-meter height.

Despite the fact that the laurel does not require special care, it is nevertheless desirable to create the most favorable conditions for the plant. The room culture prefers to be in a sunny place, however it will grow well in the shade. Also, such a plant as a laurel is not afraid of drafts and drought. Care at home should be done so that he does not experience stress due to lack of water, or, conversely, did not suffer from waterlogging the soil. Laurel is resistant to diseases and pests, it can be cut, giving various forms. Many gardeners manage to grow large trees that have a delicate intertwined trunk.

Varieties of the room laurel

This plant has only two types:

• Laurel noble;
• Laurel of Canary.

Unlike his compatriot, the Canarian species has large broad leaves, slightly wrinkled along the edges. But his fragrance is somewhat weaker than that of a noble fellow.

There are several varieties of the noble laurel tree . Houseplant, care for which is simple enough, is in high demand with the florists. The main botanical species has three varieties: narrow-leaved, golden and wrinkled. All of them differ from each other only in the form and color of the foliage.

Healing properties

In addition to being a fragrant, well-known seasoning, laurel has a number of healing properties. This applies not only to the leaves, but also to the fruit. They contain fragrant essential oils and tannins. So, inhaling vapors of tinctures prepared from plant components, helps fight against cancer.

Also, experts say that laurel, home care for which is performed correctly, is able to prevent the development of a disease such as coronary heart disease.

Features of care

Despite the fact that there is no special trouble when growing a laurel, it still needs to be taken care of. Otherwise, even such an unpretentious plant can die. Possessing a mass of useful advantages, it can look very beautiful and decorative, but this requires care. Laurel noble very fond of pruning the crown, spraying the leaves. Dark green fragrant leaves are desirable to constantly wipe from collecting dust on them.

Temperature

For a good growth of each plant, it is desirable to create such conditions to which it is accustomed in its native places. This applies to such a flower as the laurel of the room. Care in winter is first and foremost the optimum air temperature (not above 18 degrees). And in January, experts generally recommend to lower it to 10 degrees. Therefore, in the heating season, especially in apartments with central heating, the plant should be kept away from heat sources.

Reproduction

Such a plant as a laurel, home care for which is carried out properly, easily propagated by cuttings. It can be grown from seeds, but shoots and radical cuttings take root very long.

If you decide to grow a plant from seeds, then be sure to check the expiration date of the seed. Take care of special soil and keep in mind that for obtaining good seedlings, several other conditions are necessary.

For greater efficiency, experienced flower growers recommend dunking the material for sowing in warm water for several hours. Do not put seeds deep in the soil, it is desirable to cover them with a layer of earth and cover with a film.

If you breed laurel cuttings, then cut them should be from this year's shoots, which have not yet managed to completely lignify. Preparation of future seedlings is carried out in the spring - in March or April. Cropped sprouts are planted in moistened soil. It is desirable to remove most of the leaves, leaving two or three, which is better to shorten. The length of the planting material should be 6-8 cm. For a better and faster rooting it is desirable to use very wet sand. For rooting young seedlings will take about a month.

Transfer

The transplant should not be performed frequently. Do not choose a small tree for a large capacity. The plant feels best in a small pot. When he becomes cramped, the new capacity should be 4 cm more. The transplantation should be performed by transshipment of an earthen coma, pouring out the necessary soil into a new pot. After landing laurels must be watered. The transplant can be performed in the spring and summer.

Top dressing

All plants need periodic feeding, even laurel. Care at home does not require feeding a tree often, it is enough to do this twice a month, during the active period of growth, that is, from June to September. For nourishing use nitrate, potassium salt, liquid superphosphate. All fertilizers are bred in water.

Lighting

In order to preserve the decorativeness and beauty of the laurel foliage, it is desirable to put it on a light, warm, well-lit side. Despite the fact that the flower normally feels in the shade, its color may change slightly, the leaves will no longer have such a vivid color, and the tree itself can stretch out and the foliage can be subdued.

In the room it is very difficult to achieve the flowering of such plants as laurels. Care at home, corresponding to natural factors, can help the tree to bloom. True, his flowers are not very beautiful. Basically, these are small inflorescences of yellow flowers, having a pleasant aroma.

Helpful Tips

Laurel is a plant, the care of which will be fun even for children, since, basically, this is the correct watering and location. If you do not know how to properly water a decorative tree, then do this when the top layer of the soil dries slightly. Do not fill the flower, because even the unpretentious laurel from the abundance of water can root roots.

Before landing or transplanting, do not forget to make a drain. Try to refrain from replacing the one-year-old laurel. The only thing that this tree does not like very much is frequent transplants, its roots are very sensitive.

If you plant the flower with cuttings, then when cutting, try not to cut to the end the sprout from a large tree, try gently tearing it. The resulting "heel" will contribute to a more rapid development of the root system of a young seedling.

Do not forget about humidity and spray the plant in hot weather every day. Try to do this in the evening hours, because drops of moisture on the sheets when they hit the sun's rays turn into very strong lenses that can leave strong burns on the leaves, which will lead not only to ugly appearance, but also to their death.

Do not feed the plant in winter at rest, otherwise in natural time for active growth laurel will not be able to develop normally, as it will not have time to gain strength. It is also desirable to reduce watering in winter.