Araucaria Excelsa

Posted on | March 20, 2009 |

The house plant grower with an experimental turn of mind may well he able to grow on aphelandra plants from one vear to the next if he has at his disposal some simple propagating equipment with which to raise new cuttings. To do this allow the bract to die back and lose its colour before cutting the plant back to a firm pair of leaves.

Growth that appears from the arils of those leaves should he allowed to develop two pairs of leaves of their own before they are severed from the parent plant. A clean cut straight across the stem should be made about half an inch below the lower leaf. Propagate in a pure peat mixture and pot on into a proper growing compost as soon as the plant has rooted through to the sides of the small pot in which it has been propagated.

For the plantsman desirous of obtaining a slow- growing house plant Ardisia could possibly be the ultimate choice. The nurseryman may well sow the seed in the traditional manner in a reasonably high temperature in the spring of one year and find that he is on the board of directors by the time the plant has attained its maximum height of some 4 ft. and is ready to he marketed. Highly improbable, you may feel, but this has actually happened to my knowledge.

Well-grown plants that have retained most of their foliage can he very attractive, the principal interest being the freely borne red berries. Being so lamentably slow in growth few mature plants are ever offered for sale, if time is on your side, they are not difficult to raise from seed. Keep fairly warm and in good light; otherwise apply standard treatment in respect of water and fertiliser. Avoid the temptation of transferring small plants to too-large pots.before they are ready, as this will only prove detrimental.

On account of the densely matted roots a thin, weak fertiliser will do very little for this particular plant. Feed them more frequently, or increase the maker’s recommended dosage, and the results will be much improved. Provision of a little humidity around the plant will improve its performance, as will a situation that is light and protected from the direct rays of the sun.

Araucaria excelsa, the Norfolk Island pine warm position. Red spider can be a hit bothersome in very dry atmospheric conditions, and soft new leaves attract greenfly; otherwise there are few problems. Propagation of new plants is simply clone by means of seed. There is also a variegated form that is something of a rarity and a little more difficult to manage, a slightly higher temperature being needed. Shortage of good stock is the main reason for the scarcity of this variety; as it is not possible to raise it from seed all propagation must be done vegetatively and shortage of stock plants puts a tight control on the number that can he produced in this way.

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