This plant is a species of perennial evergreen herbaceous crops belonging to the genus Pilea, which belongs to the nettle family. Wild culture is found in China, Indochina and Vietnam. A variety of Kadie is appreciated for the unusual coloring of the leaves and unpretentiousness. The article will discuss what this pilya is: home care, reproduction, description of appearance, diseases and pests.
What does Kadieu saw
The height of the shoots is from 30 to 40 cm. The stems located at the base are very thin, initially upright, but eventually bend and become highly branched. The leaves can be lanceolate or oval, located opposite on the petioles. The length of the plate is about 8 cm, the width is 5 cm. The surface of the sheet is shiny, rough to the touch, the color is dark green with two large convex strips of silver color. The lines run on both sides of the midrib, divided into fragments by green areas. The edges of the leaves are also framed by convex silver inclusions. The glossy color is emphasized by the fact that the shape of the plates has a curved appearance.
For your information! The genus Pilea includes about 400 species. Flowers have no decorative value.
Growing at home
Pilea is undemanding in care, therefore it is not particularly difficult in the process of growing a house.
The basic rules of growing
Recommended indoor temperature ranges from 20 ° C to 24 ° C (in the summer season). The minimum winter parameters are 15 ° C.
Important! Drafts and temperature changes are unacceptable, otherwise the plant may become ill and die.
Culture needs bright diffused lighting. Direct rays are fatal to a flower. The best place for pylea is the east or west window. If this is not possible, the south side is also suitable, but on the condition that the flower will be at a distance from the window or covered with a translucent material.
Lack of lighting leads to a loss of bright color of the foliage. In summer, the flower can be taken out to the balcony, but provided that the plant is protected from direct sunlight.
Plant likes bright diffused light
In winter, as well as with a lack of natural light in cloudy weather, the saw needs additional illumination.
1-2 weeks after the plant has adapted to the microclimate, it should be moved to another container with a new substrate.
During the period of active growth and development, the flower must be fed with liquid universal fertilizer. In winter, the frequency of top dressing is reduced to 1 time in 30 days.
Priming
The plant prefers neutral or slightly acidic soil, rich in nutrients. The mixture can be purchased at the store (soil for decorative leafy plants) and add vermiculite or perlite to it or prepare the soil yourself. In the latter case, you will need:
- humus;
- leaf soil;
- peat land;
- coarse sand.
The listed ingredients are taken in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 1, combined and thoroughly mixed. Before disembarking pylae, a high-quality drainage layer is laid on the bottom of the pot.
Note! The flower can be grown hydroponically, that is, without soil in nutrient solutions.
The soil mixture should be light and loose in order to pass air and moisture well.
Transfer
The procedure for young specimens is carried out every year with the onset of spring, adults are propagated and re-grown. A drainage layer consisting of expanded clay or brick chips is laid at the bottom of the pot. The layer thickness should be 1.5-2 cm. It is recommended that the transplant be combined with pinching and trimming.
Important! As a result of the formation of the bush, cuttings remain, from which a new plant can soon be obtained.
You can plant a saw in one container with other cultures, creating compositions. The flower coexists well with ferns, fittonia, peperomia (small-leaved species). The similarity of these plants lies in almost the same content and cultivation.
Important! It is not allowed to combine the saw with large-leaf, intensively growing crops, as they crush the plant in a pot.
Pot selection
The capacity should correspond to the structure of the root system of the flower. The roots of this culture are rather weak, compact, and shallow. Therefore, the pot should be selected small (depth from 7.5 to 10 cm), wide with drainage holes.
The capacity for the flower should not be deep
Humidity and watering
Kadye is not a moisture-loving flower, so excess moisture is especially harmful (stagnant moisture in the pot can lead to waterlogging and rotting of the roots). Short-term drying of the soil, the culture tolerates well.
Watering is carried out regularly and abundantly enough with clean water (filtered or decanted). So much time must pass between the procedures that the earth has time to dry out a little.
Note! Excessive watering is especially dangerous in the winter season. Watering the plant at this time is necessary no more than 1 time per week.
Culture feels good in conditions of high humidity. However, it is undesirable to spray the flower, since drops of water leave ugly stains on the surface of the leaves. To increase the level of humidity, expanded clay is added to the pan of the pot and it is regularly moistened.
Flowering Activities
Experts recommend pruning the flowers after they are formed, because the sawfly blooms nondescript. Thanks to this procedure, the plant receives additional forces for growth and development (they do not need to be spent on ovary flowers and maintaining them in good condition).
Nipples and trimming
Since the Kadier pylaea grows intensively, the bush soon loses its aesthetic appearance. To prevent this, it is necessary to pinch the tops of the stems 1 time in 2-3 weeks.
In spring, all the shoots are trimmed so that the length of the rooted stems is 8-10 cm.
Propagation of pylaea by cuttings
Propagate the flower with stem cuttings is recommended in spring or summer. Three internodes should be present on 7-10 cm cuttings. Seedlings are placed in loose soil, sand or in a container of water. Then they are covered with a glass jar (or wrapped in polyethylene), thereby creating greenhouse conditions. The leaves of the handle should not touch the walls of the vessel.
In one bank you can place several processes at once. Seedlings are placed in a warm place where there is no access to direct sunlight. As soon as the roots appear, the jar can be removed and the young plant left in this form for one week. Next, the container is transferred to a suitable place. The grown shoots are transplanted into individual pots and begin to care for them according to the standard scheme.
Kadye breeding
Possible difficulties
Problems that may arise when growing crops are the result of errors in the content:
- foliage shrinks and begins to crumble in conditions of too high or too low air temperature, as well as with a long period between watering (the flower begins to dry due to lack of moisture);
- the leaves turn black and fall, the lower part of the shoots decays. The reason is excessive watering;
- yellow and brown spots appear on the leaves. The reason is direct sunlight;
- a lack of light leads to the dimming of silver streaks on the leaves, as well as to shredding of the leaves and elongation of shoots;
- if the shoots are exposed (the lower part of the stems loses foliage), this means that the plant needs rejuvenation.
Diseases and pests: table
| Symptoms | Cause | Solution |
| The plant is entangled in a thin cobweb, the leaves wither, fall off. | Spider mite. Favorable conditions for its distribution - dry environment. | Wipe the flower with soapy water, wash it under a warm shower, and treat it with an attel. |
| The foliage dries out and begins to fall. It is very difficult to return the plant to its former form. | Shield | Pillia treat attelikom or fitoverm. |
| The outer surface of the leaves is covered with a large number of points of a light shade. | Thrips | The funds are the same as in the previous case. |
| The plant is covered with a white coating, similar to flour. A sticky translucent coating (honey dew) appears on the pylaea tissues, the flower becomes lethargic. | Mealybug | The plant needs to be washed with soapy water, then treated with insecticides (actara, fitoverm). |
Note! The main difficulty is that it is rather difficult to detect pests on the motley surface of colorful leaves.
Popular varieties
This culture is not loved for plentiful flowering, although at home buds appear very rarely. This usually happens in the summer season. The flowers are small, white in color, plain, collected in dense inflorescences. Against the background of bright foliage, they are almost invisible.
The following varieties are in greatest demand among gardeners:
Pilea Cadiera
The stems can reach a height of 40 cm. Over time, they begin to branch. Leaves are oval with a pointed tip and three veins. Other popular names for the species are silver saw, an aluminum plant, which were given to him in connection with the spectacular coloring. The bright green (or bluish-green) surface of the foliage is covered with two wide intermittent strips of silver tint.
Pilea pressed
The leaves are light green, small, numerous. Bushes squat, curly.
Pilea Depressa
Pilea Alumi
The foliage is painted in a deep green color, has a wrinkled, terry surface with veins of a crimson hue.
Among other popular varieties of pylaea are:
- monolithic;
- plate;
- wrapped up;
- peperomoid;
- Lebanese
- small-leaved;
- creeping.
Kadier is one of the most common types of pylaea, famous for its colorful coloring of leaves. The plant is unpretentious, so even a beginner can cope with its contents. Knowing what Kadieu’s pie is - home care, cultivation, reproduction - will help to successfully cope with the task.
