Aglaya

Aglaya belongs to flowering, decorative-leaved plants.

Aglaya features

Aglaya grows in the form of a bush or tree. The plant belongs to the Meliaceae family. The shrub is widespread in China, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The tree is very easy to grow, as it is easy to care for. Indoor plant reaches a height of 1.5-2 meters, wild - up to 20-30 meters. Aglaya grows rapidly, the annual growth is 50 cm. It is a perennial plant.

Aglaya cultivation

Aglaya is kept under normal room temperature conditions - + 18-25 degrees. The shrub is resistant to cold periods, withstands a short-term drop in temperature conditions up to -10 degrees. In the winter season, Aglaya requires a dormant stage, the plant is placed in a cool place, namely, on a window located on the north side, the temperature regime there is observed from +10 degrees to +15 degrees. In this case, watering is carried out in very rare cases.

Aglaya adapts to different levels of moisture, but prefers high humidity. It is recommended to put the container in a pallet containing the moistened expanded clay, especially in the winter season, when the heating is on. If you spray the foliage with hard water, then unsightly marks will remain on them, which are difficult to wash off in the future.

The plant loves to grow in bright diffused light, you can keep it on the windowsill on the east and west sides, and you can also place the container near the window on the south side. Good light will stimulate abundant flowering and enhance the aromatic qualities of flowers.

For cultivation, a well-drained, fertile soil is needed, which contains peat, sand, garden soil, and semi-decomposed needles are also added. The best pH option is 5-6.

Aglaya care

Watering

Moistening is carried out when the surface soil layer dries out, and the soil between waterings should not completely dry out. When watering, you need to wait until water begins to flow from the drainage holes. If you water the plant too much, it can rot. With a lack of moisture, the leaves lose their elasticity and begin to hang, after watering they are restored soon. But, if you often forget about timely watering, then the lower leaves will begin to fall off.

Top dressing

Top dressing is applied during the growing season 1 time / 14 days. To stimulate flowering, it is required to apply complexes for flowering vegetation.

Aglaya reproduction

Cutting for this culture is a rather difficult way of reproduction. But nevertheless, in the spring season, it is possible to root semi-lignified cuttings, cut in length by about 15-20 cm. Before germinating them, treatment with the drug "Kornevin" is carried out. The plant takes root in water for about 14 days. As most of the people involved in floriculture say, in the summer season, there is almost no rooting of cuttings. Aglaya can be propagated by seeds, but it is rather difficult to remove the grains, because the culture is dioecious, which means that the flowers of the male and female are located on different plants.

Bloom

The flowers are small, spherical, painted yellow, emitting a pleasant sweet lemon scent. Aglaya is sometimes referred to as the Chinese perfume culture. At the same time, some of the flower growers assure that there is no sense of the smell of the flowers of the plant.This is explained by the fact that the aromatic properties can be felt not close, but at some distance from the aglai, as a rule, this occurs in the morning. An important role is played by the content of the growing area, namely, moisture and temperature conditions. In the indoor space, at times difficulties may arise with the flowering stage, in this case the aglaya is used as an ornamental-leafy plant.

Aglaya transplant

The transplant is carried out when the root system fills the entire container. The plant is transplanted into a larger container. A young aglaya is transplanted every year. It is advisable to use clay pots for transplanting. In the summer season, the culture likes to be outdoors in the fresh air - the aglaya is taken out on the balcony or on the garden plot. In the spring season, it is recommended to cut the plant, but you do not need to remove all the new last year's shoots "under the stump", you need to leave them at least a little. All dead and damaged shoots are necessarily cut off. A useful measure is to pinch the plant as it grows in order to branch more. Nowadays, there are varieties that are compact, they practically do not need to be formed. Aglaya can be cultivated as a bonsai plant. If the container is not regularly rotated during the growth stage, the asymmetry of the crown is ensured.

Diseases and pests

Aglaya has a high resistance to harmful insects. Florists note that even if the aglaya is among the vegetation that has been affected by a tick or scale insect, then the plant we are considering is not susceptible to infection. The mealybug is dangerous for aglai. If conditions are unfavorable, then there is a small chance that a spider mite or aphid will appear.

Aglaya's benefits

One of the most valuable properties of aglaya is the exquisite, amazing aroma of flowers. In dry form, flowers are used to flavor things, to add to tea. In perfumery, essential oils are extracted from flowers. Leaves, roots, flowers are used in traditional folk medicine.

The plant is non-toxic.