Alpinia, a tropical plant with shells-like flowers for your garden
Alpinia is a beautiful plant that blooms in summer with beautiful small aromatic flowers. It stands out for its exotic elongated glossy leaves, green or yellow-green, and its striking red, pink or white flowers reminiscent of small shells. Originating from East Asia, alpine belongs to the same family as ginger and can be planted in both a garden and a flower pot on the balcony, and in some cases can also be used as an indoor plant. Alpinia has strong growth and can ideally exceed three meters in height, while indoors it does not exceed 1.5 meters.
Under what conditions does alpine growing?
Alpinia grows best on fertile, cool soil that retains enough moisture. It needs semiprecious parts to thrive, like burns on its foliage in areas with bright sunshine. As a tropical plant, alpine is sensitive to low temperatures, winter frost, and high winds. For good growth and vigorous foliage, alpine requires temperatures of at least 20 ° C and high relative humidity. To plant it in a flowerpot on a balcony, we select a spot with a west or east exposure, while indoors we place it in a bright spot avoiding direct sunlight.
Whenever does Alpinia need watering and lubrication?
Alpinia often needs watering to provide it with the soil moisture it needs to thrive. We water twice a week during the spring and autumn and every 2 days during the summer, as in a dry environment it can show a brown color on the edges of its leaves. Alpine needs frequent lubrication to ensure healthy green foliage and rich flowering. In the early spring, summer and early autumn, we add whole grain high-potassium fertilizer. We avoid lubrication during August because of high temperatures that can cause alpine problems.
How to prune and how to multiply Alpinia?
Alpinia pruning is necessary every year to control the size of the plant and to keep its foliage compact. When pruning, we remove dried and yellowed leaves from their base to renew the plant and help it grow. We can create new alpine plants with seed or rhizome division. Propagation of alpine seed is a relatively time-consuming process, so we prefer to propagate it in the spring by the method of dividing the rhizomes. To accomplish this, we split the alpine rhizomes bearing shoots and plant them in nursery pots. We keep the alpine rhizomes in the pots in a shady environment for several weeks until we have transplanted them to their final position.
And a secret for Alpinia care
Alpine is considered to be a very resistant plant, as it has no particular problems with fungal diseases and insects. To prevent red fever affecting its foliage, we spray it with a solution of summer slurry.
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