Howea is popular among most professional and amateur gardeners. She can often be found not only at home, but also in the office. Often the plant does not receive the necessary care, which often leads to its death. The article will outline the main subtleties of caring for the Howe palm tree, and reveal the main secrets of its safe maintenance.

Botanical description of the plant

Howea is one of the most popular indoor plants in the world. This species is an evergreen tree plant belonging to the Palm family (Arecaceae). Its homeland is the humid subtropical zone of the Australian coast, near which wild plant hybrids are still found near the Lord Howe Island.

The species is most often distributed in culture (as a greenhouse or indoor flower), but in the tropics it is often grown in open soil.The main characteristic of the species:

Howea flowering is considered quite rare. In indoor conditions, this process occurs only in greenhouses, under ideal conditions. Small racemose flowers on a palm tree can be observed from early November to late December.

Under natural conditions, flowering also falls on this period, after which pollinated flowers give fruit. They are small date-shaped, stone-shaped berries not more than 4 cm long.

Did you know? Hovea in the interior, in addition to decorative purposes, performs the role of a natural regulator of humidity. Thanks to the voluminous foliage, the plant saturates the air with moisture, which improves the susceptibility of clean air to the human body.

Main types

Today, florists cultivate only two varieties of this plant:

What conditions do you need to create at home

Often decorative palm trees optimized for cold temperatures are quite unpretentious to the conditions of detention and microclimate. But all the same, the necessary microclimate and the optimal temperature regime for such plants is a prerequisite.

Otherwise, the home flower will hurt, and in advanced cases it will undergo bacterial or fungal infections.

Seat selection

Belmore and Forster are unpretentious in lighting, so you can grow them in almost any corner of the house. But it is best to choose a slightly shaded corner for this, as direct sunlight causes burns. Palma feels good on the southern windowsills, but the northern part of the house is suitable too.

In the summer, the hove is always shaded, for this you will need a transparent tulle (or other light light fabric), which is removed in the winter (at this time of the year the palm tree does not need shading). During periods of shortened days, the hovea must be highlighted; daylight hours should be at least 10-12 hours.

In the room where the hovea grows, natural or forced ventilation should be provided. Representatives of this species are quite whimsical to clean air, so dirty air can inhibit their growth. Drafts for palm trees are prohibited, as they can cause colds and leaf fall.

Important! Howea does not tolerate tobacco smoke. Even a short stay under the influence of its substances causes depression of the palm.

Temperature mode

The optimum temperature for keeping this variety of indoor palms is +18 ... + 23 ° С. In winter, this figure can drop to +16 ° C. A temperature below +15 ° C is undesirable for the Howia, as this causes inhibition of metabolism, and hence its growth.

Air humidity

This plant is most demanding on humidity in the spring. During this period, there is an active growth and development of foliage and stem, so the air in the room with a palm tree needs to be moistened regularly. Howea needs additional humidification when the daily temperature is exceeded above +24 ° С (then the air is humidified at least once every 1-2 days).

In winter, the hovea does not need humidification, however, a slight wetting of the leaves a couple of times a month has a positive effect on its growth.

How to care at home

Caring for a palm tree is easy. This indoor view requires standard living conditions, so it can be successfully grown on any windowsill. But special attention should be paid to watering and preventive pruning of the plant, otherwise it will not be easy to grow it.

Watering

The whole year of howia requires a special watering regime. The greatest amount of water is introduced in spring, during the period of active growth. At this time, the palm tree is watered at least 1 time in 2 days. The soil with the plant also requires abundant moistening in the summer: if the daytime temperature exceeds + 25 ° C, the soil needs to be moistened daily, in small portions.

Be sure to ensure that the soil does not dry out completely. As the temperature drops, watering is reduced, in the winter-autumn period the procedure is carried out no more than 1-2 times a week.

For moisturizing, the hovei use only clean, settled water, warmed up to room temperature. Cold water is contraindicated, as sudden changes in temperature will affect growth. Do not use excessively hard water for the procedure, so it is recommended to boil it before watering.Watering from above is considered the most appropriate - in this case, it is possible to completely wet the soil without causing putrefactive lesions of the root system. The palm tree does not need lower watering, as it can provoke rot on the roots.

Important! For uniform growth, it is recommended to turn the palm several times a week, otherwise its decorative value will decrease significantly.

Fertilizer application

Fertilize young palm trees throughout the active vegetative period - from early April to the very end of September. Fertilizers are applied at least 1 time in 2 weeks. Adult specimens fertilize less often - not more than 1 time per month.

In winter, the hovea does not need additional nutrition, since at this time a decrease in the activity of its metabolism is observed. Excess fertilizing leads to the accumulation of fertilizers in the soil, which can cause intoxication of the plant.

As fertilizing the most appropriate are complex mineral fertilizers for indoor plants. Such mixtures must necessarily be with phosphorus, potassium and magnesium (18:18:18). Contribute them in liquid form instead of the next irrigation procedure.

The most effective are Bona Forte (10 ml / 1.5 l of water), Palm Focus (10 ml / l of water), Green Paradise (2 g / l of water).

The most active growth of howea is noted if mineral fertilizing is alternated with organic fertilizers. In this case, nettle infusion or an aqueous solution of cow manure (1:15) are used as organics.

Pruning

The hovea does not need to form a crown, so pruning is carried out as necessary, after the leaves have wilted. Quite often, due to adverse conditions on the palm, withering of the ends of the leaves is observed. The dried parts are carefully removed with a clerical knife or small scissors (other tools will cause damage to the sheet tissue).

Transfer

Young palm trees require annual transplantation; mature ones renew the flowerpot no more than 1 time in 2 years. The procedure is carried out in the spring (at this time the most active metabolism of the Howia is observed, which will favorably affect its recovery).

Any garden containers are used for the procedure, the most popular are special plastic or ceramic pots. The container must have a drainage hole, otherwise the stagnation of moisture in it will cause rotting of the roots of the palm. Prepare the pot size 7-10 cm wider than the palm root system.

For transplantation, they use a well-fertilized, but light substrate, consisting of equal parts of sod land, humus and river sand. You can replace it with purchased soil for indoor flowers, but in this case you need to make sure that it does not differ in high moisture capacity.

For transplantation, pre-sterilized soil is used.

The procedure is carried out using such methods:

• roasting the substrate in the oven for 20-25 minutes, at +125 ° C;
• freezing the mixture for several days in the refrigerator, at -20 ...- 25 ° C;
• wetting the soil with 1% potassium permanganate solution.

1. Prepare the pot. It must be sterilized with 1% potassium permanganate or 70% alcohol solution.
2. Put a drainage layer of fine expanded clay or gravel 2–4 cm thick on the bottom of the tank.
3. Pour new soil over the gravel with a layer of 2-3 cm.
4. Carefully remove the Howe along with the soil from the old pot and transfer it to a new bowl.
5. Fill the gaps between the root system and the flowerpot with soil and compact it.
6. Water the flower, and after 14 days feed it with mineral fertilizers.

Did you know? A palm tree is growing in Israel, which has come down to our days since the time of Jesus Christ. It was grown thanks to seeds found by archaeologists, stored in an ancient vessel for about 2 thousand years.

How to breed at home

This type of palm is propagated by dividing the bush or by seeds (division is more preferable). The seeds of the crop have low germination, therefore, it is possible to get full-fledged sprouts from the seed material no earlier than 10-12 months after sowing. Reproduction by division does not require special skills from the gardener (which is especially important for beginning growers).

Dividing the bush

The division of the bush is most often carried out in the spring, during a palm transplant. Only adult plants, several years old, are suitable for this, otherwise the procedure can lead to the death of the mother bush. A special soil mixture is prepared to root the dividers.

It should be not only nutritious, but also as loose as possible, otherwise rooting will drag on for several weeks. Most often, for this purpose, soil from sod land, humus and river sand is used with a ratio of components of 1: 2: 2. Replace it with a mixture of equal parts of the earth for indoor flowers and river sand.Howea is propagated by division as follows:

1. Sterilize the soil and garden tank (according to the method described above).
2. Fill the flowerpot with gravel or expanded clay (2–4 cm), and then with prepared soil.
3. Carefully remove the palm from the pot, remove excess soil from the roots.
4. Separate the side branch of the palm with the roots with a sharp knife. Be sure to treat the cut sites with crushed charcoal.
5. Make a small hole in the pot with soil, put a divide into it.
6. Fill the roots with soil, water the plant and cover it with a dome made of polyethylene or other transparent material.
7. After 1–2 weeks, the plant will take root in a warm, well-lit place, then the dome can be removed.

Seeds

Seeding is resorted to at the end of February or in the first half of March. Only fresh seeds are suitable for germination, as their germination capacity worsens over time. For the procedure, a special soil mixture is used, consisting of equal parts of peat and river sand.

Reproduction in this way is a rather time-consuming process that will require a gardener at least 5-7 years. It takes so much time for the seedlings to turn into a small plant.

Sowing palm seeds in the ground implies such actions:

1. Sterilize germination tanks and soil.
2. Soak the seeds in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes (for disinfection).
3. Fill the flowerpots for germination with a substrate.
4. Spread the seeds evenly over the surface of the substrate, and then sprinkle with the substrate (1-2 cm thick layer).
5. Pour the soil, cover it with a plastic dome and place the containers in a warm (+22 ... + 25 ° C) place where there is a lot of light.
6. The first seedlings can be observed after 10 months, after which in the phase of 1-2 leaves the dome is removed, and seedlings are transplanted into separate containers.

What difficulties may arise

During the cultivation of palm trees, the grower may encounter many difficulties. The most common ones are: the hovea dries, and its leaves are affected by all kinds of pathologies (due to errors in the content). But many do not imagine what should be done in such a situation.The following describes the most effective methods for solving all kinds of problems that arise when breeding Howea:

Howea is one of the most exotic domestic plants, so this beginner and experienced plant grower are enough to breed this palm. To get a healthy, actively developing palm, you should create optimal conditions for detention (despite the fact that this indoor view is considered unpretentious).

This includes timely watering and top dressing, without which the hovea instantly loses its decorative value.