How do you care for a cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) so it grows lush and full?
I. Daily care
1. Soil
It has no great demands on soil and can tolerate poor land; ideally it should be loose enough and fertile enough sandy soil, with slight acidity. When potting it, you can mix rotted leaves, peat and ordinary garden soil as the base soil.
2. Water
During its growing season it needs plenty of water, and the soil in the pot should be kept moist at all times; you can frequently sprinkle water on its leaves to raise humidity, which helps its buds grow into new leaves. After autumn arrives, you can moderately reduce the amount of watering.
3. Light
It can grow vigorously in places without sun, but it needs to be bright enough. You can use a shade to block the sunlight from it. In the hot weather of summer and autumn, do not let it be exposed to direct sunlight, otherwise yellow spots will appear on its leaves, and these cannot disappear; as a result, its growth rate will slow down and it will become less attractive.
4. Temperature
It likes warm areas and dislikes cold; it is best to keep it in an environment of 15-25°C. In winter, do not let it go below 5°C.
5. Fertilizing
Before planting it out, you can use rotted leaves as a base fertilizer, using 2 kg of rotted leaves per sq m, scattering them evenly in the soil and then loosening the soil. In seasons other than winter it grows fairly vigorously, so give it a watering of diluted fertilizer water once a week; in the depths of winter, stop adding fertilizer.
II. Points to note
1. During its growing season it needs a lot of water, and the soil in the pot should always be moist; you can sprinkle water on its leaves.
2. You can place it in a fairly bright room, but whether it is grown indoors or outdoors, it must not be exposed to direct sunlight. Even a very short period of exposure will cause it to be sunburned.
3. During its growing stage, keep it ventilated, because in winter it grows relatively slowly, so you do not need to ventilate it in winter.