What to pay attention to when growing Polyscias
Water needs vary by season
In midsummer, when temperatures are high, besides watering adequately, you also need to spray the leaves once a day.
In late autumn and early winter, when the temperature drops below 15°C, watering should be controlled.
In winter, reduce the amount of water given, or replace watering with spraying, keeping the potting soil slightly moist and a little on the dry side; but when spraying the leaves, make sure the water temperature is basically the same as the room temperature.
Loosen the soil in time
During the growing season, combine this with fertilizing and loosen the soil of the potted plant once a month, so that the potting soil stays well aerated and permeable over the long term, avoiding root rot caused by compacted potting soil.
Place potted plants in a ventilated spot
For household potted plants, they can usually be placed in a well-ventilated spot near a south-facing window or doorway; in summer they can be placed in front of a north- or east-facing window; in winter they should be placed in a bright spot indoors.
Fertilize reasonably
After Mid-Autumn Festival, stop applying nitrogen fertilizer and apply 1-2 top dressings of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to increase the plant's cold resistance and help it overwinter smoothly.
After winter begins, the plant has stopped growing, so fertilizing must stop to avoid damaging the roots.
How to grow Polyscias scutellaria: cultivation tips and precautions for Polyscias scutellaria
Polyscias scutellaria has soft branches, the plant branches a lot, and the leaves it grows are mostly small and round. The leaves of Polyscias scutellaria are glossy green and have high ornamental value; it is fine to plant it in a courtyard or place it indoors.
How to grow Polyscias scutellaria1. How to grow Polyscias scutellaria——FertilizingFor fertilizing Polyscias scutellaria, generally apply fertilizer once every two weeks per pot, choosing a dedicated fertilizer diluted into a liquid fertilizer for application, but after September do not continue fertilizing. This allows the plant's branches and leaves to have enough space to grow and to get through winter smoothly.
2. How to grow Polyscias scutellaria——RepottingIn winter, Polyscias scutellaria is suited to a growing environment with plenty of sunlight, with appropriate watering. Every two years, Polyscias scutellaria needs to be repotted; the potting soil for repotting needs to be moist and have a certain amount of humus added. The potting soil can be leaf mold plus peat soil, with some chicken manure added as fertilizer.
3. How to grow Polyscias scutellaria——WateringPolyscias scutellaria does not like drought, so water it frequently, and keep the soil moist but without standing water. You can often spray some water mist around the plant to keep the leaves emerald green and give Polyscias scutellaria a moist growing environment.
4. How to grow Polyscias scutellaria——SunlightPolyscias scutellaria can tolerate partial shade and is suitable for growing effectively both outdoors in full sun and indoors under fluorescent light. Polyscias scutellaria is relatively sensitive to environmental changes, so before it adapts to the environment, water it more and supplement nutrients.
Growing methods and precautions for Polyscias
Chinese scientific name: PolysciasLatin scientific name: Polyscias guifoylei BaileyOther names: Polyscias scutellaria, round-leaf PolysciasKingdom: PlantaeDivision: AngiospermsClass: DicotyledonsFamily: AraliaceaeGenus: PolysciasDistribution area: native to the Pacific islandsPolyscias (scientific name: Polyscias guifoylei Bailey), also known as Polyscias scutellaria and round-leaf Polyscias, is an evergreen shrub in the family Araliaceae. Native to the Pacific islands. The plant is 1-3 m tall, with slender side branches and prominent lenticels on the branches. Leaves alternate, odd-pinnately compound, leaflets in 3-4 pairs, opposite, elliptical or oblong-elliptical, with serrate margins, often with white patches along the leaf edge, umbellate inflorescence, flowers small. Pale white-green. Mainly used for potted plants, garden trees and hedges. Contact with its sap may cause a red rash; when it touches the mouth, it can sometimes cause swelling and pain that makes swallowing impossible.1. Morphological characteristics
Evergreen shrub or small tree, with many branches, grayish-brown stems densely covered with lenticels. Branches soft, leaves alternate, odd-pinnately compound, leaflets in 3-4 pairs, opposite, elliptical or oblong-elliptical, with serrate margins, often with white patches along the leaf edge, umbellate inflorescence, flowers small. Pale white-green. Mainly used for potted plants, garden trees and hedges.2. Cultivation techniques
Propagation methods
CuttingsThis can be done in both spring and autumn, but spring cuttings give better results. From March to April, cut 10-15 cm leaf sections, keeping only the 2-3 leaves at the tip; the lower cut is best made 0.2 cm below a node, and soak it in 500 ppm indolebutyric acid or No. 1 ABT rooting solution for 10 seconds, then insert it into a sand bed or vermiculite. For small-scale cuttings, a wide-mouthed flower pot filled with vermiculite can serve as the cutting bed; after watering thoroughly, cover with plastic film to retain moisture, maintain the optimal rooting temperature of 25-30°C, and provide 40-50% shade; roots will form in 20-30 days. After the cuttings sprout new shoots, transplant them into pots.
Layering
From May to June, choose a robust stem and perform ring-barking 20-25 cm from its top; the width of the bark removed should be about 2-3 times the diameter of the stem. Wrap the ring-barked area with peat soil or mud, knead it into a ball of soil, then bind it tightly with plastic film on the outside, leaving a water inlet at the upper end. If the stem is relatively thin and cannot support the ball of soil, insert a bamboo pole as support and tie the ball of soil against the bamboo pole.
Care and management
TemperatureIts suitable growing temperature is 15-30°C, of which 20-30°C can be maintained from April to October, and 13-20°C from October to April of the following year. Beautiful plants are usually a bit delicate, and Polyscias is the same. Its variegated-leaf varieties are less cold-resistant. In general, even for ordinary pure green-leaf varieties, the room temperature in winter should be kept no lower than 10°C. When summer temperatures reach above 32°C, you cannot just leave it be: for mass production, build a shade shed; for home viewing, place it in a cool spot and spray water around it to lower the temperature, creating a cool micro-environment relatively close to its native conditions. In late autumn and early winter, when the temperature drops to 15°C, move it indoors promptly to avoid cold damage to the plant. In winter, if the room temperature can be maintained above 20°C, its stems and leaves will continue to grow; if the temperature is not high, the plant stops growing and enters a semi-dormant state.
Light
Taking Polyscias scutellaria as an example, it needs bright light; insufficient light easily causes leggy stems and leaves, dull leaf color, and fading of the variegation, but at the same time it dislikes strong direct sunlight, especially in early summer after a long rainy spell when the sky first clears, so prevent the leaves from being scorched. For household potted plants, they can usually be placed in a well-ventilated spot; in summer they can be placed in front of a north- or east-facing window; in winter they should be placed in a bright spot indoors. For production cultivation, from mid-spring to mid-autumn, they should all be placed under a shade shed, with 40-60% shading according to the intensity of the light and the length of light exposure. In short, it grows most vigorously in an environment with partial light and bright scattered light.
Water
Potted Polyscias likes a relatively moist soil and air environment. During the growing period, there must be an adequate water supply; water after the surface of the potting soil has dried, and it does not matter if the soil is a little on the dry side, but do not overwater, to avoid root rot from standing water. In midsummer, when temperatures are high, besides watering adequately, you also need to spray the leaves once a day, which both keeps the leaves clean and glossy and raises the air humidity around the plant. In late autumn and early winter, when the temperature drops below 15°C, watering should be controlled. In winter, reduce the amount of water given, or replace watering with spraying, keeping the potting soil slightly moist and a little on the dry side; but when spraying the leaves, make sure the water temperature is basically the same as the room temperature.
Soil
Loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam is best, providing it with a loose, moist, fertile soil environment. For potting soil, mix 4 parts leaf mold, 4 parts garden soil, 2 parts sand, and a small amount of composted cake fertilizer powder or bone meal. During the growing season, combine this with fertilizing and loosen the soil of the potted plant once a month, so that the potting soil stays well aerated and permeable over the long term, avoiding root rot caused by compacted potting soil. For plants in the open ground or under a shade shed, during the plum rain season or during continuous overcast and rainy weather, inspections should be strengthened; if standing water is found in the pot, pour it out promptly and repot with fresh soil, to avoid leaf drop or root rot. In general, change the soil once every two years in spring.
Fertilizing
Polyscias scutellaria and others require sufficient fertilizer. From April to June, during vigorous growth, apply a dilute cake fertilizer solution once a month, or use composted low-concentration poultry fertilizer solution, but organic fertilizer must not adhere to the leaf surface. Fertilizing can be scheduled after loosening the soil and pruning or pinching back, or before rain; after applying organic fertilizer, it is best to rinse the leaves once with water. For household potted plants, apply a mixed solution of 0.2% urea and 0.1% potassium dihydrogen phosphate, or scatter or bury a small amount of multi-element slow-release compound fertilizer granules on the surface of the potting soil. After Mid-Autumn Festival, stop applying nitrogen fertilizer and apply 1-2 top dressings of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to increase the plant's cold resistance and help it overwinter smoothly. After winter begins, the plant has stopped growing, so fertilizing must stop to avoid damaging the roots.
Pest and disease control
AnthracnoseThis disease mostly occurs at the leaf tip or leaf margin, starting as small water-soaked yellow spots, with a grayish-white or grayish-brown center, indistinct cloud-like markings, and a dark brown edge; later, many small black dots appear on the lesions, arranged in concentric rings, and finally the lesions dry up. The disease is most severe under conditions of insufficient light, poor ventilation, and excessive nitrogen fertilizer. Strengthen light and ventilation, and pay attention to a balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium when fertilizing. If disease occurs, promptly remove and destroy diseased leaves. In the early stage of disease, spray the plants with 80% carbendazim-plus-mancozeb wettable powder at 800 times dilution, or 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 600 times dilution, or 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 600 times dilution, or an equal-volume mixture of 75% chlorothalonil at 1000 times dilution and 70% thiophanate-methyl at 1000 times dilution; the last one gives the best effect. Spray once every 10 days, and 3-4 times in a row is sufficient.
Scale insects
Under conditions of poor ventilation, poor light, and high temperature and high humidity, the plant is easily harmed by various scale insects. During the peak hatching period of the nymphs, spray the plants with 25% buprofezin wettable powder at 1500 times dilution, or 40% methidathion at 2000 times dilution, or 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution.