On the windowsills of city flats you can oftento meet a Kalanchoe flower. There are quite a few species of this plant, but today we will only talk about one of them. About that, which combines the qualities of a green healer, and just a beautiful flower. The plant is called calanchoe pinnate. What is this flower? A small bush with fleshy light-green oval leaves. On the upper leaves there are grooves in which the babies grow and develop. Over time, they fall into the ground and root, resulting in the development of a new, young plant.
Care and growing at home
If you want to grow a Kalanchoe pinnate, do not wait for its natural reproduction, proceed as follows:
- Put a sheet of Kalanchoe on the ground, and its lower side should be at the top;
- Now sprinkle the edges with moist sand - a layer about two centimeters;
- Well tamp the sand with a spatula and moisturize regularly;
- Soon there will be shoots. As soon as they reach a height of 10-15 centimeters, plant young plants on separate pots.
For Kalanchoe, you can either buy a ready-made substratefor succulents, or make the soil yourself. To do this, make a mixture of river sand, leaf land and humus in an equal proportion. Also there it is desirable to add brick crumb and some birch coals. This will help maintain a moderate soil moisture throughout the pot. Be sure to put a drain on the bottom of the pot (expanded clay). When choosing a pot, it is best to give preference to a container with small legs that will provide clearance between the bottom and the pallet. This will save the plant from excessive moisture and stagnant water in the pan. Unlike other succulents, Kalanchoe pinnate loves copious watering. But this applies only to the warm season. In winter, water procedures are reduced in order to prevent rotting roots. It is advisable before watering to make sure that the soil is really dry. Kalanchoe is a sun-loving flower. He is not afraid of direct sunlight, so the choice of the side of the world is not so principled. Kalanchoe pinnate is absolutely not exacting in care. All you need to do is water it regularly and periodically loosen the soil. Once a month, you can carry out fertilizing by choosing nitrogenous or other liquid fertilizers for cacti. The optimum temperature for growing a plant is 16-22 degrees. If you drop below 10 degrees, the flower may die. In addition, he does not like sudden temperature changes, and the heat is much easier to tolerate than cold.
When is a transplant necessary?
The signal to the transplant is completely filledroot system pot. Before transplanting the Kalanchoe is abundantly watered and allowed to drain excess water. Then the pot is turned over and gently pulled out the plant along with the earth. To make the procedure easier, you can knock on the pot a little. By this time, a container with drainage and soil should already be prepared (the layer of soil should not be more than 5 centimeters). The plant is transferred to a new place of residence and sprinkled with earth to the required level. To tamp down the ground, the pot occasionally taps on the floor. At the end of the procedure, the flower is watered abundantly. Further conditions of detention remain the same.
Medicinal properties
The leaves of the plant have anti-inflammatory andbactericidal action due to the presence in them of polysaccharides, enzymes and other useful substances. Kalanchoe is used as a healing agent for ulcers and wounds. He perfectly copes with the healing of decaying and decaying tissues. From Kalanchoe at home prepare several medicines: juice, ointment, extract. Kalanchoe juice It is used to treat various non-healing wounds, including trophic ulcers, pressure sores, burns, scars from surgical intervention, oral mucosa, and eyelid disease. To women, he helps with tears after birth, erosion of the cervix, cracks in the nipples. Apply the Kalanchoe juice externally - in the form of a compress. Or internally - in the form of ordinary rinses. Sometimes the juice can be applied in its pure form, simply by dripping it on the affected area. The duration of treatment depends on the degree of skin damage. You can use juice as a prevention of colds in the winter. For this, it is dripped into each nostril with 1-2 drops. The procedure is repeated in the morning and evening. This recipe will help get rid of the cold. Collect the juice better from August to November, when the stem and leaves accumulate the maximum amount of nutrients. In order to get the cleanest and most useful juice, you need to act according to the following scheme:
- Cut a part of the plant near the root, rinse and dry with a paper towel;
- Prepared in this way the sheet wrapped in natural cloth and put in the fridge for about a week;
- It is believed that this method allows the synthesis of substances in Kalanchoe - biostimulants, which activate all the medicinal properties of the plant;
- Then the sheet is cut into small pieces and kneaded;
- The resulting gruel is squeezed with a gauze folded into several layers;
- The juice is insisted in the refrigerator for three days and again filtered through a cloth;
- Now it can be used for medicinal purposes, but it can not be stored for more than a week;
- For preservation, it is necessary to mix it with medical alcohol in such a proportion that the strength of the finished mixture is 20%;
- Canned juice can be stored in the refrigerator for a year. Before use, it must be heated to the temperature of the human body.
From the Kalanchoe juice can be prepared tincture that helps with varicose veins:
- The leaves of the plant are ground and filled with half of any glass container;
- Pour the leaves with vodka (the container must be filled to the brim) and put in a dark place for seven days;
- Each two days the tincture is shaken;
- Over time, the medicine is filtered through a dense tissue and used to rub the legs (from the foot to the top);
- Store the tincture in the refrigerator.
Ointment from Kalanchoe Apply for healing wounds of various origins. There are two ways to prepare an ointment.
- Based on Vaseline
It will take: juice Kalanchoe - 30 grams, petroleum jelly - 50 grams, lanolin anhydrous (can be found in the pharmacy) - 50 grams. Mix the juice with lanolin and warm it in a water bath in enameled dishes. Then, into the preheated but not boiled mixture, add petrolatum and mix well until smooth. While the ointment is hot, it is poured over small glass jars, previously disinfected with alcohol. Store in the refrigerator. The medicine can be an allergen, so people prone to allergic reactions should use it with great care.
- Based on pork fat
Melted Pork Fat (Interior) and Calanchoe Juiceis mixed in a 1: 1 ratio. Then melt the mass in a water bath for 40-45 minutes, stirring constantly. It is important that the ointment does not boil. Remove from heat and allow to infuse in a warm place for about a day. The heating procedure is repeated three times. The finished product is stored in the refrigerator. This ointment does not cause any allergic reactions. Extract from Kalanchoe Grind the leaves of Kalanchoe and pour water in a ratio of 1: 5. Evaporate in a water bath for 15-20 minutes, until half the volume remains. The resulting extract is cooled and stored in a refrigerator. They are used to treat and prevent gum disease, as well as to treat fistulas and wounds. There is an opinion that regular eating of Kalanchoe leaves can significantly strengthen the body and stimulate the immune system. You can add fresh leaves in a salad or eat just with vegetable oil and lemon juice. Obviously, all the medicinal properties of this plant have not yet been studied and certainly do not end with our article. We advise you to read: