Cyperus

Family. Cyperaceae.

Homeland of the plant. Madagascar, Africa.

Description. Cyperus is a large genus, comprising about 600 species of annual or perennial evergreen herbaceous species. In its natural habitat, it grows along the banks of reservoirs and often in water at a depth of up to 50 cm.

The rhizomes are thick and creeping.

The thin, green, graceful, straight, triangular stems of papyrus are crowned with dark green umbrellas, consisting of many thin green leaves 10–30 cm long.

During the flowering period, small, inconspicuous greenish-brown flowers are formed on the umbrellas.

Height. In its habitat it grows up to 3 and even 5 m; dwarf varieties are suitable for growing indoors and do not exceed a height of 60 cm. Develops quickly.

Care at home

Reproduction 

Propagated by dividing large adult specimens in spring when replanting every 3 years.

Adult bushes are removed from pots and manually divided into several parts, ensuring that each division eventually receives its own root system and a well-developed above-ground part (at least 3 well-developed shoots).

If necessary, cut into parts with a sharp sterile knife or pruning shears, and the wound surface formed during cutting is treated with crushed charcoal or wood ash.

The cuttings are planted in separate pots and thoroughly watered after planting.

The seedlings are covered with a plastic bag to maintain a high level of air humidity. Make sure that the bag does not come into direct contact with the leaf blades.

Dividing the tubers. The root system of cyperus has a large number of rounded thickenings - tubers. Such tubers can be separated during transplantation and planted in separate pots.

Apical cuttings about 10 cm long. Rooting is carried out in water, under a transparent plastic lid - for example, in a sealed container or bottle.

The cuttings are placed upside down - the leaf rosette is immersed, and the stem remains above the surface of the water. The first roots can be seen in a week.

Cuttings can also be planted directly in moist soil. To reduce moisture loss, the leaf blades are cut by 1/2 or even 1/3 of the length, covered with a polyethylene cap, a transparent polyethylene bag or glass on top.

Using bottom heating will increase the chances of successful rooting.

The process can be said to be complete after the appearance of young shoots. 1-2 months after the start of new growth, the plants are planted in slightly larger pots.

Air layering - stems with leaf rosettes are bent down and the tops are placed in a glass of water. After some time, the formed roots can be seen in the water.

Such cuttings are separated from the mother bush when they develop their own roots.

Leaf rosettes. If 2 leaf rosettes have formed at the tops of the shoot, one of them is cut off together with a small piece of the stem about 5 cm long and placed upside down on the surface of well-moistened sand, vermiculite or perlite.

The soil is kept warm using bottom heating, and the rosette is pressed to its surface with a small stone.

Seeds are sown in spring on the surface of moist soil and sprinkled with a very thin layer of soil on top.

Before planting, you can pre-soak the planting material in warm water.

For planting, use plastic containers with a lid, filled with nutritious, moisture-absorbing soil based on humus peat.

Before and after sowing, the substrate is thoroughly moistened with a fine sprayer.

Seedlings are placed in a warm place with a temperature of about 20-24 degrees Celsius.

Remember that seedlings should not be exposed to direct sunlight - place them in a well-lit place with plenty of reflected light.

If you follow the rules of agricultural technology, the first shoots will appear in 10-12 days.

To prevent shoots from stretching and weakening, use artificial lighting, increasing the duration of daylight hours.

As the bushes grow, they are pricked out into small bowls, placing 3-5 pieces in each, depending on the size of the bowl.

Pricking out is carried out when each seedling has 4-5 leaves.

7-10 days after picking, the plants can be fed for the first time with mineral fertilizers, diluting them to a quarter of the dose recommended on the package.

Varied species rarely reproduce by seeds, since their offspring will contain a large number of ordinary green bushes.

How to transplant

Papyrus is replanted in the spring, when the roots have filled the pot and the plant becomes crowded - however, the size of the pot for cyperus should be changed gradually.

Young specimens are replanted annually, adult bushes need to be replanted approximately every 2 years.

When replanting, you can increase the size of the pot by 2-3 cm in diameter each time. The need for another replant can be judged by the tips of the roots that appear in the drainage holes of the pot.

1. For planting, select tall pots with drainage holes.
2. First of all, it is necessary to place a drainage layer in the pot in the form of expanded clay, broken brick or polystyrene foam balls. The height of the drainage layer can reach 4 - 5 cm.
3. A small amount of substrate is sprinkled on top of the drainage.
4. Cyperus should be placed at the same depth as it was in the previous pot - when deepened, it slows down its development.
5. The plants are placed in the center of the pot and sprinkled with a little fresh soil mixture.
6. After planting in a new pot, the surface of the substrate is sprinkled with river sand, and then the flower is watered abundantly.  

The bushes adapt well to new conditions after transshipment - a method of transplantation in which the plants are transferred to a new container together with a lump of earth.

In general, papyrus easily tolerates transplantation and quickly begins to grow after it.

Transplanted flowers should not be left in direct sunlight for 7-10 days, and the first feeding should also be postponed for 1-1.5 months.

How to care 

Papyrus can tolerate a wide range of conditions other than drought, but even if your plant looks dry and dead, don’t throw it away. Once you resume regular watering, it may start growing again from the rhizome.

Most species can be placed outdoors during the warmer months. Keep pots out of direct sunlight. In spring and summer, they can even be planted in open ground near a pond.

Pruning old, dried leaves will keep the plant looking attractive. Pruning will also stimulate the rapid emergence of new, young shoots. Cut branches as close to the base as possible with sharp, sterile pruning shears.

Cyperus has no pronounced dormant period, and its growth may slow down a little in winter.

In cooler months, the pot should not be placed near heat sources such as radiators or heating systems.

Special attention should be paid to variegated varieties – from time to time, they will produce completely green shoots and leaves that should be removed immediately. If the green stems are not cut off, then over time the entire plant will lose its variegation and become simply green.

Soil 

A loose mixture of peat, garden soil and sand with a pH in the range from 5 to 7.5 is suitable for growing.

The soil should be sufficiently moisture-absorbing - peat-bog soil with a high silt content is often used.

You do not need to add river sand, perlite or vermiculite to the substrate, but the bushes will react positively to the addition of hydrogel - this will help maintain soil moisture.

Watering 

Keep the soil evenly moist and even slightly waterlogged throughout the year.

Cyperus is very moisture-loving. Never allow the soil to dry out.

The pot can be placed in a larger tray filled with water.

Excess moisture that appears in the tray after watering in spring and summer is not drained - the flower in nature often grows in swampy areas.

For watering, use well-settled tap water at room temperature or use softened bottled or filtered moisture. You can also water with melted or rainwater collected away from city roofs.

In the winter months, the flower pot can be removed from the tray, but the soil should always remain moist.

Diseases and pests

• The tips of the leaves turn brown at the slightest lack of moisture in the soil or air.
• Plants get burned when direct sunlight hits the leaves - the leaf blades become covered with gray spots.
• Leaf blades become smaller and become lighter in insufficient light.
• Leaves turn yellow or even beige when there is insufficient air humidity, lack of nutrients, or when kept in a pot that is too small.
• Lack of nutrition can even slow down or even stop the development of a flower.
• Prolonged exposure to too cold temperatures leads to yellowing of the stems and shedding of leaf blades.
• Rotting of the root system is only possible if it is kept too cold and cold water stagnates in the roots for a long time. You can cope with rot by removing the plants from the old soil, cutting off the roots damaged by the disease and transplanting the flower into a new substrate. 

Harmful insects - aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, mealybugs, thrips.

When it blooms 

At the end of summer. Some varieties have a very long flowering period, which begins in early summer and lasts until mid-autumn. 

How to feed 

Feed with liquid fertilizers at half concentration monthly in spring and summer, in autumn and winter you can feed every 2 months or stop feeding until spring.

For feeding, select mineral compositions for decorative foliage plants with a high content of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.

Cyperus loves feeding, but prefers a lack of nutrients to an excess.

It is recommended to feed more often with a weak solution of fertilizers, and not to use concentrated fertilizer once a month.

Fertilizers are applied directly to the soil, since drops of nutrient solution, falling on leaf blades, can cause a chemical burn.

Temperature

Indoors, cyperus can be kept year-round at normal room temperatures ranging from 16 to 24 °C. In winter, it should not be exposed to temperatures below 10 °C.

With the onset of summer heat above 25 °C, it is extremely important to monitor the soil moisture and maintain air humidity at the highest possible level.

Representatives of this genus do not tolerate frost. The flower also does not like extreme heat - its stems and leaves can dry out even with abundant watering and high air humidity.

Lighting

Can tolerate direct sunlight in the morning and evening, grows well in partial shade.  During the daytime, cyperus must be protected from direct sun.

With a lack of light, the stems become elongated, but this only happens when grown in deep shade.

The bushes can be kept on the eastern or western windowsills. When kept on the southern side, the pot is placed in the back of the room or the shoots are covered from direct sunlight with a curtain. It develops well on northern windowsills if the pot is in close proximity to the window.

Artificial lighting is successfully used, for which fluorescent lamps or specially designed phytolamps are used.

Since papyrus belongs to the species of long daylight, with the help of artificial lighting, the duration of its illumination is increased to 14-15 hours per day.

To keep the plants symmetrical and dense, it is worth turning the pots from time to time with different sides towards the light source.

Spraying 

The bush needs high air humidity - place the pot on a tray with wet pebbles or use a room humidifier.

The stems can be sprayed with water at room temperature at least 3-4 times a day or place any container with water next to the pot. The flower will look very attractive next to a small artificial fountain or pond.

Cyperus does not react to drafts and loves well-ventilated rooms with constant air movement.

In the warm season, bathe the flower a couple of times a month under a warm shower, covering the soil in the pot with a plastic bag, protecting it from erosion.

Purpose

Cyperus can be used to green dark corners of an apartment or house. Keeping them indoors allows you to increase air humidity and saturate the air with oxygen.

Some species can be grown directly in aquariums.

Note

As the name suggests, representatives of the genus were used to produce paper - papyrus.

The stems were used in shipbuilding, and the long, strong fibers were used to make ropes and cables, and baskets were woven from the shoots.

Many cats and birds like young leaves of cyperus - it is advisable to protect the bush from pets.

In folk medicine, it is believed that the above-ground part of the bush has healing properties - for example, taking a decoction internally helps improve the quality of sleep, increases visual acuity, has a positive effect on cerebral circulation and normalizes blood pressure.

The juice has bactericidal properties - it kills many harmful microorganisms.

Hydroponics

Well suited for growing hydroponically. Plants in colored hydrogel in a hydroponic solution look extremely decorative.

Varieties:

Cyperus alternifolius

A perennial herbaceous plant consisting of many hard, green, erect stems up to 90 cm high. Each such stem is crowned with an umbrella of 10 - 25 drooping leafy bracts. The flowers are small, greenish-brown, axillary. The leaves of the plant are so small and tightly pressed to the stems that they often remain invisible.

Cyperus zumula

Tender perennial herbaceous plants with light green, arched, very narrow leaves. During the flowering period, the plant throws out fairly rigid, erect peduncles, which bear on top several long and narrow bracts and a small inflorescence of light brown or white, very small flowers. Cats love to eat this type of cyperus and are often kept in order to divert their attention from other indoor plants. 

Cyperus diffusus

A perennial herbaceous plant with a height of 15 to 80 cm. This type of cyperus has low, rigid, rounded stems, on the top of which there are umbrellas consisting of 10 - 15 linear bracts. During the flowering period, an inflorescence appears in the center of the bracts - an umbrella, reminiscent of dill, with small white flowers. There are miniature varieties of spreading cyperus, as well as variegated variations with longitudinal white stripes on the bracts.