Araucaria - evergreen conifer tree, belongs to the Araucariaceae family. IN natural environment habitat distributed in New Caledonia, New Guinea, Australia, Norfolk Island, several species are found in South America. The beautiful araucaria in its natural environment reaches a height of 60 meters, and when indoor growing relatively small - up to 1.5 meters in height. The plant has interesting shape crowns: light green branches are located almost at right angles to the trunk, forming something like a pyramid.

Amazing facts

• As a rule, araucaria is a predominantly dioecious plant, has female and elongated male cones, reaching a length of up to 20 cm. The weight of the cones can reach 1.5 kg.
• There are also monoecious species - Araucaria variegata, for example.
• Araucaria is a valuable coniferous species. Its seeds are suitable for consumption; its wood is used as construction material, they also make souvenirs from it.

Some species are grown as. Variegated araucaria is grown in homes - however, this is not the only indoor coniferous plant; there are also other species suitable for keeping in the house: Chilean, Brazilian, bidwilla and others. More on this below.

How to care for an araucaria plant at home

Araucaria varifolia in a pot photo

Home care will not be special labor, because the plant is unpretentious, without special requirements.

Location and temperature

Araucaria is light-loving, but tolerates partial shade. In summer, keep away from direct sunlight. The light should fall evenly from all sides, because araucaria reacts to light and quickly reaches out to it. If uniform lighting is not possible, in order to maintain decorativeness, you will have to regularly turn the tree 90° once a week.

In summer, maintain the air temperature within 25° C. In winter, during the dormant period, the temperature should not exceed 20°.

Soil and fertilizing for araucaria

Loose, acidic, breathable soil is ideal. You can prepare the following soil mixture: two parts each of leaf soil, peat soil and coarse sand + one part turf soil.

Feeding is carried out twice a month in the summer, and once every two months during the rest period (winter). Complex mineral fertilizers are used.

Watering and air humidity

• Araucaria requires regular watering; lack of moisture will slow down its growth rate.
• Do not allow even temporary drying. In this case, the needles will begin to crumble greatly, the branches will sag, and will not be able to rise on their own. You will have to literally hang the tree upside down.
• Water deeply, regularly, spray daily. IN winter period When kept cool, watering and spraying can be slightly reduced.
• In summer, it is advisable to take the plant out into the open air or regularly ventilate the indoor area.

Video on how to care for araucaria at home:

Transplanting araucaria

After replanting, the indoor Araucaria tree gets sick and may even die, so you need to be extremely careful not to disturb the plant’s root system when replanting.

• Adult plants can be disturbed once every three years.
• Replant in the spring.
• Carefully remove the tree from the pot, transfer it along with the earthen lump into a larger pot; there should be good drainage at the bottom.
• The root collar should be positioned at the same level as before transplantation. If you fill it up, the tree may die.
• For trees that are too large, it is enough to replace the top layer of soil with a new one.

After transplantation, help the plant adapt: ​​keep it in a shaded room with high humidity for several weeks, spray it more often.

How to propagate araucaria at home

Growing Araucaria from Seeds

The process of growing from seeds is long and painstaking.

• Only fresh seeds are used for planting.
• Sow them in the prepared container, after moistening the fertile soil, cover with moss to maintain constant humidity.
• Place containers with crops in a warm room, maintain a temperature of at least 20°C.
• Seedlings grow very slowly and require careful care.
• It is necessary to protect them from the sun, otherwise they will turn yellow and die.
• When the seedlings get stronger and grow enough, you need to thin them out, leaving a distance between plants of about ten centimeters.

The strengthened seedlings are carefully transplanted into separate pots and grown as adult plants.

Propagation by cuttings

Cuttings are carried out in mid-summer.

• For rooting, it is better to choose semi-lignified cuttings from the tops of the crown; if this is not possible, you can take lateral ones, but they are less decorative planting material.
• Cut the selected one in the middle of the branch and leave it to dry for a day, then clean the cut from the juice and treat it with charcoal.
• Use a mixture of peat and sand for rooting, moisten the soil, plant the cutting, cover with a jar or film.
• Water, spray, ventilate the plantings.
• Maintain the temperature at 25°C, at low temperature rooting slows down.
• By winter, the cuttings should be completely rooted; you can transplant them into separate containers.

Diseases, pests and possible difficulties

Follow the basic rules of care, and growing araucaria will not be difficult:

• The top of the araucaria is an important part of the plant. If it is damaged, the plant will stop growing upward and an ugly tree will develop;
• At elevated temperature air, the plant will shed its needles and lower its branches;
• With low air humidity and insufficient watering, needles and shoots dry out;
• Flaw nutrients leads to elongation of the plant and its shoots;
• Excess calcium slows down the growth of araucaria.

Dangerous pests include aphids, mealybugs and root beetles that attack wood. If you find pests, wash the plant with soap or alcohol solution and treat with insecticides.

Shedding needles from lower branches is a natural process. To preserve decorativeness, remove them and cut off sloppy shoots. In order to prevent fungal infections, it is recommended to sprinkle the soil with sulfur.

Types of araucaria with photos and names

Currently there are 19 plants. Let's look at the most famous and common ones.

Araucaria heterophylla, Indoor spruce, Norfolk pine Araucaria heterophylla

It is believed that Araucaria variegata was born on Norfolk Island. This elegant plant has a pyramidal crown and in nature reaches up to 60 m in height. An adult tree has a half-bare trunk and can reach a diameter of more than 100 cm. The bark is dark brown, resinous, flaky, and the needles are light green, soft, small, and pointed. Variegated araucaria is good to grow in any room: apartments, houses, offices, greenhouses.

Araucaria narrow-leaved or Brazilian Araucaria brasiliensis photo

Native of Southern Brazil. In nature it reaches about 50 m in height. The branches are thin, drooping, the leaves are linear-lanceolate, bright green, growing no more than 5 cm in length.

Columnar Araucaria or Cook's Araucaria Araucaria columnaris

Found in New Caledonia on the Isle of Pines. The majestic tree has a pyramidal crown. The short branches covering the tree from base to top extend from the trunk at an angle of 90°. The cones reach a length of up to 10 cm.

Chilean Araucaria araucana

It lives in Chile and western Argentina. A fairly powerful tree, reaches a height of 60 m, the trunk diameter reaches 1.5 m. Young trees have a wide pyramidal crown, the lower branches lie on the soil and fall off as the tree grows. In adults, the remaining branches are collected in whorls, positioned horizontally, and slightly hanging down. The foliage is dark green, hard and prickly, arranged in a spiral pattern. Locals They consider the Chilean araucaria to be a valuable tree, use its wood and eat the seed as food. It is also grown as decorative look.

Proper care, creation favorable conditions will give you a beautiful, majestic tree that can be used to decorate large areas of rooms and hallways. Use it in the interior as a single plant so as not to overshadow its beauty.

biologist, collector indoor plants, website editor (indoor plants section)

Araucaria is one of the few coniferous plants(along with footcarp, cunningamia lanceolata and large-fruited cypress), which you can try to grow at home. This is due to the fact that the natural habitats of Araucaria (19 currently known) existing species) are areas with a warm climate (Australia, Norfolk Island, New Guinea, Chile, Argentina, Brazil) and the plants are adapted to fairly warm wintering.

Araucaria chilean (Araucaria araucana) can be found in the botanical gardens of Crimea and the Caucasus. The plant is native to Chile and Argentina - very large tree, reaches 60 meters in height. The branches are located in horizontal whorls of 6-7; with age, the lower ones fall off and the crown takes on an umbrella shape. The needles are thick, scale-like, hard, triangular (3-4 cm in length with a base of 1-3 cm), with sharp edges, arranged tightly in a spiral and last up to 10-15 years, due to this it covers most of the tree. The branches are arranged in very symmetrical whorls and resemble reptiles. This is a fairly hardy species, tolerates short-term drops in temperature down to -20 o C, which has made it a popular plant. open ground in Europe.

As a rule, Chilean Araucaria is a dioecious plant, although monoecious specimens are also found. The seeds are edible, similar to pine nuts. The entire genus Araucaria is named after this species, from the name of the Chilean region of Araucana, where thickets of this plant were discovered by the Spanish conquerors.

(Araucaria heterophylla)- the most common type for indoor use. Its homeland is Fr. Norfolk is near Australia and is often called Norfolk pine. In nature, this species can reach 50-65 m in height. It is a monoecious plant (male and female cones are produced on the same plant). Female cones are round, reach 10-14 cm in diameter and contain large edible seeds. But at home, araucaria grows to a much more modest size and never forms cones.

The tree has a clear and wide arrangement of whorls of branches on a straight trunk, each branch resembles an even triangle, due to which the plant has a very decorative appearance and is often used as a Christmas tree.

The species got its name due to the change in shape of the needles as the tree grows. At a young age, up to about 30-40 years, the branches are covered with awl-shaped emerald-green needles 1-2 cm long and 1 mm wide. Subsequently, scale-like concave needles begin to grow, up to 10 mm long and 2-4 mm wide, which tightly surround the branches in a spiral.

Araucaria angustifolia, or Brazilian(Araucaria angustifolia) suitable for growing at home and in greenhouses, since under these conditions it rarely reaches 3-4 meters in height.

The homeland of the plant is Southern Brazil. In nature, this tree is 25-30 meters, sometimes up to 50 meters in height with a straight, even trunk. The branches are arranged horizontally in whorls, the lower ones fall off with age and the crown acquires a flattened umbrella-like shape. The shoots are collected in characteristic whorls at the ends of the branches, due to which the plant is often called the Candelabra tree. The needles are lanceolate, pointed, thick, matte, dark green, 3-6 cm in length with a base of approximately 0.5 cm, most often located in pairs at the end of the shoots in whorls. The needles on fertile shoots are much smaller and denser. The plant is dioecious, the female cones are spherical and reach 20 cm in diameter.

Araucaria Hanstein(Araucaria hunsteinii)- this species has recently been supplied as a potted plant from Holland. It is native to the mountains of Papua New Guinea, where it is on the verge of extinction. These are the tallest trees in their genus, they can reach a height of 80-90 m, the trunk is smooth, up to 3 m in diameter. The branches are arranged in horizontal whorls of 5-6. The needles are scaly or awl-shaped, long, 6-12 cm long and 1.5-2 cm wide at the base, with a sharp end, shorter and narrower on young branches, arranged in a spiral. As a rule, these are monoecious plants. Seed (female) cones are oval, up to 25 cm long.

Illumination. Araucaria prefers bright light with little protection from the midday summer sun. Rotate the plant regularly to form an even crown. In summer, it is useful to take araucaria out into the open air (without exposing it to low temperatures) in the light shade of trees. It is imperative to monitor the uniformity of illumination of the crown; with a lack of light, some of the branches may turn yellow and lose needles; this must be avoided, since the crown will not recover and the plant may lose its decorative effect. IN winter time it is advisable to organize additional illumination of the plant (length daylight hours 12 hours) fluorescent or LED lamps(for one plant, a 20-40 watt lamp will be sufficient when placed low and directly above the plant).

Temperature. The optimal temperature in summer is +15+22 o C, in winter - +10+16 o C. Araucaria does not tolerate high temperatures; during hot weather it is better to place the plant in an air-conditioned room or frequently spray the crown. At home, be sure to provide the plant with an influx of fresh air.

Watering should be regular and moderate. It is advisable to keep the soil evenly moist, avoiding drying out and dampness; Wait until the top layer dries between waterings. Water only with warm and settled water, always from above. Do not allow water to stagnate in the pan. In winter, when the temperature drops, the frequency and abundance of watering decreases, but the soil should still not be allowed to dry out.

Air humidity. It is advisable to support high humidity air. With insufficient humidity, the needles at the ends of the branches begin to dry out. Do not place plants close to heating devices. Spray the plant several times a day at temperatures above +18 o C. During hot weather, very frequent spraying is required, this will help the plant cope with high temperatures. At temperatures below +15 o C there is no need to spray the plant.

Fertilizers Be sure to use special ones for coniferous plants, according to the instructions (it is better to slightly reduce the dosage). Feeding can only be carried out on a pre-moistened coma.

Transfer. After purchasing the plant, carefully remove the lump from the pot. If the roots are tightly entwined in a ball, then you should soon transfer (without replacing the soil) into a slightly larger pot with the addition of substrate for coniferous plants. Try not to damage the roots; replanting with soil replacement can lead to the death of the plant. The next transplant may be required only after 3-4 years, when the lump is again tightly entwined with roots.

Reproduction

Araucaria can be propagated by seeds and cuttings.

For vegetative propagation Only apical or intermediate stem cuttings are taken. Rooted side branches can produce asymmetrical growth. The shoot is cut a few centimeters below the node (whorl of lateral branches). It is dried for some time so that the resin hardens. Then you should carefully remove the resin from the bottom of the shoot, dip the bottom in dry Kornevin and plant it up to the level of the whorl of branches in sterile soil (or peat tablet). Be sure to place the planted plant in a greenhouse with a temperature of about +25 o C. Rooting occurs in approximately 2-4 months.

Trimming the crown can lead to loss of decorativeness of the plant.

Araucarias can be propagated seeds. It is better to take seeds immediately after collection, since germination rate drops sharply over time. Sow one seed at a time in small containers filled with a mixture of peat and sand, lightly moisten and place in a warm place. However, araucaria seeds may germinate unevenly, from 2 weeks to several months. At first, seedlings develop very slowly.

Pests

Araucaria is quite resistant to pests, but can be affected by mealybugs and specific pests of coniferous plants. If you notice white accumulations that look like pieces of cotton wool, take a semi-rigid brush (for glue), soak it in alcohol and carefully remove the pests between the needles, treat with Aktara.

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In nature, there are several types of araucaria plants, which are not difficult to care for at home; these plants have both similarities and differences. The genus Araucaria includes fourteen species from the Araucariaceae family, which also includes the so-called indoor spruces.

General information

Araucaria angustifolia or Brazilian grows in the mountains of Southern Brazil. This is a large tree that grows in natural conditions and can reach a height of up to half a meter. The branches of the tree droop and are very thin. Each of the leaves is up to five centimeters in length, and have a bright green color, as well as a linear shape.

In Brazil there are entire forests of araucaria, which are called pinheiros, since this word means pine in Portuguese. Such forests occupy most of the state of Paraná. Some people call this plant Parana pine.

The indoor spruce or variegated araucaria originated on Norfolk Island. This is very beautiful tree, which can reach sixty meters in height. The tree bark is distinguished by its peeling. Each of the branches is located horizontally in relation to the trunk, and together they form a small pyramid.

The leaves of indoor spruce are soft, slightly bent upward, and reach no more than two centimeters in length. The color of the leaves is light green, located very close to each other, on appearance resemble needles, which is why the plant has this name. The plant is very similar to the tall araucaria, many people confuse them.

Types and varieties

Or columnar grows in the tropics, somewhere on the islands of New Caledonia. The leaves are evenly distributed along the tree trunk. In appearance, the tree resembles a pyramid, which is formed by small branches. At the top of the tree, the bark is slightly wider than on the rest of the trunk.

The tree cones resemble small columns. They reach ten centimeters in length, and due to their scales they have a bristly appearance. Each scale can reach five millimeters in length.

For example, on the islands, trees form a coastal zone, which especially attracts tourists and travelers. The forest of araucarias resembles basalt columns.

According to their own external signs similar to Araucaria columnar. These two tree species change leaves when they reach the stage mature tree. But still, if you look closely, you can notice the differences in the leaves. In columnar rocks they are softer, and their apex gradually tapers. But in a variety of leaves, the leaves do not narrow gradually, but as if by accident.

Columnar araucaria is common in Italy, Australia, Africa and Indonesia, that is, in countries with a subtropical climate. In addition, the plant can be seen at exhibitions or greenhouses.

Also no less known species of this kind. Judging by the name, you can understand that it grows in Chile, as well as in Argentina. This is a large tree that can be up to sixty meters high, and the trunk diameter can be up to one and a half meters. The lower branches of the tree touch the ground, but as they age they fall off.

The bark of the tree is thick and resinous. The leaves are distinguished by their rigidity, and they are also prickly and arranged in a spiral. Their color is dark green.

The plant is light-loving and feels comfortable in places with a humid climate. But the climate should not be swampy, the soil should be enriched with minerals and vitamins. Oddly enough, the plant can survive frost or drought.

The seeds of the plant are nutritious and tasty, they can be consumed as usual, or they can be fried a little.

Despite the fact that the plant is not whimsical, caring for araucaria at home with dry air will not feel comfortable. If the plant is not taken care of, it can quickly die or get sick.

Araucaria care at home

The plant loves bright light, although exposure to direct sunlight is best avoided. IN summer time The plant can also be grown outdoors, as long as it is protected from precipitation and sunlight.

Araucaria care at home is best done in large rooms, since in small room the plant will not feel comfortable; araucaria loves space and freedom.

And it is better if the plant is illuminated from both sides, this is necessary in order for it to grow symmetrically. In addition, caring for araucaria at home requires the plant to have access to fresh air and constant ventilation of the room, so the apartment should be cool.

In summer, the air temperature should not exceed twenty degrees. And in winter it is desirable that the temperature be no more than fifteen degrees.

Watering Araucaria

The plant needs to be watered regardless of the time of year. Infused water should be used for irrigation. Although in winter, watering should be moderate if the plant is in a cold room. And in summer and spring, watering should be active. However, at this time you need to beware of drying out the soil, but you also shouldn’t water the araucaria too much.

The needles of the plant need to be sprayed several times a week in the summer, and this is required constantly in winter. It is best to spray the plant twice a day with water at room temperature.

Araucaria fertilizer

During growing season the plant needs to be fed twice a month with fertilizers that contain calcium, but only in small quantities. The solution should be weak. You can also feed with mullein infusion.

Transplanting araucaria

Replanting should be done in the summer and in the first months of spring. Araucaria is transplanted exclusively on demand, only when the earthen food is completely in the roots. It is worth remembering that only overgrown plants need to be replanted, since araucaria itself does not tolerate transplantation well.

Adults or large plants require replanting at least four times a year. Plant pots should be as wide as possible and have adequate drainage. If the araucaria is transplanted into a small pot, this may stop the growth of the plant.

Soil for araucarias

The soil must be selected with a slightly acidic reaction. The soil should consist of turf and leaf substrate, peat soil and sand, in a ratio of one to two to two to one. Or the soil can be clay-turf, composed of earth and sand in a ratio of 2 to ½.

The plant also grows well in soil made from turf, deciduous, coniferous soil, sand, peat and humus in a one-to-one ratio; you can also add ½ coniferous soil to this mixture.

Araucaria care at home, although a little difficult, is still a plant that will be an excellent decor for any room. Araucaria is also suitable for hydroponic culture.

Araucaria propagation by seeds

Seeds should be sown immediately after collection. If you wait a while before planting, you won’t be surprised if the seeds don’t sprout, since they can quickly lose their viability. Seeds need to be sown one at a time in a pot pre-filled with sand and peat soil. It is recommended to add charcoal or sand and peat, leaf, and turf soil to this mixture.

After this, the soil must be moistened and covered with a layer of sphagnum, then the pots must be placed in a room with a temperature of about twenty degrees, but no more.

You must remember to constantly ventilate the room where the plant is located and spray it. Shoots can appear at different times, it all depends on the individual characteristics of the plant, usually this happens from half a month to two months.

The seedlings begin to dive after a small bunch of needles appears. In the event that the seeds are planted one at a time in a pot, they do not need to be planted, you need to wait until the roots have entwined the whole ball, and only after that they can be transplanted into larger pots.

Araucaria propagation by cuttings

If the plant is propagated by semi-lignified cuttings, rooting should be postponed for the period from March to April. To do this, on the cuttings of an adult plant, it is necessary to cut off the lignified tops by half, about four centimeters below the whorl.

Before planting, the cuttings must be dried in a shady place for at least twenty-four hours. After this, the sections must be thoroughly cleaned of resin and sprinkled with charcoal solution. Before planting, some gardeners treat cuttings with heteroauxin, or as it is also called root stimulant.

To root, the cuttings must be planted separately, always in a moist substrate, which should include sand and peat in a one-to-one ratio. If it is not possible to create such a mixture, you can use simple sand. From above you need to cover everything with a cap or a simple plastic bottle.

It is necessary to root plants in a mini-greenhouse with bottom heating, only there can rapid germination be achieved. The temperature in the greenhouse must be maintained at twenty-five degrees. In addition, the plant must be constantly ventilated and sprayed, this has already been said more than once.

Many gardeners do not like the fact that rooting of a plant takes quite a long time; for this you need to wait at least two months. And if the temperature in the greenhouse is low, this process can take up to five months.

After the roots have completely entwined the cuttings, those cuttings that have managed to take root need to be transplanted into a substrate that is intended exclusively for an adult plant. In no case should you neglect the choice, as this may lead to poor plant growth.

Diseases and pests

• You need to take special care of the top of the plant, because there is the growth point of the araucaria, and if it is damaged, the plant may completely or partially stop its growth and development. And if this is not noticed in time, then it may not be possible to bring the plant to its usual state.
• Often those people who grow plants in rooms dry them out because they forget to ventilate the room. But, under no circumstances should you grow araucaria in a room with dry air, insufficient lighting or low temperature, especially in winter.
• The branches of the plant may droop and droop if there is too much water or an area that is too warm. Shoots may begin to dry out and turn yellow if there is a lack of moisture or if the air in the room is dry and constricted. For the same reason, needles may fall off.
• New shoots may grow thin if the plant is not fed enough. And thin shoots are weak, and therefore the plant may become sick in the future. Therefore, you must follow all care recommendations.
• If the araucaria lacks calcium, then the growth of the plant will begin to slow down by half. The main pests of the plant can be considered mealyworms and aphids. It can also be damaged by all pests of coniferous plants.

At first glance, it may seem that caring for the plant is difficult, but if you decide to grow the miracle araucaria, you will have to work a little. Although care is not that difficult and any gardener will quickly get used to it.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, this plant has many species; in Australia alone and on the island of New Guinea there are more than fifteen of them. For example, on the coast of the Caucasus, plants are used as decorative flower. Looking at araucaria, you might think that it is a mini copy of spruce.

The plant blooms very rarely, and if this period occurs, it greatly surprises others, since the flowers are unusually beautiful. In nature, the plant blooms much more often than at home. This is one of the few coniferous plants that can be grown at home. That's why the plant is called home spruce.

There are also speculations that the plant can clean the air, like many conifers. Therefore, it is better to place the plant in rooms where it is necessary.

Evergreen araucaria is the only representative of coniferous trees that look great not only in nature, but also in an indoor environment, which allows it to decorate an office or apartment with its presence. How to grow this beauty in an apartment, provide proper care for araucaria at home? First, let's get acquainted with araucaria (ARAUCARIA).

Basic “passport” data of Araucaria:

1. Belongs to the Araucariaceae family, the genus is evergreen. The countries of the Southern Hemisphere are called the homeland - South America, Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. The second, everyday name for araucaria is “indoor spruce.”
2. Almost all members of the family are dioecious (Araucaria Bidwill), but there are monoecious species (Araucaria varifolia, for example).
3. Height - in natural conditions can reach 60 meters (growth record holders are Brazilian araucaria, 90 meters), home plant gains 1.5 m. This height can be reduced to the miniature size of a bonsai tree and the evergreen tree can take its rightful place on the windowsill.
4. The trunk is straight, the location of the branches in relation to the trunk is an almost perfect right angle. Green needles of various shades - from bright, light tone(Araucaria varifolia) to dark (Araucaria Chilean and its closest relative, Araucaria Brazilian), located very closely to each other. The leaf is hard, prickly, and varies in appearance depending on the variety. For example, in the Bidwilla auracaria variety, green spines continue with long brown shoots. Some species change shape during the transition to adulthood (like Auracaria columnar). The bark is quite resinous and scaly. Crown: both pyramidal and umbrella-shaped (Brazilian Araucaria). The cones are small, about two tens of centimeters; the male type of araucaria has an elongated shape, while the female type has a rounded appearance.
5. Currently, about one and a half dozen species of Araucaria are known. The most famous and popular are Chilean Araucaria and Brazilian Araucaria; columnar Araucaria is more exotic and unique. IN indoor culture used one species of variegated araucaria (A.heterophylla).

Araucaria varifolia/A.heterophylla

We create maximum convenience

Quite often, the main reason for the appearance of a house is said to be the desire to purchase a Christmas tree for all year round, because in fact, aurakaria is a real indoor spruce. In an apartment or house, caring for an araucaria in a comfortable home environment will not be difficult for the owner.

The plant is unpretentious, so you won’t have to spend a lot of time looking for instructions for keeping this green beauty indoors. However, if you do not follow the rules of temperature, lighting, and watering, your home Christmas tree may get sick and eventually die. It is also important to feed and replant araucaria in a timely manner.

1. Lighting

It is important to properly organize lighting for the plant: best place location will be north or East End at home where there is no access to bright sunlight and the temperature is not so high. The light falling on the araucaria should be bright enough, but not direct. If it is impossible to provide uniform lighting, the plant is turned to the light source in different directions once a week.

Quite often, the branches of the beautiful auracaria houseplant droop, to return them to their usual state, it is enough to tie them up for a while, giving them an upward direction. For example, the Brazilian auracaria has this feature.

Flowering at home is extremely rare, so it is unlikely that you will be able to see a house spruce flower on a windowsill among other indoor plants.

1. Temperature

The most favorable temperature for home maintenance is within +25C in summer, and in winter, when araucaria is at rest, no higher than +15C ( heat leads to drying out of the tree and its death).

Video: Araucaria, all the secrets of care at home

How to “feed” araucaria: watering, fertilizing

To water your home spruce, only soft water is required; hard moisture causes the needles to become covered with a white coating from an excess of salt deposits. The water must be allowed to settle before watering. Araucaria loves water, but from an excess of moisture it can “choke” and die, so you should not overwater it. The problem with maintaining moisture balance arises in winter, so experts advise covering the surface layer of soil with sphagnum moss. This technique is beneficial for two reasons: it retains moisture in the pot and moisturizes dry air.

The winter regime for watering needles is 2 times a day; in summer you can reduce the schedule to 2-3 times a week.

You need to feed your home spruce from spring until the end of summer, 2 times a month. Compared to other plants, araucaria needs less mineral nutrition.
There is no need to use organic matter; this type of fertilizer is not suitable for the plant. You can buy homemade spruce in food stores ready mixture for rhododendrons.

Another important rule is that there should be little calcium in the fertilizer so as not to stop the growth of the green beauty. In the autumn - winter period, fertilizing is not required.

Reproduction methods

You can propagate home spruce in two ways:

1. Seeds;
2. Cuttings.

• Propagation by seeds

Before planting seeds in pots, you need to properly prepare the soil composition and take care of the temperature of the room where the trees will grow. The mixture contains peat soil, sand, and charcoal. Suitable for seed propagation turf and leaf soil. The pot should be wide, roomy, and clean.
Only recently collected seeds are suitable for sowing. In order for the roots to germinate better, the soil is treated with a phytohormone before planting. The room temperature should not exceed +20 C, the area must be constantly ventilated and maintain the required humidity.

The germination period varies: the first shoots may appear after 2 weeks or 2 months, then it takes about another 2 months to root system got stronger.

• Propagation by cuttings

For cuttings, the material used is half-lignified cuttings taken from an adult araucaria. The whole procedure looks like this:

1. The cut is made in the middle of the branch.
2. The resulting cutting is dried for 24 hours, then freed from resin and carefully sprinkled with coal. To stimulate the formation of the root system, a special composition is used - heteroauxin.
3. The cuttings are planted in the prepared mixture (sand + peat, in equal parts), covered with a jar or transparent polyethylene.
4. Keeping temperature is not lower than +25C.
5. The planted araucaria shoot is regularly ventilated, sprayed and watered.

A stable root system is formed after 2 months. If temperature regime lower than necessary - rooting will take about 5 months. After the root system has formed, the plant is transplanted into prepared pots. The soil mixture is the same as for an adult tree.

It is necessary to propagate domestic spruce by cuttings in the summer, then complete rooting will occur in late autumn - early winter, and the plant will enter dormancy mode almost fully formed.

Transplantation: basic rules

The plant needs to be replanted no more than once every 3-5 years in the spring.

More often, araucaria should not be disturbed: it is very reluctant to leave its habitable place, especially since careless replanting can damage the root system and the plant will die.

In terms of the method of execution, transplanting an araucaria is more similar to transshipment: the tree is carefully removed from the pot and transplanted (rolled over the sides) into a prepared container - more spacious, equipped with a sufficient layer of drainage.

It is necessary to replant if an indispensable condition is met: it is necessary to maintain the level of the root neck at the same soil level in order to prevent the death of the tree.

Difficulties of home care

Despite its unpretentiousness, the tree has several features that the owner should be aware of in order to take timely measures to correct the unfavorable situation.

The plant has turned yellow.	This is how a home spruce reacts to improper care and negligent attitude. The whole difficulty lies in some delay in the bad reaction of the araucaria to discomfort and lack of proper care, so help is often late, then the araucaria can be lost forever. Other reasons for the yellowness of the crown are allowed drying out, inept replanting with damage to the root system.
Pest attack	The tree suffers most from attacks by root beetles, aphids or small mealybugs. Control measures: washing with an alcohol/soap solution, then spraying with special preparations to kill insects.