Nertera. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Decorative Blooming. Indoor, Poisonous Plants. A Photo

Nertera, or coral moss (Nertera, family Madder) is a highly decorative ground cover plant, the special beauty and brightness of which is given by bright orange glassy berries the size of a pea. The homeland of nertera is Central and South America. Its leaves are small, rounded, and sit on creeping stems. Nertera blooms in late spring, the flowers are small, inconspicuous, greenish-white. The fruits remain on the plant throughout the fall and winter. Usually two types of nertera are grown: the Grenada nertera (Nertera granadensis) and the pressed nertera (Nertera depressa).

© Mullenkedheim

Nertera prefers a bright location, but grows well in partial shade. Air humidity is required high, in summer the plant is placed on a pallet with wet pebbles and sprayed, trying to prevent drops from falling on the flowers. In winter, the cool content is optimal, but the temperature should not fall below 6 ° C.

© jchatoff

In summer, the nertera is watered abundantly and fed with full mineral fertilizer twice a month. Nerteru is best grown as an annual, but with proper care you can save the plant for the next year. This requires low temperatures and rare watering in winter, but the soil should not dry out. With the advent of a new shoot, watering is increased, the plant is taken out into the open air, where it is kept until the berries appear. At the end of winter, after the fruit has fallen, the bush can be divided to propagate nertera. Reproduction is carried out with the help of seeds. With long-term maintenance, nertera are transplanted annually in the spring. The substrate is made up of sod and leafy soil, sand, humus and peat in a ratio of 1: 1: 1: 1: 1.

© vtveen

The appearance of light spots on the leaves, their yellowing and dropping indicates, as a rule, too low temperatures in winter and spring. Of the pests of nerther, aphids are affected, a diseased plant must be treated with karbofos or actellik.