A plant with the exotic name tetrastigma, which is also called indoor grape, is able to turn the room into a real greenhouse. When growing a house, a luxurious plant needs certain conditions, which you should familiarize yourself with before buying a flowerpot.

Botanical description of the plant

Tetrastigma belongs to the Vinogradovs and visually really resembles a thicket of grapes. For this reason, the plant is often called house grapes. In our latitudes, they are most often grown at home.

Did you know? Homeland plants - South Asia and North Australia.

The stems of the plant are in the form of vines, which are characterized by rapid and active growth. Tetrastigma belongs to long-growing species and under natural conditions in the homeland its vines can grow up to 50 m and more. When growing a house, its height is fixed by cutting within 2.5–3.5 m.

The foliage growing on vines has a lobed shape. In the domestic content, the plant blooms extremely rarely. Inflorescences have an umbrella-like shape, tubular flowers. Petals are yellowish in color. Each bud inside has 4 lobes of the dissected stigma.

Main types

There are 3 main types of this plant.

1. Tetrastigma Wuanier. It was originally an inhabitant of the tropical climate. It has an impressive size. It features a brown gun on the back of the sheet. The inner part of the foliage has a brilliant emerald tint.

2. Tetrastigma lanceolum. Representatives of this species have elongated leaf lobes and heavily depressed veins. For its appearance it is often called a "fish".

3. Tetrastigma obovate. The leaves of plants belonging to this species have the shape of a return egg, which determines the name of the variety. The blunt end is at the outer end of the leaf, while the point of attachment to the stem is pointed.

House growing conditions

When preparing a place to place a flowerpot with tetrastigma, it is necessary to think over some details, such as lighting, temperature and moisture level.

Location selection and lighting

Tetrastigma is a photophilous species. The plant needs bright light, however, direct sunlight will be detrimental to the leaves. It is better to provide indoor grape with natural diffused light.

Either a window opening on the eastern side or a large window, provided that the flowerpot will be no closer than 1 m from it, is suitable as a place. It is also important to think in advance of the support for which the shoots of the grown plant will cling. Optimal to place it near the wall.

Temperature and humidity

In spring and summer, it is important to keep the temperature high. The thermometer should be within +20 ... + 27 ° C. With the first autumn cold weather, it is better to reduce the thermal regime to cooler thermometer values. In frosts, the plant will tolerate a temperature of +12 ... + 18 ° C.

Important! If for some reason the plant has to be briefly in conditions of low temperature, it should not be below + 6 ° C. Tetrastigma will survive in this mode, but soil moisture should be abolished for this period.

Tetrastigma tolerates high humidity rather than dryness, however, in both cases it will successfully exist. Humid air will be more comfortable for the plant. The best indicators are from 45%.

Caring for tetrastigma at home

In addition to creating optimal conditions, the plant must be properly looked after. Regular treatments include hydration, fertilizer, pruning, and transplanting.

Watering

Watering frequency depends on the current season. In the hot period, moisten the soil should be at least 1 time in 3-4 days. In frost, you need to water the pot every 2 weeks. Water for irrigation should be at room temperature.

It is important to monitor the degree of soil drying. It should not be dry. It is optimal to maintain a constant soil moisture, allowing only a few centimeters to dry out. Water from the sump, where it flows, must be constantly poured.

You should also moisten the green part, especially at low humidity. Suitable for spraying from a spray bottle, rubbing the leaves with a sponge or a light shower.

Top dressing

Tetrastigma should be fertilized from mid-spring to early October. As a top dressing, mineral complex products that need to be diluted with water to a liquid consistency are excellent, or organic top dressing. They need to be applied directly to the soil.

Pruning

Pruning a plant is not necessary, since with proper organization of the support for the shoots, they will not be very bushy. Nevertheless, the lateral stems can be cut to some extent to restrain the intensive germination of the plant.

Important! Young leaves should not be cut, because the stems will suffer from this.

Tetrastigma tolerates this procedure well.

Transfer

After buying a flowerpot, the plant should be replanted every six months for 2 years. Next, transplants into larger containers are required once a year in the spring season. The substrate should consist of mixed in equal proportions of turf, peat, humus, sand and soil. The transplant process is as follows.

1. Prepare the pot 2 sizes larger than the previous one, always with drainage holes.
2. Place the drainage mixture at the bottom of the new tank.
3. Get the tetrastigm from an old container with an earthen lump.
4. Move to a new pot and fill the excess space with new prepared soil.

After the pot size is approximately 30–32 cm, the need for a plant transplant is no longer needed. In the future, you should change the upper ball of soil to a new one. Now the soil should consist of turf, sand in large fractions and humus. You can also add some bone meal and horn chips.

Breeding

There are two ways to propagate tetrastigma: cuttings and layering.

Cuttings

To carry out the procedure for propagating cuttings, it is necessary to cut the cuttings with 2-3 internodes. The slice must be disinfected using coal. The stalk itself is treated with growth stimulants.

The cuttings can take root in the soil. To do this, it must be placed in a substrate with the slice down, while one kidney should remain unloaded. It can also be placed in water. Until the moment of rooting, a sufficient moisture level of the soil and air, as well as the temperature regime within +20 ... + 25 ° С, should be maintained.

Layering

Propagating the plant by layering is quite simple. To do this, either prepare a new pot filled with soil, or use the old one. One of the vines is partially immersed in the soil. After a certain period, the roots started by the layering will become noticeable.

After that, it is cut from the main plant. If the stem was instilled into the same pot, it should be planted in another container.

Did you know? The name "tetrastigma" from ancient Greek is translated as "four stigmas." This name appeared due to the shape of the buds.

Growing difficulties

Despite the unpretentiousness of the plant, some difficulties may arise during cultivation.

Most of them are easy to overcome if you pay attention to the violation in time:

1. Elongated shoots. This symptom is a consequence of severe darkening, which can be corrected by moving the flowerpot closer to the light source. In this case, it is better to trim the creepers.
2. Brownish spots and dried edges of leaves. The cause, most likely, is too intense light, which led to a burn. It is better to rearrange the pot with the plant in a darker place, and remove the affected foliage.
3. Brown spots on the foliage. If at the same time the leaf lobes fall, we can talk about the effect of low temperature. In this case, it is necessary to increase the heating of the room.
4. Yellow leaves and cobwebs on the inside. This symptom indicates a spider mite lesion. Damaged parts must be cleaned of cobwebs and treated with an insecticide.
5. Brown blotches in the lower part of leaves and sticky coating. The reason lies in the attack of scale insects. The plant can be cured using insecticides.
6. A coating similar to cotton wool in the sinuses. This means defeat mealybug. As in previous cases, insecticides should be used against pests.
7. White dots and a sticky coating on the inside of the foliage and the presence of white midges. The appearance of these symptoms indicates the proliferation of whiteflies. Leaves can be wiped with a soapy solution. If this alternative method does not help, a systemic treatment with insecticides should be carried out.

Tetrastigma is a beautiful plant that does not require special care. If you approach the cultivation of homemade grapes, it will delight its owners with luxurious vines for a long time.