Colorful and lush justice

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The bizarre bracts of justice, hiding not too impressive white flowers and glossy whole foliage give the plant an elegant and somewhat exotic look. Demanding for care, but not for growing conditions, the beautiful justice-Jacobinia is one of the most fashionable universal plants, which have good leaves and flowering. This is a great soloist for living rooms, a self-contained and very festive accent that looks great all year long.

Bright and unusual beauty with outlandish flowering

Justice, once the cause of considerable controversy among flower growers and scientists, today can finally boast of a more systematic, albeit not completely linear classification. Although many continue to refer to this beauty as a white perone drop, the only "legal" names of these plants are justice (Justicia) and Jacobinia (jacobinia) Plants found in house culture under these names are for the most part representatives of the genus of justice; Jacobines proper are less common. But since each of the plants has a synonym name from a "neighboring" genus, these cultures can be called both justice and Jacobin with full right. Perhaps in the future botanists will be able to eliminate this confusion, but to date, Jacobin and justice remain valid names for the same plant. When buying, be sure to pay attention to the name of a particular type of plant, and not to the "family" name. Indeed, some species differ both in the type of flowering and in the requirements for wintering.

The appearance of justice is slightly reminiscent of the popular annual garden vines with unusual inflorescences, and that is why it is often called indoor hop. Although the shape of growth and greenery of justice are far from lianas. These South American shrubs with evergreen foliage are quite compact in size: even in nature, the Jacobini will not exceed 1.5 m. , with a beautiful pointed edge, whole leaves. In different Jacobinia, their color ranges from motley to green. Single tubular flowers are almost not characteristic of indoor species. Where more common are large spike-shaped and symmetrical inflorescences. But it’s not flowers that give them decorativeness at all, but bracts that almost completely hide them: elongated, brightly colored, most often triangular or leaf-shaped, they form amazingly spectacular spikelets in justice, and in some Jacobins they are collected in peculiar bunches.

The Jacobin color scheme traditionally includes red, orange and white colors. But for many species, white-flowered varieties were bred by the efforts of breeders, and in some justice the basic color is bright pink.

Original bracts adorn the plant literally for almost the entire year. And it is the duration of flowering, the elegance of this houseplant that has become the main guarantee of its popularity today. After all, justice does not just look good, but is almost always decorated with luxurious inflorescences with variegated colors. True, the white flowers themselves, securely hidden by bracts, bloom very quickly, but the beginning of the stage of seed formation does not affect the beauty of the bracts, which continue to hold on to the plant for up to 3 months.

Types of Justice (Jacobinius)

Justice has many attractive species, and even the indoor plant assortment includes more than a dozen different varieties.

The most popular representative of the clan is considered to be the Brandeji or Brandege justice (Justicia brandegeeana) - in appearance resembling a lush bush, densely branched herbaceous plant from 40 cm to 1 m high. The height of the plant is easy to control by pruning, and when buying specimens, be prepared for rapid growth: in flower centers of justice, they are most often treated with special inhibitors that inhibit the development to thicken . Shoots slightly drooping. In this justice, the leaves are very beautiful, ovoid, with pointed tips and a solid edge, a beautiful glossy reflection of the surface. The leaves reach 7 cm in length. White flowers are hidden under yellow, red or variegated bracts, forming slender ears of inflorescences up to 10 cm in length (bloom only at the ends of branches). The bracts are very similar in shape to hops, they are tiled in a patterned pattern, creating an illusion with inflorescences of garden hops.

Other justice systems differ from this species in both foliage and flowering:

bodily justice or meat red (justicia carnea) flaunts erect beam-shaped inflorescences-heads with elongated bifurcated linguiform bracts, the brightest pink color, straight and weakly branching shoots, larger (up to 20 cm in length) leaves;
Jacobin of Gizbrecht (jacobinia ghiesbreghtiana) - a meter-long shrub with beautifully branching shoots, large leathery lanceolate leaves up to 10-15 cm in length and 2-4 tubular flowers collected in leaf axils, with a fiery red color, a long tube and divided into lobes of the upper and lower lip;
justice floribunda (justicia floribunda), we have a better known name Jacobini low flowered (jacobinia pauciflora) or Justice Rizzini (justicia rizzinii) - abundantly blooming, cold-resistant, low, about 30-50 cm tall, with beautifully hanging shoots, elliptical leaves up to 7 cm in length (the foliage below is smaller than on the top of the shoots) and solitary, red-yellow flowers blooming throughout the shoot to 2 cm long with speckled tube.

Justice Care at Home

Justice, even inexperienced flower growers can not be called moody plants. They require regular maintenance, do not tolerate complete drying of the substrate and low humidity. But besides attentive care, no special troubles will be delivered. The Jacobinia, in which tubular flowers bloom throughout the shoot, more capricious for wintering, the classic and most common justice will pleasantly surprise with "complaisance."

Lighting for Justice

One of the main advantages of justice is rightly considered the ability to bloom almost the entire year, even in partial shade. This plant does not like direct sunlight, but prefers bright or at least slightly shaded locations. Due to the fact that justice can be grown in partial shade, it is actively used in interior decoration, but only in the summer: in the cold season, these beauties must be exhibited in well-lit places. She perfectly tolerates artificial illumination, which fully compensates for the more meager light mode. And while the content on artificial lighting does not affect the abundance of flowering plants.

When growing Jacobin in the warm season in the open air, it is better for them to provide a semi-shaded location and reliably protect the plant from the midday rays of the sun.

Comfortable temperature

Justice for temperatures is not demanding at all. All modern, most often hybridized plants feel good in room conditions. During spring and summer, Jacobinia will prefer temperatures from 20 to 25 degrees Celsius.
The winter regime is usually limited to the usual 16-20 degrees. Although it’s better to clarify what kind of wintering justice is used to when buying, as a rule, this plant will feel comfortable in the same place as you. Winter temperatures allow a decrease to 16 degrees Celsius, but such conditions are preferred by bodily justice, rather than Jacobinia Brandeggi. Two species that produce flowers not only on the tops, but also on the side shoots - the Jacobin of Gizbrecht and the justice of the floribunda - need to be placed in cool conditions in winter from 10 to 12 degrees Celsius to stimulate the laying of flower buds. When wintering in the warmth, these justice may not bloom at all. But such Jacobinia can be taken out on balconies and terraces in the summer.

Watering and humidity

Maintaining moisture that is comfortable for justice is the main and most complex component of plant care. Justice needs constant substrate moisture, medium-frequent watering. Between the procedures, only the upper part of the substrate should dry out, about 2-3 cm. Stagnation of water in the soil should be avoided by draining it immediately after watering from pallets and always checking the drying of the top of the soil before the next watering. A drought for justice is unacceptable.

The winter regime of justice should not change dramatically, but change. If you maintain a constant intense humidity of the substrate, the plant will discard the foliage. Therefore, from October to November, justice is kept in a substrate with mild humidity, in which the middle layer also dries out. The earthen coma cannot be completely dried out, because it will lead to the same result as overmoistening. More significantly reduce watering for justice, wintering in cool, less - for those plants that remain in the usual room temperatures.

It is even more humid to maintain high humidity. Justice will quickly lose its attractive splendor, colors and leaves, and bracts, if it grows in a too dry climate. For justice, the minimum acceptable indicators of air humidity are from 60-65%, the bushes look best at 75-85% humidity. To ensure comfortable conditions, it is better to use a combined approach:

place the plant on trays with wet moss or pebbles;
carry out frequent spraying.

And for spraying the leaves, and for watering the Jacobin, you can use only long-term settling water, soft and warm.

Fertilizers for Justice

Justice does not need super-intensive top dressing, but fertilizers need to be applied regularly from March to September. The optimal strategy for Jacobinia is considered to be fertilizing every 10 days with universal fertilizers or mixtures for flowering crops. The fertilizing strategy needs to be adjusted by observing the plant: if larger leaves begin to grow, then fertilizing can be made rarer to prevent the growth of greenery to the detriment of flowering. And vice versa: fading leaves can serve as a signal that Jacobini need more frequent top dressing during the period of active growth.

From October to February, justice can not be fertilized at all or a standard dose divided by 2-3 times for a plant with a frequency of 3-4 weeks between dressings can be applied.

Trimming Justice

Justice needs annual bush formation. Since they bloom only on the shoots of the current year, without pruning the plants simply will not be decorated with luxurious "hoppy" inflorescences. It is better to carry out pruning in the early spring, immediately before the transplant. All branches on the bushes need to be cut off about half the length, leaving 2-3 internodes on them.

If the old Jacobini bloom poorly, begin to degenerate, lose the attractiveness of the crown, for them, instead of the usual pruning, you need to rejuvenate. The aboveground parts are cut as low as possible, leaving only hemp, and after a cardinal cut, the plant is transplanted into a smaller pot.

Transplant and substrate

It is better to transplant this culture annually, regardless of the age of justice itself. The transplant is carried out in the traditional time, in the spring (in March, no later than the first decade of April). The only exception is the justice of the floribunda, which is transplanted immediately after flowering, in winter. When transplanting, you need to act carefully, trying to cause minimal harm to the root system of the plant. For all justice except past rejuvenation, the capacity must be changed to a larger one.

Also carefully select the soil for justice. This beauty prefers high-quality or universal substrates with a pH from 5.5 to 6.5 maximum. Some Jacobini grow better in acidic soil, but it is better to clarify this parameter when buying. An obligatory requirement for earth mixtures is a high humus content. The substrate is considered optimal, consisting of equal shares of humus, soddy soil, sand and peat.

Diseases and pests of justice

For justice, the most dangerous are red spider mites, whiteflies and aphids. At the same time, maintaining air humidity comfortable for the plant is usually a sufficient guarantee to prevent the spread of pests. But if infection could not be avoided, it is better to immediately correct the conditions, start washing the leaves and proceed with insecticide treatment.

Common problems in growing justice:

dropping leaves when the substrate dries or is too wet;
yellowing of leaves with improper, poor lighting in the winter and uncorrected watering;
leaf fall in dry air;
lack of flowering and the development of large leaves as a result of excessive frequency of top dressing.

Reproduction of Justice

Propagating indoor hops is very easy. Thanks to pruning, this plant annually gives a large "crop" of apical cuttings that can be used for rooting. The branches of justice are well rooted, and the process is fast enough. The main thing is to ensure temperatures not lower than 20-22 degrees. Immediately after rooting, plants need to be planted in individual pots or grouped into 3 seedlings in larger containers. Young plants need to be constantly pinched, carefully remove the tops of the shoots to improve branching.