How to Grow and Care for Homalomena

Homalomena spp.

I wish to stay out my tropical desires by bringing the luxurious, leafy greens of the rainforest into my residence.

And there’s no higher specimen for doing that than the magnificent homalomena, aka shied plant.

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A relative of different foliage favorites like philodendrons and Swiss cheese crops, defend crops have giant, showy leaves that scream “I’m hanging out within the lush understory of rainforest on a stunning tropical island.”

As with their aroid family, they’re easy to look after and enliven your area with their grand show. Open air, they are often cultivated in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 to 12.

Homalomena (home-a-low-mean-a) is a genus within the Araceae or aroid household, which additionally consists of caladiums, monstera, and philodendrons.

Homalomena means flat moon from the Malaysian “homalos” for flat and “mene” for moon.

Really, it’s a mistranslation of the Malay vernacular, however right here we’re. It’s definitely description of the big, spherical leaves.

There are about 160 species within the genus, however solely a handful in cultivation.

H. expedita, H. philippinensis, H. rubscens, H. schismatoglottis, and H. wallichii are a number of of the extra widespread species grown as ornamentals or houseplants.

Most have ovate, cordate, or elliptical foliage that’s giant and waxy, which has earned them the widespread names of defend plant or queen of hearts.

The foliage is often inexperienced, however is likely to be variegated with cream or white, and even pinks or reds. Some species have a definite anise-like scent.

Don’t strive a pattern of the leaves, although. Homalomena is poisonous to people and animals.

Tips on how to Develop Homalomena

Species on this genus are variable when it comes to their progress habits, dimension, and shapes. Some are discovered rising wild in swamps, and others in drier, sunnier areas.

Usually, these species that we domesticate as houseplants favor numerous moisture, wealthy, loamy soil, and average mild.

Soil

First issues first, you want a pot with drainage holes that’s about an inch bigger than the basis ball of your homalomena.

It needs to be crammed with a wealthy, water-retentive potting medium. A product that accommodates perlite, sphagnum moss, or vermiculite will work.

I personally love FoxFarm Ocean Forest potting combination.

It’s water-retentive and has numerous good things, like forest humus, earthworm castings, sphagnum moss, bat guano, and crab meal.

FoxFarm Ocean Forest

Yow will discover FoxFarm Ocean Forest in 12-quart luggage accessible through Amazon.

Water

Preserve the soil moist always, or simply let the highest of the soil dry out between waterings.

The homalomena crops will begin to droop a bit once they want extra water.

Attempt to water simply earlier than they begin drooping, but when they begin to flag a bit bit, it received’t harm them.

Make sure you empty any catchment pot or saucer that you’ve got beneath the pot about half-hour after you water.

Gentle

Should you transfer the plant too shortly, you would possibly see burnt spots on the leaves.

Temperature

As tropical species, homalomena crops can’t abide frost or freezing temperatures.

Something underneath 50°F for a protracted interval will trigger yellowing foliage and a failure to thrive.

Ideally, you must maintain yours in a spot that’s at the very least 70°F through the day and round 60°F in a single day.

Fertilizing

Feed your homalomena each two or three weeks through the spring, summer season, and fall.

Any delicate, balanced houseplant fertilizer will do. My private go-to is Dr. Earth’s Pump and Develop meals.

It’s made utilizing waste scraps from grocery shops and is the suitable stability for foliage houseplants.

Dr. Earth Pump and Develop

Choose up a 16-ounce bottle with a handy pump at Arbico Organics.

Pruning

You don’t must do a lot to take care of your homalomena.

Often a leaf will likely be broken, will change shade, or will seem like deformed. Generally your homalomena will begin to tackle a form that you just don’t like.

In these situations, you’ll need to escape a clear pair of scissors or pruners and provides the plant a snip. You are able to do this any time of 12 months.

Take away these and put the specimen in brighter mild – steadily, as mentioned above!

Make sure you wipe the leaves with a humid material each few months, or extra typically if your own home is as dusty as mine is.

It’s troublesome for the homalomena to photosynthesize if the leaves are lined in mud.

Repotting

As your homalomena grows, you’ll must repot it in a container one dimension up. You must do that each few years till the specimen reaches its mature dimension.

When the homalomena reaches its mature dimension, you must freshen the potting soil each few years.

Cultivars to Choose

There are dozens of Homalomena cultivars and hybrids in the marketplace, all with similarly-shaped foliage and an analogous progress sample.

The distinction lies within the leaf patterns or colours, and a few are extra upright whereas others have a extra spreading progress behavior.

Listed below are only a few of the extra attention-grabbing choices on the market:

Black Velvet

I’m going to allow you to in on a bit secret. I like the look of black crops and there are a number of alocasias which have beautiful matte black leaves. However I wrestle to maintain alocasias completely happy.

The leaves begin out deep maroon when younger earlier than reaching their mature shade. The stems are shiny purple. Don’t maintain them in low mild or the colour received’t be as deep, nonetheless.

Camouflage

‘Camouflage’ is a very beautiful H. wallisii cultivar.

The shiny leaves are closely variegated with angular mottled patterns of darkish, medium, and light-weight inexperienced, with an acuminate kind, which simply means they’re considerably oval with a sharp tip.

You recognize that traditional jungle camouflage? It positively resembles that.

Yow will discover ‘Camouflage’ in six-inch pots from Vegetation for Pets through Amazon.

Emerald Gem

If you need a classic-looking homalomena, ‘Emerald Gem’ is the one.

The spade-like leaves come to a rounded tip, with a traditional emerald inexperienced hue. It’s typically known as the generic homalomena. It has a stunning dense, upright progress behavior.

Yow will discover ‘Emerald Gem’ accessible in six-inch containers through Walmart.

Mint

H. rubescens ‘Mint’ has the heart-shaped leaves attribute of the Homalomena species, but it surely’s additional particular because of the colour of the foliage.

Younger leaves are pink, taking up a brief streaked inexperienced and pink look earlier than settling right into a matte, mint inexperienced hue when mature.

The stems that maintain the leaves stay a fairly pink shade all through their lives.

Pink Splash

As if the heart-shaped foliage of this H. rubescens cultivar weren’t cute sufficient, the emerald inexperienced, shiny leaves are mottled with cream and pink on pink stems.

Mauro

H. wallisii ‘Mauro’ has mild inexperienced or golden yellow leaves with deep inexperienced splotches on the margins and veins.

Selby

Most homalomena have considerably shiny foliage, however ‘Selby,’ a H. wallisii cultivar, sports activities matte emerald inexperienced leaves with yellow-green facilities.

The darker shade strains the veins and margins of the shield-shaped leaves, with small splotches contained in the lighter hue.

Star Mud

‘Star Mud’ has deep, darkish inexperienced leaves splattered with spots and streaks of sunshine gray-green. Gazing this one is like gazing on the night time sky into the Milky Method.

Hiding beneath the cordate, or heart-shaped, foliage are faintly pinkish stems.

‘Star Mud’

Prepared for some stargazing? Choose up a starter plant at Amazon.

Propagation

Should you ask me, one homalomena isn’t sufficient. We’d like extra!

You may propagate defend crops from cuttings and by division. Right here’s how:

From Cuttings

Cuttings are a dependable and simple strategy to propagate homalomena.

1. Search for a wholesome stem and reduce the leaf off utilizing a pointy, clear knife or pair of scissors just under a leaf node.
2. Stick the reduce finish right into a four- to six-inch pot crammed with a water-retentive potting combine. The stem needs to be buried a number of inches deep in order that it stays upright.
3. Moisten the medium and tent a bit clear plastic over the container. You could possibly additionally use a cloche. This helps maintain the air humid across the plant.
4. Preserve the soil moist and place the container in an space with shiny, oblique mild. Any direct mild will overheat the plant, so keep away from that.

As soon as new progress begins to kind, take away the cloche and develop the brand new begin as regular.

From Divisions

As soon as they turn out to be established and begin rising, these crops can increase quickly.

1. Both take away the plant from its container or, whether it is rising within the floor, dig a bit out with out eradicating the entire plant.
2. Take it out of its container and gently tease aside a bit with roots and stems.
3. Replant the unique part and fill in across the roots with new potting medium. Plant the eliminated part in its personal space.

Should you don’t need to take away the homalomena, use a hori hori knife to dig a bit out of the father or mother and gently wedge it up.

Fill within the gap you made with recent soil and repot the eliminated part.

From Transplants

Whether or not you purchase a potted specimen to transplant or you may have a reducing that you just grew in a container, ultimately you’re going to need to transfer it into a unique pot or into the bottom.

To do that, gently take away the homalomena from the present container and loosen up the roots a bit.

You don’t must eliminate all of the dust, however you do need to give the roots some room.

Place the basis ball within the new container or gap, fill in round it with soil and water effectively. Add a bit extra soil if the soil settles.

Managing Pests and Illness

I hope you received’t ever want this part, however no plant is completely resistant to issues.

Let’s chat in regards to the widespread pests to observe for.

Pests

The same old line up of houseplant pests will fortunately feed in your plant. We’re speaking about aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites.

Aphids are a well-known foe for nearly anybody who grows crops, whether or not indoors or out.

These small, sapsucking bugs collect by the handfuls (or a whole lot!) to cluster on the stems and undersides of the leaves to make use of their sucking mouthparts to attract out the sap.

On prime of that, they’re lined in a white, waxy coating. At a passing look, they will seem like fungal progress.

Our information to managing mealybugs has extra info.

Spider mites are tiny arachnids which you’ll be able to’t see with the bare eye. What you may see is the positive webbing they depart behind. For spider mite management, try our information.

Illness

I like a houseplant that isn’t liable to all types of issues. Who doesn’t, proper?

Homalomena is generally solely topic to root rot, after which provided that you overwater or the soil is simply too compact, so the water can’t transfer by means of it.

Root rot causes the leaves to show yellow and brown, after which ultimately collapse.

Beneath the soil floor, the roots are turning rotten and mushy. Should you catch it early sufficient, you may completely save your plant.

This includes cleansing up the roots and treating them with a fungicide like copper. Be taught extra about how one can take care of root rot in our information.

Attain for the Moon

Whether or not you’re making an attempt to carry part of the tropical life to your area otherwise you simply need some low-maintenance greenery so as to add some life to a spot that’s missing, homalomena is the reply.

Defend crops look fabulous in ornamental pots as a part of a set of houseplants.

Are you rising defend crops? In that case, tell us within the feedback part under which cultivar or species you may have and why you like it.

Then, proceed your houseplant adventures by trying out a number of of our different guides subsequent: