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Reproduction, cultivation, useful properties and use of stonecrop
Botanical characteristics of stonecrop caustic
Stonecrop is a perennial plant with a short rhizome with thick roots. The first years are short, strewn with many leaves. There are no flowers on this plant. In the second year of life, the stonecrop becomes much higher, and the leaves become smaller in size, and their number also decreases. In early summer, the plant is covered with numerous golden flowers. Depending on the climatic zone, the flowering of stonecrop lasts the entire summer period. Stonecrop flowers are collected in an inflorescence and are located on straight pedicels. The rhizome of the plant is very branched, performing a certain role in the life of the plant: with the help of roots, it absorbs the moisture necessary for the plant from the soil.
The stonecrop fruit is five leaflets of green color assembled together. Inside the fruit there are brown oblong seeds. The fruits of the plant ripen from late summer to early autumn.
Stonecrop can be seen in Europe, North Africa and throughout Russia. He prefers to grow in glades, rocks, loves wastelands and meadows, as well as light forests.
Reproduction stonecrop
Stonecrop propagated by seed, cuttings and plots.
Seeds are sown in spring or autumn in prepared boxes. These boxes need to be dug into the ground or put in a greenhouse. Shoots appear very small. As soon as two true leaves are visible, you need to dive into the beds. Thanks to this method, the plants will bloom a year or two after planting. Plants propagated in this way do not retain their varietal characteristics; therefore, such reproduction is most often used in breeding.
By cuttings, stonecrop is propagated more often, since this method is not only easier, but also more reliable. The cuttings of the plant take root very quickly, so if a fallen shoot accidentally appears on the ground, it will take root easily and quickly. A bird or a mouse can become a distributor of stonecrop – because of them, stonecrop can grow in a completely inappropriate place. And now the process of planting the cuttings: cutting off the cuttings, they are left aside, and during this time they prepare the soil. It is necessary to level the area that was chosen for planting the cuttings, and spread the cuttings on the prepared soil. Next, garden soil is poured onto the cuttings in a small layer, compacted a little. After it is necessary to make watering. After 14 days, you can transplant the plants into the ground.
Spring is the time for the reproduction of stonecrop by bush plots. To do this, you need to dig out a curtain and cut it in such a way that each plot has roots along with buds (shoots will grow from the buds). The place of division must be treated with a fungicide, and the plots should be left for several hours to dry. Having chosen a good cool place, the resulting plots are planted in prepared soil.
Growing stonecrop
Stonecrop prefers bright places and does not tolerate shade well. If the planting site is unlit, then the stonecrop will simply grow in height and stop blooming. Stonecrop is a plant unpretentious to the soil, but prefers soil in which there is humus or compost.
In the summer, the stonecrop actively blooms, so at this time you need to water it, but moderately. But in winter, stonecrop is watered once a month, not more often. If watering is excessive, then this can lead to rotting of the roots of the plant, which means that it will soon die.
During the period of active growth, the plant needs top dressing, for which mineral fertilizers are perfect.
If the plant wants to be transplanted, then for this it is necessary to prepare a substrate, which should be loose, containing leafy and soddy soil, sand and humus. All these components must be connected in equal shares together. Young stonecrops can be transplanted once every 2 years, and old individuals of the plant are transplanted no more than once every 4 years.
Stonecrops are often affected by root worms, due to which the leaves of the plant wither, the roots swell. If these worms are found, the diseased plant must be dug up and discarded.
Useful properties of stonecrop
Due to the fact that stonecrop contains various beneficial substances, it has many therapeutic properties. Stonecrop has a diuretic and irritant effect. The plant is also used as a treatment for malaria. In addition, stonecrop is an enhancer of intestinal peristalsis and a means of increasing blood pressure.
Stonecrop has a wound healing property, so preparations from it are used for ulcers, wounds and eczema. Also, medicines from this plant have an analgesic effect on the human body. Juice purification is very useful for both the elderly and the young, as it contains many substances necessary for the body.
The use of stonecrop
Stonecrop has long been used in folk medicine. Various preparations, painkillers, compresses and means for washing are prepared from it. For example, the juice of the plant is used to treat burns, ulcers, wounds, and to remove warts on the body. Stonecrop is also used in homeopathy to treat hemorrhoids and hypertension. The juice of the plant helps in the treatment of fever, epilepsy, jaundice, anemia, gangrene, itching and hemorrhoids.
Stonecrop is used in the form of infusion, juice, tea, decoction, and also externally – in the form of poultices, rinses and ointments. A decoction of the plant is used for arthritis, anemia and gastrointestinal diseases. Tea made from stonecrop helps to cure the heart, diathesis, childhood eczema. Stonecrop ointment is used in the treatment of wounds, lichen and bone fractures.
Stonecrop infusion for stomach cancer. To prepare it, take 1 tablespoon of dry grass and grind it into powder, combine stonecrop powder with 250 ml of boiling water and pour it into a thermos, leave to infuse for 2 hours, and then filter. Take an infusion of 50 ml three times a day after meals.
Poultices in rheumatism. To do this, you need to take stonecrop grass, make powder out of it, take gauze, pour 3 tablespoons of grass into it and tie it in a knot. Now you need to douse the compress with boiling water and apply it still warm to the sore spot.
Ointment for the treatment of wounds. To prepare it, you need to take a fresh stonecrop and squeeze the juice out of it. Next, 1 tablespoon of the finished juice is mixed with 20 grams of butter. Ready ointment treats wounds, ulcers.
Contraindications to the use of stonecrop
Do not forget that stonecrop is a poisonous plant, although it is used to treat many diseases. When taking medications from this plant, you need to consult a doctor. Pregnant women, hypertensive patients and people with increased nervous excitability should not use this plant as a remedy at all.