My flowers. Plectranthus - indoor mint. Plectranthus: varieties, care tips for growing Is it possible to eat indoor mint

Indoor or house mint (other names are Swedish ivy, plectranthus, spur flower) is an undemanding crop with decorative foliage of various colors that fills the space with its beautiful and original look. The article will talk about the beneficial and harmful properties of mint, as well as how to plant, care for and where to apply the described culture.

plant description

Plectranthus is a fast-growing evergreen mint native to South African countries, widely distributed throughout the subtropical belt. House mint flowers look like small purple-bluish or white spike-shaped inflorescences and do not have a special aesthetic appearance. Exclusively thanks to the foliage, this culture is considered decorative and deciduous.

Mint has drooping tetrahedral shoots hanging in a cascade of hanging flowerpots and baskets with dense glossy foliage with carved edges. Leaves with dense edging, in different species differ in vein patterns and different shades, as well as a border. The leaves are fragrant: if you run your finger over their surface, a strong fresh fragrance will spread throughout the room. This culture is a medicinal plant with wide application.

Did you know? In ancient Israel, the people were taxed in the form of a tithe from the cultivation and sale of herbs, among which was mint.

The genus plectranthus has more than 250 species, often not at all similar to each other.

Here are some of them:

Fragrant. The variety is very sprawling, with many branches, grows to a height of more than 2 m. The trunk of the plant is covered with small villi. Tetrahedral branches of emerald or lilac hue. Large oval-shaped foliage, blunt in the upper part of the plant, and heart-shaped at the base. The flowers exude a pleasant, delicate aroma.
Wheel-shaped. The plant has straight shoots. This subspecies has the largest leaves (more than 8 cm), which have a beige or snow-white edging, sometimes with spots and stripes. The plant has a pleasant, delicate aroma.
Bloom. This hybrid ornamental culture reaches a height of over 80 cm. Its shoots are mostly herbaceous, and coarsened at the root. The foliage is round, with a velvety texture on both sides, pointed and elongated at the top, and with teeth along the edges. The shade of the foliage is bright emerald, but other colors and patterns may occur.
Herbaceous perennial with creeping stems up to 45 cm long. It is used as an ampelous culture. Leaves petiolate, opposite (up to 6 cm in length), dark green, ovate or rounded. The surface of the leaves is covered with a silver scroll pattern. The reverse side of the sheets has a reddish short pile. It blooms with pale lilac or white brushes (up to 35 cm), consisting of bells.
Mona Lavender. This hybrid is an upright shrub. The brown-brown stems of the flower are covered with large ovoid leaves of deep green color, with a serrated edge. From above, the leaf plates are glossy, and their underside is pubescent with purple villi. In early autumn, the hybrid appears long lush inflorescences, studded with large purple-blue speckled tubular flowers.
Oakleaf. These plants have powerful erect trunks dotted with leathery leaves with a serrated edge, like oak foliage, and the smell of needles (if you rub the leaf with your fingers, they will have a persistent coniferous aroma). The foliage is dark green in color, covered with short silvery villi.

Useful and harmful properties

Consider the positive and negative effects of Swedish ivy on the bodies of people of different ages and conditions.

Beneficial features:

Medicinal teas are brewed from young shoots (tops with buds) and are used as an effective diuretic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, and also as a sedative for the nervous system.
Some insects are afraid of the rich smell of room mint (due to this, there is another popular name for the plant - “molar tree”). You can prepare small canvas bags, where to pour the dry leaves of the plant and put in places where clothes are stored - this will help scare away the moth. Mint leaves can also be used to repel mosquitoes (if there is no history of allergic reactions, you can rub the skin with fresh mint juice).
Indoors, Swedish ivy, placed on a windowsill or elsewhere, will keep flies away.
Natural essential oils of the described culture have a positive effect on the cure for enuresis, rashes of various origins, depression and even bad mood. To do this, add its leaves while taking aromatic baths.
It is recommended to place the plant near the workplace (for example, on the table in the office). With a long stay of a person near a flower, essential oils from the leaves will eliminate a runny nose, heavy breathing, pressure surges and asthma, filling the surrounding air with phytoncides.
Western pharmacology makes medicines from plectranthus that heal wounds, as well as healing agents for the walls of the stomach and intestines affected by an ulcer.

Did you know? The distillery industry uses menthol extracted from mint in the production of high-quality cognacs.

Some contraindications and harm:

Obstetrician-gynecologists do not recommend the use of mint preparations for pregnant and lactating women.
It is forbidden to use decoctions from the plant for children under 12 years of age.
For persons with hypersensitivity of the skin, it is not recommended to keep the plant, since its essential oils and phytoncides can cause various forms of dermatitis in them.
It is not recommended to eat homemade mint for people with low blood pressure and varicose veins.
It is unacceptable to overeat dishes using the plant, as well as the abuse of ready-made preparations based on room mint with increased acidity of the stomach.

How to choose the best homemade mint

As experienced gardeners advise, when choosing mint varieties for cultivation at home, you need to decide on the purpose of its use: in cooking, for the manufacture of medicinal preparations or for soap making at home. After all, each variety of this culture differs in the chemical composition of the essential oil and in the strength of its aroma.

Here are some differences in the use of different varieties of mint:

curly mint is used in cooking for the preparation of first courses, as well as meat and fish;
apple (due to its delicate aroma, as well as the absence of a bitter aftertaste) is used as an additive when cooking jams, compotes and jelly;
field is a part of tonic cocktails and drinks;
with the addition of long-leaved mint, soap is made at home, as well as other cosmetics.

Conditions for keeping

Indoor plectrantus needs the following conditions of detention:

bright diffused daylight without direct solar radiation is needed (especially in summer);
in winter, a pot with a mint plant is placed on a well-lit windowsill on the south side or additional illumination is used with a phytolamp (due to insufficient light, the culture will develop poorly, and the variegated foliage will lose its color);
since Swedish ivy is moisture-loving, the soil should always be moderately moist, without an excess of water: if the soil is allowed to dry out, buds and leaves will begin to fall off, and overflows will lead to rotting of the roots;
for homemade mint, the temperature regime in the range of + 18 ... + 25 ° С (in summer) and + 15 ... + 17 ° С in winter will be suitable;
high humidity is required (up to 70%), which can be arranged by placing water containers near flower pots;
at the end of spring, the culture must be taken out to a well-lit loggia or garden;
culture must be protected from drafts and temperature changes.

Important! The pubescent leaves of plectranthus should not be sprayed with water, because after this procedure spots remain on the leaves, due to which the plant may lose its decorative appearance.

Care and cultivation at home

To grow homemade mint while maintaining its decorative effect, a number of rules for its care are needed.

Soil and tank selection

When planting room mint, for starters, they are determined with the choice of soil mixture and capacity.

To do this, they are guided by the following principles:

Watering and fertilizing

Plectrantus is watered with soft and slightly warm water, after the top layers of the soil have dried. In the hot period, it will be useful to humidify the air in the room with the flower by spraying moisture around the crop (without falling on the foliage), and in the cold season, watering is somewhat reduced.

Indoor culture needs regular feeding throughout the growing season. To do this, use complex fertilizers for decorative and deciduous crops with a frequency of 1 time per month, alternating mineral fertilizers with organic ones. Before budding, mint is fed with fertilizers recommended for ornamental flowering crops, especially for abundantly flowering species and hybrids.

Pruning and transplant

The care of indoor mint also includes periodic pruning of shoots, or rejuvenation of plants (when the stems are exposed in the lower part). They usually cut the stems that have stretched out after the winter (they need to be shortened by half the length). Young shoots are pinched for greater splendor of the bush (this will stimulate the growth of new branches). Weakened shoots must be cut off constantly. Cut petioles can be used for propagation.

Mint transplant has its own characteristics:

young bushes are transplanted every year in the spring;
mature plants - once every 2 years.

Reproduction of room mint

Swedish ivy is grown in two ways:

from seeds bought in a store or collected personally;
cuttings.

Propagation by seed:

Ignite the soil mixture suitable for sowing seeds in the oven and allow to cool.
Pour the substrate into a wide and shallow container and moisten it.
Make furrows at a distance of 5 cm from each other and a depth of 5 mm and distribute the seed evenly. Fill in the furrows carefully.
A container with seedlings is placed on a windowsill on a bright, warm veranda and covered with a film on top.

Method of propagation by cuttings:

In spring and summer, the apical cuttings are sheared and placed in a container with Kornevin's solution or immediately planted in a moist substrate.
For seedlings, it is necessary to organize abundant watering.
Cover each seedling with a mini-greenhouse made of plastic bottles.
Seedlings need periodic ventilation.
Decorative seedlings are ready for independent life in 10-12 days.

Video: Propagation of plectranthus by cuttings

Collection methods

They collect leaves from mint bushes according to certain rules that must be observed so as not to harm the plant:

harvest plectranthus, pinching off leaves from it in different places, while maintaining the symmetry of the bush;
near the stems leave 0.5 cm of the leaf sinus.

Careful harvesting helps to form a decorative looking plant and encourages further growth. In the places of the collected sheets, new ones will soon appear.

Application Methods

Consider whether it is possible to use a fragrant plant with health benefits in the preparation of various dishes, as well as in folk healing.

Some ways to use mint in cooking:

Homemade mint is used in folk medicine for the following disorders:

fragrant plant cures nervous system and sleep disorders (tinctures, decoctions and soothing teas are used);
headache (herbal compress of leaves and decoction);
insect bites (a compress of crushed leaves);
inflammation of the throat and gums (gargling with decoction);
weeping diathesis (application of leaves);
bedsores and diaper rash (sprinkled with dry crushed leaves with the addition of pharmaceutical powder);
in the complex treatment of enuresis;
asthma, cough and nasal congestion (gargles);
flatulence;
as a natural sleeping pill.

Possible growing difficulties

Possible crop diseases and ways to eliminate them:

Problems/diseases	Causes	elimination
Root rot	excessive watering; acidification of the substrate;	change the soil mixture in the pot to soil with a normal level of acidity (pH 6);
drooping state	insufficient watering; low room temperatures	adjust the irrigation schedule; keep the plant at a temperature of +15...+25°С
Foliage decreased in size and changed color	plenty of direct sunlight	provide the flower with diffused daylight, covering from direct rays with a light curtain
powdery mildew	the plant is covered with a white coating, and later brown growths form, after which the greens turn yellow and fade	remove all affected parts of the plant; apply fungicides (Topsin M, Quadris, blue vitriol, Bordeaux mixture, etc.) according to the instructions
Downy mildew (downy mildew)	gray spots on leaves	remove the affected parts of the plant; repeated treatment with a fungicide ("Alirin B", "Gamair", "Bronex", etc.)

Possible harmful insects, ways to identify and eliminate them:

As can be seen from the article, homemade mint is an unpretentious plant with many advantages. And if you decide to have this flower with fragrant leaves in your apartment, then a good emotional atmosphere in the house, air filled with phytoncides, as well as a fragrant food supplement and a natural healer in one “bottle” are guaranteed to you.

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Mint is a wonderful plant that everyone knows. There are different types of mint, which differ in the composition of essential oils and properties.

1. Peppermint is the most famous. It is a hybrid of water mint and garden mint. Peppermint leaves contain a lot of menthol. It is due to the high content of menthol that peppermint is widely used in medicine - menthol helps to get rid of many diseases: allergies, rheumatism, respiratory diseases, etc.

2. Field mint or meadow mint is also widely known. It contains less menthol than peppermint, but it is also used in medicine and in cooking. Such mint is also called wild - it does not require any care. You can find such mint in Russia, Asia, India, Nepal.

3. Fragrant mint. This type of mint is often used in cooking. It has a strong aroma. It is added to alcoholic beverages. Fragrant mint tincture will warm you wonderfully on a winter evening and delight you with a wonderful aroma.

4. In addition, water mint, Asian, Canadian and Daurian mint are distinguished.

5. There is also such a variety of mint as lemon mint. But, in fact, it is not mint. Lemon mint is lemon balm. Melissa belongs to the same genus of plants as mint - Yasnotkovyh, but is not a type of mint.

6. Catnip also belongs to the genus Lamiaceae, however, just like lemon balm, it is not a type of mint. This is a cat litter. Its name is associated with the exciting effect that its smell has on cats.

7. Mint is an exclusively ornamental plant. However, you can grow peppermint, meadow or fragrant at home. It is enough to make tea or add to homemade muffins.

Benefit and harm

A unique mint plant: useful properties and contraindications are individual for all people. Most of all, peppermint is used - contraindications for the use of mint are generally associated with it.

1. The most important contraindication to the use of mint is individual intolerance or allergy.

2. Mint is not recommended for people with low blood pressure - mint can further reduce it. This is not a strict ban. In general, mint is not required to be excluded from the diet. You just need to consult a doctor about the amount of its consumption.

4. Frequent use of peppermint can lead to heartburn. But this happens quite rarely. More often mint "calms" heartburn. However, it is better not to abuse it, as already mentioned.

5. Categorically children should not use mint. Pediatricians argue up to what age: up to 3 or up to 5 years. In any case, if you want to introduce a child to mint, it is best to consult a doctor.

However, it is not without reason that mint is so popular - its beneficial properties are known all over the world. Mint has been used since ancient times as one of the main medicinal plants. The healing properties of mint are recognized by absolutely all doctors in the world. Moreover, mint is a part of many medicines.

Useful properties of mint

1. Mint is a wonderful diuretic. Regular mint tea will help to remove stagnant water from the body. People who consume a lot of salt should constantly drink mint tea - the benefits of tea will compensate for the harm caused to the body by a large amount of salt. Mint is also used for weight loss - in the form of teas. However, you should not overdo it. Otherwise, dehydration may occur.

2. Mint still has a choleretic effect.

3. If you mix a few drops of mint juice and a little pomegranate juice, it will save you from a sudden attack of nausea and vomiting.

4. The main benefit of mint is that it is a good sedative. In any stressful situation, to calm down, just drink a mug of mint tea. Brewing it is quite simple: you need to choose tea to taste - black or green (you need to take tea without impurities and additives) and a few sprigs of mint or mint leaves. A teaspoon of tea and a sprig of mint are placed on the teapot, poured with boiling water, infused for 10 minutes. You can drink tea.

5. Mint also has a fairly strong anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, it is part of various ointments. However, only peppermint oil has this effect (wild mint has less of an anti-inflammatory effect).

6. The properties of field mint are also difficult to overestimate - it is an excellent analgesic, expectorant and astringent. Wild mint has long been used for various stomach ailments. It is also used to treat tuberculosis and rheumatism.

7. Peppermint tincture will help get rid of severe headaches. This is worth remembering for those people who often suffer from migraines.

8. Mint will help get rid of flatulence.

9.Spearmint essential oil for hair is widely used. It helps hair grow faster. A decoction of mint for hair is prepared quite simply: 300 gr. mint leaves are poured with a liter of boiling water and boiled for 30 minutes. Then the broth should be infused for another half an hour. Rinse clean, dry hair with a decoction, and then dry thoroughly with a towel. Peppermint oil for hair is also used against split ends.

Mint for pregnant women

During pregnancy, you can take any medicine, as you know, only under the supervision of a doctor and only with his permission. Peppermint, like any other herbs, is also among the medicinal products. But is it possible for pregnant women to mint? There is no strict prohibition to use mint during pregnancy. However, each woman is individual, which is why mint during pregnancy should be used only after consulting with your doctor.

Peppermint tea during pregnancy will help get rid of heartburn, which most pregnant women suffer from. Brewing it is quite simple: you need to put two sprigs of mint in a teapot and pour two cups of boiling water over it. You need to wait until the water cools down a bit and stir the mint in the teapot. Such tea should be drunk immediately after the onset of an attack of heartburn. However, you should not drink it too much - pregnant women should not consume a lot of fluids.

In addition to heartburn, mint will help get rid of bloating and nausea in pregnant women, which is especially important in the first trimester. In the absence of a constant opportunity to brew tea, it is best to always carry mint candies or mint chocolate with you.

Mint during breastfeeding is not recommended for all mothers. Once you use peppermint essential oil (as part of peppermint tea or mint ice cream, etc.), the amount of milk will increase. However, with the constant intake of mint, the amount of milk decreases.

Peppermint oil, which is found in spearmint (curly mint or ginger) stimulates lactation in women. This is achieved thanks to the chemical substance carvone, which is abundant in the essential oil of curly mint. To enhance lactation, dill can be consumed along with mint.

Blog about decorative, indoor and garden flowers.

House mint: fragrant plectranthus or fragrant spur flower

Posted by Yula on Jul-24-2014

When a houseplant with the smell of mint appeared in my house, I did not immediately understand what it was. plectranthus fragrant or fragrant spur flower. Gradually I learned that indoor mint plectranthus relatively recently migrated to us from South Africa and settled on home window sills. This ornamental plant is also a spice.

The fragrant leaves are so densely covered with hairs that when you run your finger over them, a strong fresh aroma spreads around the room. In Indonesia, Thailand, India, Cuba and Jamaica, mint is used in cooking as a spice. I think many have heard such names as Spanish or French thyme, Cuban oregano, Indian borage, Mexican mint. These are all varieties of spur flower or plectranthus.

We have not yet added fragrant plectranthus to drinks, but we are already ready to try some kind of cocktail, the recipe of which includes this plant. But they tried to preserve with a fragrant spur flower (cucumbers acquire a fragrant look and taste). Due to the ability of plectranthus mint to exude aroma, essential oils can also be prepared.

Room mint plectrantus useful properties

Healing tea from the leaves of this plant is offered to be prepared even by sellers in flower shops. But with folk medicine you need to be careful, not everything that suits others may suit you. Healing tea from indoor mint is used for respiratory diseases, at the initial stage of rheumatism (and better as a preventive measure) and as a remedy for infection.

Plectranthus home care

I can say right away that indoor mint plectranthus is a fragrant, absolutely unpretentious plant. It grows quickly, stretches upward, repels mosquitoes from itself (take note of people) and drives away other pests (although our flowers do not get sick at home), it does not allow illness to itself (essential oils, on the other hand).

The spur flower likes fragrant light, diffused, but bright. Watering prefers moderate and uniform (reduced in winter). It is better to take fragrant plectranthus to the balcony or loggia for the summer, but, as my experience shows, indoor mint does fine without a summer walk in the fresh air.

Plectranthus reproduction

Since I always don’t like the stem stretched up (I even cut the coleus), I try to form a neat bush with several shoots. I cut this spur flower three times, however, I forgot to turn it with different barrels towards the sun, so it came out one-sided. In general, rejuvenation of a room mint bush will not hurt, but will only benefit.

Plectranthus is easy to propagate. Those tops that I pinch or cut off, I put in water so that the roots appear. And then I give the rooted cuttings to my friends or my grandmother - a neighbor for sale (let a person earn easy money in his old age). It seems that petioles can also be stuck into the soil right away (without roots), but then it is better to cover the pot with a transparent bottle, as in the case of myrtle, and ventilate periodically.

As you can see, my mint houseplant is unpretentious, green (as I like), fragrant and healthy. Do you also have fragrant plectranthus at home, or are you still looking at it in order to purchase and breed it in the future?

Sunday, July 21, 2013 01:43 am + to quote pad

I always dreamed of having mint in my house, but I always thought that it can only be grown in the summer on the balcony or in the garden. Everyone knows medicinal mint - peppermint, growing in gardens and orchards.

But there is also the so-called homemade mint - Plectrantus, which can grow luxuriantly and densely on windowsills.

Plectranthus I found on the street. Apparently someone cut the plant and all the unnecessary miscarriages. A few days later, the cuttings took root, and I planted them in a pot. That's how I got plectranthus. It is said that this plant attracts money to the house. So, it turns out a double benefit - and saved the plant, and lured denyushka into the house.

In fact, mint is unpretentious, and for many it grows in garden beds, someone grows it at home on the windowsill, and somewhere it just sprouts like a weed. But all this is medicinal mint, the one from which we drink a decoction for colds. But not everyone knows that there is also indoor mint. Meanwhile, this fragrant plant of the Labiaceae family, also known by its botanical name Plectranthus, is quite popular among amateur flower growers. And if the healing properties of this specimen can be argued, then its ability to replace peppermint as an additive to tea is undeniable. What kind of plant is this, and how easy is it to grow at home? Let's figure it out.

Varieties of Plectranthus or room mint

Like all labiates, plecrantus is valuable for its fragrant leaves. And they smell thanks to special glands in the leaves that secrete essential oils. In indoor floriculture, several varieties of plecrantus are known, and the most popular of them are three:

Plectrantus shrub or Molar tree is an evergreen shrub reaching one meter in height;
Southern plectrantus, also known as Swedish or Scandinavian ivy, is a herbaceous plant with lodging shoots reaching a meter in length;
Plectranthus Ertendal (has no other names) is an evergreen shrub, the crown of which forms clumps.

However, the most common type of homemade mint in indoor floriculture is the Molar tree. This is what they mean when they talk about growing room mint. Yes, and he looks like garden mint more than other brothers.

As already mentioned, the plant is unpretentious. However, for favorable growth and reproduction, it requires certain conditions. Plekrantus shrub (house mint) grows well on fertile substrates and organo-mineral fertilizers. He does not like exclusively mineral top dressing. This plant is photophilous and needs year-round (evergreen after all) bright, but diffused lighting. The leaves of homemade mint are pubescent, like a violet, so it does not tolerate spraying well, and when water gets on the leaves and stems, spots appear on them, which then dry out or rot. But watering this plant requires plentiful in the warm season and moderately plentiful in winter.

In nature, the mole tree grows in a temperate climate, so that when kept indoors, an average temperature of about 20-24 ° C is favorable for it. However, homemade mint also tolerates hot weather, but hypothermia is fatal for it. The minimum temperature that this plant can withstand is 10 degrees Celsius. Homemade mint is undemanding to air humidity, but it does not tolerate proximity to a radiator and dry hot air. So the ideal conditions for this plant would be a warm, bright room, good watering without spraying, and fertilizing with flower fertilizers twice a month.

Care and cultivation

The main care for indoor mint is timely watering, feeding, pinching and transplanting. It is necessary to transplant it once every two to three years, pouring a mixture of soddy soil and garden compost into flower pots. During the period of active growth (and the plant is active almost all year round), indoor mint should be pinched and flower stalks broken out. These measures will make it possible to form a compact and fluffy bush. Lignified shoots that are losing foliage and decorativeness must be cut off. Rejuvenating shaping pruning can be done at the end of winter or in March, and pinching can be done all year round. Mint tolerates pinching and pruning painlessly and responds to it with new numerous shoots.

In the summer, I plant plectranthus in the front garden, where it grows instantly.

Possible problems:

if the plant experiences a lack of light, then its shoots are strongly stretched and droop, and the leaves turn yellow;
dry and blacken the edges of the leaves of room mint, if it is not enough to feed or fill it,
hypothermia is fraught with damage to the roots, young leaves and growth buds,
homemade mint is quite resistant to pests and diseases, but it is possible that the plant may be damaged by aphids, scale insects, whiteflies or spider mites.

Indoor mint is propagated by cuttings, cutting off the apical shoots or rooting parts of lignified stems. Mint cuttings can be taken throughout the year, and cuttings can be rooted in water or wet sand. Rooting cuttings do not require special conditions, except for a constant temperature of about twenty degrees.

With good care, house mint lives in a flower pot for about five years. But experienced flower growers say that with constant rejuvenation and cuttings, her life is not limited. So this is not only an evergreen house plant, but also almost ever-living.

So if you want to have an unpretentious, fragrant and grateful plant in your home, then homemade mint will be a flower quite suitable for these purposes. In addition, it is believed that she is able to expel moths from the house, and mosquitoes and flies do not tolerate her presence. If you don’t believe me, then place indoor mint in your house and see for yourself. Good luck!

At first, the young plant is actively growing, but it must be pinched to form a kind of compact "crown", especially since the torn leaves go into tea. A more mature plant sheds large leaves (it is better to cut off by yourself), its stem hardens, many smaller leaves appear. In the most "old" plants, you can wait for flowering, but the main value is in the leaves!

Plectranthus is considered not a difficult plant to grow. We can say that its main problem is that it requires regular rejuvenation, due to the fact that it grows quickly. To do this, in the spring, instead of transplanting, cuttings are cut from the plectranthus, and after rooting they are planted all in one pot. To give a bushy and more compact form, the growing ends of the plectranthus shoots need to be pinched.

Leaves, especially those of a young plant that has grown after transplantation, have a special decorative effect and can decorate your interior. At first, the young plant is actively growing, but it must be pinched to form a kind of compact "crown", especially since the torn leaves go into tea. A more mature plant sheds large leaves (it is better to cut off by yourself), its stem hardens, many smaller leaves appear. In the most "old" plants, you can wait for flowering, but the main value is in the leaves!

It is not a medicinal herb like peppermint, but its fleshy, slightly hairy leaves give off the same minty aroma. Herbal tea will always be on the window, all year round! In addition, the leaves, especially those of a young plant that has grown after transplantation, have a special decorative effect and can decorate your interior.

APPLICATION

Medicinal: The leaves have many traditional medicinal uses: to treat coughs, sore throats, asthma (in the form of a decoction and by chewing the leaves) and nasal congestion, to increase lactation in lactating women, against infectious, against rheumatic and flatulence. The crushed leaves are applied to insect bites or as a poultice. cooking: In Indonesia, Plectranthus amboinicus is a traditional food, used for soups, salads, drinks, tinctures, and canning. It is also used as an aromatic seasoning for various meat and poultry dishes. For lamb and fish as a pungent fragrance. They also make leaves in batter fries. Other: In the people, the plectrantus shrub is called the moth tree, since its smell repels many insects, such as moths, flies, and even mosquitoes. Whether the moth tree really repels moths, justifying its name, is not entirely clear. Although on the other hand, this plant has been grown on windows for over 150 years, apparently believing in its action. In addition, shrubs were grown at home as a folk remedy against malaria. Now this plant is rarely found in homes, mainly in rural areas. Its magical feature to favor all financial transactions has been known for a very long time. Even in the Middle Ages, merchants fumigated their counters with mint. It was believed that this helps to attract buyers. At present, it is enough to put a pot with this plant in the office office - and there will be no end to customers, and the air will be filled with a pleasant fresh aroma.

Whether to believe in the magical properties of all these plants or not is everyone's business. Most often, acquiring one or another small sprout, we start from its appearance. Although it has been proven for a very long time that each plant has its own unique energy, which can either negatively affect the feelings and emotions of people, or vice versa, tune in to good luck, cheer up.

Few people have never encountered mint, which can be seen everywhere. Due to the prevalence of this plant, most of the inhabitants are sure that it grows by itself in its natural habitat. This misconception is refuted by indoor mint, which has several species successfully grown at home. An unpretentious culture will delight in appearance and benefit from quality care. Knowing the characteristics of the varieties, you can get the most out of them.

General information about culture

The Mint genus includes about 250 representatives - evergreen herbaceous plants. The second name of the culture is Plectranthus, which is translated from Greek as “flower spur”, which is at the base of the corolla. This genus belongs to the Lamiaceae family. The homeland of the plant is the tropics and subtropics of Africa, Asia, and Australia. Plectranthus belongs to ornamental plants, it can be a shrub 40 cm high or a semi-shrub. Mint is grown in the garden or in pots from which the plants hang. Even an inexperienced grower can handle breeding.

Homemade mint has voluminous foliage, thin shoots, on which oval matte and smooth leaves 5 to 10 cm long with a clearly traced structure are located. There are small notches along the edges. Indoor mint has miniature flowers with 5 petals of pale color, their arrangement is whorled in 8-10 pieces. Inflorescences in the form of an umbrella or brush. Some gardeners remove the flowers so as not to disturb the decorativeness of the plant. Ornamental mint blooms in summer. 4 nuts ripen inside the fruit.

Many signs of money are associated with plectranthus or room mint, so many seek to acquire a plant in order to get rich.

The benefits of room mint

Indoor mint can rightly be attributed to medicinal plants - it has many useful properties, which makes it related to Melissa - lemon mint. The leaves of almost all varieties emit a characteristic strong odor, due to the production of essential oils by the glands of the plant, the evaporation of which has a beneficial effect on the body.

All types of potted mint are endowed with a number of useful properties:

improve digestion;
calm the nerves;
promote free breathing;
get rid of childhood enuresis if you take baths with mint leaves;
eliminate problems in the gynecological field;
relieve itching from insect bites;
decoction is used for colds;
mint juice combined with pomegranate helps to get rid of nausea.

In the treatment of ailments, the astringent properties of the plant are used. Homemade mint is invaluable in disinfecting the air, destroying harmful insects, including moths. One of the species was even called the mole tree.

A decoction is made from mint leaves, which is drunk during the cold season. In the heat, mint mojito is perfectly refreshing, mint candies are also known to everyone. Leaves can be added to a mug with black or green tea, used as a seasoning for meat and fish dishes.

Mint tea is a delicious and very healthy drink.

Types of plectranthus

Varieties of plectranthus are varied and numerous. Ertendal's Plectranthus is said to be the most famous species. Also, many gardeners can boast of having a Molar tree in their apartments, which belongs to shrubs. Other varieties - Plectranthus southern, Plectranthus ampel silver, Plectranthus wheel-shaped and caudex, Plectrantus amboin variegated, Plectrantus oaky fragrant, Plectranthus Ernst and Forster, Hadiensis or felt, Tomentosa, Mona Lavander (Lavender). Each species should be described separately.

Ertendal

Plectranthus Ertendal is a semi-shrub, considered to be the most common variety of room mint.

This is due to its external attractiveness: one side of the leaves is green, the other is purple. The leaves are velvety to the touch, prone to active growth. In the natural environment of Africa, its shoots spread even more, reaching 40 cm. At home, the shoots should be pinched regularly. Indoors, the average size of petiolate rounded leaves is 5 cm. The shade of the leaves is dark green interspersed with light stripes and reddish spots. The flowers are collected in inflorescences-brushes measuring 1.5 by 30 cm. Flowering occurs in the second half of summer and September. The smell of Plectranthus Ertendal is associated with camphor for many.

In many apartments, Plectrantus shrub grows, the second name of which is the Molar Tree. It is planted to fight moths, which do not like the strong smell of essential oil. It is useful for headaches, sleep disorders, and is released at the slightest touch to the shoots. It grows naturally in Africa. The height of a houseplant can reach 1 m. The serrated oval leaves of a shrub plectrantus up to 5 cm long are slightly pubescent. Blue flowers grow in rings throughout the spring. The plant needs timely pruning.

The mole tree needs regular and timely pruning.

Southern

This variety is intended to be excluded for interior decoration due to underdeveloped stems. Some flower growers compare this mint with ivy, although there is no external resemblance. A feature of this species is the absence of any smell from the plant. Shoots can grow up to 1 m. Round leaves shine brightly especially in sunlight.

Ampel silver

The ampelous Plectranthus was also called silver because of the characteristic color of the serrated leaves. This shrub emits a strong fragrance that repels harmful insects. In order for the flowers to look attractive, you have to work hard. The houseplant is unpretentious, it will easily survive the temporary lack of care.

wheel-shaped

It is also a fairly common variety of homemade mint, which differs from the rest in large leaves, the average length of which is at least 6 cm. A border runs along their edge, giving them a decorative focus, white spots may be present. In height, the coleus-shaped shrub grows up to 1 m, the shoots are tetrahedral. The aroma emanating from the leaves is very strong.

caudex

An unusual species, a feature of which is the caudex - the thick lower part of the trunk. Due to this feature, many gardeners consider the plant as an analogue of bonsai. The average height is 0.5 m, it grows naturally in India.

Oakleaf fragrant

This variety has a double name: thick leaves are very similar to oak leaves. They have a strong menthol smell. Plectranthus fragrant can have colorful leaves with amazing patterns. Blue flowers are located on large inflorescences.

Ernst

It has a caudex with a diameter of up to 10 cm. Medium leaves are located on white shoots, shaped like a heart. They are green on one side and purple on the other. The plant blooms in summer. Leaves fall off during dormancy. This is one of the most unpretentious varieties of room mint.

Hadiensis or Plectrantus felt

A small shrub has rather large fleshy leaves about 10 cm long. You can often see villi on them - hence the name. Some subspecies have multi-colored leaves. The homeland of the plant is India, where it is widely used for food. At home, Felt Plectranthus needs good lighting.

The flowering period is in winter. The plant is native to South Africa. On the stems are leaves of a rich green color with cloves. In order for flowering to be plentiful, it is necessary to constantly pinch the plant.

Mona Lavender - the most beautiful variety of room mint

Growing mint at home

Potted mint is a relatively easy plant to grow and care for. For breeding, the method of propagation by cuttings is used. There is another method of reproduction by dividing the bush, but it is not so popular. For successful propagation by cuttings in the spring, it is necessary to cut the shoots to half and place them in water. After the appearance of roots in a couple of weeks, they need to be seated in separate containers. The land must be fertile. Sometimes several seedlings are placed in one pot. They should ensure regular watering so that the propagation of plectranthus by cuttings is successful.

Room mint care

It is necessary to care for homemade mint in the same way as for its counterpart in nature. She needs plenty of sun. But it is best to put the pot not on the south side, but on the east or west, so that there is a slight blackout. Too much light can cause the plant to wilt. In winter, artificial lighting is needed. Fresh air should always reach mint, in summer the pot can be safely put on the balcony.

One of the important components of caring for plectranthus at home is watering. During flowering, a large amount of water is needed. The need for it is felt by the dryness of the soil. Moisture on the surface of the flower evaporates quickly, so additional spraying will not interfere. Drafts should be avoided. You need to know that mint grows quickly, because of this you need to change pots often, transplanting should be done no more than 1 time in 3 years. Ideal soil composition:

humus;
peat;
leaf land;
sand.

Room mint does not need constant fertilizer. You can alternately apply organic and inorganic fertilizers from time to time. When caring for plectranthus at home, you need to know that the roots of the plant can rot, the leaves change color. Powdery mildew is also likely. Preventive treatment with insecticides will not hurt.

Your plectranthus has bloomed - signs and superstitions about the flower will delight you! Reveal the secret of a plant related to money amulets in folk warnings - is it so harmless?

Plectranthus

The homeland of the tropical shrub is sultry Africa, as well as parts of Asia, Australia, and Polynesia. The world knows 250 different types of fragrant flower.

Plectranthus loves soft, diffused sunlight, grows quickly in partial shade, growing to a maximum of 80-100 cm. It does not withstand high and low temperatures, the optimal range is 10 - 23 ° C. For the year pleases the owners with flowering twice - during the off-season.

If you transplant your evergreen pet every spring, remembering to cut off the cuttings and water with a solution of fertilizers for ornamental and deciduous plantings every 14 days, there will be no problems with care!

The main sign about Swedish ivy

swedish ivy

In folk omens, the influence of plectranthus on human destiny is compared with another plant that does not look like it - a fat woman. Both plants are considered monetary, bringing material wealth and luck in business to their admirers.

But, unlike signs about a fat woman, Swedish ivy is able to help only purposeful people - the flower is unlikely to take root in weak and lazy persons. He favors only bright and stubborn personalities, confident in their abilities and not afraid of difficulties.

Your task is not only to prevent the perennial wither, but also to plan your life and always strive for more, replacing each achieved goal with new plans.

When plectranthus fades - superstitions with a frightening meaning

The positive meaning of predictions about plectranthus comes to naught if the flower fades and loses leaves. A decaying plant promises serious financial problems up to the complete impoverishment of the owner's family.

Southern plectranthus (Plectranthus australis)

If the transplanted cuttings of room mint do not take root, you have chosen the wrong path to achieve material well-being - try changing your line of business, look for a way of self-realization in another business area.

Remember that the flower loves initiative and courageous people - try yourself in different professions, do not stay in one place, waiting for your boss to appreciate your diligence, be the master of your own destiny!

If the plectrantus wilts with enviable constancy, perhaps the road to the desired wealth will be thorny and you will gain valuable experience by making many mistakes and “stuffing bumps”.

In order for the energy of the flower to work correctly, try not to be upset in case of failures, but to draw the right conclusions from the situations that happen to you.

If you can’t get along with the shrub, think about breeding other, more common flowers - read. Or maybe you take the risk of becoming the owner of a beauty about an expensive pet will not scare you.

Obvious Benefits of Plectranthus

Plectranthus shrubby

Professional flower growers can tell you useful information about fragrant ivy:

plectranthus is considered an excellent remedy against such a pest as a moth, since the smell it spreads repels the “eater” of fur coats and woolen products;
the flower clears the air space of germs;
indoor mint is considered a sedative medicinal plant that has a beneficial effect on human sleep and treats headaches.

Traditional medicine advertises a tropical plant as an indispensable remedy for insect bites and weeping diathesis - just apply plectranthus leaves to damaged skin, after lubricating with boiled vegetable oil.

If you have a sore throat, a choking cough, or a stuffy nose, try a proven folk method: chew a few leaves of decorative mint - relief will come quickly!

In cooking, the leaves of the flower are used by the Indonesians: they brew teas and make soft drinks, cook fragrant soups and use them in preservation and marinades for meat.

As you can see, the positive properties that this unpretentious plant possesses prevail over the dangerous ones - keep this in mind when deciding whether you need plectranthus in the house! Surely the decision will be in favor of the plant!

After the roots appear, you need to plant in a pot. According to signs, plectranthus attracts money. What is the use of mint grown in a pot?

This unpretentious plant is also useful, like the well-known peppermint. For many gardeners, it grows like a weed. But not everyone knows that mint can be grown at home.
It is difficult to say how plectranthus has the same properties as peppermint, but tea with room mint is very tasty.

What are the types of Plectranthus

There are a lot of essential oils in the leaves of room mint, which is why they are so fragrant. This is due to the fact that the leaves have special glands that produce them.

The molar tree is one of the varieties of plectranthus. It is a shrub that retains green leaves all year round. As an adult, it reaches a meter in height.

Scandinavian ivy is a herbaceous form of a plant that produces shoots reaching a meter in length.

Plectranthus Ertendal is a semi-shrub with evergreen leaves. The crown of the plant is a curtain.

Most often, it is the Mole tree that is found in apartments.

What are the health benefits of mint

The medicinal properties of the plant help to cope with the following diseases:

Cough;
Throat diseases;
Bronchial asthma (the leaves are made into a decoction or chewed);
Good for colds;
Useful for lactating women during breastfeeding;
Helps to cope with infectious diseases;
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system;
Helps well with flatulence;
Apply to the wound with an insect bite.

The plant has also been used in the field of cooking. For example, in Indonesia, Plectranthus is used as a seasoning for soups, salads, and even drinks. It is good to add mint leaves to meat, poultry or fish dishes.

There is another way to use the leaves of the plant. The fact is that the smell of mint does not like