Cast Iron Plant Profile

Cast-iron plant, also called Aspidistra elatior, has dark green leaves, strong growth and strong adaptability. Cast-iron plant is an excellent shade-loving foliage plant for indoor greening decoration.

Cast Iron Plant Picture

Cast Iron Plant Native Habit

Cast-iron plant is a perennial herbaceous flower plant having a rhizome and broad, narrow leaves with wrinkled edges, green on both sides and sometimes with yellow-white spots around the edges. Although cast-iron plants are ornamental plants, they produce very unusual flowers.His flowers do not grow on the branches and leaves, but out of the ground, very special.

Cast Iron Plant Characteristics

Cast Iron Plant Rhizome

Cast-iron plants are perennial evergreen herbs. The Rhizome of Cast-iron plant is subterete, 5 -- 10 mm in diam., nodal and scaly.

Cast Iron Plant Leaf

Leaves of Cast-iron plant are solitary, 1 -- 3 cm apart, rectangular oblong-lanceolate, lanceolate to subelliptic, 22 -- 46 cm long, 8 -- 10 cm wide, apically acuminate, basally cuneate, margin more or less corrugated, green on both sides, sometimes with yellowish-white spots or stripes; Petiole of Cast-iron plant is obvious, stout, 5-35 cm long.

Cast Iron Plant Flowers

The total pedicel of cast-iron plant is 0.5 -- 2 cm long; Bracts 3 -- 4, 2 at base of flower, broadly ovate, 7 -- 10 x 9 mm, pale green, sometimes with purple speckles; Perianth is campanulate, 12 -- 18 mm long, 10 -- 14 mm in diameter, purplish or dark purple on the outside, lavender or dark purple on the lower part of the inner surface, 6 -- 8 lobed on the upper part; Perianth tube of Cast-iron plant is 10 -- 12 mm long. Lobes are nearly triangular, 3.5 -- 4 mm wide, apex obtuse, margin and medial upper pale green, inner mask strip particularly hypertrophic fleshy ridges, middle 2 thin and long, two thick and short on both sides, middle up to 1.5 mm, purplish red; Cast-iron plant has 6-8 stamens, born near base of perianth tube, lower than stigma; Filaments are short, anthers elliptic, ca. 2 mm long; Pistils ca. are 8 mm, ovary barely enlarged; Style of Cast-iron plant is articulate; Stigma peltate enlarged, round, 10 ~ 13 mm in diameter, purplish red, upper mask 3 ~ 4 deep split, crack on both sides more or less upward protruding, the center part is slightly convex, lobes tip is slightly concave, the edge often upward reverse roll. (Find more indoor plants for low light here.)

Cast Iron Plant Distribution

Cast-iron plant originally produced in the southern provinces of China, is now cultivated throughout China, more widely used.

Cast Iron Plant Propagation

Cast-iron plant is evergreen all the year round, with tall and straight leaves, dark green and bright leaves, graceful, elegant and graceful. At the same time, Cast-iron plant grows strong, strong adaptability, extremely shade-resistant, and is an excellent shade loving foliage plant for indoor greening decoration. Cast-iron plant is suitable for family and office layout, but alone ornamental, also can cooperate with other ornamental plants to decorate, in order to foil the bright and beautiful that gives other flowers.It is suitable for family propagation. Cast-iron plants can be propagated by dividing plants. During Cast-iron plant propagation, attention should be paid to the selection of planting time, the application of planting methods and the maintenance after planting. More About Cast Iron plant propagation.

Cast Iron Plant Care

Cast-iron plants are adaptable and grow fast, so Cast-iron plant should be repotted every 1 to 2 years. A mixture of loam, leaf rot and river sand is often used. Change the pot into a small amount of broken bone or cake at the end of the fertilizer as a base, after planting pouring permeable place in the shade culture. During the growth period Cast-iron plant should be fully watered, and often to the leaf surface spray, in order to maintain higher air humidity. We can apply l~2 times per month thin liquid fertilizer, in order to promote the germination of new leaves and robust growth.

Cast-iron plant should be treated with light fertilizer, such as fertilizer is too sufficient, leaf spots easy to disappear. Direct sunlight should be avoided in summer, but attention should be paid to ventilation, and timely removal of yellow leaves of Cast-iron plant. In the new leaf germination to the new leaf is growing stage, and Cast-iron plant can not be placed in the indoor dark place, otherwise the new leaf grows slender and weak, affect ornamental. In Northern areas Cast-iron plant should be moved indoors in winter, reduce watering and stop fertilization, if the pot soil is too wet at this time easily cause root rot. 

Cast Iron Plant Benefits

Ornamental value

Cast-iron plant leaves straight and straight; The leaf color is dark green and bright. Cast-iron plant grows strongly, has strong adaptability, and is very resistant to shade. Cast-iron plant is an excellent shade loving leaf plant for indoor greening decoration.It is suitable for home and office layout. Cast-iron plant can be viewed separately; Also can cooperate with other view flower plant to decorate, it still is contemporary arrangement match leaf material.

Variants have sprinkled gold type, leaf is covered with yellow spots, dots, very good-looking; White stripes, leaf inlaid pale yellow white longitudinal stripes, or half yellow, half green leaves. Decorative application: small and medium-sized potted plants. Because of the Cast-iron plant strong negative resistance, placed in the room for more than a month, the plant is still in good condition.

Fresh air

Cast-iron plant can absorb formaldehyde, carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride, and can also absorb certain dust. Cast-iron plant is resistant to shade, adaptable, and not easy to pests and diseases, so it is a good plant for living green and air purification.

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