Indoor nightshade (Solanum) belongs to the large genus of plants from the nightshade family, in which approximately 1,200 different species are represented. These include well-known vegetable crops, for example: tomato, potato. Also, decorative - curly, jasmine, and indoor - false pepper, pepper.
Indoor nightshade or solanum grows in a warm climate, in moderate heat zones. To this he owes his origin. Its homeland is considered to be the tropics and subtropics of Central and South America, South Asia.
Description
Different types of nightshade grow like grass, trees, shrubs.
The green part of the culture depends on the location of the stems. The bush can be erect or lying and creeping.
Single flowers are collected in different ways: in the brush, whisk, whisk, scutes. But the most important thing is that each species has berries. In addition to fame as a crop, the plant is famous for its decorative properties.
Types for indoor cultivation
There are many types of solanum that are ideal for growing in home greenhouses, window sills or greenhouses. They differ in flower, fruit, size of the green part or the length of the vine:
| Kinds | Feature |
| False transverse (pseudocapsicum) | Solanum pseudo-capsicum is a shrub with shoots up to 1 m long. The leaves grow in short cuttings attached to bare stems. Their shape is lanceolate with a pointed point on top. Color light green with a sparkle. The flowers are small white unattractive. Berries 1.2-1.8 cm in size are round bright red, although yellow are also found. |
| Pepper-shaped | 60-100 cm high. Shoots of a grayish shade with an easy edge. The leaves are lanceolate or oblong, the color is grayish-bluish, up to 7 cm long. The size of the fruit is 1.5-2 cm. The berries are poisonous. |
| Jasmine | Evergreen. It is a creeping vine with branches up to 2 meters. The leaves have a different shape: lower and middle - triple, upper - elongated. The flowers are light blue, they are white, the size is 1.5-2.0 cm. It blooms in March and continues to bloom until October-November. The color of the berries is coral red, size 1.5 cm. |
| Giant | Shrub of 6 meters in height with branches covered with softly spiked thorns. The species belongs to evergreen shrubs, its leaves reach 25 cm. Flowers of different colors, white, purple, blue, appear in July and August, the size is up to 1.5 cm. The berries are small, the color is purple-red, after ripening they remain on the bush until several months. Decorativeness is created by flowers, bright red berries and a delicate smell. |
| Siforta (Brazilian) | Evergreen vine, has shoots 6 meters long. Leaves 1.3 cm long grow on sticky stems. The leaf shape is lanceolate or ovoid with a small wave around the perimeter. The flowers resemble an asterisk in shape, their color is pale lilac. Since flowering lasts several months from March to November, the plant serves as a wonderful decorative decoration of the room. |
| Curly | Another name is Chilean nightshade due to its place of origin. This is a climbing plant of 6 meters. The leaves are oval in shape, up to 12 cm long. The flowers are small 2.5 cm in lilac star-shaped color. In the autumn, green or yellow-orange berries appear from the flowers. Their size is small - only 0.6 cm. The decorativeness of the plant is associated with the beauty of flowers and fruits and flowering from mid-summer to October. The fruits are poisonous. |
| Wendland | This nightshade is used as an ornamental plant due to its year-round green color and curly shape. Height - 6 m, clings to the support with its small spikes. Leaves up to 10 cm long at the top and 25 cm below the middle of the shoot. Flower panicles 20 cm in diameter, collected from lonely purple, blue and white flowers. Blooms for a long time all summer. |
| Rantonnetta | Shrub resembling a tree. Shoots reach 2 m, leaves are extended up to 10 cm. Flowers 2.5 cm dark blue or odorless purple, have a bright center and 5 yellow anthers. The fruits are red in shape, similar to a heart. |
| Papillary | Perennial, has a peculiar shape of berries with papillae in the form of outgrowths, the color is yellow. The shape of the berries allowed us to call this type of nightshade - Female or Nipple fruit. The stems are thick, they have thorns. The flowers are pink-purple star-shaped. The berries are poisonous, waxy, size 3-7 cm. |
| Indian | A small shrub, ripe red berries, in shape similar to small tomatoes. In an unripe form, the berries contain poison, which is why the name of this species "poisonous berry" appeared. |
| Pepino (melon pear) | Refers to evergreen perennial shrubs. The size of the bush reaches 1.5 meters. The stem is smooth. Leaves are lanceolate, resembling pepper. The main value of the plant are fragrant berries that taste like melon or cucumber. The fruit is painted bright yellow, very juicy due to a moisture content of 92%, the flesh is yellow or colorless, the taste is sweet and sour. |
| Black (Solanum nigrum) | It grows in the southern regions of our country as a weed annual grass. Known for its sweet black fruits, the size of blackcurrant berries. Unripe fruits and leaves are poisonous. After ripening, the berry can be eaten or used as a filling for pies. |
Home Care
Proper maintenance of the plant is the key to its health and beauty. Solanum does not require exquisite care at home. It is important to observe several rules for beautiful flowering and abundant fruiting.
Location / Lighting
Solanaceae came to us from sunny countries, so they love good lighting. Indoors, they will be fine on the western and eastern windowsills. In the summer it is important to take them to the balcony, but it is worth protecting. The bright scorching rays of the sun are harmful to nightshade.
It is important at the same time to spray the plant so that it does not dry out and water 1-2 times a day.
Temperature
In summer, nightshade should be grown at a temperature of + 18- + 25 ° C, in autumn, winter and spring should be kept in a cool room with a temperature of +12 to + 15 ° C and do not forget to ventilate.
Humidity / Watering - table by season
It should be remembered that nightshade love moisture.
Drying of plants can lead to their death.
Seasonal watering is as follows:
| Season | Watering |
| Spring Summer | Every day, in the heat - 2 times a day. Spray daily. |
| Winter autumn | Watering is limited, the pot stands on a pallet with expanded clay. Spray regularly. |
Drying of the soil in the autumn-winter-spring period should not be allowed.
With insufficient watering, infection of the solanum with the virus can occur.
The appearance of the damaged plant changes, the leaves are deformed, the leaf plates become dissected, a mosaic color appears on the fruits.
Pot, soil, pruning, transplanting
In winter, the pot is installed on a layer (2-3 cm) of wet expanded clay to provide the necessary moisture. Each year it is recommended to change it together with the soil. This is important to prevent souring of the lower part of the roots.
In autumn, all the shoots are nipped at the plants, on which there were no flowers or fruits.
Those that bore in the summer must be removed and replaced with young ones. In winter, it is important to clean the emerging shoots with peduncles.
It is necessary to transplant in February. The mother bush is cut off by about 30%, then a new container is taken and planted in the prepared soil, into which peat, humus, compost, sand were previously added.
Top dressing
In order for an adult flower to please with flowers and berries, it is necessary to fertilize it from spring to late autumn. An ideal fertilizer is mineral fertilizer, which must be applied twice a month. With proper care Solanum will delight the owner with beautiful flowers and colorful fruits.
Breeding
Can be propagated from ripe berries:
- Seeds are recovered and washed in a solution of potassium permanganate. Then it is scattered over the soil, sprinkled with a thin layer of sand and left in a container at a temperature of + 22 ° C.
- 2-3 weeks after the emergence of seedlings, they begin to regularly water and loosen a little.
- The grown seedlings are planted in flower pots.
Propagation by cuttings is applied:
- Cut off the tops of shoots or stem cuttings. Planted in a container with a mixture of peat and sand 1 to 1 and kept warm.
- Transplanting into pots is done after the appearance of roots. The nutrient mixture is prepared from sand and earth, humus and turf.
- Do not forget to pin the cuttings to stimulate growth.
Difficulties in leaving: diseases, pests
- In heat and dampness, leaves fall heavily.
- In a dry room, infection with whiteflies and spider mites can occur.
- In low light, the growth rate slows down, blooms lightly, few fruits.
Mr. Summer resident informs: Nightshade - medicine or poison?
For the treatment, both fruits and nightshade leaves are used.
Helps with diseases of the lungs (bronchitis), throat (tonsillitis), whooping cough. It has a calming effect, relieves cramps, and lowers blood pressure.
The healing properties are associated with vitamins, alkaloids, pectins, saponic acids in the composition. External use has paid off in the treatment of wounds, boils, ulcers.
Therapeutic tinctures
Infusions prepared from nightshade do well with worms and have a diuretic effect. The therapeutic effect of the infusion of Solanum flowers consists in expectorant and antirheumatic effects.
The recipe is simple: one teaspoon of flowers is poured with 250 ml of boiling water, insisted for 2 hours. Then you can drink one tablespoon 4 p. in a day.
Vodka tincture: Prepared from flowers. Young shoots of 20 g are taken, crushed and mixed with 200 ml of vodka. Insist 2 weeks without access to light, periodically shaking. Then the tincture is drained, squeezed and take 10-30 drops. Dilute drops in 50 ml of water and take in the morning, at lunch and in the evening. Helps with the lubrication of hemorrhoids and ulcers.
Many immature species are poisonous.
Sometimes, a small dose is enough to cause indigestion or toxic damage to the whole organism. In some situations, you can not do without medical assistance for poisoning.
