Zephyranthes, or, as they are called in the common people, "upstart" is a bulbous plant of the Amaryllis family with incredibly beautiful flowers, originally from the American tropics. Today it is very much loved to grow at home, as a houseplant. Caring for him, in general, is uncomplicated, but sometimes the flower begins to turn yellow, which greatly upsets the host. Let's try to figure out what reasons may cause such a problem.
Lighting
In fact, yellowing leaves - a common problem with houseplants. One way or another, the causes of this phenomenon are associated with improper care, because under natural conditions, certain representatives of the flora grow in different climatic zones, and, as they say, what is good for one person is death for another.
Therefore, the first rule of an experienced grower: before starting a particular flower, one should gather more information about it and, armed with knowledge, create optimal conditions for its maintenance.
Learn about the causes of yellowing of leaves in Hovei, Dieffenbachia, arrowroot, fern, orchid, monstera, cicasa, Spathiphyllum, geranium, dragon, hydrangea and lily.So, the first position - lighting. As already mentioned, zephyranthes is a resident of the tropics, and therefore needs a lot of light. Moreover, unlike most houseplants, the upstart feels quite normal even in direct sunlight. However, in such conditions, his luxurious flowers wilt too quickly.
Did you know? In ancient Greek mythology, Zephyr, Boreas, Notes and Evr are the sons of the goddess of morning Eos and the god of the starry sky Astraea, the gods of the winds - western, northern, southern and southeast. The beginning of time Zephyr was considered spring, and the west wind reached its maximum power in the middle of summer. "Antes" ("anthos") in Latin means a flower.
In addition to the "native" western, eastern, in extreme cases - southern directions will also suit zephyranthes, but you should not put a pot with this flower by the window facing north. In the period before flowering, the upstart needs especially a lot of color, the same applies to the time of year when "Zephyr rules".
If during the active growth of natural lighting in the apartment is not enough, the flower needs to be added in an artificial way - good, there are a sufficient number of different fitolamps of any configurations and sizes available today. A good option would also be to put the plant in the garden or on the open balcony, especially since the upstart loves fresh air.
Important! If in the hot season your zephyranthes began to turn yellow, this may be due to sunburn of the leaves. No matter how light-loving the plant is, it is still better to clean it from the scorching rays of the August sun.In the cold season, the lighting should be slightly reduced: the best option for this time of year is the south-west or south-east windows.
Watering
Another reason why zephyranstes turn yellow leaves is associated with a violation of irrigation technology. Here, too, for each season has its own rules. In general, the flower needs moderate watering: so that the soil on the surface of the pot will always remain wet.
However, after the end of flowering, watering should be reduced a little and give the upstart a chance to rest and gain strength for the next growth phase. After such a period of rest, watering should be increased gradually, so as not to create a stressful situation for the flower.
Lack of moisture
Zefirantes necessarily respond to a lack of moisture, and yellowing leaves just may be a manifestation of such a reaction.
As for any inhabitant of the tropics, the humidity of not only the soil layer, but also air is important for this flower. You can fill the upstart with water, but if the room is not damp enough, its leaves will still turn yellow and dry.
Important! Constant spraying of the leaves and the space surrounding the pot is an indispensable procedure when caring for marshmallows. It is especially important to do this in the summer when it is very hot, as well as in the winter when the air in the room is dried with heating devices. If there is a central heating battery in the immediate vicinity of the plant, if possible cover it with a wet towel - this will increase the humidity in the room.
Drying the soil as a result of insufficient watering also leads to the fact that the plant begins to turn yellow. In addition to the usual irrigation, during the period of active growth and preparation for flowering, zephyranthes need regular feeding. For this purpose, purchase fertilizer for flowering bulbs in a specialized shop.
Waterlogging
Often inexperienced growers, seeing the yellowing leaves of the upstart, increase the intensity of watering and thus only exacerbate the problem. Waterlogging is as destructive for a plant as overdrying, especially if, watering the ground, forget about humidifying the air.
If your plant is attacked by pests, use one of the insecticides: "Alatar", "Iskra Zolotaya", "Fitoverm", "Konfidor", "Akarin", "Decis", "Fufanon", "Omayt", "Tanrek", "Aktellik "," Kinmiks "," Actofit "," Aktara "," Mospilan "," Fitolavin ".
Air temperature
Zefirantes does not like too high temperatures. During the period of active growth and flowering, the maximum allowable temperature for the upstart is 25 degrees above zero, but the plant will feel much better at lower temperatures.
When Zefir is blowing, the flower of the western wind needs a temperature regime in the range of 8-14 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, in the summer heat to provide such coolness is quite difficult, which is why the plant begins to turn yellow.
Important! Cool marshmallows transfers much better than the heat!
During the rest period, it is better to place a pot with a flower in a cold room, for example, on a closed loggia, however, if the air temperature drops below five degrees above zero, a tropical inhabitant may die from hypothermia.
Errors during transplantation
Transplanting for any plant is always stressful, however, indoor plants cannot do without this procedure. In particular, in relation to the upstart it should be held every year, because after the flowering of marshmallow in the pot, there are numerous young bulbs that need additional space for development.
A violation of the transplant technology — too small or, on the contrary, too large capacity, improper burial of the bulbs, violation of their integrity, inadequate soil, etc. — all this can also cause the plant to start to ache, turn yellow and dry.
Did you know? According to Feng Shui, zephyranthes is a plant for lovers and married couples. His energy is aimed at enhancing love, tenderness, warmth. However, such an impact on the residents of the house upstart, justifying both their names, has an uneven. Like an impetuous and impermanent breeze, a flower, upon awakening after hibernation, actively suppresses a person’s self-doubt, constraint, and a set of complexions and encourages action. During the flowering period, the upstart changes the energy intensity, passions are replaced by tenderness and warm peace. And, falling into a phase of rest, the flower ceases to influence the people around him.
To avoid such problems with transplantation, follow these rules:
- The procedure should not be carried out during active growth, before or during flowering. Correctly do this after the plant has faded, so that it enters the resting phase in a new container.
- Do not plant each bulb in a separate pot (unless you grow an upstart for sale) or take an oversized container. Often, beginners of indoor flowers make exactly this mistake so that the next transplant does not take place as long as possible. As a rule, all bulbous plants develop best of all in conditions of a little limited space (as they say, “in crampedness, but not offended”).
Important! A dozen bulbs in one pot is quite a normal amount, with a friendly flowering the plant will look especially rich!
- Do not forget to provide the plant with good drainage, because, as we have said, stagnant water for the upstart is destructive.
- If you have not picked up a special soil for tropical plants, add the same amount of sand to ordinary soil so that it becomes lighter and more loose. It is also good to enrich the mixture with organic matter, ideally - with humus.
- Use for upstart wide pots with low sides.
- If you have failed to separate the onions from each other without injuring, it is necessary to conduct antiseptic processing of the slices. For this purpose, ordinary charcoal, ground into powder, is quite suitable.
- Do not dig in the bulbs too much: just barely cover them with earth.
- Since immediately after transplantation the plant is supposed to enter the rest phase, it is not necessary to water it actively. In addition, not caught onion bulbs are particularly prone to decay.
Rest period
Above, we have repeatedly mentioned the resting phase necessary in the life cycle of zephyranthes. If you do not give the plant such an opportunity, it will continue to grow and even bloom, but it will look frail and exhausted, and the flowers will become smaller and smaller.
Did you know? Zefirantes is called an upstart due to the fact that its flowers bloom incredibly quickly, literally “popping out” on a long peduncle. But in order to provide such flowering, the plant needs a lot of internal energy.Yellow leaves in the dormant period is not a reason for panic, in this case such a reaction is not the result of improper care, quite the contrary. Dropping leaves, zephyranthes gain strength for the next season, when it starts to delight you with young leaves and luxurious flowers in gratitude for the shown understanding of its natural needs.
So, if you see that the growth of the upstart has slowed down, and the leaves began to turn yellow and fall off, think about whether it is time for your pet to rest. Usually such a stage at the plant comes in the fall or at the very beginning of winter. At this time, the pot must be moved to a cooler place and limit watering to a minimum. If the plant has completely dropped the leaves, it can not be watered.
Important! Dry leaves and wilted flowers from zephyranthes must be removed for sanitary purposes!The rest period lasts on average about three months. When the first young shoots start to appear from the ground, the pot is moved to a warmer place, gradually increasing the watering and waiting for the next flowering. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, why the upstart leaves turn yellow, there is a banal thing at all - pests.
In particular, a similar effect can be caused by the action of such parasites as the scythe, the whitefly, as well as the spider mite and aparallis scarlet (the last two are easily identified, because before drying on the leaves, characteristic signs appear first in the spider web and sticky syrupy raid in the second).
In this case, the plant needs to be helped to cope with the invasion using standard procedures: manual removal of pests, soil disinfection, bathing, treatment with special preparations, etc. 
Thus, the yellowing leaves of zephyranthes can be caused by a mass of reasons, all of them, except one (the entry of the plant into the resting phase), are associated with improper care of the flower. Analyze what you are doing wrong, make the appropriate adjustments to the conditions of the plant - and the upstart will stop hurting!
