Clusia Plant: Caring for Clusia Hedge (Clusia Guttifera & Rosea)

Clusia plants, known as the autograph tree are the natives of tropical America. The branches of the Clusia plants grow horizontally, and the leaves are quite challenging, leathery, and thick. Clusia has got around 150 species of its kind. Clusia Hedge (Clusia rosea and Guttifera) has an exotic texture and is an unusual and outstanding plant  for house landscapes. This plant absorbs carbon dioxide at night.

Clusia Hedge (Guttifera)

Clusia Guttifera is an evergreen shrub found in South Florida. The oval evergreen leaves create a dense leafage, and hence it is terrific for creating a private screen. These plants grow well in warm temperatures, especially in the summer season. The clusia plant needs fertile soil for its remarkable growth. The thick clusia Guttifera leaves create an informal hedge. Regular trimming should be done to keep the hedge formal. These clusia hedges are perfect for having shelter from the strong wind if you are out of your homes.

How to Care?

Clusia hedge (Guttifera) is found in tropical countries. These shrubs grow with lower branches that are very close to the ground. The plants grow up to 7.5 m and have to be trimmed regularly. These clusia hedges are superb for landscaping because of their glossy green texture.

These plants can be planted along with fences that serve as a privacy screen. These plants also grow well in containers, buckets, etc. The clusia hedges need adequate amounts of sunlight for around six to eight years. Do water the plant regularly to thrive under the Sun’s heat and in partial shade.

Soil

Clusia Guttifera hedges require fertile soil and good drainage. The plant only requires good quality soil to grow correctly. Otherwise, it has no such expenses or massive care. It is perfect for providing your plants with fertile soil, but the Clusia Guttifera hedges are also found in the coastal areas where the soil condition is poor.

Ensure that your soil has an excellent drainage system, or it becomes difficult for the plant to grow. If not, the drainage system should be soon improved by taking the necessary steps. Never put a lot of fertilizers or chemicals for the growth of the plant.

Adding more of these may lead to damage. Know the certain quantity and then apply because this also helps to retain your plant’s moisture, which is equally important.

Water

As I have mentioned above, water the plants every day. You may say that as the Clusia Guttifera plants are drought resistant, so why do I need to water them every day? The answer is yes. It helps the roots of your plant to stay hydrated, so watering regularly is essential.

There are various sorts of Clusia hedges. Most of them need to get appropriately watered to grow.

Just after planting, the plants are provided with 5 l of water every 1 m of the hedges in the first year. Maybe you might forget watering the plants in any season but never forget watering them during the summer season.

Temperature

These Clusia Guttifera hedges grow well in the sunlight, especially in the summer seasons. The minimum temperature required for the growth of the plants is -1° to 10° celsius. Clusia Guttifera hedges love high humidity of around 50%.

So, it is perfect for keeping the plants outside during the summer season. If you are feeling insecure about the health of your plant, remember the statement mentioned above.

How to Plant?

Taking care of the Clusia Guttifera hedges is not a big deal, but keep in mind that you must kick start your plant journey with little healthy shrubs. Bring enough Clusia Guttifera plants for a beautiful and healthy hedgerow. Make sure before planting that the soul is fertile and has got a proper drainage system.

For a formal hedgerow plant, the small shrubs at 1.2 m. You may also wish to have an informal hedgerow. For that, you can place your plants maintaining a bit more distance between each other.

Dig holes deep so that the roots of the plants can adequately fit inside. Place the plants inside the deep hole and cover the remaining portion with soil. This covering should be done very minutely. Soon after covering water, the plants for around 15 to 20 minutes. Water every day for the next two weeks until the shrubs grow a bit.

Tip – Wait until the soil dries up. Do not keep on watering the thoroughly wet soil. Keep on checking the soil. If moisture is absent, do water the plants deeply. Spring is the preferable season for the Clusia Guttifera hedges to grow.

Trimming

These Clusia Guttifera hedges do not need much trimming. These are to be trimmed to maintain a formal shape. Trimming is done to encourage more growth of the plants. These plants usually respond well in case of light trimming.

Trimming properly would help the plants to develop a beautiful square shape. This also ensures a dense and natural privacy screen throughout.

Diseases

These plants are free from diseases. They grow well and healthily under the Sun and during the summer season. Watering is essential, as mentioned above. Just do not water again and again. Wait till the soil dries; otherwise, roots might get rotten.

Clusia Tree (Rosea)

Clusia rosea is another variety. It is a large but medium-sized flowering tree that has got the same bushy leaves. These Clusia rosea trees are found in tropical America. Also known as an autograph tree or pitch apple.

These Clusia rosea trees grow up to 20 m tall. The color of the leaves is olive green and are oval. These trees do not require much care and have got low maintenance costs. These Clusia rosea trees work very well as hedges, shades, etc. These trees do not grow so big.

It grows as small to medium-sized trees. You can also grow these trees as a wide shrub.

How to Care?

Clusia rosea trees are also known as Balsam Apple. These trees are mostly found in parts of Central America. Clusia rosea performs best under bright sunlight (outdoors). You may keep your small tree indoor and make sure that the tree is kept somewhere where the sunshine is available.

Watering should not be done frequently. Water the soil only after it has dried out. These trees have got the quality of tolerating short periods of drought. The drainage system should be fair, along with fertile soil.

Clusia rosea prefers the summer season rather than the winters. It can also tolerate a high amount of humidity. These trees produce flowers during the late spring and grow soon.

Soil

The soil should have a sound drainage system, and it should be both fertile and a fast-draining one. There are several planting ways. You need to take care of the way you are planting.

The plants should be planted in a way that would make the plants happy.

If you are putting your Clusia rosea plant into a poor draining soil, you will be able to view that the plant roots are getting rotten, and it would be a sad moment for both the plant and you.

Whenever you plan to buy a Clusia rosea plant, you will be able to see that your plant is planted in a pot full of soil. There is no need to remove the plant from the pot and plant it somewhere else. You can do that whenever you see the roots growing.

Water

These plants love to cuddle moist conditions but never choose overwatering. Watering should be done thoroughly in the topsoil only after the soil has dried up. Do water the plants continuously until the water flows out of the bottom holes.

Make sure the roots of the plant are never in full water inside the pot. This is harmful to the roots of the Clusia rosea plants. You need not worry about the water quality because these plants are okay with all types of water.

So, tap water is sufficient for watering these plants. The only thing to keep in mind is that never over water the plants. It is dangerous for the roots! In case you see your soil is taking a long time to dry up than the usual time, this might be the first sign of root rotting.

Bring big pots for Clusia rosea plants with several drainage holes below them. In the winter season, the soil needs less water because it takes time to dry out. And until and unless your soil is drying, you cannot water them again.

Temperature

The preferable temperature of these Clusia rosea plants is between 15° to 30° celsius. These plants cannot tolerate cold weather, so if you keep your plant indoor, avoid keeping it in an air-conditioned room. This will harm the health of the plant.

Light

• Outdoors – Direct Sunlight
• Indoors – Indirect Sunlight

Some plants cannot survive in direct sunlight, but Clusia rosea finds it to be happier when under direct sunlight. Place your plant near a south-faced window right from its young age if you keep your plant indoors.

This will enable the little plants to become more tolerant towards direct sunlight. This practice from a very young age is essential because you might think of keeping the plant outdoors once it grows.

At that time, the plant will be facing problems, and you will get specific disappointing results. Such as brown leaves, tips, etc. When your plant was kept indoors, it did not have the habit of facing direct sunlight, so without any practice, when it is exposed to the direct light outside, the leaves of the plant get burned.

Fertilizers

Clusia rosea plants are tolerant to lower nutrients availability but will do much better if provided with the correct amount of nutrients. An equal amount of phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen is to be added every month. This ensures a healthy rise of the Clusia rosea plants.

Never overload the plants with nutrients content without knowing the proper amount. Always remember the goal is to save the plants from nutrients deficiency. So, always do whatever is required and never perform unnecessary tasks to ensure growth, not knowing the entire plant story. Sun is the best food available on this planet for plants, and fertilizers are a multivitamin for them.

Humidity

Clusia rosea plants can tolerate medium to higher levels of humidity. But it is also okay with lower humidity levels. Humidity is not a big deal for such plants as there are plants with many issues with the different humidity levels. In case you are seeing the leaves of your plant turning brown or getting curled, it might be a symbol of lower humidity levels.

You can use a digital hygrometer to check the humidity levels so that the steps can be taken beforehand in lower humidity. Always maintain the humidity level. Try to keep it above 40%.

To increase the humidity level, keep many plants in the same place. It works well and is a widespread practice.

Flowering

Clusia rosea plants bear flowers, but it is more likely to occur whenever the plants are placed outdoors rather than keeping indoors. This happens due to lower sunlight because inside the house, and you can never have as much sunlight present outside.

To ensure flowering, the plants need bright sunlight, proper watering, and perfect amounts of fertilizers. The plants produce white and pink flowers during the late spring and early summer. These flowers last for several weeks and close in the day due to heat and open during the night hours.

Clusia rosea also produces fruits. These fruits are small green balls that look like apples. The color changes and turns into black, which is a symbol of ripening.

Propagation

Of course, you can sow a seed for growing a new baby plant. But stem cuttings are also a way out for propagation. Prepare a suitable pot with fertile soil. The moisture content in the pot should be proper. Cut 4- to 6-inch-long stems along with several leaves on them. Prepare little holes for these cuttings.

Use a pencil or a pen to create holes so that the stem cuttings can be easily inserted into the soil. Insert the cuttings in the created holes. Do cover the pot with plastic. This material will create a humid environment which is very important for the Clusia rosea plants.

Place the pot in a warm place where sunlight is available directly or indirectly. Do check the moisture content of the soil every few days. Within two weeks, you can see the roots growing, and then you can remove the plastic from the pot and go-ahead with standard care.

Repotting

Clusia rosea plants grow fast compared to any other home plants. Initially, you can keep your plant in a small pot, but repotting becomes necessary as soon as the root grows. If you do not change the pot, the health of your plant may deteriorate.

You might see roots coming out from the bottom holes made for drainage. So, by seeing all these symbols, you need to understand that the time of repotting has come. Choose a pot that is 2 inches bigger than the previous one.

Never go above 2 inches because big pots increase the chance of overwatering problems as the soil in these bigger pots remains wet for a longer time. Gently shift your plant from the pot. Make sure that your plant does not suffer any damage, especially the roots while shifting.

While shifting, if you find a terrible smell, understand that this smell comes from unhealthy roots. Prepare the new pot and place the plant in the new pot. Check whether the height of the plant is correct according to the pot or not.

Fill the soil into the new pot. Water the plant to slightly dampen the soil. Never place the repotted plant under direct sunlight, as it is preferable to place it under indirect sunlight for a few weeks just after repotting.

Diseases

These Clusia rosea plants do not suffer much from any of the plant diseases. Few insects might cause problems, but that happens very often. The only disease which can harm Clusia rosea plants to the fullest is nothing but overwatering them. Fungi and bacteria may harm the plant in such waterlogged situations, resulting in root rot or plant dying.

Why Yellow Leaves?

Yellow leaves are widespread in Clusia rosea plants. This happens due to overwatering. It starts from one leaf, and ultimately all the leaves sadly get influenced by and turn into yellow color.

Excessive direct sunlight may also be another reason for the presence of yellow leaves in the plant. Factors like humidity, too low or too many fertilizers, temperature, and diseases also lead to yellow leaves. It becomes disheartening for the owner to witness a green leafy plant turning into a yellow one!