Correa

Synonyms: Christmas bush, Red Australian Fuchsia, Blackwood

Correa (Correa Andrews) – a genus of evergreen plants in the Rutaceae. It was first described in 1798 by the British botanist Henry Charles Andrews, published in «Botanist's Repository, for new, and rare plants 1: , pl. 18». The genus is named after the Portuguese politician and scholar José Francisco Correa.

The native range covers the eastern part of Australia and Tasmania in coastal areas.

It is an evergreen shrub with a spreading crown. The bark is light brown, smooth.

Leaves are oval, ovate or lanceolate, glossy, dark green, margins entire, less often acute, slightly recurved or straight, smooth, less often pubescent, on short petioles.

Flowers are borne in few-flowered racemes, with 2-4 pendulous tubular fragrant flowers, red, pink or white, with a limb or almost without one. Stamens are longer than the corolla, pistils bright yellow. Flowers from December to January.

Fruits are brown capsules enclosed at the top by the sepals, externally resembling acorns, up to 8 mm long. Seeds are oblong, dark brown, with a smooth surface, up to 5 mm long and up to 2 mm wide.

Species: according to The Plant List the genus includes 12 species:

• Correa aemula (Lindl.) F.Muell.
• Correa alba Andrews – Correa alba (White correa)
• Correa backhouseana – Correa backhouseana (Backhouse's correa)
• Correa baeuerlenii F.Muell.
• Correa decumbens F.Muell.
• Correa lawrenceana
• Correa reflexa (Labill.) Vent. – Correa reflexa (reflexed correa)
• Correa pulchella
• Correa schlechtendalii Behr

Location: preferably place in a bright spot but protected from direct sunlight. An east or west window is ideal, north-facing is acceptable, south-facing is undesirable.

Light: prefers diffused light

Temperature: moderate, cool. Minimum winter temperature +5°C, optimal +13+15°C, summer +20°C.

Soil: should be acidic, nutritious, light, and well-aerated. Requires good drainage. A mixture of leaf, turf and peat soil with sand in a ratio of 4:2:1:1 is desirable. Ready-made universal potting mixes can be used.

Fertilization: mineral sticks can be used as fertilizer.

Watering: water 2-3 times a week. Use soft water for watering.

Humidity: moderate. In summer it is recommended to mist in the morning and evening.

Repotting: carry out annually in spring.

Pruning: needs only sanitary pruning.

Diseases and pests: scale insects

Propagation: propagated by cuttings.

Usage: in Ukraine it is grown as a houseplant. Decorative for its dark green foliage, tubular fragrant flowers that appear in December-January, and brown fruits.