Saintpaulia - home care, reproduction, photo

The Gesneriaceae family includes about 3200 species. Its bright representative is Saintpaulia (Saintpaulia) (uzambar violet). Culture is an extremely popular houseplant.

Florists for the first time drew attention to the wild senpolia at the end of the 19th century. They were brought to Europe from East Africa. Then the German botanist German Wenland described the plants and isolated them in a separate genus. Immediately after this, the Uzambara violet was presented at the international flower show in the Belgian city of Ghent. From this moment began an active selection of culture.

All representatives of the genus Saintpaulia are grassy perennials. Plants are stunted and compact: specimen height does not exceed 20 cm, diameter - 35-40 cm. Leathery rounded leaves are pubescent with small villi. The base of the plates is heart-shaped, asymmetric. Their color can be uniform (dark green) or spotty.

Senpolia is characterized by rapid growth. Life expectancy is 3-4 years, then decorative qualities are lost. Such specimens are rejuvenated by over-rooting. Blooms Uzambara violet almost continuously.

Useful properties of Saintpaulia

Preparations from the plant are added to cosmetics: they are able to relieve irritation, heal small cracks in the skin, and increase its elasticity. Leaf plates are used to treat acne. Essential oil is used by perfumers to create aromas. A decoction of violets helps with bronchitis, tonsillitis, atherosclerosis.

Senpolia care at home. Briefly

Culture has established itself as unpretentious. If you have basic skills, even a beginner grower will be able to grow it. In order for the senpolia to feel comfortable at home, a number of parameters must be observed.

Basic requirements (memo):

The advantage of the Uzambara violet is the lack of need for pruning. They resort to the procedure if weak leaf plates appeared on the senpolia, in case of mechanical damage, as well as with the aim of obtaining new plants.

Senpolia care at home. In detail

Many gardeners make collecting copies their hobbies. New varieties of culture are being introduced almost constantly; there is even a fashion for some hybrids. What is necessary for the home senpolia to continuously please the owner with the appearance of new spectacular buds? Let us consider in more detail the requirements of the plant for the microclimate.

Saintpaulia flowering

The intensity of the process is regulated by changing the level of illumination. With a lot of sunshine, the Uzambara violet is able to constantly produce buds. However, this is fraught with depletion of the plant. Therefore, it is recommended that you move the pot to a shaded place once a year for 1.5-2 months to ensure that the Senpolis rests.

The variety of varieties does not allow an unambiguous description of the appearance of the culture. There are both hybrids with simple flowers, consisting of 5 petals, and specimens with terry buds. They can be monophonic or combine several shades.

Temperature mode

Saintpaulia flower at home prefers warmth. In summer, the indoor temperature should be 22-25 ˚C, in winter - about 19 ˚C. The plant reacts poorly to excessive heat: during such periods, it can completely stop flowering.

Uzambar violets can not be taken out into the open air. In the warm season, pots are allowed to move to a glazed loggia or balcony. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the senpolia is protected from drafts.

Spraying

Culture loves humid air. However, pubescent leaf plates do not tolerate water. Therefore, it is impossible to irrigate a plant from a spray gun: this will lead to its decay.

To maintain the parameter at a level of at least 55%, it is necessary to place containers with flowers in pallets filled with wet sphagnum or small expanded clay. In this case, you can not remove the saucers on which the pots are installed. You can purchase an industrial humidifier and periodically turn it on.

Saintpaulia lighting

For violets, placement on the southern windows is contraindicated. The sheet plates under such conditions will bend outward and curl. The plant develops best when located on the western or eastern side. The optimal duration of daylight hours is 12 hours.

Senpolia is shade tolerant, therefore it is able to bloom safely even on the north window. If with such a localization of buds a little appears, an additional light source (phytolamp) should be installed.

If you have the appropriate equipment, you can grow Saintpaulia at home even in the depths of the apartment.

If the petioles of the leaves are extended, and the plates themselves take a vertical position, the light intensity should be increased.

Watering

To moisturize, use soft, settled for 3-4 days water at room temperature. Some growers prefer thawed or filtered. In summer, the procedure is carried out every day, in winter - 2 times a week.

The substrate is watered when its surface is completely dry. This can be done in two ways: using a small watering can or by placing the pot in a container of water for 20-25 minutes. In the first case, you need to make sure that the drops do not fall on the leaves. It is important to prevent moisture stagnation in the flower container.

Saintpaulia soil

To prepare the soil, you need to mix:

• 1 part coarse sand;
• 3 parts of peat;
• 5 parts of leaf humus.

You can purchase the finished substrate in the store.

Universal compounds for the cultivation of senpolia will not work. It is necessary to choose special primers for violets.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

In the natural environment, the plant lives on depleted soils, which contain few nutrients and trace elements. Therefore, you can’t get carried away with feeding. In the winter, the procedures are suspended, resuming them at the end of April. Fertilizer violets with high nitrogen mixtures should be avoided.

For senpolii suitable means "Kemira-Lux." When diluting the drug, 2 times more liquid is added than is required by the instructions. Top dressing is made 1 time in 2-2.5 weeks. Organic fertilizers such as "meat" water, tea brewing cannot be used: this contributes to the appearance of leaf mosquitoes (sciarides) on the substrate.

Saintpaulia transplant

For a young plant, a container with a diameter of 6-7 cm is suitable, for an adult - about 12 cm. If you use too large utensils, the intensive development of the root system will begin, which will negatively affect flowering. The procedure is carried out once a year, completely updating the substrate. A medium-sized expanded clay layer is laid at the bottom of the pot.

The soil lump is carefully separated from the walls of the tank, then the plant is removed. The roots are freed from the remnants of the earth, remove rotted fragments. If the specimen shows signs of the disease, you can immerse the roots for 5-7 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate.

Pruning

Caring for the senpolia at home includes regular preventive examinations of the aerial parts. Dry or mechanically damaged leaves are immediately cut off with a sharp disinfected tool.

Some gardeners remove the "extra" plates to make the plant look symmetrical. In other cases, the senpolia does not need to be trimmed.

Rest period

Uzambara violet is an evergreen perennial. She never drops leaves, so she does not have a pronounced period of rest. The senpolia has only short breaks between flowering phases. At such times, it is possible to provide shading to the crop and slightly reduce watering: thanks to this, more buds will subsequently form.

Saintpaulia breeding

There are several ways to get new instances.

Saintpaulia propagation by leafy cuttings

With the help of leaf cuttings. For this, the plate is cut with a sterile knife along with the petiole, leaving a length of 4-5 cm. The wound is sprinkled with crushed activated carbon. The powder is also added to water, into which fragments of the plant are then placed (1 tablet per glass of liquid). The first roots will appear in 2.5-3 weeks. After this, the cuttings are planted in small pots and covered with polyethylene for 1-2 weeks.

Growing Saintpaulia from seeds

The seeds. Initial plants that have no signs of disease are selected. Then a soft brush conduct artificial pollination. For this, pollen from one specimen is transferred to the pistils of another. Bolls fully mature in about 4 months. To plant the extracted seeds, the topsoil is moistened. The material is mixed with sand and distributed on the soil without sprinkling with it. The dishes are covered with glass and placed in a warm place. Pick-up is carried out when the sockets are sufficiently developed.

Step-propagation

Stepsons. In order for them to appear, the growth point is removed from the plant. After a while, daughter shoots grow. When they reach 4-5 cm in diameter, they are separated and placed in individual containers.

Diseases and Pests

Senpolias are not highly resistant to ailments. However, with proper prevention, they can very well be saved from adversity.

Insects and arachnids

The type of pest is determined by characteristic symptoms (signs).

The most common:

• white cotton-like plaque on cuttings senpolia appears when defeated by mealybugs;
• fast-drying flowers and yellow pollen on the leaves observed during an attack by California thrips;
• the upper leaves of the senpolia curl up and the villi on the plates lengthen, if cyclamen mites have settled on the plant.

Insecticides are used to eliminate parasites. In the latter case, biological or chemical acaricidal drugs may help.

Diseases

The reason for these conditions is often due to improper care. Most often, flower growers observe on violets:

• Saintpaulia does not bloom - due to excess nitrogen in the soil or lack of lighting;
• spots on the leaves of saintpaulia - as a result of irrigation with cold water, exposure to drafts, direct sunlight;
• reduction of leaf turgor - with waterlogging or drying of the substrate;
• wilting unopened buds - due to lower air humidity;
• chopping the central leaves of the outlet - with dry air or excess light;
• the edges of the leaves of saintpaulia dry- as a result of rare top dressing;
• white plaque on aerial parts Saintpaulia - with a fungal infection ("powdery mildew");
• yellowing or redness of the leaves - as a result of a lack of nutrients;
• leaf decay - due to the multiplication of pathogens late blight or gray rot.

Instances should be examined daily for signs of ailments. When these are identified, treatment is immediately started to avoid the death of the plant.

If you need to go on vacation

For more than two days, leaving the senpolia is not recommended. Assuming a long absence, you need to ask someone to periodically water the substrate and control the humidity level in the room. Care should also include timely fertilizer application.

If there is no assistant, and departure is inevitable, you can equip the pots with a wick irrigation system.

Types of homeland

Due to the variety of varieties, the choice of violets in flower shops is very wide. Consider the most popular species today.

Blue Dragon

The hybrid has a powerful large outlet. The leaves are solid, rich green. The edges of the plates are serrated, their underside is reddish. The flowers are semi-double, bluish-purple petals have corrugated edges.

Midnight Frolik (Midnight Fun)

Variety variegated: plates green with white spots on the edges. A loose rosette reaches a diameter of 40 cm. Petioles of leaves are long. Hybrid blooms only in 2-3 years of life. Petals are purple-purple.

Midnight Twist

Violet with corrugated semi-double flowers with a purple border. The foliage is plain, green. The neat outlet is compact and tight. The variety is very lush and long flowering.

Kissing Bandit

The flowers of the hybrid are terry or semi-double, lilac-blue. Opened buds reach a diameter of 6 cm. The foliage is shiny, dark green. The outlet is large, spreading.

Harry Potter

The foliage is green, quilted, the outlet is neat and compact. Purple petals are edged with a white border. The life span of each flower is about 2 months.

Cupidon (Cupid)

Terry hybrid flowers, petals are white or pinkish, their edges are greenish-lemon. Plain plates are plain with slightly wavy edges. The outlet is large, neat. The variety is characterized by an early onset of flowering.

Breath Thunderstorms

The buds of the hybrid are very large, the petals closer to the core are burgundy, along the edge are purple, the terry fringing is white. Flowering is not plentiful, but long. The leaves are dark green, slightly wavy.

After examining the requirements for care of violet flowers, it is easy to avoid common mistakes. When creating the right microclimate and timely prevention of ailments, this plant will delight you with beautiful flowers almost all year round.

Watch the video: Sowing African violet seeds (April 2024).