Tips for caring for violets at home. Violets or saintpaulias: proper care at home How to properly care for room violets

For a beginner grower, violets are an excellent choice; planting and caring for them at home should not cause any difficulties. Violets (Saintpaulias) were formerly grown as garden plants. IN room conditions they began to be grown only in the last century. They look beautiful in a pot, do not need time-consuming care, and if you create the right conditions for them, they will bloom luxuriantly and for a long time.

What should be the external environment for violets?

Often you can hear from beginners, they say, we grow flowers according to all the rules, but they do not want to bloom. This happens if something is missed in creating a suitable violet external environment. First, these flowers love good lighting. Light day for them should last at least 10 hours. But these flowers do not like direct sunlight, and therefore shade them. The light is diffused. In winter, when the length of daylight hours is less than the violet needs, additional lighting is used - fluorescent lamps.

Violet is sensitive to air humidity. It is necessary to put a cup of water next to the flower pots.

Indoor violet is a heat-loving plant. From spring to early autumn, it is necessary that the temperature in the room be + 20 ... + 22 ° С. In winter, the temperature should not be lower than + 18 ... + 20 ° С. Drafts are contraindicated for this plant. At the same time, violets need fresh air, so you need to ventilate the room regularly, but flower pots will have to be moved to another room for this time.

Watering: choosing a method

Caring for violets is also proper watering. If it is too plentiful, then the plant may get sick, in addition, root rot may begin. The soil in the flower pot should not dry out and become a hardened lump, so on average you need to water 2-3 times a week. This general rule, and in each case, the frequency of watering depends on the humidity of the room, the season and the material from which the pot is made.

There are 3 main irrigation options:

• ordinary,
• pallet
• wick.

The latter method is convenient in that, with the right settings, the violet can be watered once a week or less.

The wick method involves the use of a cord that absorbs moisture from a container of water and ensures that it enters the pot with the substrate. This allows you to maintain the proper level of moisture and at the same time prevents root rot. The wick method allows you to smooth out changes in housing conditions, for example, in late spring, when a sudden heat begins.

The wick method has many advantages. It provides good conditions for the growth and development of violets - plants bloom earlier and bloom more profusely. This method allows you to provide plants not only with water, but also with nutrients, while the dosage of fertilizer is calculated and an appropriate aqueous solution is made. The method ensures uniform receipt of all nutrients and moisture by the violet.

Such irrigation also has its drawbacks. If the diameter of the cord and the material from which it is made are not chosen correctly, and the wick absorbs more water than necessary, this will lead to waterlogging of the substrate and rotting of the roots. During the cold season, if the violet is simply left on the windowsill, the water will flow through the wick very cold, which can also adversely affect the condition of the plant's roots, so you will have to rearrange the pots with violets to where they will be warmer.

Breeding violets at home with wick watering can be associated with some difficulties. When using this method, the socket is enlarged. If the grower grows only a few rosettes, this does not special significance. But if he grows many varieties at once, then the enlargement of the outlet reduces his possibilities - there will not be enough space for all varieties. In addition, if violets are grown not on window sills, but on racks, then difficulties may arise with the additional load that a container of water will create. For her, you need to find a place and pick it up so that there are gaps between the container and the pots.

Due to the difficulties that arise with the wick method in cold weather, many experienced flower growers switch to a different watering method for the winter, most often a pallet one, since it is much simpler.

Underfloor irrigation assumes that water will not fall on the above-ground part of the violet. Direct contact is generally excluded here. warm water poured into a pan on which they put pots of violets. When it is seen that the soil is saturated with moisture (but no later than 15 minutes from the start of the procedure), the water from the pan can be drained.

Caring for violets at home also involves choosing a watering method after analyzing all the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Some growers choose drip irrigation as the easiest way.

How to take care of violets? This flower, like other plants, must be regularly washed from dust, literally leaf by leaf. This is done about once a month. But after this procedure, the leaves need to be dried - paper napkins are used for this.

Violet is very sensitive to the temperature of water and its quality, therefore, for both irrigation and showering, it is better to use water that was previously settled for 2 days, then boiled and cooled to a temperature of + 18 ... 22 ° C.

Plant nutrition

In order for Saintpaulia to bloom beautifully, you need to feed it with mineral fertilizers. They only do this twice a year. In the spring, the violet is fed during the period of active growth. The second time this is done after it has faded, that is, in the fall. In winter, the plant, when it is at rest, does not need to be fed. For this, complex mineral fertilizers.

During transplantation, plants use a small amount of humus or humus for feeding. It should also be noted that only adult plants need to be fed.

How to transplant violet?

This flower should be repotted no more than once every 3 years. The plant periodically needs fresh soil. You can buy a special substrate for violets in the store, you can take garden soil that has undergone a special treatment against pests. There should be a layer of drainage at the bottom of the pot. The pot itself is selected so that its diameter is 2-3 times smaller than the diameter of the plant. In too large a container, the violet simply will not bloom.

For transplanting, the earth should be moist, but not sticky to your hands. Only new pots can be used for transplanting so that the plant does not become infected. Contrary to popular belief, plastic pots are better than glossy ceramic pots.

For transplantation, loose soil mixed with sand or peat is required. Expanded clay is used for the drainage layer. When transplanting, the violet is planted so that its lower leaves barely touch the surface of the earth. For some time after this, the plant must be covered with plastic wrap, creating greenhouse conditions for it. You can only water the next day after transplanting. But you need to ventilate regularly so that condensation does not gather under the film.

Propagation of violets by cuttings

The most popular option is the propagation of violets by cuttings. It is best to choose a leaf from the middle of the outlet, that is, neither too young nor old. It can be pinched off or carefully cut off with a small, sharp knife so as not to damage the plant and leave a tall stump behind. Cut the cutting as close to the ground as possible.

It is desirable that the black was at least 47 cm long. It must be cut obliquely, at an angle of 45 °. If the cut surface is 2-4 cm long, this will be enough for the leaf to take root well and give more rosettes.

Not all leaves take root, so it is advisable to take 2-3 leaves at once from the variety you like, if possible. It is not necessary to buy a pot for rooting such a leaflet. You can get by with disposable plastic cups or yogurt containers. It is best to take shallow glasses. If there is a shallow container of large diameter, then several leaves can be planted in one container at once. The distance between them should be at least 5 cm, so that it would be convenient to dig them out later.

Not all violets reproduce equally well from cuttings. There are so-called chimeras - these are varietal flowers of unusual colors. Their leaves are well rooted, but they do not retain the color features or the beautiful shape of the leaves.

How to grow a violet from a leaf, in the ground or in water, is of interest to many beginner flower growers. In fact, both methods are equivalent. In both cases, this environment must be disinfected, for example, using activated carbon. If the cutting is placed in water, care must be taken to ensure that it does not rot. Water should be taken warm, but not hot. The roots of the leaf will appear in about 1-2 weeks, and then it can be planted in the ground. Some growers wait longer - until new shoots appear, and this happens after about 1-2 months in the water. Shoots appear from the place of the cut. If the grower decided to wait for their appearance, then you still need to guess so that they grow up enough so that they are not sprinkled with soil when planting. You can not dig the cutting too deep, otherwise the sprouts will not appear soon. The maximum depth is 1.5 cm.

Some believe that violets germinated in water will bloom faster. In fact, this is a controversial issue. Experienced flower growers who know how to care for violets at all stages of the development of this plant will surely say that when grown in water there is always a risk that the stalk will begin to rot. Water quality does not always meet the requirements of this plant.

Additionally

Rooting violets in the ground has its advantages. But here, too, there is a nuance: you need to choose a super-light substrate, more loose than what is usually used for "adult" violets. The soil mixture will have to be prepared independently on the basis of a special soil for Saintpaulia, to which pure river sand (pre-calcined) is added. You can also use sphagnum moss for this, it is also sold in flower shops. Moss, even if it is fresh, needs to be slightly ignited in the oven for disinfection. So that it does not burn, it must be decomposed into food foil.

The substrate should be regularly watered with warm water so that it does not dry out. Rooting in soil is slower than in water, but the risk of root rot is excluded. The seedling must be kept away from drafts. Direct Sun rays he is contraindicated. It is recommended to make a greenhouse for him, covering for this with plastic wrap. Approximately 2 months after rooting, when the grown sprouts are already visible, the plant must be transplanted into a permanent container, having previously treated both it and the plant itself with special agents against pests and fungi.

Saintpaulia Uzumbarskaya - the exact name houseplant, which is known to everyone as a simple violet. Saint Paul Walter, the French military commander of the German colony, discovered it in the Usambara Mountains of East Africa. In his honor, she got her name.

Now saintpaulia is a universal favorite among collectors of domestic plants, because rarely can a species boast such a variety of shapes and colors of flowers and leaves.

Some consider it capricious and demanding to care for, others - completely picky, the cultivation of which is no more difficult than any other. indoor flower. Difficulties are primarily due to the location of violets in the house relative to natural sunlight. This light-loving plant that does not tolerate direct sunlight. It is easiest to create such conditions on the northeast and northwest windows. On the south side will need artificial shading. Gauze or voile tulle stretched over the window is suitable to protect the flowers from the sun.

Lighting

In the natural African environment, violets grow in partial shade under the protection of shrubs from hot sunlight, so indoors, she needs to create similar conditions. For home Saintpaulia, it does not matter what source of lighting is used, whether it is the sun, or an ordinary incandescent light bulb. This is her huge plus and one of the reasons for the special love of flower growers for her.

Collectors and hobbyists for growing violets use large glass racks backlit with fluorescent lamps. They are easy to make yourself or buy ready-made in flower shops. Blooming violets on the shelves receive the necessary portion of light and look especially impressive.

Violets planted in the same pots look very nice on the shelves, optimal size which are 10 cm in diameter and the same height. The quality of the container should not be given much attention, ceramics or plastic is not essential for them. The small size of the container will not prevent the plants from fully developing. It is good to have special "nurseries" for growing violet babies. in the form of a rack with small pots. The variety of Saintpaulia varieties suggests an individual selection of pots. Among the small-growing varieties of violets, there are quite large ones, which will require more spacious containers.

Saintpaulias soil can be purchased ready-made, although experienced gardeners find it too light and prefer to mix the soil themselves. Drainage is laid out on one third of the pot at the bottom. It can be charcoal, expanded clay or broken brick. Sawdust for violets is not suitable as drainage.

The composition of the shop soil for violets includes:

• sod land;
• humus
• sand;
• sphagnum moss

You can independently take the soil similar in composition in the forest. The advantage of store soil is its biological sterility.

A mandatory requirement for the soil mixture is high friability with good air exchange.

The lower leaves, small basal rosettes and flower stalks are used for propagation of Saintpaulia uzambar. Most commonly used leaves, but with this method, some breeding varieties of violets do not inherit the characteristics of the mother plant. In such cases, they resort to reproduction with a ready-made rosette or peduncle.

In order for leaf cuttings to give roots, they are placed in a container with filtered or settled water. After 1.5 - 2 months, sprouts form at the ends of the cuttings. The time for the formation of children, depending on the variety, is purely individual, some require up to 4 months for this. It is not necessary to keep cuttings in water, planting a leaf immediately in a pot is more justified. At the time of planting, the root system of small rosettes when grown in the ground is stronger, in contrast to those formed and grown in water.

Young plants are carefully seated in pots, 5-6 cm in diameter. The soil for them should be less nutritious than for adult plants. The next final transplant will be at the age of 3-4 months. Usually, about six months pass from the moment the sprout takes root in the ground to flowering.

Necessary conditions for humidity and watering violets

Violets can not be watered randomly. These are not geraniums that can be poured today and then dried, they will forgive everything and survive. Violets need competent watering, soil moisture must be closely monitored, since the main cause of plant death is root rot due to excessive watering. That is why the soil for planting is used loose, and the drainage layer is large enough.

for watering melt, rain or settled water at room temperature is used. It should not stagnate, it is poured into a pan or under the root, avoiding contact with the leaves. Excess water from the pan after 20 minutes should be poured out. Drops of water on the leaves are recommended to be gently absorbed with a napkin. From the refraction of sunlight in these places, spots from burns may appear.

The room temperature is maintained at about 22 0 С. high temperature the air becomes drier, which is reflected in the condition of the violets. The buds are poorly laid, the flowers become smaller and quickly wither.

top dressing

Planted in nutrient soil, the first three months of Saintpaulia does not need top dressing. But, when all useful substances run out in the soil, additional fertilizer application is indispensable. It is better to use ready-made liquid preparations, they are less hassle, they are easy to dose and they are better absorbed. They must be brought in at the root. It is advisable to alternate organic and mineral fertilizers.

Two hours before fertilizing, the flowers should be watered abundantly in order not to burn the roots. Violet is one of those types of plants that are better to underfeed than overfeed. If her appearance does not cause concern, you can not rush to fertilize. If the leaves of the plant drooped and began to fade, the more he does not need extra chemicals. It is better to treat with Epin's solution and cover with a bag for 3-4 days.

Violets rarely get sick and are affected by pests. The most common disease is late blight. Signs of the disease - brown spots on stem and leaves. Late blight leads to increased humidity of the soil and air. It is unlikely that it will be possible to reanimate a diseased plant, so the main task will be to keep the rest from infection. The violet should be destroyed, the soil thrown away, the pot sterilized.

by the most dangerous pest violet is a root nematode. These pests can get in with the ground from the street or from under other houseplants. Violet roots affected by the nematode cease to nourish the plant and it quickly dies. To avoid this, it is safer to buy ready-made soil in the store.

Thrips are small insects that live on the underside of leaves. If you remove the leaves and flowers with thrips in time, you can save the violet. Sick and infected plants should be isolated from the rest in the first place so that the infection does not spread further.

Some features of violet care

There are several specific methods of caring for Saintpaulia uzambar.

• Pots with violets must be turned over in relation to the sun to give the rosette the correct shape.
• As the flowers mature, the leaves from below are carefully trimmed. A bright and beautiful bouquet framed by several rows of green leaves will have a compact shape and look especially attractive.
• Violets age quite quickly, the stem becomes longer, the flowers are smaller. The maximum life span is two years. Further cut leaves should be used as planting material for young violets or "rejuvenate" the plant. To do this, it is cut off at the root, a few young leaves are left and rooted like a young rosette.
• To make violet flowers brighter, it is watered with a solution of potassium permanganate.

The hassle of growing saintpaulia is more than justified by the end result. It is difficult to imagine anything more spectacular among houseplants than pots of blooming violets. There are about thirty thousand varieties, special exhibitions are held, there is a Saintpaulia lovers club. Communication, exchange of experience, selection attempts - all this unites a large group of people around a small, beautiful and delicate indoor flower - Saintpaulia uzambar or simply violet.

Violet, or Saintpaulia, is found exclusively in the Usambara Mountains, located in Kenya and Tanzania. It is an evergreen undersized plant with a shortened shoot and a dense rosette of succulent pubescent leaves on long petioles.

The flowers of natural species are small, five-petalled, painted only in blue or purple. They are rarely found in collections, as they are very inferior to cultural forms in terms of decorativeness. Varietal or hybrid violets amaze with their beauty, variety of colors and outlines of flowers. Their popularity is promoted small size and ease of maintenance.

Suitable lighting

Such flowers are very delicate, fragile and they need warmth. Successfully growing a violet in room conditions is possible only if it has enough light. Before you start breeding these "little beauties", you need to evaluate the quality of lighting in your home. In case you cannot provide violets with enough light, it is better not to start growing them. The fact is that how well they will grow and develop is affected by the illumination.

Experienced flower growers recommend choosing a place in the house that would be very well lit, while these plants need diffused soft light. It should be remembered that violets can be damaged by the direct rays of the sun, so they must be placed on a south-facing window with great care. In this case, it is recommended that they be shaded. To do this is quite simple, you need to close the window with a light curtain to the height of the violets.

In the event that you are in the kitchen for a long time, then pots with these cute flowers can also be transferred to this room. The fact is that violet is perfect for a bright kitchen room with high humidity. In addition to the fact that the flowers themselves will be much better in the kitchen, they will also be able to make this room much more comfortable and beautiful.

You can understand that violets do not have enough light by their appearance. Outwardly, they will become faded and lethargic. The leaf plates will begin to stretch upward, the cuttings will be pulled out. In general, such changes will have an extremely negative impact on the appearance of the outlet.

IN winter time when the day is shortened, it is recommended for violets to arrange additional lighting. To do this, use fluorescent lamps. Daylight hours for such flowers should be approximately 13-14 hours.

Suitable soil mix

In a special store you can buy a soil mixture designed for growing violets. She is incredibly lightweight. However, she has one big minus, namely, during watering, the liquid does not impregnate the substrate, but simply flows down the walls of the container in which the flower grows.

The way out of this situation will be the preparation of soil mixture for planting with my own hands. To do this, you need to sift the garden soil and pour a not very large amount of sand into it. Then it should be calcined in the oven to be cleaned of pests and pathogens. It is also important to make a good drainage layer of expanded clay at the bottom of the tank. In this case, there will be no stagnation of liquid after watering in the root system.

Pot size

There are a large number of varieties and types of violets, and many of them differ not only in color and shape, but also in size. However, despite the fact that some bushes may be smaller and others larger, the root system of all of them is equally small. In this regard, for planting such a flower, you need to choose a compact pot. If the violet is planted in a bulk container, then it will grow for a long time and its flowering will not come very soon.

However, it should be remembered that too small a pot is also undesirable for this plant, because it will not be able to develop normally. For young rosettes and children, a pot with a diameter of 5-6 centimeters is suitable. An adult violet should be planted in a pot with a diameter of 10 to 12 centimeters.

Also, when choosing a pot, you should also consider the type of plant. They are divided by size:

• subminiature - the diameter of the outlet is less than 7 centimeters;
• miniature - diameter less than 20 centimeters;
• large - socket more than 40 centimeters.

Flower growers with considerable experience apply the following rule regarding violets: you need to choose a pot, the diameter of which will be 3 times smaller than the flower rosette.

How to water correctly

Many flower growers hesitate to grow these flowers just because they have no idea how to properly water them. Violets regarding watering are quite capricious. It should be remembered that such a plant does not like excessively frequent watering, drafts, as well as strong drying of the substrate.

The frequency of watering depends on the season. So, for a week, the violet needs to be watered 1 or 2 times. The water must be soft, well-settled and at room temperature. With normal watering (not through the pallet), great care must be taken. The fact is that if droplets of moisture fall on the leaves or petioles, then rot may begin to develop.

It is best to water the flower through the pan. To do this, you need to pour liquid into it to a height of 2/3 of the height of the pot itself. After 20–30 min. do not forget to pour out the remaining liquid from the pan, otherwise the roots may rot.

In no case do not moisten the violets from the sprayer. However, these flowers prefer high humidity. The way out of this situation will be an open container filled with water, which must be placed in close proximity to the plant. Instead, you can take a wet cloth or sponge.

Once every 4-8 weeks, such flowers can be showered for hygienic purposes. After it, it is necessary to remove from the plant all the moisture that did not glass itself. To do this, remove all droplets and carefully inspect the growing points of the flowers so that they are dry.

How to care for it to bloom?

Saintpaulia, with proper care, can bloom without interruption for a whole year, but in order for it not to deplete, a two-month break is needed. In all its glory, the violet will show itself if you provide it with:

• sufficient, but not excessive lighting;
• proper watering;
• regular feeding;
• draft protection;
• timely removal of faded peduncles and daughter rosettes that appeared in the axils of the leaves;
• transplant 2 times a year;
• a cramped pot, since in a spacious one it will not bloom at all or give few weak flower stalks.

Do not forget that saintpaulia is a short-lived plant and is considered old at the age of three.

Seasonal care on the windowsill

As such, seasonal violet care does not exist. You yourself determine when the plant will rest.

At this time, top dressing is stopped, lighting and watering are slightly reduced. With a large collection, it is convenient to allocate a separate shelf for plants that are “on a well-deserved rest”.

If your flowers are on the shelves, they are looked after the same way all year round. For violets grown on window sills during the heating season, you must adhere to the following rules:

• be sure to provide backlighting - at this time the sun is not enough for the plant;
• put the pots so that the leaves do not touch the cold glass, otherwise they will freeze and disappear;
• heating devices should not be placed in close proximity to plants;
• if batteries are located under the window sill with flowers, they must be shielded with foil or in another way;
• increase the humidity in the room - in winter, when the heating is on, the air is very dry, which negatively affects the condition of the violets.

Transfer

Adult violets are transplanted 1-2 times a year, young ones - as the roots master the planting capacity.

Healthy plants roll over, trying not to disturb the fragile roots. The soil should be loose, slightly acidic.

Experienced violet lovers make planting mixtures on their own, beginners buy special soil in stores. Drainage must be present at the bottom of a cramped pot, its absence is a sure way to destroy the plant.

Saintpaulia can be transplanted at any time of the year, but it is better not to touch it during flowering. If there is an urgent need to move the plant to a new pot, be sure to cut off the flower stalks.

Landing

The diameter of the pot for planting violets of ordinary varieties should not exceed 9 cm. The plant should be cramped in it.

Flowering will not occur until the root system has fully mastered the soil.

Only the largest specimens are planted in containers with a diameter of 10-11 cm; 3-4 cm flowerpots are used for trailers and miniature varieties.
Reference! The diameter of the outlet should be three times the size of the pot.

reproduction

Seed propagation of violets is difficult and is used only by breeders when creating new varieties.

Plants are bred vegetatively by rooting leaf cuttings or daughter rosettes. To do this, they are placed in water, planted in light soil, perlite or peat tablet.

The same leaf can be rooted several times. In especially valuable varieties, even a leaf plate is cut and planted in a peat-sand mixture using phytohormones. Trailers are propagated by stem cuttings.

The resulting children are seated in a separate container only when they grow up to 3-5 cm.

Violet pruning

Sometimes, cutting violet leaves is not only possible, but necessary. Let's start with the fact that the room violet rosette should look pretty, proportionate and consist of approximately three rows of leaves. The center of growth and development of Saintpaulia should not be overgrown with foliage.

If this happens to you, then simply remove the lower leaves, which have already begun to turn yellow and do not seem quite alive. Correctly picking violet leaves from the stem is not difficult, just press with your fingernail at the base, and then completely pick up the unwanted leaf with twisting movements. If there are several such leaves, and as a result of such actions, the trunk of the flower is bare, then you can add fresh soil on top of the soil or transplant the flower deeper into new nutrient soil.

Pruning violets do the same in the following cases:

• to remove excess leaves to stimulate lush flowering;
• to remove the top of an old violet to rejuvenate it - after a certain time, children will appear on the remaining stump, which you use to propagate your specimen;
• to remove diseased leaves so that the disease does not spread to healthy ones.

What to do with violet after flowering

During flowering, faded flower stalks should be regularly removed from the plant so that they do not interfere with the blooming of new buds and do not spoil the appearance of blooming violets. When the last flower has faded, let the plant rest. Cut off damaged, diseased, or shriveled leaves. Take care of recovery vitality well-worked violet - cut off the lower rows of leaves at the outlet, transplant it into a new pot with a nutrient mixture. If you do not have this event planned, start feeding the flower again with fertilizers with a predominance of nitrogen components so that the violet begins to grow new leaves to replace the ones you cut off.

How to care for violets in winter

In winter, the main procedures for caring for violets are:

• Good lighting of the flower with fluorescent lamps or fluorescent lamps up to 12 - 14 hours a day, alternating with the dark time of the day up to 8 hours.
• Maintaining the ambient air temperature in the room at least 20 ° C, without sharp fluctuations in one direction or another, without drafts during ventilation.
• Regular moderate watering with warm water up to three times a week.
• High humidity in the room where your Saintpaulia lives. All ways to increase humidity are welcome - household appliances, water containers, pallets with wet expanded clay, wet towels on all batteries and other tricks that you come up with.
• On cold windowsills under pots of violets, there should be thick, at least 3 cm thick, plastic or wooden coasters that protect the flower roots from hypothermia.
• Violet leaves should not touch cold glass windows, keep an eye on this.

Diseases

Such a plant can get sick in case of improper care. Yellowing of the foliage may begin due to excessively low air humidity or due to direct sunlight. With excessive humidity or low temperatures, rot may appear on the roots and foliage, which can cause the development of fusarium and gray rot.

The plant is also susceptible to infection. powdery mildew. And of the pests, aphids, nematodes, mites, thrips, podura can settle on it.

The affected leaves must be cut off, and then the plant itself should be treated. For the "treatment" of violets, you can use Agravertin, Fitoverm and Fundazol (depending on the disease).

Indoor violets (Saintpaulias) are without a doubt the most popular and favorite flowers of many flower growers and housewives. In many countries, the bloom of the violet signifies the arrival of spring. Their inflorescences, although small, but delicate and graceful, remind us of our unity with nature. Indoor Saintpaulias do not take up much space on the windowsills, are not a source of allergies and are completely unpretentious. It only takes a little love and knowledge of her preferences to keep these lovely flowers growing and blooming continuously in your home. We will share the secrets of caring for violets at home. From this article, you will learn how to properly water a flower with a wick and drip method, what soil to transplant into, and even how to prepare the substrate yourself.

Violet is a thermophilic flower. The optimum ambient temperature, comfortable for its cultivation, should be in the range of 20 - 25 ° C. If in the summer, during flowering, the temperature will tend to 30 ° C, the violet will suffer from overheating. Its flowers will become smaller, the color of leaves and flowers will fade, varietal features, in the form of variegated foliage and bright borders, will disappear. Use all the devices you have to reduce the temperature - air conditioning, split system, fan, or ventilate the room.

But violets do not like sudden changes in temperature, cold drafts and the scorching rays of the sun. From this they should be protected. In winter, the air temperature should be around 20 °C. (strictly not lower than 16 ° C).

Location of the Saintpaulia pot

It is better to put a flower pot on a windowsill near an east or west window. In the summer, the window sills of the northern direction are also suitable, and in the winter, on the contrary, the violets will be more comfortable on the windowsill of the southern window. If your windows are not of European standard, in winter it is better to remove the flower from a cold windowsill. Place the pot on a shelf or table adjacent to the window, and use additional lighting. And you can use a foam or wooden flower stand, 3 cm thick. Then the root system on the windowsill will not be supercooled. Otherwise, at low temperatures, the flowering of violets will stop.

Ambient humidity

Under natural conditions, violets grow in places with high humidity. If the air in your house is dry, it should be humidified to 50 - 60% or more. It is best to put the flower in a tray with wet expanded clay or pebbles. Make sure that the bottom of the pot is not in the water - the roots of Saintpaulia should not come into contact with moisture. You can install a household air humidifier near the windowsill.

Ordinary spraying of leaves for violets is not suitable. Its pubescent leaves retain water droplets on their surface, as a result of which it can develop. It is especially dangerous to spray violets at night, when the room becomes cooler and the water does not evaporate for a long time. In autumn and winter, wet towels placed on radiators will help increase the humidity in the room.

Solar and artificial lighting

Indoor violets love good, but diffused lighting. The direct rays of the sun are detrimental to them, from them the leaves of the plant get burned, get sick and fall off. But without enough sunlight, the violet will not bloom. For normal growth, it needs 10 - 14 hours a day to be well lit. Note that saintpaulias with dense, dark green foliage require more intense and prolonged lighting than those with light curly leaves.

If necessary, arrange for colors artificial lighting using a fluorescent lamp, phytolamp, or LED strips violets grow beautifully under such light.

Lighting the plant from one side can distort the shape of the flower rosette - because the leaves are drawn to the light. Therefore, periodically turn the flower pot around its axis. Then the bushes will be compact, symmetrical, with lush greenery and lush flowering.

Night darkness is also important for violet growth, otherwise its leaves become faded and it refuses to bloom.

Methods for watering violets

Always be watering responsibly. Be sure to observe the golden mean, avoiding either excessive drying or waterlogging of the substrate, since deviations in one direction or another will equally adversely affect the health of the plant. Watering violets should be carried out with settled tap water at room temperature. Boiled water is also suitable, since when boiled, most of the harmful salts decompose and precipitate.

Once a month, you can acidify the water for irrigation with acetic (1 tsp per 1 liter of water) or citric (5 crystals per 1 liter of water) acid.

We remind you that the temperature of the water used is no less important than its quality. too cold or hot water will harm the root system of the flower.

For room violets, we do not recommend using the traditional method of watering - into a socket. Water should not fall on the leaves and growing point, so as not to provoke fungal disease flower. In addition, from wet spots, leaves through the window glass can get sunburn even in winter. It will be better if you water the violets in other ways. Here are some of the most commonly used methods of watering Saintpaulia.

Watering through the pallet

In a pan or other container, pour water at room temperature, settled for a day, to a depth of a quarter of the height of the pot. Place a pot of violet in water for about half an hour so that the soil is saturated with moisture. You will see that required level humidity is reached when the earth darkens. If you combine watering with top dressing, the flower will receive the necessary nutrition in addition to moisture.

If you have a wide pan, and you put several violets in it for watering at the same time, it is important to ensure that all plants are healthy, otherwise the disease of one will pass to others.

Take water quality seriously. If you water the violets with unsettled tap water, then the numerous impurities in it, during the lower watering, will rise to the top of the substrate each time and remain there. The soil will soon become unusable from salinity. The root system will no longer absorb useful trace elements. You can see this by the white coating on the surface of the soil and the diseased appearance of the plant. Violation of the quality of the water used will result in a minus of irrigation through the pan.

Drip irrigation

For drip irrigation, use a watering can with a narrow spout or a large syringe pear, in order to easily get to the soil, bypassing the rosette of violet leaves. The growth point should also not be flooded. If you don’t have a watering can or a syringe, you can take an ordinary plastic bottle, make a hole in its lid into which to insert a tube. Water the soil drop by drop until excess water flows into the pan from the drainage holes. Then stop watering, and after 15 minutes. Drain excess water from the pan.

If you accidentally spilled water on the leaves, nothing bad will happen, just blot the moisture with a dry cloth.

Immersion method

A flower pot on especially hot days during the next watering can be immersed in a bowl of settled water at room temperature for about an hour. The plant will be saturated with moisture, rest from the heat, its root system will cool down. After that, let the excess water drain, and return the plant to its original place.

Wick watering violets

As a wick, use a string or a narrow strip of cotton fabric, which should be passed at one end into the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot. The other end of the wick is lowered into a container of water for irrigation. A flower pot is placed on this container, and moisture rises through the wick inside due to the capillary effect. The essence of wick watering is that the violet will take as much water as it needs. At the same time, the level of moisture in the ground remains stable and is regulated by the violet itself, depending on the ambient temperature. Below is detailed video about wick watering, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with it.

Wick watering is not suitable for all violets, because it has several disadvantages:

• In this way, you can water the plants only in the warm season, because in winter the water cools quickly, especially if the water container and the pot are on a cold windowsill. Violets do not like their roots to be in the cold. A supercooled root system is prone to disease and may die.
• For uniform watering, only small pots, 7x7 in size and no more, are suitable. Uneven soil moisture will lead to the growth of green mass to the detriment of the flowering of the flower.

What soil is suitable for Saintpaulia

Violets love loose, light, breathable soil so that the root system does not suffer from a lack of oxygen. It is also important that the soil is moisture-intensive and retains moisture well. And yet, when choosing land for violets, one should take into account the acidity index. These plants thrive in slightly acidic soils, with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. With a strong deviation of acidity in one direction or another, the flower ceases to normally absorb mineral and organic matter from the soil, nitrogen-phosphorus starvation may occur. Plant growth will slow down, the bud will fall off without even opening. If the substrate is too acidic, young leaves will curl, and if the medium is alkaline, they will lose their bright color, turn pale, their tips will turn brown.

Of the chemical elements in the composition of the soil for violets, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, potassium salts and macro- and microelements should be present: iron, boron, calcium, chlorine, sulfur, zinc, molybdenum and others.

In small pots, which violets love so much, the soil is quickly depleted - do not forget to fertilize it and transplant plants into new pots in a timely manner. It is best to use ready-made soil for Saintpaulias or indoor Violets, which is desirable to purchase in specialized stores. Unfortunately, often purchased soil suffers from poor quality. Flower growers add perlite, vermiculite and coconut fiber to the finished soils as baking powder. But a little of everything, so as not to provoke root rot.

How to make your own substrate for violets

If you are a fan of self-compilation of soil mixtures, we will tell you the proportions suitable for violets:

• riding peat - 1 part;
• coniferous land - 1 part (harvested under coniferous trees after removing the top layer of needles);
• leaf land - 3 parts (harvested under deciduous trees and shrubs);
• sod land - 2 parts (harvested in places where perennial grasses grow);
• coarse river sand or perlite - 1 part.

As a drainage, use expanded clay with pieces of charcoal of different fractions, which will regulate soil moisture and adsorb harmful impurities.

All components should be disinfected - steamed or frozen.

How to test soil for acidity

Soil acidity is not constant; it changes over time. Any change in the appearance of the plant, the shape and color of its leaves, slowdown in growth and lack of flowering should alert you and encourage you to check the acidity.

The acidity of the substrate is checked using a special device. If you don't have one, try to determine the acidity of your soil. folk methods. Let's show you how to do it.

1. Take two small containers, glass or ceramic, it doesn't matter. Put in them the same small amount of soil, slightly damp.
2. Pour vinegar into the first container. If the environment is alkaline, the earth will hiss.
3. In the second container, fill the soil with soda. If the environment is acidic, the release of gas bubbles will begin.
4. If there is no reaction, you have neutral soil.

You can reduce acidity at home with the help of dolomite flour, and increase it with peat.

Pot size and material

It should be remembered that the flower does not like large pots. Conventionally, all violets can be divided into large, medium and miniature species. All have a shallow root system and do not require large amounts of land. In nature, saintpaulias grow quietly even on rocky soils. Therefore, even for a large adult plant, a pot with a diameter of no more than 12 cm is enough. Make a choice based on the information presented in the table.

For young violets, pots with a diameter of no more than 5 cm are suitable, plastic ones are better, as they are light, cheap and durable. One bad thing - they do not let air through. Therefore, we advise you to add more holes in the lower part of its side walls to good drainage holes in the bottom of the pot so that the root system of the plant breathes, ventilates freely, and the soil does not turn sour.

If you only had a large pot available, and you planted your small violet in it, it will not bloom. And there are several reasons for this:

1. In a large pot, the flower will begin to build up primarily the green mass of leaves to the detriment of flowering.
2. Until the root system of the flower wraps around the entire volume of the substrate offered to it, the violet will not bloom. It will take a year or two before you see the first bloom.
3. Excess soil, not braided with roots, does not dry out for a long time, and can turn sour. There will be a danger of a fungal infection and the appearance of pests, which in a huge mass of leaves you can simply not detect in time and lose the flower.

Available for sale plastic pots with special plastic pallets, which have a ribbed surface, which allows the containers to be in an elevated position above the pallet. It also helps the root system to breathe air.

ceramic pots glazed ones are very beautiful, but they have the same drawback as plastic ones - they do not breathe. In addition, they are expensive and heavy. If you still like ceramics, we advise you to opt for unglazed ceramic pots. They are less aesthetic, heavy and short-lived, but they allow air to pass through the walls, and violets feel great in them. And you can eliminate the aesthetic flaw if you buy a planter or a beautiful pot a little bigger size, in which you will hide the ugly clay.

Fertilizers and dressings for violets

Young violets need fertilizing with a predominance of nitrogen so that the green mass grows faster and the leaf rosette is well formed. Saintpaulias, ready to bloom, should be fed with fertilizer with phosphorus and potassium. In addition, flowers also need vitamins and other trace elements for healthy growth and abundant flowering. Therefore, we recommend purchasing liquid complex fertilizers with a wide range of components for decorative flowering houseplants.

Top dressing should be applied no more than twice a month. Combine top dressing with watering through the pan. Do not use fertilizers in large doses than indicated in the instructions - it is better not to supplement than to overdo it and ruin the tender violet roots. Feeding should not be neglected. You will immediately notice the lack of nutrients in the appearance of the flower - its growth will slow down, the leaves and stems will lose their elasticity, there will be no flowering, or it will be weak.

After landing or transfer nutrients from fresh soil disappear within two months, and after this period you need to restore the nutritional value of the substrate with fertilizers and dressings.

Violets are not particularly demanding on certain types of top dressing. If there are no special fertilizers for saintpaulia, they can be fed with complex fertilizers for vegetables, which include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, cobalt, magnesium, copper, molybdenum and boron. Their role in the life of the plant is to ensure the synthesis of enzymes that make it possible to effectively use the energy of the sun, water and nutrients contained in the soil. Vitamins and amino acids stimulate the roots of the plant to absorb micro and macro elements from water and soil as much as possible.

For the prevention of fungal and bacterial diseases, root and stem rot, we recommend occasionally (once a month) watering violets with Fitosporin solution. This drug can be bought in garden or flower shops in the form of a powder or a briquette in the form of plasticine. How to breed them is indicated on the package. The duration of storage of the diluted preparation is large, literally a few drops should be added to the water for irrigation. One package is usually enough for the whole season.

Transplanting violets at home

Indoor Saintpaulias grow better and bloom better in small pots. Experienced flower growers know that the optimal size of a violet container should not exceed a third of its outlet. The stock of soil in them is not large, therefore, as the rosette grows, it is advisable to transplant the flower at first into a slightly larger pot. Adult specimens do not need to increase the size of the pot, the same pot is fine for them if you remove a third of the earth from under the roots and replace it with a fresh nutrient substrate.

The following facts speak about the need for a transplant:

• plant growth has clearly slowed down;
• a white salt coating appeared on the surface of the substrate;
• the lower part of the violet stem is very bare, it obviously should be deepened;
• the root system of the flower filled the entire space in the pot.

A blooming violet is transplanted only in emergency cases, when it is no longer up to flowering, if only to save the flower. And a healthy plant should not be transplanted during flowering - wait until it ends. Also, this should not be done in winter, wait for spring. But the rest of the time, the violet can be transplanted without fear of harming the plant in any way.

The transplant is done different ways: by transshipment method and with full or partial replacement soil.

Transplantation by transshipment

Since the root system of violets is poorly developed, sometimes the roots are not released from the old earth, so as not to damage them. Then they use the most sparing method of transplanting plants - transshipment into another pot. In this case, a new pot is selected slightly larger than the previous one. A layer of drainage and a layer of new soil are laid at the bottom. Now place an earthen ball with violet roots in the center, and cover it on the sides with a new substrate. Then water the flower and put it in a permanent place.

Transplanting with soil replacement, step by step

If the reason for the transplant lies in the diseased state of the flower, for example, there is a suspicion of root rotting, the violet must urgently be transplanted into another pot by completely replacing the old earth with a new one. Transplantation with complete soil replacement is also used for adult plants. The advantage of this method is that by freeing the root system from the soil, you inspect its roots, remove diseased and damaged ones. Also remove the lower leaves of rosettes and old flower stalks. We will tell you how to do it in order:

1. first moisten the substrate in an old violet pot to make it easier to remove it from there;
2. prepare a suitable size pot. If you use the old one, clean it well from salt deposits on the walls and disinfect it;
3. put a layer of expanded clay or another on the bottom drainage material, also pre-treated with manganese or boiling water;
4. put a layer of new substrate on the drainage with a slide in the center of the pot;
5. free the root system from the old substrate and carefully inspect it;
6. remove rotten and damaged roots, powder the wounds with crushed activated carbon; in case of serious damage, treat healthy roots with a root rot fungicide;
7. place the violet root system in a new pot in the center and fill it with a new substrate to the lower leaves, shaking the pot slightly so that the soil fills all the voids inside;
8. leave the treated and transplanted plant in partial shade for a day. During this time, the violet will get used to the new place of residence a little, its wounds will heal. Now the flower can be watered with the addition of some fungicide from root rot. If necessary, if the stem is bare, add a little more soil.

Transplantation with partial soil replacement is carried out mainly for young violets. It is assumed that they need to be transplanted into a slightly larger pot. And in this case, the transplantation takes place by a method similar to the previous method, only the soil is shaken off, only the one that crumbles itself. Everything that was retained, along with the root system, is placed in a new pot and covered with fresh substrate.

Violet pruning

Sometimes, cutting violet leaves is not only possible, but necessary. Let's start with the fact that the room violet rosette should look pretty, proportionate and consist of approximately three rows of leaves. The center of growth and development of Saintpaulia should not be overgrown with foliage.

If this happens to you, then simply remove the lower leaves, which have already begun to turn yellow and do not seem quite alive. Correctly picking violet leaves from the stem is not difficult, just press with your fingernail at the base, and then completely pick up the unwanted leaf with twisting movements. If there are several such leaves, and as a result of such actions, the trunk of the flower is bare, then you can add fresh soil on top of the soil or transplant the flower deeper into new nutrient soil.

Pruning violets do the same in the following cases:

• to remove excess leaves to stimulate lush flowering;
• to remove the top of an old violet to rejuvenate it - after a certain time, children will appear on the remaining stump, which you use to propagate your specimen;
• to remove diseased leaves so that the disease does not spread to healthy ones.

What to do with violet after flowering

During flowering, faded flower stalks should be regularly removed from the plant so that they do not interfere with the blooming of new buds and do not spoil the appearance of blooming violets. When the last flower has faded, let the plant rest. Cut off damaged, diseased, or shriveled leaves. Take care of restoring the vitality of a well-worked violet - tear off the lower rows of leaves at the outlet, transplant it into a new pot with a nutrient mixture. If you do not have this event planned, start feeding the flower again with fertilizers with a predominance of nitrogen components so that the violet begins to grow new leaves to replace the ones you cut off.

How to care for violets in winter

In winter, the main procedures for caring for violets are:

• Good flower lighting with fluorescent lamps or fluorescent lamps up to 12 - 14 hours a day, alternating with dark time of the day up to 8 hours.
• Maintaining the ambient air temperature in the room at least 20 ° C, without sharp fluctuations in one direction or another, without drafts during ventilation.
• Regular moderate watering with warm water up to three times a week.
• High humidity in the room where your Saintpaulia lives. All ways to increase humidity are welcome - household appliances, water containers, pallets with wet expanded clay, wet towels on all batteries and other tricks that you come up with.
• On cold windowsills under pots of violets, there should be thick, at least 3 cm thick, plastic or wooden coasters that protect the flower roots from hypothermia.
• Violet leaves should not touch cold glass windows, keep an eye on this.

Conclusion

We are sure that you will have a lot of fun caring for these cute plants. Grateful violets will delight you with magnificent flowering several times a year. If your window sills are filled with pots of different varieties of violets, then your house will be filled with a powerful positive aura. After all, the delicate aroma of flowers stabilizes heart rhythms and has a beneficial effect on the mental state of not only the owner of this splendor, but also on all members of his family. If you have mastered the rules for caring for this beautiful flower, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with .

Violet is one of the most common plants among amateur gardeners. It is difficult to grow it without special knowledge, but following the recommendations, it will bloom regularly, have beautiful healthy greens.

Botanical characteristics of Saintpaulia

The species that so many housewives are now growing is called the Uzambara violets. They were first discovered in eastern Africa at the end of the 19th century. German military officer Walter Saint-Paul saw how this plant took root in moss on a stone.

He collected the seeds and sent them to Germany, where his scientific father cultivated the flower with the help of the director of the local botanical garden. In the future, the flower was named after the discoverers - Saintpaulia.

The room violet belongs to the Gesneriaceae family. Most of the plants in this family are perennials, inhabitants of the neotropical region, which includes all of South America, Australia, India and some regions of Africa.

Under natural conditions, violets live near rivers, waterfalls, the spray and moisture of which are in the air, providing the plant with water, because the violet can absorb its leaves and roots.

Decorative culture tries to hide in the shade of tall trees so that the scorching rays of the tropical sun do not burn its delicate fluffy leaves with small hairs and flowers.

Varieties of violets for home growing

Can be found in the wild about 20 types of saintpaulias, differing in the shape and color of the leaves, the color of the peduncle and its shape. For home cultivation, you can choose any variety and even create multi-colored compositions from them, because caring for room violets at home in a pot is almost the same. If you learn to care for one species, you will have to do the same with others.

Saintpaulias are distinguished:

• The size of the outlet - up to 8 cm, up to 15, up to 20 and standard 20 - 40 cm in diameter.

• By the size of the flower - small, medium, large-flowered and extra large.

• According to the shape of the flower structure - wasp, bell, Anyutka, classic violet and 2 star shapes - classic and rounded.

• According to the degree of "curly" peduncles: terry, semi-double, simple, scallop, clove.

Moreover, each subspecies can have several colors. There are two color violets.

Genus Pansies

The flowers are terry along the edges, most often arranged in two rows - small on top, larger below.

Variety Lions Pirates Treasure

The middle of the flower is bright pink. Purple border around the edge. A semi-double variety whose leaves also have a wavy texture along the edges.

Cinderella's dream

The flowers are white, with a lilac edging, semi-double. The edges are serrated. The leaves are wavy.

Melody Kimi

Thick variety of blue color with a light center.

Star

A variety of Pansies with the same size petals, arranged in one row. The variety belongs to semi-double.

Kevz Heavenly star

flower of six petals, Pink colour. It resembles Lions Pirates Treasure in color, but the petals are arranged in one row.

Goddess of beauty

Refers to terry varieties. It has a large rosette diameter and dark pink flowers, the petals of which are arranged in 3 rows one above the other.

The magic of love

Violet terry Saintpaulias with white edging on the petals. The rosette is large, consists of dark green leaves.

Black Prince

The flowers of this terry variety have a brown-burgundy color. Yellow stamens in the center stand out brightly against the background of the languid color of the petals.

Rosemary

Terry tricolor: petals of lilac, pink and white flowers.

Zephyr

White-pink semi-double flowers with corrugated edges. Light green leaves with long petioles. If the ambient temperature rises, the pink tint disappears from the color - the flowers turn white.

Austin smiley

Rosette compact, consisting of dark green pubescent leaves. The flowers are large, pale pink, the petals are arranged in one row. Along the edge is a thin border of bright pink color.

Flower shape - bell

Violets, whose flowers resemble bells in shape, are not able to fully open due to the structural features of the peduncle: the fused bases of the petals. In this form, there are several worthy specimens for home breeding.

Admiral

Cornflower blue flowers with wavy edges. The variety belongs to semi-double. Leaves have decorative value: there is a marginal rim on a dark green background white color.

sea ​​wolf

Why they gave such a name to pale lilac terry violets is not clear. The variety has a large, dark green bunch of leaves in a rosette. Blooms luxuriantly. Petals wavy, arranged in 2 rows. Grow with proper care up to 8 cm in diameter.

Chanson

One of the easiest types of violets to care for. It blooms magnificently, tying several buds at once. The color is blue with pink spots. It is impossible to find two absolutely identical flowers.

Variety of violets "Bowl"

This is one of the most beautiful varieties of different colors and shapes of the peduncle. The bases of the petals are less fused than those of bluebells, but the flowers do not fully open, retaining the shape of a wide bowl.

Ming dynasty

The most beautiful variety of this type of violets: white peduncles with pink tint along the edge of strongly corrugated large leaves.

Boo Meng

Varieties of violets - terry and semi-double. Flowers light blue. The petals are arranged in several rows, have a rounded shape, not corrugated.

Varieties of violets "Wasp"

Peduncles are distinguished by an unusual structure: the two upper shortened petals are tube-shaped. The other three elongated ones hang down.

Lily White

The flowers are completely white, the petals are divided. They are narrower than other varieties. The rosette is small, but the peduncles are large - up to 4 cm.

Satellite

Purple color peduncles, having an unusual shape: a tube and two ordinary petals. The leaves are dark green, bubbly structure.

Zemfira

Saintpaulias of a deep purple hue, strongly wavy along the edges. The lower part of the peduncle is pink.

spring care

Caring for violets in a pot at home is to ensure that they bloom. If the plant produces buds, then it is healthy and has strong immunity. Several factors influence this:

• Proper watering. Violets should not be watered from above, so that water gets into the internodes, leaves, buds. This causes tissue rotting due to fungal infection.

• Lighting. Direct sunlight in summer is especially dangerous for violets. They cause leaf burns. A damaged plant will not bloom.

• Top dressing. Saintpaulias consume a lot of nutrients to grow buds, especially potassium and phosphorus, but ordinary fertilizers are not suitable for them - you need to buy a mixture for violets. In addition, it is necessary to maintain an acidic soil environment, since an excess of carbonates leads to wilting of plants.

• Proper planting in a pot. You can not transplant violets into large pots, because they spend all their energy on the growth of the root system, so they forget to bloom at the right time.

Video: Violets for beginners

In the spring, when the plant wakes up, all the main events are carried out with it. How to care for violets at home, to bloom all summer

• In early March, it is necessary to feed those plants that are not planned to be transplanted with a mixture for violets. It is carried out by watering under the root. Before fertilizing, the soil is moistened, then the remaining liquid is drained from the pan. The soil should be constantly moist, but without stagnant water.

• In the spring, thin out the rosettes - remove the lower leaves that formed the very first. They will no longer grow, so there is no point in wasting nutrients on them.

• In the spring, those violets that have grown since last year are transplanted.

If the plants are transplanted into a new soil, top dressing is not carried out.

Summer activities

How to care for violets summer at home

• Periodic bathing to wash dust off hairy leaves. It is carried out in hot weather so that it dries faster. Flowers cannot be washed - only leaves. The soil is covered with foil. Enough 2 baths per month.

• Top dressing in the summer is carried out once a month with a complex mixture with a low amount of nitrogen.

In summer, Saintpaulias are shaded from direct sunlight on the windowsill.

autumn care

In autumn, the plants are propagated and planted in separate pots. The last top dressing can be made in November to stimulate the formation of buds, and the roots have gained strength after flowering. On winter months penumbra is suitable for violets, as the formation of chlorophyll slows down, so a lot of light is not needed.

Reproduction Saintpaulia

Reproduction of violets by leaf at home is carried out in the case when you need to save the plant after improper care. If the stalk began to rot, the stepchildren did not grow back, there is only one way - leaf.

To do this, take a sheet, cut off all the rotten parts and lay on the ground. A glass of soil is placed under a plastic bag and waiting for the formation of roots (for this, the leaf must have veins from which they grow).

Cuttings are a method of propagation in which the entire leaf with a stem is used. How to propagate violet, step by step process:

• A leaf with a stalk breaks out from a violet.

• Placed in water to grow roots. Can be stimulated with root, epin. An activated charcoal tablet is placed in the water so that the cutting does not rot.

• Transplanted into the ground.

Stepsons grow in strong healthy violets. They are cut and placed in water to grow roots, then planted in pots.

Chimera violets, which have stripes of a different color on the main color of the petal, can only be propagated by peduncles. These are expensive rare varieties that do not retain maternal characteristics when propagated by cuttings and leaves. It is necessary to choose a blooming flower or one that is already fading. It is cut and wrapped in wet sphagnum.