Indoor violets: types, purchase and care at home. Growing, caring for and propagating violets at home Caring for violets

Violet, or Saintpaulia, is found exclusively in the Uzambara Mountains, located in Kenya and Tanzania. It is a low-growing evergreen plant with a short shoot and a dense rosette of succulent pubescent leaves on long petioles.

Flowers natural species small, five-petalled, colored only blue or purple. They are rarely found in collections, since they are much inferior to cultural forms in terms of decorativeness.

Varietal or hybrid violets are stunning in their beauty, variety of colors and shapes of flowers. Their popularity is facilitated by small sizes and ease of care.

Variety of violets

The mass fascination with violets as indoor plants began in the mid-20s of the last century.

Due to the fact that Saintpaulia is unusually plastic, and bring out new flower Anyone can do it in a couple of years; thousands of varieties have now been created.

Their exact number is unknown; there is no single international classification. Most often, violets are divided according to the following characteristics:

• socket size;
• bud shape;
• bud coloring;
• number of petals;
• leaf color;
• leaf shape.

In published different countries In catalogs you can find the same flower under different names. This is due to the fact that varieties are created extremely quickly and simply. Breeders independently produce very similar violets, and each gives them their own name.

Care after purchase

You purchased Saintpaulia at an exhibition or in a store and brought it home. What to do next?

1. Examine the violet with a magnifying glass to see if there are any thrips or mealybugs on it. If necessary, treat the plant with an insecticide to avoid infecting the entire collection.
2. Remove any dried or broken leaves and flower stalks.
3. It is better not to replant a violet immediately after purchasing, but if it was grown in peat, you should not hesitate.
4. Water the bush only if it is dry.

It is correct to isolate the violet for 2 months so that diseases or pests that are not detected in time do not migrate to other plants. In practice, quarantine is rarely tolerated.

Important! Place Saintpaulia separately from other flowers and observe it for at least two weeks. There were cases when they even brought home scale insects with their purchase.

Growing conditions

Violet easily adapts to growing conditions and is easy to care for. At regular watering and minimal feeding it produces buds 2-3 times a year. But in order to receive an exhibition copy with continuous flowering, you will have to pay more attention to it.

Temperature

Violet is an exceptionally heat-loving plant. It does not have a pronounced dormant period and requires an even temperature throughout the year.

The most comfortable conditions are 20-25 degrees. It is absolutely unacceptable to lower the temperature to 15, and at 30 and above, Saintpaulia becomes lethargic, stops blooming, and stops growing.

If you have an extreme temperature regime for violets - cold or too hot, there is a way out. Select the best leaves and grow your own plants from them. Saintpaulia is very flexible, and the next generation will be better adapted to your conditions.

Important! What the violet cannot tolerate at all is temperature changes. No amount of effort will make it bloom and look attractive if the room where it grows is either cold or hot.

The flower cannot be taken outside or onto the balcony in summer; even the slightest draft will harm it.

Air humidity

In Saintpaulia's homeland, in the Uzambara Mountains, it rains every day, hence the plant's requirements.

You, of course, cannot create conditions with 95% humidity, as in nature, but you simply must provide it with 50-70%.

Soft, pubescent leaves cannot be sprayed - they will simply rot; you need to raise the percentage of water in the air in other ways.

If you have a large collection of violets, it may be wise to invest in a humidifier. Place a single plant on a tray with damp expanded clay or sphagnum moss, just don’t forget to add water. You can place bowls of liquid between the pots or spray the air near the flowers several times a day.

Lighting for a flower

At home, Saintpaulia grows close to the equator, where all year round day equals night, she need lighting 11-13 hours a day.

On the other hand, it is not located in an open area, but under the protection of trees and bushes. So the lighting of violets should be long, but not too intense.

Saintpaulia is one of the crops that thrives in artificial light. If there is little space on the eastern and western windowsills or you have collected a large collection, flowers can be grown on racks using fluorescent or phytolamps.

In order to illuminate a shelf measuring 50x130 cm, 2-3 lamps with a power of 40 W are sufficient, located at a height of 20 to 35 cm from the tops of the plants. Incandescent lamps are not suitable for illuminating violets.

A sign of a lack of light is the leaves raised up; with too much light, the rosette, on the contrary, becomes flat.

Important! You cannot illuminate the plant around the clock or in pieces. In the dark, the leaves accumulate hormones responsible for the creation and development of buds. If you do not give the violet a rest period of more than 6 hours a day, the flowering will be incomplete.

In order for the violet standing on the windowsill to be illuminated evenly, the bush needs to be rotated 30-40 degrees 2-3 times a week.

Accommodation at home

So, it is best to place the violet on eastern, western window sills or shelves with artificial lighting.

South windows require light application, while north windows require lighting. Flowers must be accessible fresh air, but they cannot be placed under a window, as in other places where the plant will suffer from drafts. The temperature should be even throughout the day.

You cannot place violets close to each other - this will lead to deformation of the bush. In addition, if one plant gets sick, in close quarters there is a high probability that it will infect a neighboring flower.

Photos of different indoor violets

Variety LE “Mistress of the Copper Mountain”

Variety “Yan Sultan”

RS variety “Countess de Monsoro”

How to care for it to bloom?

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

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

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

Seasonal care on the windowsill

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

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

If your flowers are on racks, they will be cared for the same all year round. For violets grown on windowsills in heating season you need to adhere to the following rules:

• be sure to provide lighting - at this time the plant does not have enough sun;
• Place the pots so that the leaves do not touch the cold glass, otherwise they will freeze and disappear;
• cannot be placed heating devices in close proximity to plants;
• if there are batteries under the window sill with flowers, they need to be shielded using foil or another method;
• 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 replanted 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 and slightly acidic.

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

Saintpaulia can be replanted 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 new pot be sure to tear off the flower stalks.

Landing

Diameter of pot for planting violets regular varieties should not exceed 9 cm. The plant should be cramped in it.

Flowering will not occur until the root system has completely developed the soil.

Only the largest specimens are planted in containers with a diameter of 10-11 cm; for trailers and miniature varieties, 3-4 cm flowerpots are used.

Reference! The diameter of the rosette 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 propagated vegetatively by rooting leaf cuttings or daughter rosettes. To do this, they are placed in water, planted in light soil, perlite or a peat tablet.

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

The resulting babies are placed in a separate container only when they grow to 3-5 cm.

Proper pruning and rejuvenation

For Saintpaulias, it is necessary to remove all faded peduncles and yellowed lower leaves without waiting for them to dry.

You can rejuvenate the violet. To do this, the stem is cut at ground level, cleaned with a sharp sterile knife, sprinkled with a mixture of crushed activated carbon and heteroauxin, and allowed to dry for 6 to 12 hours. Then it is placed in water or planted in light soil for rooting.

How to water correctly?

Saintpaulias are watered only with warm, settled water. The soil surface should be slightly damp; neither overwatering nor drying out of the earthen clod is allowed.

But if you doubt whether it is worth moisturizing the violet, it is better to abstain - a short-term lack of water is less dangerous than its excess.

Experienced flower growers even wait until upper layer the substrate will dry out a little, and the leaves will begin to lose turgor.

Carefully! Never pour liquid into the center of the rosette - the violet will rot and die.

A large collection consisting of hundreds of specimens is difficult to care for; it is better to arrange drip irrigation.

Top dressing

Violet needs large doses of potassium and phosphorus, but it is better not to get carried away with nitrogen (this does not mean that nitrates should be excluded from the Saintpaulia diet).

Every 2 weeks they are fertilized with special fertilizer for violets, dissolved in water according to the instructions. For children and starters, take half the recommended dose.

Violets planted in purchased soil, do not feed for 2 months - the soil mixture already contains fertilizers. Sometimes half doses of nutrients are added with each watering. During the period of forced dormancy, violets are not fed.

Diseases and pests

Almost all diseases of violets are caused by improper care.

Most often they suffer from late blight, powdery mildew and gray rot, the pathogens of which enter plants due to poor ventilation along with dust or overflow.

To rid Saintpaulias of diseases, they are treated with fungicides.

The most dangerous pests are aphids, nematodes, springtails, mites, thrips, and whiteflies. Suparids (fungus gnats) appear when high humidity soil or fertilizing with organic matter. They do not pose a danger to the plant. To get rid of pests, violets are treated with insecticides, and plants affected by the nematode are thrown away.

Common mistakes

When growing violets, gardeners most often encounter the following problems:

• development slows down, and the petioles stretch out and grow vertically due to lack of light;
• development slows down, leaves turn yellow, and the rosette becomes flat when exposed to excess light;
• spots on the leaves appear due to watering cold water, from sunburn, drafts or because in winter the leaves were pressed against the cold window glass;
• the edges sheet plate bend at low temperature;
• the stems rot from overwatering.

Properly care for violets - this will eliminate problems or reduce them to a minimum.

Answers to popular questions

All flower growers face problems from time to time. We will give answers to the most frequently asked questions when growing violets.

Why is it growing poorly or slowly?

Saintpaulia may not grow well for the following reasons:

• temperature is too low or high - bring it back to normal;
• lack of nutrients - feed the plant;
• depleted soil - replant the violet;
• plant older than 3 years - root a leaf or rejuvenate a bush.

Why doesn't it bloom?

Flowering may be absent:

• if there is a lack of potassium and phosphorus or an excess of nitrogen, use only specialized fertilizers intended for Saintpaulias;
• in case of improper lighting - insufficient or without a 6-hour break;
• the flower is hot or cold, the difference between day and night temperatures;
• if the violet grows in a pot that is too loose, transplant it into a tight container until the roots have mastered the entire earthen lump and there will be no flowering;
• if the buds appear, but then fall off or dry out - perhaps low humidity;
• flower older than 3 years – root a leaf or rejuvenate a bush.

The violet will not bloom if you decide to get seeds or simply do not cut off the old flower stalks.

Why do only leaves grow?

If the leaves grow well, but flowering does not occur, then there may be several reasons:

• excess nitrogen fertilizers;
• no mandatory daily 6-hour dark period;
• lack of light.

Useful video

Find out more about caring for violets in the video below:

Conclusion

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in caring for violets - you just need to know the simple rules and strictly follow them.

The violet has taken its rightful place not only on window sills. There is a club of lovers of these plants who breed fabulously beautiful hybrid specimens, organize exhibitions and share their experience of caring for violets at home. The species range is represented by thousands of varieties, registered and still in cultivation, many known, but not included in the register. Often these are hybrids resulting from random selection.

Varieties of violets

Violets or Saintpaulias are a rosette of leaves without a central stem, with a large number of medium-sized flowers with petals of simple and bizarre shapes. The color of flower petals and leaves is varied. The shape of the rosette varies from simple to strongly terry. Patterned lace plants are decorative not only on window sills. They create compositions based on kitchen apron, shelving. Provided proper care, the plant will decorate the most modest home.

Violets and related beliefs and folk signs

When growing violets at home, it is believed that these plants strengthen the material condition of the inhabitants and their health.

Violets are credited with the ability to expel ants from homes. They also create a field of luck in the house and calm unbalanced people. If a violet dies, it is believed that it has taken on the owner’s illness. And if one of the household members is sick, then the violet also withers, sharing the person’s torment.

Such signs make caring for a plant that has settled in the house responsible, since blooming violet will be an indicator of a healthy family.

The color of the inflorescences also matters:

• purple flowers are an indicator of love and understanding;
• blue flowers thrive in a creative atmosphere;
• Reds warn against excessive commercialism;
• White color brings harmony, removes negativity and suffering;
• A pink flower on a lonely person's window calls for a couple.

A delicate flower requires a caring attitude towards itself, not only to poke a finger into the ground, but to stop, talk, and lovingly touch the leaf. An unloved flower will wither and die from the lack of a simple morning greeting. Rid the flower from negative energy you can by turning the pots with the other side towards the light from time to time.

Violet planting and care at home

If you decide to have a violet, then you should take into account its preferences. The flower loves bright light, but does not tolerate direct light. sun rays. Violet loves moist soil, but without stagnant water, does not like excessive air humidity and does not tolerate spraying leaf blade. It can only be cleaned in the shower, but after rare procedures the plant should be taken out dry, without droplets of water on the leaves. Water for irrigation should always be warm and settled. Moderate through a tray is considered convenient and beneficial for the root system.

The violet does not like drafts from the window as much as warm air from the heater, fan. She cannot stand the lack of love and peace in the house and inattention to herself. If the desire to have a violet has only strengthened, then we are preparing to welcome a new family member.

Soil requirements

Caring for indoor violets begins with preparing the correct substrate and container for the plant. For planting, an acidic composition is taken, including peat, dried sphagnum moss, leaf soil, sand and charcoal.

Moreover, moss and coal should not account for more than 10% of general composition main ingredients:

• – 3 volumes;
• leaf soil - 5 volumes;
• coarse river sand – 1 part.

Experts advise adding perlite and vermiculite to peat, which help retain moisture in light soil. A poor composition requires the addition of nutrition during growth. Once a year, add a solution of humate in winter, do it in spring and autumn mineral supplements special liquid fertilizer for Saintpaulias. The condition is to avoid overfeeding; the soil should always remain thin.

Containers and timing of transplantation

Growing violets at home has no details. In order for the lump of earth not to turn sour, it must be sufficient for the development of roots, but without excess. So, for an adult plant, a glass with a height and diameter of 10 cm is quite enough, while Bottom part half of it should consist of drainage filling.

Until the root system fills the pot with soil, the plant will not bloom. For dilution, the first container can be 6 cm in diameter. The drainage hole must be large enough everywhere. The plant is replanted once every three years, and it is not necessary to change the container of the pot; you can only change the soil, carefully cleaning the roots as much as possible.

Propagation and transplantation of violets

Planting and caring for violets at home begins with obtaining a young plant. Reproduction can be carried out:

• leaves;
• cuttings;
• seeds;
• rooting of flower stalks.

The simplest and most frequently used method is rooting the leaf. Before rooting, the cut of the resulting leaf should be renewed, making it diagonally across the leaf with a disinfected tool and lowering the cut into water until callus and roots form.

With a root length of 4-7 cm, the leaf can be rooted, covered on top from excessive evaporation and wait for the results to appear. The small plants that appear are seated in separate containers as they grow. Such plants will bloom when good care in a year.

Hybrid violets, called chimeras, can only be propagated by stepsons and peduncles that transmit maternal qualities. The stepson can be separated from the main outlet using an awl and rooted immediately in a peat tablet.

When replanting plants, you should ensure the health of the root system. The roots of the plant are white, alive and completely fill the container. When removed from a conical pot, it retains its shape. This is the basis of one of the methods of watering a plant, for which an external cushion is created, soaked through a filter. To do this, a well-designed plant is placed in a larger pot with a moist substrate in a special nest.

An audit of the root system involves removing all brown dead roots. Only light, living, healthy roots are left. With this treatment, the plant can be washed in water, and the roots can be straightened and planted in a prepared pot. If the rot has eaten the root, strip the plant down to living tissue, sprinkle it with activated carbon and dry it, and then re-root it in water or in moss, which has bactericidal properties.

Plants feel good in summer at temperatures up to 25, in winter at 18-20. Air dryness should be about 50%. The plant requires a year-round day length of at least 10 hours, and during flowering periods, local illumination with fluorescent lamps.

If watering is carried out through a tray, then excess water should be drained. When watering the pot, do not wet the leaves. In summer, water a little every day, in winter - 2 times a week. Will bloom young plant in a year, not earlier.

If carried out proper care, a photo of violets at home will be a reward.

Plants usually bloom for about 2 months, while flowers that have faded and have lost their decorative effect need to be plucked out.

How to grow violets at home - video

How to care for indoor violets? This question still arises among many indoor plant lovers. And although these flowers are no longer uncommon on windowsills, it happens that they rarely bloom. They sit in pots for years, the owners dance around them, but there are still no buds.

For some reason, it is believed that Saintpaulia is a rather capricious plant. This is a misconception. Indoor violet is completely unpretentious. For normal height And good flowering it requires certain conditions, but they are not exorbitant or super special. Quite doable in a city apartment or house in the countryside.

In order for violets to delight you with annual flowering, you need to pay attention to:

• lighting
• soil and pot size
• temperature
• watering
• feeding
• diseases and pests

A classic set for caring for an ordinary plant. Let's figure it out, and in the end we will find out the secret of shock therapy for the rapid release of buds and the onset of flowering at any time of the year.

Lighting

Indoor violets love light. Lots of light. They begin to bloom when the length of daylight hours becomes at least 14 hours. But they don't like direct sunlight at all. They cause severe burns on the leaves and discoloration for the worse. What to do?

Grow indoor violets on the windowsill, but shaded from direct sunlight. This can be a light light curtain or white paper.

Or even put the flower on a rack in the back of the room. But then you will have to use a fluorescent lamp.

Advice. If there is north window, then indoor violets can be placed there. Just shade them a little in winter. Because the sun reflected from the snow can burn the leaves.

Soil and pot size

Plants have very capricious roots. Moreover, the entire root system is relatively small. Therefore, for an adult bush, pots or cache-pots with a diameter of no more than 12 cm would be ideal. For young plants, even less.

If you plant an indoor violet in a hefty pot, it will begin to grow green mass with special zeal and produce a lot of children. But it will categorically refuse to bloom. Choose what is more important - a huge burdock bush or a variety of beautiful flowers.

The soil should be loose. Good combination It turns out if you mix fertile soil, moss (peat) and clean sand. The proportions are 1 to 1 to 1. This is a very breathable mixture, exactly what violet roots love so much.

Drainage must be poured into the bottom of the planting pot. From a third to half the volume. This is necessary so that excess moisture drains out of the container as much as possible. Thanks to this planting, the roots will not begin to rot.

The pot itself can be made of any material except glass. Because the roots of indoor violets should be in the dark. It is advisable to provide warmth to the roots, even in the hot season. To do this, place a foam plate, a woolen napkin or a wooden stand under the flowerpot. This way the bottom of the plant will be protected from the cold.

Advice. Do not put such fashionable fabric or knitted “cup holders” on the potty now. They absorb excess moisture, and dry for a very long time. Despite their beauty, they prevent the access of heat from the outside, so the roots may be cold.

Temperature

The most magnificent, beautiful and long flowering This happens when indoor violets are constantly at the same temperature, 21-23°C. These are mature plants. Young people prefer a little higher: 24-25°C.

When these values ​​are exceeded, the flowers begin to become smaller and deformed, the leaves curl down towards the pot, and the petioles are shortened. If the air temperature rises above +35°C, indoor violets begin to die. To help them during the hot period, be sure to humidify the air around them, or move the flowers to a cooler place.

When the temperature drops below +19°C, Saintpaulias stop growing and the buds dry out without opening. At +15°C the roots begin to rot, the plant becomes sick and dies. To save flowers, additional heating is provided. Sometimes an incandescent light bulb is enough.

Advice. Try to ensure that there is no sudden temperature change or draft near the indoor violet. This is part of proper care.

Watering

Everything is simple here. Settled water at a temperature slightly above room temperature. Place the pots in a large container and pour this water so that it reaches half the height from the outside. After 20 minutes, the pots are removed and returned to their place.

Watering into trays is incorrect, because half the pot is drainage, and it does not absorb water. You don’t have to bother with dragging indoor violets into the basin and back. Then just very carefully, in a thin stream, water it from above. They try to ensure that the liquid does not get on the leaves and the growing point. If due to carelessness this does happen, then blot the plant with a napkin as quickly as possible. Don't wipe! Namely, they blot so as not to damage the villi on the leaves.

You need to pour water from above so much that it begins to release in the pan. After 15 minutes, excess liquid is removed.

Watering should be done as needed. How to determine when it's time? We put our finger in the ground. If you feel moisture, it's too early. If you take your finger out dry, then it’s time to water the violets. The method is a bit dirty, but reliable.

There is one more secret. It is suitable for those who have a lot different varieties. Skip the usual watering time for 2-3 days. There are varieties that, when drought occurs, begin to droop their leaves. This is clearly visible. Find such a plant in your thickets and navigate by it. The leaves are tilting, which means water all the violets. After all, the conditions of detention are the same for everyone.

Advice. Now special beacons have appeared on sale. They are stuck into the soil to the required depth. As soon as the ground at this level dries out, the beacon changes color. A very convenient thing, pay attention to it.

Feeding

Violets need to be fed regularly, but not often. Once every three weeks from spring to autumn, and once a month in winter. It is advisable to alternate between organic and mineral water. There is no need to be zealous in this matter. The flower will begin to fatten, you won’t see any buds. But there is no need to wait for signs of plant depletion (as written in some sources). It is better to feed your pet little by little than to wait for it to starve and only then fertilize it.

A special mixture for Saintpaulia or any complex mineral water will do. Just read the ingredients carefully. Too much nitrogen will cause leaf growth to the detriment of flowering.

Advice. Fertilizers should be added on the second day after watering, while the soil is still wet. When fertilizing in dry soil, it is very easy to burn the roots.

Diseases and pests

Any suspicious change in the color or shape of leaves, buds, or the entire rosette is a sign of damage or disease. First you need to determine what exactly is bothering your pets. As a rule, pests are clearly visible. All visible enemies are removed manually, the plant is quarantined so that it does not infect others. And use any suitable fungicide, strictly observing the dosage.

After getting rid of the pests, the indoor violet must remain in quarantine for another 15 days. During this time, it is advisable to completely replace the soil with a new one. This is done to be sure. And only then does the pot return to its usual place.

Diseases. All diseases of violets, except late blight, are perfectly treated with systemic fungicides. Quarantine conditions must be observed. In case of late blight, the plant will have to be thrown away and the pot sterilized.

The most common stimulus for the occurrence of the disease is excessive waterlogging of the soil and cold at the roots. Watch this closely.

Advice. Ventilate indoor violets often, but without drafts. And periodically wash the leaves under a gentle stream of warm water.

How to make indoor violets bloom

Well, now - a description of the method that was promised above. It was discovered completely by accident. One woman was going to disinfect the soil and for some reason decided to do it right on the windowsill. Well, such a strange woman. She warmed up some water, up to 70-80 degrees, and went to the window with the mug. Here the beloved pussy desired love and affection, rushed to the lady’s feet, saying, stroke me immediately and this very second.

Naturally, this “slick” woman stumbles and happily spills the entire mug hot water for three bushes of indoor violets. Out of fear that I had burned the plants, I quickly rinsed them with cool water and began to wait for the speedy death of my favorites.

Imagine the surprise when all three bushes released buds almost simultaneously. Although before this, despite all kinds of care, they just didn’t want to bloom! Apparently they thought that the owner had decided to destroy them by scalding and that before they died they had to leave offspring.

The experiment continued on the remaining bushes, only now with full preparation. Two mugs: one with hot, the other with cool water. Quick dousing and immediate rinsing. It works, and how!

Therefore, if you are already desperate to wait for flowers from your favorite indoor violets, just “scare” them. Just do everything quickly so as not to cause harm.

Well, a cat? What about the cat? At first I giggled for a long time behind the chair, looking at the hostess running. And a week later she received her well-deserved portion of the treat. After all, thanks to her, the violets bloomed.

Advice. The method refers to shock therapy, so it is not recommended to use it more than once a year. Otherwise, the plant will weaken from endless flowering and die. He also needs to rest periodically.

Useful subtleties

1. Despite all your efforts, the root system has begun to rot? To save the plant, you need to start acting as early as possible. Using a sharp blade, in one motion, cut off the entire rosette at a height below the last tier of leaves, about 1 cm. Then it is rooted in soil or water. To speed up the process, use a root formation stimulator strictly according to the instructions. After the young roots reach a length of 1.5 cm, you can transplant the rescued violet to a permanent place.
2. If the rot has already affected the stem, and you missed it, then all that remains is to save individual leaves. But, with proper care, you will have several young and healthy violets.
3. Promptly remove faded flowers and old yellowed leaves. This will allow the indoor violet not to waste its vitality on them. From such operations the trunk is gradually exposed. During subsequent planned replanting, simply deepen the flower a little.
4. In order for the rosette to be beautiful and uniform across its entire width, it is recommended to rotate the flower pot once a week by 35-40° around its axis.

How to care for indoor violets? It turns out to be very simple. More heat, less fertilizing and proper watering - that’s the whole difficulty.

Video: how to properly care for violets

Regardless of this, violets should be cared for in the same way. It is not surprising that there is a club for violet lovers. They not only grow and breed these indoor plants, but also share their experience of caring for violets at home.

Description and symbolism

Africa is the birthplace of the violet. Saintpaulia is named after the man who discovered it - Baron Saint-Paul. Every indoor flower has its influence on a person, on a room and its energy. It is believed that violets:

• improve health. If a person is very sick, then Saintpaulia may die. Having withered away, she also takes on the owner’s illness;
• improve financial condition;
• drive away ants if they live in the house;
• calm an unbalanced person;

The color of the buds also has its own symbolism:

• purple - love and mutual understanding;
• blue - for creative people;
• red - develop generosity;
• white - a symbol of harmony and compassion;
• pink - an incentive to create a couple.

To that indoor plant it is important to treat with love, otherwise the flower will simply die or wither.

Planting and caring for violets

Planting violets and caring for them at home has its own nuances. Flower loves:

In order for the violet to bloom, it should also be fed several times a year, mineral fertilizers applied in spring, autumn, organic - in winter. In summer, the plant does not need feeding. Before feeding, the soil must be moistened and the fertilizer diluted in water according to the instructions.

To get a proportional, symmetrical plant, need to trim. The socket must consist of three rows. The center should not be clogged with leaves. All yellow and not quite alive leaves should be removed. It is better to cover the bare trunk due to pruning with earth. For final symmetry, turn the plant towards the light in different directions. Indoor violets are not so capricious. Caring for and growing Saintpaulia has its own nuances, the observance of which guarantees a healthy, beautiful flower.

Planting and caring for decorative climbing honeysuckle

Propagation and transplantation of violets

They will help you create a beautiful flower proper reproduction violets and caring for them. Propagation by leaves, cuttings, seeds, and rooting of peduncles, which is carried out in spring and summer, is permissible. Propagation by leaves is the easiest way. The leaf should be plucked from an adult violet under the peduncle. It should be green, undamaged and not dry.

Using a knife, a leaf is cut diagonally, the length of the cutting is 4 cm, it is placed in water 1 cm. To prevent the cut of the cutting from rotting, you can pour activated carbon into the water. In case of rotting, you need to cut off the rotten part.

You should wait until the roots appear and then plant the leaf in the pot. Such plants bloom within a year.

Transplantation is done at any time except flowering. Before replanting, you should check the roots. They should be white and fill the entire container. Dead and rotten roots should be removed. Pour new soil into the pot and plant the violet. Young with partial soil replacement. Only the soil that crumbles is shaken off, and a larger pot is taken.

Diseases and pests

Homemade violet flowers and caring for them are quite simple, but despite this, the plant is susceptible to diseases and pests.

A sign of the disease is a change in the color of leaves, buds, and the entire rosette.

To prevent the plant from infecting other flowers, it must be quarantined away. And even then leave it there for two weeks. Saintpaulias get sick if they are not properly cared for: too much waterlogging, drafts, cold at the roots. Diseases of violets include:

• Powdery mildew. White coating on the stems appears in low light, low air temperatures and dusty rooms. Treated with fitoverm.
• Gray rot is a fluffy coating on petioles and leaves that appears when watered with cold water or frequent temperature changes. Fungicides will also help.
• Fusarium. Because of frequent watering the roots rot, the foliage becomes grey colour and falls off. Control agents: foundationol, benomyl.

Many people like indoor violets. They attract with their bright, long-lasting flowering, delicate beauty and unpretentiousness. Today assortment flower shops offers many types of violets, varying in size, leaf shape and petal color.

Description of the violet flower

Violet is perennial with a thin creeping rhizome. It grows and develops well in loose, nutritious soil and is unpretentious to light and moisture. It can be grown in room conditions, and in a garden or park (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Species diversity of violets

The variety of varieties allows you to choose the color, size and shape of the inflorescence. So, among the latter there are fringed and terry ones. The color of the petals can be either single or multi-colored, combining several shades or patterns. Ampelous species are distinguished by branched stems with a small number of inflorescences.

Growing seedlings

Growing seedlings from seeds is not particularly difficult. The only difficulty arises when sowing seeds due to their small size. Therefore, before sowing, it is recommended to subject the seeds to the pelleting procedure, in other words, each of them is enveloped in a layer of material that increases their size. To do this, you need to mix the moistened seeds with crushed charcoal by shaking in a closed container. In this way, you can not only increase the size of the seeds, but also separate them from each other for convenient sowing. Then it is recommended to mix the treated seed with an equal amount of sand and shake vigorously again.

Figure 2. Growing seedlings at home

The seeds prepared in this way are sown on the surface of the moistened soil, cover the container with a lid and place in a warm place, away from direct sunlight. For the emergence of seedlings, monitor temperature conditions(not lower than +20) and the humidity level of the earthen coma. Under favorable conditions, seedlings appear three weeks after sowing, and under more high temperature content (+25) - after 14 days (Figure 2).

Seedling care

The most critical period in caring for seedlings is the emergence of seedlings. Young sprouts are very capricious. They react equally poorly to both lack of moisture and water getting on the root collar and leaves. Therefore, the lid that previously covered the container with seedlings must be removed to avoid dripping from its surface. Instead, you can use any non-woven covering material, for example, spunbond.

Watering seedlings is best done by immersing cassettes with seedlings in a container bigger size filled with water. With this watering, the root system will receive required amount moisture, and the leaves will remain dry. For large-scale seedling cultivation, subsoil drip irrigation is used.

The next stage in care is picking into separate containers, which is carried out after the appearance of two true leaves. Work should be carried out very carefully so as not to damage the fragile root system violets. Therefore, before picking, you should moisten the soil in the container, and use a special wooden fork to remove the seedlings.

Transplanting violets

Transplanting violets is carried out as a mandatory measure aimed at renewing the soil, and if necessary. At the same time, you should know that when transplanting, the earthen ball should be moist, but not stick to your hands. Each time you replant a flower, take a pot larger than the previous one, and it is not recommended to reuse old containers with a visible coating of salt (Figure 3). The transplant can be carried out in one of three ways:

• With complete soil replacement
• With partial soil replacement
• Transshipment method.

The latter method is used if the roots of the plant are entwined in the soil too tightly, and it is not possible to shake off the substrate from the roots. In this case, the plant is simply removed from the old container and moved to a new one, adding a little fresh soil.

When to replant violets

Indoor violets are replanted in the following cases:

• Appearance white plaque on the surface of the substrate;
• Excessive compaction of the root system;
• Fertilizing does not help revive a wilting plant;
• Planting young shoots.

When the soil becomes acidic, as well as when an adult plant withers, which cannot be renewed by feeding, replanting is used with a complete replacement of the soil. This is necessary to inspect the root system in order to identify and remove its withered and rotten parts.

Note: In this case, all cut areas should be disinfected using crushed charcoal (activated) charcoal, and the plant itself should be transplanted into a new pot, filling the roots to the level of the lower leaves.

Transplantation with partial replacement of the substrate is carried out as planned for young Saintpaulias and mini-violets. In this case, the roots are not completely exposed; some part of the earthen coma remains on them. The transshipment method is used for transplanting flowering specimens, their children or plants with a very large rosette (the diameter of the rosette is three times larger diameter pot).

Figure 3. Flower transplantation step by step

The essence of this method is to remove the plant from the pot along with a lump of earth and transfer the flower to a larger pot along with this lump of earth. The gap between the walls of the flower pot and the earthen ball is also filled with soil. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the earth fills all the voids. This can be achieved by tapping on the walls of the pot to better settle the substrate.

Transfer rules

When replanting violets with complete or partial replacement of the soil, you must follow certain rules, the implementation of which guarantees good survival and health of the flower.

Violet transplantation includes the following important nuances:

• To make it easier to remove the plant from the flower pot, it is recommended to moisten the soil several hours before replanting. In this case, the soil moisture should be such that the earth ball does not stick to the hands and leaves of the plant.
• The extracted culture must be carefully examined in order to identify and remove damaged parts of the root system. Overgrown roots can be removed by 2/3, which will not harm the plant. Areas of rot are cleaned down to healthy tissue and treated with an antiseptic (crushed charcoal). If the root of the crop is dead, its rosette can be rooted in water for further planting in the ground.
• Fill the bottom of the flower pot drainage layer and a layer of prepared soil.
• Place the straightened roots on the soil surface, gradually adding substrate, lightly compacting it by shaking, until the soil reaches the level of the plant’s root collar.
• Slowly and little by little water the violet to settle the substrate and compact it. The settled soil is poured up to the border of the root system.
• For better survival, you can cover the plant from above so that air can pass through.

Soil for violets

Indoor violets prefer loose, nutritious soil. You can get it on the basis of ready-made soil with the addition of vermiculite (2/3 cup), perlite (1 cup), dolomite flour (1/2 tsp) and crushed charcoal(1/5 cup) per 2 liters of soil mixture.

You can also mix black soil ( leaf soil), peat and sand in a ratio of 5:3:1, additionally adding sphagnum moss and crushed charcoal.

Watering methods

Indoor violets require moderate watering, so it is necessary to adjust their frequency depending on the humidity level in the room. On average, they are watered 2 times a week. At the same time, you need to ensure that moisture does not get on the inflorescences and leaves, which can provoke the development of various diseases. Watering from a tray filled with sand or peat (expanded clay, river pebbles). They are loaded into the pallet flower pots having holes at the bottom for moisture penetration. The most convenient is wick watering, which allows you to leave plants unattended for 1-2 weeks. Regular watering is best done evenly along the walls (Figure 4).

Rules for watering violets:

1. The frequency of watering depends on the time of year, air quality and humidity in the room, as well as the material of the pot.
2. The upper part of the soil should not lose moisture.
3. When watering violets from a tray, drain the water after 10-15 minutes.
4. For irrigation, use settled, boiled, melted or filtered water.

Figure 4. Proper watering culture

Water temperature plays a key role. It should be about +18+22 degrees, since too cold a liquid can cause root rot.

Violets can be propagated in several ways:

• Rooting the leaf in water and soil;
• Vegetatively - by stepsons and peduncles;
• Seeds.

The simplest method is to root the leaf. Vegetative method allows the children to preserve the properties of the mother plant, and propagation by seeds is most often used by breeders to develop new varieties (Figure 5).

Rooting in an aquatic environment

Traditionally, violets are propagated by rooting a leaf in aquatic environment. This method makes it possible to observe and control the appearance of roots. Disadvantage this method is a long rooting time, since the cutting is forced to undergo double adaptation (to the aquatic environment and to the soil).

Figure 5. Methods for rooting leaf cuttings

The essence of this method is to place the cut sheet in a clean dark glass container filled with distilled or settled water to a depth of 1.5 - 2 cm. In this case, the lower edge of the cutting should not touch the bottom or walls of the container to avoid its curvature. The leaf is in an aqueous environment until its roots reach a length of 1-2 cm. In this case, the water is not changed, but added as it evaporates. A leaf with roots of the required length is planted in the prepared substrate. However, the leaves themselves should not be buried. The cuttings are carefully watered with lukewarm, settled water. The emerging babies can be planted in separate pots.

Rooting in the ground

The method of rooting a leaf in the ground is the fastest and most effective method reproduction. Its essence is that the cut cuttings are immediately planted in a prepared container to a depth of 1-1.5 cm for standard varieties and 0.5 cm for miniature ones. The planted leaf is placed under a homemade greenhouse (for example, from plastic bag) with holes made for ventilation.

In this case, the following conditions must be observed for successful rooting:

1. Using a light, breathable substrate;
2. Creation of greenhouse conditions until germination;
3. Maintaining a stable temperature environment(+22+25 degrees);
4. Daylight hours: 12 hours;
5. Uniform watering with warm, settled (boiled) water as needed.

Cuttings react painfully to sudden changes in living conditions, even to the point of developing diseases. Therefore, it is ideal for germination to keep the cuttings and develop the babies on a shelf with organized lighting.

You will find more information about growing violets at home in the video.