2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Ruellia (lat. Ruellia) - a flowering perennial plant, which is a prominent representative of the Acanthus family. This plant got its name in honor of the Frenchman Jean Ruelle, a famous medieval botanist and doctor.
Description
Ruellia is a plant whose height ranges from ten centimeters to half a meter. And this plant can be both a herbaceous plant and a semi-shrub or a shrub. And his stems are creeping, lodging or erect. The leaves of ruelia are most often shiny and whole-edged, but sometimes there are also “suede” pubescent leaves. As for their shape, it is either lanceolate or ovoid.
The five-petalled tubular ruella flowers can be either single or gathering in small, but rather pretty inflorescences. And in the throat of each flower, in most cases, you can see either a dark or light speck. The life expectancy of these flowers is very small - they live only one day, after which they fall off. And at the end of flowering on the plant, the formation of small leaf-like capsules of fruits occurs. After some time, these capsules open, at the same time scattering rapidly ripening seeds.
In total, this genus includes more than two hundred and fifty species.
Where grows
Tropical America is considered to be the birthplace of ruella.
Usage
For its ability to bloom throughout almost the entire year, ruelia is widely used as an ornamental plant. And it grows well in indoor conditions! As for planting in gardens, it is advisable to plant only the most resistant varieties of ruelia there. Especially well this beauty fits into gardens in a natural style! And if you grow it as a ground cover plant (especially in winter gardens), then it will delight you with its ability to self-renew (when grown in pots, it will need annual renewal)! Ruelle has also proven itself well as an ampelous plant in the design of various interiors.
Growing and caring
The ruelia should be placed in sufficiently bright places (ideally on the east, west or north windows), while providing it with decent shading from direct sunlight. In the summer, this beauty needs to be watered and sprayed abundantly, and for the winter it is moved to warm rooms, the thermometer in which does not fall below fifteen degrees, and also provide it with moderate moisture.
With the onset of spring, the ruella is transplanted, doing it by the transshipment method. In this case, the most suitable for planting will be a soil mixture prepared from peat, leafy soil, humus, sand and sod land taken in equal parts. And one more important nuance - the soil must be well-drained!
In order for the ruella to bush better, it is recommended to pinch it from time to time. And this green beauty must be regularly pampered with high-quality fertilizers!
Roella is usually propagated in summer, and both green cuttings and seeds are equally well suited for these purposes. If you plan to propagate this plant by seeds, then the seed is recommended to be subjected to cold stratification (for four to six weeks) - this approach will allow you to get much more friendly seedlings. As for the rooting of cuttings, it happens without much effort.
Ruelia is very resistant to various ailments and all kinds of pests, and this is another undoubted advantage of it!
