Saintpaulia

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 15:51

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Latin name: Saintpaulia Family: Gesneriaceae Category: Houseplants

Saintpaulia (Latin Saintpaulia) - indoor flower culture; flowering herb of the Gesneriaceae family. Saintpaulia is often called the uzambara violet. Under natural conditions, it is widely distributed in the mountainous regions of East Africa.

Characteristics of culture

Saintpaulia is a low-growing evergreen perennial plant with shortened stems and a root rosette of leaves. The leaves are pubescent, green, rounded, sometimes with a pointed tip, have a slightly unequal heart-shaped base. The flowers are five-lobed, medium-sized, up to 2-3 cm in diameter, collected in racemose inflorescences, can be white, pink, red, purple or purple.

Depending on the varietal accessory, there are simple, terry, semi-double, fringed, with wavy and corrugated edges; one-color or multi-color, as well as with patterns. The fruit is a capsule, the seeds are small with a straight embryo. With proper and regular care, the flowering of Saintpaulia takes place with short interruptions throughout the year.

Growing conditions

Saintpaulias prefer well-lit places, but away from direct sunlight and drafts. It is not advisable for the leaves to come into contact with the window glass. The optimum temperature for growing a culture is 18-24C, at temperatures below 10C the plant stops developing and blooming. Saintpaulias are freedom-loving, only one outlet should be grown in one pot, with the exception of ampelous varieties.

Reproduction and planting

Most often, Saintpaulias are propagated by leafy cuttings. The most favorable time for propagation by cuttings is considered to be spring and summer. For reproduction, cuttings of medium size should be taken from plants that are not damaged by various diseases and pests. In older saintpaulias, the leaves are taken from the second lower row, in petroleum varieties - the strongest leaves of a rich green color. In the event that a leaf stalk is damaged or wilted during transportation, it is immersed in boiled water at room temperature, mixed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and kept for 2-3 hours. After processing, the leaf is dried, and an oblique cut is made on the petiole.

Rooting of cuttings can be done in two ways. In the first case, the cutting is placed in a glass of water and kept until the roots appear. To prevent the development of pathogenic bacteria in the water, add half an activated carbon tablet to the container. The rooted cutting is planted in a small pot filled with a soil substrate consisting of soil, peat and river sand in a ratio of 3: 5: 1. After about 4-5 weeks, the cuttings will have babies.

The second method of rooting cuttings is as follows: it is immediately planted in the soil, watered and covered with a plastic bag with holes. The children who appeared a few weeks later are seated in different pots. Quite often, Saintpaulias are propagated by daughter rosettes, which are formed on older plants when the tops are cut.

For planting Saintpaulias, it is recommended to use low pots or containers, because plants have a superficial root system and they simply do not need deep containers. For example, for young plants, it is necessary to use peas with a diameter of 6-7 cm, as they grow, they are transplanted into larger containers.

Care

For abundant flowering, the culture needs good lighting for 14-15 hours a day. In the evening, you can use artificial lights, this applies to late autumn and winter, when the daylight hours are short. Lateral shoots, wilted flowers and damaged leaves should also be regularly removed.

Watering the Saintpaulias should be moderate. For watering it is necessary to use only warm water that has settled for 12 hours. It is recommended to pour in water very carefully, trying not to get on the leaves, the liquid should not settle on them. In winter, the amount of watering is reduced.

In spring and summer, plants are fed with complex mineral fertilizers, which are applied at the rate of 1 g per 1 liter of water. During budding and flowering, saintpaulias need a lot of trace elements and phosphorus. When all the rules of care are followed, the plant will delight its owners with bright and long flowering.

Quite often, Saintpaulias are attacked by pests such as cyclamen mites, mealybugs and whiteflies. To combat them, it is recommended to use systemic insecticides, for example, Aktara or Fitoverm.