Saintpaulia is a very common houseplant and is known as the Usambara violet. More than 32 thousand varieties of this plant exist today. But as soon as you buy a violet, the question will immediately arise: “How to properly care for it?”

Choosing the best place for Saintpaulia

The first problem that arose immediately after the appearance of violets in the house was the choice of its habitat. Violet grows well in a bright place without direct sunlight or drafts.

If possible, it is better to place it on east side. In this case, the morning sun is not so aggressive and will contribute to better flowering of the plant.

If there is no choice, and the window sill is constantly illuminated by the sun's rays, then to prevent burns on the violet leaves, it is necessary darken the window using blinds or blackout curtains.

Nevertheless, insufficient lighting leads to poor flowering of the plant. This can be corrected by moving the violet to a brighter place or using artificial lighting. As lighting elements, you can use a fluorescent lamp or a phytolamp, which is turned on for 10-12 hours a day.

Violets, like people, feel more comfortable at an average air temperature of 18 - 24 0 C. To make the flower symmetrical, the pot must be turned to the sun with different sides from time to time.

How to choose a pot for violets

When choosing a pot for violets, you need to pay attention to its size and material of manufacture. By size, pots for violets are divided into small (diameter and height 5 cm), medium (7 × 7) and large (9 × 9). It is not recommended to plant Saintpaulias in very large pots., because: firstly, it doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing, and secondly, we want to get flowers, not a bush with leaves.

Important! In large pots, violets do not bloom for up to two years.

Violet roots are always close to the surface. This promotes good ventilation and easy absorption nutrients root system.

If you have reached a 9x9 pot, then the replanting process must be carried out in the same pot. Shake off a third of the soil from below, plant it in a pot, and add more soil on top. Space has been freed up for the germination of new roots, since the roots of the violet grow at the top, and the lower ones gradually die off.

Pots can be plastic or ceramic. Plastic– light, cheap, flexible, durable, but poorly breathable. To eliminate this drawback, they are manufactured with a special plastic tray.

It has a ribbed surface that allows you to keep the bottom of the pot in a raised position. This promotes air flow to the roots of the plant.

Clay pots come with or without glaze. Glazed the options have the same drawback as the plastic ones, although they are more beautiful, but their cost will be corresponding.

Unglazed pots are less aesthetically pleasing, heavy and short-lived, but violets feel great in them. The aesthetic drawback can be eliminated by purchasing a flowerpot or a beautiful pot of a slightly larger size. We install the plant pot to pot.

Soil requirements for growing violets at home

Soil for violets, as a rule, can be purchased at a flower shop, but some gardeners prefer to prepare it themselves, as they consider store-bought too easy. First, drainage is installed on the third part of the pot (charcoal, expanded clay, small pieces of brick).

The soil should be light, nutritious and breathable. The components of the nutrient group of soil include: leaf humus, turf soil, compost, rotted manure, vermicompost, and for soil lightness and breathability, fillers such as peat, pine humus, light garden soil, peat briquettes, sphagnum moss are used.

Also, soil loosening agents are often used: sand, perlite, vermiculite.

Did you know? Violet helped discover a large zinc deposit in Europe. The largest violet flowers grow on lands rich in zinc.

Features of watering and spraying

Watering Saintpaulia occupies a special place in the care and cultivation of the plant. It does not like excessive watering and dry soil. Therefore, water after a few days and keep the soil moist.

You need to water with settled or boiled water. room temperature. For watering, use a watering can with a thin long spout, since the violet does not like water to fall on the leaves or the growing point in the center of the bush.

There must be a hole at the bottom of the pot through which the rest of the water comes out. Half an hour after watering, excess water must be drained. If water gets on the leaves, blot it with a napkin.

You can water the violet through a tray. Pour water into the container and wait half an hour. The violet will take the required amount of moisture. Drain off excess water.

The leaves of the plant are not so much afraid of water as they are of the development of bacterial and fungal rot, and water only promotes this process. That's why, You can’t spray the leaves of the plant, but you can humidify the air, for example, by spraying the air around the plant or using a damp towel on a hot radiator.

Violets prefer moist air with a relative humidity of 50-60%.

When and how to feed violets

For normal growth and flowering, proper care of violets and a sufficient amount of micro- and macroelements are necessary. The main macronutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. All of them must be in the required quantity, because their excess or shortage leads to decreased flowering, yellowing and death of leaves.

Microelements also play an important role in plant growth. These include iron, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, zinc, copper, boron. Their role in the life of the plant is to ensure the synthesis of enzymes, which make it possible to effectively use the energy of the sun, water and nutrients contained in the soil.

Vitamins and amino acids stimulate the absorption of micro- and macroelements by plant roots.

Violets must be fertilized once every 10-14 days with violet fertilizer or universal fertilizer using the root feeding method. Read the instructions for the fertilizer and prepare a solution for watering. We apply fertilizer in the same way as regular watering, following all the instructions.

Important! Different fertilizers have different concentrations. Therefore, be sure to read the instructions and strictly follow the dosage. Violets do not tolerate excess fertilizer very well.

It is better to have several types of fertilizers and change them from time to time. For example, for more intensive growth, a universal fertilizer for ornamental flowering plants, with a high nitrogen content, is better suited, and for violet flowers and their care, a special fertilizer for Saintpaulias, with a high content of phosphorus and potassium.

It should be remembered that violets should not be fertilized in the following cases:

within a month after transplantation;
when the plant is severely weakened by pests or diseases;
with a strong increase or decrease in air temperature.

How to prune a bush correctly

The question often arises: “How to care for violets at home?” in order to get a beautiful, symmetrical plant. First of all, you need to remember that the violet rosette should look proportional, attractive and consist of approximately three rows of leaves.

The center of violet growth and development should not be clogged with foliage. This occurs as a result of a lack of useful elements for the development of new leaves, and they become small.

If this happens to you, then simply remove the lower leaves, which already look a little yellow and not quite alive. Separating them from the stem is not difficult, just press with your fingernail at the base, and then, with twisting movements, completely remove the unnecessary leaf.

If, as a result of such actions, the trunk of the violet is exposed, then it can then be deepened or sprinkled with earth. In order for the bush to be symmetrical, you need to periodically turn it towards the light in different directions.

Saintpaulia propagation rules

The simplest and most common method of propagating violets is leaf propagation in water or soil. In this method, the correct choice of sheet plays an important role. It must be taken from an adult violet under the peduncle.

The leaves from the center of the violet are not suitable for propagation, since they have not yet acquired enough strength and nutrients. The leaf should be without damage or defects, bright green. The outer leaves have few nutrients, so it is better not to take them.

Carefully break off the selected leaf, leave the length of the cutting about four centimeters and cut off the excess part with an oblique cut. Dry the cuttings for 15 minutes.

Propagation of Saintpaulia by leaf in a container of water we do it in the following order:

For each sheet, prepare a dark glass bowl with a narrow neck.
Fill the dishes with distilled or ordinary water with the addition of activated carbon. This will prevent the rotting process.
Place the cutting 1 cm into the water. Make sure that they are not exposed to direct sunlight.
Water can be added, but not changed.

If rotting of the cutting suddenly occurs, then shorten it to the healthy part and sprinkle activated carbon. Change the water in the dishes. Monitor the process of root formation. It can last up to a month. With a root length of 1-2 cm, a leaf can be planted in a plastic cup.

Reproduction of Saintpaulia by leaf in the ground is done as follows:

Prepare plastic cups. Make a hole in the bottom.
Place drainage in the lower third of the cup. Use foam or expanded clay as drainage. Fill the rest of the space with violet soil.
Make a hole in the center, add a little perlite mixed with soil and plant the cutting to a depth of 1.5 cm.
Make sure the soil is constantly moist and does not dry out.

Other methods of reproduction are very labor-intensive and have a small percentage of positive results.

For example, chimera violets They reproduce by stimulating the formation of stepsons, and when propagated by leaves, their color is lost. Stepchildren on the plant often appear due to the high nitrogen content in the soil. They are raised to baby size and carefully cut off from the mother's socket.

Rooting of the growth of the stepson can be done in a greenhouse by placing it in sphagnum moss. The whole process takes about two months. As a result, you get a fairly large varietal plant. Stimulation of stepsons in chimera violets can be carried out by cutting off the top.

Only breeders are involved in propagating violets using peduncles or seeds.

Did you know?The ancient Romans called the violet the flower of Jupiter.

The sequence of transplanting violets

Annual replanting of violets stimulates the plant to bloom and makes it possible to lower the lower part of the stem. The best care for violets in the spring is to replant them. It can be done at any time, but not during the flowering period. Blooming violets are replanted in emergency cases, and then only to save the plant.

Replanting can be carried out in one of the following ways: with a complete replacement of the soil, partial replacement of the soil, or the transshipment method.

Replanting with complete soil replacement used mainly for adult violets. The advantage of this method is the almost complete replacement of the soil, as well as inspection and cleaning of the plant’s root system. After removing the plant from the pot, shake off the soil and remove the lower leaves, flower stalks, and old roots.

We put drainage at the bottom of the pot, then some soil. We place the plant in the center and fill it with soil from all sides to the lower leaves. Watering is carried out on the second day. If the soil subsides, add more. Make sure that the stem of the violet is in the ground.

Replanting with partial soil replacement carried out mainly for young violets. For this method you need to have a large pot. Replanting is carried out similarly to the previous method, only the soil is shaken off only that which crumbles itself.

Transplantation by transshipment method is the most gentle for the plant. To do this, take a slightly larger pot. Cover the drainage with a small layer of soil, and place an old pot in the center.

Fill the space between the pots with soil and compact it by shaking. Remove the old pot and place the violet with a lump of earth into the resulting funnel. The soil surfaces must be equal.

By caring for these beautiful plants, you will receive a lot of pleasure and gratitude in the form of a magnificent bouquet on your windowsill.

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An indoor violet with fragile delicate flowers of various shades leaves few people indifferent. If one flower appears, then most likely their number in the apartment will grow, given all the diversity of Saintpaulia in nature. A common question from beginning gardeners is: “How to propagate indoor violets without spending money on buying a full-fledged flower in a pot?” You will find the answer in this article.

Under what conditions do violets reproduce?

If it is possible to create certain conditions, then you can breed Saintpaulia at any time. Violet is a rather capricious houseplant that will not tolerate neglect.

Time

The best time to get new plants is spring and summer. At this time, the sunny day is quite long.

The flower itself, which has been dormant all winter, gradually begins to come to life and grow actively.

Daylight hours for rapid reproduction should be more than 12 hours. In winter, it is necessary to supplement the lighting with fluorescent lamps or special phytolamps.

Humidity

Violets do not like dry air, especially during the breeding season. To maintain a suitable level, a pot with a rooting leaf, peduncle or seeds of a given indoor plant must be created as a “greenhouse”. The optimal humidity for violet propagation is 50-60%.

Temperature

Violets do not tolerate temperature changes well. Adult plants themselves can tolerate cold of 10℃ and heat of 35℃, but they develop well at 22-24℃. The optimal temperature for growing violets is 24-27℃. Moreover, this temperature should be constant: violet does not like temperature fluctuations.

Soil

The soil for the most favorable growth and reproduction of violets must have a certain composition. It should be slightly acidic, breathable, and loose.

Therefore, soil taken from the garden will not work: it may be too dense.

For beginning flower growers, there is an option to choose a special soil in the store. There is a large selection there, the main thing is to ask a competent seller to choose the right one.

But experienced flower growers say that purchased soil may differ greatly from what is written on the package itself.

To ensure quality, they make the soil mixture themselves. The composition of such a mixture includes the following components:

washed sand – 1 part;
slightly acidic peat – 3 parts;
leaf humus – 1 part;
green moss – 2 parts;
sphagnum (peat moss) – 1 part;
charcoal (or perlite, vermiculite) – ½ part;
turf soil from the garden - 1 part.

Perlite or coal is added to maintain an optimal level of humidity, bactericidal properties, and a soil loosening agent to prevent the soil from drying out too much or being too wet.

A moisture regulator is sphagnum, which cannot be overdone: it can cause putrefactive processes. It is better to take the land in a mixed forest where they grow coniferous trees, alder, linden, but garden soil will also do.

Pot

For the leaf, peduncle and seed taken for propagation, any small container 4 cm in diameter and with holes at the bottom for good soil drainage is suitable.

The grown plant needs to be transplanted into a larger pot when the violet is twice the size of the previous pot.

If its size is no more than 6 cm, the violet is simply rolled over, adding a little earth around the edges and below. A little expanded clay is needed at the bottom to prevent water from stagnating.

Reproduction methods

Violets are easily propagated using leaves in soil and water. Rare specimens can be propagated using a leaf fragment. In this way, you can not only expand your collection, but also save a plant that cannot be helped.

There are methods of propagation using seeds, peduncles and stepsons. Let's consider each of the reproduction methods separately.

Leaf propagation

This method of rooting in water or directly in the ground is most often chosen by gardeners. This method is explained by its simplicity and relative ease. The main thing is to be careful and patient. Main stages of breeding:

selection of planting material (leaf);
rooting the leaf in special soil or water;
separation of children;
transshipment of young rosettes.

If everything is done correctly, then the indoor violet will definitely delight you with new healthy offspring.

How to choose a suitable leaf for propagation

The final result depends on the correct choice of planting material.

For propagation, it is better to use a leaf not from the bottom row, but from the middle one, example in the photo on the right.

It should not be lethargic, unnatural in color, or have spots. It will be difficult to get a good baby from such a sheet. It is better to choose a brightly colored leaf that matches the variety, is elastic and strong. Don't take old leaves.

Important! If the cut violet leaf has become limp, you can put it in boiled water, slightly tinted with potassium permanganate, for several hours. Then you need to cut the leaf 3-4 cm from the base and use it for further propagation.

How to cut a leaf correctly

You need to cut a suitable sheet sharp knife, scalpel, blade. Treat the cutting part itself with an antiseptic. The cutting angle should be approximately 45⁰. The length of the stem on the leaf remaining after cutting should exceed 3 cm.

You need to rinse and dry completely on a towel or clean napkin for about 20 minutes. This will stop the release of juice and avoid further rotting of the leaf. You can skip the drying step when rooting in water. Apply powdered charcoal to the cut area. You can watch the video below for more details.

How to root a leaf in water

Step-by-step instructions for rooting indoor violets:

Take a suitable container: a dark glass jar (for example, an empty medicine bottle) is best.
Pour water at room temperature, boiled or distilled into it. Dissolve an activated carbon tablet in it.
Dip the violet leaf into water so that the submerged part is no more than a centimeter. To do this, it is convenient to fix it using a paper sheet with a slot.
Carefully monitor the water level so that the cut does not dry out due to insufficient water. Maintain optimal temperature, avoid drafts and direct sunlight.
After about 2 weeks, the first roots will appear. The plant needs to be transplanted into the ground when their length reaches one centimeter.

Important! If the leaf begins to rot, you need to cut off the affected part, rinse the container and change the water.

Rooting directly into the soil

Another method of rooting violet leaf, which is popular. The procedure here is as follows:

Take a suitable pot no larger than 100 ml in volume (flower growers often use a plastic cup with holes);
Fill one third with expanded clay or crushed foam for drainage. Fill in pre-purchased or self-prepared soil. Make a hole.
Dip the cut leaf into Fitosporin solution to protect the plant from fungal diseases. Pour the same solution into the well for additional disinfection.
Deepen the stalk of the indoor violet by one and a half centimeters, do not compact it too much.
Place in a bright and warm place, away from drafts. Do not place in bright sun. To maintain humidity, cover the pot with a plastic bag or a larger jar. Water as soon as the top layer of soil dries out.

It is not necessary to make a greenhouse from a bag or container, especially when it comes to unpretentious varieties of violets. But it is better not to experiment with rare plant species and follow all recommendations.

How to plant baby violets

The first leaves appear after one and a half to three months. You need to start planting violet babies after 4-5 leaves appear. The height of the plant (if it is not a mini-violet) should be about 5 cm.

Need to take the potty suitable size(about 7-8 cm), fill the drainage (expanded clay or polystyrene foam), fill it with special soil for violets by about two-thirds. Soil acidity should not exceed pH 6.5 (slightly acidic soil).

Place the grown rosette in the center of the pot, sprinkle with a new portion of soil. It is important not to cover the growing point, otherwise the plant may die. Afterwards, water the soil well and provide the transplanted children with quality lighting and comfortable temperature. You can watch the video below for more details.

Reproduction by leaf fragment

Propagation in this way is appropriate when there is a limited number of planting materials, when the violet variety is quite rare, and when an individual leaf has begun to deteriorate and rot. The leaf stalk is cut off completely. The leaf itself is divided in such a way that at least one vein remains on it. More often, gardeners root the upper third of the leaf.

The cut is allowed to dry and then treated with crushed coal. You need to plant a fragment of a violet leaf so that the cut is in close contact with the soil. It is even better to plant in this way in sphagnum, which has bactericidal and moisture-retaining properties.

Interesting fact! When propagating violets using a fragment of a leaf, there will be more children than with any other method.

How violets reproduce by peduncles and stepsons

This method should be used when you want to preserve as much as possible all the characteristics of a given violet variety. For example, chimera violets have beautiful petal colors. These methods will help keep the color of the petals as bright as those of the parent plant.

Reproduction by stepsons occurs as follows: the lateral stepsons (rosettes), formed in the axils around the main rosette of the plant, are separated. The rooting process occurs in the same way as leaves. Then, after rooting and new leaves appear, they are transplanted into a suitable pot. In chimera violets, the color potential does not appear in the first flowering, so you should not be upset if the first flowers do not live up to expectations.

Reproduction by peduncles is also used for chimera violets. Blooming or faded will do. Unopened buds are not suitable for this method. Disinfected scissors or sharp blade The peduncle is cut off along with the stipules and planted in sphagnum, creating a greenhouse above the peduncle. You need to wait for rooting (a new outlet appears) and transplant it into a pot.

Propagation by seeds

First you need to select a pair of parent violets with suitable characteristics. Plants should be healthy and bloom lushly. Pollen is carefully collected from the flowers of one plant, and the pistils of another flower are pollinated with it. After 4 months, the seed boxes will be fully ripe and dry. In this form, we collect them and send them for storage for a couple of days.

Plant violet seeds as follows. We moisten the soil with a high perlite content. Mix the seeds with sand and plant. There is no need to cover with a layer of soil. Cover the container with the planted seeds with glass and place it in a warm place under special lamps.

You need to water with a spray bottle, watch carefully and not allow it to dry out. When the rosettes reach 0.5 cm in diameter, they need to be planted in separate containers with special soil and grown as seedlings. From time to time, violets need to be replanted into larger pots.

Proper planting of violets step by step

In order not to damage the plant or worsen its condition, the plant must be replanted correctly. We will analyze all the nuances in detail and tell you step by step how to plant a violet correctly:

The frequency of replanting violets ranges from six months to 9 months.
For a sufficiently strong plant (no longer a baby, but not an adult plant either), a pot with a diameter of 8-9 cm is needed, maximum size for an adult violet – 11cm. Miniature violet develops well in a 5 cm pot. The ratio of the diameter of the new pot to the diameter of the plant itself should be 3:1. The size of the holes at the bottom should be about 3 mm. You need several of them. If the pot is reused, it must be disinfected; do not use it from sick plants!
Fill a quarter of the height of the pot with drainage, then sand (to cover with a thin layer drainage layer), then the prepared soil mixture for violets.
When replacing it with a larger pot, the violet is simply transferred, adding new soil around the edges. If the same pot is used, the exhausted soil should be slightly shaken off the roots. Remove damaged roots and sprinkle the cuts with crushed coal. Place the flower in the pot and, holding it by the root collar, carefully add soil in parts, carefully distributing it between the roots. Lightly compact the top.
Water the transplanted violet well. During the first 2 weeks the plant will adapt. During this period, you need to monitor it more carefully: keep the temperature slightly above 24℃, if necessary, create a greenhouse around the flower.

Possible errors during reproduction

List of main mistakes made by flower growers:

incorrect soil: too dense, with incorrect acidity;
low humidity and temperature, direct sunlight;
weak or too much watering;
strong deepening of the root collar;
lack of disinfection during rooting.

Such errors arise due to ignorance of the rules for caring for violets and their features. They lead to slower rooting, rotting of planting material, inhibition of flowering and the formation of new leaves.

Caring for shoots

Caring for rooted violet shoots is similar to standard care for adult plants.

After rooting, the temperature is reduced from 27℃ to 22-24℃, which is comfortable for violets. Humidity is needed within 50⁰.
The difference between watering shoots and adult violets is that watering is more frequent.
You can add more perlite to the soil for the shoots to prevent the young tender roots from rotting.

Useful video

Find out more in the video below:

Let's sum it up

Breeding violets is quite an exciting activity. In addition, self-propagation will help you save money without buying ready plant overpriced in pots at the flower shop.

Knowing the rules and methods of propagating violets, you can easily cope with the task of increasing the number of indoor violets and replenishing the collection of this plant with new varieties.

For a long time, beautiful flowers with velvety leaves - violets - began to be grown as a garden and then indoor crop. How to care for a beautiful representative of exotic flora to bloom has been of interest to flower growers since that time. Because the violet, scientifically known as Saintpaulia, is a plant with a capricious character.

The absence of violet flowers is usually associated with a violation of the rules for caring for the crop:

deficiency or excess of nutrients;
large pot sizes;
unsuitable soil;
non-compliance with watering rules;
wrong temperature regime;
lack of lighting.

Important! Flowering can also depend on the variety: there are varieties that can bloom all year round, and those that need a long rest after a short flowering.

Requirements for growing a flower

A low perennial with racemose inflorescences of beautiful small flowers, it is a rather demanding plant.

How to choose a pot?

Choosing the right pot is an important component successful cultivation violets, the roots of which do not develop deep, but are located on the surface. The main parameters that you should pay attention to when selecting a pot include:

Dimensions

Three stand out standard sizes pots depending on the size and age of Saintpaulia:

A 9x9 cm pot is the largest possible and is suitable for an adult, overgrown plant.
7x7 cm pots are used for cultivating medium-sized specimens.
Saintpaulia babies or compact varieties are grown in 5x5 cm containers.

When growing a flower in a pot with a diameter of 9 cm, replanting is carried out in a container of similar sizes, since the use of containers with a larger diameter negatively affects the condition of the crop. This is expressed as follows:

absence of flowers for 24 months;
growth of green mass to the detriment of the formation of flowers, which are small and in small quantities;
the development of fungal diseases and pests in the excess part of the soil that is not covered by the roots of the crop.

Material

Pots used for Saintpaulia are made of plastic and ceramic, which have their own characteristics:

If the gardener has chosen lightweight, practical plastic, he will need to make additional holes on the sides of the pot for air access so that the root system is freely ventilated and the soil does not turn sour.
When purchasing a ceramic container, which is fragile and heavy, you should only pay attention to containers that are not glazed and that are capable of allowing air to pass through.

Correct soil

Currently, specialized flower shops offer a wide selection of substrates intended for growing violets. But due to its light structure, when watering, water does not saturate the soil mixture, but flows between it and the walls of the pot. To avoid such difficulties, you can prepare a loose substrate that allows the roots to breathe, using your own garden soil and sand in a ratio of 2:1. Before filling the pot, it is worth calcining it to destroy harmful organisms and placing it in a container on top of a drainage layer of expanded clay.

How to properly care for violets?

Violet when observed necessary conditions contents is an excellent home decoration.

Lighting

To place the pot, choose a well-lit place without access to direct sunlight, which can leave burns on the leaves of the flower. Window sills on the north, north-west and north-east sides of the house are well suited for this. If this is not possible, you will have to create artificial shading by placing the violet on the sunny sides. In order for a violet to bloom profusely over a long period, it needs to receive light for 10-12 hours, which can be achieved in the autumn-winter period using artificial lighting with fluorescent lamps.

Advice! Constant monitoring of Saintpaulia will allow you to determine the sufficiency of lighting: when there is an excess of light, the foliage of the crop droops down, and when there is a deficiency, it stretches upward.

Temperature

The optimal temperature for flowering varies between 20-22°C. If you keep a violet in such conditions, a wide and bright edging is clearly visible, and the greenery becomes more saturated. While flowering in summer, at hot temperatures from 28°C, is not as intense, has small flowers, pale greenery and the absence of a border. Being in such conditions is detrimental to violets. To reduce the depressing factor, you can use air conditioning, a fan or ventilation.

In winter, the crop must not be overcooled, which can cause root rot, in which only re-rooting can save the plant. It is also worth protecting the violet from cold air currents, due to which the crop loses its decorative effect: beige spots appear on the leaf blades.

Watering

For moistening, which is carried out after the soil has dried, warm water that has been standing for 3 days is used. Violet does not like excessive watering, but a complete lack of moisture also negatively affects the condition of the plant.

Humidification can be done in several ways:

Water is poured into a tray, where a flower pot is placed for half an hour.
At temperatures above 22°C, the flower is carefully watered from above so that drops do not fall into the rosette.

Carefully! The violet cannot be sprayed, but it is necessary to maintain a high level of air humidity by placing a container of water next to the flower.

Feeding violets

Additional nutrition is provided during the period of intensive development:

For young plants, fertilizing is carried out using nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
Adult specimens need potassium and phosphorus, which promote intensive budding and flowering.

Important! Excess nitrogen-containing fertilizers in the substrate can cause a lack of flowers.

Proper care of violets in winter

During the winter period, the main care procedures remain:

Providing additional lighting and temperature conditions not lower than 20°C without hypothermia during ventilation.
Watering three times a week with warm water.
Maintaining high humidity in the room where the flower is located.

Care after flowering

If Saintpaulia pleased the gardener with abundant and long flowering, it is worth taking care of restoring its vitality by tearing off the lower rows of leaf blades and replanting it in a new substrate. If this is not possible, you can limit yourself to applying fertilizers.

Important! During flowering, we must not forget about the timely removal of faded inflorescences.

How to propagate violets?

Saintpaulia can reproduce generatively and vegetatively. Since it is impossible to preserve varietal characteristics using the seed method, the simplest and most productive method is cuttings.

Reproduction by leaves is carried out throughout the year, while:

A well-developed leaf blade is separated along with the petiole and placed in a container with water.
After the roots have formed, the cuttings are planted in a pot with soil mixture.

Or:

The leaf is placed immediately into a special substrate, after which the container with the cutting is covered with glass and moved warm room with good lighting, where there is no access to direct sunlight.
The substrate is systematically moistened using a spray bottle.

Root formation can take a long time, so do not rush to get rid of the cuttings for this reason.

How to seat the children?

Adult plants, growing, form children, which often hinder the development of the mother's rosette. In such situations, it is necessary to carry out the procedure of separating the daughter bushes, which is best done in the summer, so that the mother plant has enough time to recover before the arrival of winter.

To do this:

The baby is carefully dug out with a sharp object so as not to damage the mother's socket.
When there are many leaves and a small number of roots, some of the leaves on the separated rosette are cut off.
Baby fits in flower pot with a substrate similar in composition to the soil mixture in the container with the mother specimen.
The new plant is moderately moistened and moved to a warm place with plenty of diffused light.

Plant diseases and pests

Despite the resistance of violets to diseases, manifestations of the fungal disease late blight in the form of brownish spotting are often observed on the tropical representative. There is practically no point in fighting it, so it is necessary to stop the possibility of spreading to healthy specimens by destroying the affected plant and substrate. Of the pests, the most dangerous are nematodes: damaging root system, they make it impossible for the flower to continue to feed, after which the latter dies. To prevent the possibility of infection of violets, the substrate for pots should be purchased in stores or thoroughly calcined in the oven.

So, the violet flower, being a representative of the tropical flora, has a rather capricious disposition. However, if you follow the care rules, the gardener will receive a lot of positive emotions from abundantly flowering plant, decorating your home with its beauty almost all year round.

How to care for unpretentious violets so that they bloom in any conditions favorable conditions, let's look for the answer to asked question. Probably every housewife has a violet growing on her window; with proper care, it is almost all year round pleases with a modest but so touching bouquet of flowers. An unpretentious flower that can be grown everywhere, even at the North Pole. The main thing is that there is enough warmth and light, no matter whether it is artificial or real, sunny. Since a person lives there, then the plant next to him will survive.

Description of the flower

Violet is a perennial plant, its growth is very modest, the root is creeping, and it grows well. A bush with heart-shaped leaves is located on an erect petiole. Garden violet blooms with single flowers from May to August, forming a fruit capsule with seeds at the end of the growing season. Looks good in flower beds and lawns.
It is found in forests, where it grows under deciduous trees.

Saintpaulia or domestic violet has more than one and a half thousand species, and the process of selection of new species does not stop. The most interesting thing about this flower is that it can bloom for 10 months of the year, with short rest breaks.

Another problem is that violet does not like drafts. The soil in the pot should be light, loose and not interfere with the access of oxygen to the roots. Maintain moderate watering at least 3 times a week. The flower cannot be sprayed.

If you want to create ideal conditions for a flower, buy an air humidifier. Although, violet blooms well in room conditions, without air humidification, even when located next to heating radiators.

House violet forms a kind of rosette of flowers. It propagates by vegetative means; for such propagation, the leaf is cut off and placed in a vessel with water. Plant directly into the soil, creating a mini greenhouse from plastic bag, or covering the sheet with a glass jar.

Why do you think homemade violets are propagated only in this way? When propagated by seeds, varietal characteristics are often lost; the seeds of homemade violets often grow into something completely different from what you expect.

Origin

In Tanzania, which is located in East Africa, in the old days, there was a colony called German Africa. Baron Adalbert von Saint-Paul ruled there. During his reign, while walking with his beloved around the neighborhood, on one of the stones, he saw blue flowers, with bright yellow stamens framed by dark green leaves. They grew in one of the rock crevices. So the plant, after the name of the person who discovered it, got its name, Saintpaulia.

The governor had a father who was a passionate collector of rare plants. At that time he served as director of the Hanover Botanical Garden. In 1893, at a flower exhibition, Saintpaulia, from the Gesneriaceae family, was presented; Ulrich von Saint-Paul, the Baron's father, identified it there according to its description.

The presented copy became a sensation and was described in the press by many international journalists. There he was highly appreciated among collectors. It received the name Uzambara violet in honor of the area where it was found. There is such an array in Tanzania.

How and when violets bloom

To make a violet bloom for a long time, first of all it needs to create comfortable conditions for this.

No extra required! You should start with the container where you decided to transplant the plant. The pot should have this size, the rosette of violet leaves is 27 cm in diameter, which means the diameter of the pot is no more than 9-10 cm.

It seems to you that the dishes are too small for such a flower, alas, if you take a larger container, then say goodbye to the dream of violet blossoms. It will develop well, the mass of leaves will grow successfully and there will be children, but there will be no flowering, the flower will simply begin to fatten.

Place the specimen closer to the light, but in no case should it be exposed to direct sunlight, they will burn the dark green leaves of the flower and it may die.

He feels best in a little shade, standing nearby with tree window. As a last resort, darken the glass with a transparent cloth. There will be plenty of light, and the leaves will not be damaged.

The plant loves moist air, but will not survive spraying. It would be nice to have a humidifier, but if you constantly monitor the soil moisture, the violets will survive its absence.

It responds well to fertilizing with phosphorus fertilizers, which stimulate the formation of flower stalks. You can feed complex fertilizers for beautifully flowering plants, but reduce the concentration by 3 times.

Try lowering the temperature to +15°C at night - this also gives an impetus to the formation of buds. Didn't help? After 4-5 weeks, tear off the entire lower row of leaves, this will encourage the violet to bloom.

Well, wait a minute! And this method didn’t give anything? Try shaming the lazy person or threatening to throw it in the trash. Useless again? Last try, give it away or give it to someone you know; a change of environment and stress can have a beneficial effect on the flower. Classic color violets are blue, of varying intensity, the lower petals are much shorter.

Varieties of violets

At this time, the flower has many varieties, they differ in the size of the flowers:

small flowers have a diameter of 2 cm;

the middle ones are already larger, up to 4 cm in diameter;

large ones reach 6 cm.

They are distinguished by the structure of flowers and the shape of leaves. Not only do they have different shades inflorescences, but also the leaves have different shapes and colors. In violets, not only the number of petals changes, but also the shape:

there are simple petals with smooth edges;

there are semi-double, wavy flower petals;

double ones have fluffy leaves and lush flowers.

Bell violets have narrow, elongated buds, “Star”, we have the same length of flower petals. A plant with 2 fused petals is called “Wasp”. And how much different varieties has a spotted flower or petal color different colors on one copy.

After all, the shape of the leaves and their color are also a variety of varieties. This entire list represents only one species, domestic violet.

Uzambara violet - has a short stem with a compact rosette of leaves, heart-shaped, size no more than 8 cm. Perennial. The inflorescences are small. This species has varieties with varying degrees of terryness and shade.

Red Saintpaulia is a popular variety. The flowers are simple, purple, wine, burgundy, coral, crimson, ruby in color. The rosette of leaves is compact, dark green.

Violet Yang - characteristic of it light green color leaves with wavy edges. The flowers have an unusual flower color, which also differs in shape and size from other species.

White Saintpaulia - it has very double flowers, dark green leaves, like most varieties. This head of flowers, which has a boiling white hue, is associated with innocence and grace. Appearance This variety is nothing but delightful.

Blue violet - many inflorescences blooming at the same time, sky blue, amaze the audience. It seems as if a piece of the sky fell on a pale green rosette of wavy leaves. This whole composition is so airy that it seems that if you blow it, all this delight will instantly disappear.

For what reasons may a flower not bloom?

Lighting- the violet should be placed on the eastern or western windowsills. The plant does not tolerate direct rays and stops flowering; in nature, it grows under the shade of trees that shield it from the sun's rays. In the winter months, artificial lighting is required; the length of daylight for a flower is 12 hours.

Age- the flower does not cause any complaints only for the first 3 years. With age, the stem of the violet becomes bare, and the old leaves die off. New ones appear only at the top of the plant; the stem begins to bend under the weight of new leaves.

Difficulty in supplying nutrients. You can return flowering only by rejuvenating the violet. Cut off the rosette of leaves, put it in water, wait for the roots to appear and plant it in the ground. Now wait for wild flowering.

Drafts- Saintpaulias do not tolerate drafts, so they cannot be taken out onto the balcony, into the gazebo or into the garden. This is also one of the reasons for refusing flowering.

Nutritious soil- this flower is better kept on a depleted diet than on nutrient-rich soil. A well-fed plant begins to acquire powerful leaves, produce lateral rosettes, and stop gathering flower buds. The plant became fat and lazy. In nature they grow in poor soils.

Take it and create the soil for the violet yourself, so that in the future it will not disappoint you. The composition is not complicated, leaf soil 4/6, peat 1/6, sand 1/6.

Side sockets- a sign of violet aging, the formation of side rosettes. They definitely need to be removed. This procedure helps lush flowering Saintpaulia. When many lateral shoots grow, the flower stops blooming.

Fertilizer concentration- for violets, fertilizers need to be diluted 2-3 times weaker than for other flowering plants; with minimal overfeeding, the violet stops blooming. Let the plant starve a little, it will only benefit it.

Hybrids- many varieties and hybrids of Saintpaulia are short-lived. After working for a certain period, they stop blooming; unfortunately, nothing can be done.

Pests- soil pests can cause complete or partial failure of flowering. If violet for a long time did not replant, then a lot of undecomposed remains of the flower accumulated in the pot. As a result, pests have appeared in the soil, such as saprophytic nematodes, midge larvae, and fools.

Watering- You need to monitor the watering regime. Saintpaulia does not like the earthen clod to dry out, but the “swamp” also harms it, this affects the violet’s ability to bloom. Violation of the regime leads to the plant’s refusal to bloom.

Many other small troubles can provoke a flower to give up its lush head of flowers. Believe it or not, it is important for the violet that she is loved, cared for and praised, otherwise she refuses to please you.

Factors necessary for flowering

Order is paramount! To flower Saintpaulia, you need to follow a number of recommendations from agricultural technicians:

First prepare the soil for planting. It should be loose and not very nutritious;

the pot should be 3 times smaller than the diameter of the rosette of leaves, choose a shallow and wide one;

Watering should be carried out with settled melt water heated to room temperature. This should be done 2-3 times and in moderation.

The environment, its humidity and temperature must correspond to the conditions for the growth and flowering of Saintpaulia.

Attention! Violet cannot tolerate dry soil, but at the same time, an excess of moisture will lead to rotting of the roots.

You should especially carefully monitor air humidity in winter. During these months, heating radiators operate in the apartment; they significantly dry the air. In the winter months, watering is reduced and the plants need to be raised above the surface of the windowsill. In summer, on the contrary, the pots should be placed in a tray, otherwise they dry out quickly.

Lighting plays a major role. Violets love bright light, but cannot stand direct sunlight, which is fatal to them. Daylight hours should last at least 12 hours.

The location of pots of violets on the eastern and western window sills is considered the most comfortable. You can grow violets on north-facing windows, but you will need artificial lighting.

Violets do not require fertilizing; if you replant your beauties every year, then the nutrients will be enough for the entire period. You do replanting quite rarely; feeding will be required here if you want the violets to bloom profusely as often as possible.

Need air! Cleanliness must be observed in everything. Violets need to breathe; there is a lot of dust on the leaves. It must be removed somehow. Do not wipe with a damp cloth; washing under running water is contraindicated.

All that remains is to blow off or sweep away the dust from the leaves with a soft brush. By clearing them of dust, you will give the violet enough oxygen.

Features of cultivation

There are no special technologies for growing homemade violets. You should already know what lighting and substrate humidity you need. How to care for and encourage a flower has already been discussed.

Here are the best secrets for caring for Saintpaulias worth revealing:

To make violet flowers have a more saturated color, water them with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Carefully trim the lower leaves of a maturing flower. A delicate bouquet of Saintpaulia flowers will look more impressive among a compact rosette of emerald leaves.

The violet should be rejuvenated every 2 years or replaced with a young seedling. For this procedure, the stem of the plant is shortened, and the crown is placed in water; when it gives roots, it is planted in new soil. You can rejuvenate it in another way, by cutting off the bottom row of leaves, but this will give an insignificant effect, it will only rejuvenate the violet by a year.

The correct flower shape can be created by turning the flower pot towards the sun.

How and which leaves to remove so that the violet blooms

There is no consensus on whether it is worth removing violet leaves. Except in those cases when they turn yellow from old age, they are accidentally broken off. Experienced violet lovers advise cutting off the bottom row of leaves, leaving 2-3 rows in the rosette. Some people categorically insist not to injure the plant, without good reason:

nevertheless, you will have to remove the leaves from Saintpaulia, it is necessary to propagate the plant and renew it, this is one of the reasons;

in order to make a lazy flower bloom, you will need to completely remove the lower row of leaves;

To form a beautiful rosette, you will have to sacrifice a certain number of leaves.

The correct form of a socket consists of three rows leaves.

Transplanting violets

There are several ways to transplant a plant, the reasons for this differ significantly from each other. You should familiarize yourself with them all.

Transplantation with complete replacement of the substrate

This method is used when Saintpaulia wilts, the soil becomes sour, or when the previous soil has been used for a long time, more than 2 years. The plant must be removed from the container, carefully knead the roots, and shake off the old soil.

Trim old and rotten roots. At the same time, remove soft leaves and dry flower stalks. The first time after transplantation, the plant should be kept in a greenhouse for some time. The first watering should be done no earlier than 12 hours after transplantation.

Transshipment of Saintpaulia occurs when replacing the old pot that has become cramped with a larger container. With this method, the entire earthen ball of the plant is preserved, which means you do not expose the plant to stress.

Don’t forget to add a layer of expanded clay to the new pot, because violets require good drainage. Add the missing soil to the pot, gently patting the pot to help the soil settle better.

Violet needs a change of residence

Partial replacement soil when transplanting violets. This method is used for planned plant transplantation. The violet removed from the dish should be lightly shaken off the crumbling soil. Partial soil replacement also involves replacing the drainage base. Pour a small mound of earth onto the base, straighten the Saintpaulia roots and add fresh substrate.

Attention! When replanting, make sure that the growing point is level with the ground.

Plant propagation

Saintpaulia can be propagated in different ways, they are quite simple, apart from propagation by seeds, it is quite labor-intensive and does not always meet your expectations. Let's look at easier ways to get new copies of your favorite violets:

As the bush grows, new rosettes are formed. Divide the bush, damaging it as little as possible. You will get small bushes, it is important that each rosette has a root and it is advisable to maintain a proportional ratio between the above-ground and underground parts of the plant.

A leaf with a petiole length of 4 to 7 cm is cut from the plant. Part of the cutting should remain on the mother bush. The workpiece must be taken from the middle row. Lower leaves old ones, take root very poorly, cut the petiole at an angle of 45°C and place it in water.

Propagated by a leaf plate, placing it on a damp substrate, after cutting the workpiece lengthwise and crosswise 2-3 times. On such a sheet, from 4 to 8 rosettes are subsequently formed. The method is suitable for propagating most varieties.

This method will require more work than the others. It is used for propagation of those varieties that cannot transmit varietal characteristics through the leaf.

A flowering or faded peduncle is cut from the mother plant, it has tiny leaves, above them at a height of 2 cm, make a cut, this part should be rooted in water or damp sphagnum. The leaves should touch it.

Caring for violets in winter

In order for the violet to comfortably survive the winter in our country, which is not very hospitable for southerners, the following set of rules should be strictly followed:

Cold air is detrimental to violets. Never place the plant in a place where it can be exposed to cold air currents.

Dry air, although it will not destroy violets, will definitely not benefit from it. It is advisable to humidify the air by spraying close to the plants, or by placing a container of water next to them.

Lack of lighting will have a detrimental effect on the development of Saintpaulia, and you are unlikely to see flowering. Increase the lighting, lengthen the daylight hours for them to 12 hours.

Air temperature plays an important role in growing violets; the room should have a constant temperature of about +23°C.

You cannot fertilize violets in autumn and winter. Fertilizer is applied only in spring and summer, and then in a truncated amount, at least 2 times.

The secret to growing Saintpaulias is to create for them optimal conditions. On many forums, the conditions for growing violets are discussed, and they argue whether it is worth creating any special conditions for them. After all, the violet has captivated many with its graceful modesty. The question of how to care for a violet so that it blooms has not yet been removed from the discussion among fans of the Uzambara violet.

Video: reasons for the lack of flowering and disease of violets

How to care for violets so that they bloom all year round

Requirements for pots and soil

In order for the violet not only to grow and develop well, but also to delight you with abundant flowering at any time of the year, first of all, you need to choose the right pot. Paramount important factor is the size: the pot should not be large, but not small either. In the first case, the root system of the flower will begin to actively grow, and all the juices and forces will be spent on the development of roots and leaves. This is fraught with the fact that the violet will not have the strength to bloom, and pruning of the roots can only be done during transplantation.

Otherwise, a pot that is too small will confine the roots, they will not be able to develop and take useful substances from the ground. To make the flower feel comfortable, it is recommended to choose a pot that is three times smaller than the diameter of the rosette. The best option is a clay or ceramic, wide but shallow pot. Before transplanting the violet, you need to carefully examine it and cut off the damaged roots, because you will not have to change the pot soon.

You can use universal soil for violets. In specialized stores you can also find soil for Saintpaulia (the so-called violet). The soil should be loose and not overburdened with fertilizers, with a slightly acidic reaction. Dense soil that accumulates moisture harms the plant's root system. The flower also necessarily needs drainage. It is strictly forbidden to use soil from the garden or vegetable garden - fungal spores and pest larvae can get in with it.

Temperature and lighting

Violets do not tolerate heat, so in order for them to bloom indoors, you need to ensure the temperature is between 17–22 degrees. If the temperature is higher, the plants do not bloom as intensely and may lose unopened buds. It is better to move the violet to a cool room or provide constant ventilation, you can use an air conditioner or a fan. However, flowers should not be near them.

Although natural light plays an important role in care, direct sunlight should still be avoided. The presence of trees with dense foliage behind the glass or light curtains on the windows will provide diffused lighting to the flowers. If there is not enough light in the room, you need to use fluorescent lamps. But they need to be turned on regularly, since the flower needs a regime.

It would also be a good idea to take care of the air humidity: the percentage should be above average, perhaps even slightly increased. Its deficiency slows down the growth and set of buds, and the plant blooms poorly. The easiest way is to purchase a humidifier. You can also place decorative containers of water in the room.

Watering, fertilizing and fertilizers

How to make violets bloom for at least ten months a year? Providing the plants with proper care: choosing the optimal temperature and light conditions is not enough; you also need to choose the right watering and spraying regime. For watering and spraying, it is better to use water with a temperature several degrees below room temperature. In order for the chlorine to leave the water and the salts to settle, it is recommended to leave the water for at least a day.

During flowering, you need to spray the violet with extreme caution so that water does not get on the flowers. Excessive watering should be avoided altogether: it is better to pour water into trays. If the plant does not have a tray, then pour the liquid in a thin stream and in small portions onto the soil near the outlet. Excessive moisture can lead not only to flowers losing buds and root rot, but also to fungal diseases. In this case, even pruning the affected parts will not save the plant from death.

Illiterate and excessive feeding can cause serious damage to the health of Saintpaulia and its ability to flower. You can fertilize the plant only once a month, otherwise the leaves may turn yellow and fall off. Excessive consumption of nitrogen provokes the development of new foliage and stepsons, which draw life-giving forces from the plant.

Fertilizers should be used moderately and correctly: the content of phosphorus and potassium should be higher than nitrogen.

A flower that has experienced long and abundant flowering should be fed. Recently transplanted plants should not be fertilized. It is also not recommended to feed violets in winter.

Formation of a flower

How to care for violets so that they have a beautiful shape? The appearance of the violet can be adjusted by forming a rosette. To ensure flowering and neat correct form, trim off faded flowers and damaged leaves. In addition, trim small neighboring shoots, stepchildren.

The plant grows thanks to them, which does not contribute to flowering. Ideally, a blooming violet has three rows of leaves, so pruning the “adult” plant cannot be avoided. The shape of the plant is also given with the help of lighting: the flower must be periodically turned to the light in different directions. To rejuvenate, we thin out the leaves and completely cut off the bottom row.

Now you know how to care for your violet so that it blooms twelve months a year. Cherish your blooming beauty, and she will thank you with her beauty.

From this video you will learn how to properly care for violets.

Corner of violets by Irina Danilina

Nearest exhibition

From December 15 to 25, 2017, an exhibition of violets is being held in the premises of the “Violet House” on Pyatnitskaya.

Address: Moscow, st. Pyatnitskaya, house 20, building 2

My violet “LE-Melody of Rain” won in the category “Best Violet of the Exhibition (BEST IN SHOW)”.

Plant catalog for 2017:

What to do if violets don't bloom?

What to do if violets don't bloom? How to make violets bloom like at the exhibition? Inna!

In order for violets to bloom well, you need to take care of them competently and in a timely manner:

1. To begin with, the plants must be mature, with a well-developed rosette of leaves and a root system.

2. The soil in the pot should be loose, structured, with an optimal pH value (6.3–6.7) and a complete and complete composition of macro and microelements. Since all these parameters change and deteriorate over time, it is advisable to replant adult violets in fresh soil 2 times a year.

3. The length of daylight should also be optimal. For the vast majority of varieties, this is 12 hours (the exception is the so-called industrial varieties; they set buds well even in 10-hour or even shorter daylight hours).

4. Sufficient lighting intensity for plants is also very important. To achieve this, you need to know that: a. the number of lamps above the shelf should be proportional to its width (above a 30-centimeter shelf one lamp is enough, above a 50-centimeter shelf two are needed); b. the optimal distance from the lamp to the plant is 20 cm for standards, 15 for miniatures. It should be remembered that the lamps gradually and imperceptibly dim, so it is advisable to replace them once a year (at least one of the two lamps when the lamp is double). If under such conditions the violets do not bloom, then it is necessary to temporarily reduce the distance between the lamp and the plants (either mount the lamps lower, or raise some of the violets located on the shelf higher). But after laying the buds, you need to return everything back. If this is not done, then excessive illumination will inevitably lead to undesirable thickening of the growth center.

5. Plants are also not indifferent to the spectral composition of light - under phytolamps, the formation of flowers is more intense (at least, this is what the creators and manufacturers of such lamps claim).

6. Plants “like” consistency and stability, and they bloom earlier and better if the timer turns the lamps on and off at the same time.

7. The watering regime is very important for the well-being of plants: plants should neither be flooded nor dried out. Please note that during the growth and development of buds, and then during flowering, the plants’ need for water increases. The softer the water for irrigation, the better. Its temperature should be 2-3 degrees higher than room temperature.

8. For high-quality flowering, it is very important to create an optimal humidity regime. This is 50-60% (and in our apartments it is often 25-30%). To solve this problem, all means are good: air humidifiers, and common trays for a group of plants with a layer of moistened sphagnum on the bottom, and plastic boxes with water installed on central heating radiators (or just wet towels on them), and several aquariums that are not covered with glass. for non-capricious fish.

9. Specialized fertilizers also stimulate flowering, usually with a high phosphorus content, a rich microelement composition and, obviously, some other “secret” proprietary component. Of the commercially available ones, we can recommend potassium monophosphate, Uniflor-bud, and Ethisso for flowering plants.

10. The size of the pot is also important for flowering. It should not be too large so that the roots are a little cramped.

Having fulfilled all these plant requirements, you can count on good violet flowering at home. But in order to get the gorgeous blooms that we admire at exhibitions, you need to perform a number of techniques that not everyone will do at home. This is an even more frequent replacement of the substrate in the pot; gradual, according to the scheme, lengthening of daylight hours; lowering the temperature and increasing air humidity during the opening of the buds and until they are completely dissolved. And the most psychologically difficult and unreasonable thing in a home collection is the removal of flower stalks from plants that can bloom and want to bloom for quite a long time. It is this technique that helps to get at the same time abundant flowering And large flowers. And the last secret: in many varieties (especially fancy ones), the color turns out brighter, juicier and more contrasting if the substrate is additionally slightly acidified during the budding period.

You can read more about the preparation of violets for the exhibition in the excellent articles by S. and S. Pugachevsky (UF magazine No. 5, 2004) and A. Tairova (UF magazine No. 1, 2006).

Danilina Irina Leonidovna

Phone number for contact and orders: 8 495 430-63-59 , 8-917-545-6727 (mobile)

For details about ordering plants and their delivery throughout Russia, see the How to order section.

How to care for violets so that they bloom profusely?

Features of care and cultivation

At first glance, the violet seems completely unpretentious plant. Replanting this flower is quite easy, and with proper care it blooms almost 10 months a year, with the exception of the hot summer period. But still, in order for the flower to meet your expectations, follow our tips for choosing a location and a pot for the plant.

Make sure that the plant does not stand in the shade; it loves light. But keep in mind that violets do not tolerate the burning rays of the sun. Therefore, on hot summer days it is better to curtain the windows. Some experts argue that it is advisable to place pots in the northern part of your home. Take these conditions into account to ensure maximum comfort for your flowers.

A violet flower will grow even in a fairly small container with a small amount of soil. But for the plant to have beautiful view, as well as large well-groomed leaves and large flowers, the size of the flower pot should be 10-15 cm in diameter and reach a height of about 10 cm. There is no need to plant this flower in huge pots, it will grow and lose its beautiful, neat appearance. In addition, the correct size of the pot can help provide decent care for the violet flower.

Stores sell special soil mixtures for Saintpaulias. You can also make the right mixture yourself. To do this, fill the pot to the middle with expanded clay, put a small block of charcoal, and fill the remaining space with ordinary dry soil. It is important to remember that the soil must allow moisture and air to pass through well and not stagnate, otherwise the plant will begin to rot.

Special fertilizers are sold in specialized stores for flowering plants. It is recommended to fertilize this plant once every two weeks when the violet is actively blooming, and once every four weeks when the plant is dormant. You can add special fertilizers directly into a bowl of warm water, where you lower the pot for bottom watering of the violet.

How to properly care for violets so that the plant has enough moisture and continues to grow? Take care of proper watering and, if necessary, high-quality replanting.

Do not get carried away with frequent and intensive watering of violets, since large amounts of moisture are contraindicated for them. It is ideal if you water the violet from below, that is, place the pot in a container with warm, settled water. When the soil in the pot becomes evenly moist, this will mean that the violet has absorbed as much water as it needs. This method of watering will prevent water from getting on the leaves and flowers, and, in addition, will protect the plant from rotting.

Violets, like most indoor plants, should be replanted approximately once a year. Just change the soil and drain it. You can replant the violet into the same pot in which it grew previously, if the plant was comfortable in it. Periodically it is necessary to wash off the dust from the leaves of violets. This must be done very carefully, for example, with a weak shower stream with warm water. Never expose a wet plant to direct sunlight, as this will cause spots on its leaves or it will simply “burn.”

Bush formation and propagation

Correctly trim and form the violet bush.

How to care for violets to ensure they look beautiful and compact? A violet rosette should have three to four rows of leaves. The leaves located below sometimes do not look “vigorous” enough, so they need to be torn off. But be careful, as in the axils of the leaves there are buds that are just emerging.

The trunk of the plant becomes longer over time, and the violet loses its original appearance. Therefore, it needs to be deepened into the ground. Or you can cut the “column” to the desired size, place the plant in a container of water and wait until the roots grow. Next, you should replant the plant in the ground. Remove dry, yellowed or limp leaves. To ensure that the flower grows evenly on all sides, periodically change the location of the pot or turn it towards the light.

If the gardener has chosen lightweight, practical plastic, he will need to make additional holes on the sides of the pot for air access so that the root system is freely ventilated and the soil does not turn sour.
When purchasing a ceramic container, which is fragile and heavy, you should only pay attention to containers that are not glazed and that are capable of allowing air to pass through.

Correct soil

Currently, specialized flower shops offer a wide selection of substrates intended for growing violets. But due to its light structure, when watering, water does not saturate the soil mixture, but flows between it and the walls of the pot. To avoid such difficulties, you can prepare a loose substrate that allows the roots to breathe, yourself from garden soil and sand in a 2:1 ratio. Before filling the pot, it is worth calcining it to destroy harmful organisms and placing it in a container on top of a drainage layer of expanded clay.

How to properly care for violets?

Violet, if the necessary conditions are met, is an excellent home decoration.

Advice! Constant monitoring of Saintpaulia will allow you to determine the sufficiency of lighting: when there is an excess of light, the foliage of the crop droops down, and when there is a deficiency, it stretches upward.

Temperature

Humidification can be done in several ways:

Water is poured into a tray, where a flower pot is placed for half an hour.
At temperatures above 22°C, the flower is carefully watered from above so that drops do not fall into the rosette.

Carefully! The violet cannot be sprayed, but it is necessary to maintain a high level of air humidity by placing a container of water next to the flower.

Feeding violets

Additional nutrition is provided during the period of intensive development:

For young plants, fertilizing is carried out using nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
Adult specimens need potassium and phosphorus, which promote intensive budding and flowering.

Important! Excess nitrogen-containing fertilizers in the substrate can cause a lack of flowers.

Proper care of violets in winter

During the winter period, the main care procedures remain:

Providing additional lighting and temperature conditions not lower than 20°C without hypothermia during ventilation.
Watering three times a week with warm water.
Maintaining high humidity in the room where the flower is located.

Care after flowering

If Saintpaulia has pleased the gardener with abundant and long-lasting flowering, it is worth taking care of restoring its vitality by tearing off the lower rows of leaf blades and replanting it in a new substrate. If this is not possible, you can limit yourself to applying fertilizers.

Important! During flowering, we must not forget about the timely removal of faded inflorescences.

How to propagate violets?

Saintpaulia can reproduce generatively and vegetatively. Since it is impossible to preserve varietal characteristics using the seed method, the simplest and most productive method is cuttings.

Reproduction by leaves is carried out throughout the year, while:

A well-developed leaf blade is separated along with the petiole and placed in a container with water.
After the roots have formed, the cuttings are planted in a pot with soil mixture.
The leaf is placed immediately in a special substrate, after which the container with the cutting is covered with glass and moved to a warm room with good lighting, where there is no access to direct rays of the sun.
The substrate is systematically moistened using a spray bottle.

Root formation can take a long time, so do not rush to get rid of the cuttings for this reason.

How to seat the children?

The baby is carefully dug out with a sharp object so as not to damage the mother's socket.
When there are many leaves and a small number of roots, some of the leaves on the separated rosette are cut off.
The baby is placed in a flower pot with a substrate similar in composition to the soil mixture in the container with the mother specimen.
The new plant is moderately moistened and moved to a warm place with plenty of diffused light.

Plant diseases and pests

Despite the resistance of violets to diseases, manifestations of the fungal disease late blight in the form of brownish spotting are often observed on the tropical representative. There is practically no point in fighting it, so it is necessary to stop the possibility of spreading to healthy specimens by destroying the affected plant and substrate. Of the pests, the most dangerous are nematodes: by damaging the root system, they make it impossible for the flower to further feed, after which the flower dies. To prevent the possibility of infection of violets, the substrate for pots should be purchased in stores or thoroughly calcined in the oven.

So, the violet flower, being a representative of the tropical flora, has a rather capricious disposition. However, if the care rules are followed, the gardener will receive a lot of positive emotions from the profusely flowering plant, which decorates the home with its beauty almost all year round.

Uzambara violet.

Family Gesneriaceae - Gesneriaceae.

Genus Saintpaulia hybrida - Hybrid Saintpaulia.

African violet saintpaulia hybrid.

Forming a beautiful Saintpaulia rosette

Forming a beautiful rosette for flowering.

You need to carefully monitor which direction the trunk grows. When planting, sometimes you can plant the violet not perfectly straight up, but after a while this will become apparent. Then you need to carefully remove the lump from the pot, holding the violet by the trunk under the leaves, rub the lower part so that it becomes level in the plane we need, place it at the right angle in the pot and add the substrate to the empty side.

It often happens that the central leaves rest against the previous ones and almost grow under them. You need to carefully straighten them from there to prevent deformation of the young leaves. This is a consequence of changes in luminous flux. Outer leaves could grow in less light and the petioles grew at a higher angle, and the central ones are already growing flat and therefore they crawl under the outer ones. (Grow your violet right away in full light and some problems simply won’t arise at all).

Removing flower stalks when forming a rosette is mandatory. The goal that the violet sets for itself in its development is to increase the corresponding volume of the crown and the volume of the root mass. If the crown is large, the violet is forced to quickly grow roots to feed it. If there are a lot of roots but few leaves, you need to grow leaves.

Sometimes this process goes towards the growth of new growth points (stepchildren). As soon as the balance of the crown and roots is achieved, the violet “calms down” and lays flower stalks. Leaf growth stops or slows down very much. The violet switches to flowering mode.

A healthy and properly grown Saintpaulia usually sends out flower stalks sequentially as it grows in the upper three or four tiers of the rosette. You need to know that the peduncle grows from the axil of the leaf just once, there will be no more flower stalk in this place. Therefore, one should not expect violets to continuously bloom in lush bouquets. So the violet blooms only in spring, after winter period growth and rest from flowering. It follows from this that the beauty of Saintpaulia flowering depends on the condition of the rosette.

In the axil of each leaf there is an axillary meristem. Depending on the need, it forms either a growing point or a peduncle. Our goal is to grow a single crown without stepsons and, for now, without flower stalks. Removing stepsons forces the violet to grow new leaves only at the top, at the central point of growth. Ideas about correct crown Violet and I disagree. She needs a physiological volume of leaves, and we need a beautiful multi-tiered rosette that exceeds the needs and capabilities of the roots.

From the moment the physiological balance is achieved, the violet will lay flower stalks and stop growing leaves. But if we remove these flower stalks, she will have to plant new ones, and new ones can only be in the axils of new leaves! She grows the next tier. We remove it again and again deprive it of the opportunity to flower. She is forced to raise the following. This intervention continues until we are satisfied with the volume and beauty of the crown.

This is a direct consequence. Violet roots, squeezed into a pot of empty peat, cannot naturally provide nutrition to so many leaves, and if we do not feed the violet, she herself will never feed the excess leaf mass. Therefore, the long-standing call to “not feed” violets from the point of view of developmental physiology looks, at least, archaic for large, strong show plants. When recommendations for growing indoor violets were written, the plants that are now grown for exhibitions were not in mind.

Among other things, we are obliged to provide space for the outlet. Overlapping some of the leaf blades with the leaves of neighboring violets leads to a decrease in “energy supply,” which impairs the absorption of nutrition from the roots. Violet is trying to expose everything to the light possible area leaves and lifts the leaves so that they are higher than the obstacle. We get the notorious “hands up”.

If, according to the violet, there is too much light (we don’t think so, by the way, we need a very flat, even rosette, and we shine the violet like an adult), then it can lower the leaves below the horizontal plane. To form a flat, symmetrical rosette so that the leaves do not wrap over the edge of the pot and so that the violet does not lie on its side, use collar templates or corsets.

The corset is made from a disposable plate with a diameter that simply prevents the leaves from bending and hugging the pot, but makes the leaves even. You also need to use the plate with caution. If the plate is applied before the plant has formed strong, durable petioles, the supporting effect of the plate will cause them to be underdeveloped and weak. It may turn out that after removing the collar, the skinny petioles will simply not be able to support the weight of the leaves. Therefore, you can use the plate no earlier than the full development of the layer of adult strong leaves. To avoid breaking the leaves, the plate should be placed on the pot when the violet is slightly dry, i.e. the leaves are quite a bit wilted, but only just a little, then the leaves seem to be more flexible and lay out and level out perfectly, and then water the violet a little.

Some people like it to be a “hands up” variety so that the rosettes are leaves down. To form the desired shape, place something like an inverted coarse mesh colander on top of the rosette. There is a cutout in the center for flower stalks. The leaves grow downwards under the weight of the colander, which is what is required of them. Single sheets of “hands up” can be quickly and easily corrected using thick wire, inserting it into the ground in an arc, clasping the leaf stem. You just need to carefully grasp the stalk with it, without squeezing it.

If the variety is not “hands up”, but the leaves have risen simply from improper care, then this is corrected very quickly. Colored paper clips - these are coated and do not rust. Bend the paper clip so that you get a wire bent almost in half. The sharp ends are stuck into the ground, and the bend presses the desired sheet to the desired height to the ground.

It is better to do this during watering, when the ground is already wet and the leaves are still slightly limp. In this case, the sheet is more pliable and will not break. Over time, the leaf can be pulled closer to the ground as it gets used to its new position. You can choose green paper clips so that they are not so noticeable.

The formation of an impeccable rosette consists of providing it with a full luminous flux and daylight hours, full space for placing leaves, watering, regular, thoughtful fertilization, removing stepsons to stimulate development into one trunk, and removing peduncles to provoke increased development of new and new leaves. If you want to reduce the size of your violet, then you can transplant it not into the ten, but into the eight, after removing the excess, old roots and shaking off the old soil.

If you have good external conditions for violets, you just need to let the violet grow quietly and develop according to its nature, without forcing it into any special framework. If there is a favorable temperature regime and good lighting from above, then with conventional agricultural technology (stable moisture and timely transplants), the violet itself will grow beautiful and healthy. There is no particular need to help her with this, except to limit flowering during the period of foliage growth.

After all, each violet age has its own tasks. And our requirements for each age must be adequate. The baby’s task is to form an active growth point and grow thick, healthy roots. The starter's task is to show the correct varietal qualities in the first flowering and create a “platform” for the subsequent construction of the rosette form.

At the same time, the violet itself knows what kind of “platform” it needs: large or small - this is genetically predetermined for each variety. It is obviously better if this platform is free and spacious rather than dense and constrained. The longness and looseness of the rosette in many varieties is an age-related property. A young violet looks loose because it simply doesn’t have many leaves yet. With age, this goes away on its own (of course, under favorable conditions and well-functioning agricultural technology).

It is bad if the violet grows dense and constrained from its youth. Among violet growers, there are those who like to shrink sockets to save space. Harvesting a violet, in particular the starter, is not at all difficult: a tight pot plus an increased portion of lighting. We get shorter petioles, a correspondingly smaller diameter and a denser shape. The unnatural reduction of the young rosette leads to the fact that already in the next tier of leaves we observe an overly compacted middle with rigid, curved leaf primordia that prevent each other from breathing or photosynthesizing.

It is dangerous to plant violets in a cramped pot if good, intense lighting is used. Personally, I am always FOR intense light, but at the same time I am aware that intense light presupposes intense nutrition. The most important thing is balance. The balance of light and nutrition is no less important than the balance of light and temperature. In a cramped pot, achieving stable and effective nutrition within an acceptable period of time is a task of increased complexity.

Continued: Problem with leaves - “Hands up.”