Gloxinia flower is a tropical tuberous plant with velvety flowering in the form of a white, purple or pink bell. The stems are short, diverge into umbrella inflorescences on individual pedicels. The plant looks bright and spectacular, it will be an excellent decor for the interior and landscape design.
Gloxinia (gloxinia) is a herbaceous perennial with stemless or short-stemmed fleshy shoots up to 25 cm in height, 20 cm in length. The leaves are large, richly green in color, terry to the touch, their shape is regular oval. The flowers are large (8-12 cm in diameter), domed, velvet. The edges of the petals are corrugated, down.
How to care for gloxinia at home
Soil and pot selection
Culture is demanding on the soil. Peat mixes suitable for gloxinia are: Violet, Begonia, Senpolia. Flowers from seeds are usually grown in peat tablets. For self-preparation of soil, leaf humus (2 parts) mixed with meadow chernozem (2 parts), one part of peat and gray sand is suitable. The acidity of the mixture is a range of 6-7 pH.
A rich palette of gloxinia shades
Important! Before caring for gloxinia, the land for planting must be sterilized, destroying the bacteria and microorganisms that provoke the disease of the plant. Disinfection of the soil is carried out by freezing, calcining, steaming in a water bath, processing with potassium permanganate. The procedure takes 2 hours.
An effective solution will be the preparation of soil with hydrogel - small granules in the form of a dry concentrate, working on the principle of a sponge. The jelly-like elements are pre-soaked, then mixed with soil in a ratio of 1 to 2. The mixture is fertilized with humus or rotted manure - 50 g per 1 liter of substrate.
The choice of pot is determined by the size of the tubers: plastic cups are suitable for small processes, medium-sized roots will fit in dishes with a diameter of 7-10 cm, adults are planted in flowerpots with a diameter of 10-15 cm. The containers should be wide and deep. Clay and plastic options are suitable.
Rules for choosing a flowerpot for gloxinia
Watering and fertilizer
Before watering home gloxinia, it is important to stock up with melt, settled, or filtered water. It is better to moisten the soil from the pallet or carefully along the edge of the pot, excluding drops falling on the leaves and in the center of the tuber. Water for irrigation should be warm, 2-3 degrees above air temperature. After 20-30 minutes after moistening the soil, it is necessary to drain the remaining water from the pallet. The land between the irrigations should dry out. In rain, cloudy and cold weather, it is desirable to reduce the flow of moisture to the roots. Gloxinia bulbs often rot at the top.
Important! Spray gloxinia is not recommended, excess moisture on the leaves will provoke the appearance of brown dry spots.
The optimum air humidity for the flower is 70 ... 80%; when the threshold is reached below 50%, a weak development of the indoor flower and deformation of the leaves are observed. Wanting to increase air humidity, the flower is placed on pallets with wet expanded clay, moss, water.
Temperature and Light
Gloxinia flowers are photophilous, but they are afraid of the action of direct rays of the sun, especially in the flowering phase, velvety bells quickly fade, the flowering period is shortened. In the spring the sun does not warm very much, gloxinia is preferably placed on the south window, in June - rearranged on the east or west window or shaded from direct sunlight.
To grow a flower of long daylight at home will work with 12-14-hour lighting at 5000 lx. Lack of light threatens to stretch the plant, reducing the number of buds. After rooting the tuber and the appearance of foliage, the lighting should be as bright as possible, the saturation of the color of the flowering will be higher, with insufficient light the color is noticeably paler.
Comfortable temperature at the stage of tuber germination +25 degrees. During the growing season, the temperature range is + 18-22 degrees. Cooler conditions will slow down the growth and development of the culture.
Transplant rules and recommendations
Gloxinia is transplanted in several cases:
- after a long dormancy, a small sprout has formed, but the leaves do not develop;
- when buying tubers in a small tank or not planted in the soil;
- in cases of damage by fungal diseases and pests.
If the plant needs emergency assistance, transplantation is carried out at any time of the year. Healthy cultures are moved to a new place after the rest regimen, in February-March.
Growing gloxinia on the windowsill
Common problems and their solutions
Leaves are curled down.
For a gloxinia plant, home care implies the absence of drafts, sudden changes in temperature, too dry air and lack of light. If the solution to the above shortcomings does not correct the situation, there is only one option - pests or parasites. Powerful insecticides will come to the rescue: Antiklesch and Tiovir. According to the instructions, the culture is treated three times / day.
There are brown spots on the leaves
Persistent fungal diseases of gloxinia are transmitted through contaminated soil, water, garden supplies. Often, the plant is affected by bacteria at the acquisition stage. The characteristic symptoms of the disease are brown spots, on the stems and shoots - dark stripes. Leaves with abundant moisture rot, with dry air - they begin to dry out and curl up.
Fitosporin will help to overcome the disease, but the causative agent of late blight remains viable for up to 8 years. It is important to consider fungal prophylaxis by spraying the culture with fungicides weekly.
The leaves are dry
The most common problem when growing gloxinia is the drying of the leaves due to improper watering. The plant reacts violently to excess moisture, the roots rot, the ground part becomes dry.
If the flower has recently appeared in the house, dried leaves are a sign of acclimatization after recent transplants. The owner of the plant should create the most comfortable conditions, ensure proper watering and top dressing.
The spider mite acts as a parasitic reason why the gloxinia leaves curl and dry out. The affected areas of the flower are removed, the sprouts are treated with a soap solution and special preparations, the procedures are repeated according to the instructions. During the treatment of gloxinia from fungal diseases, watering and top dressing are minimized. It is desirable to transplant the plant.
Gloxinia Leaves
Plant stretches up
Gloxinia shoots stretch strongly after wintering in conditions of comfortable temperature and insufficient lighting. By adding light and reducing the temperature, you should periodically spray air, carry out wet cleaning. Often, disturbances in plant development in winter are caused by an overdose of nitrogen fertilizers. Experts recommend temporarily eliminating supplements.
Some varieties of gloxinia are prone to elongation of shoots. It is desirable to cut elongated shoots. Tubers will give new shoots. The cropped parts of the flower to root, they also have time to bloom. At rest, the shoots that managed to stretch, fall and take root, feed on the main tuber and new underground processes. A weaker shoot that never blooms will grow on the tuber. The tuber will weaken and die in the winter.
Diseases and Pests
The main ailments of gloxinia are caused by fungal diseases:
- Late blight appears with increased moisture and temperature drops of 9-20 degrees. The affected plant withers, becomes covered with brown spots, a white coating appears on the inside of the leaf. The plant requires urgent transplantation and treatment with Kuprozan, Tseneb (40 g per bucket of water).
- Powdery mildew is formed against a background of saturated humidity and temperature changes. A characteristic feature in the description of the disease is a whitish arachnoid plaque. The infection is transmitted through soil or equipment. For treatment and prevention, experts recommend feeding the culture with fungicides:
- "Triadimephone";
- "But";
- Quadrice
- "Rake";
- "Speed";
- Tilt.
- Anthracnose is accompanied by small brown spots. The disease spreads quite quickly, it is easier to prevent the fungus with copper chloride, cuproxate, oxychoma.
- Ascochitosis is a disease manifested by redness on sheets with a brown border. Symptoms occur in conditions of abundant humidity. For prevention and treatment, vitriol, Vectra, Adiga-peak are used. A culture affected by ascochitosis is recommended to be transplanted.
- Septoria is the result of a lack of light and prolonged contact with water. Rusty spots form on the sheets, the plant begins to dry quickly. The fungicides: Maneb, Benomil, will prevent the negative effect of the fungus.
Phylostictosis on gloxinia
- Phyllosticosis is easily recognized by round spots, dark at the edges, brown in the middle. At the developmental stage, tears are added to the spots. When the first signs are found, the plant is dried and sprayed with a Bordeaux solution, "Oxychloride", and copper sulfate.
- Fusarium The disease is inevitable with improper irrigation and soil contamination. The leaves begin to fade and curl, turn brown. Cracks and dark stripes are visible on the shoots. The task of gardeners is to replace the soil, rinse the roots with a solution of potassium permanganate (per 1 liter of water 5 g of potassium permanganate), transplant the plant into a light and nutritious substrate.
How to deal with other ailments
Before taking care of gloxinia at home, you should provide the culture with prevention against virosis and bacteriosis. Viruses are introduced by pests or fungal spores. Leaves and flowers are covered with spots, stripes and dashes. Regardless of which virus has infected gloxinia, the disease cannot be treated. The plant will have to be burned.
Bacterioses brought in with non-sanitized equipment, a pot or soil infect tubers, buds, leaves, stems. Prevention of damage is carried out by Zircon and Epin.
The best conditions for breeding a spider mite are moisture deficiency. He eats the juice of the flower, leaving light spots on the leaves. The ground part is protected from the spider mite "Fitoverm", "Intovir", soil - "Aldikabrom", "Temikom".
Whitefly - white pests, often feed on the juice of leaves and stems, leave waste products that negatively affect photosynthesis. The leaves begin to rot, the buds are not tied. Effective means of destroying whiteflies at home are Vertimek KE, Actellik KE, Admiral, Kinmiks, Oberon.
Proper care and prevention of plant diseases will avoid possible violations.
Whitefly on Gloxinia Leaves
How to care during flowering
Flowering gloxinia begins in early spring and continues until the end of summer, with proper care, the plant is fragrant in October. Timely and proper top dressing of the soil allows twenty or more flowers to form. Bright light is also an important factor affecting the richness of flower shades.
Tip. Gloxinia buds faded, leaves died away, what to do next? Only tubers remained alive. The pot is cleaned away from the light, periodically watering to maintain the vital functions of the tuber. The appearance of new buds reports that the individual woke up, gained strength and is ready for the new flowering season.
Ways to grow gloxinia at home
There are various methods of propagation: seeds, tuber division and leafy cuttings.
Households rarely sow seeds. The method of reproduction is fraught with difficulties. At the beginning of autumn, a soil mixture is prepared on the basis of peat, sheet soil and sand (1: 1: 1). The earth is scattered on low boxes. In November, seeds are sown regularly watered with warm water. Sprouts appear after 2-3 weeks, when 2 leaves appear, they are dived, planted at intervals of 2 cm. The second pick is carried out with the formation of a third pair of leaves - 5 cm. The distance between the grown seedlings is further increased to 10 cm.
To propagate the culture with cuttings, suitable leaves with a stalk of 1 cm are recommended to be immediately transplanted into a soil mixture of sand and peat (1: 0.5). The shoot will need to be moistened and closed with a jar, providing daily ventilation of the plant, removing the jar for 15 minutes. After 2.5-3 weeks, tubers form at the cut ends placed in the ground. The shoots are planted in small pots, enjoying a few months after planting abundant flowering.
Tuberous propagation is considered the most dangerous method. The risk is achieved by the presence of rot in the roots, experienced flower growers carefully remove the affected areas before planting. After the appearance of 2-centimeter shoots, the tubers are separated by a sharp blade, processing sections with activated carbon. Separate pieces are planted in appropriate pots, watered 3 days after planting.
Propagation by cuttings
With proper care, gloxinia lives up to 10 years, pleasing the eye with colorful flowering. With age, a tropical plant has more flowers. Sometimes the number of bells reaches 50 pieces.
