In 1892, Vlater Saint-Paul discovered this plant. The seeds he collected were sent to Germany, where they were sown in a botanical garden near Hanover. In his honor they are called senpolia.
It belongs to the family of Gesneriaceae, which contains 21 species of perennial herbaceous plants, common in the upland areas of Southeast Africa. In room culture, the Saintpaulia of violet flowers, widely known as African or Uzambara violets, gained universal recognition.
At the moment, there are more than 1,500 widows by the senpole. All of them are hybrids, the result of crossing the Saintpaulia of violet and Saintpaulia erroneous. They differ from each other in shape, size, color of leaves and flowers. By the type of flowers, plants are simple, semi-double and terry violets. They differ in size into three types: large - more than 40 cm high, miniature - less than 20 cm and super-miniature - less than 7 cm.
Violet is not the easiest plant to care for. Below you will learn how to care for violets at home.
Purchase.
Particular attention when buying should be paid to the leaves. Do not take a plant with incomprehensible spots on the leaves or too tight exact growth. Most likely, the plant is affected by some disease. You should stop your choice on a plant with bright green leaves without signs of pests and diseases. Because it’s much easier to take care of healthy and strong violets than to take care of a diseased plant. Which is not always possible even for a specialist.
The location.
Violet likes light, but direct sunlight should be avoided. They can be fatal to plants. Ideal would be east and west windows. But we must ensure that the midday sun does not fall on the plants. At this time, use curtains to protect plants. In winter, it is better to rearrange the plant on the southern window and shade it from the strong direct sun.
The optimum temperature for violets is + 20 ... 24 C, not lower than +16 C.
Daylight hours should be 13-14 hours.
Watering and fertilizer.
Watering is one of the most important points in the care of violets. To understand how to care for violets correctly, you must adhere to the following rules of watering. Water for irrigation must be warm, room temperature, preferably soft. For this, water is defended.
The soil in the pot should always be wet. Watering can be carried out both from above and from below. But when overhead watering, be sure to ensure that water does not fall on the leaves and on the growth point.
The best way to water is to water from the bottom. It is carried out as follows. You need to take a deep bowl of sludge basin, pour warm, settled water into it and put a pot of plants there. Water should reach the edge of the pot. You need to get the pot when the kidney is looking and feeling wet from above. Watering violets in this way should be done no more than once a week.
Violets also need to provide optimal humidity around. Since it is impossible to spray the plant, the best way would be to put the pot with the plant on a pallet with open pebbles or peat.
Fertilizer should not be applied frequently. The poor appearance of plants is not always the result of a lack of nutrients. This may be due to violation of the conditions of detention. During the flowering period, the plant should be fed once every 2 weeks. During dormancy, it is recommended to do this every 3 to 4 weeks. Do not fertilize when the kidney is dry.
Earth mix.
To the soil for violets certain requirements are made. It should pass air well, be loose and easily absorb water. You can buy a ready-made earth mixture in a store, but it is possible to cook it at home. To land for violets to meet all the requirements, you need coniferous land and peat in a ratio of 2: 1.
Violets require good drainage. When transplanting plants, almost half the pot must be filled with expanded clay.
You should also remove new rosettes, damaged leaves and faded flowers in time. All this complicates the growth and development of violets.
Following all these not very difficult rules, you can easily figure out how to care for violets at home.