Home flower lovers appreciate the violet for its touching beauty and tenderness. But among the huge variety of colors, the Saintpaulia, or the Uzambara violet, whose unique subspecies is the violet of the chimera, is especially distinguished. What kind of miracle is this and why are flower growers all over the world collecting this plant?
Saintpaulia, who are you?
Saintpaulia is a representative of the tropical Gesneriaceae family. It belongs to the genus of flowering and is considered one of the most common indoor flowers. Although one of the names of this species is the Uzambara violet, the flower has no relation to ordinary indoor violets. These are completely different plants. Violet, or pansies, is a member of the violet family and is a garden, not a tropical flower.
What flower is called a chimera?
Not every senpolia is a chimera. This is the name of the plant, in which the senpolia cells of different varieties intertwined, merged together. Unique is that the cells of primary plants do not mix with each other. Each petal consists of two genetic layers that differ in color. The main layer of cells gives the background color of the petals, and the additional layer creates a clear strip or spot. If you make a cross section of the petal, then the background (main) and additional cells are clearly distinguishable.
Meaning of the word
Why some species of senpolias are called "violet chimera" is now clear. But what does this name actually mean?
The word "chimera" comes from Greek mythology. That was the name of the mythological monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a dragon tail. If biologists told about this creature, they would emphasize that the body consists of three groups of cell tissue with different genetic characteristics. Agree that the existence of such an organism is difficult to believe, this has led to the appearance of the second meaning of the word. So began to call bizarre fantasies that are hard to believe. Violet chimera is the most bizarre fantasy created by man from natural materials. Probably for this she is appreciated.
How do chimeras appear
No matter how hard the scientists try, they still have no chance to bring the chimera to the laboratory. For the first time, such a flower was the result of a partial mutation. It happened like this: a large group of cells inherited maternal traits, and a smaller part of the cells received traits of a different kind. This mutation happened more than a hundred years ago, just at the time when the senpolia was cultivated and became popular in home floriculture.
Chimeric mutations were completely random at first. The fact is that different types of tissues simply adjoined to each other, and did not mix, so the mutation was unstable and rarely reproduced during reproduction. So pink violet of a chimera with a violet stripe during reproduction gave monochromatic plants.
First difficulties
Official communities did not immediately agree that chimeras can be considered a separate cultivar of senpolia. The American community of flower growers - lovers of violets, motivated their refusal by the fact that it is impossible to achieve a repetition of the color of plants during propagation by cuttings. I had to prove for a long time that the flower and leaf chimeras of violet (senpolia) give with other methods of reproduction.
Today it is proved that the instability of reproduction can be overcome, and there are no problems with the registration of new varieties. However, the methods for producing such plants are very laborious, which could not but affect the price of chimeras. So, in America, a chimera violet baby costs between $ 5 and $ 30.
Types of Chimeras
Despite the fact that the color scheme of chimeras is very diverse, plants are divided into only 2 types of color:
- Straight. In this case, the petals have a lighter color than the central strip.
- Back. In such a chimera, the central stripe is lighter than the base of the petal.
But even with this separation, there are plants that do not fall under any of the types. These may be leaf chimeras. Saintpaulia violet simply amazes with its eccentricity. So, for example, the leaf chimera has a solid flower, but there are unique patterns on the leaves, which is also very beautiful.
Varieties of chimeras
There are quite a few varieties of uzambar violet. There are more than one hundred in the official list. Some varieties are classified as expensive collection ones, some as industrial. Often, industrial varieties have less decorative value, but have long, plentiful flowering.
In general, chimera violets, the varieties of which are sometimes difficult to classify, have the following varieties:
- standard;
- mini;
- halfmini;
- suspended (ampel or trailer);
- leafy.
New varieties are obtained through painstaking work, but sometimes genetic failures occur, and the usual senpolia gives chimeric flowers. The grower becomes the owner of a unique chimera that exists in a single copy.
How to propagate a chimera
Ordinary violet is easily propagated by cuttings of leaves. With chimeras, as you already understood, this number does not work. Propagating chimera violets is much more difficult. To repeat the fantasy color, 3 types of offspring have been developed:
- Rooting peduncles. In this case, the peculiarity of the peduncle of senpolia, on which there is a bract with a dormant bud, is used. When rooting the pedicel, the kidney leaves its dormant state and develops into a baby. Thus, the chimeric qualities of the flower are preserved.
- Rooting of the separated top of the plant. The upper part of the flower is cut without damaging the growth point and is planted in a flowerpot with a light substrate. For a month, the top is kept in greenhouse conditions to form roots.
- Violation of the growth point of the plant. After removal of the apex, the plant remains without a growth point, which leads to the formation of stepsons with new apical points. Stepsons can be separated and rooted, while maintaining the fancy color of the primary plant.
Sometimes gardeners are lucky, and stepsons are formed on the plant themselves. Violet chimera, the reproduction of which does not require additional effort, is a great success.
Proper care
In order for the blooming beauty to feel good in the new house, she needs to provide decent care. To do this, remember the basic rules:
- Violet chimera prefers windows on the east or west side.
- The placement should be well lit, but direct sunlight is not acceptable.
- The most favorable room temperature is + 22-24 ° . Interestingly, when growing chimeras, it is necessary to maintain the same temperature both day and night. If it fluctuates, then the flowers will receive a low saturated color gamut and will differ from each other.
- With an increase in temperature, the content of senpolia can darken and lose its fancy color. The flower will become monophonic, but under favorable conditions, the next flowering will again be chimeric.
- Watering the senpolia must be defended with water at room temperature. Watering can be done both in the pan and on top. Excess moisture is drained after 10-15 minutes. The frequency of watering the plant depends on the temperature and humidity of the room. Usually it is 1-2 times a week.
- Frequent top dressing is not needed for chimeras. But if the flower is depleted, then you can use liquid or granular fertilizer for Saintpaulia. You can not overfeed the plant. Optimal feeding once a month.
Following the above recommendations, you can grow a beautiful, extraordinary plant, which will become the pride of the grower.