Of the variety of types of Uzambara violets that exist today, a special place is occupied by a group of senpolia trailers, whose popularity is very high among lovers of home gardening.
A bright representative of this category - a houseplant with the exotic name Lituanika, received in honor of the successful transatlantic flight from America to Lithuania on the plane of the same name, will be discussed in this publication. This event happened in 1933, and in memory of him the Lithuanian breeder F.K. Butene made the name of the aircraft a name and a recognizable brand of culture. Senpolia Lituanika and will be the object of our consideration.
General Trailer Features
The distinctive qualities of the trailers are the presence of an elongated stem and many growth buds, "stepsons" located in the axils of the leaves. It is these properties that enable the plant to bloom almost constantly, since the buds are formed and bloom on the side rosettes, replacing the fading on the main shoot. There are ampel and bush trailers, subdivided, in turn, into standard, semi-miniature, miniature and micro-miniature. The main thing in this definition is the size of the sheet, and not the outlet as a whole. In standard varieties, it varies from 3.8 to 5 cm, semi-miniature - 2.5-3.8 cm, miniature - 1.2-2.5 m, micro-miniature - 0.6-1.2 cm.
The violet variety Lituanika refers to semi-mini bush trailers. Knowledgeable flower growers note that this senpolia is beautiful and elegant, but requires very close attention. The secrets of proper agricultural technology and the generous flowering of culture will be revealed in this article.
Meet: Lituanika
The violet trailer of the Lithuanian selection Lituanika is famous for large, densely-spread inflorescences with slightly elongated petals resembling small dahlias in shape. The color of the flowers is remarkable - pink-peach. At the edges, the petals are painted more intensely, which adds a refined decorative effect to the plant.
The outlet is decorated with dark green, densely pubescent, pointed leaves. The elongated stem and side stepsons provide a generous flowering of the bush, which grows quite quickly. Note that an important place in increasing the decorativeness of the culture is occupied by a flower stand, which demonstrates the most advantageous views of the bush and is installed in the most comfortable conditions - where direct sunlight does not penetrate, but soft diffused light is sufficient. Lituanica forms a rather high, well-leafy rosette and can grow to an impressive size. Therefore, you should think about what a flower stand will be in advance.
Propagation of Violets
You can grow Lituanika from the leaf, as well as rooting the side shoot, which grow in abundance on the uterine bush. Rooting a leaf or “sidewall” is better in light, loose soil, a significant part of which is vermiculite or perlite. For these purposes, you can use sphagnum moss or peat moss tablet, which is pre-soaked in water before swelling, kneading, mixing with perlite, and the source material (leaf or shoot) is placed in the resulting composition.
Sphagnum is cut into small pieces, moisturized well and placed in a container, filling it in a third of the volume. From the side shoot cut off with a sharp and clean knife or the top of the outlet, the lower leaves are removed and laid on the moss. The container is covered with a transparent film or glass, so that rooting is faster. The loose soil will facilitate and accelerate the germination of children.
With additional illumination of containers, a good root system in young outlets will form in 15-20 days. Such stepson can be planted in a separate pot, having arranged a film shelter for 4-6 days to minimize transplant stress.
The best primer for trailer violets is a mixture of peat and perlite in equal parts, that is, nutritious, loose, water and breathable compounds.
How to care for home violets
The basis for the cultivation of Lituanika, like all trailer senpolis, is the formation of the outlet. Do it differently.
For example, you can drop a leaf in the center of a flat container with all the children that have formed at once. When they are rooted, the uterine leaf is removed, and the growing rosettes form a large bush. Lituanica is a shrub violet that forms a kind of clearing in the container, so the capacity for it is chosen wide and shallow.
Sometimes several children are planted on the same outlet in the area of one large bowl, the diameter of which should be at least 30-40 cm. In the process of development, the plant is formed by timely removal of excess "stepsons" of the socket appearing in the axils of the leaves. The basis of a beautiful bush is usually 3-5 young heads. Due to the elongation of shoots, adult plants form spectacular, slightly raised bushes, well leafy and plentifully flowering.
A prerequisite for proper care is thinning out the leaves, maintaining the symmetry of the bush. To increase the decorativeness, it is necessary that the main stems are the same length, protruding leaves do not protrude, and the shoots do not oppress each other due to excessive thickening.
Transfer
Lituanica is a rapidly growing violet, and if necessary it is transplanted into a container of a larger diameter. Transshipment is considered the best method of transplantation, since it helps to avoid injuries.
The bush, extracted together with a lump of earth, is placed in the center of the new pot and the prepared soil is added. Leaves are removed from the shoots, leaving only a few apices. This stimulates the formation of young rosettes and activates the plant. After transplantation, Saintpaulia is generously watered.
Care for a plant that cannot be transplanted
Sometimes an overgrown Lituanika is difficult or impossible to transplant without harming it. In such situations, they do this: once every 4-5 months they remove the topsoil, add new soil, and to avoid the multiplication of pathogenic flora, monthly watered the bush with a weak solution of manganese.
Watering
Lituanica - violet is hygrophilous, but excessive watering can lead to decay of the roots. The drying up of an earthen coma also has a detrimental effect on the plant. Therefore, the main rules for watering Lituanika is moderation and regularity. If a malfunction occurs in the normal rhythm of irrigation, the addition of a biostimulant drug (Epin, Zircon) to the water will help to revive the “dried” plant - 1-2 drops per 100 g. water. To stagnation of water or systematic waterlogging violet reacts with lethargy of leaves. In this case, you should dig up the plant, inspect the roots. Their brown color is an indicator of the beginning of the process of decay.
The affected areas of the roots are removed, the remaining roots are treated with any antiseptic - manganese solution, pharmaceutical greens, activated charcoal or special preparations - and planted in new soil.
Top dressing
Lituanika - violet, the description of which is given in the publication - blooms for a long time and generously. Therefore, it is necessary to feed her, supporting decorativeness and preventing exhaustion. The best fertilizers by flower growers are recognized balanced compositions, for example, Kemira-Lux. The solution is prepared as follows: 20 g of the drug is diluted in half a liter of water, then a tablespoon of the resulting concentrate is added to 3 liters of water. At the time of flowering, a plant is watered with such a solution, alternating with watering with ordinary water. It should be remembered that only adult plants feed, young fertilizer outlets do not need fertilizers.
These are the basic rules for growing violets. Lituanica can be the main decoration of your home.