Balsam is a unique houseplant that has long since settled in our homes. Caring for balsam at home is not difficult. This plant grows quickly, multiplies easily, beautifully, blooms profusely. Even beginner flower growers can cope with this flower, and many begin with it as a flower grower.
Plant description
Balsam is native to the tropical regions of Asia and Africa. In European countries, the plant appeared in the sixteenth century, where it was imported as a room crop. Since then, breeders have managed to get more than four hundred varieties.
All varieties are low compact bushes of different colors. The leaves of the plant are about eight centimeters, wavy at the edges. The flower can be terry, ordinary, of various shades, plain, multicolor. The plant itself is annual and perennial. Most often they are grown as an annual crop, updating the bush annually.
Varieties of balsam
The most common indoor plant varieties are as follows:
- Waller. Balsam care at home is simple, the main thing is to find a place for it on the windowsill. Fans of this type of flowers claim that one of the most beautiful are Waller's balsamins. There are more than thirty species of a very different color and with a different flower structure. There are terry representatives, flowers with single flowers. Waller is white, red, pink, lavender, two-tone. Representatives of this species can be dark cherry, apricot, apple-colored and not only.
- New Guinean. Another popular type of balsam. They are characterized by large leaves and very bright flowers.
There are many hybrid varieties, including ampel species.
Watering
The main thing in caring for balsam at home is the correct and timely watering. This plant loves moisture, so you have to water it almost every day: as soon as the top layer becomes dried, the plant is immediately moistened. Watering is carried out plentiful, so that the water appears in the pan. With a low level of moisture in the plant, the leaves begin to turn yellow: they fade and fall.
It is impossible to fill the plant with the same, as the roots can rot, and small midges will appear in the ground. To drain excess water well, it is necessary to provide drainage. To do this, expanded clay or polystyrene is laid at the bottom of the pot.
In the winter season, plants sleep, which is why watering is reduced.
Where to place the plant
When caring for balsam at home, it is important to choose the right place where the plant will be located. Although flower growers claim that this flower grows everywhere: in the shade, partial shade, in a bright place, it’s not worth it to put a flower pot on a windowsill under direct sunlight. But New Guinea varieties can be placed under ultraviolet rays. Based on the requirements of the flower for light, it is recommended to grow it on the eastern windows. If there is not enough light, then the plants will stretch out and lose their splendor.
During growth, the flower pot should be rotated: this will help to avoid one-sided development.
Growing temperature
Growing room balsam, home care involves observing the temperature regime. Since this plant comes from tropical places, it needs to provide an average of twenty degrees in the summer, and in the winter - at least fifteen.
The temperature increase should occur in direct proportion to the frequency of irrigation. In the summer, they always spray the plant with a spray, but so that the water does not fall on the flowers, otherwise they will fall off.
Plant nutrition
Indoor balsam is fertilized when leaving at home from April to November, and during the winter period, top dressing is not introduced. In the summer, top dressing is carried out at least once a week after watering. It is best to use potassium phosphate fertilizer for flowering plants.
Transplant Features
Balsam flower care at home includes an emergency transplant with strong growth, when the roots appear from below through the drainage hole. The pot is selected two to three centimeters larger than the previous one. Do not transplant the plant into too large a container, as it will begin to expend energy on the growth of the root system, filling the entire volume of soil.
Balsam are not picky about the type of soil. They grow well in an ordinary substrate, in the ground from the garden, the main thing is to provide good drainage.
During transplantation, all dry, damaged roots must be removed. Place the cuts sprinkled with charcoal. Balsam is famous for its uniqueness. Cultivation and care at home requires compliance with the rules of planting: it is important to monitor the location of the root neck - it should not be buried. During transplantation, the procedure is performed quickly so that the roots do not have time to dry.
Plant propagation
Experienced growers recommend rejuvenating the plant every two to three years. This applies to all varieties, including terry balsamins. Care at home for valuable varieties boils down to quiet conservation by rooting cuttings.
When propagated by cuttings, a healthy, strong shoot is taken at least six centimeters long. It is deeply placed in a container of water. As soon as the roots appear, the stalk is planted in the ground. After about two months, after the plant completely envelops the roots of the earthen lump, a transplant is necessary.
Another method of propagation is sowing seeds. You can buy them at the store or assemble them yourself. In the latter case, to obtain seeds, it is necessary to carry out pollination manually. Seeds retain the ability to germinate for eight years.
Sowing seeds is carried out superficially on moistened soil. The container is covered with glass or film on top. After a couple of weeks, shoots appear. As soon as they have two true leaves, the plants are transplanted into separate containers.
When choosing a seed method of reproduction, it is likely to get a plant that does not have varietal characteristics, since the maternal qualities of balsam are not preserved. When propagated by cuttings, all varietal properties are preserved.
Bloom
With proper home care, Waller balsam and other varieties can bloom all year round. To do this, it is necessary to provide moderate watering in the winter with periodic top dressing. It is important that the flower grows in a small pot.
Balsamins begin to please with their first flowering in the first year of life. In different varieties, flowering occurs at different times, but, most often, plants bloom three months after sowing. When propagated by cuttings, the first flowering may occur in a month.
Flower shape
When caring for balsam at home in the winter and at other times of the year, it is important to properly water, so that the plant pleases with prolonged constant flowering.
In a plant, flowers are located in the axils of the leaves. They can have a variety of colors and shapes. It can be wide, open, in one petal or terry type. There are varieties with semi-double and mixed types of flowers.
After flowering, a seed box is formed, in which there are about five cusps. Each of them contains about a hundred seeds.
Bush formation
When growing a flower, you may encounter the problem of overgrowing stems. In this case, it is necessary to pinch the tops. So the balsam becomes neat, lush. Pinching stimulates the growth of lateral shoots, thereby increasing the diameter of the bush.
In order to form, pruning is carried out in spring. All elongated branches are removed and used for reproduction. This procedure is best carried out in several stages, so that the flower does not experience stress. All received cuttings put on rooting.
Diseases, pests of balsam
New Guinean Balsam care at home requires the same as other varieties.
When growing balsam, you may encounter the following problems:
- Spider mite. This is the most common problem. With improper care, during the heat, as well as with too dry indoor air, a spider mite appears on the plant. All affected parts are removed, the remaining stem is treated with a soap solution or a special preparation from a spider mite.
- Bacteriosis. Black spots on the leaves speak of the appearance of this ailment.
- With excessive watering, the plant suffers from fungal diseases. To get rid of them, it is necessary to transplant balsam into another pot with new soil as soon as possible, after washing the roots from the old earth.
- Rot on the ground. When rot is formed on the substrate, its upper layer is removed and removed, replacing it with a new one.
- Yellowing leaves. With insufficient watering, the balsam leaves begin to turn yellow. Also, this phenomenon can be observed during sunburn, when the plant stands in direct sunlight. In winter, yellowing of the leaves indicates cold.
When growing plants, beginners are faced with the problem of reluctance to bloom. Usually this phenomenon is observed with irregular and insufficient irrigation, as well as as a result of an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers. There are no other problems with this plant.