Gloxinia are popular indoor plants that can often be found on our windows. The beauty of flowers is difficult to convey in words. The plant got its name in honor of the botanist Benjamin Peter Gloxin. Gloxinia flower belongs to the Gesneriaceae family.
Homeland of the plant
The birthplace of the gloxinia flower is South and Central America. There it grows in deciduous forests of Peru, Brazil, in the rocky regions of Mexico, in the Andes, as well as on the banks of rivers. The plant also has another name - synigninia. It was given by the name of William Snning, who worked as a gardener at Boston University.
He devoted himself entirely to the hybridization and selection of gloxinia. Flowers, thanks to his efforts, have gained many new hybrid forms, including for home breeding. Currently, there are many varieties of beautiful plants.
Plant description
The gloxinia houseplant is a tuberous perennial plant with a small stem and velvety green leaves. Culture is valued for its beautiful velvety inflorescences in the form of bells. Flowers can be simple and terry, purple, red, pink, white, speckled. On average, they reach seven centimeters in diameter and five in length. In the wild, the plant has the appearance of perennial shrubs and herbs. Of the 25 varieties, only gloxinia beautiful and royal gloxinia formed the basis of selection.
Gloxinia royal
Royal gloxinia has a height of not more than ten centimeters. The leaves of the plant are dark green and have a fringe. The foliage has silver streaks on top, and reddish on the bottom. Peduncles of the plant are long and elongated in shape, they resemble a bell of dark purple color.
Gloxinia is beautiful
Fine gloxinia is a herbaceous plant with leaves narrowed at the base. Flowers can have a completely different shape, depending on the type and variety. Terry gloxinia of violet, white, pink, blue and purple are very beautiful.
Seat selection
Many of us love gloxinia potted plants. Caring for them is not as difficult as it might seem. Compliance with simple rules will allow you to get lush flowering. For the plant, it is necessary to provide a fairly spacious place that will be well lit. The fact is that flowers need 12-14 hours of intense lighting. In the winter-autumn period, under the conditions of our climate, it is not possible to naturally get so much light. Therefore, you need to be prepared for the fact that gloxinia flowers at home will have to be illuminated artificially. To understand whether a plant has enough light, you just need to look at it. If the foliage is dark green and is horizontal, and the stem is not elongated, then the flower has enough light.
In the event that you notice that the whole plant is reaching up, there is clearly not enough lighting. But at the same time, you should be aware that caring for gloxinia flowers at home consists primarily in protecting the plant from direct sunlight, which leaves burns on a tender surface. Direct rays cause the appearance of gray spots, which weaken the plant, slowing down the metabolism.
Where is the best place to plant indoor flowers? Gloxinia is best placed on the southern windows until May, until the sun is bright. In the future, the plant will have to shade. If you put flowerpots on the northern windows, then the bushes will begin to stretch out very much due to lack of light. And this negatively affects the timing of flowering. And in general, the plant may never release peduncles.
Ideally, the plant is best placed on southeast or southwest windows. In order for the bushes to receive an even amount of light, they must be turned every week.
Watering plants
It is very important to ensure the correct gloxinia flower content. How to care for a plant? First of all, the flower must be provided with proper watering. It is from him that the flowering plant largely depends. During the active growing season, gloxinia should be abundantly and regularly watered. But at the same time, this must be done very carefully so that water does not fall on the foliage and stems.
The irrigation fluid must be left to stand for several days so that the chlorine leaves. Even if you want to use melt water, it should still be cleaned with filters, because it contains many impurities. The temperature of the irrigation fluid should be approximately + 25- + 27 degrees. It is poured evenly over the entire surface of the pot, if excess liquid appears in the pan, it will certainly be drained. The plant is negatively affected by both dryness and excessive moisture. Gloxinia prefer high humidity, but you can not spray plants.
To create good conditions, you can spray the air near the bushes. You can also put the pots on a pallet with wet expanded clay. The liquid will evaporate, creating a moist environment around. Gloxinia home flower needs fresh air, so the room must be ventilated. In the absence of fresh air and low humidity, the plant is susceptible to fungal diseases.
Temperature mode
For the proper development of tubers, the most acceptable temperature is +25 degrees. Adult bushes feel comfortable and bloom perfectly at + 20- + 22 degrees. But approaching the temperature to +30 degrees leads to the fact that gloxinia slows down growth, and the tuber overheats. High temperatures can cause illness. But low temperatures are detrimental to the plant. The root system can rot, the buds fall, and the leaves turn black.
Plant Nutrition
Planting a gloxinia flower should be done in nutrient ground. It is impossible to achieve lush flowering if the plant is in poor soil. The earth must contain a sufficient amount of nutrients.
After planting, the first top dressing is carried out with nitrogen fertilizer. It stimulates the development of leaves and roots. Later they switch to phosphate fertilizers. They enhance the formation of buds and flowering. Flowering bushes should be given a complete set of trace elements and potassium.
It is necessary to apply top dressing no more than once every two weeks. The plant is treated very carefully so that the liquid does not get on the leaves and stems.
How to achieve flowering?
With proper planting and care, the gloxinia flower will give you abundant flowering. But for this, the plant needs to provide regular moderate watering, good lighting and a suitable temperature regime. In this case, the bushes will delight flowering from spring to the very end of summer. The flowering period also depends on the plant variety. If necessary, you can arrange the re-flowering of bushes, if they dropped flowers early.
To do this, cut the peduncles and stems, remove part of the leaves, leaving a couple of lower ones. In the future, the plant should be fed with nitrogen fertilizer.
After some time in the sinuses will appear sprouts - stepsons. Weak shoots must be removed, and the rest must be left. The second flowering, of course, is not so plentiful, but still will please the hostesses.
Gloxinia Reproduction
Flowers can be propagated in many ways: seeds, leafy cuttings, peduncles, stepsons and tubers. If the apartment does not yet have gloxinia, then the seeds can be bought at any specialized store. It is necessary to sow them at the beginning of March, otherwise you can not wait for flowering this year.
For sowing you will need a shallow small container and with a nutrient mixture. Soil is best purchased at the store. For example, it can be a substrate for violets. You can prepare the mixture yourself. To do this, connect the two parts of peat and turf land. And also add one piece of sand. We mix all the components and get loose and light soil.
Gloxinia seeds are scattered on the surface and do not even sprinkle with earth, because they are very small. Top soil is sprayed with water and covered with glass. The pot is put in a warm place. For seed germination, a temperature of the order of +23 degrees is necessary. Crops must be regularly ventilated, and sprayed only as needed. After a couple of weeks, the first shoots should appear, they are also moistened with a spray bottle. After another week, you can remove the shelter and carefully monitor the moisture of the soil. The first transplant of young plants is carried out after the appearance of two leaves. Between the bushes maintain a distance of about three centimeters. But at the second transplant, the distance between plants is already increased to ten centimeters. Mistresses recommend taking cassettes or disposable cups for planting seedlings. After the plant has grown, it is determined in a separate pot. It is worth noting that flowers grown from seeds are very hardy. Six months after sowing plants, a beautiful gloxinia will already flaunt on the window.
Propagation by cuttings
Gloxinia reproduce well with leaf cuttings. This method is not too troublesome and gives excellent results. Foliage for rooting is taken from the plant during the growing season. The sheet is cut and placed in water. The amount of liquid should be such that it contains only the petiole. After a couple of weeks, the first roots will begin to appear. At this point, the stalk can be transplanted into the ground. To do this, you need to take a small pot, creating a drainage layer in it. Cuttings are planted, watered and covered in a hotbed (for example, a jar). After one or two months, babies will begin to appear. They are sedimented after they grow up a little.
There is another way to land. The cut stalk is dried for an hour, and then immediately planted in the ground. Then they cover it with a greenhouse and wait for the children to appear.
Leaf propagation
On a leaf gloxinia make cuts along the veins and spread on the soil. Then it is gently pressed into the ground and covered with a greenhouse. After some time, you can expect the emergence of young shoots. As they grow, young plants can be transplanted into separate pots.
Peduncle propagation
Gloxinia is good in that all its parts can be used for reproduction. So, for example, you can root even cut flower stalks, which were not needed during repeated flowering. They are rooted and grown in exactly the same way as in previous cases.
We also mentioned that bushes can be propagated by dividing the tuber. This method is quite risky, since you can even go without a flower. You can only divide those nodules that have formed several shoots. It must be divided so that each part has at least one germ. Delenki leave for a day in the air. During this time, the damaged tissue will dry out a bit and will not lose moisture in the future. If you want to immediately plant tubers, then the slices must be processed with crushed coal. Delenki are planted in transparent small containers in order to track the development of the root system. Watering should be moderate enough so that the plant does not rot. Three weeks later, sprouts can be expected. As the roots fill the container, gloxinia can be transplanted into pots.
Enemies of Gloxinia
Unfortunately, gloxinia at home is susceptible to disease. They can also become victims of pests. Most often, plant ailments are associated with a violation of the conditions of detention.
If you notice the appearance of brown spots on the foliage, then this is anthracosis. It can be caused by a lack of phosphate-potassium fertilizers or by high acidity of the soil. If the disease is not detected in time, you will have to destroy the entire bush.
With increased humidity and low temperatures, the development of powdery mildew is highly likely. Excessive wetting of gloxinia flowers can also lead to fungal infections. Home care implies the organization of the correct watering regimen.
Pests such as spider mites and thrips are no less dangerous for gloxinia.