Gloxinia flower: tips and proper care at home

It happens that a flower of extraordinary beauty falls into our hands, with which we are still completely unfamiliar. Perhaps this is a gift, or just bought a plant in a store. In any case, I want to preserve this beauty.

Therefore, the first thing to do is get to know the plant better. Find out what it loves and what it does not accept at all. In this article, we will study gloxinia, the rules for caring for a flower at home and the requirements necessary for life.

External data and middle name

The appearance, or rather the color of the gloxinia flower, is simply striking in its exotic beauty. Large flowers directed upward resemble bells in shape, only their edges are rounded. The colors are white, pink, purple, red, dark brown and yellow.

On the petals of most gloxinia there is a drawing:

• lace-like ornament;
• contrasting speck, or a wide stroke along the edge of the petal.

The gloxinia leaves are oval, velvet, large, green in color, located almost near the ground. Peduncles naked. The plant is low 20-25 cm. Rhizome tuberous. In nature, lives in America from Brazil to Mexico, as well as in the Andes. Belongs to the Gesneriev family.

The second name of the flower is synningia., in honor of the breeder who worked on her, W. Sinning.

Plant photo

Below are photos of this beautiful flower.

Important content requirements

How to care for a flower at home? The most important thing for gloxinia, as for any plant, is the correct conditions of detention:

1. Ambient temperature For this beauty, an ordinary indoor room in the range from 18 to 23 degrees is suitable. During dormancy, gloxinia needs a decrease in temperature to 10-12 degrees. It is necessary to protect from sharp jumps in temperature and drafts.
2. Air humidity should be above average, dry air negatively affects the flowering and development of the plant.
3. Lighting It takes a long time, at least 12 hours a day, but the light must be diffused. Therefore, additional illumination does not hurt. A sign of insufficient lighting is raised leaves.
4. The soil for gloxinia should be loose, fertile. A soil mixture for violets with the addition of vermiculite as a baking powder is suitable. You can collect the soil yourself from sheet soil, peat and sand with the addition of a small amount of compost or rotted manure.

   The additive should be in an amount of 200 gr. on 5 liters of soil. She will provide nitrogen nutrition for gloxinia until the next transplant. Under the soil it is necessary to lay a drainage layer of small pebbles, brick chips or other suitable material.

5. Capacity for gloxinia, a very small about 500-700 ml in volume is needed. The pot should be low, but wide enough in accordance with the structure of its roots. There must be holes in the bottom to drain excess moisture.

Proper watering

Should gloxinia be sprayed? In caring for gloxinia, watering plays an important role and requires a special attitude. It is important how to water, what, at what time and how often.

The main thing in this business is accuracy. When watering, you can not get on the plant itself, and even more so, inside the outlet and on the growth point. This can kill gloxinia.

It is necessary to apply a thin stream of water to the edges of the pot. Or use watering through a pallet. It is enough to hold a container with this compact plant in water for about 10 minutes.

Water must be at room temperature, not higher and not lower. She needs to be allowed to stand, especially tap water, in order for chlorine to escape. Water with increased hardness is not suitable for irrigation. The best option is melt or rain water, if possible.

When to water? Morning watering is better than evening, high soil moisture at night favors the development of various infections. Watering should be strictly guided by the condition of the soil. It should dry from above, but not dry completely.

Bush formation

Some of the gloxinia species bloom twice a season. Usually this happens: the first flowering - May-June, then the preparation, and the second flowering - before the start of autumn. During the preparation period, pruning of the plant is required. If your gloxinia blooms continuously throughout the summer, this procedure is not required.

Preparing for re-flowering:

1. Cut off all the flower stalks and leaves, except 3-4 the lowest.
2. Gloxinia is fertilized with drugs that stimulate plant growth.
3. A few days later stepchildren appear. Choose the 3 strongest shoots, the rest cut off.
4. After 2-3 weeks, fertilizer is applied to flowering plants.

How and when to cut it for the winter?

Gloxinia hibernates by the end of autumn. You may notice that it consumes less and less water, and the shoots and leaves begin to fade. This is a natural process that you should not be afraid of. You just need to provide the necessary conditions for this period.

First of all, the whole aerial part of the plant is cut off when it withers, and then you can do two ways:

1. Put the pot with tuber for 3 months in a dark, cool place, not forgetting to moisten the soil twice a month. Suitable temperature is 10-15 degrees. In an apartment, gloxinia wintered perfectly under the bath, or in another suitable place.
2. 10-14 days after the death of the upper part of the plant, you need to dig up the roots, tubers, clean from the soil. Next, the tuber is placed in a bag with a mixture of soil and vermiculite. You can use sand, or sawdust. The main thing is that the substrate is slightly moist.

   The check is simple: squeeze a handful of soil in a fist and unclench, the lump should fall apart, and not stick together. The bag must be tightly closed and put on the refrigerator door.

More information about wintering plants can be found here.

Tuber planting

We have already dealt with the habitat conditions of gloxinia and the main measures for caring for it, but there are other points that you need to know about.

Training

We get the tuber in the bag from the refrigerator. Open, spray tuber and substrate with water. Close tightly again, and put in a warm 22-25 degrees and a very bright place. Further we observe: sprouts will appear in one and a half to two weeks. The tuber has woken up and is ready to land in the ground.

If you stored the tuber in a pot, then it should be removed from the soil, washed, and do the same. Awakened tuber is planted in previously prepared fresh nutrient soil.

Next steps

Farther need proper careso that the plant develops and blooms correctly:

1. We provide all the necessary conditions - temperature, humidity, lighting. In the spring, flower illumination under the lamps will definitely be required to get the desired daylight hours of 12-14 hours.
2. Water the plant correctly. First, you need a little water, the volume of which will gradually increase.
3. As soon as the green part of the plant appears, after 40-60 days after planting, we begin fertilizing with fertilizer for flowering plants. Their composition should include phosphorus, potassium and other trace elements. You need to make them twice a month until the end of flowering.

   Nitrogen fertilizers are recommended to be applied only before bud formation once every 2 weeks. However, there is a risk that the plant will become overweight and will not bloom. Therefore, it is better not to use them at all. An alternative would be fertile soil with the addition of compost or rotted manure. Any fertilizer is applied a couple of hours after watering.

4. Spraying the plant is strictly prohibited! If you want to increase humidity, then spray in the air around the plant. Moisture on the leaves can cause fungal infections and rotting plants.
5. We regularly inspect the plant for infection with diseases and pests.
6. We provide gloxinia for 3-4 months of rest in the winter.

Possible problems and illnesses

Forewarned is forearmed. We will analyze all the troubles that can overtake gloxinia.

Disease

• Tuber decay.

  Excess moisture in the soil, overkill with nitrogen fertilizing, as well as water that has got to the growth point can lead to root decay. A sign is drooping leaves that do not rise after watering. Dig the root, inspect it.

  If the growth point decays, then you need to root the strongest cuttings, and discard the root. If the rot is in another place, it must be cut, and the root should be held in a purple solution of potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle the slice with charcoal. Leave the tuber for 3 days to dry. Next, put it in the pot again.

• Late blight.

  First, the plant simply withers, and then all its aerial parts begin to rot. It’s too late to save, you need to get rid of the infected flower in order to save the remaining plants from infection.

• Fusarium.

  Dark stripes on the stem, brown spots on the root neck and brown fading leaves. Only at the initial stage, you can try to cope with the disease by treating a fungicide.

To combat use systemic insecticides. In addition, it is necessary to increase air humidity, which pests do not like.

Other problems:

1. Falling buds. This is due to insufficient daylight hours and a lack of trace elements.
2. Redness of the leaves occurs with a lack of phosphorus.
3. Yellow leaves are a sign of excessive watering and lack of nitrogen.
4. White leaves indicate a lack of magnesium.
5. Leaf curl occurs in conditions of low humidity.
6. The appearance of various non-infectious spots may be due to sunburn, cold water for irrigation or drafts.
7. Inhibited plant development and crumpled flowers indicate too low air temperature.
8. Low peduncles, twisted edge of the leaf, flowers of irregular shape may be the result of excessive watering.
9. The decay of buds and petioles occurs with excessive watering, increased soil acidity and an excess of nitrogen nutrition.
10. Lack of flowering is a consequence of improper care, lack of dormancy and non-compliance with the conditions of detention.

Conclusion

Gloxinia is not a "quiet" among indoor plants. She is capricious and requires increased attention to herself. However, there is nothing impossible in caring for her. Follow all conditions and rules so that this exotic beauty does not hurt and delight you with her fantastic flowering.

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