Growing gloxinia: why do not buds bloom and blacken? Hurry up to take action before they dry!

Gloxinia stands out among other decorative specimens due to large bright bell flowers. However, the plant is not always happy with plentiful flowering.

Improper care often causes problems with the development of gloxinia buds; they do not bloom or dry. With competent and timely determination of the causes, it is possible to eliminate the diseases that arose in the plant. We will talk about this in detail in our article. Also watch a useful video on this topic.

Plant description

Gloxinia is a perennial plant of the Gesneriaceae family. Has a tuberous root system. The stalk is short erect or long curved, smooth or covered with hairs. The leaves are large oval, velvety, saturated green. The flowers are bell-shaped, simple or double. The color of the flowers can be red, white, pink, purple, tiger. Gloxinia seeds are very small. Gloxinia hails from South America. The second name of the plant is synningia.

Build and Feature

Gloxinia begins to bloom in March. Flowering lasts up to three months. The flowers of the plant are single, emerging from the sinuses, large, oblong, velvety. They resemble a bell in shape. Peduncles are soft, so large tall bells can be drooping. The diameter of the flowers is 8-12 centimeters. The buds have 4 stamens. Nectar annular or absent. The corolla is tubular, consists of round petals with a corrugated edge, located in one or more rows.

The corolla can be plain: white, purple, red, raspberry or cream. It can be two-tone, have a border, contrasting specks or spots. The base and edges of the petals most often have different colors. Some varieties of gloxinia, instead of an open corolla, have an elongated tube and small bent petals. On one plant, from 8 to 40 buds can form.

Causes of common problems and their solution

Errors in the content of gloxinia during the flowering period lead to serious consequences. Correct and timely identification of the causes will increase the chances of saving the plant.

Don't bloom

Why does gloxinia not completely open the buds, then turn brown and soft?

Causes:

• the plant has too many buds with a lack of fertilizing;
• soil depletion;
• lack or excess of lighting;
• wrong temperature conditions;
• low humidity;
• pests: spider mites or thrips.

Decision:

1. Inspect the plant.
2. In case of pest attack, carry out insecticide treatment, following the instructions on the product packaging.
3. During the period of building green mass, nitrogen fertilizers must be applied.
4. When forming the first buds, one should switch to a mineral complex rich in potassium and phosphorus.
5. Set the lighting mode.
6. The plant needs bright diffused light.
7. The daylight hours for gloxinia should be 12-14 hours.
8. If the leaves are pulled up, the plant does not have enough light. In this case, you need to transfer the pot to another windowsill or arrange artificial lighting.
9. With an excess of light, gloxinia must be shaded with gauze, tulle, paper from direct sunlight and put the plant away from glass.
10. Adjust the room temperature. Favorable for gloxinia daytime temperature is + 20 + 22ºС, at night + 18ºС. The rest period should take place at + 10 + 14ºС.
11. Correct the level of humidity by placing a wide container of water near the plant.
12. Spray the surrounding area from a spray bottle, preventing water from entering the gloxinia.
13. On a small windowsill, it is convenient to use two pallets.
14. Fill the lower, deeper sump with fine gravel, expanded clay and moisten with water. Put the second tray with a pot on the gravel.

Blacken

The buds wither without blooming and turn black and dry.

Causes:

• wintering of tubers in a too cold room;
• excessively dry air;
• depleted soil;
• dry soil or too frequent moistening of the soil.

Decision:

1. Inspect the gloxinia tuber and treat it with Epin - a drug that has an anti-stress effect.
2. Increase indoor humidity.
3. In the heat to shade the plant, protecting from direct sunlight.
4. Replace depleted soil with fresh soil.
5. To sustain intervals between waterings.
6. To establish timely moistening of the soil, avoiding overdrying of an earthen coma.

Wither away

The buds dry without blooming.

Causes:

• dry air
• cold air, drafts;
• high air temperature;
• excess or lack of lighting;
• depleted soil;
• overflow.

Decision:

1. Raise the humidity level in the room.
2. Organize ventilation, avoiding drafts.
3. Set the lighting mode.
4. Feed the plant with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
5. Adjust watering.
6. The soil should be loose and slightly moist.

Empty inside

Expanding, the sepals show a small green pea instead of a bud. After a while, the peduncle turns brown. The undeveloped bud falls off.

Cause:

• cold wintering;
• stress from storage at too low a temperature.

Decision:

1. Remove the defective bud by carefully trimming the peduncle.
2. After a while, a new bud will form.
3. A full flower should open.
4. Carry out several sprays of Epin according to the instructions on the package.

Rot

Causes:

• waterlogging of the substrate;
• too acidic reaction of soil pH;
• excess nitrogen.

Decision:

1. Limit watering for several days so that the substrate dries.
2. Water gloxinia only through a pallet.
3. Make sure that the ground is not too wet, but do not allow drying.
4. In acidic soil, you need to transplant the plant with a complete replacement of the soil mixture.
5. Use only complex fertilizers, which, in addition to nitrogen, include phosphorus and potassium. Carry out two or three treatments with Fitosporin, Maxim or another fungicide to prevent tuber decay. Process the instance of Epin.
6. If after the measures taken the problem does not go away, the tuber most likely began to disappear. In this case, you need to carefully examine it.
7. Brown spots trimmed with a sharp knife to a healthy tissue.
8. Treat the slice with powdered activated or charcoal. Place the tuber in a new pot containing calcined drainage and a new soil mixture.

Preventative measures

In order for gloxinia to bloom safely, it is necessary to systematically prevent possible problems:

• Keep track of soil moisture, preventing excessive moisture and drying out.
• Apply good drainage.
• Use warm water for irrigation.
• Prevent water from entering leaves, buds and flowers. Do not spray the plant.
• It is better to water gloxinia through the pan.
• Sometimes spray the air around the plant.
• Transplant gloxinia every spring to prevent soil depletion.
• Use hydrogel to prevent drying of the substrate.
• Apply complex top dressing.
• Provide adequate lighting without direct sunlight.
• Keep gloxinia in a warm room, keep away from drafts.
• Inspect the plant regularly.
• Systematically apply Epin or Zircon to maintain gloxinia immunity.

Prerequisites for a healthy flowering

With proper care, gloxinia blooms from spring to early fall.. To ensure healthy flowering, certain conditions must be met:

1. Warm bright room, preferably an east window.
2. If the soil is formed at home, you need to prepare a mixture of sheet, turfy soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1.
3. Mandatory drainage to prevent stagnation of water in the pot. It is recommended to use expanded clay, crushed polystyrene.
4. Correct and timely feeding.
5. Prevention of diseases and pests.
6. Suitable pot size. Do not use too large a container, otherwise the plant will grow tuber instead of flowering.
7. Adequate lighting in humid air.
8. For the flowering period to last longer, faded peduncles must be removed immediately.
9. Compliance with rest periods.
10. Proper care after flowering. At the end of flowering, the plant is prepared for wintering. The dry ground part of the plant is cut off, leaving a small stump of 1-2 cm and the pots with tubers are removed in a cool dark place. At the end of February, tubers are carefully removed, cleaned of the earth, cut off rotten parts, disinfected sections, dried for 24 hours and planted in a new substrate.

To gloxinia bloomed again, the stem after flowering is cut, leaving a few pairs of lower leaves. From the sinuses stepchildren grow. Only the most powerful of them should be left. At this time, it is important to feed with a high concentration of nitrogen. These procedures will stimulate the growth of new leaflets. When buds appear, fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus must be applied. Repeated flowering is always less magnificent than the first.

You can read more about caring for gloxinia at home here, and here we talked about the rules of watering and feeding.

Conclusion

In the process of gloxinia cultivation, it is important to remember the need for systematic disease prevention. If the flower does not open or darkens, it is immediately necessary to establish the cause and proceed to measures to save the plant.

Observing all the rules of care, you can achieve abundant flowering gloxinia. Good luck with home gardening!

Watch the video: Gloxinia Growing Lots Of Healthy Leaves (May 2024).