Gloxinia - a worldwide tropical flower. Under natural conditions, it grows in Latin America. And its memorable name is due to the world famous botanist Benjamin Gloxin.
Room gloxinia is a tuberous perennial with a short stem and rich, velvety leaves of rich green color. The same velvety bell-shaped flowers, simple or double, pink, red, white, purple, speckled, frilly or two-colored, reach 5 cm in length and 7 cm in diameter.
Gloxinia has a wide variety of species, differing from each other in shape and shade of flowers, the dimensions of the plant itself and its leaves. The most vivid of all the varieties are gloxinia red.
Who discovered the plant?
Later, another European scientist - German Wilhelm Zinning discovered and described a different kind of flowers - "syringes". The trick was that they were the same gloxinia, but with a different name.
A German botanist discovered that the flower has a tuberous root system. The scientific community recognized the discovery, renamed the flower botanical catalogs, and began to call it "Syning." But flower growers did not attach any importance to this and are still called "gloxinia".
What does it look like?
In height, the flower can be from very tiny 5-6 centimeters, up to 70 or more centimeters. Some gloxinia species are herbal, while others are shrubs.. Of course, herbaceous plants prevail.
The annual development of the perennial plant begins in early spring and lasts until the end of autumn. In late autumn and winter, gloxinia is dormant, minimizing its activity. The grassy part of the flower dies off, and the underground part experiences winter with the help of nutrients accumulated over the summer.
With the advent of the first rays of the sun, the buds are pecked out, the first leaves appear. Over the course of several weeks, stalks and a pedicle emerge from the ground. On each of them, there can be from one to seven buds that soon bloom.
The distinctive features of the colors of gloxinia include:
- Visually resemble bells.
- A wide range of colors flowers.
- Long bloom.
Many lovers confuse gloxinia with violet. But these are two completely different plants, the main visual difference from each other will be the shape of the flower. In the heroine of this article, he, as noted, he looks like a bell, and in violet - flatter. Also, the number of flowers per plant will be more in the first case.
Gloxinia has several breeding options.:
- the roots;
- leaves;
- seeds;
- pedicels.
Varieties: description and photo
Of course, gardeners and flower growers in many countries of the world were most attracted to those types of gloxinia, which have red flowers. Room razvodchiki adhere to the same preferences. Red looks very bright and, as they say in our country, "rich".
Little Red Riding Hood
The name of the variety was due to the large cluster of red flowers, similar to the cap. Such a hat appears over a small herbaceous plant during the flowering period. It has a bright red color, gradually darkening towards the white inner region. The leaves are a dark green shade and folded down.
The leaf is dark green, powerful, the edges are folded inward. Photo gloxinia with buds "cap", show all the magnificence of this flower
Krasnoyarsk
Rare variety of all your favorite flower, the photo you can see all its beauty. It is considered extremely scarce.
There are also monophonic flowers without blotches of a different color.. The end of the petals is always lighter than the base of the flower rosette.
- tropical pink gloxinia;
- white terry gloxinia.
Growing rules
Gloxinia - extremely unpretentious in breeding flowers. A beginner grower will be able to grow them successfully. You just need to follow a number of rules:
- Sufficient lighting - Gloxinia is from Central America, which means it needs a lot of light. The plant should be placed on the sunny side of your home, or on the lighted area of the garden. Perhaps the content of the flower in the penumbra, but then it will be more reminiscent of meadow grass than a bright flower.
You will immediately realize that your pet does not have enough sunlight if the leaves start to grow upwards. When complying with the lighting mode, they look horizontally or down.
- Sufficient temperature - The plant requires a temperature regime of its homeland, that is, the tropics. In terms of degrees - this is about +20 Celsius. At increase of this indicator by 8-10 units upwards, gloxinia stops developing pedicels. At temperatures below 18 degrees, gloxinia may die.
- Sufficient moisture - Gloxinia prefer wet soil and not dry air. Therefore, placing them near artificial heat sources would be a fatal mistake. Regular spraying and watering will help in establishing a tropical climate for the plant.
Watering should be frequent and moderate, but such that the water does not stagnate and ruin the root system. That is, there must be drainage in the pot. Experienced gardeners came up with a kind of life hacking for this. In order to maintain a balance of soil moisture, sphagnum moss can be placed on the ground. He will take some of the moisture and then gradually give it to the ground.
Soil selection
Gloxinia red varieties have the same requirements for the soil and growing conditions as all the others.
The soil should be loose and breathable.. From soil mixes for cultivating Gloxinia, both universal and mixtures of peat land with sand will be suitable. The level of soil acidity should not be higher than 6.5 Ph. Gloxinia will not actively develop in acidic soil. Before planting, it is recommended to shed the soil with a solution of manganese to destroy parasites and pathogens.
If you plan to grow a flower not in the garden, but in a pot, you should take into account the following facts:
- the pot should have a wide diameter;
- Gloxinia prefers shallow growing containers;
- material of which the pot is made does not matter.
For the first time planted plants suitable capacity, having a diameter of 7-10 centimeters. For gloxinia older diameter should be increased to 15 centimeters.
Diseases and pests
Gloxinia is characterized by the same parasites as all herbaceous plants. For domestic varieties, of course, dangerous parasites that live inside the soil mixture.
The most common enemies are:
- thrips;
- spider mite;
- aphid;
- caterpillars;
- nematodes.
Ordinary drugs from a specialty store will help to cope with them when used strictly according to the instructions.
Among the diseases that plague this kind of flowers, root rot, blackleg and gray rot should be noted. All gloxinia diseases are caused by over-irrigation.. For cures, one should first of all reduce the moisture level in the soil, remove the lesions and treat with fungicides.
Breeding methods
The natural endurance of the gloxinia and the unique climate of its ancestral homeland affected the flower's breeding methods. This plant can be safely called universal, since it multiplies by almost all methods known to science:
- Seeds - sown on top of the ground from November to February. The first shoots appear after 14 days. With the appearance of 2-3 leaflets in small gloxinia, they are thinned or transplanted into other containers.
- Leaves - A full leaf is carefully cut off from the plant. An incision is made along the central vein and placed in the incisions into the moistened soil. Soon shoots will appear from the notches on the original leaflet.
- Tubers - Bulk tubers are divided in such a way that 1-2 shoots remain on each segment. Cut the ground sprinkled with crushed coal and planted in moist soil.
- Cuttings - healthy cuttings with leaves are separated from the main stem of the plant. Each stalk is placed in a container with water, and after the appearance of the roots are planted in the ground.
Brothers by color - similar plants
- Hippeastrum - bulbous flower with a large onion (up to 20 centimeters in diameter) and a developed root system.During flowering, throws large flowers that are wide can reach the size of a human fist. Flowers have many shades: red, white, yellow.
- Coleria - A close relative of Gloxinia. A distinctive feature - oblong toothed leaves. Flowers also resemble bells, but have a surreal appearance because of their disproportionate elongation.
- Tuberous Begonia - also the beauty beloved by florists of the whole world from a window sill. Begonias have terry small flowers of bright shades. Some varieties bloom only in winter, and some - all year round.
- Streptokarpus - Another relative gloxinia. Differs a different form of leaves, they have a linear and elongated appearance. The flowers are also different, they are spiral-shaped on streptocarpus.
- Achimenez - flowering perennial shrub. Flowers, visually resembling a bell, have a very large base. Accordingly, they look visually elongated. Flowering - up to two times per season.
- Gloxinia Shahane - photos of the flower and the rules for caring for them.
- Why are flower growers so fond of Rosalind gloxinia?
- Descriptions of Brokada gloxinia, as well as how to plant and propagate a flower?
- Terry gloxinia Yesenia: description and photo of the flower; rules of plant care.
- Description and photo varieties Kaiser Wilhelm and Friedrich.
- How to grow a decorative Gloxinia Sonata at home?
- Features of growing hybrid gloxinia.
Conclusion
Blossoming red gloxinia will help you to decorate your home interior or your garden with bright and not withering flowers for a long time. They are very unpretentious in care and will not create great difficulties. Following a series of simple care guidelines will help you enjoy them for up to 10 years.