Violets: Growing on a windowsill

A room violet (lat. Saintpaulia), or Uzambarian violet – is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants of the family Gesneria, widespread in indoor flowering. In nature, the violet grows in the mountainous regions of East Africa – in Tanzania and Kenya, most often choosing places on river terraces and near waterfalls. There are more than 20 species of Uzambarian violet. It was Baron Adalbert Walter Radcliffe le Thanet von Saint-Paul, the military commander of the Ouzambar county, which at the time was part of the German colony, discovered this amazing flower in 1892. The district was located in present-day Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Saint-Paul sent violet seeds to his father Ulrich Saint-Paul, president of the German Arboretum Society, who gave them to botanist Wendland, who in 1893 grew the flower from the seeds and described it as the violet-flowered senpilla, identifying it as a separate genus.

In the same year, the senpole was presented at the flower show in Ghent, where the right for its industrial breeding was sold. In 1927, the senpole came to North America and immediately won an unprecedented popularity on that continent – by 1949 there were already known more than 100 varieties of indoor violets. Today the violet plant has more than 32 thousand varieties, which are hybrids of the violet flowering plant and the mistaken violet plant.

Botanical description

The house violet is a low-growing evergreen perennial herbaceous plant with short stems and a root rosette of rounded, leathery, tufted leaves, green on the so-called boys plants and with a light spot at the base on the girls. The leaves of domestic violets have an unequal heart-shaped base and a pointed or rounded tip. Flowers of senpollias, 2 to 4 cm in diameter, simple, five-petaled, or swollen, frayed, star-shaped or corrugated, gathered in clusters. The color of the flowers can be almost any – one shade or two-color.

Flowering of violets with proper care lasts almost all year round. The fruit of the senpolia is a box with a large number of seeds.

Actually, senpolia is called a house violet only because its flowers are similar to the flowers of violets forest or garden, in fact, senpolia belongs to a completely different family and is not related to such a well-known garden plant as a tricolor violet, or pansies. Violets on windowsills are senpollias, African flowers that have managed to conquer the world in a short period of time. We’ll tell you how to plant a violet, how to care for a house violet, and describe to you the most popular violet varieties in culture.

Violet care at home

Growing conditions

How do I take care of my house violets so they bloom as long as possible? Room violets are very fond of light, but afraid of direct sunlight, so the best place for them – north, northeast or northwest window sill, illuminated by diffused light. You can keep them and on the southern window, up to the middle curtained with a cloth – no problem if the violets will fall on the rays of the setting sun, but from the afternoon scalding rays of the delicate leaves and flowers of the senpole should be protected.

The daylight hours for violets at home should last 13-14 hours and if you manage to organize additional lighting for it during winter time it will bloom relentlessly even in February colds.

How to grow violets in a city apartment and what is the optimum temperature regime for it? Violet flowers stop developing when the temperature drops below 15 ºC, so you need to keep the room moderately warm in summer and moderately cool in winter. The optimal temperature for a senpolia is 18-24ºC.

Drafts and drastic temperature changes are bad for them – that’s why indoor violets don’t like to spend the summer outdoors.

It is important for the senpolia and humidity – it should be high, but the water should not fall neither on the flowers, nor on the leaves of the plant in the light.

Pots for violets

The pot for a senpole should be small, since the violet root does not take up much space, and flower abundantly plant begins to flower only when the roots master all the internal space of the pot. Young senpolias need a pot with a diameter of 5-6 cm, and for adult violets is enough to have a pot with a diameter of 7-9 cm. And only very large plants will need a pot with a diameter of 11-13 cm. The calculation for selecting a pot is simple: the diameter of the container should be three times less than the diameter of the leaf rosette. And note that the room violet prefers plastic pots to expensive clay ones.

Soil for violets

Taking care of home violets involves choosing a soil of a certain composition for it. In stores, sold a soil mixture for senpillas, but experience shows that it is not suitable for all violets. But the universal flower soil type “Terra-Vita” violets suitable.

You can make a substrate yourself from turf and leaf soil, sand and humus in the ratio of 0.5:2:1:1. In a bucket of ready mixture can make a tablespoon of superphosphate and half a cup of bone meal and mix everything thoroughly. The main requirements for the ground for senpollias: it must be friable, quickly absorb water and good air permeability. But before you fill the pot with the substrate, place in it a layer of drainage from expanded clay, vermiculite, pieces of styrofoam or sphagnum moss volume of a third of the pot – the drainage will protect your violet from stagnant water in the roots, from which it can die. You can put a piece of charcoal on the drainage.

Planting

When the violet container is filled with drainage, you can begin planting the senpolia. Sprinkle a layer of substrate over the drainage, place the plant in the center of the pot and gradually pour the substrate under the plant from different sides, shaking the pot a little to fill all the voids with the substrate. When 2cm is left unfilled to the edge of the pot, gently press the surface of the substrate down and water the violet.

Watering

Violets at home require regular watering. How do I water a violet? The best way to moisten the potting soil is to use the bottom watering method. Once a week to a week and a half, pour warm, temperate water into a deep bowl and immerse the pot with the violet in it so that the water almost reaches the edge of the pot, but does not overflow into it. After a while, when the top layer of violet soil shines from the moisture, remove the pot from the bowl and let the excess water drain off.

Frequent or overwatering can lead to rotting of the plant’s roots. Only moisten the violet when the root ball is almost completely dry. If you have a violet with leaves on long stalks, keep an eye on it: as soon as it has dropped its leaves, it is time to water all violets.

Fertilizer

Violet care at home requires fertilizing the soil. Start fertilizing violets at the beginning of the growing season, and continue to apply fertilizer once a week and a half until the violet enters the dormant period. Use liquid complexes for flowering houseplants as fertilizer. The best way is to add fertilizer to the water for bottom watering, especially since the frequency of moistening the soil coincides with the frequency of fertilizing. Note, however, that the concentration of fertilizer should be half of what is stated in the instructions.

Transplanting

Violets require a yearly replacement of the substrate in the pot, but the pot itself does not need to be changed. If the plant needs a bigger pot, you will know that the leaves are smaller and paler and that flowering has become scarce. In this case, you need to transplant the senpilla into a pot 2 cm larger in diameter.

How to transplant a violet to cause as little disturbance to it as possible? Violets are easier to transplant in March. Try to transfer it gently from one pot to another without disturbing the root ball. The root neck of the plant should be 2-3 cm below the edge of the pot. After transplanting the senpolia into a new pot on the drainage layer, evenly fill the gaps between the plant’s root ball and the walls with fresh substrate, shaking the pot so that the soil fills all the space. After transplanting, don’t forget to water the violet well.

Pruning and shaping the rosette

A violet bush should have three tiers of leaves. The lower leaves can be cut off without leaving the petioles, especially if they are faded and lifeless. Remove wilted flowers and deformed or yellowed leaves in good time to keep the shrub looking tidy. From time to time, rotate the pot with the violet around its axis so that the leaves in the rosette are evenly arranged. Over time, because you removed the lower leaves, the violet’s trunk becomes exposed.

The older the plant, the higher the trunk, and this does not add to the plant’s decorativeness. There are two ways to remedy the situation: transplant the violet, burying the trunk in the ground, or cut off the entire rosette, leaving under it a part of the trunk up to 2 cm high, place the bush with a stub in a glass with water, wait for the formation of roots on it and plant the violet in the ground.

Violet hygiene

Caring for violets is also about hygiene. In the natural conditions of the African mountains, where violets are watered by rain and dried by wind, they feel fine and grow sometimes up to 30 cm in height. Therefore, in answer to the questions of readers, whether violets can be washed and why violets should not be sprayed, we answer that you can both wash and spray violets.

When the leaves of the plant are covered with dust, take them to the bathroom, turn on the shower and wash the dust from the leaves with a gentle head of warm water. However, don’t rush to return the violets to the windowsill, leave them in the tub until the excess water drains off and the leaves are dry, otherwise they will stain under the bright light.

Propagation of violets

Propagation methods

As you can see, planting and caring for violets is not difficult at all, and the unobtrusive, but almost perfect beauty of the senpole makes any home attractive and cozy. Anyone who has been conquered by the unassuming charm of indoor violets, will definitely want to learn how to propagate them, and we are ready to share with you our experience in this matter. Home violets can be propagated by seeds, offspring and leaf cuttings, but it is easier to use vegetative methods of propagation.

Babys propagation

Sometimes one bush of a senpole can form several rosettes – offspring. When the baby violets grow up, they become crowded in one pot with the mother plant and the violet begins to become sickly. Take the violet out of the pot, carefully separate the roots of all the rosettes and put the offspring into separate pots. Healthy plants tolerate transplanting well even when in flower.

Propagation by leaf

The easiest way to grow a violet is from a leaf. Separate a healthy, beautiful leaf from the second tier of the rosette and place it with its petiole in water so that it takes root. The petiole should be about 4 cm long, and in miniature and semi-miniature violets it should be at least a centimeter and a half.

Many people prefer to immediately plant the leaf in a container with drainage holes, drainage layer and loose soil, consisting of 4 parts coarse sand, 2 parts leaf soil and 1 part peat. The pot is covered with a transparent cover, and then placed in a warm, bright place, protected from direct sunlight. From time to time the substrate is watered, but do not allow it to overwater. The leaf can sit in the substrate for a long time without any changes, but you must be patient.

Sometimes the leaf shrivels up, withers and dies off, but you should not rush to throw it away: a new plant buds under the ground, at the very bottom of the petiole, so you just have to wait. When the young leaves appear, the parent leaf, if it is in good condition, is cut off. It can immediately be rooted again. If several rosettes emerge from a single leaf at once, you must wait until they have grown, divide and transplant them into separate pots.

The disadvantage of the leaf-rooting process is that you cannot see when the roots appear, but the rooting time is greatly reduced and the probability of a new plant is increased to almost 100%.

Pests and diseases

Species violets are rarely affected by pests or diseases, but plants that have been created as a result of breeding efforts are not so prosperous in this regard.

Diseases and their treatment

Senpolliasis, powdery mildew, rust, gray rot, and phytophthora most often suffer from.

Powdery mildew covers violet leaves, petioles and peduncles with a whitish scurf. Illumination, low temperature combined with high air humidity, dusty leaves, excessive nitrogen and lack of potassium and phosphorus in soil provoke development of the disease. Treat diseased plant with treatment with Fondazole or Bentlan solutions. Repeat spraying after 10 days if it is severely affected.

Phytophthora occurs when a fungal infection enters the violet root system through wounds or cracks, resulting in rotting of the plant’s root neck and brown spots on the leaves. Phytophthora blight primarily destroys plants weakened by poor care. The danger of the disease is that it cannot be cured. The diseased plant is destroyed and the pot is sterilized. To avoid Phytophthora infestation, be sure to add superphosphate to the soil and do not allow too high humidity in the room.

Grey rot, or Botrytis, can be recognized by the fluffy brownish-gray mold growth on the ground parts of the plant. The disease develops rapidly and, as a result, the plant dies. The swollen parts should be removed immediately, and the violet should be treated with fungicide. Rotten plant throw away together with the soil – it is no longer useful to you. To avoid provoking the disease, keep violets from draughts, sudden temperature changes and overwatering the soil.

Fusariasis, or rotting of the rosette, occurs when violets are over-watered, when cold water is used to moisten the soil, when there are temperature changes, when the soil is too heavy or the pot is too large. You can tell if a plant has fusarium by the following symptoms: leaf petioles turn brown, leaves fall off, and the roots turn dark and separate easily from the soil. At the first sign of the disease, remove the rotten parts of the plant and treat the violet with some fungicide.

Rust appears as yellow-orange tubercles on the top side of the leaves and rusty-brown pads on the underside. As the disease progresses, violet leaves begin to fall off. The fungus is killed by treating the plant with 1% Bordeaux liquid or some other fungicide, or by powdering the violets with sulfur dust.

As a prophylaxis against any fungal disease, including fusarium, treat your violet once every two months with a solution of Fundazole.

Pests and pest control

Among the pests of danger for violets are mites, scales and false scales, aphids, thrips, nematodes, midges, whitefly, moths and mosquitoes.

Pliers. When infested by mites, the leaves of violets have indented brown spots as if made with a blunt needle. Red spider mites, cyclamen mites and flat mites affect violets and feed on the sap of the plant, causing it to become weak and wither. You can get rid of all types of mites by treating your violet with acaricide such as Acarine, Actellic or Fytoverm, The last two preparations should be additionally sprinkled on the soil in the pot. The procedure should be performed outdoors – in the yard or on the balcony, since acaricides are toxic to humans. Don’t forget to wear gloves, goggles and a mask.

Pinchers и spoonbills prefer to settle in rosettes with smooth leaves. You can guess their appearance by the sticky droplets of secretions. If you find even one adult insect, the whole plant must be treated with Agravertin.

Thrips can enter the room with poplar down or flowers from the garden. These sucking insects are dangerous because they multiply instantly and can occupy neighboring plants. They disturb the integrity of stamens, leave silvery gnawing on flowers, and brown or black spots on damaged leaves. To control thrips, remove all flower stems and treat the plant with Fytoverm, Actellicum or Actara.

Nematodes – are microscopic worms that live in the soil and attack the root system of violets by sucking them dry and releasing toxins in return. As a result of nematode activity, galls – bead-like swellings – form on the roots of the plant. Nematodes can also be leaf nematodes, parasitizing on the leaves and buds of violets: first on the leaves appear light-colored spots, gradually darkening and decaying. The symptoms of leaf nematodes resemble those of gray rot, but without the mildew.

It is impossible to get rid of nematodes – You will have to destroy the diseased plant to prevent the pests from spreading to neighboring flowers. You can try to restore the violet by rooting a healthy leaf without any spots. Nematodes can be prevented by growing flowers in soilless peat soils, adding a Piperazine tablet to each pot.

Worms Most often settle on young flower stalks and in the axils and folds of leaves. The plant becomes deformed and reddish or brown in places where the worm bites. Soil worms prefer to feed on the roots of violets. Their presence can be detected when the plant is transplanted – the soil takes on an acidic fungal smell and the female worms are covered with a white substance resembling a lump of fluff or absorbent cotton. The worms living on the ground parts can be eliminated by a two-step treatment with Atellik or Fytoverm, and Mospilan is used against soil parasites, Reget or Dantop by sprinkling a solution of the drug on the ground lump of violets three times at intervals of 10 days.

Aphids It affects flower stems, buds, and flowers of violets by sucking the plant juice, causing flower petals to become deformed and violet blooms to look incomplete. If the infestation is severe, a sticky liquid forms on the leaves and peduncles. This is the secretion of the aphids, on which the sooty fungus settles to form a black scum. To get rid of aphids, treat the plant 2-3 times with Aktellik (1 ml of Aktellik per 1 L of water).

Gnats appear on a violet if you keep the soil in the pot wet all the time, not allowing the ground coma to dry out. In appearance, they resemble small turtles, not exceeding 1.5 cm in length. The woodlice damage the roots and leaves of the plant, leading to secondary infections. The most effective way to control the woodlice is to treat the violet and the soil in the pot with acaricides. The plant is sprayed and the substrate is sprinkled with a solution of Actellic or Fytoverm.

Flies and mosquitoes settle on the violet when the soil in the pot is chronically overwatered. They do not cause much harm themselves, but their larvae destroy the substrate, damage the roots of the plant, contribute to soil compaction, which reduces air access to the roots. Young plants suffer most from insects. As a result of the activity of these insects, roots and stems rot.

If you find pests, sprinkle the soil in the pot with a solution of Karbofos, trace the edge of the container with a chalk pencil against cockroaches, grate the pencil and sprinkle these shavings on the surface of the soil in the pot. The adults can be exterminated with Reid or Dichlorvos spray. And reconsider the watering schedule for violets.

Mohawks, or Pillows also breed on the violet from dampness. They are harmless to the violet, but when they become too numerous, they can damage the plant’s roots. Sprinkle Pyrethrum on the root ball of the violet and stop watering it..

Whiteflies – bright white flies of small size that sit on the surface of leaves and leave sticky feces on them, a favorite medium for sooty fungi. Therefore, the surface of the leaves first turns white and then turns black. As a consequence, violets stop growing shoots. An effective measure is to treat violets with a mixture of a systemic insecticide and acaricide. To get rid of whiteflies, you will need at least two sessions.

The violet is not blooming

Начинающие цветоводы иногда обращаются к нам жалобами, что, несмотря на все их старания, они не могут дождаться от своей фиалки цветения. Итак, почему фиалка не цветет? Давайте проанализируем причины этого явления.

The violet is turning yellow

It often worries novice violet lovers that violets have yellow leaves. Why does this happen? Sometimes the leaves turn yellow from a natural cause – old age. Such leaves are best removed along with the petioles. A second cause is when the leaves burn in the bright sunlight or when the soil dries out or when the plant overheats. Moisten the soil in the pot by watering more thoroughly and protect the plant from the sun at midday by placing drapes over the window or by using a window shade.

If possible, place the violets on a window sill facing north, northwest or northeast. Be sure to monitor the acidity of the soil – the norm for senpillas is 5.5-6.5 pH. And do not overdo it with phosphate fertilizers to the detriment of nitrogen fertilizers – the plant needs nitrogen to keep its leaves green, among other things.

If after the leaves turn yellow, the base of the stem turns brown and becomes soft, the plant is suffering from too much moisture and too low a temperature.

Spots on violets

Violet leaf spots appear for a variety of reasons. For example, light yellow spots are the work of thrips. And if you can see black spots on the leaf under a magnifying glass, these are the spores of a parasitic fungus. The black coating on the leaves is from sooty fungus. Rounded light brown spots on the leaves and flowers of the plant are sunburn. Gray-beige small spots in the form of blotches, stripes and curls all over the leaf – consequences of draughts.

Dark spots on the edges of old leaves arise from a lack of potassium – this is a signal to change the substrate in the pot. White spots or plaque are signs of powdery mildew. Dark spots covered with gray fuzz mold – gray rot. Dark red spots are rust.

Types and varieties of violets

The American classification of indoor violets, which is used by most flower growers, due to the huge number of varieties is quite complicated, but we will still try to give you an idea of what varieties and hybrids of senpollias exist in culture. Violet varieties can be distinguished by the following traits:

Rosette size

micromini mM (rosette diameter up to 6 cm), mini M (diameter 10 to 15 cm), semi-mini or midi SM (diameter 15 to 20 cm), standard S (diameter 20 to 40 cm), large standard L (diameter 40 to 60 cm). A separate category is trailing violets, or ampelas;

Leaf type.

The leaves are oval, rounded, kidney-shaped, heart-shaped, elongate-oval on long petioles, full margins, serrated, wavy-edged or corrugated. There are also leaves with a spot at the base of the plate, called a “gerl”, and there are leaves without a spot, called a “battle”. The leaf surface may be smooth, quilted, spoon-shaped, slightly or densely pubescent, monochrome or mottled;

Leaf coloring

Can be any shade of green on the upper side, sometimes dark brown or almost black, olive, gray-green, with splashes or veins of white, light green with pink splashes. The underside may be light green, pinkish, almost white, purple with purple spots, dark purple, green with purple spots;

Type of flower

Senpolias have the following types: classic like pansies, star-shaped – with five petals of the same size, bell-shaped – with one or two rows of petals, wasp – a very rare type with curled petals of the upper lip and wide petals of the lower and spider – flowers with elongated petals, which seem to cover the hemisphere. Flowers of all types can be simple, semi-flowered and macroflowers. Bell-shaped flowers are only simple and semi-flowered.

In addition to the basic shapes, as more and more violet hybrids have appeared, there are varieties with such petal edges as corrugated (fringed or lacy), rounded, pointed, jagged, and plain;

Petal coloring

violets can be monochromatic, two-tone, (two shades of the same color), bicolor or multicolor. Bicolor, multicolor and two-tone colors can be fancy (with dots, splashes, peas, rays or spots of another color or tone on the petals) and bordered (flowers have one or two fringes of different widths of one or two colors). Bicolor can also be finger-like – on petals a contrasting color spot in the form of a circle or an oval.

Recently, when describing violets, unusual colors such as beige, pale, orange, indigo, salmon, ash, mauve, terracotta, electric and fuchsia have also come into use.

Number of petals

Violet flowers can be simple or single, with five to six petals, semi-flowered – two additional wrinkled scalloped petals are formed in the center of the flower – and terry.

Of the great variety of senpolias, we offer you remarkable varieties of violets with names and descriptions that you will surely remember. We will not claim that these are the best violets grown in culture, but surely you will be able to choose among them a flower for your home.

• Caprice – A white violet with large, floral flowers with green fringes at the edges of the petals. The leaves are mottled, wavy.
• Macho – Purple violets with a burgundy hue of large semi-maxillary flowers with a white fringe along the wavy edges. The leaves are green, simple, ovate.
• Your Majesty – is a pink violet with thickly-waved flowers with wavy petal edges and bright green leaves;
• The water – violet is a terry blue violet that turns pink toward the edges of the petals. There is a bright bronze-green border along the fringed edges. The leaves are light green, wavy.
• The Sea Wolf – is a giant, up to 8 cm in diameter, semi-flowered blue violet with wavy petals decorated with a fine reticulate pattern. The leaves are dark green in color.
• Tomahawk – is a bright red violet with a classic type flower. The variety is characterized by abundant blooms. The leaves of this violet are dark green.
• The Parisian Mysteries – are large, mahogany flowers of dark mauve-black coloring with iridescent amethyst-red reticulate pattern on all petals. The central petals are gathered into a tight ball like a cabbage head. Along the fringed edges of the petals is a white-green ruffle. Leaves festooned, mottled – green with white.
• The jabot – is a violet with terry dark blue petals wrapped in bracts. On the edges of the petals there is a twisted bright lettuce ruffle. The leaves are green, wavy.
• Max Black Pearl – a velvety black violet with a violet tint and compact semi-miniature foliage.

Unfortunately, neither green nor yellow violets have been developed yet, but breeders have already developed varieties with a yellow hue or yellow leaf pattern – Lemon Kisses, Majesty, Warm Sunrise, Sunkist Rose. There are also several varieties of senpolias with a verdure that are commonly referred to as green violets – Silverglade Apples, Frozen in Time, Bakkai Irish Lace, Irish Cream, Spring Rose, Green Lace and others.

Synopsis

Violets ruin your love life

The incredible popularity of the senpole has caused many superstitions and omens with which this flower is associated. They say, for example, that the violet is a muzhegon, that is, an unmarried woman who grows indoor violets, allegedly have no chance to get married, but a married fan of senpillas has a risk of being left without a husband. But if you think carefully, it turns out that among your acquaintances are married women who grew violets for years. Yes, and those of your friends who are not so long married, you can find on a windowsill violet or two. If you look around.

Another superstition says that the indoor violet is an energy vampire and that you can not keep it in your bedroom, as it causes drowsiness and loss of energy. But if you think about it, violets, like any other plant, produce oxygen during the day, in the light, and at night, on the contrary, absorb it and release carbon dioxide. And the lack of oxygen makes you sleepy. Hence the conclusion: you do not need to arrange on a window sill in the bedroom a whole greenhouse.

Good omens

But astrologers believe that the violet, combining the energy of Taurus and the Moon, acts soothingly on the person, brings into the house comfort and good spirits. And like all flowers belonging to the sign of Taurus, have the power of a talisman, guaranteeing security, stability, harmony and endowing a person with wisdom, endurance and inspiration in creativity. There you go…