It is not difficult to grow uzambar violets, as these are very responsive plants - under the right conditions, they can bloom almost all year round. From several pots with different types of violets, you can make an attractive composition and decorate a room or window sill. In this article, we will tell you how to grow a variety of violet varieties DS-Shining Bell, and how it can be propagated.

Botanical description of the plant

Saintpaulia, or African (uzambara) violet, is one of the most commonly grown indoor plants. Grassy tropical perennial, originally from Africa, in our country is grown only in a room or a greenhouse.

Saintpaulia variety DS-Shining Bell was obtained as a result of selection work carried out in 2014 by florist Elena Enikeeva. Violet has a very elegant and bright appearance. Velvet dark green leaves form a rosette, inside of which there is one or more strong peduncles. The socket is compact.

Dark blue, with a slant in the violet tint, the flowers look like large wide bells with a wavy edge of the petals. Some flowers have a narrow whitish border around the edge. The eye in the center of the flower also has a white color.Flowering is almost year-round, with a pause of 2-3 months. The flower remains half-open for a long time, holding a beautiful shape, full disclosure occurs immediately before wilting. On an adult plant, from 3 to 10 vertical peduncles are simultaneously revealed, on each of which from 1 to 3 flowers are present.

There are many varieties of Shining Bell with different colors of petals: snow-white, white with a blue border, with pink, purple, mottled or dark blue petals, as well as painted in two colors.

Did you know? The only place where wild African violet is growing today is the Amani Nature Reserve in Tanzania on the African continent.

The conditions for growing violets at home

The Shining Bell releases flower buds almost all year round, but for a good flowering violet it is necessary to provide suitable conditions.

Location and Lighting

The senpolias like bright rooms, but in direct sunlight their leaves turn yellow, so pots with violets are installed on window sills facing east or north. On the south or west side, plants burn out in the hot sun.

Senpolias can also grow well on special indoor shelving under a 40 Watt energy-saving daylight that illuminates plants 12 hours a day. Every 10 days, the pots need to be turned a quarter of a circle around its axis so that the leaves and peduncles do not grow obliquely, stretching toward the light.But you need to remember that partial shade often prevents the flowering of violets. Long petioles of leaves and lack of flower buds are a sign that the plant is too dark.

Temperature mode

The optimal healthy temperature for flowering heat-loving violets is in the range +18 ... + 22 ° C. When the room temperature drops below + 15 ° C, the senpolia will easily fall ill. Plants also do not like the cold drafts that appear when airing a room.

Air humidity

In apartments, especially in winter, the air for violets is too dry. However, if the pots are in the sand, under which there is moist expanded clay, the plants feel pretty good.

During the heating season, a container of water can be placed next to the pot of the Shining Bell, which will help moisturize the air around the plant.

Important! It is strongly not recommended to humidify the air around the Saintpaulia bush with a moisture sprayer, since brown spots appear on the densely pubescent leaves after sedimentation of the water and leaf rot may develop.

Basic rules for home care

So that the plants do not hurt and delight the eye with their decorativeness, the grower must provide them with proper care: temperature, a suitable schedule and plenty of watering, lighting and protection from diseases and parasites.

Watering

The shining bell is watered only when the surface of the soil in the pot is slightly dry. In spring, summer and autumn, the senpolia is watered twice a week, with the onset of winter the number of irrigation is reduced to one.It is best to pour water into the pan under the pot, and after about an hour, if the top layer of soil in the pot becomes wet, remove excess moisture from the pan.

For irrigation water of room temperature is used, which is desirable to stand in front of this for 2-3 days. The substrate should not dry completely or be very wet. When watering, you need to be very careful that the water does not fall on the leaves, especially when they are heated by the sun.

If cold water gets on the leaves, they will leave ugly white spots.

Experienced collectors to wet the senpolia use wick watering. Such a system can be made at home by placing long pieces of nylon stockings at the bottom of the pots into which the violets will be planted.One end of the nylon fabric remains in the pot, and the other, through the hole for the drain of moisture, is pulled out of the landing tank. Pots are placed on pallets (it can be plastic egg containers), placed in a common large and flat container.

Important! Violet leaves should not be washed under running water or wiped with a damp cloth, only large contaminants are removed with a soft brush. Plants should not be placed in places where there are gas vapors, as well as fat and soot, for example, in the kitchen.

A diluted hydroponic solution (water and mineral additives) is poured into it so that the outer end of the nylon wick is immersed in it. The rate of moisture consumption should be adapted to the needs of the plant and regulated by the thickness of the wick (the thicker it is, the more water it supplies to the roots of the plant).

Fertilizer application

Since the Shining Bell is blooming intensively, the plant has a high need for mineral fertilizing, so the soil in the pot needs to be regularly fertilized. From May to September, every 2 weeks, the flower is fed with liquid fertilizer for flowering of senpolia. If the plant stops blooming in the winter, it is necessary to temporarily stop feeding.

Pruning

Experienced flower growers periodically prune adult senpolia bushes, which is sometimes called "rejuvenation."

Senpolia rejuvenation procedures include:

• regular removal of wilted flowers;
• pruning of faded peduncles;
• removal of side outlets;
• pruning of old (coarse and pale) leaves.

Two- and three-year-olds should be rejuvenated in early spring, rooting their peaks.

Transfer

Senpoly rosettes look the most decorative when growing in individual pots.

How to transplant violet:

1. It is advisable to transplant flowers every spring in a new pot with fresh soil. If old containers are used, they should be thoroughly washed from salt deposits.
2. Before planting the plants, a drainage layer is necessarily laid on the bottom of the pot, which may consist of expanded clay balls or fragments of ceramic dishes.
3. The substrate should be light and not too rich in organic matter. It is optimal to purchase a regular garden soil with peat and sand for planting the senpolia.
4. The violet pot can be round or flat, but the capacity should be small and even cramped. The senpolia pot should be 3 times smaller than the diameter of the leaf socket. In large pots, the senpolia may not bloom. Experienced flower growers prefer to choose a pot made of plastic rather than ceramic for planting violets.
5. When planting, it is worth covering the violet leaves with a plastic bag, which will prevent their soil contamination.

How to propagate at home

There are several ways to propagate violets at home. The most popular are rooting cuttings or rooting side outlets. Rooting of a peduncle or sowing by seeds is much less commonly used.

The latter method is a rather laborious and lengthy process, therefore it is used only if you want to get clean, virus-free planting material.

Did you know? African violets in the wild grow on small patches of soil lingering between stones, or on the shaded slopes of streams.

Cuttings

You can grow a new plant from a leaf cut from the mother bush.

How to cut the violet correctly:

1. With a sharp knife, cut the leaf with the petiole and put it in a container with water with the petiole down.
2. Two weeks later, small white roots will appear on the petiole, after which you can plant a new plant in a separate pot.
3. After a few weeks, the young violet will start growing.
4. The young bush will bloom as early as next season.
5. A cut sheet can also be immediately planted in the ground, but then the grower will not be able to observe when the roots of a young violet appear.
6. Freshly planted seedlings of senpolia are watered moderately and not too often.
7. It is best to cover the planted young plant with a glass container (for example, a half-liter jar) and create greenhouse conditions for it for several months.

Stepsons

The grower needs to pay attention to whether the bush has grown in volume - in one pot only one rosette of violets should grow. If there are additional side outlets, they must be removed or transplanted into individual pots.

Did you know? African violet is the common name for a plant known as Saintpaulia. The plant was discovered by Baron Walter von Saint-Paul, who came across these flowers in Tanzania and sent their seeds home to his father, an amateur botanist.

This is the most popular method of propagating African violets. Rooted side outlets will bloom as early as the year of transplantation.

Rooting flower stalks

Especially rare and valuable varieties of Saintpaulia are propagated by rooting of peduncles. This rooting method is used much less frequently than rooting cuttings or planting side outlets. Strong, strong peduncles are suitable for rooting, which, with the help of sharp scissors, are carefully cut off at the soil itself and after removal of flowers they are planted in the soil.A pot with a flower stalk planted is covered with a plastic bag or a glass jar to create a greenhouse climate for the plant.

Important! It is very convenient to propagate the Violet Shining Bell violet by immersing cuttings, leaves, sockets or peduncles not in water or soil, but in moist sphagnum moss. This soft vegetation holds water well; rooting occurs in it after 30–40 days.

Growing difficulties

A healthy and flowering plant species indicates their well-being. If the plant becomes sick, it will immediately affect its appearance.

The most common diseases of the senpolia:

1. Withering bush - the lower leaves fade, the base of the shoot turns brown. This is a sign of fungal disease late blight. In this case, the plant is difficult to save. You can pour it with a solution of the Bravo preparation or try to root a healthy-looking leaf or top of the socket in another pot with light soil. Before planting, the stalk or outlet must be processed in a solution of the Previkur preparation, in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, or the Biosept preparation (at a concentration of 0.05%).

2. Flowers and leaves turn brown - It develops a fungal disease of Botrytis, or gray rot. The bush should be quickly isolated from others, cut off infected leaves and sprayed twice a week with one of the preparations: Biocept, Euparen, Rovral or Kaptan.

3. Vascular bacteriosis - The disease usually develops in rooms with very high air temperatures. Symptoms - the lower leaves of the violet are covered with mucus and die off soon. The treatment is carried out with the preparations “Fundazol”, “Zircon”, “Immunocytophyte” or “Previkur”. It is also necessary to cool the air and improve ventilation in the room.

Senpolia pests:

1. Thrips - these are dark, small insects. Symptoms - flower petals turn brown, dry quickly, sometimes you can see dark moving dots on them - these are thrips. Soil insecticides in the form of sticks or tablets must be placed in the soil of each pot.

2. Ticks - after their attack, the leaves of the plants are covered with red dots and a thin web. The leaves become deformed and gradually die. Brown grooves appear on the cuttings. Young leaves in the center of the outlet can also be attacked, after which their shape becomes unnatural, and the leaf blade becomes covered with yellow spots. The growth of the senpolia is suspended, the flower buds do not bloom, but are deformed. For treatment, you need to double-treat the bush with an acaricidal preparation, with a weekly interval.

3. Nematodes Are tiny worms that live in the soil. They inhibit the root system of plants, sucking out juices from it. Their waste products are toxic to plants. Due to the small size of the pests, it is difficult to notice. Visually, they can be seen only when a flower is transplanted, when examining the roots. One of the signs of the presence of nematodes in the soil is the appearance of light green spots on the leaves, which darken and rot over time. Senpolias affected by nematodes grow poorly, weaken, do not bloom, deform, and eventually die. It is almost impossible to destroy nematodes, so the flower along with the soil must be removed from the collection.

4. Aphid - small green insects that feed on plant sap. They affect leaves, flower stems, buds and flowers. A whitish coating of aphid secretions appears on the leaves, the leaf blade is deformed, the plant loses its decorativeness and stops growing. Affected bushes are treated with “Mospilan” or “Actellik” preparations.

Lovers of violets will definitely like the flowers of the DS-Shining Bell variety. Providing these senpolis with good care and favorable conditions for growth, their owners will be able to enjoy magnificent and long flowering almost throughout the year.