Almost every violet, with proper care, can become a real decoration at home, but most often flower growers prefer Uzambar varieties, among which there are very unusual varieties. This review will help you learn more about them and understand the features of caring for ornamental plants at home.

Botanical description of the plant

Uzambar violets came to our homes from Africa and are appreciated by many flower growers for plentiful and long flowering, which does not require too complicated care. All senpolias are low or squat flowers with a height of 5 to 50 cm. Individual varieties can be grown as ampelous cultures, pleasing the eye with lush flowering. The stem is shortened, and in its upper part there is a socket with many long-leaf leaf plates. Their shape and texture depend on the type of flower, so the leaves of such violets can be ovoid, round, oval or in the shape of a heart.

Fluffy spraying is almost always present on the surface of the sheet plate, but in some cases it is hardly noticeable. Depending on the variety, the color of the leaves varies from light green to dark green, and in the lower part the leaf plate can be painted in pale purple. In almost all violets, the leaves are covered with veins, visible to the naked eye.

Violet buds are small but numerous, so during flowering on one plant up to 100 flowers can bloom at the same time. Given that today there are more than 1000 species of different violets, it is not surprising that it is very difficult to describe all the possible colors, shapes and textures of their petals. They can be simple, with a fringed border, embossed and wavy, with a mottled or plain color. At home, you can find blue, blue, purple, white and pink flowers, as well as a variety of combinations of these colors.

Did you know? A lot of folk signs are associated with violets. For example, on a flowering plant, it is recommended to calculate the total number of flowers: an even indicates a quick money profit, and an odd one promises losses. That is why during the transplant it is advisable to choose the moment when the plant will have exactly an even number of flowers.

Varieties

Uzambara violet is divided into species according to several criteria:

• the size of the flower outlet (from 5 to 20 cm in diameter);
• type of flower, taking into account its shape, color and size;
• characteristics of leaf blades and their appearance (simple or colorful);
• the size of the plant.

There are varieties of violets, which are called fantasy: for example, varieties "Julia" and "Aphrodite." They are characterized by the unusual color of the petals, because on their plain surface there is always a multi-colored addition in the form of dots, spots, stripes, which gives the plant even more decorativeness.

Among the most interesting and common varieties of this plant, the following can be distinguished:

1. "Chic Poppy" - has large flowers, the color of which varies from light pink to dark orange. All flowers have wavy petal edges resembling frills.
   

2. “Royal mercy” - is characterized by large simple or semi-double flowers bordered by a raspberry cuticle. The leaves are dark green.
   

3. "Spring Rose" is a plentifully flowering variety, on which a large number of snow-white flowers appear, with a greenish tint. Leaf blades - medium size, deep green.
   

4. “Snow lace” - has large double flowers, pure white with a yellow middle. The leaves are dark green.
   

5. “Blue Fog” is a pale blue flower of medium size, with a more saturated middle part of the petals and a white ending. Petals are slightly wavy, leaves are of a light green color.
   

In addition, “Duchess”, “Frosty cherry”, “Blue blood” and “Summer twilight” are no less attractive varieties of senpolias, among which terry flowers and specimens with slightly wavy edges will be equally interesting.

How to choose upon purchase

When choosing a room flower, almost always the eyes fall immediately on the violets. However, it is not worth buying the first plant that comes across, especially when it comes to little-known nurseries or small flower shops near the market.

Important! The acquired plant should not be immediately placed next to other flower crops. The new violet should be in the quarantine zone for several weeks so that you can make sure there are no diseases and pests on it.

In order not to make a mistake in your decision, be sure to carefully inspect the selected instance and pay attention to its following features:

• on the leaves of the plant should not be brown or light spots;
• leaf plates of a healthy plant are always elastic and have the same hue over the entire surface;
• the socket should not fall apart with a light touch with a hand, and it is better that it is symmetrical;
• if the plant already has flowers, they should be about the same color, without problems with the petals;
• the stem of a healthy specimen is practically not visible, since it is covered with thick leaves.

In addition to the violet itself, it is useful to examine the soil in the pot: if it has a grayish coating, then it is better not to buy such a plant. Be sure to check with the seller the age of the selected flower. It is better not to buy violets older than one year, but to make sure that you have an "old plant", you should evaluate the number of leaves and the splendor of the bush: old or diseased plants have few leaf plates or they are too thin.

How to care immediately after purchase

Any change in the usual growing conditions is always a stress for plants, so when bringing a flower to the house, try to put the pot in the room, which is as close as possible to the previous room where the violet was kept before purchase. The transplantation of the senpolia into a new pot is possible only after the end of the quarantine period and only if you are sure of the need for this process (the plant is in a transportation tank or its roots are already showing through the drainage holes).

Important! If during the transplantation of the acquired violet you notice small white balls on its rhizome, it is better to remove them. Most likely, this is a special nutrient that is added to the soil for the successful transportation of plants, and in the future they will no longer need it.

All wilted and dried parts of the flower should be removed immediately, but you can water the violet only after the top layer of the substrate has dried (it is unlikely that you will know when it was watered for the last time, so it is better to prevent a possible overflow). For preventive purposes, it is useful to wipe the violet leaves with damp cloth, but in this case, be sure to consider the characteristics of a particular variety and its relationship to moisture on the leaves.

It is likely that in a few weeks your plant will need a transplant, with a complete replacement of the soil. A signal to carry out this action will be the tarnishing of the flower petals and the appearance of a light coating on the surface of the soil in the pot. The substrate for further plant growth must necessarily be light, with good breathability. The best solution is to buy special soil for violets, but if it is not there, you can simply mix turf, coniferous soil, leaf humus and charcoal.

In addition to them, sand, sphagnum moss and swamp moss are often used, but their share in the total mixture should be noticeably smaller. As a landing tank, you can use a shallow pot, the diameter of which will be 2-3 times smaller than the diameter of the outlet of the existing violet. When planting a flower in a very large capacity, flowering may not begin, since all forces will be directed to filling the space with the green part. Subsequent plant transplantation will be performed after its growth and development rates slow down again.

What conditions need to be created for successful growing at home

Senpolia refers to decorative flowering plants that require increased attention from the florist. First of all, when organizing suitable conditions for her, it is important to pay attention to a sufficient level of lighting, optimal temperature and humidity in the room, without which it is impossible to guarantee lush and plentiful flowering. Consider all the requirements in more detail.

Important! Under natural growing conditions, the difference between day and night temperatures is quite noticeable for senpolia, therefore, to maintain constant flowering, it is advisable to ensure this difference when growing at home (at least 3-4 degrees).

Lighting

Uzambara violet loves sunlight, but at the same time its delicate leaves cannot stand direct sunlight. For this reason, in winter, a pot with a plant is placed on the south side of the house, and in summer it is moved to a shaded eastern or western windowsill. The optimal light regime for the plant will be twelve-hour lighting with a further six-hour break in complete darkness. In the dark, violet produces hormones that ensure its health and lush flowering. With the advent of winter, when natural light is not enough, you will have to arrange artificial lighting for the flower, with a periodic turn of the pot (if only one side of the plant is lit, then the violet outlet can lean to the side).

Ventilation

Fresh air is beneficial to any plants, the main thing is to organize the correct ventilation mode, without affecting the flowers with cold air currents or a sharp change in temperature. Violets respond very painfully to such fluctuations, so if you want to ventilate the room in the cold season, then it is better to remove the pot from the windowsill. In summer there is no such problem, and you can ventilate the room with the senpolis at any convenient time, just in case, having previously excluded the possibility of a draft.

Did you know? In the old days, violet was considered a healing plant. Fragrant and tricolor flowers were used to prepare infusions for renal colic, whooping cough, bronchitis, polyarthritis, as well as ointments for healing purulent and itchy skin lesions.

Temperature mode

Despite the fact that the violet came to us from Africa, it does not need high temperatures, and sometimes even harmful. In this case, indicators within the range of + 20 ° C are considered optimal temperature values, but when raising children it is advisable to increase them by several degrees (to about + 22 ... + 24 ° C). In addition to the well-being of the plant itself, this will also help maintain a positive energy coming from the violet: some esotericists even call it a fiery flower.

Air humidity

In the wild, the Uzambara violet can be found next to various ponds, so high humidity is usual for a flower (with the exception of some varieties like "Matiola" or "Svetlana"). However, the leaves of the plant do not like spraying, therefore, if you decide to deal with dry air in this way, spray water next to the plant, but not on it. A good option to solve the problem of humidity in the room will be the use of special electric humidifiers or hanging wet towels on the batteries. Evaporating from the fabric, moisture will create the optimal microclimate for violets.

Learn more about growing and caring for violets on a windowsill.

How to care in the future at home

Maintaining suitable conditions for growing Saintpaulia is only the beginning on the way to its well-being and beautiful flowering, because in many respects this process depends on further care: regular watering, fertilizing, pruning and transplanting as it grows.

Watering

The topsoil in the pot with violet should always be slightly moist, however, strong overmoistening should not be allowed. A few hours after watering, it is advisable to drain the water from the pallet, which will help to avoid decay of the root system. The application of liquid into the soil with violet should be done very carefully, avoiding moisture on the leaves of the plant: dark spots may appear at the place of water exposure over time, resembling traces of rot. The fluid suitable for the procedure must be at room temperature (not lower than + 18 ° C) and pre-settled for 24 hours. If you wish, you can use rainwater, if the process of collecting it is not difficult for you.

With strong drying of the soil, lower watering of violets is possible, in which the pot with them is lowered into a separate container filled with water by 1/3 of its volume. Each of the irrigation methods has its advantages and disadvantages: the upper one gradually flushes nutrients out of the soil, but is more convenient, and the lower one impregnates the soil better, but at the same time increases its alkalinity. The best solution in this case is the alternation of both options. In addition, you can increase humidity by placing a pot with violets on a pallet with moistened moss, but in this case the pot itself should not touch the water. This will help reduce the frequency of watering to 1-2 times a week.

Read more about the features of watering violets at home.

Feeding

For the first time, a flower is fed 1.5–2 months after transplanting into a new pot. Further, plants grown on window sills with natural light are fed once every two weeks (from February to November), and flowers on shelves are fertilized with the same frequency, but throughout the season.

Especially important is the feeding of violets during the growing season, and as for a suitable nutritional composition, absolutely any complex mineral fertilizers can be used here. Almost all of them are divorced in water, after which the plant itself is added with the resulting solution.

In an extreme case, organics can also be used to feed the senpolia, but only in small quantities so as not to cause a rapid increase in green mass. Foliar top dressing should be performed with extreme accuracy, since the flower does not like moisture on the leaves. After the procedure, make sure that the applied solution dries in the shortest possible time.

Pruning

When growing decorative-flowering plants, they just need a forming pruning, of course, if you want to maintain the attractive appearance of the violet. In addition, the removal of wilted or faded parts of the flower in the spring will contribute to its rejuvenation, so do not forget about sanitary pruning. In any case, for the procedure, it is important to use only a sterile and very sharp instrument, which will not leave any burrs in the places of cut.

When new leaves appear in the central part of the plant for their full growth and development, it is advisable to remove the old, basal leaf plates, and together with the cuttings. Three rows of leaves are enough for one plant. Excess peduncles and stepsons are immediately separated from the stem part so that they do not violate the symmetry of the outlet. In general, the correct formation of violets depends on the personal vision of the grower, so many people perform decorative pruning at their discretion.

Transfer

Adult plants (after two years of growth) are transplanted into a larger pot annually in early spring. However, if they are grown under artificial light lamps, then you can perform this procedure at another time that is convenient for you. The new landing capacity should be 2-3 cm larger than the previous one, otherwise the root system may rot. A drainage layer (expanded clay or crushed brick) must be laid at the bottom of the pot, not less than 1/5 of the total height, and the prepared soil mixture for flowers (for example, from sheet soil, peat and sand mixed in a ratio of 4: 1, is poured on top of it :one).

You will be interested to learn about the features of transplanting violets at home.

The plant removed from the previous capacity is slightly shaken off from the adhering earth, the rotted roots (if any) are cut and placed in a new pot, they are covered with a fresh substrate. Planting height is of great importance for the senpolia, so make sure that the growth point is flush with the soil surface, and the lower leaves are located just above the soil line. In this matter, moderation is very important, because a highly planted violet, as well as a plant excessively buried in the soil, will not be able to develop normally and, most likely, will begin to rot.

Video: how to transplant a violet

How to propagate

Reproduction of Uzambara violet is possible in several ways: by dividing the bush, rooting of the cut leaf and by sowing seeds. Each of them has its own peculiarities, therefore, before choosing the most suitable option, it is worthwhile to figure out how best to grow the senpolia specifically in your case.

Dividing the bush

This method is rightfully considered the simplest, so it is better to start propagating violets from it for beginners in the flower business. To begin the procedure, you have to wait until new outlets appear from the soil, after which they are separated from each other with a sharp knife. It is important that each part has its own roots, otherwise it will not be able to take root in a new place. The bushes obtained as a result of dividing are planted in soil suitable for violets and continue to care for, like an adult plant.

Leaf

Размножением фиалки срезанным листом возможно в любое время года, главное — подобрать подходящий посадочный материал. Это должен быть немолодой лист, преимущественно из средней части розетки. Для отделения от материнского куста черешок обязательно нужно срезать наискосок, после чего лист помещают в воду черешком вниз, оставляя на поверхности только листовую пластину. При желании можно укоренить черенок в грунте или сфагнуме, только в этом случае посадочный материал обязательно нужно накрыть полиэтиленовым пакетом. Когда от листа появятся новые детки, их можно будет рассадить в постоянную почву вышеописанным способом.

Видео: размножение фиалки листом

Seeds

Как и предыдущий способ, размножение фиалки путём высева семян может выполняться в любое время года, но в то же время этот вариант можно назвать самым длительным. Посевной материал сенполии очень мелкий, и многим напоминает пыль, поэтому, чтобы семена лучше соединились с почвой, перед посевом важно смочить субстрат. В процессе выполнения процедуры семена просто рассыпают по поверхности грунта и, не углубляя в него, накрывают полиэтиленовой плёнкой или стеклом. Разместив рассадную ёмкость в светлом месте, уже через несколько недель вы заметите первые всходы.

Советуем вам узнать, как приготовить своими руками грунт для фиалок и каким должен быть состав.

Для их хорошего роста и развития нужно периодически опрыскивать молодые растения из пульверизатора и ежедневно проветривать парник, снимая укрытие на несколько часов. После появления на сеянцах 2–3 настоящих листочков, нужно рассадить фиалки по отдельным горшкам или в одну широкую ёмкость, соблюдая дистанцию в 3–5 см. В дальнейшем по мере роста их можно будет снова пересадить, на этот раз уже в постоянные горшки.

Видео: размножение фиалки семенами

Possible growing difficulties

Трудности при выращивании сенполии могут возникнуть только в результате нарушения условий ухода или заражения болезнетворными микроорганизмами. Кроме того, в некоторых случаях фиалки страдают от болезней и вредителей, поэтому, чтобы сохранить растение, стоит знать о следующих возможных неприятностях:

1. Клещи — самые частые вредители комнатных растений. Заметить их можно на розетке фиалки, где они часто вызывают скручивание листьев, а сам цветок заметно отстаёт в росте и цветении. В борьбе с вредителем часто применяют инсектицидные препараты (например, «Фитоверм»).
   

2. Нематоды — вредитель, который при попадании в почву быстро перебирается в корневую систему фиалки и нарушает нормальное снабжение тканей питательными веществами. При массовом поражении цветок быстро чахнет, прекращает цвести, а если присмотреться к нему, то на зелёной части будет заметно утолщение стебля и изменение привычной формы листовых пластин. При осмотре корневой системы поражённого растения несложно увидеть пузырьковые утолщения и узлы, в которых и развиваются цисты червя. В данном случае разумнее всего будет выбросить растение, а если речь идёт о ценных сортах, тогда для размножения желательно брать листья только из верхних ярусов, где меньшая вероятность обитания вредителя.
   

3. Тля — мелкий вредитель, оставляющий на листве черешках и их основании клейкие выделения. Смыть их с растения можно только мыльным раствором, при этом несильно переувлажняя почву. Из инсектицидных препаратов уместными будут «Антилин» и «Фитоверм».
   

4. Трипсы — одни из самых опасных вредителей, поскольку они не только быстро размножаются на растениях, но и могут переносить на розетку возбудителей различных болезней цветка. Характерными симптомами присутствия вредителя в данном случае являются вялый вид листов, появление на них сероватых, жёлтых, белёсых пятен, мелких точек, а также быстрое увядание цветов и массовое осыпание пыльцы. В борьбе с вредителем часто используют препарат «Актара», причём им необходимо обработать не только листья растения, но и цветоносы и даже почву в горшке.
   

5. Мучнистый червец — насекомое, присутствие которого выдаёт появление белых хлопьев на листьях, стеблевой части и в месте крепления листа. Поражённое растение быстро вянет, его листья тускнеют, желтеют и в конечном счёте опадают. Избавиться от проблемы помогут те же инсектицидные препараты, но на этот раз стоит обратить внимание на «Моспилан» и «Регент».
   

Что касается болезней узамбарских фиалок, то к самым распространённым видам можно отнести корневую и стеблевую гниль, фузариоз и фитофтороз. Чуть реже встречается вирус бронзовости и пятнистости листьев, но в любом случае при появлении непонятных пятен или полного усыхания листовых пластин с одновременным замедлением роста растения важно своевременно принять требуемые меры: удалить поражённые части растения и обработать его фунгицидными составами (например, «Фитоспорином» или «Превикуром»).

Узнайте, как сделать стеллаж для фиалок.

В остальном проблем с узамбарскими фиалками возникать не должно, и при грамотном уходе за растениями они всегда будут радовать вас пышным цветением, не зря же сенполия считается одним из самых желанных комнатных цветов.