Violets are one of everyone's favorite flowers to keep on the windowsill. They delight the eye not only with green or variegated foliage, but also with lush flowering for a long time. One of the most popular varieties is the Firebird. Photo and description of violets, as well as the rules for caring for the plant, we will consider below.
Features
This variety of violet was obtained thanks to the efforts of the breeder S. Repkina. Violet Firebird has varietal characteristics that distinguish it from the rest:
- Large size flowers. They differ in their original color - blue petals interspersed with yellow. The flower petals have jagged edges, making the violet look semi-double.
- The foliage is large, fleshy, fleecy, standard size.
- The stems of the leaves are small, making the rosette dense.
The difficulty of growing the Firebird violet variety is that it is not easy to achieve lush flowering. The plant throws out 3-4 peduncles, on each ofwhich are 1-3 flowers. At the first flowering, a blue tint predominates, yellow appears only in subsequent cases.
Lighting
Saintpaulia or violets are considered quite demanding plants, so it is very important to create comfortable conditions for them in order to achieve the most abundant flowering. Caring for them means providing quality lighting. The ideal option is natural light that falls on the windowsills. However, if it is not enough, it is necessary to organize artificial lighting. For this, fluorescent lamps are used, the rays of light of which are directed to plants. Often they are used in winter, when natural parameters are not enough, because daylight hours for violets should be about 13-14 hours.
Despite the fact that Saintpaulia is a photophilous plant, it does not tolerate direct sunlight. For this reason, it is recommended to slightly shade it from aggressive solar radiation. For shading window sills, short curtains of translucent materials are best suited, which only slightly cover the flowers, letting in a sufficient amount of daylight.
Soil selection
Violet variety Firebird is quite demanding on the substrate in which it should grow. Most often it is a universal primer for Saintpaulia. It must contain the following components:
- sheet and sod soil;
- perlite as baking powder;
- peat;
- fallen forest floorneedles.
The earth should be light and homogeneous. It is also very important to use drainage to prevent fluid stagnation. For this, expanded clay is used, which must be placed on the bottom of the container in which the flower will grow.
Violet pot
These plants prefer small containers. The most commonly used are:
- 9 x 9 cm for adult plants with large foliage.
- 7 x 7 cm for violets with medium rosette sizes.
- 5 x 5 cm for mini-sized flowers and rooting shoots.
Pots must be made from the following materials:
- Plastic. It is cheap, lightweight and durable. However, despite the advantages, plastic does not let air through at all. This problem can be solved by making a few holes in the walls of the container or by placing the pot on a cross-shaped elevation so that air passes through the bottom holes.
- Ceramic containers may or may not be glazed. The first ones have an attractive appearance, and are also quite durable in use, however, like plastic, they do not let air through at all. Violets do best in unglazed ceramic pots, but these containers tend to crumble over time.
Different pots differ not only in external properties and cost, but also in weight, which should be considered when buying. For example, a thin shelf is unlikely to withstand the weight of a large number of ceramic pots,filled with earth.
Features of watering and fertilizing
Violet PC Firebird needs regular soil moisture. There are several ways to do this:
- Gentle watering with a thin-necked bottle. In this case, you need to ensure that water does not get inside the outlet.
- Using a wick. Its role is played by a strip of synthetic matter, one end of which must be placed in a pot when transplanting a plant, and the other end must be dipped into a container of water. Thus, the violet will take the right amount of water by itself.
- You can also pour water not directly into the soil, but into the pan in which the pot is. When using this method, make sure there are holes in the bottom of the pot.
It is recommended to fertilize no more than once every 2 weeks. At the same time, it is important to use complex liquid top dressings designed specifically for violets. They must be dissolved in water according to the instructions and water the plant. It is also not recommended to apply the fertilizer to the foliage, as this can cause burns.
Reproduction
There are only two ways to increase the population of the Firebird violet:
- Rooting a leaf in the ground.
- Growing roots on a leaf in water.
The first method is considered the simplest, since for it you only need to process a fresh cut with a rooter and place it in the ground. After that, you should periodically moisten the soil and wait for the leaves to appear.
The second way is more difficult, but much more effective. Heinvolves the following steps:
- Pre-cut dist must be placed in a container of water to a depth of about 1 cm.
- After a few weeks of waiting, roots will appear.
- After their length reaches 2 cm, you need to transplant the leaf into the ground.
- When planting, do not deepen the roots too much. It is enough to place them at a depth of about 2 cm.
- After that, you need to cover the pot with a leaf with a plastic bag to form a greenhouse.
- You can remove it a month after the appearance of the "children" of the flower.
Also, do not forget about watering the plant during rooting. It should not be too abundant.
Photo violet Firebird shows all the splendor of this plant. Saintpaulia has an unusual bright and colorful color that will not leave anyone indifferent.
