Anyone who dreams of a beautiful flower with bright and exquisite buds should acquire streptokarpus. Care and cultivation will not cause any problems even for beginning flower growers, but you can get a lot of pleasure from it.
The article will learn how to properly grow streptokarpus and care for him at home. And also find out what can lead illiterate care.
Cultivation features
- Young plants should be transplanted into a new pot at least two weeks after purchase. It is advisable to choose transparent pots for planting, it will be easier to follow the development of the root system.
- In order to streptokarpus bestowed with abundant and lush flowering and quickly growing greens, it should be grown in shallow containers.
- The abundance of flowering directly depends on the number of points of growth.
- Young streptokarpusy need proper care. They first need to build up enough green mass, and then they will give beautiful inflorescences. Therefore, it is important to cut off the flower stalks that are not in time.
How to grow?
Streptokarpus - fragile plant, It is very easy to care for him, the main thing is to follow all the recommendations for care.
Lighting
Streptokarpus - light-loving plant, which requires full daylight. It must be provided with a 14-hour light day. The plant feels great on the window sills. But in the winter, artificial lighting should be organized. Experienced gardeners recommend alternating daylight lamps and phytolamps.
Soil and fertilizers
For plants preferred light and loose earth. It is advisable to add peat, perlite, vermiculite and sphagnum moss to the soil. Streptokarpus boasts a very active development of the root system. Many gardeners use a mixture of peat with vermiculite in the same proportions. You can even plant a plant in peat. The only thing to be borne in mind is that in this case watering should be carried out much more often, otherwise the peat will very quickly turn into a loose piece that absorbs moisture poorly.
Fertilizer flower is pretty good, but what is it to feed?
Properly fertilized flowers quickly grow green mass, then bloom profusely.
Watering
Streptokarpusu requires moderate watering. It is better to overdry, than to pour, because the plant tolerates drought normally. Watering is necessary regularly and often, but in such a way that the top layer of the earth can dry out. It may happen that streptokarpus becomes sluggish as a result of the lack of moisture. Then you need to organize watering 2-3 times every two hours.
When the plant has too much moisture, the root system may rot. Flooded streptokarpus in this case begins to fade, and the leaves are covered with brown spot. Save it only transplanting in a new pot with fresh soil.
Humidity
The plant is excellent for frequent spraying. Next to the flower you can put a saucer with water, thus ensuring the high humidity it needs.
Temperature
Streptokarpus - thermophilic flower. The optimum temperature for growing in the summer is 23-25 degrees. If the temperature is higher, the plant will wither. Therefore, in the midday hours it is better to shade a flower from direct sunlight. Winter is considered a period of rest in streptocarpus, so it should be moved to a cooler place with a temperature of 14-15 degrees. The recommended day length is 7-8 hours.
Seed propagation
Streptocarpus is rather bad at a sharp temperature drop, so you need to create a constant temperature in the range of 22-25 degrees.
When watering should not allow water to fall on the leaves or root neck of the plant, therefore, the ideal method of watering is to immerse the pot in water for several minutes.
For the favorable cultivation of streptokarpus from seeds it is necessary to create a high humidity in the room.
During the heating season, the humidity in the room decreases sharply, it becomes difficult to create the necessary conditions. Therefore, growers have resorted to a little trickery. They put on the heaters dishes with water. And some even organize glazed racks. All this helps to create the required microclimate for flowers.
Reference! Should be protected from direct sunlight. The best condition is the use of artificial lighting. You can build a mini hothouse with built-in lighting.
Video on breeding streptocarpus seeds:
Reproduction of a piece of sheet
The soil should be chosen light, breathable, not too nutritious and well-preserving moisture. Drainage in growing streptocarpus is also very important.
When growing streptokarpus from a leaf, it is very important to provide the leaflets with sufficient moisture. The container should be set in a bright place. It is necessary to organize a greenhouse, or cover the pot with a plastic bag.
Do not over-wet the soil otherwise a piece of leaf will rot. Insufficient illumination or too bright light can provoke a withering of the fragment, poor growth of the "kids." When ideal conditions are created, a baby will appear from each side vein in 4-6 weeks.
After the leaves become more than 3 cm, you can begin to plant them in separate small containers. It is important to save greenhouse conditions for leaves at first. Within a month, children should take root well and go into active growth, they can be gradually weaned from the greenhouse.
Video on the topic, reproduction of streptocarpus fragment of the sheet:
How to root a sheet?
For rooting leaf fragments take about two weeks. After this, children should appear in 1.5-2 months.
On one vein one or two children may appear. Before transplanting babies into separate pots, you must wait for them to grow to at least 2 cm.
It is better to sit in stogrammovye disposable cups. For the cultivation of children, it is necessary to create a mini greenhouse, gradually accustomed to room conditions by airing.
Separating the children from the sheet can create some difficulties, because their thin legs are very fragile and easy to damage. After this, the children need to be treated with a root and disembark, without deepening the root collar.
Home care
Streptokarpus not tolerate drafts, they can cause the disease of the flower and its death. Therefore, the choice of location for the plant should be taken very seriously.
For seedlings
As soon as the first leaves begin to form, the seedlings need to begin to train to room temperature. To do this, carry out ventilation, each time increasing the time spent outside the greenhouse.
The first pick is recommended after the appearance of these leaves.
Reference! The pick is to transplant the plants into a larger pot, positioning them so that they do not interfere with each other’s growth.
For the shoots
Experienced gardeners recommend planting leaf shoots in a mini hothouse. Do not make holes for ventilation. You need to make sure that the leaves do not touch the package, you can build special supports. To put a greenhouse in a warm and well-lit place.
Diseases and their treatment
Home-grown streptocarpus can be subject to diseases and pests. Illiterate care and violation of the rules of cultivation can cause these problems.
- If there is not enough humidity in the room, the plant may be subject to thrips. This disease leads to streptocarpus drying out. To combat parasites, it is necessary to use insecticidal agents.
- Failure to comply with the level of humidity can start scutes. You need to fight them Aktellik.
- Excess moisture in the soil can cause aphids. With this disease, the plant and the soil must be treated with chemicals. Also require a complete replacement of the soil.
- If the conditions are not followed, the plant may become infected with a spider mite. In this case, a spider web appears on the leaves, and the flower stalks dry out quickly. The control method is insecticidal.
Streptokarpus can please the eye for almost a whole year. A huge number of hybrid varieties makes it possible to choose the plant you like with a memorable color. Proper care to care for the flower contributes to the creation of abundant and prolonged flowering.
