Violets
VIOLETS
Violets Saintpaulia, Uzambarian Violets, African violets… The plants, we name “Indoor violets”, have actually only similar flowers to the wild violets growing in a wood or in a garden. In fact this indoor plant comes from East Africa and is called Saintpaulia or Uzmbarian violet (African violet). The African violet appeared in the Europe in 19th century.
In the Saintpaulia’s homeland, the long-term grassy plant of African violet grows up to 30 cm and contains twenty kinds. The one could prefer the Saintpaulia in indoor floriculture for its small size and long blooming – up to 10 months in a year. Also popular are Parma violets. The Parma violet belongs to the more exotic branch of the violet family. First appearing in Italy, in the 16th century, most types of parma violets have lavender flowers of varying sizes.
The violet plant has sometimes hardly extended oval leaves. Edges of leaves are smooth or have jaggies and 
are collected in the radical socket. The color of leaves can be dark or light green. The common or doublepetalled flowers has diameter 2 – 4 cm, have painting from violet, dark blue, red up to pure white. A purple violet looks really impressive as well as a pink violet and a bunch of purple violets could be the most valuable gift for ones we love.
There are kinds with non-uniformly painted colors. Root system of saintpaulies is superficial. It should be considered at a choice of pots for room violets. They should not be big and it’s better to be flat and not high.
KINDS of Saintpaulia. Actual more than 1500 kinds saintpaulia due to the efforts of collectors. They all are hybrids which were obtained with cross-breeding of violet-kind saintpaulia (S.IONANTHA) and saintpaulia erroneous (S.CONFUSA).
Now there are known standard forms of violets with the size of sockets 15-30 see, large forms at which sockets grow up to 40 cm in diameter and tiny forms with the size of sockets less than 15. There exist violet flowers of the diversified forms and colors. There also are ampel kinds which form stalks on the ends new sockets.
Due to such variety sometimes it is uneasy to define the sort of saintpaulia, therefore we recommend you the book of doctor D.G.Khessajona “All about indoor plants”. There can be found a numerous list of saintpaulia kind.
AFRICAN VIOLET CARE
Cultivation of violets (saintpaulia) demands some efforts if you want your saintpaulia to be plentifully and long blossomed, you should follow some necessary rules:
- the Temperature mode should be equal, not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. The optimum temperature is 18-24 degrees. Violets do not love sharp fluctuations of temperatures and drafts.
- Uzambar violet prefers bright light, but does not like direct solar beams, hence, if the plant is on a solar window sill, it should be shaded, and there desirably to be an additional illumination by fluorescent lamps that light day of violets made 13-14 hours in the winter. In this case saintpaulia will bloom also in the winter.
- the watering should be equal. The superficial layer of the ground should be constantly damp, but at the same time it is unnecessary to fill in a plant. The one should water cautiously, under a root. The superfluous water should be merged from the pallet. The water shouldn’t be cold and desirably soft, anyway, it should be defended. The violet, particularly its, does not stand spraying. At hit of water drops leaves can rot. It’s good to lay on the pallet a damp moss or put the pots with violets on the pallet with water to provide sufficient humidity of air, but the pot itself shouldn’t be touched with water. It is possible to put pots in damp peat.
- the soil for violets has special requirements too. It should be friable, has well air pass and absorb the water easily. It is possible to buy a ready earthen mix for saintpaulia, or to make it yourself composing of the feafed and turfen ground, humus, sand, charcoal, a bone flour with addition of superphosphate, in the following proportions: 2; 0,5; 1; 1; to add 0,5 glasses of a bone flour and 1 big spoon of superphosphate on a bucket of a ready soil mix.
The violet should be top dressing with a regular basis mineral fertilizers in a half to a doze for well grow and blossom. There should be top dressing once a week. It is possible to add fertilizers in water for regular watering, but in that case the concentration of fertilizer should be considerably lower(in 6-7 times).
The other feature of saintpaulia care consists in to delete new sockets in time, bloomed flowers and damaged leaves, not leaving damage. New sockets take away forces from a plant, it blossoms is worse, instead not removed bloomed flowers and damaged leaves create threat of disease. The violet, which care meets above listed requirements, will blossom almost the year round.
REPLACING OF SAINTPAULIA
The big pot is not necessary for a violet. As it has the superficial root system it’s better to take wide and low pots. The reduction of the leaves’ size, change of their color by more pale, reduction of quantity and sizes of colors serves is the basic signal to that the violet should be replaced. In that case it is necessary to take a pot with approximately 2 cm. bigger diameter.
African violet pots selection is an easy task. Usually the pot has quite a suitable size if the old one can be freely put in it. The width of a pot for a violet shouldn’t be more than 12 cm. and you shouldn’t forget about a drainage. A pair stones is enough for violets in small pots.
The depth of landing is an important condition in replacing of plants. A lump with the should be put in such a way the root end to be on 2-3 see below the top edge of a pot. The intervals between the lump and a wall of the pot in regularly you should fill with the nutritious ground and push it with a peg downwards.
After the replacing it is necessary to water a plant well, and not to water it all in the next two days. Usually, it is necessary to replace sainpaulia every year and it is better to do in the spring.
DUPLICATION of ROOM VIOLETS
The violets can be duplicated with seeds which should be sowed in the spring, but more often the saintpaulia duplicate with leaf shanks.
For the rooting an adult leaf should be taken. The one using a sharp knife should cut off a shank not less than 5 cm. length then place it in the damp sand so that the leaf don’t concern ground. The soil around of a shank should be slightly rammed. At planting use the hot-house or cover a plant with polythene.
For this purpose stick some pegs in a pot with the plants, and put on them a polyethylene package and fasten it in the bottom of a pot so that the polythene did not concern the plants. The implanted plants should be put in a warm, light place, without direct solar beams.
After the shank will take roots and there will be a young growth, a parental leaf could be cut off and implanted once again. If few new plants appear from one leaf, they can be divide after they grow up, and each plant should be put in its own single pot.
ILLNESSES of Saintpaulia.
If the rules of violet care are the illness of a plant are quite possible to happen. If leaves began to turn yellow or there appear brown pots, and even holes on them, it means, that direct solar beams get the leaves. The pot should be replaced in a less shined place or to a shade. Other reason of turning leaves yellow can be too dry air. Then the plant should be settled on the pallet with water.
If the soil is too humid and there are sharp fluctuations of temperatures, room violets are stroked with radical decay. In this case the plant is better to throw out, and a pot and the soil should be sterilized or changed.
If the one spray a violet intensely there can be a grey mould on leaves. These are fungoid diseases – grey decay or mealy dew. The simplest decision is to remove stroked leaves, to stop spraying of a violet flower and to replace a pot in a warmer and well aired place. It is possible to process a plant ground with a sulfur or with special fungicide. The processing should be repeated in a week.
As to the wreckers, the saintpaulia is usually stroked by the Aleyrodidae – this very fine flying insect. It settle its larva on the bottom party of a leaf. You can delete them by the preparations containing piretrum. It is necessary to spray the stroked plant every three days. Other wrecker is a mealy warm. A fine insect of white color which is covered by a down. It can be easily removed wiping leaves with a damp tampon. Other way is to process leaves insecticides.
