Indoor senpolias surprise with a wide palette of colors of their flowers. Some capriciousness of violets does not stop amateur gardeners and professional breeders. The number of admirers of this beautiful plant is constantly increasing.
The history of the first varieties
Breeder from Vinnitsa Elena Lebetskaya began to create new varieties in 2000. To date, Lebetskaya (LE) violets have more than 250 varieties. They amaze the imagination with a variety of colors and shapes of flowers. The collection includes varieties with petals from the simplest to terry, with wavy, fringed and corrugated edges. Among them are one-color ones and with the presence of strokes, strokes and spots, circled by a border and painted with spray of contrasting shades. The leaves attract attention with the velvety pure green tones of varying saturation. Rosettes of variegated species captivate with drawings and color stains on the sheets.
Parade of colors blooming saintpaulia
Description of colors
Uzambar violets come from the mountainous regions of the eastern part of Tanzania, became the progenitor of all indoor violets. Once in Europe, they received the name of Saintpaulia, named after the discoverer of the flower of Baron Walter Saint Paul. Many incorrectly ranked Saintpaulia as forest violets. Senpolia belongs to the Gesneriaceae family. This is a grassy low plant with leaves collected in rosettes. Fleecy rounded leaves are located on short petioles.
The flowers that make up the brushes are different in shape:
- Simple - with the usual petals.
- Semi-double - they have several underdeveloped petals in the middle of the flower, which makes the flower more voluminous.
- Terry - petals are arranged in several rows.
Usually in a brush there are up to 7 flowers; currently hybrids with up to 100 flowers are created. The culture of Saintpaulia violet (Uzambara) is widespread - this is one species, all existing forms are its hybrids.
Among indoor violets, 5 species are distinguished by the shape of a flower:
- "Bowl" - the petals are separate, the bud does not open completely and retains its shape during flowering.
- "Wasp" - resembles cyclamen, 2 upper petals are short, bent backward, 3 lower ones are directed in different directions and almost dissected, which is unusual for the Gesnerievs.
- "Bell" - flowers in the form of bells with wavy edges of the petals of a dark blue color with a purple tint.
- "Pansies" - 4 large petals raised up and 1 - down.
- “Star” - light lilac large buds in the shape of a star with a light border along the contour.
Among the varieties from the selection of Elena Lebetskaya, plain flowers of simple form can be distinguished, and those that captivate with a game of colors, and outlined with a fringed edge or a contrasting shade of border. Each in its own way is beautiful and worthy of attention. Varieties with multicolor color have two or more colors, fantasy varieties differ in that there are stripes on the main background, strokes of a lighter or darker tone than the main one.
The root structure is the same for all varieties. The stems and petioles of leaves may vary in height. The size of the outlet distinguishes:
- Miniature - with a diameter of up to 15 cm.
- Standard - from 20 to 40 cm.
- Large - over 40 cm.
Flower size
According to the size of the flower, the senpolia is divided into groups:
- Small-flowered plants are up to 2 cm in size.
- Mid-flowering - from 2 to 4 cm.
- Large-flowered flowers have flowers with sizes from 4 to 6 cm.
- Especially large-flowered exceed 6 cm in diameter.
Interesting! Small but lovely flowers in the variety Caramel. Variety LE Bogdan has very large white flowers with a purple eye.
Number of flowers
The most common varieties contain up to 7 flowers. Variety Caramel does not sparkle in number, but attracts with its subtlety of pink color. At Kristina (Kristina) their small amount is blocked by splendor of terry flowers. Recently bred hybrids surprise with a large number of flowers, their number reaches one hundred. The variety White Camellia is distinguished by a lushly flowering hat with a large number of flowers.
The tenderness and purity of White Camellia
Color and drawing of a flower
In addition to monochrome, there is a huge variety of colors:
- Edging - have a border on the edge of the petals, the color of which differs from the main one.
- Fantasy - have petals, covered with strokes, splashes, points of contrasting shades.
- Spotted - with a contrasting spot on the petal.
- Chimeras - from the middle to the edge of the petal are contrasting rays.
Admiration is caused by the variety White Camellia, the snow-white flowers of which are surrounded by a motley white-green rosette of leaves. The advantage of the variety is that the flowers do not lose their color and shape throughout the flowering period. Violet Lotus conquers terry pink flowers, they are shaped like roses.
There are a huge number of varieties with one-color petals, in which beauty is emphasized by the presence of a border of contrasting color. Monochrome flowers of LE Gracia varieties look white bell-shaped, LE Magnetto violet with lilac fringe. LE Igor violet of the form “pansies” with 4 large bright blue petals surrounded by a white wavy border, echoes the variety Summer twilight Moreva selection. LE Noir violet refers to variegated forms. Its simple and semi-double large flower-stars strike with violet-fuchsian color and wavy border of white color.
Strict sophistication of violet le Noir
The unusual nature of the multi-colored petals of Lebetskaya varieties is surprising. Violet LE Zlata (Zlata) strikes with white-yellow or gold in the form of a wavy star flowers with a thin, variable border of blue on the edge of the petal. A smooth rosette has slightly wavy green with white leaves. Variety LE Elegans is distinguished by terry white “pansies” with wavy petals, and caramel-pink bright spots on the lower ones. Charms to the semi-double and double petals of green-blue shades are added to the variegated leaves of the variety Lena. The apotheosis of the colors of the Surprise Winter variety will not leave anyone indifferent: slightly wavy petals of light pink color are colored with strokes and stripes of pale purple tones.
Winter morning paints on the petals of the Winter Surprise variety
Flowering period
With good care, violets are bestowed with flowering almost all year round: up to 8-9 months. The flowering of senpolia is not related to the season, mainly depends on the growing conditions created for it. The most abundant flowering is observed in spring and summer. It is difficult to predict exactly when the plant will bloom. Violets grown from a leaf can bloom in 8 months, some need a whole year, sometimes they will have to wait a year and a half. There are varieties (breeding Sorano)blooming all year round:
- Emerald Pink with many flowers of light coral pink shades, circled by a border of light green color.
- Anastasia, lightweight flowers with petals of sky blue watercolor, marked with dark stains, with corrugated edges.
Breeding methods
To propagate violets, vegetative methods are used:
- Seeds;
- Cuttings.
The seed method is quite long and laborious, it is usually used for selection by professional flower growers. At home, they use cuttings to obtain new copies. A sheet capable of forming additional roots is cut off with a sharp knife, retreating 2.5-3.5 cm from the leaf plate. The cuttings are placed in a container of water and transferred to a warm, bright place. Cover with a plastic cup or plastic bag to create greenhouse conditions. Usually, after 2-3 weeks, the first roots appear, and the cuttings are transplanted into the ground. When the shoot reaches 4-5 cm in height, the violet has taken root and began to grow, the parent leaf is cut. For propagation of variegated forms, cuttings from the 2nd row are taken, young and strong, they take root more easily. In this case, choose the most green leaves of the outlet.
Important! If the leaves of the appeared outlet are white, you should wait until they turn green, and only then separate from the stalk.
There are varieties that can not be propagated by cuttings from leaves, because they do not retain parental traits. In this case, peduncles are used, choosing the strongest and healthiest. Then they proceed, as with ordinary cuttings, waiting for the appearance of roots. In some varieties, lateral processes are formed - stepsons, they are removed and rooted, like ordinary cuttings.
Care Features
Caring for different types and varieties has general rules. Any violations in the care of the senpolia lead to a deterioration in appearance and even the absence of flowering. A positive result in breeding a flower can be expected when certain rules are followed. The plant responds to:
- Soil condition;
- Indoor temperature
- Lighting;
- Watering regime and quality;
- Feed application.
Flowers
To avoid caking of the soil, it must be loosened between irrigations. A temperature of 19-24 ° C is considered comfortable for a flower. Violet is a photophilous plant, but, like most pets, does not tolerate direct sunlight. It is better to place it at a distance of 0.5 m from the window. Watering is carried out no more than 2 times a week, given the humidity. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that water does not fall on the growth point and leaves. A watering can with a long nose without a divider will become convenient. You can pour water into the pan, after 20 minutes, the remaining water is drained. During the period of active growth, every half a month the flower is fed with a weak solution of complex mineral fertilizers for senpolia.
In the collection of E. Lebetskoy, a large place is occupied by variegated forms that look spectacular even without flowers, due to the presence of spots, specks of other shades on green leaves. These are places on leaf plates where there is no chlorophyll, instead of it there are other coloring pigments: carotene, xanthophyll and others. There are some subtleties when growing them. To maintain signs of variegation, they try to reduce the amount of chlorophyll and release other pigments to change the color of the leaf.
Important! In order to avoid loss of variegation, it is necessary to maintain a temperature lower than for other species, 16-20 ° C. At a higher temperature, nitrogen-fixing bacteria actively develop in the soil, and the amount of nitrogen in it increases. Accordingly, the amount of chlorophyll increases, which entails the appearance of a green color of the leaf.
When applying fertilizers, nitrogen-containing ones are excluded for the same reason - they contribute to the production of chlorophyll. The variegated forms of violets respond well to artificial lighting, so they can be placed on the lower shelves of the shelves, where it is cooler.
Other care measures are no different from caring for other forms of the plant.
Once having seen charming senpolis, everyone forever becomes their admirer and lights up with the desire to grow a new variety of an attractive shape and color of an attractive flower variety.
