Ruelia is a decorative shrub that is suitable for growing in a room or on a balcony. He will delight with bright leaves with variegated veins and delicate multi-colored gramophone flowers. It looks great like an indoor or ampel plant, suitable for decorating a veranda or a winter garden. In folk medicine, it is used as a diuretic and bactericidal agent.
Description
Rowellia belongs to the Acanthus family and has more than 250 varieties. The native land of the plant is the tropical and subtropical zone of both Americas, but the first species were found in Brazil. The flower is evergreen and reaches a height of 90 cm. Grassy shoots, covered with leaves along the entire length and highly branched. The central stems are strong and straight, while the lateral stems often spread along the ground or require garter. The color of the leaves is dark green, in some varieties variegated. The shape of the leaf plate is ovoid with a sharp edge, embossed veins. The average leaf length is 7 cm and a width of 2 cm. The ground part has a short pubescence.
Large tubular flowers are located in the axils of the leaves and on the tops of the stems. They consist of five fused petals, the diameter of a blossoming flower is 5 cm. It blooms from late May to September, but with sufficient light it is able to produce buds in winter. It begins to bloom from the first year after planting. After the petals wilt, several seeds form in a small box. They are light brown, flat, rounded in shape. After ripening, the five-sided box opens independently and the seeds fly apart over long distances, which contributes to the formation of self-seeding.
Varieties
The genus Roullia is very numerous, some specimens even cause controversy among botanists regarding the determination of belonging to this genus or withdrawal in an independent. In our country, only a few, the most vibrant varieties, are most prevalent.
- Ruellia Portella. A perennial herb with creeping processes that quickly take root upon contact with the soil at the sites of nodes. The leaves are elongated, dark, the underside is painted in burgundy. The central vein of each leaf has a contrasting white stripe. Tubular large flowers are located in the upper part of the stem near the leaf petioles and are painted in bright pink color. Long flowering, begins in late July or August.
Ruellia Portella - Roullia Grandiflora - the most overall plant of all representatives. Under favorable conditions, the stems reach a height of 1-2 m. Large gramophone flowers have a tube length of 10 cm and a diameter of open petals of 8 cm. The flowers are pink, lilac and purple. The plant blooms in September.
Roullia Grandiflora - Ruellia Devosa. It does not differ in height, upright branched shoots reach 35-40 cm. Gentle lilac petals with pronounced and darker central veins. Flowering begins in late autumn and can last all winter.
Ruellia Devosa - Ruelia the Beautiful. Attractive long flowering. With good nutrition and lighting, flowers form year-round, although each of them lives only one day. The stems in the early years are upright, but eventually begin to slope to the ground. Lanceolate leaves are pubescent with silvery villi and have a lighter lower plate.
Ruelia the Fair - Ruelia Caroline. Grassy and very unpretentious plant. Best of all other representatives, the lack of lighting suffers. Dark cirrus leaves are decorated with purple and blue tint flowers. The diameter of the bud is only 2-2.5 cm.
Ruelia Karolinskaya - Rwellia Britton. Sufficiently tall (up to 90 cm) bushes of this variety have stiff elastic stems. The lanceolate pointed leaves are dark green in color, and in the sun they become bluish or bluish with a metallic tint. The flowers are large, up to 5 cm in diameter of a saturated violet or blue-violet color.
Ruellia Britton - Tuberous ruellia unlike most relatives, only 2 years live. It has a thick rhizome in the form of carrots and branched creeping stems. The flowers are purple, medium size.
Tuberous ruellia - Ruellia Makoya has a bright decorative appearance. The bushes are erect, highly branched, up to 60 cm high. The dark green elongated foliage has mottled yellowish stripes along the veins. The size of the sheet is 6-8 cm, the lower part is covered with purple villi. This variety is distinguished by large flowers of a rich burgundy color. Dark stripes are visible along each petal to the core.
Ruellia Makoya - Ruelia Blue (StarBlue). A low shrub plant with plain leaves of a dark shade of green. Its height is not more than 30 cm. The color of the buds is blue and purple.
Ruelia Blue
Breeding
The easiest way to propagate rurellia by cutting cuttings, but there is nothing complicated in seed propagation. It all depends on what was at hand at the grower: a small stalk or packaging with seeds.
Seeds are characterized by good germination and do not require preliminary stratification. The best for crops is March. To do this, prepare a tray with light peat or sandy soil. After planting, lightly sprinkle with soil and cover with a film. Until the shoots appear, it is better to keep the container in a dark and warm place. With the germination of the shoots, the pot is transferred to a well-lit window sill and waiting for the formation of two real leaves. Then the seedlings dive into separate pots.
For vegetative propagation in spring, cuttings of 5-8 cm in length are separated. They should have at least 2 nodes. For planting, use small pots with light fertile soil, the same as for crops. Moisten the soil with care to prevent decay of the cuttings. It is better to reduce the amount of watering and cover the surface with film. Cuttings root at a temperature of + 21 ° C. To achieve lateral processes, pinch the tops.
It is also allowed to divide the overgrown bushes into several young plants with transplanting in different pots and updating the soil mixture.
Growing
Ruelia is quite unpretentious and suitable for those who can not pay attention to the plant daily. Soils suitable for this flower are neutral or slightly acidic, light. It is undemanding to irrigation, tolerates both small flooding and drought. In winter, watering is minimized, and during the flowering period is increased, combining with mineral fertilizing for flowering plants. Fertilizers are applied twice a month.
The plant is thermophilic and photophilous, also very afraid of the cold wind. For landing, choose enclosed spaces or windless territory. She needs moist air throughout the year.
In winter, Roellia needs additional lighting. Shade-tolerant varieties are moved to the windowsill, and photophilous varieties are placed under fluorescent lamps with a power of 60 watts. But in the summer it is better to hide it from direct sunlight, so that there would be no burns.
A plant does not need a regular transplant; it slowly increases the mass of roots, but quickly grows old and exposes the lower part of the stems; therefore, it is advisable to rejuvenate it every 3-4 years by planting young cuttings. To form a beautiful crown, pinch all the shoots, and tie the bush.
It is necessary to control the condition of the leaves. The plant suffers from the invasion of aphids, spider mites and whiteflies.
