A herbaceous and abundantly flowering plant like calceolaria at home it is grown as an annual or biennial. Its popularity is associated with very spectacular flowers that have an unusual shape, reminiscent of a "purse" or "shoe". So, these bright flowers are double-lipped, the upper lip of which is extremely small, and the lower one is large, spherical, swollen.
The genus Calceolaria has about 400 species of the norichnik families. In English taxonomy, they are classified into the Calceolariaceae family. In the wild, such a flower can be found in Central and South America. "Calceolaria" is translated from Latin as "small shoe".
This genus includes shrubs, grasses, shrubs, in which the leaves are located opposite or whorled. The flower calyx is four-membered, and the corolla is swollen, two-lipped (with the upper lip, as a rule, smaller). Has 2-3 stamens. The fruit is presented in the form of a box.
In calceolaria, most species are very beautiful and are grown as ornamental plants. Hybrid garden varieties were created from such species as: C. arachnoidea, C. corymbosa, C. crenatiflora, and others. For cultivation in cool greenhouses, as a rule, hybrids are chosen, the flowers of which are painted in purple, orange, yellow or red, and their corollas can also be shaded or with specks. For their reproduction, cuttings or seeds are used.
This flowering plant will delight you with its flowers in springtime, while you should know that it is problematic to grow it at home, as it prefers cool places. Its spherical, bright, bubbly flowers stand out in particular. Flowers often have many different dots and spots. As a rule, calceolaria blooms from March to June. Flowering continues for 4 weeks. One plant can produce 18–55 flowers.
Description
Likhnis chalcedony is known to gardeners under other names - adonis, Dawn. It is often called Tatar or girlish soap, since the flowers and roots are soaped when rubbed, and the water foams at the same time. In the old days, lyhnis washed their hands and washed clothes. The Carnation family, to which the flower belongs, has 35 species, but only eight grow in our country. The homeland is considered the south of Russia and Asia Minor.
Chalcedony Lychnis is a slender perennial plant, the height of which reaches one meter. The stem is covered with hairs, so its surface feels rough to the touch. Sharp leaves are heart-shaped at the base, their lower and upper parts are pubescent.
The flowers are small, only two centimeters in diameter. They are collected in spectacular capitate inflorescences. The petals are white, red or pink, depending on the variety. Their arrangement resembles a socket with sharp corners. The plant blooms for a long time, this period can last a month or more.
Chalcedony Lychnis has a number of varieties. The most common is the Maltese cross. Lychnis chalcedony red is characterized by beautiful cross-shaped flowers.Their diameter reaches 10 centimeters, and the height of the bush is 1 meter. This flower loves a lot of sun, blooms for a long time: June, July, August.
Another type of flower, the most popular among florists, is Dawn. According to the shade of the petals, it is called lychnis chalcedony pink. Although the color of the petals can be white or red.
Calceolaria - planting and care in the open field
In the garden, flowers are planted in an area protected from direct sunlight and with the necessary air circulation. Under natural conditions, it grows on wooded mountain slopes, but with this it loves warmth. Bushes are usually located in a complex with other plantations that protect fragile shoes from rays.
One of the most popular types of calceolaria for open ground is considered to be a wrinkled type of culture.
Watering
Watering is not time-specific. Only his moderation is significant. An indicator that an overdose of water has come out is the clarification of flowers and leaves. Waterlogging has the ability to lead to death. Perennial types of shoes are very rarely transplanted. They are fed with mineral fertilizers every month.
Post-flowering care
As soon as the flowering is over, the bush is cut off, and the root is dived. Subsequently, the trimmings sprout other shoots. At the end of summer, they can be used as cuttings. Transplanting is used to develop the silhouette of the bush. It is necessary to pinch the upper part of the stem, keeping from 4 to 6 leaves. The main purpose of this technique is to provide a compact plant and to have an effect on increasing the abundance of flowering.
Seed propagation
Lychnis chalcedony can be propagated in different ways. Growing from seeds is the most common. They are sown in open ground in late autumn, before the onset of cold weather, or in early spring - from April to June inclusive.
But regardless of the sowing time, the chalcedony lychnis will bloom only after a year. Planting and care under favorable weather conditions, in the case of autumn sowing of seeds, allows the plant to bloom in the current year.
Care features
Temperature regime
This flower needs coolness (12-16 degrees). If the air temperature is too high, flowers or buds may fall off.
Illumination
Loves well-lit places, but the light should be diffused. Shading is required from direct sunlight. It is best to put it on a windowsill located in the northern, eastern or northwestern part of the room.
How to water
Watering should be abundant. Do not allow the earth to dry out.
Humidity
The flower needs very high humidity. It is recommended to pour small pebbles or expanded clay into a wide pallet, pour water, and put a flower pot on top. When spraying, try to keep the liquid out of the pubescent leaves. Only flowers are sprayed.
How to transplant
The soil mixture consists of leaf, peat, turf soil, and sand, mixed in a ratio of 3: 2: 3: 1. When calceolaria has finished blooming, you can throw it away.
How to propagate
You can grow this plant from seeds. To do this, sowing is carried out from May to July, while the seeds are not sprinkled with earth. Double pick required. For germination, the seeds need to provide a temperature of about 18 degrees. But it is difficult to grow this flower in indoor conditions; it is better to purchase a ready-made one in a special store.
Top dressing
In order for the lychnis chalcedony flower to grow normally, it needs to be fed. For this, fertilizers are applied to the soil, and several times per season. The first feeding is carried out with mineral fertilizers before the beginning of the flowering period. For this, superphosphate, urea and potassium sulfate (one spoonful of each) are dissolved in a bucket of water and the plants are watered at the rate of 3 liters per square meter.
The second fertilization occurs during the flowering period, and the third after it. But a different solution is being prepared for this. Superphosphate, Agricola-7 and potassium sulfate in an amount of one spoonful of each ingredient are dissolved in a bucket of water. The application rate is increased to five liters for the same area.
How to propagate calceolaria
For the propagation of such flowers, seeds are used. If you want flowering to come in the spring, then you need to sow them in June, and if in the fall, then in March.
The seeds of calceolaria are very small in size, so, in 1 gram, there are about 30 thousand of them. Sowing is carried out directly on the soil surface; additional dusting with earth is not required. Paper is placed on top of the soil, and it must be systematically moistened. A pick is made after the seedlings grow 2 true leaves. To create a suitable soil mixture, it is necessary to mix deciduous, humus and peat soil, as well as sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 2: 1.
Also, the seeds germinate well on peat. If you want flowering to come in mid-March, then sowing should be done from 5 to 15 July. To do this, use litter peat, disinfected from rot by heating to 90-100 degrees. To lower the acidity of peat, chalk is used. To do this, it is added to the substrate. 15-20 grams of ground chalk is taken per kilogram of peat. Also, peat is mixed with sand in a ratio of 7: 1. In the resulting mixture, the seeds are sown. To do this, they are scattered over the surface and not sprinkled on top with a substrate. Next, the container is tightly covered with glass or film. When condensation collects on the inner surface of the covering material, it must be carefully turned over so that water does not get onto the seedlings. Be sure to keep the substrate moisture constant.
The second pick into pots with a diameter of 7 centimeters is made after the appearance of the outlet. Then they are placed on light-colored windowsills. At the beginning of autumn, another transplant is carried out, and pots with a diameter of 9-11 centimeters are used for it. Do not forget to pinch the calceolaria before this transplant, only 2 or 3 pairs of leaves should remain, and lateral shoots will begin to grow from their sinuses.
You can also form a bush using pinching. To do this, you need to carefully remove the lateral shoots that are formed from the axils of the leaves.
Another transplant, already in larger pots, is carried out from January to February. For this, a nutritious and heavy soil mixture is used, consisting of humus, turf and peat soil, as well as sand, mixed in a ratio of 2: 2: 2: 1. Also, do not forget to add 2-3 grams of complex mineral fertilizer per kilogram of the mixture. This humus substrate must be slightly acidic (approximately pH 5.5).
Flowering occurs 8–10 months after sowing the seeds.
Watering
Likhnis chalcedony prefers moist soil, but it does not tolerate waterlogging and stagnation of water, since the roots begin to rot, which negatively affects the growth of the flower. You need to water it as needed, when the soil begins to dry out. The portions that moisturize the soil should be small.
In the summer, especially in severe drought, watering is intensified, and in the spring and autumn, moderate. It is enough to moisten the soil once a week. Water the plants in the morning, during a sunny day they will absorb all the water. If this is done in the evening, the roots, under the influence of low night temperatures, can freeze and get wet. With a constant violation of the irrigation regime, the roots will rot, the plants will weaken and will poorly resist various diseases and pests.
How to care for calceolaria correctly
Such a plant simply needs diffused light, and it does not tolerate the direct rays of the sun, from which it must be shaded.Grows well on window sills located on the west or east window. If calceolaria is placed on a southern windowsill, then it needs good shading, which can be made from paper or a translucent material (for example, tulle, gauze, tracing paper, and so on). Also feels great on the northern windowsill. When the plant begins to bloom, it will not need very much shading. In the autumn-winter period, it is recommended to supplement the flower with fluorescent lamps.
In order for calceolaria to grow and develop normally, it needs the air temperature in the room to be no higher than 12-16 degrees, and, importantly, at any time of the year.
During the flowering period, watering should be regular. To do this, you need to use soft and always settled water. Moisten the soil immediately after the top layer dries. After some time after watering, be sure to pour out the liquid that has accumulated in the pan. When the flowering is over, you need to water the calceolaria very rarely and little, but make sure that the earthen lump does not dry out. After fresh growth appears, they gradually return to the previous irrigation regime.
This flower simply needs a very high air humidity, but at the same time, experts do not recommend moisturizing it from a spray bottle. In order to achieve the required humidity, the pot with the plant is placed on a pallet, into which water is poured and pebbles are placed, and you can also use moistened peat or expanded clay. It is also advised to place the flower pot in a flower pot, and fill the remaining space between the 2 vessels with moist peat (it is moistened regularly).
The plant is fed for the first time after 2 weeks have passed after the flower is transplanted into a permanent pot. Mineral fertilizers are applied 2 times a month.
After this plant has faded, its aerial part can be completely removed. Then the pot needs to be rearranged for 6-8 weeks in a dark, cool place. Watering is rarely necessary, but the soil should not completely dry out. After the young growth appears, the pot is placed in a well-lit place, and after a while the calceolaria blooms. As a rule, such flowers begin to bloom a couple of months earlier than those grown from seeds. However, they are characterized by a loss of decorativeness, due to the fact that they are strongly stretched.
Over time, calceolaria will surely lose its decorative effect and quickly enough. To always have beautiful plants, you do not need to transplant them, but replace them with new ones.
What is sick and who is amazed by?
When growing lychnis on soils with excessive moisture, there is a high probability of damage to the flower by diseases such as rust, root rot, spotting and others. If, when examining the bush, damaged areas are found, active measures must be taken.
In order to prevent the emergence and spread of diseases, plants are planted at a certain distance from each other so that air can freely pass between them. Before planting flowers, the soil is treated with preparations containing copper.
Likhnis chalcedony, like many other flowering plants, is susceptible to aphids, penny butterflies, and leafworms. If the lesion is minor, the bush is treated with a decoction of tobacco or tomato tops. With the further spread of pests in large quantities, chemicals are used: "Intavir", "Karbofos" and others.
Growing calceolaria from seeds
Growing flowering calceolaria from seeds is troublesome. The process will drag on for 8-9 months, this is done in a seedling way and consists of the following stages:
- Very small seeds are scattered over the surface of moist, well-leveled soil and pressed down without sprinkling. Cover the crops with a damp cloth and organize a greenhouse from a film or glass cover. Maintain a constant temperature of about + 20 ° C and humidity, ventilate and remove condensation.
- Seedlings dive at least 2 times before disembarking in a permanent container.
- They are planted in a permanent place 1.5-2 months after the last pick.
Important! Sowing dates depend on the wishes and the expected flowering period. To get flowering by early spring, seeds are sown at the end of June. Crops of late February will bloom only closer to autumn.
Using
Lychnis with bright flower caps adorns green lawns, looks great on alpine slides and flower beds in gardens and parks. It is planted in single plantings and in groups, it is used to decorate the shores of reservoirs of various sizes.
Gypsophila, bells and other non-aggressive plants with orange-yellow buds are an excellent addition to a flower garden with lychnis. But lychnis is not suitable for cutting, as it withers quickly.
Diseases and pests
Errors made in the organization of the microclimate immediately affect the state of calceolaria and can lead to its death:
- Temperatures above + 18-20 ° C and low humidity contribute to fall of buds and early aging.
- In low light conditions calceolaria does not bloom well.
- With excessive watering at low temperatures and moisturizing flowers and leaves rot develops.
Aphids, spider mites, whiteflies can cause significant damage to the plant.
Main types
Calceolaria mexicana (Calceolaria mexicana)
Such plants are difficult to combine with others. So, this type of calceolaria has very small flowers (diameter 5 millimeters) of a light yellow hue. They look most advantageous in the border along with flowers with decorative leaves, as well as in the composition located on the bank of the stream. Calceolaria corollas then look like little lanterns.
Under different conditions of detention, the height of the bush may vary (from 20 to 50 centimeters). Taller bushes will be in a moist, shaded area with nutritious soil. In the wild, Mexican calceolaria can be found on the wooded slopes of the mountains of Mexico, because it is a thermophilic plant. But at the same time, the bright light of the sun does not tolerate well, only if it is provided with good watering. This flower almost always bears fruit abundantly and has a large number of seeds.
Calceolaria wrinkled - Calceolaria rugosa
This calceolaria is distinguished by its elegance and originality. Chile is her homeland.
This herbaceous perennial plant, which has a very branched erect stem (height 25-50 centimeters), is most often grown as an annual. Small (1.5–2 cm in diameter) flowers have a bright yellow color. But there are forms that have brownish dots. Small leaves are collected in rosettes. If you sow this plant as usual, then it begins to bloom as early as June and continues - until the very frost. If there is a desire for this flower to bloom in the month of April, then it must be grown in containers.
Main varieties:
- Goldbukett - the plant has large flowers, and the height of a rather strong bush reaches 25-30 centimeters;
- Triomphe de Versailles - has small flowers, and the height of a fast-growing bush reaches 35-50 centimeters;
- Sunset (Calceolaria х hybr> Video review
Growing difficulties
When growing calceolaria, you must strictly adhere to the required conditions. When deviating from them, the plant begins to turn yellow, shed flowers and leaves, wither, and may even die. Pests do not bypass it either.
Pests
Calceolaria is more often affected by aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, whiteflies, and scale insects. Pests drink all the juices from the plant, which leads first to a loss of decorativeness and inhibition of growth, then to the death of the flower. If pests are found, it is necessary to treat the plant with a chemical, for example, "Aktellikom".
In case of severe infection, re-treatment will be required after 3-4 days.In especially severe cases, up to 4 treatments are carried out with an interval delay. The dosage is indicated by the manufacturer on the package with the drug.
Diseases
Calceolaria is susceptible to gray rot. The disease occurs due to prolonged waterlogging in combination with low temperatures and high humidity. Gray mold can also develop from overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers. In the presence of rot, remove all damaged areas, sprinkle the cut areas with sulfur. The plant should be sprayed with Bordeaux liquid or a copper-containing preparation (Topaz, Oxyhom).
If kept incorrectly, pests infect flowers and leaves.
Transfer
Often, amateur flower growers do not dare to independently grow calceolaria from seeds, so they simply purchase an already grown plant. But they may face another, no less serious problem - this is the transplantation of a purchased seedling.
In fact, transplanting Calceolaria from a technical pot is quite simple. First you need to prepare a new container and soil if the container is larger than the technical pot. After that, a drainage layer should be placed on the bottom of the new pot. Gently turning the technical container over, it is required to remove the calceolaria along with the earthen lump. Then, without removing the soil, the plant is placed in a new pot, and the voids are filled with prepared soil.
Moisture and fertilization
Domestic calceolaria flowers prefer high atmospheric humidity. But spraying is not suitable. To increase the humidity, the pot is placed in a pan with a humidified drain. It can be expanded clay gravel, pebbles. The container with the flower does not touch the water. The bush can be grown in a flower pot, filling the lower space with moist peat.
Fertilizers are applied two weeks after planting. Then fertilize until the flowers appear once every two weeks. In this case, mineral compositions are used.
After the bush has faded, it can be cut off and transferred to a dark, cold room for two months. Watering at this time is rare, so that the earth does not dry out completely. When new growth grows, the plant is returned to its usual bright place. There it will bloom earlier than the specimens derived from seeds. But decorativeness with this method of cultivation is lost.
Decorativeness is also lost over time, for this reason it is better to change calceolaria to new specimens, and not to use transplants.
Sowing seeds
Sowing calceolaria seeds in the ground should be done especially carefully, since they are very small, and it is important not to thicken the plants so that the sprouts do not interfere with each other's germination.
The soil is placed tightly in the prepared container, the top should be even. It is also important to moisturize the soil. Seeds are evenly scattered over the leveled wet soil. It is not required to sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil, you just need to lightly press the soil with your hand so that the seeds better contact with it. To maintain moderate humidity, you can put a damp paper towel, and the container itself is covered to create greenhouse conditions.
Choice of capacity
For sowing calceolaria seeds, at the initial stage, you should take a small and not too deep container, which can be covered in order to create greenhouse conditions for better germination. For the first pick, the seedlings can be transplanted into a slightly larger container, designed for several seedlings.
Advice! You can use plastic jars of yogurt, sour cream, or disposable glasses.
The grown seedlings (1-2 months) are already transplanted into a special plastic or ceramic pot at a permanent growing place. The optimal volume of the pot for normal cultivation without subsequent transplants is 0.8-1.2 liters. Drainage holes must be provided in the permanent pot.
Possible difficulties
Calceolaria flower, which is not so difficult to care for, usually grows without much difficulty. But some points are referred to as difficulties. Common problems:
- The leaves of the plant wither, the flower ages quickly. The reason for this is low air humidity and high room temperature.
- The plant needs to be replaced every year. For this, reproduction is used with the help of seeds or a new copy is acquired, and the old bush is eliminated.
- The bush can be affected by spider mites, whiteflies, scale insects, mealybugs. This is facilitated by the increased temperature during the cultivation of the calceolaria flower, the photo, the care of which we are considering.
How to plant a "little shoe"
The ideal pot for calceolaria is a small container. Enough 1.2 liters. It is important that it has a drainage system.
Cultivation and care of calceolaria - video
A dense layer of expanded clay, brick chips or clay shards are poured onto the bottom of the pot.
The lightest soil is chosen as the soil: fluffy peat. Leafy earth, humus and sand should be added to it. It is also recommended to pour wood ash into the pot to help protect the plant from decay. Simple activated carbon sold in pharmacies can also replace it.
Landing is carried out very carefully, using the transshipment method.
Otherwise, you can accidentally harm the thin roots of the plant. The root system is not very deep, after which the earth is carefully compacted and watered.
Seed preparation
Externally, the seeds of calceolaria are very small, dusty. There are approximately 30,000 seeds per gram. They retain germination for a short time, no more than a year, in rare cases - 2 years. Therefore, the most successful cultivation will be when sowing freshly harvested own seeds.
For convenience, before sowing, seeds collected by yourself can be mixed with talcum powder. If the seeds have been purchased, then it is important to look at their expiration date. Usually, manufacturers produce seeds in special granules, so they do not require preliminary preparation before sowing.
Temperature
Slipper Flower prefers cool conditions. In the spring-summer period, the optimum temperature will be 14-17 degrees, in winter it is necessary to lower it to 8-12 degrees. An increase in temperature above 20 degrees is fraught with rapid aging of calceolaria., damage by pests and diseases.
In addition, long and abundant flowering is possible only when kept in a cool room. Due to the heat and dry air, calceolaria can shed buds, flowers and even leaves.
It is important to know that for normal growth and flowering, it is important to ensure that there are no drafts.
Lady's slipper
This is exactly what the calceolaria uniflora is called. An unusual mountain lover appeared in the eyes of botanists in South America, on Tierra del Fuego. It was brought from America to England, and then the exotic beauty spread to homes throughout Europe.
The bush is very small, the specificity of the mountainous area did not allow it to grow more than 10 cm in height. Leaves are oval, green, collected in a socket.
Bright and unusual calceolaria flowers
Flowers 2.5 cm long grow on long shoots. The inflorescence consists of two convex petals. The upper petal is very small and inconspicuous, while the lower one is elongated and rounded.
At the base of the petals, the core is decorated with 2-3 stamens. The color is yellow, with red spots and dots. Mountain exotic blooms in July, about five weeks.
It's important to know! It surprises with frost resistance (up to -23 ° C), inherent in it by nature.
Photo
In the article, you will see a photo of calceolaria with proper care and growing it from seeds at home and in the natural environment.
The soil
For planting calceolaria, loose nutrient soil is needed. Since the flower grows in its natural environment in harsh conditions, it is not too picky about the soil.
You can buy ready-made substrate for decorative flowering plants in the store.
If it is possible to prepare the land on your own, you should mix 2 parts of sod land, the same amount of leaf, 1 part of peat and ½ part of sand. The mixture should be disinfected before planting.
The pot should have holes for drainage, and it is important to lay a good layer of drainage on its bottom, consisting of expanded clay, clay shards or foam.
Diseases and pests
The most dangerous disease for calceolaria is gray rot. It occurs if the plant has been too humid for a long time, was in a room with a low temperature and high humidity. To maintain the health of the plant, it is necessary to strictly follow all recommendations regarding the conditions of detention.
If there is too much nitrogen in the soil, the plant can become infected with gray mold. In this case, the diseased areas are removed with a sharp knife and burned, and the plant is treated with Bordeaux liquid or other preparations containing copper.
Of the insect pests, the most dangerous for calceolaria are aphids and whiteflies. Aphids can be collected by hand, and the plant can be treated with Actellik. Whitefly can also be killed with this drug. If one spraying was not enough, then you can repeat the procedure.
A herbaceous and abundantly flowering plant like calceolaria at home it is grown as an annual or biennial. Its popularity is associated with very spectacular flowers that have an unusual shape, reminiscent of a "purse" or "shoe". So, these bright flowers are double-lipped, the upper lip of which is extremely small, and the lower one is large, spherical, swollen.
The genus Calceolaria has about 400 species of the norichnik families. In English taxonomy, they are classified into the Calceolariaceae family. In the wild, such a flower can be found in Central and South America. "Calceolaria" is translated from Latin as "small shoe".
This genus includes shrubs, grasses, shrubs, in which the leaves are opposite or whorled. The flower calyx is four-membered, and the corolla is swollen, two-lipped (with the upper lip, as a rule, smaller). Has 2-3 stamens. The fruit is presented in the form of a box.
In calceolaria, most of the species are very beautiful and are grown as ornamental plants. Hybrid garden varieties were created from species such as: C. arachnoidea, C. corymbosa, C. crenatiflora, and others. For cultivation in cool greenhouses, as a rule, hybrids are chosen, the flowers of which are painted in purple, orange, yellow or red, and their corollas can also be shaded or with specks. For their reproduction, cuttings or seeds are used.
This flowering plant will delight you with its flowers in springtime, while you should know that it is problematic to grow it at home, as it prefers cool places. Its spherical, bright, bubbly flowers stand out in particular. Flowers often have many different dots and spots. As a rule, calceolaria blooms from March to June. Flowering continues for 4 weeks. One plant can produce 18–55 flowers.
Where to Buy Calceolaria Seeds or Adult Plants?
You can buy a "little shoe" in a specialized store or in online stores.
| Score | The form | Price (rubles) |
| Grain | seeds in dragee | 39 |
| Russian seeds | seeds in dragee | 55 |
| First seeds | seeds in dragee | 50 |
| 100 plants | plant in the pot | 360 |
| Studio floristic | plant in the pot | 1250 |
| Flowers gifts | plant in the pot | from 480 |
| Orchid | plant in the pot | 250 |
Illumination and temperature conditions
It is important to keep it cool for flowering. The temperature should vary between 12-16 ° C. Otherwise, the buds will fall off without even blooming.
Lighting must be bright, but diffused, without direct sunlight.Place on a northeast or west facing windowsill. In summer, can be placed on the north window. When grown on a southern windowsill, shading is necessary with a translucent material - gauze, tulle, tracing paper, a sheet of paper. In autumn and winter, supplement with fluorescent lamps or phytolamps.
Lighting
Calceolaria needs dim diffused lighting. The best option would be windows facing east or west. You can place calceolaria on the northwest or northeast windowsill.
On the south side, be sure to shade the plant with paper or a translucent curtain. Shading is especially necessary during flowering: in the bright sun, the flowers will quickly fade.
In autumn and winter, when the daylight hours are short, it is necessary to use additional lighting: fluorescent or phytolamps. In the warm season, the flower can be taken out into the open air in a shaded and protected from the wind place.
Choice of place and conditions of detention
Calceolaria is a very capricious plant, it needs light, but not direct sunlight, it needs a constant temperature of about +15 degrees, so growers advise placing pots with the plant on the northern, eastern and western windowsills. In summer, they can be displayed on a balcony or loggia in a place protected from sunlight.
The plant loves diffused light, it must be shielded from the sun with paper or mesh cloth. During flowering, the plant should be in the shade, and in winter it should be illuminated with special lamps.
The temperature in summer should not rise above + 15- + 17 degrees, otherwise the plant will begin to age quickly and diseases and insect pests may appear on it. In winter, the air temperature should be at least + 9- + 15 degrees. At higher temperatures and dry air, the leaves and buds of the plant can fall off.
Around calceolaria, you should try to maintain high air humidity. To do this, it is recommended to spray the air around the flower with water at room temperature from a spray bottle. In this case, do not allow water droplets to fall on leaves or flowers. The pot can be placed in a bowl or pallet with expanded clay and water poured into the bottom. So the flower will receive the necessary moisture.
Landing
The plant is planted in an individual pot 100 - 120 days after sowing. Flowering occurs after 8 - 9 months.
For growing calceolaria prepare soil substrate, which includes:
- Low peat - 7 parts,
- Coarse sand - 1 part.
The mixture is thoroughly mixed and placed in a pot, at the bottom of which there is a drainage layer of expanded clay. It removes excess water when watering.
Flowering period
Calceolaria blooms in March-June, flowers last for a month. Biennial plants bloom a couple of months earlier, but the flowering is not as abundant. On calceolaria, 18-50 flowers can bloom at the same time. They are small, up to 6 cm in diameter, similar to shoes. Blooms in red, orange, yellow, white. The flowering period does not provoke the development of allergic reactions.
Flowering calceolaria.
Why calceolaria does not bloom
If the conditions of detention are not followed, the flower may shed, dry the buds or not bloom at all. Most often, the absence of calceolaria flowers is associated with:
- By keeping at high temperature.
- Improper watering.
- Excessive application of fertilizers, mainly nitrogen
- Lack of cool wintering.
Types of home calceolaria with photos and names
More than 300 species of calceolaria are known, with different growth, structure and size of the bush, as well as the shape and color of leaves, flowers, inflorescences. Not all species are equally widespread and not all are suitable for home cultivation. The most popular types of calceolaria:
Hybrid (C. herbeohybrida Voss)
Mexican (C. mexicana)
The shoots of the plant are highly branching, the inflorescences are not large, and the flowers are large enough (about 5 cm).The height of the bush reaches 50cm. Corollas resembling lanterns are painted bright yellow.
Purple (C. purpurea graham)
A distinctive feature of the variety is a strongly elongated lower lip and a purple or reddish-lilac color of the inflorescences. Serrated leaves from the inside have a lilac tint.
Calceolaria wrinkled (C. rugosa)
On high stems (20-50 cm) with small foliage, numerous, lush inflorescences of small flowers (1-2.5 cm in diameter) are collected, similar to bright yellow clouds. The shoots are erect, the leaves are wrinkled, the corrugated flowers are decorated with brown specks. Representatives: Sunset, Goldbuket.
Crenellate (C. crenatiflora)
Stems are soft, up to 60 cm long, covered with fine hairs. The leaves are pubescent, wavy, ovoid, at the roots - with long petioles, at the top - almost sessile. Yellow, to reddish-brown dots, large flowers form corymbose inflorescences at the tops. Shoe-shaped corolla with a saccular upper lip.
Cobweb (C. arachnoidea)
