Koleria - home care, photo species and varieties

Koleria (Kohleria) - a grassy plant of the Gesneriaceae family with pubescent oppositely arranged leaves and single axillary inflorescences with two to three flowers.

This is a decorative indoor copy with a height of not more than 30-50 cm, characterized by long-term plentiful flowering, various shades of inflorescences and the original color of the leaves.

The birthplace of Koleria is the north-west of South America, more than 60 of its species are currently known. At home, the plant has a weak growth rate, but pleases with beauty for more than 3 years, after which the coloration needs rejuvenation. Thus, the flower lives for a long time and is considered a perennial.

Be sure to pay attention to such wonderful plants as nematanthus and smitiant.

Useful properties of colors

Koleria is a safe, non-toxic and absolutely non-allergic flower, which is able to clean the air of impurities, traces of smoke, dust and toxic compounds. The plant saturates the surrounding space with oxygen, ionizes and freshens the air.

Therefore, it can be considered an ideal option for placement in the nursery, in the bedroom, in the kitchen.

Koleria: signs

In addition to useful qualities, kolerii attribute a mystical ability to protect the house and its inhabitants from ill-wishers, evil thoughts and other negativity of the world.

Also, a flower is considered an energetically strong donor plant that can saturate with positive energy, give strength, improve a person’s emotional state. In any case, the look of the flower alone carries positive emotions and a sense of comfort.

Coleria: home care. Briefly

Koleria at home is so unpretentious plant that it will delight any budding grower. The main nuances of flower care:

Care for color at home. In detail

Bloom

Koleria blooms very luxuriantly and for a long time. - until late fall. The second name of the flower - "Colombian bell" is fully justified by the appearance of inflorescences in the form of elongated tubes with five petals at the ends. In addition to a rich color from saturated fuchsia to pale lilac, the flowers of the color range are “decorated” with small specks or stripes. Hybrid forms can have the most incredible shade, for example, tiger or golden color.

Koleriya is ideal for ampel growing, looks great in hanging flowerpots and flowerpots. For successful flowering, it is enough to provide the plant with abundant regular lighting and fairly tight flower containers.

Temperature mode

Home koleriya is a thermophilic flower that develops safely in ordinary room conditions at a temperature of 23-25 ​​ºС. With the onset of cold weather, the plant goes for wintering at 15 ºС. But there are varieties that dispense with the resting stage and therefore, even in winter, they maintain the usual conditions of detention.

Spraying

Koleria needs high humidity, but does not tolerate moisture on leaves or flowers. That is, spraying is not the best option for caring for a plant.

To maintain the necessary balance of humidity in a room with color, it is advisable to use special room humidifiers. Or spray from a spray bottle a space near the flower.

Lighting

The koleria plant at home prefers well-lit corners, southern windows with a little shading or glazed sunny loggias. The plant is very photophilous, but it should be protected from hit by scorching rays. In winter, the flower requires additional illumination with lamps at least 12 hours a day.

Watering the color scheme

During flowering, a fairly frequent watering is organized for the plant, but only if the surface of the soil is slightly dry. Strong waterlogging also harms the flower, as does lack of moisture. In addition, it is necessary to water the color scheme very carefully, avoiding the ingress of water on the plant itself.

As an alternative to classic watering - you can apply humidification through the pan, as well as periodic loosening of the soil. In winter, watering is reduced to a minimum, only to wet the earthen lump at the roots.

Pot for color

For flower growing, experienced gardeners recommend choosing shallow wide containers with a diameter of 20-25 cm. Very often, being in a too spacious pot is the reason for the lack of flowers in the plant, since the flower actively develops only the root system in a large vessel.

For very young colors, pots with a diameter of 6 cm are enough.

Priming

The flower requires a slightly acidic, loose soil, with a small amount of nutrients. If you take the substrate of your own preparation, then it can consist of the following components:

• sheet soil (2 parts)
• coarse sand (1 part)
• peat (1 part)
• humus (1 part)

Universal soil for senpolia and gloxinia is also suitable for the color scheme. A prerequisite is good drainage of the substrate.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

Koleria at home needs a systematic feeding, starting in April - the time of active development, and ending in mid-autumn. Most often, liquid fertilizer is used, containing a large amount of phosphorus, which contributes to lush flowering.

Also suitable are complex supplements designed for orchids and violets. All products are diluted in a proportion of half that which is indicated on the package.

Transfer

A color transplant is performed every three years in early spring at the end of the dormant phase. Starting the procedure later, during the budding period, is a big mistake, because in this case the flower will simply drop the ovaries and flowering will not take place.

It is recommended to transplant by transshipment method, without shaking off the rhizomes and, if possible, without disturbing the earthen lump.

Pruning

Koleria is a universal flower that looks equally well both in the form of a bush and in the form of an ampel plant. You can give it the desired look with the help of regular pruning, which not only forms the crown of the flower, but also rejuvenates it. Basic rules for cropping colors:

• held in the spring, before the start of the growing season;
• damaged or dried shoots are removed with a sterile tool;
• when forming a upright flower shape, all branches that have reached a length of 20-30 cm are shortened by about a third;
• to stimulate the growth of young lateral shoots and, accordingly, the formation of a larger number of buds, it is recommended to shorten all the tips of the shoots.

Timely pruning will increase the number of inflorescences, give the flower a well-groomed appearance. And on the contrary, if this measure is excluded - the branches of the plant are ugly elongated, there will be much less flower stalks.

Rest period

Caring for the color at home often involves providing the flower with a dormant period - the time when the plant stops growing, discards foliage in order to restore strength for the next development cycle. Depending on the variety, some coleries winter with foliage, bloom and require regular watering, but there are those who need complete peace - lack of top dressing, extremely rare soil moisture.

If the turgor of leaves changes with the onset of cold weather, drying begins - such a plant needs rest. All wilted areas are completely removed, the bush is placed in a cool, moderately illuminated place, and until January, care for it includes only a slight moistening of the earthen coma.

Growing koleriy from seeds

It is worth considering that when propagated by seeds, the flower most often does not retain its varietal characteristics. It is recommended to sow a koleriya in February. To do this, in a low wide tank with special soil for gesneriaceae, flower seeds are distributed without seeding.

Then, the crops are covered with polyethylene or a glass cap, put in a warm place and after the appearance of the first shoots, daily illumination is organized. In the presence of several matured leaves - the plant is planted in separate pots with a diameter of 6-7 cm. Before the formation of the bush, the seedling should pinch the tops to stimulate the growth of lateral shoots.

Propagation of a koleriya by cuttings

A simple and quick option for breeding kolerii is reproduction by apical shoots. To this end, the cut tops of the bush are treated with stimulants and placed in a special soil, or a peat-sand mixture of about 2 cm. After 14 days, the first roots appear, and after a month it will be a full-fledged plant with a developed root system.

Since the "Colombian bell" is characterized by a high rate of root formation, the flower also successfully roots in water.

Reproduction of color by leaf

The leaves of the flower, as well as cuttings, can be used for rooting in soil or water. In the first case, the leaf is placed in greenhouse conditions with a wet peat-sand substrate and within a month you can wait for the first processes of the emerging root system. In the second version, the sheet is placed in a container with soft defended water to a depth of 2 cm. To accelerate the process, in either case, any root formation stimulants can be used.

Propagation of a color by division of a rhizome

During a flower transplant You can try to propagate it by dividing the root - rhizomes. The rhizome of a healthy adult plant is suitable for this, since it has several buds, nodes, scaly growths, capable of giving full seedlings during division.

Dividing the rhizome into several parts, each of them is sprinkled with charcoal and allowed to dry. Then the roots are planted in separate containers and regularly watered. This method of reproduction allows you to get a stronger, stocky, abundantly flowering plant, not prone to stretching.

Diseases and Pests

The main problems that flower growers face when growing koleriy:

• color does not bloom in a too spacious pot, as well as with a lack of light;
• dark spots on the leaves will appear when watering with hard or cold water;
• leaves turn pale or yellow colors as a result of poor lighting, with frequent drafts;
• koleriya leaves are twisted in rooms with low humidity;
• wither leaves with the appearance of decaying areas in the root system, this can also be a signal that the plant needs a dormant period;
• light spots on leaves (powdery mildew) - a fungal disease that often appears in conditions of high humidity or an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers;
• gray plaque on the leaves (oidium) causes a fungus that spreads through the plant due to sharp fluctuations in temperature and humidity;
• koleriya often drops buds due to an excess of calcium;
• bare shoots of koleriya due to acute lack of sunlight;
• grows slowly, buds fall with a lack of nutrients in the soil;
• the leaves of the coloration turn yellow if the flower is often under the rays of the scorching sun, or there is a place to be a glut of fertilizers.

The pests of the colony are aphids, mealy mealybugs and spider mites.

Types of home colors with photos and names

Koleria is a less popular flower in our latitudes. But nevertheless, the following varieties are common in indoor floriculture:

Colera pleasant (lat.Kohleria amabilis)

The flower is characterized by brown-green foliage with silvery villi, shoots 40 cm long, speckled petals of all shades of pink.

Kohleria Lindena (lat. Kohleria lindeniana)

A fairly compact type of plant with a height of 20 to 30 cm, with two-color foliage and contrasting veins, large light lilac flowers up to 6 cm in size.

Fluffy-flowered koleriya (lat.Kohleria eriantha)

It has deep green leaves with a dark red fringing, orange or purple buds looking down.

Kohleria hairy (lat.Kohleria hirsuta)

It is distinguished by a pile of violet under the foliage, as well as red flowers with a yellow border on the edges of the petals.

Koleria Bogotskaya (lat.Kohleria bogotensis)

The tallest plant among the coleries is up to 60 cm tall, with white-red pubescence of shoots, single or double axillary red-orange inflorescences with yellow pharynx.

Watch the video: Planting a Kohleria cutting and what's under the soil part 1 (May 2024).