The decorative flowering plant ruellia has beautiful greenery and bright colors. If you grow it as a groundcover, it is ready to independently degenerate in greenhouses and florariums.
Description of species
A lover of tropical conditions will delight with its beautiful flowering for a long time. Blooming in just a few hours, some flowers are quickly replaced by others and, as a result, the ruellia blooms continuously for several months.
In apartments, Ruellia occurs as ampelous or is formed by a small bush
The flowers are tubular, five-petalled with a large pharynx, have several color options - pink, purple, violet. Leaflets of some species also have a bright decorative color or the edge of a leaf plate. Greens ruellia juicy green shades.
Ruelia belongs to the acanthus family and has only five species.
The most common ones are:
- Ruellia Portella. A resident of Brazil has large leaves and inflorescences. The flowers are pink, with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm. The velvety leaves are dark green with white veins, the reverse side is colored green-purple.
- Rowell Blue - Britton. Strong bush, growing almost a meter in height and width. The stems become stale over time. Britonne has an interesting leaf shape - narrow and long, painted in dark green. In the sun, greenery acquires a metallic blue tint, it looks very impressive. The flowers are large, 5 cm in diameter, tubular, blue with a purple tint.
- Caroline ruellia. The flowers of this small bush reach 2.5 cm, painted in purple, with a slight bluish tint. Leaflets are dark, with an edge, ovoid. Carolina is the most unpretentious in home breeding ruellia.
Portella view
Roullia: home care
A resident of the tropics loves heat, moisture and light. If the home care of Roullia is like, it blooms profusely, its leaves are dark saturated shades, the bush grows quickly. Everything you need for healthy flower growth is listed below.
Lighting is one of the most important factors in the flowering of this exotica. The more light comes in, the greener the leaves will be and the more active the release of new buds. In the summer, it is important to protect the delicate leaves from direct sunlight. Since flowering occurs mainly with the onset of autumn, the flower needs additional lighting.
Indoor flower ruellia will feel comfortable on the western and eastern windows. If the window is directed to the south - in the summer you need to protect from direct sunlight. If the northern window is selected, an additional light source is needed in the autumn-winter period.
Roullia needs abundant watering in the warm season - from spring to autumn. But watering is necessary only when the topsoil dries out. In winter, watering is slightly reduced, depending on the temperature and humidity. The main signal of lack of moisture in the soil will be sluggish leaves. If the irrigation is completely running - Ruellia will begin to drop the foliage.
It's important to know! The plant very painfully tolerates the drying out and waterlogging of an earthen coma, so you need to carefully monitor the condition of the earth.
Ruelia is very fond of moisture, but since her leaves are often pubescent, spraying spoils their appearance. Humidity is supported by wet expanded clay trays. If the flower does not have enough moisture in the air, its leaves begin to dry out and curl. In particularly hot periods, the plant is placed in greenhouses and florariums, where the humidity will be increased.
It's important to know! In winter, the pot should be placed away from heating appliances, since dry air is detrimental to the plant.
The tropical beauty loves warmly, the optimum temperature in the summer is 23-25 degrees. In winter, at least 18 ° C, optimally 20 ° C.
You need to transplant a young plant every spring. The soil is needed loose and light. A mixture of equal parts of turf, leaf soil and peat should be diluted with 0.5 parts of sand.
Top dressing is needed with the beginning of flowering. Suitable complex fertilizer for decorative flowering plants. Nutrient supplementation after watering, once every two weeks.
The tropical beauty is loved by breeders not only for the decorative leaflets, but also for the abundant flowering with long and rather large flowers.
Why doesn’t bloom ruellia
Sometimes it happens that one year the plant bloomed, and then with the onset of September does not throw buds.
The reasons should be sought not in the flower, but in the conditions of its content:
- Little light is the main reason. Confirmation of this will be the dull color of greenery and elongated thin young shoots.
- Little heat - ruellia is very thermophilic and if the temperature is low, the plant will not dare to blossom. If a beautiful woman stands on a window that is open all the time, the cause may be cold autumn nights and temperature changes. In winter, the cold can come from glass or a window frame, if there is no way to remove the pot, you can put it on the foam.
- Drafts are what Roullia is very afraid of. Lack of flowering, loss of decorativeness, falling leaves are all the consequences of a draft.
- Growing in an oversized pot. If there is a large earthen coma, the flower will be busy building up the root system. Only when the ruellia fills the pot with its roots will it bloom profusely.
Pinching young shoots stimulates the shrubs to roll and throw buds. Young shoots bloom more actively.
Roullia breeding
Since the plant grows very quickly, it is prone to overgrowth, losing its decorative effect. Trunks are exposed, coarse, leaves turn yellow and fall off. To update the plant, it is most often cut from it.
Cuttings
For propagation, young, grassy shoots must be cut. Slices can be placed in water or immediately rooted in a mixture of peat and sand. The main condition for the active growth of the root system is heat. The water or soil temperature should not be lower than 22 ° С. Roots will appear in a week.
You need to take care of young plants, as well as adults, protecting from temperature extremes and drafts
It's important to know! To get a lush and beautiful bush, you need to plant several cuttings in one pot.
Seeds
At home, you can get seeds after flowering and the formation of a seed box. It is important to wrap the box with a bag or cloth, because after opening it, the seed shoots in different directions.
Sunflower seeds are sown in a mixture of sand and peat. The temperature should not be lower than 22 ° C, the pot is covered with glass and placed in a sunny place.
You can spray the soil with a biostimulator for better germination. Seedlings are ready for transplanting into separate pots after the appearance of two full leaves.
Ruelia - a wonderful and unpretentious flower, suitable for home, office or winter garden. The darling of the florariums and phytowalls, will warm with the warmth of their flowers, when the rest of the indoor friends are dormant.
