Indoor calceolaria - growing from seeds and care. Caring for Calceolaria Calceolaria flower garden

Calceolaria is a real decoration for rooms and balconies. The name Calceolaria is translated from Latin as "a flower that looks like a slipper." In fact, calceolaria flowers resemble small shoes. Plants grow low - from 20 to 40 cm. Flowering usually occurs in the spring, lasts about 6-8 weeks, after which the plant dies. Flowers are found with:

• yellow;
• White;
• red;
• Orange coloration.

The decorativeness of the petals is given by various spots and dots. Very often there are specimens of plants with two-color flowers, but they are more demanding on conditions. If such plants are placed in warm room, which is undesirable for calceolaria, then new flowers will bloom in one color.

Care

For calceolaria, a cool room is needed, the temperature in it should be about 15 ° C, not higher. Owners place plants on verandas or poorly heated rooms. Calceolaria does not tolerate direct sunlight and dry indoor air. To ensure its growth and flowering requires regular watering and spraying. To prevent the earthen coma from drying out, the plant can be planted in, filling the space between its walls and the walls of the pot with peat, which must be regularly moistened. In this case, the plant will bloom very magnificently.

During the period of budding, the plant is fed 2 times a month with fertilizers for flowering plants (Uniflor Buton), and fertilizers are taken 2 times less than indicated on the package. During the flowering period, calceolaria is fertilized once a month.

Planting and reproduction

Calceolaria does not need to be transplanted, since it is one that dies off after flowering. Hybrid calceolaria is propagated by cuttings, which are cut at the end of summer, or by seeds.

Cut cuttings are rooted in a light soil mixture consisting of soddy soil and compost (in equal parts), with the addition of sand and peat.

For sowing seeds, soil is needed, consisting of equal parts of peat and leafy soil. If the seeds are sown in early autumn, then in the spring the plant will bloom (about 6-10 months after sowing). Sowing is carried out in moistened soil, the seeds are not sprinkled on top, but covered with a film or glass. The containers are placed in a warm (18 ° C) and lit place, regularly sprayed instead of watering and ventilated. Shoots appear after 2 weeks, they need special care. Water the sprouts very carefully, in a thin stream between the rows, so that they do not wash out of the ground. Seedlings dive in a month, after 2 months they can be planted in separate pots. Young plants need to be watered twice a week. For the winter they are placed in a cool place with a temperature of 8-10 ° C, but there should be good lighting.

Diseases and pests

With insufficient moisture, the leaves of plants wither, if water gets on them during irrigation, spots can form.

bizarre flower shape bright coloring, exotic origin - all these are the characteristics of calceolaria. This is what she was so fond of Russian flower growers.

With the help of an unusual flower, you can diversify and decorate the interior, enjoying exquisite flowering. It will be interesting for beginner flower growers to learn about planting calceolaria, caring for it, see photos of varieties and recommendations for growing on video.

Botanical description

Calceolaria (lat. Calceolaria) belongs to the Norichnikovye (Scrophulariaceae) family, to the Calceolariaceae genus. From Latin Calceolaria is translated as "little shoe", which is fully consistent with appearance original inflorescence. In the people, calceolaria is called a "shoe" or "shoe".

The Calceolaria flower comes from Central and South America. In nature, there are about 400 species. The plant can be represented by grass, shrubs, shrubs. On the territory of Russia, it is often grown as an annual or biennial, although at home it is a perennial plant.

Most often, representatives grow up to 35 cm in height, but there are also species that grow up to half a meter. The leaves are green in color with a whorled or opposite arrangement, oblong, elongated shape with a slightly corrugated edge. They can reach 10 cm in length. Backside The leaf is covered with villi.

Flowers rise above the deciduous crown. They are made up of two lips. The upper lip is small, while the lower lip is large and convex, spherical in shape. This arrangement resembles a "shoe". In the middle there are 2-3 stamens.

The diameter of the flowers depends on the specific species and variety. On average, it ranges from 2 to 7 cm. Flowers can be collected in one large or several smaller racemose inflorescences.

Color palette represented by yellow, red, orange, white, brown shades. Petals can be monophonic or with darker spots, dots, strokes.

During the flowering period, up to 50 flowers can appear on one bush. Flowering continues up to 5 weeks. After the boxes appear - the fruits. They are oblong in shape and contain a large number of seeds.

The root system is adventitious roots, without highlighting the main root (fibrous root system). Stems slender, erect or decumbent.

Varieties and types

Calceolaria is an exotic plant, which is represented by a variety of species and varieties. The most popular are decorative species with unusual inflorescences.

Gardeners-decorators successfully use calceolaria to create, in a room interior, on household plots.

The most popular types and varieties:

Calceolaria in the photo:

Growing calceolaria from seeds at home

There are two ways to grow a "shoe":

• with the help of seeds;
• cutting method.

A plant grown from seeds has a greater decorative effect and abundant flowering. Seeds can be sown at any time of the year. A guideline may be the desired flowering date. On average, from the moment of sowing to the moment of flowering, 6-8 months pass.

Seeds must be purchased at the store. They are very small and brown.

In advance, it is necessary to select a container for germination and soil. The container should be wide and shallow up to 10 cm. The soil can be purchased at a specialized store for indoor flowering plants or prepared independently.

Suitable soil composition options:

• peat, humus sand - 2:2:1;
• peat, river sand - 7: 1 + dolomite flour, for each kilogram of substrate 20 grams of flour;
• leaf earth, peat, humus, sand - 2:2:2:1.

Any soil composition should be calcined in an oven for sterilization before planting. Then place the substrate in a container and moisten abundantly. Spread the seeds over the surface of the earth, but do not sprinkle with earth (IMPORTANT!). Cover the container with foil, glass, lid.

Growing calceolaria from seeds in the photo:

Place the box with seeds in a shaded place with a temperature in the range of 16-19 ° C. It is necessary to monitor the moisture content of the soil (moisten only with a spray gun), not allowing the soil to dry out.

Regularly remove accumulated condensate and ventilate the soil. After 10-14 days, the first shoots will appear. After a month, the sprouts should be picked out, planting them with a distance of 5-8 cm.

After two months, transplant into separate pots Ø 10 cm. After transplanting, pinch, leave 2-3 pairs of leaves. When a rosette is formed, the strengthened sprouts are transplanted to a permanent place.

Reproduction by cuttings

This method is considered more labor intensive. Propagation by cuttings promises a success rate of 50%. But the new "slipper" will no longer be with such abundant flowering.

After flowering, it is necessary to prepare planting material- cuttings. After cutting, it is better to treat the stems with Kornevin to stimulate growth.

Place the container with the cuttings in a bright room with a temperature not exceeding 19 ° C. Air the soil regularly and water moderately. Direct sunlight can harm rooting.

Rooted cuttings are transplanted into a permanent pot with drainage and nutrient soil (for lush bushes, plant several cuttings in one pot).

After planting, care for calceolaria sprouts is carried out as for an adult plant.

How to care?

Care for calceolaria is simple. The main thing is not to forget to devote time to the plant and it will certainly please with abundant and bright flowering.

Growing and caring for calceolaria, video:

Temperature regime

"Room shoe" categorically does not like straight sunlight and high temperatures. The ideal place for a flower is window sills located in the east, west or north.

The optimum temperature for good growth and the abundant appearance of buds is considered to be 14-16 ° C. AT winter time– 10-12°С. In the summer, the "slipper" can be planted in open ground in a shady place protected from the wind.

Humidity

The plant loves high humidity. Therefore, it is better to place a flower pot in a pan with expanded clay and constantly fill it with water. You can not spray the "shoe" with water - this will only lead to decay and the appearance of diseases.

Watering

Should be moderate. The soil must not be allowed to dry out. During the period of the appearance of buds, it is necessary to increase the number of waterings, and after flowering stops - reduce. Use settled, soft water.

fertilizers

Regular feeding with mineral fertilizers is necessary. The first recharge should begin 10-14 days after disembarkation. In the period before and during flowering, fertilize with liquid mineral top dressing once every 14 days. After the flowers fall and during the dormant period, fertilizers are not needed.

Transfer

If roots peek out of the drainage holes, this indicates that the bush needs to be transplanted into larger pot. Place drainage material at the bottom of the tank - expanded clay, crushed stone.

Pour part of the new nutrient soil with pH = 5.5. Transfer the plant with an earthy clod into a new pot (carefully so as not to damage the roots). Fill all voids with new earth. Water the plant generously. After a while, drain the excess liquid from the pan.

After flowering, it is best to discard the plant, since the repeater is less decorative, its flowers and leaves are smaller. But still, it can be saved to get a second flowering by hibernating it.

During this period, it is necessary to cut off all the shoots, cover with a film and send the pot to a dark, cool place, periodically moistening the ground. In the spring, move the pot to a lighted place, water and fertilize. Root new shoots that have appeared.

Pests and diseases

If proper and correct care is carried out, then pests and diseases of calceolaria are not terrible.

Preventive measures to prevent the appearance of pests:

• compliance with the temperature regime;
• maintaining optimal humidity;
• correct watering;
• lack of direct sun rays;
• sterilization of pots and soil before planting and transplanting;
• fungicide treatment;
• timely removal of affected areas.

Most of all, the “slipper” is prone to gray rot. It occurs as a result of excessive waterlogging of the soil, low temperatures and excess nitrogen fertilizers.

For salvation you need:

• remove badly damaged parts;
• transplant the bush into new soil;
• treat with copper-containing products - Oxyhom, Topaz, Bordeaux liquid.
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

indoor flower calceolaria (Calceolaria), as seen in the photo, is amazingly beautiful. In early spring, he, one of the first, blooms and pleases those around him with his bright colorful outfit. At home, calceolaria is grown as an annual, less often a biennial, herbaceous plant. Abundant flowering can be observed only once - in the first year. In the second year, the decorative effect of the flower is greatly lost, it blooms more modestly, not as luxuriantly as a young plant. Therefore, it is important to learn how to propagate a flower so that every year you have a young specimen that can fascinate with its beauty and attractiveness.

Many scientists attribute the flower to the genus norichnikovyh. English scientists are of a different opinion. They believe that calceolaria belongs to the calceolaria family, since there are quite a few of them - about 300 names. This plant came to us from America - South and Central. The name of the flower Calceolaria is translated as "little shoe". Calceolaria flowers really have the shape of a shoe. The flower, as it were, consists of two lips. The upper one is very small, convex, and the lower one is voluminous, spherical, as if pumped with air - several times larger than the upper one. At a glance, the flower looks like a wooden slipper like a clog. Calceolaria is a fashionista, she has all kinds of shoes in white, yellow, orange and red, with dark dots and specks on her petals and without them. This flower is wild nature occurs as a herbaceous plant in the form of a shrub or shrub. They also differ as perennial, biennial and annual plants.

Indoor calceolaria grows up to 25 - 35 cm in height, a maximum of 50 cm. It is not high. The leaves are quite large, grow up to 10 cm in length. They are lanceolate, corrugated, bright green. There is a barely noticeable fluff on the bottom of the leaf plate. Fancy flowers, similar to colorful shoes, appear on the plant in early spring. Inflorescences rise on thin stems, which are surrounded by graceful pubescent leaves. Flowering occurs in March - June, all specimens are different. It happens for several days, and it happens that the calceolaria pleases the owner with lush flowering for more than a month. On one plant, from 20 to 60 colored shoes can immediately bloom. The size of the flowers, depending on the variety, varies. Medium ones have a diameter of 2-3 cm, large ones - up to 7 cm.

Introduction to varieties

For growing calceolaria at home, it is better to purchase hybrid varieties of this plant, because they are most adapted to life on the windowsill. We recommend that you get acquainted with some types of calceolaria plants.

Calceolaria hybrid

On the basis of hybrid calceolaria, many other varieties of these miniature houseplants have been bred. In appearance, these are low bushes with rounded wide leaves, soft and slightly fluffy to the touch. Flowers open up to 5 cm in diameter. They come in all shades of yellow, orange and bright red, which show various stains, specks and blots of a different color. This species has the longest flowering - up to two months.

The following varieties of this hybrid won the greatest popularity among flower growers:

Aida Dervish Dainty

Aida- a low compact bush is literally dotted with dark red velvety shoes

Golden Rain- a variety of shrubby small-colored calceolaria. It is completely covered with bright flowers.

Dervish- its flowers, yellow-brown in color, are distinguished by contrasting variegation.

Dainty- a miniature compact plant, 15 cm high. It has large, soft, pubescent leaves. It blooms with charming red shoes.

Calceolaria Wrinkled (Whole-leaved)

This flower is distinguished by numerous small, up to 2 cm in diameter, wrinkled flowers of bright yellow color with brown spots. During flowering, the bush looks like a yellow cloud. This is a perennial plant. In warm regions of the country, it is grown in flowerbeds in parks and cottages. There it grows up to one meter in height. Flowers are usually collected in large rosettes. The leaves are narrow, oblong, beautiful light green. Based on this species, breeders have developed frost-resistant varieties that can tolerate frosts down to minus 5 ° C.

At home, the calceolaria of this species is grown as a biennial crop in flower pots, which, with the advent of heat, are taken out into the street, and with the advent of cold weather they are brought back into the house. In room conditions, it grows up to half a meter.

The following varieties are most popular in this type of calceolaria:

Sunset- his flowers are not only yellow, but also orange and red

golden bouquet- has more large flowers bright yellow.

Calceolaria Gentle

This miniature perennial plant can also be successfully grown at home if you take the flower pot out to the garden for the summer. Its leaves are not large, bright green, but the flowers are golden yellow with dark spots, very beautiful.

Calceolaria Mexicana

Depending on the conditions of detention, it grows from 30 to 50 cm in different directions. Its soft yellow flowers are medium in size, up to 5 cm in diameter, the bush is strewn with almost two months.

Calceolaria Purple

This low, up to half a meter, plant is a perennial. Spatulate leaves have jagged edges. The flowers are oblong-shaped beautiful purple color with a lilac tint and reddish blotches. In room conditions, grown as an annual.

Calceolaria is a rather capricious plant. High and low temperatures, dryness and waterlogging, strong and low illumination are contraindicated for him. At home, growing such a flower is problematic, but possible. You need to follow some rules for its content.

Temperature

In the winter-spring period, the rooms are very hot from heating. Perhaps you have a heated veranda or a glazed balcony. Perhaps your house has a temperature controller, and you can maintain the optimum temperature for it. Then it makes sense to mess with the cultivation of room calceolaria because of the irresistible desire to see it bloom.

But this is a fact - calceolaria does not tolerate high temperatures and dry air! This flower prefers a cool, but bright room, where the ambient temperature does not exceed 17 ° C. At higher temperatures, the plant sheds flowers and buds, loses its decorative effect, and can get sick. It even runs the risk of pests.

Lighting

Calceolaria prefers bright but diffused light. In direct sunlight, it can get a burn of the leaves, which will wither and fall off. Therefore, find a place for her on the windowsills of the north side of the apartment, or at least the east or northwest. At midday, protect it from the sun's rays with blinds or curtains. In the summer, take pots of flowers to the loggia or balcony on the north side of the apartment. The place should be protected from wind, drafts and direct sunlight.

With a lack of lighting, the calceolaria becomes unhealthy in appearance, develops poorly and does not bloom. In early spring, when there is not enough light, we recommend using phytolamps or fluorescent lamps for additional lighting.

Watering

Calceolaria loves abundant watering with settled water at room temperature. Ideally, soft rainwater is good. The soil in the pot should not dry out. But the excess liquid from the pan after watering must be removed on time to prevent stagnation of moisture in the root system. We recommend watering carefully so that water does not fall on the delicate pubescent leaves of plants. After the end of flowering, calceolaria are watered less frequently, gradually reducing watering to a minimum.

Air humidity

Calceolaria loves high humidity indoors. In addition to regular watering, it is advisable to place the flower pot in a container, at the bottom of which lies a layer of wet expanded clay or large river pebbles. If the humidity in the room is not sufficient, we recommend spraying the air around the pot with water, without getting on the plant. If the flowers of calceolaria still tolerate careful spraying in the warm season, then this wetting is contraindicated for the leaves.

top dressing

It is advisable to feed Calceolaria before and during flowering with liquid mineral supplements. Moreover, after landing young plant in a pot, in the spring, you should not immediately feed it if you have chosen a nutritious soil suitable for flowering houseplants. Only after a couple of weeks, you can start feeding with complex fertilizers, until the end of flowering, but not often, once every 2 weeks. After flowering, in the autumn and winter months, calceolaria does not need to be fertilized.

Soil and transplanting into a new pot

For growing indoor calceolaria, a loose nutrient soil mixture of leafy, soddy soil, peat and a small part of coarse river sand is suitable. Purchased soil for flowering houseplants, for example, for geraniums, with pH = 5.5, is also suitable.

If you bought a flower in a store, see if the roots of the purchased plant stick out of the drainage holes. If the pot is clearly too small, or you want to transplant the calceolaria into your own, more beautiful pot, transplant as follows. Take a prepared pot, slightly larger than the purchased one. Lay a good drainage layer of expanded clay or other drainage material at the bottom. Pour in some of the new soil. If the soil is homemade - do not forget to disinfect it! Gently remove the bush with calceolaria from the purchased pot along with the earthy clod and transfer it to a new pot using the transfer method. Try not to injure the root system. Gently shake the pot to fill all the voids inside it. Add new soil on the sides, cover the roots on top of the plant with it. Pour the flower with settled water at room temperature plentifully to soak the earth ball properly. After some time, drain the excess water from the pan.

Rules for the care of calceolaria after flowering

When growing calceolaria as an annual, immediately after flowering, the bush is dug out of the pot and thrown away. The maximum life of this indoor flower is two years, or two flowering.

If you are growing Calceolaria as a biennial plant, you will need to keep your plant healthy after flowering until the next bloom. To do this, immediately after the flower has faded, its shoots must be cut off, and the pot with the root system must be removed in a cool, dark place for one and a half to two months. The temperature should not be higher than 10-12°C. Water occasionally so that the earth ball does not dry out too much. Absolute drying of the root system must not be allowed - otherwise the calceolaria will not rest, but will die. Look at the flower. After a month or two, you will see how new shoots will appear from the soil. This means that the hibernation period of calceolaria is ending, it is preparing for a new life stage. The pot must be put back on a bright, cool window sill. Start watering the plant moderately, feed. If your bush successfully endures the dormant period, it will begin to develop again, even gain buds. At this time, we recommend removing weak shoots, and shortening healthy and strong shoots by 2/3 of their length. This will help the active growth of the bush later. It will bloom much earlier - in February or March. But you do not expect the former riot of colors and abundant flowering! An elongated, pale-looking bush with a few flowers is not at all like how young and beautiful it was last year.

Reproduction of calceolaria

Indoor calceolaria flower propagates in two ways: cuttings and seeds.

Reproduction by cuttings

From saved to winter period flower, in the spring, you can cut off healthy green shoots for rooting. First, we recommend treating the ends of the cuttings with preparations for better rooting (for example, Kornevin). Place the cuttings in a damp substrate under the film. The temperature in the room should be cool, not higher than 20 ° C. The place of rooting should be well lit, planting should be ventilated. A glazed balcony is suitable for this, only from direct sun you need additional protection. Shoots will take root for about two months. The probability that all cuttings will be accepted is 50%. When the cuttings take root, they are planted in separate small pots with drainage and begin to care for them, as for adult plants.

To make the calceolaria bushes more fluffy, we recommend planting two or three cuttings in one pot.

Growing from seeds

Growing calceolaria from seeds is much easier and therefore more commonly practiced. A plant grown from seeds with normal care has the best decorative look and profuse flowering. The seeds of calceolaria are very small. There are up to 30 thousand of them in one gram. The process from seed germination to seedling flowering takes more than six months. Therefore, the timing of sowing seeds may be different and depends on when you want to see your calceolaria bloom. For spring flowering, seeds are sown in early June, and in autumn, calceolaria bushes sown in March will bloom with seeds.

In a container with a moist substrate, sow calceolaria seeds on the surface, do not fall asleep with anything on top. You can use the purchased land, suitable for flowering indoor flowers, or prepare it yourself from a mixture of sod, leaf, peat, with the addition of sand. Cover the planting with a lid or plastic wrap. Place the box in a bright, cool place. The temperature should not exceed 20°C. Keep the humidity high. AT greenhouse conditions seeds will sprout faster and grow better. You will see the first shoots in two weeks. After another two to three weeks, the sprouts need to be speared, planting them in rows every 5 cm. Water gently every other day. Ventilate the greenhouse daily. Remove condensate. When the seedlings grow up, after two months, they must be transplanted again. This time in small pots 7 - 9 cm in diameter.

After transplantation, pinch the young bushes, leaving only two or three pairs of leaves. Young shoots will soon begin to appear. Plants will grow noticeably, get stronger. The strengthened calceolaria bushes must be transplanted again into flower pots with more nutritious and heavy soil. You will need a slightly acidic humus substrate with a pH of no more than 5.5. You can prepare the substrate yourself. Take two parts: peat, humus and sod, as well as one part of sand. You can add mineral fertilizer for flowering in the amount of 2-3 grams. per kg of substrate. Now it can be transplanted into permanent, more spacious pots. We have already written about soil and drainage. Now the temperature needs to be somewhat reduced, to 18 ° C - calceolaria does not tolerate heat and dry air. Now you just have to wait for the next flowering.

Try to fulfill all the conditions for growing this interesting plant, and it will delight you with lush flowering in 8 - 9 months from the moment of sowing the seeds.

If you master the methods of reproduction of your pet well, you will not worry about saving the faded flower - you will simply throw it away.

Pests

Of the possible diseases of room calceolaria, gray rot can be called. It appears with prolonged waterlogging of heavy soil, at too low a temperature and overfeeding. nitrogen fertilizers. Severely affected parts of the plant are cut and destroyed. The bush is transplanted into a new soil and sprayed with preparations containing copper: Bordeaux mixture, oxychome, topaz and others.

Conclusion

Despite some difficulties of growing at home, calceolaria, for its decorative effect, originality and lush flowering with unusually beautiful flowers, is on a par with many flower growers' favorite indoor flowers. She is a welcome guest in many homes and household plots. Try and you grow it with your own hands. Colorful flowering will be your best reward for your efforts and love for indoor flowers.

My mother has recently had her own personal reason for suffering. Another woman settled in their house, and even the entrance. It turned out that she is a big lover of flowers.

Mom made friends with her almost immediately, but now she complains with every call: they say, Kirillovna’s orchids bloom more densely, and there are more varieties of violets, and rare anthurium blue color, while mom's is the usual red.

I had to break my head, but finally I managed to get a flowerpot for her, with the help of which she was able to plug the harmful (although in fact the kindest) Kirillovna into her belt. It turned out to be calceolaria, which is also a bright “slipper”.

It came to us from South and Central America. Biologists called the flower plainly (in Latin, the word means “slipper” - this is how most gardeners call the plant).

Annuals bloom more often on our windowsills herbaceous plants. Although other calceolaria are also found in nature: semi-shrubs or shrubs, biennials and perennials.

The “bush” grows somewhere by 30, less often by 50 cm. The leaves of the calceolaria are “narrow-nosed”, corrugated, green, with a margin below. But of course, you are more interested bright flowers unusual shape. They can be plain or speckled, with strokes. The flower consists of two "bags": the upper one is almost invisible, but the lower one stands out.

Flowers appear in April / May or summer, delight the hostess and her guests for about a month. Flowers are from 2.5 to 6 cm. Moreover, sometimes up to 50 things open on a flowerpot per season.

Shoe care

• Atmosphere. Calceolaria is afraid of heat and dry air. So it's worth buying if you have air conditioning. The flower is free at 15 degrees and in the most humidified air (place it near the aquarium or on a pallet with wet pebbles).
• Window sill selection. The window should not be south. Ideally, north or east, but northwest is also suitable.
• Irrigation and water. The soil should not dry out - water the "slipper" often, but little by little. And have time to defend the water, it should not be hard or cold. During the flowering of water, calceolaria needs a lot, and when the flowers fall off, watering can be reduced.
• Other water procedures. If orchids are crazy about spraying, then calceolaria does not like such "pampering".
• Top dressing. Soluble mineral fertilizers can be applied twice a month. The first "feeding" can be done 14 days after planting the "shoe". Fertilize the plant until it begins to bloom.
• Wintering. It starts in autumn. Stop fertilizing. Once the plant has finished blooming, you can cut off all the stems by placing the pot with the rhizome in an even cooler, darker place. Keep it there for 2 months, watering occasionally to keep the roots from drying out. As soon as the calceolaria sprouts new sprouts, water it more often, rearranging it on the old windowsill. You can start feeding her.

The subtleties of transplanting this "American"

"Last year's" calceolaria blooms a whole two months earlier than the "fresh" grown from seeds. True, on such a bush there will be many times fewer flowers. Therefore, it is better to grow new flowers or buy them than to leave them for the second year.

If you bought a young flowerpot, but you do not like the purchased pot, do this:

• put drainage in a new, beautiful pot (at least a third of the volume),
• transfer the plant along with the roots and adhered soil,
• fill the remaining free space with fresh earth.

The soil for calceolaria is the same as for geraniums or heathers. You can mix it yourself from sand (0.5 parts), peat land (1 part), leaf and sod land (2 parts each).

What is calceolaria afraid of

How many times can calceolaria be "chemically" treated with such means? At least four times at intervals of several days. Then it will become bad not only for pests, but also for the flower itself.

As for diseases, the enemies of the flower are:

• Gray rot. It attacks when the flower freezes at high humidity or it is simply poured with water.
• Gray mold. It is caused by excess nitrogen in the substrate. He gets there with fertilizers, so look well at what you feed your "pet" and in what proportions you dilute fertilizers. The affected areas will have to be cut off, and the flower itself treated by spraying Topaz or Bordeaux liquid (in general, substances containing copper).

Growing and planting this flower

If you buy a potted plant in stores every year (and even more than one), you can spend a lot of money. Much cheaper than growing your own. I will tell you about some ways - choose which one seems more convenient to you personally!

Seeds: buy or collect

It is best to buy: as in the case of "last year's plants", seeds collected at home may not be fruitful.

Luckily, there are many such products in stores. You can buy any variety and color if you wish.

You can see what is stored inside the purchased bags, that is, how exactly the flower seeds look, in this video. The girl will sow them in a pot and share her impressions.

When planting seeds, you will need:

• sand (1 part),
• peat (7 parts),
• a little dolomite flour or chalk (20 g per kilogram of substrate).

1. The resulting soil "fry" in the oven, cool, pour.
2. Spread the seeds on top of the soil, without sprinkling. From above, it is better to cover them with a jar or non-woven transparent material (drops of condensate will collect inside, wash them).
3. Place the container in a warm (at least 18 degrees), sunny place. Ventilate it from time to time.
4. Spray the soil (watering should only be like this). But when the sprouts hatch, you can water them with a tiny watering can (a baby enema will do), without touching the sprouts.

What seedlings look like (sprouts hatched from such seeds) and what to do next with them, they will tell here:

After a month, transplant (dive) the sprouts into another pot.

After another two months, spend a second pick, this time in larger individual pots. Water them 2 times a month.

In September, spend the third, and in February - the fourth, final pick. In this case, the plant can be pinched over 4 leaves.

cuttings

This method is not as win-win as seeds, but it is less tricky.

• in August or in the second half of winter, cut off the shoot;
• root in a nutrient soil mixture;
• after 4 weeks, check for roots.

Often several cuttings are planted in one pot at once - in this case, the bush turns out to be as lush and beautiful as possible.

Highlight: types of calceolaria

As I said, this plant can have petals of different shades and even colorings. Calceolaria also differ in the number of flowers and their shape.

Here I will talk about the most popular varieties that are bred in our country.

Whole-leaved, also known as wrinkled

In its pure form, this is a half-meter plant with rosette leaves and many small (up to 2 cm) yellow flowers; brown droplets can be seen on some hybrids.

Blooms in summer and autumn, and on open ground. But if you grow seedlings in the house in advance, the flowers will appear as early as April. The plant is perennial.

Interestingly, the wrinkled "slipper" can grow in a pot, in which case it becomes a two-year-old. In the summer they are kept outside, in the winter in the house.

The most popular sub-varieties are:

• "Goldbuket" ("Golden Bouquet"). Low (about 25 cm) bushes, but with large yellow flowers.

• "Sunset" ("Sunset"). Yellow, orange or red flowers.

mexican

It has pale yellow "shoes". They grow only up to 5 cm. Because of the small flowers in the flower bed, this calceolaria is not placed near other flowers (they “shade” it), but next to ornamental grasses or plants that have not yet bloomed.

Blooms in spring.

It can be undersized (bush 20 cm) or impressive (up to 50 cm). The more moisture and shade, the higher the bush grows. He does not like bright sunlight very much (but will tolerate if he is watered a lot).

Purple

It differs from the “sisters” not only in color (pink, purple, pink and purple flowers), but also in the shape of the petals - the lower one is large (also furrowed), but the upper one is not so miniature.

This herbaceous perennial plant grows up to half a meter. It can be seen outdoors.

tender

Miniature perennial. It can grow in a flowerpot if it is transferred to the garden in summer or even if you are on a shaded balcony.

hybrid

The most popular variety among flower growers who prefer potted plants, that is, flowerpots.

The leaves of this variety are light. Flowers - different, from multi-colored to white.

Among hybrids, I personally like sub-varieties:

• Aida. A small shrub with velvety red flowers.

• Dervish. With contrasting brown-yellow flowers.

• Dainty. With red, you can even say orange flowers, of which a lot is revealed on the bush.

• Golden Rain. shrub plant, blooming profusely and brightly. A real eye-catcher for your neighbors.

But of course, these are not the only types of calceolaria. There is also a Darwin flower, as well as a multi-petiolate, thin calceolaria. So if you are interested in these "shoes", you will have a place to roam!

A houseplant called calceolaria is distinguished by its amazing beauty and exoticism - it is one of the very first that begins to bloom in spring, delighting everyone around with its decorative appearance. In homes, it is grown as an annual crop, since spectacular flowering can only be achieved in the first year of life. That is why it is extremely important to be able to propagate an unusual plant in such a way that every year again and again you will grow a new, fascinating specimen with its attractiveness.

plant description

Calceolaria belongs to the genus Calceolaria. This plant is presented in more than 300 varieties. It came to Europe from the southern part of the American continent, and from there it came to us. Translated, the name of the flower means "small shoe". The flowers really repeat the reduced copy of the slipper. This flower seems to consist of a pair - a small one on top and a more voluminous, inflated and spherical bottom. This structure makes the plant look like such a favorite shoe model for women as clogs.

The color palette of calceolaria is quite rich - it is presented in white, scarlet, as well as yellow and orange tones with all kinds of spots and without them. In their natural habitat, these are herbaceous plants of the shrub type, they can be one-, two- and three-year-olds. In home gardening, calceolaria is low - no more than 30 cm in length, and 50 cm can grow in greenhouses and botanical gardens.

The leaf plates are large, slightly corrugated, up to 8-10 cm in length, with a pronounced fluff on the lower segment. Interestingly shaped flowers appear on calceolaria in early spring, the peduncles are quite long, so the inflorescences literally rise above the general green mass.

Flowering usually lasts from several days to a month. On each individual, from 20 to 50 shoes can bloom at a time, on average, the size of each is 2-3 cm, but there are larger varieties - up to 6-7 cm.

Species diversity

For indoor gardening, it is better to give preference to hybrid varieties of calceolaria, as they are more adapted to life on the window of a living space. Let us dwell in more detail on the most popular domestic varieties of this flower.

hybrid

Hybrid calceolaria is represented by low shrub-type plants, they are distinguished by wide rounded green leaves, rather soft, with a slight fluff on the surface. Flowering lasts about 2 months, flowers of various shades - orange, red, yellow with all kinds of specks and blots, each about 5 cm in diameter. Based on this variety, several popular hybrids have been bred:

• "Aida"- a compact undersized bush, strewn with crimson shoes with a velvety surface;
• "Golden Rain"- is a perennial variety, covered with very bright shoes of various shades;
• "Dervish"- blooms in small yellowish-brown shoes with contrasting speckles;
• "Deinty"- small compact indoor plant, growing no more than up to 15 cm, is distinguished by rather large drooping and soft leaves, the flowers are red.

Wrinkled (Whole-leaved)

This calceolaria is literally strewn large quantity small flowers, the diameter of which does not exceed 2 cm. The petals are wrinkled, saturated yellow, with small brown specks. At the time of flowering, it resembles a fluffy white cloud. In the southern regions, it is cultivated as a perennial that adorns parks and gardens. Calceolaria wrinkled reaches 1 m in height, the flowers are neatly collected in rather large inflorescences, the leaves are narrow, elongated, pale green.

On the basis of this variety, several frost-resistant varieties have been developed that easily tolerate temperature drops to -5 degrees. At home, such a plant is cultivated as a biennial, which is grown outdoors in containers in the summer, and brought back into the room with the onset of cold weather. The following hybrid varieties are most common:

• "Sunset"- has flowers of a rich scarlet and red hue;
• "Golden Bouquet"- sprinkled big flowers golden color.

tender

This calceolaria is a perennial grown indoors, and in the summer it is taken out into the yard, onto a loggia or terrace along with a flowerpot. The leaves are small, saturated green, the flowers are yellowish with dark spots over the entire surface.

This is a very beautiful flower ornamental plant, which can become a real decoration for both home and landscape design.

mexican

Depending on the characteristics of the habitat, its length can vary from 35 to 50 cm, the flowers are golden, up to 5 cm in diameter. Flowering is long, the bush is strewn with shoes for 2 months.

Purple

Low-growing calceolaria, the height of which does not exceed 40-50 cm. The leaf blades are spatulate, with pronounced notches at the edges. The flowers are slightly elongated, purple with a pronounced purple tint and dark beautiful patches. In indoor gardening, it is grown as an annual.

Greenhouses also often grow varieties Sunset, Fotergilla and calceolaria Uniflora and Biflora, better known as one-flowered and, accordingly, two-flowered.

Landing

For the full growth and development of calceolaria at home, it is advisable to take breathable nutrient soil, consisting of leafy garden soil and turf with the addition of peat, as well as pure river sand of the largest fraction. A ready-made substrate for flowering plants is also suitable, for example, you can purchase land for pelargoniums and geraniums with a pH value of 5.5. After buying a flower in a store, you should definitely inspect it - if you see that roots are visible in the drainage holes, then the plant is cramped, it requires a more spacious container.

The transplant is performed in the following sequence. Take a new pot, the size of which is about 1-1.5 cm larger than the old one. Pour expanded clay, large pebbles or red brick crumbs on the bottom - calceolaria is demanding on the quality of the earth, stagnant moisture has the most detrimental effect on it, so it must be present in the container drainage layer so that it is about 1/4 - 1/3 of the entire volume of the pot.

Pour a little soil mixture so that it completely covers the drainage, keep in mind that the roots of the plant should not come into contact with stones. If you made the earth yourself, then be sure to disinfect it, for this you can treat it with a pale solution of potassium permanganate or ignite the earth in the oven (you can do this in a frying pan).

The calceolaria bush must be turned over and, gently tapping on the walls, carefully separate the earthen ball, then move it to a new container so as not to damage the roots. Shake the pot to completely fill all the voids and cavities, then fill the remaining space in the pot with fresh substrate. Moisten the earth with soft water (filtered or settled).

Watering should be necessarily plentiful in order to thoroughly wet the entire earth. After half an hour, pour out all the liquid accumulated in it from the pan and place the vessel with the flower in a warm, well-lit place.

Calceolaria is rarely grown outdoors, as a rule, it is taken out into the yard along with a flowerpot.

When cultivating calceolaria in a home environment, creating and maintaining comfortable conditions for it is considered the most difficult. The point here is that this culture responds extremely negatively to dry air and elevated temperatures. Unfortunately, during the cold months, residential apartments and houses usually work heating appliances, which dry the air, and in summer there is an increased temperature background almost everywhere, so you should know all the subtleties of caring for this unusual flower.

Lighting

Calceolaria prefers well-lit areas, however, it is important to avoid exposure to bright ultraviolet rays. It is best to place it on the east and west windows, in the north direction the plant will also feel quite comfortable, and in the south it will require additional shading - for example, a reflective film that will make the light diffuse.

In the autumn-winter period, additional illumination should be provided using special fitolamps or simple fluorescent ones.

Temperature

Optimum temperature air in a living room with calceolaria is considered 14-18 degrees. If the room is warmer, then the number of buds and the flowering period will be greatly reduced, in addition, the plant's immunity decreases, it becomes susceptible to all kinds of fungal and bacterial infections. During the wintering period, heating should generally be kept at around 12 degrees.

In summer, it is better to put a flower on a balcony or loggia, but so that the plant is securely hidden from the slightest draft and direct ultraviolet rays.

Humidity

The plant prefers high humidity, but at the same time it is strictly forbidden to spray it with water, as moisture can damage the cushion of the sheet plates. In order to achieve optimal humidity, you should put a room fountain near the plant, line the container tray with sphagnum moss, experienced growers additionally put the pot in a flowerpot, filling the entire internal space with wet moss.

Watering

In the months from November to February, when this exotic plant is in a dormant phase, irrigation should be “on demand”, that is, it is necessary to moisten the earth only after the substrate dries out. With the onset of heat, as soon as young shoots appear, you should increase the amount of watering, regular irrigation at the time of flowering is especially important. The need for watering can be judged by the state of the top layer of soil - if it is dry, then it's time for you to take up the watering can. At the end of flowering, it is necessary to moisten your pet much less frequently.

For irrigation, only soft water should be used, without fail at room temperature.

top dressing

Every 2 weeks, calceolaria requires top dressing, it is best to use ready-made mineral complexes, they contain all the mineral components, micro and macro elements necessary for the plant. At the end of the flowering period, fertilizer is not necessary. In case of non-compliance optimal conditions growing, the flower begins to dry, the leaves turn yellow, and flowering is sharply reduced. Often flower growers are faced with one of the following problems.

• The leaves become lethargic, the edges dry out, young buds fall off. Most likely, the reason lies in insufficient watering or too high air temperature in the room.
• If the pot appears white coating, and the upper leaves turn yellow - there is an excess of calcium in the substrate. To save the plant, you should transplant it with a complete replacement of the soil and take measures to reduce water hardness.
• The formation of whitish spots on the leaf plates directly indicates the use of too cold water or spraying color.
• Unexpected dropping of leaves occurs when the air temperature in the room changes dramatically (both downward and upward).

reproduction

Calceolaria propagates in two main ways - sow by seeds and vegetatively. When grown from seed material sowing time depends on exactly when you want to see flowering. If you prefer slippers to decorate your window sills in the spring, you need to plant the seeds in June, and if you like autumn flowers, then it is better to plant in March.

For sowing, it is necessary to prepare a substrate, including peat and river sand, taken in a ratio of 7: 1, it is advisable to add a little ground chalk (20 g of chalk is needed for 1 kg of peat). The resulting mixture must be calcined before use. Calceolaria seeds are quite small, so they are simply scattered over the surface of the earth, then it is not necessary to sprinkle with soil. On top of the seedlings you need to put thin paper, which should be regularly moistened with water from a spray bottle. The container is kept in a warm room with a heating level of at least 18 degrees.

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