Violet, or Saintpaulia, has a huge popularity among flower growers due to the abundant and long-lasting flowering, which can last up to 9-10 months. however, beginners often identify the wide distribution of the plant with unpretentiousness and wonder why senpolia blooms sparsely or refuses to do it at all.
Saintpaulia is a picky one. she is very sensitive to her person and requires a sensitive attitude. just what is wrong — do not wait for flowers, and violets have as many as 15 reasons for this.
1. Wrong ground
Senpolia has a very delicate root system — heavy soil is not for her. Soil with a dense structure inhibits the growth of roots and in addition, it does not allow water and air to pass through-this provokes root rot. And if the acidity of the soil deviates from the values of 6.0-6.5 pH in one direction or another, violets have difficulties with the absorption of nutrients. Naturally, the oppressed plant is no longer up to beauty — it does not give flowers.
What to do?
Plant the rosettes only in a loose, light substrate with optimal acidity. It is quite difficult to prepare such a soil mixture yourself, so it is better to buy a special soil for senpolia in the store.
2. Unsuitable pot
Unlike most houseplants, violet prefers to live in a small pot. With the best intentions, giving senpolia a large bowl, you can not wait for flowering, the plant will begin to wither before your eyes. The other extreme is to keep the flower in an unnecessarily tight container, where the soil is very quickly depleted.
What to do?
In garden shops, numbered pots for senpolia are sold — this is a godsend for the beginner.
3. Incorrect watering mode
Often the stumbling block, forcing violet to make the best of it, getting water for irrigation is its lack or excess, stiffness and temperature. Regular drying or waterlogging of the soil, as well as the use of cold water from the tap, greatly undermine the health of the plant.
What to do?
Water the plant only with water at room temperature. Carefully pour water around the edges of the pot, it should not fall on the leaves and the growth point. The soil should be slightly (!) moist all the time. Drainage in the pot and a tray under it are mandatory. To prevent the roots from rotting, remove the accumulated water in the tray in time.
You can use the bottom watering (through a pallet) or put the pot in a basin of water for a while, the plant itself will take the right amount of moisture. An alternative is wick watering, when at the time of planting the plant it is supplied with a cord of loose material, pulling the end through the drainage hole. A pot with a violet is placed over a container of water, immersing only the wick in it, it will deliver moisture to the roots of the plant in the right amount. You can see an example of this design in the photo below: so you can organize watering not only violets, but also other plants.
4. Incorrect lighting
Saintpaulia is a light-loving culture. If you keep it in the wilderness of a dark room, do not be surprised why the plant does not bloom and upsets the pale green or yellowish color of the foliage, which also becomes smaller and elongated. Another mistake is to expose senpolia to direct sunlight. The bright sun will instantly cause burns on delicate leaves, weaken the plant and deprive it of enthusiasm for flowering.
What to do?
In summer, keep the violet on the north or east window, or move it to a table next to the south window and protect it from the scorching sun with a curtain or roll-up curtain. In the autumn-winter period, organize additional lighting for senpolia to bring the length of daylight up to 10-12 hours per day.
5. Incorrect feeding mode
Insufficient or excessive nutrition is one of the main reasons for the lack of flowers. If all the beauty of your violet is in the leaves — large, fleshy, shiny-then you have overfed it with nitrogen. In this case, the plant begins to fatten and forgets about flowering. If the foliage, on the contrary, is small and dull, develops slowly and looks untidy, therefore you have exhausted the plant with a strict diet — it does not have the strength to lay flower stalks.
What to do?
Phosphorus and potassium stimulate flowering — pay attention to fertilizers with a high content of these elements or buy a special preparation for fertilizing senpolia. During the flowering period, feed the violet every 12-14 days, during the rest period, reduce the feeding.
6. Unsuitable temperature
If the violet will languish from the heat or freeze in a cold room, the maximum that she will agree to is to release a couple of small flowers. Even more she does not like sudden changes in temperature – here you do not expect mercy from a whim.
What to do?
Keep the flower at an optimal temperature of +18…+24°C and do not allow it to deviate sharply in one direction or another. To control the process, install a thermometer in the place where the plant lives.
7. Dry air
No less harmful effect on the flowering process of senpolia has a low humidity (it should be in the range of 60-80%). If in the summer in our apartments this indicator reaches 40-50%, then in the heating period it decreases to 25-40%. Both options are not suitable for violet.
What to do?
Regularly irrigate the air around the senpolia with warm water, but so that drops of moisture do not remain on the foliage: they provoke burns. Use a humidifier, place containers of water next to the plant, or hang a wet towel on a hot battery.
Leave a Reply