Growing Roullia and caring for it at home

Rowell infrequently found on the windowsills of amateur gardeners. Most likely, the reason for this is the fast flowering. But ruellia deserves our attention at least for its unpretentiousness and ease of care.

Description of Ruellia and its origin

Ruelia (second name - Dipteracanthus) belongs to the Acanthus family. Due to its similarity to streptocarpus, ruellium is sometimes mistakenly ranked as a Gesneriaceae family. However, when caring for the plant, the difference is obvious: the first loves heat, in contrast to the Gesneriaceae, who prefer well-ventilated, cool places.

The homeland of the plant is the tropical forests of South America, it is also found in Africa and Asia.

Ruelia loves warmth and good, but not direct lighting

About 200 species of this flower are distinguished, among them grassy plants dominate, less often - shrubs and shrubs.

Ruellia got its name in honor of the botanist Jean Ruel, who studied this species of plants in the Middle Ages.

Roullia has long, elongated leaves, velvety, depending on the variety, light, dark with white veins. The flowers are mainly red-pink or lilac in color, less often - white, tubular, located in the axils of the leaves on the upper part of the stem.

The blooming of Roullia is unusual: it begins in the morning and ends by mid-day; then the flowers crumble, and in their place appear boxes with seeds. You can see how they burst, spreading around the contents. The next day, new flowers are revealed. This continues for several months. Typically, the flowering period lasts from August to December inclusive.

Due to the fast flowering, Ruellia is not of commercial interest, so it is almost not sold in flower shops. Most often it is used as an ampel plant grown in pots, or ground cover for winter gardens.

Roullia varieties suitable for indoor cultivation

For growing at home, only a few species are suitable. They take root well and do not require special care. They have penetrating stems that release their roots in close contact with the soil. Due to this property, Ruell is very easy to propagate by cuttings.

1. Ruellia Portella. It has lodging shoots. Its oblong-shaped leaves have a dark green color on top and a reddish tint on the inside, covered with white stripes. The flowers are large, bright pink. Flowering begins in late summer.
2. Ruellia Devos. It differs in branched stems, which reach a height of up to 45 cm. The flowers are single, white or lilac, with purple streaks in the center of the petal. It usually blooms in autumn and winter.
3. Ruelia is large-flowered. It has high erect shoots with good branching. The flowers are very large (length up to 10 cm, width - 8 cm), in the form of a bell, pink-purple color, located at the top of the shoot. The flowering period lasts from autumn to winter.
4. Rwellia Britton. This is a shrub reaching a height of 1 meter. During growth, the stem woods at the base. The leaves are long, wide, with intense lighting become bluish. The flowers are large, purple.
5. Ruelia is pleasant, or red. Shrub, 60 cm high. The leaves are large, uniformly green in color, ovoid, about 12 cm long, glossy and slightly pubescent. Flowers of medium size (length up to 2.5 cm), red, collected in inflorescences. Flowering time - from February to the end of autumn.

Photo gallery: indoor views of ruellia

Seasonal conditions for Roullia - table

Can also be useful material on the cultivation and characteristics of the content of crossander: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/krossandra-vyrashhivaem-bez-problem-cvetok-fejerverk-v-domashnix-usloviyax.html

Planting and transplanting plants

Roullia should be transplanted annually, preferably in March. When the flower grows up and reaches the age of three, transplantation can be carried out much less frequently, as necessary, when the root system of the flower grows greatly.

Suitable soil

In terms of soil ruellia is very whimsical. Clayy heavy soil categorically does not fit it, but it grows excellently on light breathable mixtures. You can buy the finished substrate in the store, but it is not difficult to prepare it yourself. For this you will need:

• 20% of garden land;
• 20% coarse sand;
• 25% peat;
• 35% of sheet land.

Instead of sand, you can take perlite in the same proportion. It will significantly increase air access to the roots and will help remove excess moisture. Warm the prepared mixture for 10 minutes in a water bath to destroy pathogenic bacteria and germs.

Transplant process

1. For transplanting, you will need a pot whose size will be 3-4 cm in diameter larger than the old one. Be sure to make drain holes in its bottom and create a drainage layer of fine pebbles, vermiculite or expanded clay.
2. When pulling ruellium from an old pot, be careful not to damage the fragile stems and leaves.
3. Inspect the root system of the plant: it should not have a single rotten or dry root, otherwise it will negatively affect the growth and appearance of the flower. The soil needs to be carefully shaken off so as not to damage healthy roots.
4. Problem areas of the root system should be removed. To do this, take a sharp knife, boil it for 10 minutes in water or disinfect it with alcohol. Cut off the affected area of ​​the root, capturing about 2 cm of the healthy part. Sprinkle the slice with chopped charcoal.
5. Pour some nutrient soil (2-3 cm) onto the bottom of the pot over the drainage layer. Place the roots of the plant on it and, holding the stems, fill the empty space to the container walls with a substrate.
6. Remove dry branches completely. Those that are too long from a lack of light and are left almost without leaves, also need to be cut with a sharp, sanitized knife.

If you think it necessary, make a support for the ruellia so that its stems do not hang down, but strive up

After the transplant, water the plant and put the flowerpot in the chosen place. Ruelia does not need support, but if you want the bush not to spread, but grow vertically upward, install a simple spacer of two longitudinal columns and several transverse crossbars, or tie the plant to a vertically standing spoke.

Roell care at home

There are some simple guidelines for caring for this flower.

Summer Care

In hot weather, in spring and summer, ruellium should be watered 2-3 times a week. At this time, the flower is in bloom. The soil should not completely dry before the next watering. Water should be left to stand for 3-4 days at room temperature.

No need to spray Roullia: water falling on leaves and flowers will cause the formation of rot.

As for top dressing, it must be used during the active growing season twice a month. You can use one of the fertilizers:

• "Pokon";
• Uniflor-bud;
• "TerraSol";
• "Flower Blend".

Observe the proportions indicated on the fertilizer packaging.

After the flower is acclimatized, feed it once a month with a combined fertilizer for indoor ornamental plants.

Keep the ruellia in the east window, where direct rays of the sun will not fall on its leaves, but the lighting will be quite plentiful. If it is not possible to remove the flower pot from the south window, provide shading.

Campanula is distinguished by more abundant flowering. Read more about this plant in the material: //diz-cafe.com/rastenija/kampanula-uxod-za-izyashhnymi-kolokolchikami-v-domashnix-usloviyax.html

Winter care

Reduce watering to 1 time in 10 days, this will be enough. Make sure that the soil and root system do not get too cold: do not keep a flowerpot with a flower on a cold windowsill, place a wooden board under it. Avoid drafts indoors.

Ruellia has no resting period, some of its species bloom until February, inclusive. At this time, they need top dressing. If flowering has stopped, fertilizers are no longer applied.

To ensure sufficient lighting, rearrange the roof to the south window. If this is not possible, set the backlight as a backlight.

Ruellia care errors: detect and fix - table

Diseases and pests - table

Roullia is little susceptible to diseases and the effects of harmful insects, but if this still happened, urgent action is needed.

Breeding

There are several ways to breed ruellia:

• cuttings;
• layering;
• by seeds;
• dividing the bush.

Cuttings

In the spring, after transplanting the ruellia, cut a few branches. Their length should be 8-9 cm, on the stem at least 3-4 knots. Make sure that the cuttings are not woody.

Fill the container with a mixture of peat and moistened sand in a ratio of 1: 1. Plant the cuttings in the mixture (4-5 pieces in a pot so that the plant looks more magnificent) and create greenhouse conditions for them by covering the container with a film or a glass jar. Raise the coating every day for 15 minutes to ventilate.

The greenhouse above the pot is necessary for proper transplantation

The optimum temperature for germination is 21-22 ° C. After 2 weeks, the roots will appear. At this stage, the plant is ready for transplantation into a permanent pot with a substrate.

Layering

The method of propagation of ruellia layering is as simple as possible. Tilt the shoot to the ground so that at least 1 knot is firmly in contact with the soil. Fix this place with a hairpin or brace made of thick wire. When the roots appear and penetrate the ground, separate the cuttings from the main bush.

If the flowerpot is large, you can leave the layering in place or carefully dig it with a thin spatula and transplant it into another pot.

Seeds

Ruelia is much simpler than its other indoor flowers propagated by seeds. To get them, wait for the fruit of the box to ripen, put a little pressure on it, it will open and the seeds will fall into your hand.

Roullia seeds can germinate on their own in any pot, if the room has suitable temperature, humidity and lighting

Then follow the instructions:

1. Prepare a container with a peat-sand mixture (1: 1 ratio).
2. Sow the seeds and lightly touch the ground.
3. For germination, greenhouse conditions with a temperature of 21-22 ° C are needed, therefore, the container must be covered with a film or glass. Do not forget about airing.
4. After 3-4 weeks, the seeds will germinate, and the container can be moved to a place with good lighting.
5. When the sprouts harden and give at least 4-5 adult leaves, they can be planted by diving.

Bush division

During the transplantation of an old, overgrown flower with large stiff stems, you can divide the bush into parts. Do it carefully, try not to damage the main, thick roots.

Carefully divide the shingle bush into several parts

Separated parts can be planted immediately in a permanent flowerpot with drainage and a suitable substrate. Dig a hole no more than 2 cm deep, place a seedling in it and sprinkle with earth. Put the container with the plant in a suitable place, observe the watering regime, and after 20 days you will see new shoots.

Useful reviews about growing Roullia

My Ruellia Devo has been growing for 10 years, has gifted her with the children of all my friends. I planted 2 bushes in a hanging basket and looks very good in the summer. I cut the branches for the winter. Very responsive plant to greasy ground and top dressing. I hang on the north side. The flowers are short-lived: in the morning they bloom, in the evening they fall.

Lolka//frauflora.ru/viewtopic.php?t=7572

Stunningly unpretentious plant! In a pot it will look better if there are a lot of them planted. To do this, you can root layering and crown in a glass of water. On the old branches of flowers less. It will bloom when the pot becomes small. It is easily propagated by seeds, but before ripening on the testis you need to wear a small gauze bag, because he shoots seeds all over the room. If the seeds are not needed, then you can cut them.

Galinka //forum.bestflowers.ru/t/ruehllija.23866/

I remember when I had Ruellia (though I didn’t know about its name then), I had seeds sprouting in all the pots all over the apartment! I don’t know how far she shoots them, but the wind carries them well, and exactly in other pots. So there was no need for rooting, the main thing is that it bloomed, and there already know weed through its many settlements

As for the growing conditions: it grew under diffused light, near the south window in Central Asia. That is, it is warm and light enough, but it has never withstood direct sunlight.

leshj//iplants.ru/forum/index.php?s=bce6b5d258740ddd45ce3adb6c9cf643&showtopic=15936&st=15

... Ruelia is fluffy, so I do not spray it; ruellia grows in a small yogurt glass and is enough for her; plum (holes) in a glass is not in view of the fact that ruellia is a water-chilled plant; Roullia very easily and quickly gives roots in the water - they gave me 2 branches each 3 cm in size! and they quickly gave root and began to grow, and reaching a size of about 7 cm they released buds and bloomed; Ruellia stands at the window at the level of my eyes (old refrigerator), direct sun does not fall, it is light! Half-day flowers are light blue. I don’t know the sort. Roundwell seeds round about 1.5-2mm flat (see photo), crack throughout the kitchen! but nowhere else in other pots have they ever ascended! once she opened the brown box and sowed the seed in her same cup - the result in the photo - so they need humidity, without a greenhouse and without a “cap”! it was not necessary to fill up with earth, the seeds lay simply on the ground.

Nadina//iplants.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=15936&st=45

I had a ruellia, but it disappointed me with a loose bush that did not want to be neat and compact. Then I read out that it needs to be cut twice a summer and that it is better to grow it like an ampelous plant. In general, I gave it to a child in a kindergarten. Although the spread is generally pretty ...

Anna Malik//www.lepestok.kharkov.ua/forum/viewtopic.php?t=910

Video: home care for rullia

You got to know better graceful ruellia. We hope our tips convinced you that taking care of it is not a big deal.