Peacock flower, or Episia - a beautiful indoor ampel plant. Its magnificent picturesque foliage, smooth and shiny in some varieties or velvety in others, amazes with a wealth of colors: green, purple, silver, copper, reddish, brown. And during flowering, the description completely changes: against the background of motley-colored leaves, bright "gramophone finishes" bloom. In addition to the classic red, there are lilac, white, orange inflorescences. Knowing the nuances of caring for them at home, you can get excellent results.
Description of the description
Belongs to the Gesneriaceae family. Genus Description contains about 30 species. A spectacular plant with brightly colored and textured foliage has many names - Peacock flower, Purple flame, Chameleon plant, African violet.
A spectacular miniature plant with whitish pink leaves will decorate any collection of home plants
It is found in nature in the tropical forests of Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and the Antilles, where twilight reigns even at noon. Apparently, therefore, such a name for the flower is shaded. It grows under shrubs in the form of a short, creeping grass with leaves collected in a rosette and numerous shoots.
Tropical flower is also grown as a houseplant. It is not capricious, it is characterized by long flowering - from early spring to autumn. But it places high demands on heat and moisture.
Abundant flowering begins in spring and ends in autumn
The description is usually grown as an ampel. Young shoots first hold upright, over time, with the growth of many long (up to 40-60 cm) lateral processes, lie down and form a beautiful cascade.
Beauty description - video
Varieties
At home, copper and clove-colored, less frequently creeping, and less often creeping, as well as numerous varieties obtained from these species are most often grown.
More than a hundred varieties have been bred, and each has a unique color and unique pattern.
Copper description is characterized by creeping shoots. Large (up to 15 cm long) oval leaves, pubescent, olive-green with a light stripe along the vein. The underside of the leaf plate is reddish with a white dividing strip. The flowers are medium-sized (2 cm in length), bright red with a yellow throat.
Copper-red epithesis is used to breed new varieties.
Carnation has two types of shoots: shortened branches with leaves and long "mustaches" with rosettes. Leaves are less expressive, small (3 cm long and 2 cm wide), pubescent, green, with rounded teeth at the edges, burgundy middle vein. The flowers are white, with dots on the throat, fringed.
Corolla of a snow-white flower fringed along the edge of the limb
A creeping description having creeping shoots is grown only as an ampel. The leaves are long (5-10 cm), green or brown, with patterns and spots on the border. Flowers are red with a pink pharynx.
Creeping writings are more valued for decorative leaves.
Increasingly, gardeners are paying attention to new varieties.
Examples of varieties in the photo
- On one plant, flowers can be yellow-pink, pink and yellow with pink dots
- Decorative foliage with a light green pattern. Dark pink flowers
- Bright pink flowers with delicate green with pink leaves
- Silver-brown foliage is decorated with pink weaving. Red flowers
- Green-brown leaves decorated with light specks
- Variety with velvet green with a pattern of leaves and lilac flowers
Comfortable growing conditions - table
| Lighting | Description - a photophilous plant. She needs a bright but diffused light. In the open sun, decorativeness decreases: the leaves lose their variegated color, the inflorescences dry up. The most comfortable option will be on the east or west window, you can place it on the north side. But in low light, the bloom will not be so long, the lashes of stems stretch, almost without forming lateral processes. On the south side, the flower is placed away from the window or scattered light is created by hanging it with a light curtain, especially during the active sun - from 10 to 15 hours. You can also keep the flower on shelves under artificial lighting, while the duration of daylight hours is significantly increased. |
| Humidity | The inhabitant of the rainforest has special requirements for air humidity. However, leaves can not be sprayed so as not to cause them to rot. The flower pot can be placed on a wet pebble tray or placed close to the aquarium. Be sure to carry out regular uniform watering. |
| Temperature mode | The optimum summer temperature is + 20-25 ° C. The plant easily tolerates even intense heat (+35), provided that a humid atmosphere is maintained. In winter, the room should also be warm - not lower than + 18, otherwise the flower will simply die. |
| Fertilizers | In the spring-summer period, complex and organic fertilizers are regularly fed every two weeks. |
| Transfer | The fast-growing epizy is annually transferred to larger containers, adding fresh land. Once every 2-3 years, the soil composition is completely replaced. |
| Pruning | To give the plant a beautiful appearance, sprouted shoots are regularly cut off, forming neat bushes or ampelous compositions. |
| Breeding | Propagated by seeds, leafy cuttings, lateral processes. |
Landing and transplanting
Plant growth and renewal of depleted land contribute to good development and flowering.
For abundant flowering, the plant is transplanted into new soil
Priming
Episans prefer a light and airy growth environment. The soil should have an average acidity (pH 5.5 - 6.5). The soil mixture is prepared from sheet soil, peat and river sand (3: 1: 1), adding sphagnum moss and ash. A slightly acidic substrate for violets is also suitable.
Capacities are selected low and wide. Expanded clay, crushed polystyrene with a layer of 3 cm is laid as a drainage material at the bottom.
Espiration feels best in a low and wide pot
We transplant a flower: a step-by-step guide
The flower grows very quickly, so every spring it is transshipped, without violating the integrity of the earthen coma, into a more spacious (2-3 cm) capacity. The maximum diameter of the pot is 18-20 cm.
Every 2-3 years the plant is transplanted, completely updating the soil.
- Before transplanting, the flower is watered. Carefully removed from the pot.
- Carefully inspect the roots. Remove dried or rotted areas.
- A layer of drainage is laid on the bottom of the tank. Prepared soil is poured.
- A flower is planted and watering is carried out.
Transplant and transshipment - video
Episode care at home: what to consider
In order for the description to fully reveal its decorative qualities and flourish, it is necessary to fulfill a number of requirements.
Watering
In spring and summer, regular watering is necessary, every 3-4 days. Excessive or irrigation with cool water can cause illness. Water the plants through a tray or at the roots, until water begins to penetrate through the drainage holes. After a few minutes, excess water is removed from the pan.
With the help of such a watering can, it is convenient to water the plants without spraying water on the leaves
In winter, watering is carried out less often, 1-2 times a week, when the surface soil layer dries. Use warm soft water.
Moisturize the soil gently so that drops do not fall on the leaves. For this, a watering can with a long nose is useful. Water is added along the edge of the pot or bottom irrigation is used.
A guest from the tropics needs a humid atmosphere. For this purpose, regular spraying is carried out near the flower, in no case not wetting the leaves. You can increase humidity by placing the pot on a layer of wet gravel so that its bottom does not come into contact with water. Small aquariums are often selected for growing watercolor watercolors, in which a humid microclimate is preserved. A flower pot is placed on a bed of moistened sphagnum moss. The surface of the soil can be decorated with colored pebbles.
When planting watercolors in small aquariums, a humid microclimate is created
Top dressing
They feed in summer and spring, combining organic and mineral fertilizers. At the same time, the soil is enriched, plant growth is enhanced, their immunity is increased. Before top dressing, an earthen lump is necessarily moistened.
You can apply complex fertilizers for flowering plants, produced in liquid form, in granules and powders. In a liquid state, nutrients are better absorbed. Doses must exactly follow the instructions. In autumn and winter, fertilizers are not applied.
From organic fertilizers, it is good to use ash containing potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc. It is mixed with soil when transplanting plants or do liquid top dressing (1 tbsp. L. Per 1 liter of water).
Actively stimulates flower growth and nutrient solution from yeast: 10 g of yeast and 1 tbsp. l sugar dissolved in 1 liter of warm water, insist 2 hours, dilute 1: 5 and fertilize the soil.
Leaves - the main decoration of the essences
You can also fertilize with onion infusion: 50 g of onion husks are boiled in 2 liters of water for 10 minutes, insisted for 3 hours, cooled and filtered.
You should not go to extremes and too generously feed your green pet. The main thing is to observe the measure.
Growing Tips - Video
Breeding
The flower is well propagated by stem cuttings, leaves and seeds. With seed propagation, varietal characters are lost.
The easiest way is to separate a young outlet with 4 leaves from a mustache, place it in a plastic cup, pressing it to the ground, pour it over, cover with a film. After 10 days, the roots will appear, and the outlet is planted in a permanent place.
Can be rooted with a mustache, without cutting off the plant. The drooping shoot is lightly sprinkled with earth. After rooting, it is separated and transplanted.
Side shoots
Easy to propagate flower and side shoots:
An shoot with 3-4 nodes without lateral processes is dipped shallow in water with activated charcoal or dipped 1-1.5 cm into moist soil, covered with a film.
The greenhouse is regularly aired.
The shoot takes root in 7-10 days. After the roots appear, young plants are planted in the substrate.
A monthly growing flower is transferred into a larger pot.
After rooting, young plants are planted in the ground
Leaves
The process of leaf propagation is longer, 2-3 months.
- The sheet is cut at an angle of 45 degrees and dusted with ash or activated charcoal.
- Then the leaf stalk is put in water to a depth of 1-1.5 cm.
- Cover the container with a film to create a greenhouse effect - a warm and humid microclimate is necessary for rooting. Be sure to regularly ventilate and remove the condensation formed on the film. Good lighting is not yet required.
- After the formation of callus (a growth from which roots then grow), a leafy stalk is planted at a 45-degree angle in a greenhouse in loose and moist soil with the addition of peat or in wet sphagnum moss to a depth of 1.5 cm. Peat tablets are often used that ensure successful rooting cuttings and germination of children. They put in a bright place.
- Be sure to maintain air temperature + 23-25 degrees, ventilate.
- After 1.5-2 months, a tiny outlet should appear. You should not rush to separate it from the mother leaf - they do this only when it reaches a size of 3-4 cm. The process of propagation by a leaf cuttings is long - 3-4 months.
- Separated little children are carefully transplanted into a pot so as not to damage the thin roots.
After the formation of callos, the leafy stalk is planted in a greenhouse
When propagated by leaf, blooming will be only in the second year.
You can propagate the cuttings by cuttings at any time of the year
At first, the young plant should be protected from the bright sun, drafts and temperature stresses.
Reproduction from a leaf - video
Cropping and shaping the crown
The description is grown as a bush and as an ampel. Uncontrollably expanding, it can take an untidy appearance. To form a beautiful plant after flowering, pruning is performed. Shoots are shortened, and for the splendor of the bush, several remaining outlets are planted in a pot.
How to make an episode bloom
Tropical beauty has a long flowering - from April to October. But it is necessary to care for her and create optimal conditions for her growth and the formation of buds.
Good care is the key to flowering
- For an episode that does not like intense sunlight, it is necessary to provide diffused light - this will favorably affect flowering.
- You should not over-feed the plant - on excessively fertilized soil it will increase leaf mass, and will not bloom.
- Lack of moisture and over-dried soil can also be the reason for the lack of flowering.
- It is necessary to create the desired temperature regime - at low temperatures flower buds are not laid.
- Provides magnificent blossoming and timely pruning of numerous shoots.
Rest period
The essences do not have a resting period, receiving a sufficient amount of light, they continue to grow in the winter, but do not bloom.
Care Mistakes
By carefully inspecting the flower, you can immediately determine from it what mistakes have been made in the care.
Possible problems - table
| Care Mistakes | How to fix the situation |
| The appearance of dark spots on the leaves. | Moisten the substrate only with warm water. |
| Yellowing leaves. | Maintain a moist atmosphere, water on time and do not overfeed. |
| The presence of gray plaque on the leaves. | Do not forget to ventilate the room or completely replace the soil. |
| The tips of the leaves dry. | Do not allow air to dry, move the pot away from radiators. |
| Leaves begin to curl. | Carry out the correct watering depending on the season. |
| The color of the leaves becomes faded, the flowers dry out. | Protect the plant from direct sunlight. |
| Poor flowering, strong stretching of the stems. | Move the flower closer to the light or use additional artificial lighting. |
Diseases and preventive measures: why a plant can be unwell
Healthy episodes rarely get sick. However, they can be infected by other indoor plants. The greatest danger is represented by aphids, mealybug, root nematode.
Diseases and preventive measures - table
| Pest disease | Symptoms of lesion | Prevention | Treatment |
| Aphid | Prefers to settle on buds, shoots and leaves. The insect eats the sap of the plant, the leaves wither and curl up, the shoots dry out. |
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| Hearts | White lumps, similar to cotton wool, form on the foliage. Sucking insects inhibit plant growth, cause yellowing and drying of leaves, the formation of gray plaque on them. |
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| Nematodes | Roundworms violate the integrity of the roots, leading to their death. infected plants do not grow well, leaves begin to curl. |
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| Root rot | The fungus disperses in a humid environment. Leaves fade. The roots become soft, gradually rot. |
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Grow Reviews
A month ago, the store was seduced by the beauty of the leaves of the essay ... But it didn’t end there ... Ira gave me 4 more bushes ... Charming creations with beautiful, sparkling leaves - in my opinion, they are absolutely equal to precious orchids ... I planted them in pots made of I wrapped coconut fiber around the soil so that the soil wouldn’t spill out, and the soil would be light, porous soil, sphagnum, small pine bark ... And I hung my newcomers in a small greenhouse in a bright place ... And now, after three weeks, I can safely say be what they liked, fan, new sprouts ... leves added "blazing jewels" (sorry, it is very difficult to convey in their play). Even the little super dup has grown up.
Buttercup//iplants.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=10733
Good afternoon! Grown from a leaf, such a lush, epicy, already on four floors, began to curl something around the edges of the leaf. At first, the old ones behaved like this, the first leaves - they became noticeably paler, they began to dry from the bottom edge, without rot. Now, I look, and the youngsters decided to reduce their scores with their lives ... Not all, of course, but I find them every day upon examination! There is no living creature, I don’t flood it, it hangs on a suspension on the east window, now it has outweighed it closer under the backlight. Maybe she’s cold? When I air - I remove it from the window, away from the draft. Maybe with the light of what? Somehow they react in a special way to the lack and excess of light, but now, you know, there is no excess ... Or maybe there is an overabundance of air stems? ... maybe, to feed the bud with growth, with nitrogen?
Hummingbird//homeflowers.ru/yabbse/index.php?showtopic=15168
One whim excites me - EPISISION. In May or April, I bought one rooted outlet from my granny. After some time, she blooms, showed pictures in Hvast. It bloomed before the holidays, but on arrival - everything. I transplanted it into a slightly larger pot (in September), but this did not change the situation. The buds appear and, without opening, dry up. It was located on the southern loggia, shaded, watered as the top layer dried out. Now transplanted into the ground for violets in a pot of 400 g. Fertilized regularly, the dose for violets. What is needed for flowering?
Olgaastana//homeflowers.ru/yabbse/index.php?showtopic=15168
... Descriptions can tolerate such a temperature (not higher than +18). It is only necessary that the temperature drops gradually. In the summer I put a couple of essences on the loggia. In the fall did not take. The temperature gradually dropped to 18-20C during the day. The items are in order. When I took them to the exhibition, they carried + 12C best of all. It is very important that the temperature decreases gradually.
Anny//www.violets.com.ua/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1549&start=25
The description is recognized as one of the most beautiful indoor plants. It perfectly combines the spectacular effect of bright flowers and the decorativeness of leaves, decorated with bizarre multi-colored patterns. This is a very grateful plant, and settling on your windowsill, with proper care, will delight you with its beauty, regardless of whether it is in bloom or not.
