Violet fairy

Types of forest orchids, description and photo

136 species of northern orchids grow on the territory of Russia. Their inflorescences are not as large as those of their tropical counterparts. But all the same, common features are visible: the same structure of the bud, leaves, root system, a similar principle of coloring the petals.

Northern orchids retain their capricious character in the Russian open spaces. They are extremely rare to meet, they are fastidious, they breed with difficulty. They like the peculiar conditions: peat bogs, damp lowlands, shaded edges. At the same time, they hardly tolerate competition with other plants. The ecological niche they occupy is usually very narrow. A lot of difficulties ... And yet they grow!

The most common types are:

• marsh dremlik;
• orchis;
• nesting is real;
• lady's slipper;
• goodayera creeping;
• lubka is double-leaved;
• bulbous calypso;
• sprawling areorchis.

Attention! Representatives of the orchid family growing on the territory of our country are under the protection of the state and are listed in the Red Book. Take care of northern orchids, remember: every plucked plant is a blow to the entire population.

Swamp dremlik

Dremlik is an inhabitant of lowlands and swampy meadows. Bears great resemblance to classic orchids. You can immediately understand by its appearance: it is a relative of tropical beauties. Natural area - Siberia (up to Baikal), Europe, mountains of Asia Minor and Central.

Features of the appearance of the marsh dremlik:

• low bush (up to half a meter high);
• green pubescent stem;
• brushes with white flowers.

Interesting! The plant is completely unsuitable for cutting. The buds droop and wither almost immediately after you pick it. Therefore, it is best to leave the slumber in the place of its growth.

Lady's slipper

Until recently, the lady's slipper was quite widespread throughout Russia. Now it is getting harder and harder to find it. But when you see him, you will not confuse the graceful "shoe" with any other plant! It is immediately recognizable by its characteristic petal shape, yellow lip and bright purple top petals. It is very different from the wildflowers we are used to.

Features of the appearance of the Venus shoe:

• flowers are purple-yellow;
• large lip (lower petal) of bright yellow color;
• very dark purple petals.

Important! The bush begins to bloom only when it turns 18 years old.

Lyubka is two-leaved

This snow-white beauty is quite widespread. The bush has unique medicinal properties. It is a pity, but that is why its existence is now under threat: herbalists collect lyubka for medicinal purposes.

Features of the appearance of a double-leafed lubka:

• thin erect stem;
• an ear of white inflorescences;
• at the very ground there are two leaves.

Calypso bulbous

Calypso belongs to very rare plants. The flower requires bumblebees to reproduce, so it is not very widespread. Propagated by seeds only. Loves mossy forests.

Features of Calypso bulbous:

• height no more than 20 cm;
• a single rounded green leaf;
• flowers are dark pink in color.

Orchis

The orchis looks very impressive. Its distinctive feature is a tall, powerful shrub with many small flowers. He is highly respected by doctors and herbalists: the orchis contains a lot of unique compounds that provide beneficial properties.

Features of the appearance of the orchis:

• an ear of flowers of white or light purple;
• light gray spots on the leaves;
• the root system resembles tubers.

Sprawling oreorchis

This plant is more common in the Far East. But in the Moscow region you can also see yellow-green flowers of a characteristic shape.

Key Features:

• high erect stems;
• small inflorescences of a pale yellow, greenish color (up to 20 buds per stem);
• drooping inflorescences;
• minimum leaves (one leaf is located at the root, which dies off by July).

Care rules

It is important to correctly determine the place for a suitable placement of the Saintpaulia of this variety, organize timely watering and maintain the temperature regime. Window sills on the southeast and east sides are suitable for placing violets.

Plants are provided with 12-hour lighting, additional fluorescent lamps are provided, since a lack of light leads to poor flowering. In summer, the sun's rays, falling on the leaves, can burn them, so a protective scattering screen is placed in front of the plant.

The temperature is maintained within the range from + 20 ° C to + 25 ° C. A sharp drop in degrees slows down the growth of the plant and leads to death. With regular ventilation of the room, drafts are not allowed. To control air humidity (it should be in the range of 50-60%), a hydrometer is purchased. In a dry atmosphere, the crown withers, the flowers fall. They also control soil moisture. Water the flowers only with room temperature water that has been separated for at least two days. In the summer, watering into the pallet is carried out 2 times a week, avoiding stagnation. Root watering from a watering can under the stem is also used without soil erosion. In winter, watered once a month. A lattice is placed under the pot, the roots of the plant are protected from freezing. Once a month, to cleanse the flower of dust, arrange a shower by spraying from a spray bottle. Then the leaves are dried so that spots do not appear on them.

Saintpaulias love to grow in cramped conditions, the pot is chosen in the size of 6 by 10 cm. For planting, a special soil balanced in composition is used, which, together with drainage, is purchased from a gardening store. The best are plastic pots, new and free of salt deposits. Saintpaulias are transplanted without replacement once every three years, which ensures constant flowering.

Cut the rosette regularly, leave three rows and remove dry wilted leaves. Pruning is carried out only with a disinfected, sharp knife. The cut is covered with activated carbon powder, so the plant is protected from the appearance of diseases. For feeding, special violet complex fertilizers are chosen. They are available in the form of liquids, sticks, powders for dissolving in water. They are used only in autumn and spring.

Planting and grooming recommendations

The great advantage of Lebetskaya violets is their unpretentiousness in flower care. With proper cultivation of the bush, problems may not arise at all.

What kind of soil he loves, light, degree of moisture, container for planting

For the correct cultivation of violets, it is necessary to create favorable conditions in the room, as well as plant the flower in a nutritious soil. The optimum temperature for keeping is 20-26 ℃. You should beware of drafts, as the plant does not react well to temperature fluctuations.

For maintenance, it is necessary to select places with diffused light so that the plant does not get burned. With a lack of light, flowering will not be plentiful. The soil is regularly fed with mineral fertilizers. For this, superphosphate is used and the procedure is carried out twice a month.

Water the bush once a week so as not to flood it, otherwise the soil will be compacted and become unusable. After watering, the soil is loosened 3-4 centimeters in depth.

Important! For cultivation, you need to select a neutral soil, in the acidic earth the flowers of the bush will begin to dry out and turn pale

The main difficulties in caring for a plant

There are no serious difficulties in growing. The main thing is not to flood the bush and monitor the lighting. When water stagnates in the soil, pests and infectious diseases can appear.

Reproduction

There are several ways to propagate a plant at home. Let's consider the most common options.

Cuttings

For reproduction in this way, a leaf is separated from the plant.He must be strong and healthy. It is best to choose a stalk from the middle row of the bush rosette. The following sequence should be followed:

1. the leaf is carefully cut at an acute angle of 40–45 degrees;
2. it is placed in a small container, where clean water and an activated carbon tablet are added;
3. covering the leaf with a cut plastic bottle, you can create a greenhouse effect that will promote growth;
4. when roots appear, the sprout can be transplanted into the ground.

Children

You can grow a violet from children if you use a rooted leaf. The work is carried out as follows:

1. the bush is taken out of the pot;
2. the baby is carefully separated from the root system of the mother plant; it must have at least 2 sheets;
3. a separate sprout is transplanted into a container with soil, the height of which is no more than 6 centimeters.

Violet, description and photo LE-Rose Vetrov (E. Lebetskaya)

Violets of breeders of the CIS countries - "R" (LE).

LE-Rose of Winds (E. Lebetskaya).

LE-Rose of Wind, LE-Roza Vetrov (E. Lebetskaya).

White semi-double stars with crimson ruffle.

Light green wavy leaves. The leaves are large, like burdocks. The socket is large.

A single flower of this variety is like a work of art. In hot weather, there is almost no white. The flowers are medium in size, 4-5 cm, look small against the background of the rosette. The variety tends to darken, begins to darken if the petioles have gone dark.

Each peduncle, like a bunch of grapes, contains many flowers, the first flowers are large, the rest are smaller. The flowers are massive and heavy, the peduncles do not hold them and are overwhelmed.

The variety loves to sport, very beautiful pink roses or red flowers with a white border are obtained. It is impossible to determine by the foliage whether it is a variety or a sport, the foliage is equally green and wavy, you have to wait for flowering. Varietal children have light petioles. The cultivar is sensitive to acidic soil and requires frequent replanting.

The wind rose is a vector diagram that characterizes in meteorology and climatology the wind regime in a given place according to long-term observations and looks like a polygon, in which the lengths of the rays diverging from the center of the diagram in different directions are proportional to the frequency of the winds in these directions (from where the wind blows).

Do you know that…?

There is a concept of dimming a flower. So, two-colored violets can darken with age, with an increase in soil acidity or an increase in temperature. The same variety can bloom differently on your windowsill and on a rack, in summer and winter, now and in a year. The same goes for green ruffles. The law of low temperatures also works here - the lower the temperature, the more expressive and wider the green ruffle. Since the natural species of Uzambar violets had a characteristic violet-blue color, the flowers of modern hybrids, going into sports, most often tend to darken.

There is a sign by which you can try to guess what the flowers will be. If two children obtained from the same leaf have rosettes of clearly different shades, it is likely that an specimen with lighter foliage will have more light colors in color, while violets with darker foliage will have darker flowers.

Before buying the violets listed below, carefully read their behavior on the windowsill on the forums. Many of them are very beautiful flowers. However, it can be large rosettes with large and fragile leaves, with leaves rising upward or hugging the pot, form many stepsons interfering with the formation of a neat rosette, pulls the stem up and grows into a herringbone, bending the trunk, rare flowering with long breaks, flowers that fall off or keep a little and wither quickly, very long and recumbent peduncles, the color of the flower quickly fades, they do not like bright lighting on the windowsill, they are afraid of the slightest drying out or waterlogging, a large percentage of sports or the darkening of the flower.

Are they suitable for your windowsill and the conditions you can create for them? You will be looking at flowers for several months, and the rosette is always in front of your eyes. There are many beautiful flowers, beautiful and neat outlets are much less, look first of all at the outlet! Search and you can find a dozen violets with the same color of flowers, if you are not interested in the smallest details, as a collector.

• - Dawn (Lebetskaya); • - Luxurious Ruches (Lebetskaya);

Bush transplant

The violet should be transplanted 2 times a year, while the earthen mixture changes. This procedure has a beneficial effect on the development of the plant and the abundance of flowering. Useful trace elements in the composition of the substrate will help the shrub to recuperate. The ideal period for work is considered to be the whole autumn, as well as the time from February to March. Professional florists note that transplanting is carried out to form new roots, since the root system of such plants often needs to be updated due to rapid aging.

In the process of transplanting, the violet is cleaned of old foliage and damaged roots. The formation of new roots will cause the plant to develop strong flower stalks with lots of buds and fresh leaves. It is allowed to transplant during the flowering period. If the work is done carefully, there will be no harm to the shrub.

Diseases and pests

Like any plant, Lituanica is susceptible to the negative effects of diseases and pests:

• Gray rot is a dangerous fungal disease. Signs:
  • Gray spraying;
  • Dry, brownish spots on the deciduous part and cuttings of the plant.

  Arises from an excess of moisture. It is treated by removing the affected elements, if necessary, transplanting into a new soil, with severe damage, fungicidal preparations are used;

• Thrips. They parasitize the leaves. Destroyed by chemical means;
• Aphid. It mainly affects inflorescences, provokes premature wilting of buds. You can get rid of insects with improvised means: carry out a 2-fold (with a week break) treatment of the plant with a solution of laundry soap.

Prevention measures

Preventive measures to combat diseases and pests:

• The purchased plant must go through 30-40 days of quarantine. To do this, you can use a plastic transparent container with a lid;
• Stimulation of own protective functions of violets - treatment with "Epin" or "Zircon";
• Affected flower is necessary:
  • Isolate from the rest;
  • Identify the cause;

  • Start treatment.

• Prevention of fungal diseases - to provide a distance between the flowerpots for free air circulation.;
• To neutralize soil bacteria and fungi, it is better to freeze the soil, even purchased in a specialized store, and then treat it with a not strong solution of potassium permanganate;
• Creation of optimal conditions for the development of violets:
  • Temperature - 20 - 22 degrees (deviation of + - 2 degrees is allowed);
  • Light period - 10 hours (+ - 2 hours);
  • Soil acidity - 6.0 - 6.8 pH.
• Avoid overdrying, flooding the soil;
• Moisturize with soft warm water. In winter, the frequency of watering is reduced;
• Timely carry out plant hygiene, that is, thin out, remove:
  • Withered leaves;
  • Faded buds;
  • Dried shoots.
• Protect from direct sunlight (soil overheating - as a result, the death of the root system).

ADVICE! To combat aphids and prevent their appearance, you can use the simplest flea shampoo for pets. With his solution (1:10), the violet and the place where it is located is processed.