Often plants are named after an outstanding event. This happened with the violet Lituanika, named after the side of the "Lituanika", safely completed the first flight across the Atlantic from the United States of America to Lithuania. In addition, the violet is notable for its magnificent appearance.

Botanical description of the plant

The Lithuanian breeder F.K. Butene worked on the creation of the Lituanika variety. It was he who came up with the idea to perpetuate the memory of the famous event by naming a new flower in his honor. Violet Lituanika belongs to the senpolia of the trailer type. Its main feature is an elongated stem and the presence of stepsons in the axils of the leaves. Because of this, the bush turns out to be lush, and flowering continues almost all year round.

The foliage is dark green, oval-pointed in shape with denticles along the edges. The leaf is small, and its petiole is long. The foliage is collected in compact sockets, but due to the large number of side shoots, the bush turns out to be spreading. The plant blooms with thick, pale peach-colored flowers in which there are so many petals that the internal ones cannot open - closely. The bud is mounted on a thin long peduncle, because of which it often hangs down. In appearance, the Lituaniki flower resembles a dahlia.

Conditions for successful growing at home

There are subtleties in caring for senpolia trailers that every grower should know.

Location and Lighting

Lituanica grows beautifully on sunny windowsills. The location side can be any, the main thing is that the plant is shaded, as direct sunlight burns the foliage of the flower. It is undesirable to place the violet in dimly lit places.

Important! Lituanika does not really like artificial lighting, so it should be used only in extreme cases, when the plant shows that it lacks in the sun (leaves stretched out, faded, growth slowed down).

Temperature and humidity

Senpolii preferred comfortable temperature. Because of the heat, flowering stops, and in the cold - growth slows down. In this regard, the optimal temperature range is from +18 to + 24 ° C.

Flowers need moisture, especially in the air. Because of this, it is better to keep them in the kitchen, where humidity is often higher, or place a container with wet pebbles near the flowerpot.

Features of home care

In the departure of the senpolia, they are whimsical. For them, timely watering, recharge and the formation of a bush are important.

Watering Rules

Lituanica needs moisture in large quantities, but not so much that the soil begins to harden, as this provokes the development of rot. It is necessary to water the plant once or twice a week through a pallet of warm, protected water. Residual moisture must be drained.

Top dressing

Due to the long flowering period, the violet needs constant nourishment. Suitable means "Kemira-Lux", supporting a riot of flowering. It is bred according to the instructions and alternating top dressing with watering. Only adult flowers need fertilizer.

Did you know? Saintpaulia was discovered in 1892 by Baron Walter von Saint-Paul (in another version Senpole), who is in a German colony in Africa, where he was in the position of military commandant of the Uzambara district and discovered an unusual flower during a walk.

Pruning

Without the formation of the outlet, the senpolia trailer will quickly lose its attractiveness and may even die due to the fact that the overgrown plant will not be enough nutrients. Typically, these flowers form a triangle. Leave the main stem, which is regularly nipped and 3-5 side stepsons. All leaves that interfere with each other's growth are removed. Then, during the growth process, it is also necessary to remove excess leaves. The shoots that protrude strongly on the sides also break off.

Transfer

Lituanika grows quickly, so as soon as the pot becomes small, a transplant is necessary. You can perform the procedure at any time of the year, except winter. It is undesirable to transplant and in extreme heat. The process uses transshipment technology, when a plant is removed from an old pot with an earthen lump and in this form is placed in a new one. It is filled with a mixture of peat and perlite or with a purchased substrate for violets. Expanded clay or other drainage material must be laid at the bottom. The flowerpot is chosen wide and low, with smooth edges, since the stems of the flower hang down and can be injured.

How to propagate at home?

Reproduction occurs by grafting a leaf or rooting the side shoots. The leaf can be rooted in water or a loose and light soil mixture. A good option is to use peat tablets. The rooted leaf is carefully transplanted into the soil and covered with a transparent cap to create greenhouse conditions.

Important! To speed up rooting, additional lighting can be arranged. Then the appearance of roots can be expected at 15–20 days, not a month later.

The shoot can be cut from the side of the flower or from its top. Excess foliage is removed from it, and the shoot is placed in the moss. As in the case of the leaf, it is necessary to create greenhouse conditions.

Growing difficulties

Diseases and pests attacking the violet bring a lot of trouble when growing:

1. Gray rot - Covers leaves and petioles with a gray coating. Fungicides help against it.
2. Ticks - spider web or other species that wrap the plant in a thin web and stain the foliage. They are expelled by acaricides.
3. Aphid - Drinks all the juices from the flower, because of which it withers. Wash the insect with a stream of warm water and a soapy solution.

Useful tips for gardeners

Some useful tips for growing violets:

1. Always turn the pots toward the sun so that the outlet has a beautiful shape.
2. Always cut the bottom old leaves. This will not only refresh the plant, but also preserve its attractive appearance.
3. Violets live two years. Then they lose their decorativeness, so they need to be constantly rejuvenated.
4. To get brighter flowers, water the plants twice a year with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (1.5 g of crystals per 5 l of water).
5. If you purchased a stalk, place it in boiled water for rooting. After 1.5–2 months after planting, the stalk will give “children”. Put them immediately in individual glasses.

Did you know? In 1893, the senpolia was first presented at a flower exhibition in Ghent (Belgium).

Unusual violet Lituaniya will be a wonderful decoration of any interior. A fast-growing flower can be formed in any way, creating compositions, and its intense flowering will always delight the eye.