Unusual flora with pea plant - sized genus Tuber related to African Violets , with some similar upkeep pauperization . Ovate , dark unripened leaves with scalloped edges , soft hair , and ruby-red - veined undersides , to 1/2″ foresightful . efflorescence are exclusive , vasiform , nodding , lilac with clean centers , to 1/2″ farsighted . blossom continuosly throughout the year . Grows up to 2″ grandiloquent and wide-eyed . As with African violets , Gloxinia may be watered from above if water is room temperature .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
Watering
Planting
Indoor plants need to be transplanted into a tumid container sporadically , or they become pot / ascendent - bind and their outgrowth is retarded . irrigate the plant life well before starting , so the dirt will halt the etymon lump together when you take it from the pot . If you have trouble getting the flora out of the pot , adjudicate running a blade around the bound of the lot , and gently whacking the side to loosen the dirt .
Always use fresh soil when transplanting your indoor works . Fill around the industrial plant mildly with soil , being deliberate not to pack too tightly – you want line to be able to get to the antecedent . After the plant is in the new pot , do n’t fertilize right aside … this will encourage the roots to fill in their new home .
The size quite a little you choose is significant too . Select one that is not more than about 1 inch greater in diameter . Remember , many plants prefer being middling pot bound . Always start with a clean pot !
Problems
Prevention and Control : keep green goddess down and use screen out on windows to keep them out . Remove or discard infest plants , keep them away from non - infested plants . Trap with yellow muggy cards or take vantage of natural enemies such as predatory soupcon . Sometimes a good steady shower of water will wash them off the industrial plant . Consult your local garden centre professional or county Cooperative extension spot for legal chemical recommendations . Pest : WhitefliesWhitefliesare lowly , winged insect that front like tiny moths , which attack many types of plants . The flying adult stage prefers the undersurface of leaves to feed and breed . Whiteflies can multiply promptly as a female can lay up to 500 testis in a aliveness span of 2 months . If a plant is infested with whitefly , you will see a cloud of flee insects when the plant is commove . Whiteflies can weaken a works , finally lead to found decease if they are not checked . They can transfer many harmful plant life viruses . They also produce a sweet substance yell honeydew ( coveted by ant ) which can contribute to an unattractive ignominious surface fungal ontogeny call in sooty mould .
potential controls : keep weeds down ; use screen in windows to keep them out ; remove infested plants away from non - infested plant ; use a reflective mulch ( aluminum foil ) under plants ( this repels whitefly ) ; snare with yellow pasty scorecard , apply label pesticide ; encourage raw enemies such as parasitical wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a expert steady shower of urine will lap them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , soft - bodied , easy - proceed insects that take up fluids from plants . Aphidscome in many people of colour , ranging from fleeceable to brown to pitch-dark , and they may have wings . They attack a wide range of works species have stunting , deformed leaves and buds . They can transmit harmful plant virus with their thrust / sucking mouthparts . Aphids , generally , are but a pain , since it takes many of them to cause serious flora damage . However aphids do produce a sweet substance called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can chair to an untempting black-market surface outgrowth call sooty mould .
Aphids can increase quickly in numbers and each female can produce up to 250 live nymphs in the course of a calendar month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environment changes - springiness & fall . They ’re often mass at the tips of outgrowth feeding on succulent tissue paper . aphid are attracted to the color yellow and will often hitch on yellow clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep locoweed to an absolute minimum , especially around desirable plant life . On eatable , wash off infect surface area of works . noblewoman bugs and lacewing will feast on aphid in the garden . There are various products - organic and inorganic - that can be used to operate aphid . search the recommendation of a professional and follow all label procedures to a tee . plague : Leaf MinersLeaf Mineris actually a term that applies to various larva ( of moths , beetle , and flies ) that tunnel between upper and lower leaf surface , leave a distinctive , squiggly pattern . A female grownup can lay several hundred eggs inside the foliage which hatch and give rise to miners . Leaf miners attack ornamentals and vegetables .
Prevention and Control : Keep smoke down and scout private plant for tell - tale squiggle . Pick and destroy these leaf and take advantage of instinctive enemies such as parasitical wasps . Know the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) * for your area to direct insecticide spraying when most beneficial for moderate the specific leaf miner . attempt a professional recommendation and follow all recording label procedures to a tee . * GDD routine should be available from your local Cooperative Extension government agency .
Miscellaneous
Prevention and Control : Keep virus carriers such as aphids , leafhoppers , and thrips under ascendancy . These works eating insects overspread virus . Viruses can also be introduced by septic pollen or through plant life opening ( as when pruning ) . Begin bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . New plants should be checked , as well as tools and existing plants . Use only evidence seed that is take for disease - free . Plant only resistive varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crops , not planting closely related plants in the same area every year .
