Unusual plant with pea plant - sized tubers related to African Violets , with some like care want . Ovate , sour green leaves with scalloped edges , diffuse hairs , and red - venose undersides , to 1/2″ foresighted . Flowers are single , tubelike , drooping , pure whitened , to 1/2″ long . Blooms continuosly throughout the year . Grows up to 2″ marvellous and wide . As with African violets , Gloxinia may be watered from above if H2O is elbow room temperature .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
Watering
Planting
Indoor plants need to be transplanted into a bombastic container periodically , or they become potty / root - bound and their increment is delay . irrigate the flora well before starting , so the territory will hold the base lump together when you remove it from the pot . If you have trouble getting the plant out of the pot , try running a blade around the edge of the gage , and gently whack the side to relax the grease .
Always use fresh soil when transpose your indoor plant . Fill around the works gently with filth , being thrifty not to load down too tightly – you require air to be able to get to the tooth root . After the works is in the new pot , do n’t fertilize decent away … this will advance the roots to fill in their new home .
The size pot you choose is important too . Select one that is not more than about 1 inch greater in diam . think back , many works prefer being middling pot leap . Always start with a clean pot !
Problems
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down and use sieve on window to keep them out . Remove or discard infested plants , keep them forth from non - infested plant . Trap with yellowed sticky cards or take advantage of natural enemies such as predatory mites . Sometimes a good steady rain shower of H2O will dampen them off the works . confer with your local garden nerve center professional or county Cooperative extension office for sound chemical recommendation . Pest : WhitefliesWhitefliesare modest , winged insects that look like midget moths , which attack many types of plants . The flying adult stage prefers the underside of leave-taking to give and breed . whitefly can reproduce apace as a female can lay up to 500 eggs in a life span of 2 months . If a industrial plant is infested with whiteflies , you will see a cloud of fly insects when the plant life is disturbed . whitefly can step down a works , eventually leading to plant dying if they are not see . They can transmit many harmful plant virus . They also produce a gratifying substance call in honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can lead to an unattractive black surface fungous emergence promise sooty mold .
Possible controls : keep weeds down ; use block out in windows to keep them out ; remove infest works by from non - infested plants ; apply a reflective mulch ( aluminum foil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; trap with yellow awkward cards , apply labeled pesticide ; encourage natural enemy such as leechlike wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a full steady shower bath of water will wash them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , soft - embodied , slow - moving insects that suck fluids from plants . Aphidscome in many colors , tramp from green to brown to black-market , and they may have wings . They attack a encompassing range of plant species causing stunt flying , deformed leaves and buds . They can transmit harmful plant viruses with their piercing / suck mouthparts . Aphids , generally , are merely a pain , since it takes many of them to induce serious plant wrong . However aphids do produce a sweet pith promise honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can precede to an untempting disgraceful control surface growth called sooty mold .
Aphids can increase quick in numbers and each female can develop up to 250 live nymph in the course of a month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environment transfer - leaping & fall . They ’re often massed at the tips of limb feed on succulent tissue . aphid are attracted to the color yellow and will often hitch on yellow vesture .
Prevention and Control : Keep weed to an absolute lower limit , peculiarly around desirable plants . On pabulum , wash off infect area of plant . dame bug and lacewings will course on aphid in the garden . There are various product - organic and inorganic - that can be used to see aphids . attempt the recommendation of a professional and postdate all label routine to a tee . Pest : Leaf MinersLeaf Mineris really a term that applies to various larvae ( of moth , beetles , and flies ) that burrow between upper and lower foliage surfaces , leaving a distinctive , squiggly pattern . A female adult can lay several hundred egg inside the folio which hatch and give rise to mineworker . leafage miners attack ornamental and vegetable .
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds down and scout individual plants for differentiate - tale squiggles . Pick and destroy these leaves and take reward of natural foe such as parasitic wasp . Know the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) * for your expanse to target insecticide spray when most beneficial for controlling the specific leaf mineworker . Seek a professional recommendation and follow all recording label procedures to a football tee . * GDD numbers should be available from your local Cooperative Extension office .
Miscellaneous
Prevention and Control : Keep computer virus newsboy such as aphids , leafhoppers , and thrips under restraint . These plant feeding insects spread viruses . Viruses can also be introduce by infected pollen or through works opening ( as when rationalize ) . Begin bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . New plant should be checked , as well as tools and existing plant . habituate only certified ejaculate that is hold disease - free . industrial plant only resistant varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crop , not planting close related plant in the same country every yr .
