Hirita
Content:
The genus "Khirita" has more than 150 plant species and belongs to the "Gesneriyevye" family. Among them there are perennials and annuals, shrubs and herbaceous specimens with soft stems. Despite the fact that the English scientist D. Don described this plant in the twenties of the 19th century, they began to study and classify hiritu only in the middle of the 20th century. From about this moment, breeding activity also begins, thanks to which new varieties of hirita appear. Gradually, it is becoming a fairly popular indoor plant, although it has been recently sold in flower shops and it is rather difficult to get this plant into your collection.
How to care for this beautiful plant, when and how to transplant it, how to propagate hiritu - we will talk about this in this article.
Hirita: description
Hirita: photo
In nature, violets hirita grow on slopes and cliffs with limestone soil in Southeast Asia. Typically, indoor plants are divided into two categories: decorative deciduous and decorative flowering. Hirita is amazing in that she can be attributed to both categories, since her leaves and flowers are beautiful.
This genus is divided, in turn, into three classes: hirit, gibbosakkus and microchirit. Of all the three classes, gibbosaccus are the most common indoor plants. The leaves of these plants can be either monochromatic or stunningly variegated, they are smooth and pubescent. Hirita flowers are very similar to bells, towering above the leaves on a peduncle. The color of the flowers is striking in its variety: they are white, yellow, pink, and can also be painted in different shades of lilac. Outwardly, the hirita bush resembles a violet - the same compact rosette of leaves and flowers rising above the foliage.
Hirita: home care
Hirita yellow: photo
Air temperature and humidity. The hirita plant does not like temperature extremes, as well as extreme heat or cold. In the warm season, it is recommended to maintain the air temperature not higher than + 22 ... + 23 degrees, and in winter, reduce it by 3-4 degrees. This plant does not have a pronounced dormant period. If you lower the temperature to + 15 ... + 16 degrees, then the plant will temporarily stop growing and will not produce flower stalks. But if the temperature in winter is the same as in summer, then with good enough lighting, the hirita will continue to grow and will delight you with flowering.
The plant does not need spraying and high humidity, so no special measures to increase humidity are required specifically for hirita.
Lighting. Like most plants, the hirita violet needs a long day of light, while the light should be diffused, so the eastern and western windowsills are the best option. Contact with direct sunlight during the daytime must be avoided.
Hirita needs 12 hours of daylight to bloom, so if you are counting on blooming in winter, take care of additional light sources that are required in the morning and evening hours.
Watering mode. If the hirita flower spends the winter dormant period in a cool room, then the plant should be watered quite a bit. If it remains warm, then, like in summer, it is watered as needed, that is, when the top layer of the soil dries up. Try not to overmoisten the soil, hirita will better withstand a short drought than overmoistening.
Fertilizers. If you are replanting a plant, then in the next two months you can forget about fertilizers.If the transplant is not yet planned, then feeding should be carried out starting from mid-spring to September, using special fertilizers for Saintpaulias (moreover, it is recommended to use half of the recommended dosage).
Hirita: transfer
Hirita: photo
When transplanting a hirita flower, you can use special soil for Saintpaulias as a substrate, or mix peat and leafy soil with coarse sand. Never forget about the expanded clay layer, which protects the roots of your plant from stagnant water.
Young hirita flowers should be planted in a small flower pot; as they grow in the spring, the plants are transplanted into a larger pot. The container should not be particularly deep, it is better to give preference to wide flower pots resembling a bowl.
The life expectancy of the violet hirita is short, so there is no need to overuse transplants and expose the plant to stress once again.
Reproduction of hirita
Mostly annuals are grown by the seed method. At the end of winter, seeds are sown in moist soil and covered with foil or glass on top. Seedlings appear in about 2 weeks, after which the shelter should be removed and additional lighting should be provided so that the daylight hours are 12 hours. Small hiritu are extremely delicate and fragile, therefore it is recommended to water them from a syringe, and to carry out a pick very carefully. In the future, the plants are looked after in the same way as any other flower seedlings.
Perennials can also be propagated by seed, but it is much faster and easier to do this with a leafy cuttings, which must be healthy and strong. The stalk is deepened into the ground. Having previously cut off half of the sheet, cover it with a transparent container and leave it in such a greenhouse until rooting, which occurs in about a month and a half. About. You will recognize that rooting was successful by the tiny sprouts that emerged from the ground at the base of the cutting.
