How to water violets

Violet is one of the most popular and common indoor plants; most gardeners have at least one specimen in their collection. About the unpretentiousness of the flower, the opinions of gardeners differ - some argue that this is one of the least capricious indoor plants, others say that taking care of the violet is quite difficult. It may sound strange, but both are right. And most often, the difficulties in caring for a plant are associated precisely with its watering - as soon as you can establish this process, all difficulties with violets will be resolved. Our article tells about how to water violets.

How to water violets and why it is important to do it right

All plants need moisture in one form or another. Some are content with watering, others must also be regularly sprayed, and still others must be almost completely immersed in water. Violets are no exception, they need moisture, but at the same time watering plants must be very careful so as not to cause them more harm than good.

Violets refer to plants whose leaves are covered with the smallest villi, which makes them seem "fluffy". Such leaves are susceptible to sunburn, and water droplets in this case can multiply the negative effects of sunlight.

In addition, it is necessary to control the level of softness of the water and its temperature. The water must be defended and brought to room temperature, we will talk about this in more detail a little later. And of course, the necessary balance must be observed, without overmoistening the soil, but also without allowing the earthen coma to dry completely - this is the most difficult thing in caring for any indoor plant. Determining the rate of watering is obtained only with time empirically.

How to water violets at home: different types of watering

When starting to care for a violet, it is important to remember that moisture should not get on any part of the plant. Therefore, the plants should be watered very carefully and carefully.

Drip irrigation

Drip irrigation violets

Actually, this is not quite drip irrigation, in which water enters the soil constantly and little by little. Rather, it is regular gentle watering. We know that it is necessary to prevent liquid from getting on the leaves of the violet, so for watering it is necessary to use either a watering can with a long and thin spout, with which you can get to the soil without disturbing the leaves. Or a syringe, the volume of which is enough to water the plant.

It is important to calculate the amount of watering and make sure that moisture is absorbed into the soil, and does not linger on its surface. If your collection of indoor plants has two or three violets, then it is quite possible to water them with a syringe. But if you have a larger number of plants, then it makes sense to consider other watering options.

How to water violets using the "wick" method

"Wick" watering violets

With this method it is necessary to push one end of the "wick" into the drainage hole (this should be done during plant transplantation), and lower the other end into a container with water, put the pot on this container. Moisture will enter the pot through a “wick,” which can be a piece of string, rope or fabric.

The good thing about this method is that with it you can maintain the same humidity level almost constantly.If the humidity or temperature in the room changes, the plant will absorb more or less moisture through the wick.

But a very significant disadvantage of this method is that most flower growers have violets on the windowsill, which means that in winter, when the temperature outside the window drops, the water will also become cold, and this can lead to the death of the root system.

Also, if the size of the flowerpot exceeds 8 cm in diameter, it will be almost impossible to achieve uniform soil moisture, which can affect the flowering of violets. Well, for some varieties of violets, this method is not initially suitable due to the peculiarities of the species.

Pallet watering

Watering violets in a pallet

One of the easiest and most convenient watering methods. Its meaning is that water is poured into a pallet (saucer, bowl, etc.) and a flower pot with a violet is placed there. Observe the color of the soil - as soon as it darkens, the remaining water can be drained, since the plant has absorbed enough moisture.

With this method, the risk of waterlogging the soil is minimized, unless, of course, you leave the violets in a pan with water for several hours. But there are also disadvantages - harmful compounds are not washed out of the soil, as it happens with other types of irrigation, on the contrary, they rise to the upper layers.

On the other hand, if you carefully monitor the quality of the water for irrigation, then you do not need to worry about harmful compounds. Another very important detail that matters with this method of irrigation is that each plant must be watered through its own tray, there is no need to put several flower pots in the same container with water. If at least one of the plants turns out to be sick, then with "general" watering there is a risk of infection of all plants.

How to water indoor violets - water preparation

The best option for watering garden and indoor plants has always been rainwater. In the absence of rainwater, it was recommended to use melt water. But when it comes to growing indoor plants in a metropolis, it becomes clear that rain and melt water will have to be abandoned right away.

There remains tap water, which is hard and unsuitable for watering plants due to the presence of chlorine in it. But since we have no other options, the water for irrigation must be prepared in advance - boiled or defended.

If you don't have a lot of indoor plants, you can boil the water, and most of the harmful impurities go away. After boiling, the water must be additionally acidified with citric or acetic acid.

If you use citric acid, then 5-6 crystals will be enough for each liter of liquid, in the case of acetic acid, add a tablespoon to the same volume of water. But do not get carried away with "sour" watering, it is enough to carry out them once every 4-5 weeks, not more often.

If you know for sure that tap water is quite soft, then it will be enough to pour it into a container and stand for two or three days without closing the lid. During this time, chlorine is almost completely eroded, and the lime contained in the water settles to the bottom, so that such water will not harm the plants with regular watering.

If you have different filters installed, that's fine, but even filtered tap water still needs to be defended. In addition, it is important to remember that regardless of the method of irrigation, the water must be at room temperature, it is absolutely impossible to water the plants with cold water.

How to water violets at different times of the year

Photosynthesis in violets takes place in daylight, therefore, from mid-spring to the end of September, plants are watered in the morning, and from October to April, when it dawns later, watering is best done during the day.

If you install additional lighting in the autumn-winter time, then you can not transfer the watering time to the daytime and always carry it out at the same time.

Watering frequency is influenced by many factors:

• length of daylight hours;
• the level of humidity and temperature in the room in which the plants are located;
• the quality of the soil in which you planted the plants - dense soil stays moist longer than loose soil;
• the presence or absence of flowers - during flowering, the need for moisture increases;
• the age of the violet;
• the volume of the root system (the larger the roots, the more often the plant needs to be watered);
• flowerpot material: plastic prevents moisture evaporation, and clay pots "breathe", allowing moisture to evaporate.

Focusing on all these factors, choose the most appropriate watering regime for your plants.

The secret to healthy and blooming violets

When growing any indoor plants, especially violets, the soil in a flower pot should not be allowed to dry out, the ground should always be slightly damp. An adult plant should be watered as soon as the topsoil dries out.

If you started breeding violets and acquired a large number of specimens, then most likely you plant them all in the same soil. Therefore, very soon you will learn to determine the watering time by the color of the soil - the lighter it is, the more the violet needs water.

No wonder they say that everything new is well forgotten old. Nowadays, potassium permanganate is rarely used, due to the fact that a large selection of various means for cultivating the land and the plants themselves has appeared in stores.

However, do not underestimate the potassium permanganate solution and completely abandon its use, since when using this affordable and inexpensive tool, you can cure various plant diseases, carry out preventive treatment, and also feed by providing violets with additional nutrients.

True, when using potassium permanganate, one must act very carefully and use only a light pink solution of weak concentration, since an overdose of any, even a very useful substance, can lead to negative consequences.

Violet is a classic houseplant that, by its very presence, is able to create comfort in your home. Thanks to selection, we have at our disposal a huge number of varieties with a wide variety of colors of flowers and leaves. Having purchased one violet and learned to care for it, you will no longer be able to stop falling in love with these beautiful flowers!