For many, balsam is associated with childhood, with a grandmother's house, where this unpretentious flower invariably flaunted on the windows next to geraniums. By the way, the plant has more than one name, there are others: "wet Vanka" (as the people began to call the plant due to its ability to form liquid droplets on leaves with high humidity), "not touched", "light".
Balsam remains a popular home flower now, and it is well deserved - it does not require special growing conditions, is not capricious in care and is characterized by long flowering. In addition, not only its bright flowers are attractive, but also juicy, bright leaves.
Balsam amazes with a variety of colors and shapes
Balsam indoor: general information
This plant is represented by a large variety of varieties, which differ in size, shape and color. The plant can grow in height from 15-20 to 45-50 cm. The leaf of this popular flower with wavy edges and rather fleshy, its color varies from saturated green to red-green and bronze.
The flowers of the plant are located in the sinuses, and their color can be so diverse that there are all kinds of shades of red, pink, purple, orange. New varieties with spots and stripes on flowers, with leaves of different colors, varieties with double flowers have also been bred. Therefore, in all this diversity it is very easy to get confused, picking up a balsam.
The flowers of the plant are located in the sinuses
In place of the flowers that have faded, green boxes are formed, inside of which the seeds ripen. A feature of such boxes, due to which the plant is popularly called untouchable, is their ability to burst and scatter seeds at the slightest touch.
Balsam is found in perennial varieties that are grown indoors. There are also annual varieties that feel great on balconies, flower pots, flower beds. Typically, these varieties are adapted to lower temperatures and bloom from spring to fall. So this cutie will definitely be able to decorate your home.
There are all kinds of shades and colors: red, pink, purple, orange
Great! Wet Vanka is perfect for rooms in which children are located, so quite often it can be found in schools and kindergartens.
How to care for balsamine will understand any lover of flowers. It is only necessary to adhere to the basic simple rules, and the plant will thank you with lush and colorful flowering.
How to plant balsam after purchase
Like any other newly acquired plant, it is not expensive for 2-3 weeks to adapt to a new place. Therefore, during this period, the plant carry out normal care. But after a few weeks, balsam can be planted in a new pot.
One of the few plants that can be grown in a nursery
Important!When transplanting the pot, you should not choose too spacious - it should be only slightly larger than the root system of the plant, otherwise flowering will have to wait a long time.
Carefully, so as not to damage the brittle shoots, they remove the balsam from the old pot (it will need to be watered the day before transplantation), remove dried and damaged roots (cut the slices with crushed coal) and quickly, so that the roots are not too weathered, plant the balsam into a new pot, filling it with fresh soil. In the process of transplantation, the root neck should not be deepened too much.
For touchy soil, soil for flowering plants is perfect, the main thing is that it be loose. When planting, be sure to remember about drainage, so a layer of drainage material should be put on the bottom of the pot (expanded clay will work fine).
For a plant, it is better to choose slightly shaded places, since a long stay in direct sunlight the plant does not tolerate well. Therefore, balsam grown as a houseplant on the balcony (if it is not too open) in the summer will feel just fine.
Propagation of indoor balsam
This plant is able to reproduce well with cuttings or seeds.
Propagation by cuttings
For the cuttings, apical processes are selected, which are cut about 9-10 cm in size. Further, for rooting, which occurs in balsam rather quickly, within a few days, it is enough to either place the cuttings in water or plant them in moist soil mixed with sand.
To propagate the plant with cuttings, they just need to be immersed for several days in water
After the shoots start up the roots, they should be planted in separate small pots, and after a few months the color will appear on them.
Another feature of balsam is that the plants that grow from the cuttings do not transplant. The thing is that in the process of prolonged flowering, the shoots are pulled out, lose their lower leaves, and by autumn it will be much more efficient to renew them with cuttings.
Seed Balsam - home growing
The balsam plant can also be propagated without problems with seeds.
To do this, the seeds are planted in a greenhouse or greenhouse around the end of winter or early spring. You need to try to sow each seed separately. If you provide the crops with the desired temperature regime (about 24-25 degrees), then the first sprouts will appear in about a month. After this, the greenhouse can be slowly opened.
And when several leaves appear on the sprouts, they need to be dived into separate containers.
Balmamin indoor: home care
The rules for caring for the plant are quite simple, but they should be followed, as otherwise leaves may fall from it. It is the non-observance of the rules of care that leads to the questions of why balsam does not bloom or why it begins to fall and discard unblown buds.
Lighting
For wet Vanka, both good lighting and partial shade are suitable. But if you want to achieve a fairly long and lush flowering, bright lighting at least a couple of hours a day is very important. But a long stay in direct sunlight is still better to avoid. This applies to plants grown in the house, and varieties growing on the street.
For the latter, when planting, you should choose places with partial shade, and for some varieties, you really need a shadow. In too open places, only one variety is capable of developing perfectly: the balsam of New Guinea (leaving it in the garden is otherwise no different).
Avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight - this will adversely affect the appearance of the plant.
Watering
Touchy is a lover of water.
If the watering is carried out in insufficient volume, then the stems will begin to lose their elasticity, and the plant will begin to drop the lower leaves.
- In the summer, balsam is often and abundantly watered, making sure that the soil is always moist.
- In winter, watering is reduced, but the drying of the substrate should not be allowed.
It is also not necessary to allow the fluid to stagnate either in the sump or in the substrate - this can cause the appearance of rot.
Top dressing
Balsam needs fertilizer in the spring and summer - during the most activity of the plant.
Conventional fertilizers are used for flowering plants for this purpose, but you should not get carried away with them - it will be enough to apply them every 2-3 weeks, since excessive accumulation of nitrogen will cause balsam to bloom much worse and begin to simply build up green mass.
Attention!In order for balsam to grow and bloom evenly, you need to periodically turn the flowerpot - it is much more likely to get equilateral crowns.
Care for balsam during flowering and dormancy
During flowering, wet Vanka does not require special care. The only limitation during this period: it is better not to carry out irrigation of the plant from the sprayer or to carry out very carefully so that moisture does not get on the flowers.
Not only bright flowers, but also juicy, saturated color leaves attract attention.
Also, overgrowth of shoots should not be allowed. To do this, they should pinch the top, so that lateral shoots begin to develop more actively, and the formation of the plant allows you to grow a more magnificent bush. Too elongated shoots are cut off (they can be used for cuttings) - spring is best for this procedure.
During dormancy, when winter comes, watering is gradually reduced to balsam.
Diseases and Pests
Unfortunately, the weakness of this plant is its tendency to various diseases and susceptibility to damage by some pests. Therefore, the flower should be inspected as often as possible and, when the first symptoms appear, take immediate measures, as it can die.
Of the pests, balsam is most often affected by a spider mite and whitefly. They attack the plant due to violation of the conditions of detention:
- excessive dryness of the air and earthy coma,
- the temperature is too high
- lack of air ventilation.
Attention!The leaves of the affected plants begin to turn yellow, and the unbroken bud falls off. The flower should be treated with an insecticide and urgently normalize its conditions.
With excessive watering, balsam often affects the disease: rot and fungal diseases. In this case, urgent transplantation into a new pot with a new substrate and a good drainage layer is necessary.
The appearance of black spots on the leaves of the plant indicates the development of bacteriosis. In this case, balsam should be treated with special drugs (for example, Alirin).
Balsam is a lush and long flowering plant. Thanks to the selection work, a huge variety of flower varieties and varieties have been bred, which differ from each other in the shape, size, color of flowers and leaves. The plant is unpretentious in care and does not require special conditions of detention, so even a beginner in floriculture can grow it.
