Distinctive features of weltheimia, agricultural technology during cultivation, rules for reproduction, difficulties and ways of solving them, interesting facts, species. There are many plants that come from tropical areas, but grow well in our gardens and apartments. We will talk about such a forgotten representative of the green world today - this is Veltheimia.
The plant is also called "winter torch" or "winter rocket", because it dissolves its flowers in winter, as well as "cylindrical lily" - and this name characterizes the shape of the plant's buds, but you can often hear how it is called Welthmelmia. The flower belongs to the Liliaceae family, which today has become known as Hyacinthaceae. With its botanical name, the plant can be grateful to the scientist from Germany, who was engaged in archeology and botany, August Ferdinand Count von Welt, who lived in 1741-1801.
This unusual flower can be considered the place of its native growth in the South African territories. Likes to settle on coastal sea sandy lands, on hills, choosing shady lands. The genus includes only 2–6 species.
Velthelmia has a bulb, the surface of which is covered with scales. The plant has a long life cycle. Its height can reach 30–40 cm. The leaf plates form a root rosette at the base. In shape, they are belt-shaped or elongated-oblong. The edge of the leaves is wavy. They are painted in rich green and emerald shades. From flowers with a pinkish or reddish tone, long inflorescences are collected, which can reach 10 cm. The inflorescence group of buds has the contours of a brush or "sultan" in which the flowers droop to the soil.
The flowering process in Welthelmia occurs in the winter, but it must be grown at a heat level of only 10-14 degrees. The flowering arrow begins to release and grow in the middle of winter. It is quite thick and long and can rise half a meter above the leaf outlet. The surface of the peduncle is bare, smooth and covered with brown spot. The inflorescence-sultan crowns the top of the peduncle in the form of a torch or rocket, for which the plant received its allegorical names. The flowers have a narrow bell-shaped shape, they never open and their outlines rather resemble colored cylinders. The colors can be not only uniform, but also different both at the base and at the ends of the bud: pale pink, salmon, yellow-green. Flowers droop to the soil with their tops and can, when kept cool, stay on the plant for up to 3 months. Very high decorativeness in old plants, since several peduncles with spectacular inflorescences can grow in their rosette.
Often, Weltheimia is similar to a very popular plant in home floriculture - Kniphfia from the same family with similarly shaped inflorescences.
Cultivation of weltheimia, home care
- Location and lighting when growing a "winter torch". As soon as the flower leaves the dormant mode, it will be necessary to create good lighting, but devoid of direct rays of the sun, to activate its vegetative activity. Windows facing east, west and north will do. If a pot with a plant is on the window sill of a southern location window, then you will need to create an openwork shadow yourself - for this, translucent curtains are hung, gauze curtains are made, or tracing paper is glued to the window glass. Naturally, during the dormant period, the plant should be in greater shade, and as soon as the growth of the leaves resumes, the pot is again transferred to a more illuminated place. In the southern regions, the plant can also be grown outdoors, but the winter period will have to be covered with agrofibre Welthelmia.
- Content temperature. The plant grows well in greenhouses and cool rooms, where heat values do not rise above 20-22 degrees. But for successful and long-term flowering, you will need to keep a flower pot at 10-12 degrees of heat. From the beginning of autumn, it is recommended to smoothly reduce the thermometer indicators to 12-14, since at higher Velthelmia it will not bloom. As soon as the flowering arrows begin to be released, it is necessary to enter the above cold containment mode. The plant, after the flowering process is over, can remain green until the beginning of the summer period.
- Watering "cylindrical lily" carried out during the period of activation of vegetative processes in moderation (this time falls from the middle of September days to the end of winter). When wetting, it is necessary to focus on the state of the upper soil layer. And you can water Velthelmia 2-3 days after the top of the substrate has dried. It is better to use "bottom watering" when water is poured into a stand under a flowerpot and the plant will take as much liquid as it needs. After 15–20 minutes, the water is drained to prevent stagnation and as a consequence of root decay. During the rest period, the humidification regime is different. Water for irrigation is used only warm and soft, free from lime impurities. To do this, you can pass tap water through a filter, and then subject it to boiling. After that, this liquid needs to be defended for several days and only after that it should be used for moisturizing. If possible, river or rain moisture is also used, but since the period of vegetation activity occurs in the winter months, it is possible to melt the snow and warm the water to room temperature.
- Air humidity for Welthelmia does not play a significant role, but it is recommended to spray once a week from a fine-dispersion spray gun.
- Fertilization for a flower, it must be performed as soon as its leaf plates appear and until they turn yellow. Regular feeding every 4 weeks. It is recommended to use nitrogen-free fertilizers with a half dosage, you can take full complexes of mineral dressings for flowering plants, but also reduce the dosage.
- Dormant period in Welthelmia, it begins as soon as the flowering process ends - this time falls on the summer months and affects September. In order to help the plant, it is recommended to remove dead stems and leaves. At this time, you need to water the plant sparingly until the leaf plates are completely dry. It is also worth providing good shade and protecting it from drafts. The bulb remains in the flowerpot for this period, and the substrate will need to be kept in a moderately moist state. As soon as the first signs of vegetation processes appear (the formation of new young shoots), and this is usually observed in September, the soil moisture begins to resume. At this time, the plant is moved to a more illuminated place, but without direct sunlight. It is noticed that Cape Welthelmia has a more pronounced dormant period than Bracts Welthelmia.
- Transfer of the "winter torch" and selection of soil. The change of the pot and the substrate in it for the plant is carried out every two to three years. For this, days are selected throughout September. At the same time, the "cylindrical lily" is carefully removed from the flowerpot and the root system is examined. In case rotten or dried roots are found. Then they will need to be cut with a well-sharpened and disinfected knife, and sprinkled with crushed charcoal or activated carbon. After that, the bulb is planted in such a way that its upper part is 1/3 visible above the soil surface. It is better to choose wider pots than deep ones. A good layer of drainage material is laid at the bottom of the tank; small pebbles, medium-fraction expanded clay, broken shards or bricks can appear. This layer is necessary to retain moisture in the flowerpot and its volume should be at least 1/3 of the total volume of the pot. Also, small holes are made in the bottom of the flowerpot to drain excess moisture.
The substrate for the Welthelmia transplant is selected lightweight with good moisture and air conductivity. It consists of the following components:
- coarse sand, turf and leafy soil, taken in equal frequency;
- sod land, greenhouse soil and deciduous soil (in a ratio of 5: 3: 1) mixed with river sand.
Tips for breeding "cylindrical lily"
You can get a new Weltheimia plant by sowing seeds or planting bulbs.
To obtain seed from the "winter torch" will require artificial pollination. The size of the seed is very small, only 5–6 mm. They are harvested if they are completely dry. A plant obtained in this way will bloom already 3-4 years from the moment the seed is planted, but the Cape variety will bloom only in the fifth year of life.
Seeds will need to be sown in the fall. Moistened sand or peat-sand mixture is poured into the container. The planting depth should not exceed 2-3 mm. It only takes very little to cover the seeds. The container with crops is covered with a piece of glass or wrapped with food (plastic) wrap. You will need to carry out daily ventilation and, if necessary, moisten the soil in the container. The sprouts will appear only 3-4 weeks after planting the seeds. When young plants become strong enough, then dive (seedling) is carried out in separate containers with a substrate for growing adult Weltheimia.
When an autumn plant is transplanted into a new pot (in September days), it is possible to separate the daughter bulbous formations ("babies") from the mother bulb. Places of cut on an adult bulb are powdered with activated or charcoal crushed into powder for disinfection and then dried a little. Weltheimia babies must be planted in the ground so that the top of the small onion is about 1/3 above its level. The soil for planting is mixed from the following components: leafy soil, sod soil, peat soil and river sand (in proportions 2: 1: 1: 1). Pots with planted "children" are placed in a shaded cool place. As soon as signs of rooting appear, it is recommended to look after the flower, as well as an adult specimen of Weltheimia.
Diseases and pests of Weltheimia
When growing "cylindrical lily" it happens that the plant does not bloom when the temperature exceeds 10-12 degrees Celsius.
Of the pests that can affect Weltheimia, aphids or felts are isolated. Due to the fact that the waste products of aphids (pad) are a sticky sugary mass, it serves as the basis for the appearance of a sooty fungus - a black bloom. This problem can be easily removed with water, but measures must be taken to combat harmful insects. If the lesion is not large, then you can solve the problem with simple shower procedures, or it is worth treating the leaves of Veltheimia with an oil (soap or alcohol) solution. Such a preparation is applied to a cotton pad and the pest and pad are removed by hand. In case of severe damage, it is necessary to treat the flower with insecticidal agents. Leaves and flowers that have suffered too much of the pest's mouth will have to be removed.
If the damage touches the roots and bulbs, then the substrate in the pot is watered with insecticidal preparations. When the "winter torch" began to suffer from fungal diseases (for example, blue mold), and at the same time, leaf plates or other parts of the flower began to dry out and wither, then fungicides are used to solve the problem.
Interesting facts about the winter torch
There was a time when Veltheimia was very popular among flower growers. This period fell on the 20s of the last century. It is a pity that today this flower is practically not found in garden and home flower collections and is forgotten by lovers of green spaces.
Types of weltheimia
- Veltheimia bracts (Veltheimia bracteata) it is sometimes called green-flowered Weltheimia. The plant has a rounded bulb, its color is whitish or slightly greenish, the surface is covered with dry last year's scales. The leaf plates reach 30–45 cm in length, with a width of up to 8 cm. They are shaded with a rich green color scheme and are collected in rosettes. Their shape is belt-like, broadly lanceolate, along the edge there are waviness and grooves in the region of the midvein. At the end of the winter period, a thick and tall peduncle appears from the root leaf rosette, the surface of which is covered with specks - the entire main background can be maroon, and specks of green color. The flowering stem can reach a height of 60 cm. At its top, an inflorescence with the outlines of a "sultan" blossoms, which gathers 30-60 flowers. The length of the inflorescence is measured 10 cm. The buds are sessile, they hang to the soil and are painted in pink color, never opening. Flowers do not fade for about a month. The native territories are considered to be the lands of South Africa, namely Natal. In this variety, the most popular variety is "Lemon Flame", in which the color of the buds has a lemon-green tint. If you water the plant a little during the spring and summer months, then its leaf plates may not die off.
- Veltheimia green-leaved (Veltheimia viridifolia). If we consider it as a separate variety, then it is possible to distinguish leaf plates, which originate from the top of the bulb and have linear outlines. They are wide with a wavy edge. The color of the foliage is dark green, the surface is glossy. Tubular flowers are cast in pinkish color, drooping to the soil and collected in an elongated racemose inflorescence (sultan). The flowering arrow can rise above the leaf rosette to a height of 30-50 cm.
- Cape Weltheimia (Veltheimia capensis) can be found under the name Veltheimia glauca. The native territories of growth are considered to be the lands of South Africa. The plant loves to settle in sandy hilly areas, in coastal areas of the sea, in shady areas. The culture began to grow from the middle of the 18th century. This flower has a bulb and a long life cycle. The bulbous formation is half in the substrate, it is pear-shaped or oval in shape, reaching 7 cm in diameter. The scales located outside have a membranous structure, their color is light brown or lilac. The leaf blades are cast in a light green color; specks may appear at their base. Sizes up to 30 cm in length, up to 10-12 cm in width. The shape of the leaves is oval-lanceolate, there is waviness along the edge, and several longitudinal folds are present on the surface. The top of the leaf can be either blunt or elongated in the form of a small cap. The inflorescence is racemose and it crowns a leafless peduncle. Flowers in an inflorescence of drooping outlines. The flowering arrow can reach half a meter in height. In the lower part of the pedicels there are specks of red-brown color. The perianth is narrowly bell-shaped in shape, we can even say that it is in the form of a cylinder. The length does not exceed 4 cm. At the base, its shade is light red, and at the top there is a yellow-green color scheme. During the spring-summer period, the plant is dormant and does not need watering.
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