Description of the characteristic features of the flower, tips for growing calceolaria, recommendations for reproduction, pest and disease control, interesting facts, species. Calceolaria belongs to the genus of plants included in the family of the same name Calceolariaceae. The native habitat falls on the lands of Central and South America. Today the number of these "green inhabitants" of the planet reaches 400 units.
This representative of the flora got its name thanks to the translation from Latin of the word "calceolatus", which meant "shoe". Indeed, calceolaria flowers resemble a small children's shoe in their outlines. Because of this, it is often called the "shoe" among the people.
This specimen of flora is a perennial plant with a herbaceous form of growth. Its stems can grow both straight and rise above the soil. The height of a calceolaria directly depends on the variety, and can range from 10 cm to meter values. The leaf plates are collected in the root section and form a rosette. The shape of the leaf also varies greatly among varieties, for example, it can be a shovel, wide or ovoid, oblong and narrowed. The size is quite large, varying within 5-10 cm. The color varies from light to dark green. On the surface, there is most often a dense pubescence of small whitish hairs, which is why the leaf is soft and silky to the touch.
When flowering, buds of a characteristic type are formed. They are crowned with elongated flowering stems, the height of which can reach 35 cm. From the flowers, inflorescences are collected, resembling bunches or brushes in outlines. The inflorescence can collect from 20 to 60 buds. The diameter of the flower depends on the variety, it can be as large representatives, with flowers 6 cm and very small in diameter, about 2–3 cm. The corolla has a two-lipped shape, where the upper lip is quite miniature, and the lower lip is many times larger, as if pumped up air. The color of these petals is also very diverse, it depends on the variety and varies from snow-white to bright red or violet-purple. There are also variegated color variations. Grooves, specks or specks may form on the lower lip. The flowering process begins in the spring (from April to June) and lasts about a month, and hybrid varieties bloom up to two.
After this comes the ripening of the fruit in the form of a box. There are varieties suitable for growing in the open field, but only in the summer, but they are mainly cultivated on the windowsills of rooms and then calceolaria is an annual. After fruiting, such a plant dies off.
Calceolaria care, growing at home
- Lighting and choice of pot placement. The plant does not like direct sunlight, but good lighting is preferable, so a pot of calceolaria is placed on the east or west windowsill. However, in winter, if the lighting is not enough, then you can put a fluorescent lamp next to it.
- Growing temperature The "shoe" is kept cool, especially when the buds appear, the heat readings usually should not exceed 15 degrees. In this case, the pot is placed on the windows of the northern or northeastern location. Flowering will then be long and abundant.
- Air humidity when cultivating calceolaria, it is preferable with high rates, but it is impossible to spray the leaves of the plant due to dense pubescence, since at low temperatures gray rot will appear. Therefore, they increase the humidity by placing vessels with water or humidifiers next to the pot. You can install the flowerpot itself in a deep pallet, with moistened expanded clay or sphagnum moss.
- Watering for a "shoe" should be moderate. But for the plant, both strong drying of the earthen coma and its bay are harmful. Use soft and warm water for irrigation. You can use rain or river, but since in urban conditions it can still be polluted, it is recommended to use distilled. If this is not possible, then tap water should be passed through a filter, boiled for a short time, and then defended for several days. The resulting liquid is poured into another container without capturing the sediment.
- Fertilizers for calceolaria, they are applied every two weeks during the growing season (from the time of planting to the end of flowering). It is recommended to use mineral fertilizing. You can use liquid formulations intended for indoor flowering plants. The main thing is that they do not have a large dosage of nitrogen, as this can also provoke rot. In autumn and winter they do not feed.
- General care of the "shoe". After the flowers wither, the calceolaria is cut off and moved for 1, 5–2 months to a cool and heavily shaded place, the soil is moistened occasionally. When new shoots appear, then leaving becomes routine.
- Transfer and selection of soil. If the plant successfully overwinters, it will begin to bloom 2 months earlier than the one grown from seeds. However, this comes at the expense of the decorative effect of the old bush. Therefore, it is recommended to grow or buy new calceolaria annually. However, if a transplant of a purchased flower is required, then transshipment is used - without destroying the earthen coma. A good drainage layer is poured into the container. The substrate is chosen for heather crops or geraniums. After drainage, a small layer of soil (3-4 cm) is placed on the bottom and a plant is placed, and then the voids are filled with the same soil. Or the soil mixture is made up of leaf and sod land, peat soil and river sand, in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 0.5.
How to propagate calceolaria on your own?
Basically "slipper" reproduces by sowing seeds or cuttings.
For sowing seed material, the following soil mixture is prepared, from river sand and peat in a ratio of 1: 7, then a little ground chalk or dolomite flour is mixed there, on the basis that 20 grams of the substance is added to 1 kg of substrate. Seeds are sown in April on the soil disinfected and treated with fungicide. The soil must be moist. The seeds are not embedded in the soil, the container with the crops is covered with plastic wrap or placed under glass. Condensation should then be regularly removed from the shelter. The germination temperature is 18 degrees. The container is placed in a well-lit place, carrying out regular ventilation and moistening of the soil from a spray bottle. After 14 days, when shoots appear, watering is carried out between the rows in a thin stream. The first time seedlings dive in a month, the second - in two. At this time, leaf rosettes have already formed and they are moved into separate pots with a diameter of 7 cm. In the fall, the transplant is performed again in a container with a diameter of 9-11 cm. Then young calceolaria should be placed in a well-lit place, but at a temperature of 8-10 degrees … In the period January-February, plants are transplanted into large pots, and the soil is already taken as for adult specimens. The first pinching is also performed over 3-4 leaves. Calceolaria is transferred to a permanent place of growth and care continues. After 8-10 months from planting the seeds, flowers will appear.
If the shoots of the "shoe" were pruned, then propagation can be performed using cuttings. The cut is usually done in August, but also in February-March. The twigs are placed in a warm place under a plastic bag or cut plastic bottle. The substrate for rooting is taken from sand and peat with an addition of ground chalk. It is important to regularly remove condensation and moisturize the soil. Cuttings with roots are planted in a nutritious soil in several pieces, in order to have a thick bush in the future.
Pests and diseases of calceolaria, methods of dealing with them
Most often, calceolaria can be affected by aphids, whiteflies or scale insects; spider mites and mealybugs can covet on the delicate green foliage. They begin to curl and fall off the plant. All of this is possible due to containment violations. For preventive purposes, it is recommended to spray the flower with an insecticide once every two weeks. If the "slipper" is an annual, then after the buds wither, it should be destroyed. When harmful insects have been found, then treatment with an insecticidal preparation is also carried out and the foliage is re-sprayed after 3-4 days. It is permissible to carry out only 4 such treatments.
Also, sometimes there is a defeat by mold fungi. It is recommended to disinfect the pot and substrate when planting and treat it with a fungicide. If water drops fall on the pubescent leaf plates, this will inevitably lead to the appearance of rot spots on them. Sometimes gray rot occurs if the calceolaria was often at a low temperature in a waterlogged state. Severely affected parts should be cut off with a sharp knife and treated with Bordeaux liquid, cuproscat or topaz, oxych or similar preparations containing copper can be used.
When there is a lot of nitrogen in the top dressing, it will also weaken the plant and cause mold.
Interesting facts about calceolaria
Calceolaria gives the opportunity to people who are always on the sidelines or make fun of them in society, to gain self-confidence. This plant can make others look at this person from a different point of view and show respect for him. Also, having a calceolaria in the house, you can increase the activity of its inhabitants, the plant will bring joy and fun to its new possessions. It will help to reveal feelings and fill the entire surrounding space with light, charge the inhabitants of the house with cheerfulness.
Calceolaria: types of flower
So, as you know, about 400 different varieties of this plant, we will focus on the most popular:
Calceolaria biflora (Calceolaria biflora). In its natural habitat, this plant can be found in the lands of Chile and Argentina. Usually, in the steppes, the most beautiful fescue (Festuca gracillima) is adjacent to it, and in the open spaces the Low Nothofagus (Nothofagus pumilio) becomes a neighbor. This calceolaria is a herbaceous perennial plant that can reach 10–35 cm in height. The stem is usually upright or erect. A basal rosette is formed from the leaf plates, with parameters 2.5–10 cm long and up to 1–4 cm wide. Each leaf has a petiole up to 2.5 cm long. The leaf plate is obovate, covered with whitish pubescence.
When flowering, the buds are collected in racemose inflorescences, one or two pairs. It crowns a densely pubescent peduncle with a height of up to 4 cm. The calyx is green, white-pubescent, it is divided into sepals with a triangular or ovoid shape. The corolla has a double-lipped contour, its color is bright yellow. The upper lip is small, the lower lip has a brownish spot, with elements measuring 10–15 mm in length and 12–14 mm in width. After flowering, fruits are formed in the form of a box with a length of up to 14 mm, while a width of about 7 mm.
Calceolaria tripartita (Calceolaria tripartita). This is the most common member of the genus. The area of native growth on the north side is outlined by the Mexican mountains, and from the south it ends on the territory of southeastern Peru. If plants run wild, they can be found in Brazil and Chile, on the islands of Jamaica and Cuba, as well as in the Galapagos and Mauritius. They did not deprive them of attention and the lands of India, Nepal, China and Sri Lanka, they can grow in the Azores island territories.
Like all specimens of the family, it is a herbaceous perennial, the height of which can vary within the range of 10–100 cm. The stem of the plant rises or grows straight. The leaf plates are oppositely arranged. They are attached to the stems with petioles with a length of 4.5 cm. The outlines of the leaf have ovoid contours, there is a division into three lobes, the edge is strongly serrated or double-serrate. The length of the sheet is no more than 8.5 cm.
During flowering, buds are formed, crowning peduncles with a height of 15 cm. The flower's calyx is green, it is divided into ovoid sepals with a pointed and serrated edge. The corolla has a bright yellow color, two-lipped shape. The dimensions of the upper part are 3–5 mm long and –6 mm wide. The lower one is 8–24 mm long, and the width varies from 10–22 mm. The fruit is a capsule up to 8 mm long. It is painted in green or lilac tone, has glandular pubescence.
Calceolaria whole-leaved (Calceolaria rugosa) is also called Calceolaria wrinkled. A perennial that can reach up to a meter in height. The native area of growth falls on the lands of Chile. A root rosette is formed from small leaves. The shape of the leaves is oblong, narrow, they are painted in a light green color. The flowers are small in size, reaching only 1, 5–2 cm in diameter. The corolla is colored pure yellow with brown mottling or red-orange tone, the surface of the petals is wrinkled. Large cluster-like or rosette inflorescences are collected from the buds. There are varieties of this variety that can tolerate temperatures down to -5 frost:
- "Sunset" is distinguished by leafy plates of a dark green hue and a wrinkled surface, from which a rosette is assembled, from the center of which up to 10 peduncles are drawn. They are crowned with flowers with lips painted in red, yellow or orange colors;
- "Goldbuket" is a large-flowered variety with stems reaching 25-30 cm in height.
Calceolaria mexicana (Calceolaria mexicana) is distinguished by flowers with a pale yellow color, reaching 5 cm in diameter. The height of the plant directly depends on the growing conditions and can vary between 20-50 cm.
Calceolaria tenella. Perennial, characterized by miniature height, medium-sized leaves. The flowers are colored golden yellow. It can be cultivated in the garden only in summer, but it grows successfully indoors.
Calceolaria purpurea (Calceolaria purpurea Graham). The native area of growth falls on the lands of Chile, mainly this variety is planted in flower beds. The height of such a bush can approach half a meter. In leaf plates, the edge is jagged, and the top is pointed, the shape is clawed. A root rosette is formed from the leaf plates. The flowers are medium-sized, have a convexity, their outlines are airy, the surface of the lower lip of the corolla is in the longitudinal grooves. The shade of flowers is violet-purple or reddish-lilac.
Hybrid calceolaria (Calceolaria x herbeohybrida Voss) is the progenitor of many varieties grown in room conditions. Low bushy plants. The leaf plates are wide, soft to the touch, their contours are rounded, the surface is with whitish pubescence, they are often shaded with a light green color scheme. The size of the diameter of the flowers is large, reaching 5 cm. The color of the petals can vary from snow-white to bright red, there are also variegated colors. The flowering process for this variety is the longest, it lasts up to two months. Most of all, among flower growers, the varieties "Golden Rain", "Aida", "Dervish", "Danty F1" and some others are valued.
For more information on caring for calceolaria at home, see here:
