How to propagate streptokarpus by dividing the bush or grafting

If you are among the people whose mood can improve a beautiful flower, you will be very pleased to get acquainted with streptokarpus.

This loving care plant will thank you for a gorgeous bloom from early spring to early summer.

Brief description of the flower

Streptokarpus is one of the most elegant representatives of the Hesnerian family, known to flower growers for indoor plants such as epification, gloxinia, azalea, and many others. Care and requirements for the maintenance of this plant are the same as for most of the Gesneriaceae.

This is a fairly voluminous bushy plant with elongated sheets of saturated but pure green color. Sheets can reach 20 cm in length, so that its content will require a large pot and enough space.

The streptokarpus flower deserves special attention: these are very beautiful terry, semi-double or regular bells from 2 to 9 cm in diameter.The color gamut of streptokarpus is just the widest - from ordinary solid colors to an ombre and various patterns. It blooms just as wildly as it grows, and about one hundred flowers can grow on one adult bush. In this case, the smaller the flower - the more them in one inflorescence. The flower body is located on a long pedicel that rises above the foliage.

In the natural environment, the flowering period falls in the spring-summer period, but at home, there are no clear boundaries between the flowering and the rest periods. By prolonging the day by artificial means, using a lamp or a lamp, for example, it is possible to achieve flowering all year round.

The easiest way to breed is to divide the bush

The most suitable for streptokarpus reproduction at home is carried out by dividing the bush. As the name implies, the division is not a full-fledged reproduction, but rather, the seating of one large shrub over several flowerpots.

This method is applicable mainly to large overgrown plants.By itself, division is an integral part of care for streptocarpus and is carried out at least once every 2-3 years. Neglect of this rule most often leads to two types of consequences:

• Streptokarpus grows excessively and begins to fade in a small flowerpot due to a lack of nutrients;
• growing streptokarpus repeatedly transplanted into a larger pot. Soon this leads to the fact that the plant ceases to bloom, because the flower stalks can no longer penetrate the veil of leaves.

Terms for breeding

For the streptocarpus flower it is preferable to breed in the spring-summer period. This is a time of high activity of metabolic processes, which is very important for rooting and regeneration of root segments damaged during transplantation.

This rule is not so strict for room streptocarpus, the biorhythms of which are often not tied to the change of seasons. In this case, the division can be made at any convenient time.

The state of dormancy occurs in plants with a decrease in light during the autumn-winter period. During this period, any manipulation associated with seeding, division or fertilizer is contraindicated. All that a flower needs at such a time is infrequent watering.The fact that a state of rest has come can be understood by the long absence of flowering.

Fission technology

The division of the bush is a process that will take some time, so it is better to stock up on a couple of hours right away, especially if you are doing it for the first time. The division technology includes three stages:

1. Identify strong points of growth. It is possible to determine the growth point from a combination of several closely spaced legs of sheets that come out of one bush head. Sheets should be strong, looking from the center outwards - on such segments and our bush will share.
2. Actually division. Before dividing the bush, it is necessary to remove it from the pot and as much as possible to rid the roots of adhering soil, trying not to damage them. The photo clearly shows two strong points of growth, according to them, and you need to separate the plant. To do this, you must carefully cut the head of the bush between the right and left parts and separate the parts from each other.
3. Lightening bush At this stage, you need to get rid of old leaves and thickening weak points of growth. Old yellowed leaves that appear after flowering usually do not pose any problem.They are easily separated from the plant, but the main thing - the need for their removal does not cause doubts in the grower.

   But it turns out that young leaves can also harm the bush as a whole. Under the weak points of growth refers to smaller sheets that appear randomly, sometimes from the place where there should be a peduncle.

   Such leaves grow as if inside a bush and towards each other, compacting it and making it more vulnerable to a fungal infection, for example. They also interfere with the flower spikes.

How to choose the capacity and plant delenki

It all depends on the size of the plant: the more it is - the more space it will need. The plant should have enough soil, and the root system should be freely located in the tank. Basically, disposable containers with a volume of 0.25-0.35 l are used for the seating arrangements.

First, the container is filled with the substrate to about half, after which the plant root is lowered and evenly added dropwise from all sides. At the end, the ground is slightly tamped, but not hard - just to fix the above-ground part of the flower.

Reproduction leaf cuttings

In addition to dividing the streptocarpus bush, it may be reproduced by leaf.Leaf grafting is a difficult and painstaking method that requires patience and a few special skills from the person who decides to use it. The process has several stages:

1. Choosing the right sheet.
2. Sheet cuttings.
3. Rooting

How and when the cuttings are harvested.

• Select sheet.

First of all, for grafting, you need to select the appropriate sheet. The leaf should be large enough (about 10 cm), but not old, as the old leaf may simply fade, and too young to be too weak.

• Cuttings.

Reproduction streptokarpus not a whole sheet, but part of it. To do this, the leaf separated from the mother plant is harvested on the cuttings: the leaf is completely cut off at the central core on both sides, after which the central core is thrown away. Then the sheets are cut so that on each of the halves there are at least 6 longitudinal ribs and they are not less than 5 cm in length. The resulting cutting is immersed in the ground with the lower end of 1-2 cm.

• Treatment.

Sometimes cuttings are treated with special growth enhancers or hormonal rooting agents, such as Kornerost, Kornevin or Radiopharm, but it is important not to overdo it with such tools. It will be optimal to dip the cutting in the medium, then dry with a napkin and immerse it in the soil.

• Selection of soil.

The cuttings should develop well in the ground for the Saintpaulia, but if you want to help the plant, you can take a special rooting mixture, which consists of sand and peat in equal parts.

Rooting process

The rooting process is very long and can last up to two months. For comparison, the epistations belonging to the same family take root in the sheet during the week.In addition, rooting can not be allowed to drift, and the container with cuttings requires careful maintenance.

It will be most convenient to build a small greenhouse consisting of a container with cuttings and polyethylene - this will facilitate the care of plants.

Rules for the care of cuttings:

1. Humidity. Before the roots appeared, the cuttings had no specialized organs through which they could absorb water. The process of moisture absorption is performed by the whole body of the leaf, so you need to check that there is enough moisture.
2. Shine. Greenhouse with cuttings should be placed in a well-lit place, but not in direct sunlight, otherwise the plant will wither.
3. Watering. Water cuttings need about once a week in a special way - at the edges of the tank. This is done for optimal distribution of moisture in the pot.
4. Disease. Greenhouse conditions are good for germination, but they are also ideal for the reproduction of harmful bacteria that can destroy the flower at the cutting stage. To prevent the development of pathogenic microorganisms, before planting the substrate is boiled for 3-5 minutes, another method of prevention is weekly spraying the cuttings with bactericides.

Sprouts are formed from the longitudinal veins on the leaf, but there are rare cases when each vein sprouts, mainly 60-80% germinates.

Planting rooted seedlings

Streptokarpus seedlings have two leaves of unequal sizes. It is necessary to replant when the larger of the leaves reaches a length of at least 3 cm. There are no special requirements for planting. A 2-3 cm long sapling is planted in a 150-200 ml container. The next transplant is made after the first flowering.

Reproduction, as well as the content of streptocarpus, is a rather laborious exercise, requiring constant participation and some skills. On the one hand, this is a hassle, but on the other - the opportunity to learn something new and try yourself as a grower. As a reward for your efforts, pleasant bonuses in the form of admiring glances of friends and acquaintances are provided to you.