Family of timeless. Homeland - tropical rainforests of South Asia and Africa, naturalized (settled in the wild) tropical America. In total, 10 species are known (according to modern taxonomy). There is one species in culture:
Gloriosa luxury Gloriosa superba is a perennial vine with fleshy rhizome and shoots that require support. The leaves are light green, alternately located or in whorls, narrowly lanceolate in shape, spirally twisted at the end like antennae. The flowers are single, located on the tops of the shoots, large. Perianth petals about 10 cm long, bright red, with a yellow wavy edge bent back to the pedicel, there is a variety with yellow flowers. There are six petals, the same number of long stamens with large anthers. Flowering in late summer - early autumn. While the gloriosa is blooming, pollination can be carried out (brush on the anthers and then on the stigma of the same flower), and then the fruits are tied - multi-seeded boxes. After ripening, the seeds can be planted .
Most of the species of Gloriosa, previously isolated into separate species, are assigned to the synonyms of Gloriosa luxurious, these are: Gloriosa rothschildiana, Gloriosa angulata, Gloriosa caerulea, Gloriosa carsonii, etc.
Gloriosa is suitable for landscaping glazed balconies and loggias if they are not located on the north side. A tenacious vine can form a green carpet on the wall if it is light enough. You just need to know that all parts of this wonderful plant are poisonous! Therefore, make sure that his beloved cat does not chew him, and the leaves and flowers do not break off and do not bother the children. Poisonous substances are found in juice, but are not released into the air, so grow and admire!
Care for gloriosa
Temperature: Gloriosa is quite thermophilic, during the period of growth and flowering, a temperature of about 20-22 ° C is desirable. In autumn, gloriosa begins a dormant period. When it fades, the leaves and the entire aerial part die off. Then the tubers are removed and placed in dry sawdust, or left directly in a pot with dry earth. You can store tubers at a temperature of about 5-10 ° C, but not higher than 12 ° C (you can in the refrigerator, cellar, basement, if only it is not too humid).
In spring, gloriosa tubers are planted in fresh ground and placed on a windowsill in a warm room. Slightly moisturize, and when sprouts appear, watering is made regular .
Lighting: Good sunlight, bright diffused light. Shading is possible only on the south window on the hottest sunny days in spring and summer (from 11 to 15 hours). Gloriosa can grow both on the east and west windows, but on the north it will be dark.
Watering: Plentiful during growth, after the top layer of the earth dries. In autumn, when the leaves begin to turn yellow, watering is reduced. During the dormant period, the tubers are not watered.
Fertilizer: From April to the end of July, they are fed with complex fertilizer for flowering indoor plants (uniflor-bud, fertica-lux). Fertilizers are diluted according to the instructions.
Air humidity: Gloriosa loves moist air, optimal humidity is 60-70%. When the heating is off, natural humidity does not fall below 50%, but when the weather is dry and hot in summer, gloriosis must be sprayed. Better in the morning or evening, soft boiled water. It is also necessary to spray during the growth of young shoots until May, while the heating is on and the apartment is quite dry air.
Transplantation: Tubers are transplanted at the end of winter, before growth begins, since the roots of gloriosa are very fragile and brittle. If you start transplanting after the plant starts to grow, you can easily damage the roots. Therefore, it is better to plant earlier, at the very beginning of February.
The tubers in gloriosa are long, fusiform or oblong, similar in shape to carrots or a slingshot, when planted they are placed slightly obliquely, it is possible almost horizontally (the fork of the slingshot is slightly upward), so the pot for gloriosa should be wide enough (30-35 cm in diameter), but not too deep (20-25 cm). Sprinkle the tubers with a layer of earth about 2-3 cm. When planting, it is important not to damage the blunt rounded end of the tuber on which the growth bud is located. Eyes, like potatoes, on the surface of the entire tuber, have no gloriosa, and damage to a single growth point leads to the death of the tuber. If there are scratches on the tuber, the skin is peeled off, be sure to sprinkle this place with gray or crushed charcoal so that there is no decay.
You can plant tubers of gloriosa vertically, placing the rounded blunt end up, but then the pot should be deep enough, this is at least 5-7 liters of bucket. But in too deep containers, the earth dries for a long time, is less ventilated and is more likely to sour the earth from a long drying after watering.
The soil mixture for planting gloriose should be nutritious and loose, slightly acidic, pH about 6. Approximate soil composition: 1 part of turf, 1 part of leaf, 2 part of humus and 1 part of sand, high drainage at the bottom of the pot. If the gloriosis grows quickly, and the pot turned out to be small, then, in extreme cases, it can be transferred to a larger pot in the summer, while maintaining an earthen coma, trying not to damage the roots. By the way, you can use garden land from cucumber or tomato beds (where organic matter was added), add 2 handfuls of vermiculite or sand to it, and a handful of pine bark.
After planting in two days, you can start watering the ground in a pot, but little by little so that you have time to dry out properly. And only when a sprout appears, watering is made more plentiful. The germination time can be different - both three days and three weeks, it depends on many factors, including the temperature and moisture of the soil, on the composition of the soil. In heavy clay soil, growth is very slow, in peat faster, but growing plants will very soon use up all the nutrients from the soil, and chlorosis begins, and flowering is very weak. Therefore, humus is needed in the composition of the soil. If it is not there, you can use a dry cow (thoroughly crumbled), 3 tbsp. spoons per 1 liter of universal soil.
Reproduction: Gloriosis seeds reproduce quite easily, but blooms only in the third year. Seeds are sown in February in the fields, in a mixture of leaf earth and peat. Cover with glass or a bag (ventilated several times a day), and maintain a temperature of about 22-24 ° C. When the seedlings germinate and grow, they are thinned and transplanted into separate pots .
You can also propagate gloriosis with young nodules. The tuber planted in spring forms new processes during the season. They can be separated by sprinkling carefully chopped coal. But make sure each cut piece has a growth point. Separated nodules are planted in disinfected and dry earth. Watered only after 3-4 days a little. Plants grown from tubers will bloom earlier than those grown from seeds.
Formation and Garter
Gloriosis grows very quickly, literally before our eyes, but its stems are quite fragile, easily break off, so you need to tie gloriosis to the support immediately, as you grow. She herself is not able to firmly cling to the support, the antennae are weak. One single stick stuck in the pot will not be enough, besides, sticking it into the pot without looking, you can injure the tuber. The best support option for gloriosa stems would be a large mesh plastic mesh. The bamboo grill is also suitable.
It is better not to install a support for gloriosis in a pot, because if it is disturbed, it can injure the roots inside the pot. You can stretch along the perimeter of the balcony vertically from the railing to the ceiling with a pitch of 10-15 cm and tie the shoots of gloriosa to it.
There is no need to pinch the gloriosa, it branches itself, although not strongly. To stimulate branching and, accordingly, increase the number of probable buds (gloriosa blooms at the tops of shoots), the young shoot of gloriosa should not be pinched and cut off, but when it grows 70-80 cm to bend it to the ground, i.e. redirect the tip of the shoot down. For garter, use wool thread, or jute, but not wire.
Problems of growing gloriosa
Gloriosa grows slowly and does not bloom - if there is not enough light, if the planted tuber was weakened or damaged, if the tubers were stored at too low a temperature. Gloriosa can also stop growing, if damaged, break the stem, in which case it begins to grow tubers, but not leaves.
Young shoots slowed down, the leaves darkened or drooped - with sharp fluctuations in temperatures (too hot or cold). From excessive watering, when the soil dries for a long time.
The leaves turn yellow or brown from the tips - if too dry or not enough watering.
The stems are soft and sluggish, the leaves drooped and turned yellow at the base - excessive watering can lead to rotting tubers. To prevent this from happening, provide the plant with good drainage and water as the soil dries.
Of the pests, gloriosis is more often affected by the shield and aphids, which can be fought using watering and spraying with preparations of confidor or actar.