Ruellia is a thermophilic plant with beautiful velvety flowers. The plant is named after the medieval French botanist Jean Ruelle. Also, this plant is also called dipteracanthus. The ruella belongs to the acanthus family.
Description of ruelia
In the wild, the plant is found in Africa, South Asia, the subtropics and tropics of America. Ruellia is grown as a herbaceous plant, dwarf shrubs and shrubs. The flower has a straight, creeping or shallow stem, which has several facets and actively branches. The leaves are usually whole, whole, have an elongated shape and are wide in the middle. The leaves are located opposite each other and have a glossy sheen or a velvet surface with barely noticeable hairs.
At the ends of the shoots, single large flowers appear, which can reach up to 5 cm in length. Ruella flowers are available in white, beige and purplish pink. Unfortunately, flowers do not last long - you can admire them for only a few hours. When the flower falls, a box of seeds appears in its place. It is interesting to observe how, after ripening, this capsule bursts, shooting its seeds at a great distance.
In bright and diffused light, ruelia can bloom from February to the very end of autumn. In a shaded room, flowering times are reduced to three to four months. The advantages of ruella include the fact that it can bloom in winter, when other plants are dormant.
Important! In most flower shops, you will not find ruelia. Probably due to its rapid flowering, it is not in great demand. But you can always try to find it in private collections of florists.
Caring for a ruelle flower at home
Ruelia does not require special care for her, so her cultivation and maintenance will not take much time.
Location and lighting
It is best to place the ruelia on the east and west windows. The plant will bloom in the back of the room, but this requires sufficient lighting, since the ruelia requires a lot of light. Experienced growers use special lamps for plants in order for the plant to bloom all year round.
In the summer, it is important not to overexpose the plant in the sun, otherwise the leaves may simply burn out. In conditions of a lack of lighting, the length of the internodes of the plant will increase, and with intense lighting, the bush will bloom more actively and appear more luxuriant.
Temperature
As for the temperature, the most optimal temperature will be 18 degrees. In winter, the temperature is allowed to drop to 16 degrees.
Watering
Every time the soil begins to dry out, the plant needs to be watered. Watering should be systematic, but not very plentiful. The plant needs water when the topsoil dries up.A situation should not be allowed when the whole earth is completely dry. As soon as the leaves begin to wither and fall, an urgent need to water the ruella. Then there is a chance that the plant will bounce back if it has been without water for a short period of time. When the flower is left without watering for a long time, the lower leaves on the stem may fall off.
Air humidity
Ruellia does not require constant spraying. The main thing is that the flower is away from batteries, as well as heaters, since too warm air can stimulate the leaves to fall off the stem. Warm water is good for the plant.
Top dressing and fertilizers
When transplanting ruella, you need to add fertilizer to the soil for flowering plants. When the plant has acclimatized, a combined fertilizer for ornamental indoor plants can be added to the soil about 1-2 times a month.
Transfer
Young plants need to be replanted every year, and adults as needed. It is better to transplant between the beginning of March and the end of May. As a soil, you can use a mixture of sod and leafy soil, humus and sand. As an analogue of this mixture, you can use the usual commercial land for home plants. It will be very useful to put vermiculite in the soil, which will act as a drainage.
Pruning
To make the flower lush and actively branch, pinch the ruelia. For decorativeness and a beautiful appearance, naked shoots are cut off from ruelia, as a result of which new ones begin to form and the effect of splendor is achieved. Alternatively, you can plant a new plant by cutting off the top of the cutting.
Reproduction of ruella
You can propagate ruella in different ways: by seeds, layering, cuttings or by dividing the bush.
Propagation by cuttings
When propagating by cuttings, it is important that they are not lignified. They need to be placed in water, and after a while the first roots will appear. Next, you need to plant them in the soil. The optimal amount is 5-6 cuttings per pot. Then the plants will appear more luxuriant.
Reproduction by layering
It is even easier to get new ruelle plants by layers. One of the shoots should be tilted to the soil so that one of the stem nodes touches the soil. Further, this place is fixed. After the roots appear, the layers are separated from the main flower.
Seed propagation
To obtain ruelia seeds, after ripening the fruits, you need to press a little on them, as a result of which it opens and seeds appear. They are planted in moist soil at a shallow depth.
Important! Ruella pleasant reproduces well enough with cuttings. With the help of cuttings, you can update the plant every year, so the ruelia will look much more beautiful.
Diseases and pests
Ruellia resists various pests and diseases quite well, but it can be affected by the following parasites: spider mite - throughout the year, whitefly - mainly in summer. With excessive humidity and low temperatures, powdery mildew and gray rot most often appear.
Any insecticide is good against parasites, and to prevent diseases it is enough to keep the plant in good conditions.
Possible difficulties in growing ruelia
- Heat and excess sunlight can cause leaves to stain and curl. In this situation, it is enough to shade the plant or move it to a dimly lit place in the room.
- If the ends of the leaves dry up, then the plant needs a higher humidity. Otherwise, the plant may get sick and stop blooming.
- Excessively elongated young shoots, small leaves and a nondescript flower may be the result of a lack of lighting. If there is not enough natural light, then you can buy special lamps for plants.
- Yellowed and falling leaves indicate excessive moisture in the soil or the plant is in a draft.
- Ruellia begins to grow over time: the stems stretch out, the leaves fall off - it is necessary to cut off the bare shoots, thereby renewing the plant.
Healing properties
Many types of ruella are often used in the preparation of medicines.
The juice is used to treat the ears, the decoction is used to relieve scabies and itching, the grated leaves are used to treat ulcers. The smoke from a burning plant can relieve headaches. The roots have stimulating and tonic properties.
In addition to its medicinal properties, ruelia can be dangerous - its juice contains the poison saponin.
If you decide to grow ruella at home, taking care of the flower will not be difficult, and you can always admire its large and bright flowers.
Popular types
Ruellia Brittoniana - an evergreen shrub that grows up to 1 meter. Stems lignify at the base, long and wide leaves acquire a bluish tint under the influence of intense illumination. The plant has large flowers, the petals are purple. A feature of this species is the ability to grow it in colonies. The plant is unpretentious and is often grown in apartments.
Ruellia devosiana - grows mainly in the humid tropical forests of South America. Another name for the plant is Ruellia blue. The stem can grow up to 40 cm in height. The leaves are whole in the form of an ellipse, have a velvety surface, and a length of up to 7 cm. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green, the lower one is purple, the veins are whitish. The flowers are solitary, located in the leaf axils. They have a light lilac color with purple veins. The corolla at the fold is white or blue.
View of Ruellia portellae - grows in tropical rainforests of South America. The appearance of the plant is similar to blue ruella. The main difference is that Portella's ruella leaves are larger in size and brownish in color. In addition, the flowers are bright pink in color. This species can be grown as an unpretentious annual plant.
Ruellia large-flowered (Ruellia macrantha) - perennial abundant bush, reaching a height of about 2 meters. Ruellia leaves resemble an ellipse, large - about 10-15 cm in length, sharpen at the very end. The corolla is tubular, like a bell, is rather large - about 8 cm wide and about 12 cm long. The flowers are located at the tops of the shoots, they can be red, pink and lilac. Flowering time - from autumn to spring, subject to additional lighting.
