Vallota

Vallota (Vallota) - flower represents the genus Amaryllis. She came to us from the humid subtropics of the South American continent. French explorer Pierre Vallot first described this plant, which is why it began to bear his name.

The root system of this perennial is a bulb. It has the shape of an oval, scaly, brown. Quite small in size. The sword-shaped leaf, more than half a meter long, has a dark green color, but at the petiole it is purple. The peduncle has no sepals, and the inflorescence is presented in the form of an umbrella, which has from 3 to 9 single flowers.

Of its entire family, only the vallotta has a green-purple color palette of a leaf plate and a light crimson bulbous scale of an underground root formation. A distinctive feature of the vallotta is an unusual way of budding daughter bulbs. In her, they come to the surface of the soil with the help of repulsive legs, unlike other representatives of the genus, in which children appear in the depths of an earthen coma. As it grows, a root end appears at the vallotta bulb, which deepens the daughter formation into the soil and allows it to exist independently.

Caring for Valotta at home

Location and lighting

Vallota is a fairly light-loving flower. When choosing a location, it is important to know that the flower prefers east-facing windows.

Temperature

Suitable summer temperatures range from 20-25 degrees. In winter, a cooler temperature range with a range of 10 to 12 degrees is suitable.

Air humidity

In hot conditions at temperatures exceeding 25 degrees, the plant must be constantly irrigated from a spray bottle. However, getting drops of moisture on the petals of flowers will have a bad effect on their delicate surface. Vallotta leaves must be kept clean at all times. For these purposes, a damp cotton cloth is quite suitable.

Watering

Like all bulbous plants, the wallot should be watered very carefully, avoiding waterlogging of the soil. During the period of active growth, it is necessary to water the plant only after the top layer of the soil dries out. During winter dormancy, the lower the temperature of the bulb, the less often it is watered. However, remember that the vallotta does not tolerate the dying off of leaves, since it is their condition that signals the wrong watering regime.

The soil

Such a flowering plant like Valotta needs increased soil nutrition, therefore, a mixture suitable for it includes as many as 4 parts of fertile soil from under the deciduous litter. The remaining parts are made up of humus, turf and 2 parts of sand.

Top dressing and fertilizers

Liquid store fertilizer intended for flowering indoor plants should be used once every 14 days from spring to autumn during the flowering of the Valotta.

Transfer

Vallota should not be transplanted frequently into fresh soil.Its underground parts are very susceptible to damage during transplantation, and the process of rotting can begin. Only when the bulb grows so much that it will not fit in the pot, it will be possible to move it to a more spacious container. Since the daughter bulbs are very depleting of the adult bulb, it is best to separate them right away. The top of the mother bulb does not need to be buried. Children will bud on it, which can be removed as they grow.

Flowering period

With proper care, the villlota bulb produces flower stalks twice a season. The life of one stem with flowers is 5 days. At the same time, 2-3 buds can bloom at once.

Reproduction of the Valotta flower

There are two suitable ways to propagate Valotta: seed and with the help of children (daughter bulbs).

Reproduction by children

Separated children are placed in individual small containers, deepening them only two-thirds. They do not need to be watered often, especially in the first months. The bulbs will grow and begin to bloom only after 2 years.

Seed propagation

You need to sow vallot in mid-autumn in moist soil under glass. Further maintenance will consist in regular ventilation and irrigation at a temperature of 16-18 ºС. The sprouts will appear in about a month. Half-year-old seedlings should dive for the first time. Small onions should be planted in separate pots, completely immersed in the ground. After 2 years, young bulbs are transplanted so that the top is on the outside. The seed method produces plants that will bloom in the third year after sowing.

Diseases and pests

Vallota is highly susceptible to root rot due to waterlogging of the soil and the presence of pathogens of this disease in the soil. Therefore, it is better to plant the bulbs in previously disinfected soil. Most needed for young bulbs.

Excess moisture in the soil in winter often causes gray rot... Not infrequently aphid, spider mite and scabbard strikes the walloth.

Popular types of Valotta

The plant has only three varieties, for which there are still disputes about where to attribute them. For example, the beautiful and purple vallotta was singled out as a separate subspecies of citranthus, and the dwarf vallota - in the Clivia subspecies.

Vallota the beautiful

The plant is also called Citrantus, purple Amaryllis, beautiful Krinum. Its brown scaly bulb has an oblong shape. A leathery leaf with a length of 40 cm has the appearance of a sword and a dark green color. The stem with inflorescence emerges directly from the center of the bulb and reaches a height of 30 cm. It has no sepals, but inside it is empty. The umbrella unites 3-6 flowers at once. 6 petals form one bud. The petal has parameters: length 8, width up to 10 cm. There are mainly burgundy and bright orange flowers, the only exception is the genus Alba with white petals.

Vallota purple

This variety has smaller leaves and flowers than other types of vallotta. The perennial also has a bulb and foliage of no more than three tens of centimeters in height. They are painted bright green and have a leathery surface. The diameter of one flower reaches 5-6 cm, and one inflorescence-bell contains at least 2, maximum 8 buds. The pointed petals form a purple flower.