Khirita is a refined and delicate flower that belongs to the Gesneriev family. The homeland of this undersized flower, the species of which can be both annuals and perennials, is the tropical regions of Asia. The plant loves limestone soils and prefers to settle on mountain slopes and steep cliffs.
Hirita has many varieties, differing from each other by the presence of a stem or rosette, the number and shape of leaves. Leaves range from oval to lanceolate, mostly pubescent, but there are also smooth-leaved plants. The most characteristic feature of all hiritis is the tubular and slightly elongated shape of the flowers. Most often, the flowers are lilac-blue, but they can have yellow or white swells and a contrasting pharynx. Peduncles emerge from the leaf sinuses and are capable of producing not one, but three or four buds. The fruits formed after flowering are boxes filled with small seeds.
Hirita care at home
Location and lighting
It is necessary to grow the plant in the bright diffused light of the western or eastern windows. The flower cannot stand the direct rays of the sun, but it can feel good under artificial lighting. To form a symmetrical rosette, the hiritu is periodically rotated around its axis.
Temperature
The best thermal regime for a flower is from 18 to 24 degrees. In winter, 15 degrees is enough for the plant. Khirita is a plant with a conditional dormant period: when it is cool, its vital activity slows down, when it is warm, it grows and blooms throughout the winter. It is not necessary for her to specially create conditions for a cool wintering.
Air humidity
So that there is more moisture in the surrounding space, the flower can be placed on a pallet, where expanded clay or wet peat is poured. It is not necessary to spray the fluffy leaves of hirita, it will start to hurt.
Watering
It is worth watering the indoor beauty only when the upper soil ball becomes dry. The flower does not tolerate waterlogging - the roots rot and die, but a small "drought" hirita is quite capable of. This quality is given to the plant by fleshy, tough leaves. It is optimal to use bottom watering - this way the water does not get on the foliage. If hiritu is kept in winter conditions, it is watered less often.
The soil
The soil for hirit is a mixture of deciduous and soddy soil with sand in proportions of 2: 1: 0.5, or a mixture of sod, leafy, humus soil with sand - 3: 2: 1: 1. It is good to add charcoal to the soil, as well as to the drainage, which will draw off excess moisture that is unnecessary for the plant. You can take ready-made compositions for Saintpaulia.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Fertilize the plant in the spring-summer months with compositions for flowering, where the content of phosphorus and potassium is high.
Transfer
There is no need to transplant hiritu every year. The optimal frequency is once every two to three years. The pot is taken in diameter so that the leafy rosette protrudes beyond its edges.
Reproduction of the hirita flower
Khirita reproduces both by seeds and vegetatively.
Seed propagation
Annuals are best grown from seed. They are sown in a moist substrate in the second half of February without embedding in the ground and sprinkling with soil, since germination occurs on the surface. Glass is placed on top to prevent drying out and create a humid environment. The seeds hatch best at a temperature of 24-26 degrees. With this mode, seedlings can be seen as early as 12-14 days. If the temperature is lower, the process often takes a month and may be uneven.
The soil where the seeds are located must be moistened as it dries. The emerging seedlings are provided with good supplementary lighting for 12 hours, and the substrate is moistened with a syringe or syringe. This prevents the ingress of water on the leaves of chirit and their decay.
After the seedlings have cotyledon leaves, they are already able to tolerate a pick. If the number of plants is small, they can be transplanted after the first true leaf is formed. The pick is carried out very carefully, since young hirit are very fragile and break off easily. In the event of a break, the leaf is removed, and its place is sprinkled with powdered charcoal (you can crush an activated carbon tablet).
Propagation by cuttings
Perennial khirit, in addition to seed reproduction, are also grown vegetatively, for example, by leaf cuttings.
To do this, a healthy, well-formed, but not old leaf is cut off with a blade from the outlet, the cut is dried, fungicidal treatment is done and placed in a small container entirely vertically, or by cutting off the top to prevent the growth of the leaf itself. Place in a warm place, covered with plastic wrap. If several cuttings are planted, make sure that everyone is evenly lit. In about a month and a half, young sprouts appear. When they grow up, they are dived into separate pots.
Hiritu can be propagated with a piece of leaf. It is wrapped with the underside, placed on a board and five-centimeter strips are cut with a blade perpendicular to the midrib - it will serve as a petiole.
The material is deepened with the base of the cutting into small grooves at an angle of 45 degrees, making a distance of 3 cm and slightly compacting the soil around. Containers with future plants can also be treated with a fungicide and transferred to a warm (20 degrees and higher) place and covered with polyethylene. The greenhouse must be ventilated every day. Watering is carried out through the pallet. After five to eight weeks, sprouts will appear. The upper and lower parts of the leaflet are not used for reproduction of chirit.
Diseases and pests
Most often, Khirit suffer from mealybug infestations, scabbards, thrips, spider mites, whitefly.
If the plant is over-watered, it is not uncommon for a gray mold to form on all parts of the plant.
