Many gardeners who grow violets use the usual method of watering these indoor plants. Some people moisten the soil, while others pour water into the pan. As a result, the problem of drying out or waterlogging of the earthen clod often arises, which does not have the best effect on the plant.

The only effective solution to this problem is wick watering of violets. This type of cultivation is very convenient and allows you to create optimal growing conditions for flowers.

Wick irrigation technology

The standard watering method is not suitable for violets. This leads to the fact that these delicate plants shed their foliage and flower buds en masse, their root system rots, and the plant dies altogether. Despite the fact that most gardeners try to adhere to all the rules for care and maintenance, it is still not easy to grow a healthy and beautiful indoor plant without loss.

Unique watering with a wick is based on the use of a regular cord: water from the container rises up the wick, giving moisture to the ground. As a result, the violet receives required quantity moisture, without the risk of waterlogging. Depending on the time of year and the level of air humidity, the flower will use water in different volumes.

Wick watering for violets has some features:

Improper installation of the wick in combination with waterlogging of the soil can lead to rotting of the roots of the flower. Although this occurs more often with regular watering.
Waterlogged soil promotes the appearance of midges - fungus gnats. Since their larvae feed on the remains of organic matter, the risk of their appearance in ordinary soil is much higher when there is excess moisture.
Some gardeners complain that violets grow larger when watered with wicks. And this is true if they grow in large flowerpots - 10-12 cm. To achieve vigorous flowering of violets and maintain their miniature size, they are planted in pots 5-6 cm in diameter.
To ensure that the water feeding the plants through the wick does not cool down in winter, experienced gardeners recommend insulating the window sills or moving flower pots to a warmer place for the winter.

How to change the watering system to wick when propagating violets?

Translate this houseplant Wick watering is quite simple. To root leaves with petioles in sphagnum using wick watering, you will need: a small plastic cup, live sphagnum moss, a wick and complex fertilizer, for example, Nutrisol. Auxiliary tools will be scissors and a blade, an awl or wire, a felt-tip pen and sticks.

The first step is to make a hole in the cup through which you can pass the wick. To do this, you can use a heated awl or wire. You can also make a hole with a knife.

In order not to confuse the varieties of violets, their names are written with a felt-tip pen on the cup. Some people use adhesive price tags that they sign with a pen and stick on the cup, or sticks that they use to stir the coffee. They can then be stuck into the ground.

The moss is crushed into small pieces of 3-5 cm, which will make it easier to separate the children with roots from the sphagnum in the future. Very often the moss begins to sprout, forming a green mass. This is a completely natural process that prevents rotting of the planting material. After all, sphagnum has strong bactericidal properties. In some cases, it is necessary to remove its excess so that in the future it does not interfere with the separation of babies.

To achieve successful rooting and the early appearance of children, use a 0.05% Nutrisol solution. Some gardeners root cuttings in plain water.

Next, prepare the container for planting. We pull the wick filter through the hole so that a ring of cord is formed inside the pot. The rest of the material should remain outside. Place a 3-centimeter layer of moss on top of the ring, compacting it slightly. We make cuts on each cutting using a sharp knife or blade, leaving the length of the cutting 2-3 cm. Some gardeners do not cut, but simply break off the cutting, which will also be correct. For those who are starting to grow violets and are afraid of rotting of the cuttings, it is recommended to make smaller cuts. But it is worth remembering that for ease of rooting, the cuts need to be made higher. Prepared planting material can be dipped into the drug Kornevin, which accelerates the process of the emergence of the root system in the plant.

For the planted leaves, make a support from sticks for stirring coffee or any other suitable material. It is not recommended to use wooden sticks, as this may cause rotting of the leaf plate. The cuttings are planted in cups separately. If one specimen becomes infected with diseases, the others will be protected. If the leaves are large and do not fit in the cup, they can be safely cut off along the edges parallel to the walls of the container. It is advisable to treat the sections with charcoal powder.

After planting, the cups are placed on a container with Nutrisol solution so that the wicks become completely wet and provide moisture to the moss. This is one of the first and main conditions successful work irrigation systems using wicks. After this procedure, the cups are placed on a container intended for wick watering.

After 2 weeks, you can observe the revival of the leaves - they seem to have risen above the glass. You can pull them slightly to feel resistance. This indicates that everything is going well, and the cuttings have put down their first roots.

In order to speed up the birth process, you need to use additional lighting. The period for the appearance of children depends on the variety and conditions of violets, and on average ranges from 1 to 3 months.

If during this time the babies have not appeared, stimulation is carried out. To do this, the leaves are cut one third from the top. If the leaves are large, cut them in half.

For successful and full growth, violets need to be provided with the correct temperature regime within 20-22 degrees. Some gardeners practice transplanting cuttings immediately after the first roots appear. You can also wait for the babies to appear and then perform a transplant. As soon as the babies reach 1/3 the size of the mother leaf, they can be safely separated and replanted. By the way, you can leave the rooted cutting; after a while it will give another generation of young plants.

How to prepare for the transition to wick irrigation?

If you have been growing violets for a long time, wick watering can be organized at any stage, and the principles of the transition are as follows:

Correct selection of soil mixture for planting. It is prohibited to add soil to the mixture, since soil can attract moisture. In the future, this will lead to rotting of the roots. A mixture of vermiculite, peat and perlite in equal parts is best. Using coco peat mixed with perlite will be equally effective. Such a composition, which does not include soil, will be porous and will ensure the active formation of roots in the flower. Coco peat is washed before use because it is rich in salts. Such a loose mixture, which does not contain soil, is air- and moisture-permeable and ensures uniform development of the root system.
We stretch the wick through the hole, forming a ring at the bottom of the pot, then fill the pot with substrate and plant it there young plant. The important thing is that wick irrigation does not require drainage. Even the smallest specimens take root quite successfully in such a mixture.
In order to ensure uniform impregnation, flowerpots with flowers are placed on a large tray or tray with water. Some spill flowers from above, covering the leaves of the plants. If necessary, add more substrate. Here it is very important not to sprinkle the growing point, so as not to ruin the young plant. Then the pot is placed on a container for wick watering, adding the solution.
Since such soil does not contain nutritional components, young plants need to be fed periodically. Fertilizer is applied through a wick. Nutrisol 0.05% concentration is perfect as a feed for violets.

The wick ensures an even supply and distribution of nutrients, which reduces the risk of excess or deficiency for plants. At the same time, it is very important to monitor the condition of the violet. If the plant grows successfully, then everything was done correctly. If the leaves of a flower begin to turn yellow and fall off, the concentration of the fertilizer is increased. Reddish or white coating, formed inside the outlet, indicates the need to reduce the concentration of fertilizing.

After some time, when the children grow up, their root system wraps around the wick and can grow out through the holes. This is normal.

Such a specimen can be transplanted without separating the roots from the wick. Only that part of the root system that will really interfere with growth and replanting should be cut. In addition, root rejuvenation promotes the growth of young lateral roots.

If the wick system has stopped working due to untimely application of the solution or the wick has simply dried out, this is not a problem. In this situation, the substrate is simply spilled or placed in a container with a solution or water so that it is saturated again.

Violets grown in the ground can be easily transferred to wick watering. To do this, carefully remove the plants from the pot, shake off the soil from the roots and plant them in a new pot under wick watering. In just a few days, the plants will come to life again and will delight you with their beautiful and healthy appearance.

Wick watering is a really convenient method that many gardeners use. In order not to damage or destroy all the plants, you should conduct an experiment - transfer only a few low-value specimens to wick watering and observe their condition for a month.

Benefits of watering using a wick

They are as follows:

The risk of overwatering or lack of moisture for flowers is eliminated. Violets grow in optimal conditions comfortable conditions.
Having determined the required concentration, there is no possibility of overfeeding or lack of nutritional components, unlike those plants for which soil is used during planting.
This greatly simplifies the process of growing violets.
Uniform moistening of the substrate throughout the year.
Violets on wick watering can be safely left unattended for a long time, which cannot be said about flowers planted in the ground.
In such plants, flower buds open faster. Thanks to optimal conditions, their flower buds are more magnificent and brighter than those of specimens planted in the ground.
Considering what violets love high humidity air, this growing method is ideal for them. The water that will slowly evaporate from the wick tray will provide the necessary moisture to the plants.
Planting plants in small flowerpots will ensure lush and colorful flowering of violets. All energy will be directed to flowering, and not to the formation of green mass.

Today there are many ways, and each gardener chooses one that is convenient for himself. Wick watering of violets has long been used with great success, which saves time and saturates the plant with the necessary moisture. Actually, this method is automatic irrigation, but without the use of complex mechanisms. And when the collection of flowers is huge, then wick moistening the soil is a real salvation.

What is wick irrigation?

Wick irrigation is the irrigation of the soil using a special wick (cord), through which water flows into a pot with a nutrient substrate from a container in accordance with the capillary properties of the wick.

With wick watering, violets receive moisture using a special cord.

The wick is a thin cord made of nylon, nylon or other easily wetted material. High strength surface tension that occurs at the boundary of the liquid and solid phases improves the capillary suction of the wick. One end of the cord is lowered into a container of water, the other into a pot with a planted flower. The wick conducts water well, and as a result, the humidity in the soil is kept at the required level, depending on climatic conditions indoors. Temperature changes directly affect changes in the humidity of the soil mixture in the pot.

Important. The best option The material used to make the wick is synthetic fabric. They are durable and not susceptible to rotting processes. It has been established that a cord made from a twisted strip of nylon from women's tights. It can pick up moisture even without pre-wetting.

The wick method of moistening the soil is suitable only for plants that love loose and light soil: violets, gloxinia, streptocarpus. Violets are an ideal plant for this method of watering, however large specimens planted in pots large diameter, do not tolerate such a procedure.

The wick method of watering is suitable only for small violets.

Advantages and disadvantages of the wick irrigation method

Before organizing wick watering for your violets, you should understand the pros and cons of this method.

The undeniable advantages include the following:

plants grown on a wick often bloom more profusely and boast a more magnificent appearance;
some varieties of violets bloom without interruption;
it is almost impossible to flood a flower, since the moisture is distributed evenly and as needed;
a properly formulated solution with a balanced amount of fertilizer will allow you not to overfeed the plant and give it the required amount of nutrients;
young plants develop much faster;
saving time, because watering will be done independently, without requiring an individual approach;
water remains in containers for a long time, sometimes for several weeks.

We must not forget about negative aspects watering like this:

What is needed to organize wick irrigation

The unique technology of watering with a wick is based on the use of a special fabric cord, through which water from the container rises up the wick and saturates the soil with moisture. As a result, the plant receives the optimal amount of liquid without the possibility of flooding.

What should the wick be like?

To create a wick Any will do synthetic cord, natural materials are not suitable because they will quickly rot in a humid environment. To check how the selected fabric absorbs moisture, you need to wet it, let it dry and place it in a container of water. If it immediately gets wet, then it is undoubtedly suitable for a wick, but if it floats on the surface, then you should look for another option.

The wick should not be thick - 1.5-5 mm thick and 15-20 cm long. They are pre-wetted well in water.

Soil requirements

The main thing that is necessary to create wick irrigation is to choose the right substrate. The soil must be loose, light, highly breathable and able to retain moisture. The soil composition should include coarse perlite, vermiculite (or sphagnum moss) and purchased peat soil for indoor flowers. All components are taken in equal quantities.

For wick irrigation, only a special substrate is used.

This mixture is not rich in nutrients, and violets need high-quality fertilizing for beautiful and lush flowering. Perlite and vermiculite should be wetted with water before use, but so that the mixture is moist, not wet.

Suitable capacity

Best suited as a reservoir plastic pots, selected in accordance with the size of the plants: from 7-8 to 10-11 cm. The bottom of such containers is usually dotted with holes, and to prevent the loose substrate from spilling out, they must be covered with synthetic fabric.

You should not choose ceramic pots, since they are heavy, and the design for wick humidification is already not light.

As for the water container, you can find special containers for wick watering on the shelves: they are very practical, and the water does not evaporate from them. If it is not possible to buy ready-made containers, then you can use a regular plastic food container, and for pots with a diameter of 9 cm - disposable half-liter cups.

How to make your own water container? Close the food container tightly with a lid and make a hole in it for the wick. Place the pot with the violet on top, lower the wick into the water. In the case of a disposable half-liter cup, it is tightly closed with a pot with a diameter of 9 cm, and the moisture does not evaporate.

There are various pots available for sale that are designed for wick watering.

Attention. The distance from the water level in the container to the bottom of the pot with the plant should be at least 5 mm.

How to switch violets to wick watering during propagation

It is not difficult to transfer violets in the reproduction stage to wick watering; the main thing is to know how to do it correctly. To root leaves with petioles in peat moss, you will need a small-diameter plastic glass, peat moss (sphagnum), complex fertilizer and a wick. As additional items, scissors, a blade, wire, an awl, sticks, a marker or a felt-tip pen will be useful.

Using a wire, knife or heated awl, a hole is made in the cup through which the wick will be passed. The name of the violet variety is written on the glass so as not to be confused in the future. Later, you can stick a stick into the ground indicating the variety. Sphagnum is crushed into 3-5 cm pieces - in the future this will simplify the separation of children with roots from the moss. For successful rooting, a 0.5% Nutrisol solution is used.

The landing process comes down to several steps:

Cuttings should be planted individual cups to prevent infection from each other. If the leaves are large and do not fit in the cup, they can be cut off along the edges parallel to the walls of the container, and the cut areas can be treated with activated carbon.

After planting, containers with cuttings are placed on a tank with Nutrisol solution: to moisturize the moss, the wicks must become completely wet. Having completed this procedure, the cups are placed on vessels intended for wick irrigation.

After 2 weeks, the leaves will perk up and sprout the first roots, which indicates a successful process. To speed up the birth process, many gardeners resort to using additional lighting. On average, babies appear in 1-3 months.

Important. If babies have not appeared during this time, artificial stimulation is carried out. It consists of cutting a leaf 1/3 from the top, large leaves are cut in half.

Violet cuttings are immediately accustomed to wick watering.

Preparing to switch to the wick method of watering

When switching to wick irrigation, you first need to prepare soil mixture for planting, which must have moisture and breathable properties. Vermiculite and perlite are washed to get rid of dangerous impurities: dust fractions, salts, etc.

If coconut fiber is used, then it must be poured with boiling water and kept in this state for some time. The manipulation is carried out several times in a row. Water is poured into the peat, mixed and left until the water is absorbed and the peat turns into a crumbly mass.

Before switching to wick watering, you need to purchase a nutrient solution, which should always be present in the container for wick wetting. The exception is weak and sick flowers, as well as the period after transplantation.

It is worth preparing convenient structures for filling with water in advance. They must be stable, otherwise, after emptying, they will fall under the weight of the flower pot.

Summary articles:

ALL ABOUT WICK IRRIGATION

Summary of the article:

Pros and cons of wick irrigation
Details about the wick, fertilizer solution and container for wick watering
Rooting leaf cuttings of violets in sphagnum moss using wick irrigation
Growing children and adult rosettes on a soilless substrate for wick irrigation
Violets on wick watering over time

Everyone who has just begun to get interested in violets waters their plants in the usual way: in a tray or in the pot itself directly under the leaves. And most often, problems that appear over time when growing violets are associated either with the earthen clod drying out or with its overflowing. Because of the first, violets lose leaf turgor and drop flowers; because of the second, the roots rot and the plant may even die. And although every gardener tries to follow the watering regime, but take into account individual characteristics each outlet, the temperature and humidity in the room, as well as other nuances are very difficult. So what to do? Everything is very simple: switch to wick irrigation, and you will make your life much easier, and provide your “wards” with the most comfortable conditions.

What is “wick watering”? Wick watering- this is an irrigation method that uses the capillary properties of the cord, thanks to which water from the container under the pot rises along the wick and releases moisture to the substrate. As soon as the substrate dries out, the water “pulls up” again. As a result, the plant receives only the amount of water that it needs at a given time under given conditions. If conditions change (it becomes hot or cold, air humidity increases or decreases, the plant grows, etc.), then the amount of incoming liquid will also change to what your violet needs.

Of course there are some cons:
1. If the system is not designed correctly and the substrate is waterlogged, the roots may rot. However, even with normal watering, this phenomenon is by no means uncommon!
2. When overmoistened, small flies may appear - sciarids (fungus gnats). However, since their larvae feed on decaying organic matter ( leaf soil etc.), the chances of getting them with a regular soil mixture (and, accordingly, regular watering) are much greater.
3. Some people complain that when transferred to a wick, the violets become much larger in size. This is true if you leave them in ordinary 10-12 cm pots. However, wick watering requires a smaller container, and in a 5.5-8 cm pot, violets feel comfortable, bloom profusely, but the size of the rosette remains normal!
4. Many people worry that when a container with violets is on the windowsill, the water in the trays cools down and the plants drink cold water. Yes, this is a minus. But when you water each violet separately warm water, then on the same windowsill the moistened earth ball instantly cools down and the roots are in the cold substrate. That is, there is no difference in this case. The only way out, regardless of the method of watering, is to either insulate the windowsill or move the violets to a warmer place during the cold period.

What pros gives wick watering when used correctly:
1. Violets grow in the most comfortable conditions, without experiencing stress from overwatering or drying out;
2. Having found the optimal concentration of the fertilizer solution, you will not overfeed or underfeed the violets;
3. Growing violets becomes very easy: you don’t need to check every day to see if the earth ball is dry and run around with a watering can/pear/dropper to measure out the amount of water the plant needs;
4. In winter due to the high dryness of the air top layer The soil dries out, but moisture remains inside. And you can easily flood the plant. Whereas with wick watering, the substrate is wetted evenly: the top layer dries out and moisture is immediately drawn from below;
5. You can leave violets for a long time (several weeks), for example, during vacation, and not ask your neighbor/friend/mother to water your pets;
6. It is very easy to root and grow a large number of violets, since you do not have to water each pot separately;
7. If it comes to rooting leaf cuttings, then you will not miss the moment of evaporation of water from the glass (also very important with a large number of violets);
8. Thanks to comfortable conditions, violets not only bloom more luxuriantly, but also bloom much earlier;

9. Violets are very popular high humidity air, but providing it is quite difficult without special humidifiers. But with wick watering, water will constantly evaporate little by little from the reservoirs with the solution, which will create additional humidity in the air near the plant;
10. Mini-violets, which are grown in very small pots, can dry out literally within a day with normal watering, so wick watering is very convenient when growing them;
11. Since the food will come from the solution, and not from the soil, the pot needs to be small (even less than 1/3 of the diameter of the outlet), and this means a certain saving on both the amount of substrate and the pots themselves (the larger the diameter, the higher the price);
12. With a small diameter of the pot, the rosette is small, but evenly developed. Energy is spent on flowering, and not on gaining green mass;
13. As a result, you will get healthy, well-developed, abundantly blooming violets, since with wick watering the plants receive all the necessary microelements from the solution, and the violet regulates the level of soil moisture itself.

We have been using wick watering since 2005 and have noticed that violets have begun to grow much better than when watered in a tray. Their leaves are clean (without traces of drops, which are almost inevitable with normal watering), and the head of flowers is much larger and denser.

How to organize such a wonderful system? Let's consider 2 examples - rooting leaf cuttings in sphagnum moss using wick irrigation and growing children and adult plants using wick irrigation. There is one for both 3 general points : wick, solution and container for wick watering.

Wick must be synthetic (cotton will rot very quickly) and be well wetted, that is, have capillary properties. This is very important point, since not all synthetic cords are hygroscopic, so it is advisable to check this in advance (you can ask them to wet a small area right in the store). We cut the wick into pieces about 20 cm long. The thickness of the wick is usually small. For pots with a diameter of 4-8 cm, we use a cord about 0.5 cm thick. The most common misconception is that many people believe that the larger the diameter of the cord, the more the substrate is wetted. This is wrong! The fact is that the wick is just a “conductor”, and the “pump” is the surface of the substrate in the pot. Even simpler: water does not “enter”, but is “pulled up” according to the law of capillaries, when water evaporates from the top layer of a loose substrate. But the top layer will always stay wet. That is, the substrate will take exactly as much water as it needs. Do not forget that this only works with the correct substrate for wick irrigation (very moisture- and breathable). If you use a dense substrate containing organic matter, it will retain water.

The color of the wick does not matter, the main thing is that it does not color the water (otherwise it may affect the color of the leaves and flowers). Some people make wicks from used nylon tights. On the one hand, this is convenient, since they are almost always at hand, but, according to reviews, such wicks conduct water too well and the substrate becomes soaked.
The main thing is that the end of the wick constantly touches the solution, and the bottom of the pot remains dry. The distance between the bottom and the water level is usually about 1-5 cm and depends on the length of the wick and the amount of water in the tray. What is important is not the length of the wick itself, but the distance from the water to the pot (there may be another half meter of wick lying in the solution - no big deal). This “air” section of the wick is a kind of “engine” of the entire system: when it dries out (and therefore the soil in the pot dries out), water, according to the law of capillaries, is pulled up into the pot. If you make this distance too large, then the wick will dry out due to its large length, and not because the soil has already dried... We use trays 7 cm high, which are about 6 cm filled with solution, on top - plastic plate with holes on which cups or pots stand. The end of the wick touches the bottom of the tray, that is, the solution can be added quite rarely (depending on the number of pots, air humidity and other conditions).

For cooking solution You can use any water-soluble mineral complex microfertilizer. We have been using soluble fertilizer for many years. "Kemira Combi" Finnish production. In this case we are preparing 0.05% solution. It is very convenient to dilute, for example, the entire pack (20 grams) in 1 liter of water and keep it closed away from children (so as not to confuse it with soda). And dilute as needed in the proportion you need! By the way, don’t forget to write on the bottle what’s in it and how to dilute it. For example, when diluting 1 package (20 grams) in 1 liter of water, a 2% solution is obtained. Take 25 ml (5 teaspoons) and dilute it in 1 liter of water - you get a 0.05% solution. Or 50 ml in 2 liters - the effect is the same. This is more convenient for everyone - how many plants they have. Kemira solution can be stored for a very long time. If it precipitates, shake it up and use it for its intended purpose.

Container for solution - container for wick watering- can be individual for each plant, or common for several. The first option has an undoubted advantage in that if there is some kind of nasty stuff in the water, then other violets will not be harmed.

However, we have been growing violets on trays for many years, from which 6-8 children, or 2-3 rosettes, drink. And we never had any problems. And it is much easier to add solution to several large containers than to many small ones.

Sometimes a green coating appears on the walls of the container with the solution - this is algae. There is nothing wrong with them - they do not affect the vital activity of violets. Perhaps the only negative is an aesthetic defect. But sometimes you can wash your containers/trays/reservoirs to remove the greens.

One more point is greenhouse. Everything is simple here: if there is an opportunity, then it’s worth doing it - both the cuttings and the children will grow in much more comfortable conditions. If this is not possible, then its absence will at least to some extent be compensated by the evaporation of water from the trays and the correct humidity of the substrate in the pot.

Now let's take a closer look at the technology.

At rooting leaf cuttings in sphagnum moss with wick irrigation you will need:
Basics:
1. Live sphagnum moss;
2. Plastic cups (180-200 ml);
3. Correct wick;
4. Fertilizer type Kemira Combi;
Additionally:
1. Marker or stickers (adhesive price tags);
2. Burning machine or wire/awl;
3. Scissors;
4. Blade or stationery knife;
5. Sticks for spreading leaves.

So, you need to make small holes in the cups so that you can thread the wick through it. We usually use a burning machine for this, but heated wire or a thick awl will also work. You can cut holes with a knife with a sharp tip.

The names of the varieties can be written with a marker on the cup or with a pen on adhesive price tags. You can also use a marker to label the coffee stirring sticks and place them in cups. It’s more convenient for anyone.

We cut living sphagnum moss into pieces of 2-5 cm (as it turns out) - this way it will be easier to separate the roots of the children from the moss itself.

By the way, don’t be surprised when, after some time, the chopped moss begins to grow - new green stems will appear. This is very good sign, since living moss has bactericidal properties and thereby prevents the cuttings from rotting. Sometimes the growth of moss is so intense that you have to remove the excess to make it easier to plant the babies later!
We are preparing a 0.05% solution of Kemira Combi, which our cuttings and subsequently children will drink. You can also root in clean water (before the babies form), but in our experience, when using a fertilizer solution, the babies appear faster.
We pass the wick through the hole so that at the bottom of the cup we get a half-ring of cord, the rest remains outside. We place cut sphagnum moss on the ring so that it is about 3-4 cm in height, it can be slightly compacted.

For leaf cuttings of violets, we make a cut at an angle, leaving the length of the petiole about 2-3 cm. Some prefer not to cut, but to break off the cutting - this is also correct option. If you are a beginner violet grower and are afraid that the cuttings will rot, then you can leave the petiole longer (so that you can trim it if necessary), but it is more convenient to root petioles that are not long. We insert a leaf cutting into the sphagnum so that the cut is covered with moss, but does not reach the plastic bottom. Many people recommend first dipping cuttings into Kornevin. We don’t do this (everything takes root well here anyway ), but, according to reviews, it really speeds up the process of root formation.

To prevent the leaf from falling (if it is large or, conversely, too small), it is advisable to prop it up with a special stick. The same coffee stirring sticks, broken or cut in half, are suitable for this. You can come up with something else, the main thing is not to use wooden sticks - they quickly start to rot the leaf plates.
It is best that each leaf has its own glass (if one of the pair rots, the second one will not “get infected”, and the children will then feel more at ease). But in order to save space, you can place 2 leaves of the same variety in one glass. In this case, spacer sticks are simply necessary.

If the leaf plate is very large and does not fit into the cup, then you can safely trim the edges to fit small angle(as if parallel to the walls of the cup). For reliability, the sections can be sprinkled with crushed charcoal (if you don’t have charcoal, you can crush activated carbon tablets).

When all the leaves have found their homes, the cups need to be placed in a tray with the solution so that the wicks get wet and the moss is completely saturated with water. This is very important, because otherwise the system will not work. If you don’t have a tray, you can pour some moss on top. After this, the cups can be placed on the container for wick watering.

After about 10-14 days, you will see that the leaves seem to stand up in the cups and become more elastic. And if you pull them slightly, you will feel resistance. This means that everything is going well and the first roots have appeared. At this stage, you can do without backlighting. But babies will appear much faster if you organize additional lighting. The rate of child formation different varieties and depending on different conditions varies greatly, on average from 1 to 3 months and even longer. If the leaves sit for a long time without children, they need to be “stimulated” - cut off the top 1/3 of the leaf, and sometimes ½ if the leaf is very large. Do not forget that violets must be protected from drafts, and optimal temperature for them above 22 degrees.

Some leave the cuttings in the moss only until well-developed roots form, and then replant. We prefer the option when the leaves take root in the moss, produce babies, and the babies grow in the moss with wick watering to the age when they can be planted separately.

This is usually determined by the size of the baby (about 1/3-1/4 in height from the mother leaf) and the amount of green pigment for variegated varieties. By the way, after the separation of the firstborns, the leaf can be left in the sphagnum and it will give you another generation of children.

Now let's talk about growing children and adult plants using wick irrigation.

The only difference between leaves and babies is that for rosettes a wick mixture is used, in which there is no place for sphagnum. Also, according to our observations, you should not add soil to the mixture, as this will lead to rotting of the roots of children and adult violets (sphagnum and soil strongly draw water onto themselves). So we use only landless mixture. Usually we take 50% high-moor (red) peat and 50% perlite, vermiculite or a mixture of them.

You can also use a mixture of coco peat/substrate and perlite, since coconut fiber remains porous even after being saturated with water, which promotes active root formation and better growth plants. But do not forget to rinse the “coconut” before use - it contains quite a lot of salts. The soilless mixture for wick irrigation turns out to be very loose, moisture- and breathable, and thanks to this the root system becomes well and evenly developed.
Place a turn/half turn of the wick on the bottom of the pot. We usually make the ring slightly smaller than the circumference of the pot.

Some people thread the wick through the entire thickness of the mixture, but this is not necessary: due to the looseness and moisture permeability of the substrate, the solution will evenly wet the entire mixture in the pot. Sometimes it is recommended to put some kind of synthetic material on the bottom so that the substrate does not spill out, but with a small diameter of the holes in the pot, the wet mixture will not go anywhere. Thus, we fill the wick on top with the substrate and plant the baby. No drainage is required for wick irrigation.

If, after separating from the leaf, you are left with very small children, there is no need to give up on them: be sure to plant them in a pot with the same mixture, and they will probably take root. In such a substrate, roots develop very quickly!

We place the pot on a tray with water so that the entire system is saturated with the solution. You can also thoroughly flush the system from above, but this is less convenient. You may have to sprinkle the substrate a little on top, as the water will cause it to settle a little. The main thing is not to deepen or fill up the growth point, otherwise the baby will die. After this, you can place the pot on a container for wick watering and add solution as necessary.

Soilless substrate does not contain nutrients, so it is necessary to constantly use fertilizer, which will always be supplied to the plant through a wick. We use a 0.05% Kemira solution.

When wick watering with Kemira Combi solution, nutrients are supplied evenly, the plant does not experience stress from overfeeding/underfeeding. But don’t forget to monitor the condition of the plant. If it grows well, we don’t change anything. If lower leaves turn pale, and the plant becomes “skinny” - the concentration of the solution can be slightly increased. And if a reddish-whitish coating appears in the middle of the rosette, then the concentration must be reduced. No additional feeding is required.

Some violet growers sometimes “dry out” their plants (they do not immediately add the solution when it runs out). We never do this, and our violets feel great. By the way, as I noticed, lovers of soil mixtures, rather than soilless substrates, advise “drying”. And for them this is justified - because of the soil, the substrate gets too wet, and so that the violets do not rot, they have to be “dried”. With the right substrate this is simply not necessary.

Over time, when the baby grows up, roots may grow through the hole in the bottom of the pot along the wick.

There is nothing wrong with this; on the contrary, it means that the plant feels great. We usually leave everything as is. But you can carefully replant the violet. The main thing is not to try to free the old wick from the roots - you can damage them. Just cut off what can clearly be cut off, especially since this will stimulate the formation of important and necessary lateral roots, and renewed root system replant in the pot.

It is advisable to replant the violets once a year (not necessarily into a larger pot): this is done to renew the substrate so that salts and other nasty things do not accumulate in the soil. If the pot larger size is not needed, then just shake off the old substrate from the roots and add a new one to the pot!

Some people worry about the size of the outlet. To prevent violets from turning into “elephants”, the diameter of the pot should be minimal (we have both children and adult primroses, and sometimes re-flowering rosettes that live in pots 5.5 cm). If you plant violets in large pots, the result may be “burdocks”!
If for some reason the system stops working (for example, you forgot to pour the solution into the tray in time and the mixture with the cord dried out), you need to thoroughly pour the substrate or place it in a container with water/solution to soak, and everything will fall into place again!

If you want to transfer violets that grew in the ground to wick watering, then you need to remove them from the pot and, if possible, carefully remove the soil from the roots, but do not wash the roots. And only after that, transplant into the wick watering mixture. After several days of adaptation, the violets will perk up and will only delight you! Some people recommend that after transferring to the wick, only water the plants for a week or two. clean water. Of course, whether to put it on the solution right away or wait is everyone’s personal choice. But don't forget that we are planting in a completely soilless mixture, and it does not contain any nutrients. And in my opinion, it will be difficult for violets to come to their senses “on a starvation diet.” Therefore, we recommend that when using a soilless substrate, you immediately place violets on the Kemira solution.

Wick watering- it's very convenient and actually simple. If you are worried about the result, just start small: transfer a few not very valuable violets to the wick and watch them for a month. You may need to reduce/increase the concentration of the solution, remove the wick from the pot a little, or, conversely, add it. And when you find yours best option system, you can safely transfer the rest of the violets. They will thank you for this with their good health and lush flowering!

Attention! No matter how wonderful fertilizer is, there is one rule! For wick irrigation, the dosage should be 8 times less than indicated on the package.

For regular watering, the dosage is 2 times weaker than indicated on the package. It is better to underfeed a violet than to overfeed it!

Complex mineral fertilizers containing microelements are well suited for wick irrigation.

Organo-mineral and organic fertilizers are suitable for the traditional method of watering violets.

Several years ago I used Kemira-Combi fertilizer (at any stage of violet growth). But, unfortunately, this fertilizer is no longer produced. Therefore, I decided to try other fertilizers. I will provide information about some of them.

I really liked the fertilizerSCHULTZ ( AfricanViolet)8-14-9.

(Click on the pictures to see them enlarged)

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It is convenient to use both for wick irrigation and for traditional method glaze.

Highly effective fertilizer with high phosphorus content. Used for flowering violets, fuchsias, gloxinias, geraniums and other indoor plants flowering plants. After applying this fertilizer, abundant flowering occurs, the flowers are brighter, and the flowering lasts for a long time. The plant looks healthier. It is used and gives good results when feeding both indoor and garden plants.

Does not burn leaves and roots even in the hottest weather. Easily absorbed by plants.

Directions for use: 7 drops per liter of water with each watering. For those who use fertilizer 2 times a month - 14 drops per liter of water.

The fertilizer has a correctly balanced formula of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium plus a set of microelements, due to this the flowers develop well and bloom profusely.

For wick irrigation, 7 drops per liter are also diluted.

The composition of other fertilizers is not much different SCHULTZ

The packaging also states that it can be used for violets and other flowering plants, and is also suitable for hydroponics, therefore perfect for wick watering. Its consumption is the same - 7 drops per liter of water. The price is not much different, but the volume is 2 times larger.

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Fertilizer is suitable for blooming violets Kemira - Suite 16: 20: 27 (This fertilizer can be used for wick irrigation).

Nitrogen total.	16,0
Nitrogen amm.
Nitrogen nitr.
Phosphorus	20,6
Potassium	27,1
Iron
Bor	0,02
Copper	0,01
Manganese
Molybdenum	0,002
Zinc	0,01

Kemira Lux - water-soluble fertilizer for vegetables, flowers, seedlings.

If you are going to use this fertilizer for wick irrigation, then it is more convenient to dissolve it in water (prepare a solution) and then add it with a syringe required quantity this solution into water.

20 g . Dissolve the sachet in 200 ml. Add 5 ml. this solution per 1 liter of water.

Accordingly, dilute 100 g sachet in 1 liter. Add 5 ml of solution per 1 liter of water.

Etisso is considered a good fertilizer. It is suitable for both wick and regular watering.

For blooming violets, use Etisso with a red cap.

Composition: 3.8% nitrogen, 7.6% phosphoric acid (in terms of phosphorus oxide), 7.5% potassium oxide, vitamin B1 and water-soluble trace elements (boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc) .

For wick watering, it is enough to dilute 1 ml. Etisso in 1 liter of water.

Etisso is used for the growth of children with a green lid.

Composition: 7.1% nitrogen, 3.1% phosphoric acid (in terms of phosphorus oxide), 4.2% potassium oxide, vitamin B1, as well as trace elements: boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, - soluble in the water.

For wick irrigation, 1 ml is also diluted. Etisso in 1 liter of water.

For both regular and wick irrigation, you can use fertilizers from the “Master” series, selecting the desired composition, depending on the stage of development.

Master - microcrystalline fertilizer, the use of which is possible in the most complex irrigation systems and for foliar feeding due to its ability to completely dissolve.
Master does not contain sodium, chlorine and carbonates, and has a very high degree of chemical purity, which is a decisive factor in the effectiveness of nutrition and foliar feeding. Contains microelements in chelated form EDTA (Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe). Each type of fertilizer is painted in its own color. Unlike other similar products, the chelates used in Master are stable in the pH range from 4 to 11.

For wick watering of violets, it is enough to dilute 1 g of fertilizer per 1 liter of water.

Many people use UNIFLOR fertilizer to feed violets. (It is also divided into Uniflor for flowering “Uniflor Bud” and “Uniflor Growth” for growth. It is also used for wick watering.

The concentration of the solution for wick irrigation can be calculated independently. Just remember that the solution should be 8 times weaker than indicated on the package.

You can use fertilizers from the “Florist” series. Their composition is good. But these fertilizers are better suited for traditional irrigation.

There is also a fertilizer from this series specifically for violets:

As practice has shown, despite the fact that this is an organomineral fertilizer, it is quite suitable for wick irrigation. I diluted it in a concentration of 0.5 ml. for 1 liter of water.

Many people successfully use Forte fertilizer. This fertilizer is suitable for growth:

Plantafol.

Plantafol 10+54+10 - quick start, stimulation of the formation of generative organs

Plantafol 30+10+10 - rapid growth of vegetative mass

Plantafol 20+20+20 - prevention of growth processes, universal formula

Plantafol 5+15+45 - flowering-fruiting, rapid filling of fruits

Plantafol 0+25+50 - nitrogen-free, high-potassium fertilizer to impart shelf life, increase sugar levels and improve the quality characteristics of fruits

Plantafol 10:54:10

"bloom blaster" is used to stimulate abundant flowering(indispensable fertilizer before the exhibition)

Fertilizer Plantafol belongs to a number of highly soluble fertilizersfor foliar feeding.

Compound:

Total azat - 10.0,

Nitrate - (-),

Ammonia - 8.0,

Urea - 2.0,

Phosphoric acid - 54.0,

Soluble potassium - 10.0,

Boron - 0.02,

Iron - 0.1,

Manganese - 0.05,

Zinc - 0.05,

Copper - 0.05,

Molybdenum - 0.005

Consumption rate: 1g per 1 liter of water, spray once a week.

Even a single use of plantafol 10:54:10 at the moment of bud formation, gives a wonderful result.

BREXIL mix (Valagro)

a full complex of microelements (concentrate) - improves the color of flowers.

Dilute 1g per 1 liter of water

Microelements in the form of LPCA complex (ligninopolycarboxylic acid) Brexil (monoelements and mixtures). The advantage of the Brexil series: does not contain nitrogen, sodium, chlorine and heavy metals, which avoids the risk of burns and salt deposits on leaves; non-phytotoxic; low consumption rate; completely water soluble; adhesive effect; compatible with most pesticides; high degree of absorption.

It is good to use during the period of peduncle formation and growth. BREXIL Ca (Valagro)

Lack of calcium causes underdevelopment of the root system in plants, blossom end rot and cracking of fruits.

Calcium has a very strong positive effect on plant root growth. Without calcium, cell destruction occurs in the root growth zone.

Calcium protects plants from excess ammonia nitrogen.

Dilute 1g. for 1 liter of water. Carry out foliar feeding.

If chlorosis occurs (yellowing of leaves), it is good to use the drug

FERRILENE 4.8

Dosage: 1 g (per 1 l) and pour over. Dissolves instantly.

Under this brand there are two products FERRILENE and FERRILENE 4,8, differing in chelating agents (EDDHA and EDDHSA) and different percentages of OPTO-OPTO bonds.

Currently, FERRILENE 4.8 chelate has the highest percentage of OPTO-OPTO bonds (4.8%) of the iron chelates existing in the world.

Almost all of the above drugs, if necessary, can be found on the sites below and you can pick up your order in person in Moscow, or after paying, you can receive your order by mail. On these sites you can read more detailed information about fertilizers and other preparations. I hope the authors of the sites will not be offended by me for providing links to their sites. I myself have repeatedly purchased drugs and fertilizers on these sites and have been satisfied.

Wick watering for violets.

(Continued from part 2).

So, you have decided to plant a baby or adult violet on the wick. We take the plant out of the pot and as much as possible separated from the ground. Wet the lace with water. Pour some drainage (expanded clay or polystyrene foam) into the bottom of the new pot, then sprinkle with a little soil. We thread the wick into the prepared pots, make an incomplete turn (half-ring) inside the pot, and fill it with the prepared substrate. The wick can be inserted into different layers of the substrate. If you introduce it into the lowest one, water rises up quite quickly through a system of small channels (capillaries) that permeate the substrate. In order for it to quickly saturate the entire earthen lump, the wick can be passed through all layers.

Wick watering is effective only when correct selection substrate: it should receive only the amount of water that the plant needs. No less than water, plant roots need good aeration. Therefore, the substrate must not only be sufficiently moisture-absorbing, but also loose and breathable. Practice shows that a substrate whose main component is high-moor peat has good water-physical properties. Too dense a substrate with a large amount of clay-turf soil is not suitable for wick irrigation. In it, plants lack oxygen, which leads to a slowdown in their growth and rotting of the roots.

We plant the violet as usual, without compacting the soil so that it remains loose. Then we put all the pots on a tray and thoroughly pour the substrate with water so that the water flows into the tray and the substrate is well saturated; this is necessary for the whole system to work. If the substrate shrinks during watering, you need to add more.

You can water it carefully from the watering can again. When all the water has drained, the pots of violets can be placed on containers with water (remember that we add the nutrient solution later, after about two weeks). One end of the wick must be lowered into a container of water; water will flow to the flowers due to the difference in capillary pressure. If you are doing this for the first time, you don’t have to put the wick in the water right away, watch the violet a little, if it feels good, after a few days, lower the wick into the water, if during this time the wick has dried out, then wet everything again from above.

The distance between the bottom and the water level is usually about 1-5 cm and depends on the length of the wick and the amount of water in the tray. The end of the wick touches the bottom of the tray. What is important is not the length of the wick itself, but the distance from the water to the pot (there may be another half meter of wick lying in the solution - no big deal). This “air” section of the wick is a kind of “engine” of the entire system: when it dries out (and therefore the soil in the pot dries out), water, according to the law of capillaries, is pulled up into the pot.

The distance from the pot to the water level should not be made large, especially with a thin wick, that is, so that it does not dry out due to too much air space. If you make this distance too large, the wick will dry out due to the long length, and not because the soil has already dried out. A short distance does not cause harm, because... Pour water into containers to the very top.

Now, when caring for your violets, it is important to ensure that the wick does not dry out and that water flows properly to the violets. Try not to let the soil dry out; as soon as there is little water left, but the wick is still wet, immediately pour in new water. After drying, peat does not absorb water well and it is not a fact that after drying the wick will draw water well. This system is self-regulating, since water comes from the reservoir as it evaporates and is consumed by the plant, as a result of which the humidity of the substrate remains at a constant level.

This level of moisture saturation is different for each substrate, and the speed at which water will flow into the pot with the plant depends on the width and material of the wick. The frequency with which water needs to be added to the tanks depends on the size and age of the plant, the condition of its root system, the length of the wick, the temperature and humidity of the room. Adult violets and violets with a good root system drink a lot of water, while starter plants and diseased plants drink water moderately. But on average, with a tank volume of 200 mm, water is added once a week.

Homemade humidification systems should definitely be tested. For example, monitor the speed at which a particular wick conducts water. At normal operation Usually the soil is always moderately moist. At first the soil will seem wet to you, but it is actually wetter than when watering from above.

If, nevertheless, you missed, and the water in the glass has run out or the wick has stopped working for some reason, then you need to spill everything on top, or put it on a tray with water, or pour water into the glasses so that the bottom sinks a little, in any case, the substrate should It’s good to get saturated with water so that the system continues to work. Plants grown in this way can be left unattended for 5-7 days.

Settled tap water is used as irrigation liquid. The amount of incoming water can be adjusted by selecting wicks of a certain diameter. Due to the fact that the substrate used for this growing method is not rich in nutrients, add liquid fertilizers, For this purpose, instead of water, a fertilizer solution is periodically poured into the lower pot. If part of your soil mixture Since only pure peat (without mineral additives) and perlite are present, you can start fertilizing two weeks after transplanting.

To prepare the solution, you can use any water-soluble mineral complex microfertilizer. It is necessary for the full development and flowering of Saintpaulia. It is better to add fertilizer constantly, but diluted approximately 7-8 times the recommended dose on the package. If you alternate between clean water and water with fertilizers, you may later become confused as to which container was added. clean water, and which one with fertilizer, since violets do not absorb water equally evenly.

When wick watering with a fertilizer solution, nutrients are supplied evenly, the plant does not experience stress from overfeeding/underfeeding. If the lower leaves turn pale and the plant becomes “skinny,” the concentration of the solution can be slightly increased. And if a reddish-whitish coating appears in the middle of the rosette, then the concentration must be reduced.

A few months after switching the plant to wick watering, the soil in the pot may begin to alkalize. To avoid this, it is advisable to use water softeners. Sometimes, over time, the wick may silt up and no longer work, then you need to replace it.

If the time for replanting has not yet come, then simply pull out the old wick and use a knitting needle or crochet hook to push through the new wick. Very often, roots grow along the wick through the drainage holes. There is nothing wrong with this; on the contrary, it means that your violet feels good and likes everything.

Once a month, usually during the next watering, remove the pots from the glasses and wash the glasses thoroughly, since over time a green coating forms on the walls of transparent glasses, and this contributes to the rapid silting of the wick, and besides, it looks ugly, especially for those glasses with that receive natural light.