Gloxinia is an extremely delicate plant that needs careful and constant care. Despite this, many flower growers still dare to have this “capricious beauty”, and they are successfully given the care at home for gloxinia.
You just need to be careful to ensure that the diseases of gloxinias do not spoil the beauty of the flower, so that the leaves do not turn yellow or darken, do not fall off the buds. So, what diseases and which pests of gloxinias can prevent her normal development, as well as to please us with abundant flowering. This will be discussed below.
Yellow leaves: what to do
Naturally, if the plant begins to turn yellow before the dormancy period, and it in gloxinia, as a rule, begins immediately after the end of flowering, it is clearly not a disease. There is no precise time limit for this stage of the life of a gloxinia. The plant can go to “rest” in September, October and also in November.
If the gloxinia is still young, it may not have time to grow its tuber, and therefore it does not need a rest period yet. However, if the tuber is present, and the leaves are clearly withered – it is time for the plant to rest. In this case, home care for young gloxinia is as follows:
- Reduce watering and then wait until the leaves are dry.
- Remove the gloxinias from the lighted windowsill.
- Do not cut back the still green foliage and thus forcefully send the plant to rest.
- The gloxinia should be during its resting period at a temperature of about +12 degrees Celsius.
Why do gloxinia’s lower leaves turn yellow
It does not matter what age the gloxinia is (young plant or already with a tuber), if it has yellowed and withered leaves at the bottom, it means that the watering is insufficient and the frequency needs to be increased. Perhaps you should simply transplant the gloxinia into a larger pot. If the soil lags from the wall of the pot, then the plant has leaf disease (drying and yellowing) due to the lack of moisture. That is, the amount of soil is obviously not enough to keep the plant in the right amount of moisture.
Excessive overwatering can lead to rotting of the bulb.
If such trouble has already occurred, the gloxinia should be pulled out of the soil, closely inspect the bulb (for rot), if necessary cut out all the damaged tissues, leaving only the healthy ones. If the disease occurs, after treatment, each cut spot should be thoroughly covered with activated charcoal powder, the soil should be completely replaced, and the regular watering should be normalized.
Why do spots appear on gloxinia leaves
Brown spots on gloxinia leaves are nothing more than ordinary sunburns from direct sunlight. They appear on the plant if it is located in a place that is too open to sunlight.
So, if brown spots appear on gloxinia leaves, and the leaves are obviously dry, it is hot in the room, there is not enough watering, in addition, the gloxinia stands in too hot sun. It should be taken into account that this plant, although it does not like direct sunlight, but it still needs light, for this reason gloxinia is not put in the penumbra, but for some time just slightly shaded.
Other causes of yellowing of the leaves may be:
- Gloxinia leaves turn yellow also from such a disease as chlorosis. If the plant has been watered with water that has not been drained and is very hard (with chlorine) and taken fresh from the tap, the gloxinia can easily fall ill with chlorosis. To avoid such trouble, the water must not only be left to stand, but also softened with a little lemon juice or vinegar. Sometimes the cause of chlorosis is the low acidity of the soil. In this case, the soil is replaced by a more suitable in its composition.
- If the gloxinia leaves curl, this can also be the result of a violation of the rule of the required watering regime. The leaves seem to “hug” the pot and become spoon-like. In this case, the normalization of watering can help to eliminate the disease. Before each watering, you need to slightly dry the top of the soil. Also curl leaves in gloxinia can from an extremely low degree of humidity in the air, but at the same time high air temperature. You can put some container with wet keramsite near the pot.
In any case, frequent watering can partially solve the problem, but you should be extremely careful: stagnant moisture in the pot is also extremely dangerous.
Gloxinia flowering problems
It happens that the gloxinia already has buds and almost opens its sepals, but the florist is disappointed: inside them there is just a hollow flower, which looks like a green pea. The reason for this phenomenon can be wintering gloxinia in an excessively cold place. Quite quickly the pedicel of an underdeveloped bud turns completely dark, then it should simply be cut off. You can spray the plant with growth stimulants and then make sure that its conditions are quite comfortable.
If the mature buds do not open fully, turn brown at first, then wither and completely fall off, this can mean an alarming symptom: a thrips infestation or spider mite, which is extremely dangerous for all house plants. It is necessary not to delay, urgently treat the gloxinias with any suitable insecticides.
If no parasites are found on the gloxinia, the reason for the lack of flowering may be simpler: the plant has many buds and simply does not have enough strength and not enough nutrition (and possibly not enough light) to help its buds to bloom.
In this case you should feed it with a suitable fertiliser and if there is more phosphorus than nitrogen, it is better to give it a little more potassium than nitrogen. You can arrange for additional gloxinia lighting if necessary, and carefully adjust the room temperature as well as the humidity.
If the problem looks different and the gloxinia does not bloom at all or even picks up buds, the reasons may be different, for example:
- If the soil lacks nitrogen or on the contrary too much of it.
- When the plant is dark.
- Gloxinia is cold indoors.
- The soil does not contain enough trace elements: phosphorus or potassium.
- The gloxinia was not transplanted to new, more fertile fresh soil in the fall.
- The gloxinia is growing in too large a pot, it is gaining green mass or enlarging the tuber to the detriment of flowering.
- The plant has not rested or the rest has been extremely short.
It is also possible that the “room favorite” has already simply grown old and therefore blooms much less often. In this case, it is worth thinking about its renewal.
Phytophthorosis and Fusariasis.
If there is stagnant moisture in the trays or the soil is too tight, phytophthorosis can occur. This is a dangerous fungal disease that can be caused not only by crowded plantings, but also by contaminated soil, high humidity, and a very cold room, especially during the growing season. The disease is spread through dirty tools, poor soil or contaminated water.
Phytophthorosis appears on gloxinia as follows:
- Wet, dark brownish spots appear on the leaves that are surrounded by a light-colored rim.
- Mold can be seen inside the leaf.
- There are dark brown small streaks near the stem.
When infected with phytophthora, the plant stops growing completely, its leaves wither, and its roots rot. Treatment can help in this case: Bordeaux liquid or copper sulfate is suitable.
If the air in the room is humid, with insufficient watering and fertilization was weak, the gloxinia can be prone to such a disease as fusarium. This is a fungal disease dangerous to plants, it enters the plant weakened by poor care through contaminated soil. Leaves in the gloxinia at the same wither, strongly curled, can get brownish color. In order for the plant not to die, it is necessary to take it out of the pot and clean it from the soil, while treating it with fungicides. After such treatment, transplant the gloxinia into fresh healthy soil.
Gray rot and powdery mildew
If the gloxinia begins to slowly blacken part of the stem, a gray patina is noticeable on the leaves, and later spots of brown hue appear, the plant may have a dangerous disease – gray rot, which occurs from excessive overwatering of the soil. After the bush is dug up and carefully inspected, the diseased areas at the tuber and ground part are removed, and healthy parts are treated with fungicides. After the treatment procedures are completed, the plant is transplanted into healthy soil.
When the room is too cold and humidity is high, powdery mildew may appear on the plant, it looks like a white powdery coating. The plant becomes deformed and has a sickly appearance. This type of disease of houseplants is dangerous, also requires treatment with fungicides and more careful care.
If new diseases have appeared on the leaves of gloxinia, spots of dark brownish color, turning into large tears, then the gloxinia has phyllostictosis. Just like the aforementioned diseases, the plant should be treated with copper sulfate, as well as with Bordeaux liquid or copper oxychloride.
So, to grow a beautiful and healthy gloxinia, you’ll need some effort, the right care at home for it, the knowledge of the secrets of keeping it in suitable conditions. If you follow the rules of care for her, you will be able to enjoy the contemplation of the magnificent flowering of this plant.
