Browallia (37 photos) - growing and care at home

Modest, not provocatively bright flower crops are becoming increasingly popular in the design of flower beds and garden plots. Their calm, gentle, peaceful beauty fascinates and makes you look back and stop. This also applies to the Brovallia flower, a herbaceous annual plant from the nightshade family. A neat bush, strewn with small flowers, will decorate a balcony, terrace, or any corner of the garden plot, and will give the interior a cute originality. Browallia can be grown as a garden and indoor plant.

Brovallia care

To extend the flowering period, you need to create the most comfortable conditions for the flower. The most important thing is to adjust the climate, humidity and choose a good place in the apartment.

Lighting

Brovallia loves bright and diffused light. In order for a flower to bloom, it must be provided with 12 hours of daylight throughout the year. If there is not enough sun in winter, additional lighting must be installed.

Attention! In winter, the plant is placed on the south side in order to somehow compensate for the lack of light.

Temperature

Comfortable temperature for the plant in the warm season is +20-25°C. In winter, the temperature is maintained at +15-17°C. If you do not maintain a period of rest, the flower will hurt. Also, lowering the temperature is necessary for future flowering and high decorativeness.

Attention! The air temperature is also lowered to prevent the shoots from stretching. If the climate remains the same as in summer, but the plant does not have enough sun, Browallia will begin to stretch.

Place in the apartment

When installing a plant, you must choose an area without drafts and temperature changes. The plant should be kept away from heating appliances. It is best to place the pot on a window with a southeast or southwest orientation. This way the brovallia will get enough light and won’t burn the leaves.

Watering and humidity

Watering frequency:

1. The plant loves abundant watering. The watering standard for brovallia is once every 7 days.
2. During the warm season, irrigation may be required every 2-3 days.
3. In winter, the intensity of watering is reduced to 1 time per week.

It is important to let the top layer of soil dry out between waterings, otherwise fungal infections may develop and the root system will begin to rot.

Browallia thrives at moderate humidity levels of around 55-60%. On hot days, the above-ground part of the plant is additionally sprayed. Otherwise, spider mites may appear in a dry room. At the same time, it is important not to touch the inflorescences; the petals darken when water gets on them.

Important! Watering and spraying is always carried out with settled water at room temperature.

Feeding

Fertilizers are used only during the active growing season - from spring to early autumn. In winter, fertilizing is not needed.

Supplements can be made every 2 weeks. It is desirable that they include phosphorus and potassium compounds. High concentrations of nitrogen are undesirable. You can use complex mineral supplements.

Pinching and trimming

Pinching is carried out occasionally during the active growing season. The procedure gives the plant lushness and compactness. Young apical shoots and the first buds are pinched, this provokes abundant branching.

Attention! To ensure a longer flowering period, you need to pick off old buds immediately after they bloom. Otherwise, they will begin to form a seed pod, and the energy of the brovallia will be spent on fruit ovary.

Pruning is also carried out in early spring, old, darkened and diseased branches and leaves are removed.

Conditions for Brovallia (table)

Landing instructions

Brovallia should be planted in soil made from turf and leaf soil, preferably adding perlite and humus. The pot must allow for the drainage of excess liquid.

Suitable pot for planting Brovallia

Soil and drainage

The composition of the soil can be different, the main thing is that it is nutritious, loose, and neutral in acidity. The easiest option is to purchase universal soil for home flowers and add sand and charcoal to it. They also use soil for Saintpaulias.

You can make your own soil from:

• 2 parts of turf land;
• 2 parts leaf soil;
• 1 part humus;
• 1 part perlite.

Choosing a pot

The pot should have drainage holes from which excess liquid will come out. Otherwise, the plant will develop root rot.

Plastic pots are most often chosen, but clay pots are also suitable. There should be a space of 1.5-2 cm between the walls and the earthen lump. You can use hanging containers, because The stems are quite long and can hang down to the sides.

Transfer schedule

The plant dies after it forms seed pods. You can artificially extend the lifespan by replanting after flowering begins. The procedure is carried out once a year, in early spring.

Replanting is also necessary when the plant has outgrown its pot. If the time for replanting has come, and changing the pot is not required, you can simply replace the top layer of soil with a fresh one.

Step-by-step planting instructions

Transplantation is carried out either before flowering or after. Otherwise, browallia will lose its inflorescences.

Before the transplant procedure, you need to water the flower well:

1. A drainage layer is laid on the bottom of the pot, which usually occupies 1/5-1/6 of its height.
2. The prepared earthen mixture is laid on top.
3. The flower is carefully removed from the old pot and the soil is shaken off the roots. Dried and darkened areas are cut off.
4. The plant is centered in the pot and the remaining substrate is added. Then you can shake the container slightly or compact the soil a little to get rid of voids.
5. The plant is shed abundantly with water.

Common Mistakes

In the case when brovallia is grown from seeds to decorate a balcony or loggia, it is necessary to remove the seedlings to a permanent place only when the threat of the first spring frosts has disappeared. Otherwise the plant will die.

Regularly, after the final transplantation of brovallia into pots, it is necessary to begin fertilizing with fertilizer for flowering indoor plants every 10-14 days until the end of flowering.

Reproduction

Brovallia propagates in two ways - by seeds or cuttings. Cuttings save time and give better results.

Seeds

1. The collected seeds are left in lukewarm water for 24 hours.
2. Soil, which consists of sand and peat, is placed in the planting container.
3. The ground is sprayed with a spray bottle.
4. Seeds are planted in a container with a depth of 2 cm.
5. The seeds must be covered with glass or film to create a greenhouse effect. At the same time, they are ventilated daily and regularly moistened.
6. When the first shoots appear, the plants are placed in a well-lit place and the film is removed.

By cuttings

1. Healthy, already formed apical cuttings are cut from the bush, always with 2-3 leaves.
2. The cuttings are placed in water until the root system is formed, the process usually takes about a month.
3. Water is replaced once every 3 days.
4. When the roots have grown 2 cm, they can be planted in the ground.

Important! Up to 3 cuttings are planted in a pot to make the plant more lush and beautiful.

Plant toxicity

Lantana flower: home care and methods of propagation

When deciding to plant brovallia in your apartment, you should not forget for a second that this flower is poisonous. Without exception, all parts of the plant contain a toxic substance that has a negative effect on the human body if ingested or on the mucous membrane.

Even the most experienced gardener can grow brovallia.

This does not mean that you should give up growing a beautiful flower at home. You just need to be extremely careful when interacting with the plant. If there are children or pets in the apartment, the culture pot should be placed in a place where it will not be accessible.

Caring for the plant should be done with rubber gloves and when pruning and replanting, avoid getting juice in the eyes or on unhealed wounds. If, as a result of negligence, a toxic substance does get on the skin, you must immediately rinse the area of ​​the body under running water.

Most often, brovallia is grown in pots rather than in open ground.

By being safe, it is easy to avoid any problems associated with breeding Brovallia and enjoy its incredibly beautiful blooming appearance.

Pests

Unfortunately, pests love the succulent leaves of Browallia. If maintenance standards have been violated, or the plant has been transplanted into contaminated soil, insects quickly form entire colonies.

Shchitovka

The insect reaches about 2 mm in length. Has a durable shell. The pest digs into the pulp of the leaves, tightly adhering to the plate. That is why it is difficult to get rid of scale insects using traditional methods.

You can try rinsing the plant in the shower, brushing off the scale insects with a soft brush, but this method does not prevent re-infestation. The most reliable method is insecticide treatment. Before spraying, the window sill and pot are wiped with disinfectant compounds.

Shchitovka

Then spray :

• Aktaroy;
• Mospiran;
• Bankolom.

Spider mite

The tick is difficult to detect due to its small size; the body reaches 1-2 mm in length. The insect reproduces quickly, the colony hides on the inside of the leaves. Because of the pest, a thin cobweb forms on the brovallia, the foliage becomes dry and lethargic, and the plates begin to turn yellow.

The sick plant is taken to a separate room for quarantine.

Spider mite

Then the processing :

• Actellicom;
• Fitoverm;
• Neoronom.

The pest appears only at low air humidity. Accordingly, with regular watering, spraying and an average level of humidity, there will be no spider mites.

Whitefly

Outwardly it resembles a small white butterfly, the length of the body is 1.3-1.5 mm. When a flower is infected by a colony of pests, when approaching it, a whole cloud of fluttering insects forms around the brovallia. The leaf blade begins to curl inward. The color saturation is lost, the leaves become pale. A sticky coating appears on the surface of the plant. The development of the plant stops.

Important! It will not be possible to get rid of the larvae using folk methods, because... they are protected by a wax cocoon. The best way to cure a flower is to use insecticides.

To cure brovallia, spray:

• Aktaroy;
• Confidor;
• Spark.

If there is a whitefly in the room, other flowers may become infected. It is better to isolate the sick flower in a separate room.

Origin and appearance of Brovallia

Browallia is a member of the large nightshade family. Potatoes and tomatoes are related to this flower. And these plants have a common homeland: they are all natives of the South American continent. But unlike its tasty and healthy relatives, Brovallia does not have gastronomic advantages. It pleases only aesthetic taste. The beauty of Browallia is not as striking as that of other tropical inhabitants. This is not a bright fireworks of colors and shapes, but a simple but charming beauty. Only a true connoisseur of the flower world will understand the grace of brovallia.

The beauty of brovallia is dim, but very delicate

In the wild and in the garden, Browallia shoots can grow up to one and a half meters. When kept indoors, the bush does not exceed 30–40 cm. Compact hybrid forms are grown in open ground - in flower beds or alpine hills, and in containers to decorate terraces and balconies.

In its natural environment, browallia is a lushly flowering herbaceous shrub with shoots up to one and a half meters

Browallia is a herbaceous plant, it has tender shoots that creep or droop. Small (up to 5 cm) thin oval-shaped leaves with slight pubescence. The stems are richly decorated with flowers that form in the axils and tips. Five or six petals fused at the base with edges slightly bent back, reminiscent of both an asterisk and a violet. Their color varies from dark violet to snowy white.

Brovallia flowers look like violets, but are completely devoid of scent.

Browallia is a self-pollinating plant. Its fruits look like a box; small dark seeds are hidden behind the valves. They are easy to obtain at home, but ripening the fruits takes away the strength needed for flowering.

Browallia was named in honor of fellow naturalist Carl Linnaeus. D. Brovall was a clergyman who was interested in botany and floriculture.

Browallia is not the most difficult flower to care for. Although you can’t call her very unpretentious. It is demanding when it comes to watering and needs high air humidity when living in a room. In addition, the bush must be shaped to preserve its decorative effect. Due to the rapid flowering, it quickly stretches out, loses its attractiveness and blooms more modestly.

Browallia is still a rare plant in our apartments, but lovers have already appreciated this delicate flower

Often, after the last flowers have withered, the plant is thrown away and a new one is grown from cuttings or seeds. I must say, Brovallia reproduces easily. By the way, it blooms beautifully at any time of the year. For winter flowering it must be sown in summer, and for summer flowering - at the end of winter. By following some rules, you can try to extend the life of browllia after flowering for a year or two.

After flowering, indoor brovallia is renewed, but you can try to save the old plant

When caring for brovallia, be careful: the plant is moderately toxic. Wear gloves before working and wash your hands after completing work. Place brovallia in places inaccessible to small children and animals.

Charming browallia is a toxic plant, follow safety rules when working with it

Types and varieties of Brovallia

Browallia is a small genus, with only 6 species. Only half of them and hybrid varieties are used in floriculture. They are better suited to being kept in a room and are distinguished by a variety of colors and size of flowers.

1. Browallia beautiful, or magnificent, pleasant, is the most common species in home floriculture. In the wild, it is distributed in Colombia and Peru. The cultivated variety does not grow more than 40 cm. Its fleecy shoots will branch strongly with regular pinching. The leaves are also pubescent, dark green, about 6 cm in length. Flowers up to 3 cm in diameter can be blue, blue or violet with a light center. Flowering lasts for a year or more.
2. Browallia americana (or pubescent) is more hairy than other species. This plant blooms profusely and for a long time. The inflorescences are small (about 2.5 cm), solitary, violet or bluish in color. The bush is about 60 cm long and branches heavily.
3. Browallia grandiflora comes from Peru. The branched bush stretches up to half a meter; in nature it blooms from late autumn. The inflorescences are large, up to 5 cm in diameter, pale blue or white, collected in loose racemes.
4. Brovallia sticky is a Peruvian, medium-sized plant, about 30 cm. It got its name from its sticky stem covered with hairs. Small flowers, dark blue with a white center or snow color, are formed very abundantly. In the garden, flowering continues from mid-summer until frost. At home it blooms in November.
5. Alba is a variety of sticky Brovallia with bright white inflorescences with a yellow eye. The plant is well adapted to indoor cultivation.
6. Sapphire is a variety with a miniature (20 cm) bush and a head of large flowers. Their coloring resembles the gemstone after which the plant was named. Blue-blue inflorescences decorate this browllia all year round.
7. Browallia Blue Bell is a modern hybrid that is more unpretentious than the original species. The spherical bush reaches 35 cm. Buds are formed 3 months after sowing. The flowers are about 3 cm in diameter, they are colored in different shades of blue and form clusters at the ends of the shoots or in the axils.
8. Browallia Marine Bell is a compact hybrid. The flowers are small (2 cm) of a deep blue hue and bloom very quickly, two months after sowing the seeds.
9. Browallia Silver Bell is a hybrid variety. The leaves are rich green, more durable than other varieties. Flowers in the shape of a five-pointed star (diameter 3 cm) are snow-white.

Browallia is beautiful, American, sticky and varieties in the photo

Browallia Silver Bell: flowers like snow-white stars

Brovallia Sapphire - quite large flowers on a small bush

Browallia Marine Bell with blue-violet flowers

Browallia grandiflora has inflorescences with a diameter of 5 cm

New varieties have been bred based on the beautiful Brovallia

Brovallia sticky has very fuzzy stems and small flowers.

Browallia Blue Bell - an unpretentious and compact flower

Browallia americana is distinguished by its small flowers with specially fused petals.

Alba variety is suitable for indoor keeping

Difficulties

The plant may be affected:

1. Powdery mildew.
2. Spider mite.
3. Scale insects.
4. Whitefly.

But, as a rule, with proper care (watering, soil, good place) no difficulties arise, the plant is not a sissy and has good immunity of its own.

We also often get written about yellowing of the leaves - most likely, the room for the brovallia is too hot, spray the plant more often, if it is not possible to move it, this allows you to locally slightly reduce the air temperature, but it is still better to place it in a cooler place.

Application

This indoor and garden plant is most often used as a tapeworm. It is great if you need to create a single accent in a room - for example, decorating a kitchen table with a potted plant. It can combine well with other plants that have similar needs, but the use of brovallia in compositions is not very common.

In open ground, brovallia is used in flower beds, as a border plant and, of course, in a variety of containers. Browallia looks unconventional, so she can become a good participant in modernist compositions. Planting in hanging containers is possible; brovallia has sufficiently flexible shoots so that it can act as an hanging crop.

Features of flowering

The main and special quality of brovallia is its long flowering. Throughout its short period of life, it blooms continuously.

Blooming home decoration

The flowers of the plant can have various shades of blue or have a snow-white color. Some are inflorescences, and many varieties are covered with a scattering of small flowers.

Attention! Another feature is the lack of need for a rest period. In winter, flowering may decline slightly, but it does not stop.