If you decide to plant an indoor violet on your windowsill, you need to know about all the intricacies of caring for this miniature flower, taking into account varietal characteristics(after all, it is varietal preferences that determine the specifics of plant care). One of important aspects- soil for Saintpaulias, the choice of which must be approached extremely responsibly. In this article we will tell you what kind of soil to plant violets in, and we will consider all the options - from ready-made soil mixture to soil substrates prepared with your own hands.
Before moving on to the description of various soil mixtures, let us denote General requirements to the composition of the soil for violets. What kind of soil do these miniature plants need? The soil for violets should consist of leafy soil, which, due to its characteristics (it is very loose), perfectly allows air and moisture to pass through. Rotted fallen leaves are called leaf soil. Next, the composition should include turf. It, like leaf soil, makes up upper layer soil and is in close proximity to the roots of Saintpaulia.
The best fillers are coniferous soil (also characterized by good looseness) and peat. High-moor peat is perfect as a base for soils for violets; it also adds looseness to the soil and supplies it with useful substances.
It is high peat that is most often the main component in soils for indoor plants located in flower shops. Peat perfectly nourishes the flowers at first, however, as mentioned earlier, peat mixture alone will not be enough - it needs to be supplemented with other elements.
Besides, in Lately in order to improve air and water permeability, it is used in the soil composition coconut fiber. However, no beneficial properties, except for those indicated, this component does not possess, since it cannot give the plant any nutrients.
In small quantities, vermicompost can be used in the soil for violets. Although it is very heavy and unable to provide good water and air permeability, it provides the plant with the necessary substances. If you use vermicompost, it is best to add raising agents: high-moor peat, perlite, vermiculite.
Baking powder is a must, because soil without it turns into hardened soil. earthen lump, and the roots quickly rot. Perlite (small white balls), vermiculite (if this is not available, sphagnum moss can be used), and peat are often used. River sand will perfectly protect your soil composition from dehydration.
To ensure good drainage, first lay out a layer of expanded clay, and on top of it - charcoal(the presence of charcoal will ensure good absorption). Expanded clay and charcoal need to fill the pot to about half - the rest of the space is intended for the substrate.
If these elements are present in the soil, your violets will feel great.
Ready-made soil mixtures
For those who do not want to prepare soil for violets at home, manufacturers have prepared a variety of ready-made options. You can choose a mixture called “For sowing seeds and planting seedlings,” which includes sand, peat and coconut fiber.
You can also choose Saintpaulia soil - a mixture for violets, to which you need to add baking powder and fertilizers.
“Bereginya” soil is also suitable for violets, or you can choose soil called “Flower Happiness. Violet" - both from the manufacturer "Fasco". Their composition is not very different.
If you want to purchase an excellent peat base and then supplement it necessary components, you can choose a mixture from Tera Vita. But this is suitable for those who are ready to additionally improve the soil for Saintpaulias, and not buy a mixture that can be used right away.
You can also choose a professional mixture for violets “Classman”. To use in "Classman" you just need to add perlite. Judging by the reviews, this option can be called the best for your indoor violet. The only downside is the purchase. You need to purchase “Classman” directly from the distributor, and this is a rather lengthy and expensive process.
Remember that no matter how good the soil purchased in the store is, it must be steamed with boiling water before use. After this procedure, you do not need to immediately use it and plant flowers there. It is necessary for it to completely restore its microflora (this takes about a month), and it is also necessary to fertilize it during this time if there is a lack of nutrients.
Making your own substrate
You can please your indoor flowers by making a substrate for violets with your own hands. There are several recipes for substrate for violets, but which one is right for you can only be decided through experience. So, what are the rules for composing a soil mixture for your indoor plant?
- We take universal soil (or one specially designed for violets), mix it with peat (we stick to a 1:2 ratio). Next we add to this composition one part perlite (can be replaced with moss or vermiculite). Finally, you will need half a batch of charcoal. Throw your violets into such a substrate.
- Mix nutrient soil, perlite, sphagnum moss and charcoal in a ratio (6:1:1:1). Violets will also grow well in this composition.
- Peat and nutritious soil(in a ratio of 3:1) add vermiculite (one part). To this mixture you need to add half a portion of charcoal, and it will be suitable for use.
- For four parts of peat soil, you will need one part of sphagnum moss and half a part of perlite (or vermiculite), as well as coconut fiber. A small amount of charcoal can be added to the resulting soil mixture to improve its properties.
Almost every housewife has violets on her windowsill in her house or apartment. Caring for these flowers is not at all difficult, as long as you follow certain recommendations. Sometimes beginning flower growers are faced with the problem of what kind of soil is needed for violets so that they feel great and develop.
Saintpaulias are quite capricious regarding the composition of the soil, and if you take ordinary soil from the forest, then the violets will not grow and develop. Soil for Saintpaulias can be bought at a flower shop; for example, special soil “Garden of Miracles” or “Fart” is well suited for this. But if you don’t want to buy the mixture, then you can prepare it yourself, and exactly how to do this will be indicated below in this article.
Composition of soil mixture
Suitable soil for violets, for example, “Garden of Miracles”, which contains leaf and turf soil, different fillers and leavening agents, and also components for draining the substrate. Leaf soil is collected from garden plot under the trees. This mixture is very loose and acidic because it contains many hydrogen ions.
In addition to these components, the composition of this soil includes the fallen foliage of linden or birch, which has lain under the tree for several years.
The turf soil contains rotted leaves and roots of plants. Similar soil is found in meadows and near country houses, as well as in special soil “Garden of Miracles”. Beneficial substances are contained in compost or humus (humus).
The fillers include components such as peat and forest litter from fallen pine needles. Expanded clay is used as drainage, it is well suited for indoor plants, and this material is also contained in the soil for Saintpaulia “Garden of Miracles”.
The substrate for violets "Fart" contains perlite, it is a leavening agent, which is presented in the form of light white silica.
In order to successfully grow violets or other indoor plants, there should not be a lot of perlite., both in floriculture and horticulture. It is best to use the rock not as a powder, but in grains.
Perlite can be found in hardware stores called "Agroperlite". For planting young plants, hydromica is used; it contains a lot of water.
Thanks to hydromica, plants do not rot and breathe well.
Sphangum is also included in the soil mixture for violets. Another component in the soil for Saintpaulias is sphagnum. It is an excellent antiseptic and perfectly increases the hygroscopicity of the soil. Sfangum moss should be placed in a vessel with violet and watered on top hot water, then dry and grind.
Whenever you plant violets, you must use charcoal. It should be placed at the bottom of the tank in large pieces, and the crumbs should be mixed with the soil.
Coal regulates soil moisture well and absorbs excess water from it. This component is certainly included in the “Garden of Miracles” soil mixture for indoor plants.
What soil mixture is needed for Saintpaulias? Sometimes they add to the composition of the soil for Saintpaulia dolomite flour, this is done in order to reduce the acidity of the earth at the right time.
Simple sand serves as a leavening agent; it is also included in the “Garden of Miracles” soil. In addition to sand, there is also coconut milk, it increases the looseness of the substrate.
Or others indoor flowers, the composition of the soil is very important, and the “Garden of Miracles” is a suitable substrate for flowers.
It is necessary to take into account the fact that Saintpaulias grow well in soil with little acidity or in neutral soils.
If the acidity is not high (pH< 4), то ощутимо уменьшается поглощение азота и фосфора. Почки фиалок могут полностью не раскрыться и облетать, а lower leaves turn yellow.
The missing part of phosphorus and nitrogen can be replenished using crushed eggshells pour water mixed with ash (20 grams) into a flowerpot with plants or flowers wood ash per 2 liters of liquid).
If home flower placed in highly alkaline soil (pH greater than 8.5), the absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen by Saintpaulia will decrease significantly.
In such a situation, you need to transplant flowers onto a substrate that includes leaf and coniferous soil, or use a special soil mixture for violets “Garden of Miracles”.
In order to determine the acidity of the substrate, you should buy a special indicator. Thanks to it, you can easily determine what ailments a houseplant is experiencing.
DIY substrate
What kind of soil is required for indoor Saintpaulia so that it actively grows and develops? There are several methods for making a soil mixture for growing violets yourself in apartment conditions.
The composition of the soil must be similar to the substrate for Saintpaulia, like the “Garden of Miracles”, in order to prepare it required soil the following methods must be used.
- The first method: you need to take universal soil (1), peat (2 parts), perlite (1), sfangum moss (1), and mix all the components. Then use charcoal and add a little of it to the composition. This substrate is ready and can be used.
- Second method: you need to take nutritious soil (6 parts), vermiculite and perlite (1 portion), sfangum moss and charcoal (one part each). Again you need to stir everything, and this soil is ready for use.
- Third method: for this you need peat soil (3), nutritious soil(1), vermiculite and perlite (1) and charcoal (0.5). The result is excellent soil that can be used not only for growing violets, but also for other indoor flowers.
- Fourth method: take peat soil (1), perlite and vermiculite (0.5), charcoal (quarter of the part), superphosphate (literally a few peas), and clay granulate “Ceramis” (0.5). The result is an excellent substrate for Saintpaulias.
In addition to these recipes for preparing the soil mixture with your own hands, there are many more similar ones, but you just need to take into account that young plants need fillers and leavening agents, and adult flowers require nutritious soil ( large quantity), all these components are contained in the soil of indoor plants and violets “Garden of Miracles”.
Substrate is the basis on which plants are grown. For example, vermiculite or perlite are substrates for rooting cuttings. The composition of the substrate may include various components: high-moor peat, low-lying peat, sand, vermiculite, perlite, sphagnum moss, coconut substrate, humus, black soil, charcoal, etc.
Earth, earth mixture or soil - all pure components or their mixtures, which include natural organic lands. Their main property is a rich supply of nutrients, which ensures the growth of plants planted in them without additional feeding.
Landless mixture - made on the basis of peat or coconut soil with the addition of inert cultivators (perlite, vermiculite). Distinctive feature- practically does not contain the nutrients necessary for growth, but allows you to specifically control nutrition with the help of fertilizing. The big advantage of the soilless mixture is the absence of phytopathogens.
Substrate requirements: - lightness; - moisture capacity; - breathability; - sufficient phosphorus and potassium content, as well as essential microelements; - nitrogen content in sufficient quantities, but not in excess; - acidity close to normal pH 5.5-6.5; - the presence of living and favorable microflora that helps fight painful bacteria; - absence of pests and their larvae;
One of the important indicators of soil favourability is air capacity. Air capacity is the ability of soil to hold a certain amount of air. It depends on the porosity and moisture of the soil. The higher the porosity and the lower the humidity, the greater the air capacity. The more structured the soil, the more large pores free of water it contains, and, therefore, the higher its moisture capacity. Sprayed, structureless soils have little air.
It is necessary to buy soil containing reddish-brown, coarse-fibered high-moor peat. It is not recommended to take “Polish” violet substrate, Saintpaulia “Biotech”, Saintpaulia “Garden of Miracles”, For violets “Vegetable Garden” - the soil is made on the basis of lowland peat, it is too black, it cakes. ASB GREENWORLD, Germany - this soil can be called the most optimal for violets
But based on some of them, a suitable substrate can be prepared. To grow violets, soil mixtures are usually used that contain the mineral substances necessary for the growth and flowering of violets. In any case, you will need to add raising agents such as vermiculite, charcoal, polystyrene foam, perlite and sphagnum moss to suitable purchased soil. They absorb moisture well and then gradually release it. Better yet, prepare your own mixture.
In general, two approaches to compiling soil mixtures should be distinguished. The first is the use of an extremely simple peat substrate with rippers. In this case, constant feeding is necessary. The second is the preparation of a complex, balanced mixture containing the nutrients necessary for growth over a period of time. The care of the plant will depend on which option you choose.
The soil for violets should be airy and retain moisture well. Perlite is an essential component for growing violets, since it provides the roots with air access, while vermiculite makes the soil mixture loose and absorbs moisture. The peculiarity of sphagnum moss is that it absorbs moisture and gradually releases it to the roots of the plant. It is useful to add a small amount of finely crushed charcoal. The amount of rippers in the composition of the soil for violets should be 30-50% of the total volume.
Violet prefers loose, neutral soils with a pH of 5.5-6.5. The optimal substrate for its cultivation is high-moor peat, but not in its pure form, but with adjusted acidity. Since in its pure form peat is an acidic environment, which is not suitable for the development of violets. If you replant violets twice a year, changing the soil, the plant will receive enough nutrients from new soil And additional feeding not required.
It is not the finished substrate that should be subjected to heat treatment, but those of its components that may contain eggs and larvae of pests - leaf, turf, manure humus, all purchased substrates, as well as soil whose origin is unknown to you. There is no need to process those components that can be destroyed during processing (pure peat and peat soils, washed sand, perlite, vermiculite, moss, fertilizers)..
The most common methods of cultivating land are dressing chemicals, calcination in the oven at high temperature, pouring boiling water and steaming over boiling water in the microwave. Place a small amount of soil in a regular plastic bag. And in the microwave. On one side 3 minutes, on the other 3 minutes. That's all. No bugs, no spiders, no worms or mushrooms.
All living things, as is known, consist of at least 70% water, which is also heated inside insects. At this temperature, no one can survive inside the body. The temperature is lethal for animals, but not for the decomposition of nitrogen and microelements. The soil is perfectly sterilized within 7 minutes at a power of 800 W. But it is better to do two sessions of 2-3 minutes each. And the soil does not deteriorate, and does not smell, and what kind of thing, but sterilization.
Steamed in old saucepan and a colander that fits into it without gaps, a lid that closes it tightly. Place a double layer of gauze in a colander and fill it with slightly moistened soil without compacting it. Cover the colander with a lid and place it on the pan so that the water in it does not reach the bottom of the colander by 3-4 cm. At least an hour should pass from the moment the water boils until the end of steaming. After the earth has completely cooled, you can add all the “clean” components to it - peat, various cultivators and fertilizers. In order to restore the microflora, you can use ready-made biological drugs, containing microflora beneficial to the soil, for example, Trichodermin, Glyokladin, Alirin-B, etc.
Sterile soil needs to be approached differently. It is empty in terms of vital population. And in nature, if there is emptiness, it is very a short time. So, you steamed, calcined or spilled the soil with potassium permanganate or fungicides, thus destroying everyone - both good and bad. After a few days, the first spores of fungi attacked from the air and bacterial cysts will begin to germinate in the soil. And here one person will take over, in a very short time filling the entire soil space. The ability to reproduce quickly in sterile conditions, the absence of competitors and good food base will make his population a leader.
Post-steaming toxicosis is eliminated by spilling the soil with the drug Trichodermin and others. These preparations contain billions of spores of soil “defenders” in one gram. We can recommend Fitolavin-300, which contains a phytobacteriomycin-producing strain. The microorganisms with which these preparations are saturated suppress the initial explosion in the number of leading populations after steaming, preventing the further activation of pathogenic flora.
A good prevention of rot is to spill the substrate with solutions of fungicidal and bactericidal preparations. The most commonly used - 3% solution hydrogen peroxide, solution furatsilina light yellow color and pink-raspberry solution potassium permanganate. Fungus development or growing point rotting is less likely if you spill the substrate when preparing phytosporin or trichodermin. When cooking soil mixture You can use Fitosporin-M in powder form; this version is also commercially available. Apply 10 grams per approximately 6-7 liters of soil with thorough mixing.
A white coating on the surface of the soil in a pot can be caused by the development of fungal microflora from overwatering and to get rid of it, you need to water the plant only after the top layer of soil in the pot has dried. Collect the top soil and sprinkle activated crushed carbon in the pot, this protects against rotting and mold growth. Mold, even with normal watering, in especially sad cases, grows and permeates the entire soil in the pot. Then you need to replant, completely change all the soil, use fungicides.
Sciarids (fungus gnat) often annoy violet growers. These are small flies that fly around the outlet. Their larvae are dangerous - white worms 3-8 mm long with a dark head, damaging young roots and disturbing the soil structure. The drug Grom-2 helps here. Simply powder the soil when mixing. If you do this regularly, there will be no mosquitoes.
An example of the composition of soil for violets:
Greenword soil and Peat – 50%.
Perlite and Vermiculite – 20%.
Moss-Sphagnum or Coconut fiber – 20%.
Nutrient soil - 10% with the addition of crushed charcoal.
If necessary, a deoxidizer is added (dolomite flour or finely ground egg shells, or, in extreme cases, fluff lime). Number of components approx. For Saintpaulias different ages, different varieties needed different proportions. So the soil for rooting leaves and children should contain more raising agents.
Since the materials are bulk, they can be measured with any container - you can take liter jar, and if you need a little substrate, you can take a glass or mug. In other words, for 1 glass nutrient soil add 3 cups of Greenword soil, 2 cups of peat moss, 1 cup of perlite, 1 cup of vermiculite, 1 cup of sphagnum moss, 1 cup of coconut fiber, plus crushed charcoal. Remove all large fractions from purchased substrates with your hands: lumps, unrotted plant residues, sticks.
The above recipe is just one of many possible ones; it is not at all necessary to copy it with all care. So feel free to use this recipe as starting point for your own composite soil. All these components can be mixed and their shares and proportions in the mixture can be changed. Ready mix should turn out light, airy and fluffy, well permeable to water and air and so that didn’t track for as long as possible.
An option for storing finished soil: take a shoebox (you can take any lockable box), “dress” it in bags from the inside, and pour soil into it. Close the box with a lid. Store so that the soil does not dry out and at the same time there is access to air.
For wick irrigation requires a soilless mixture based on peat, with the addition large quantity rippers. This is necessary so that the roots do not get wet.
Continuation :
Saintpaulia is a very demanding indoor plant, the well-being of which largely depends on the conditions in which you placed the flower, whether you selected it correctly flower pots and soil for violets, whether the flower has enough light and moisture. Sometimes it is enough to change the soil or the diameter of the pot for the plants to begin to bloom.
What should soil for violets consist of?
Let's take a closer look at what kind of pot is needed for violets, how to prepare the soil, how to feed the plants, and how to properly use racks and shelves for Saintpaulias. It is better to prepare everything you need in advance, before you bring the purchased plant home.
Tender Saintpaulias prefer to grow in “dietary” soil – loose and non-greasy. The substrate must be permeable to air and moisture-absorbing. Soil for violets taken from an outdoor flower bed is not suitable, since it is usually infested with pests. If you mix the soil for Saintpaulia yourself, it is better to dig up soil in the forest.
Video about the secrets of growing violets
Main ingredients for soil:
- turf land,
- leaf humus,
- sphagnum moss,
- sand.
It should be remembered that for adult Usambara violets the soil must be more nutritious in order to ensure lush flowering And good development sockets For leaf cuttings and children, high looseness of the soil mixture is more important.
For adult Uzambara violets, the soil should be more nutritious
You can also use a soilless substrate consisting of peat, vermiculite and perlite, or even buy a universal soil at a flower shop. By the way, most of the ready-made soils offered in flower shops for indoor plants are soilless mixtures. They are good for their biological sterility - microorganisms and harmful bacteria will not be scary for violets.
You can improve store-bought soil by adding coconut substrate, perlite or sphagnum moss, then the soil for violets will be ideal, loose, with excellent air exchange. Here's the lineup ideal substrate for violets: 5 l ready soil add 0.5 liters of vermicompost, perlite, vermiculite and finely chopped sphagnum. And don’t forget to put a layer of expanded clay drainage on the bottom of the pot.
Fertilizers for violets: which ones to choose and how to apply them
It is recommended to feed young Uzambara violets every week, during flowering - once every two weeks, during the dormant period, feeding once a month is enough. Immediately after transplantation to new pot Saintpaulia does not need to be fed because the fresh soil mixture contains enough nutrients, necessary for the plant. In addition, transplantation is stressful for violets, and in under stress It is not recommended to feed plants.
It is recommended to feed young Uzambara violets every week.
Top dressing complex fertilizer will be required during the budding period of Saintpaulia. At this time, you can use the drug "Uniflor-bud". After flowering, it is useful to feed the violet with the preparation “Uniflor-rost”. Fertilizers " Ambulance“, according to reviews from flower growers, only lead to an increase in green mass to the detriment of flowering. Good feedback imported drugs deserved: Schultz universal, AVA, Etisso.
If you place violets on a rack, you need to feed them well, because under the backlight the plants quickly grow green mass and bloom profusely. Saintpaulias standing on shelves are fertilized regularly, regardless of the time of year, and those plants located on window sills are fed less often in winter, since the daylight hours of the flowers are noticeably reduced without additional lighting.
Apply fertilizers when watering, having previously dissolved them in water.
Apply fertilizers when watering, having previously dissolved them in water.
Choosing suitable flower pots for violets
When choosing pots for Saintpaulia, adhere to the main rule: the diameter of the container should be three times smaller than the violet rosette. Too small or too big pot may be the main reason. Pots for Saintpaulias should not be too high, because the roots of these plants grow to a shallow depth, and for good flowering root system should wrap tightly around the pot. For miniature varieties Pots with a diameter of 4 cm are quite suitable, for the rest - with a diameter of 5 cm to 9 cm.
What material should pots for violets be made of? For small children and the germination of leaf cuttings, plastic cups or peat humus tablets are quite suitable. For adult plants, you should purchase a clay or plastic pot:
- Plastic pots are good for their economical price, light weight and wide range colors They do not need to be looked after in any special way, but also externally plastic pots are not particularly decorative.
- Advantages clay pots lies in their external beauty and good conductivity of air and moisture, due to which the roots of Saintpaulia do not rot. But the cost of such pots is more expensive compared to plastic ones, the weight is heavier (you can’t put violets on glass shelves anymore), the soil dries out faster, and after each use the pot has to be thoroughly washed and boiled.
For small children and the germination of leaf cuttings, plastic cups or peat humus tablets are quite suitable
Features of placing violets on racks
Many gardeners think about the need for racks for indoor plants only when all the window sills, shelves and bedside tables are already occupied with flowers. But it is also worth providing racks for violets because on shelves equipped with additional lighting, Saintpaulias grow more actively and bloom more profusely. By placing the Uzambara violet on the windowsill, you will expect it to bloom only by the beginning of May, since flowers on the windowsill only have enough light from March to September. But violets are for wellness Twelve hours of daylight is required! Therefore, with year-round illumination of the rack, Saintpaulias will bloom much more often.
Video about growing violets
It’s not difficult to make a rack for violets with your own hands; you can find them on the Internet various schemes and build the structure exactly according to the given dimensions. For example, you can make a rack of four shelves measuring 130 cm by 55 cm. Place them above each other at a distance of 50 cm, and attach a fluorescent lamp with two lamps under each shelf. Optimal distance from the violet to the lamp - at least 30 cm if the plants have large rosettes, and about 20 cm for small rosettes. The backlight for violets should be bright, stronger than for reading.
If you don’t yet get around to building a shelving unit, you can also use stands for violets, which are sold in a wide variety in stores. Just think in advance about how you can provide lighting for the stand for violets.
The main components of soil for violets:
High-moor peat or soil mixtures based on it
, such as "KLASMANN", "GREENWORLD", "TERA VITA", "Seliger-Agro" and others.
Perlite- almost neutral material. Rock of volcanic origin. It is added to the soil up to 30% of the volume, making the mixture lighter, more breathable, looser, which prevents caking, clumping, and compaction. Thanks to these properties, the plant’s roots develop well and air exchange is not disturbed.
Vermiculite - natural material, refers to the types of mica. It increases the acidity of the soil. It is added to the soil in the same way as perlite, up to 30% of the volume. Vermiculite provides air exchange and oxygen delivery to the roots.
Perlite is convenient to use together with vermiculite. When used together, they compensate for each other's shortcomings. It is advisable to purchase a large fraction and be sure to rinse before use.
Sphagnum moss- has antibacterial, disinfectant and antifungal properties, thanks to the anti-putrefactive substance. It also makes the soil hygroscopic and breathable.
Charcoal - good antiseptic, it prevents rotting and acidification of the soil, and also absorbs salts and improves the structure of the soil. The use of charcoal reduces the risk of bacterial diseases of the plant root system.
When composing the soil, you can use more or less of some components, omit some or replace them with similar ones (coconut, pine needles, bark, sand), the main thing is that the substrate is breathable, moisture-absorbing and loose.
Here are a few examples of the composition of soil mixtures for violets:
6 parts of purchased soil;
- 1 part perlite;
- 1 part vermiculite;
- 1 part sphagnum moss;
- 1 part coal
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4 parts of peat-based nutrient soil (soil for violets and begonias)
- 1/2 part perlite
-1/2 part vermiculite
- 1/2 - 1 part crushed moss
-1/2 parts coconut substrate
- 2-6 tablespoons fine charcoal - depends on the volume of soil made.
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6 parts of nutritious soil (“Seliger-Agro” universal for flowers, “Vermion”, “Zashita”, “AB5, Greenworldn”)
- 1 part perlite,
- 1 part vermiculite,
- 1/2 part of coconut substrate,
- 1 part chopped sphagnum moss,
- approximately a tablespoon of fine charcoal.
These are the recipes of our famous collectors and breeders, published by Irina Shchedrina on the Violet House forum:
Recipe by Olga Aksenkina:
Vermiculite: perlite = 1:6
Charcoal 1 pack per 10 liters
Fertilizers "Plantofol" - concentrations are 4 times less than recommended. After transplantation, the plants receive clean water, during the second watering and then with a fertilizer solution.
Recipe from Olga Artemova:
Adult violets on the wick:
White high peat "Klasmann"
Fertilizer "Etisso" for flowers 1ml/1l. with every watering,
Children (wick not used):
White high peat "Klasmann"
Fertilizer "Etisso" according to the instructions for the fertilizer
Recipe from Irina Danilina
Adult violets and children (I do not use a wick):
"Greenworld" - 1h
Vermion elite - 1h
Perlite-Vermiculite - 0.5 packs
Charcoal - 0.5 packs per 10 l
Adult violets on the wick:
"Greenworld" - 1h
Perlite - 1 hour
Charcoal
Fertilizer Schultz (Schultz) - according to instructions, every watering
Recipe from Nina Starostenko
Adult Saintpaulias and children are grown on mats:
Terra Vita (Floral or universal) - 10l
Coniferous substrate - 1 pack
Charcoal - 1 pack
Perlite + vermiculite in a ratio of 4:1 - 10-20% of the mixture volume
Fertilizer "Etisso" - not regularly
Replant as needed.
Recipe from Tamara Kopeikina
Adult violets on the wick:
Greenworld - 10 parts
Perlite - 7 parts
Fertilizer: "Etisso" for flowers 1 ml per 1 l, constantly
Kids (I don’t use a wick)
According to the same scheme (fertilizers with each watering).
Recipe from Alexey Kuznetsov
For miniature violets:
Mature violets on the wick
fine peat (from nature) - 25%
Perlite - 75%
Fertilizer:
alternating "Etisso" for flowers (1 ml per 1 l) and for decorative foliage plants (2 ml per l) every watering
Replant after each flowering.
Children without a wick:
The soil is the same
Fertilizer:
"Etisso" (for decorative foliage) 2 ml per l each watering
Choose, experiment and you will find your own soil composition that you and your violets will like. These soils can be successfully used in growing other Gesneriaceae, such as streptocarpus.
I will add that never reuse any components of the earthen mixture, because... harmful microorganisms could already begin to multiply there!
Good luck and success in growing your violets and other favorite flowers.