Why does rot appear on the leaves and in the center of the rosettes of indoor violets? Can a plant be saved? How to deal with different types of rot?
Uzambara violets or Saintpaulias have gained their extraordinary popularity among indoor florists not only for their beauty, but also for their unpretentious care. But nevertheless, they are also susceptible to various diseases. The most common are just various rot caused by fungi. Let's consider the main reasons for the appearance of fungi.
Causes of rot
- Unfavorable conditions of detention. For violets, the period when the heating is turned on in houses is especially dangerous, and the violets themselves are on the windowsills. It turns out that there is powerful heating from below, cold air from the window from above. These changes have a very negative effect on the well-being of Saintpaulias. It is worth considering that violets generally do not like sudden changes - drafts, sharp drops in night temperatures are destructive for them.
- Improper care. Excessive watering is very terrible for violets, especially at low air temperatures. The lack of nutrients in the soil also contributes to the weakening of plants. Fertilizing with poor soil is necessary even in winter, just in smaller quantities.
- The emergence of a new plant - the source of the disease. This is the case when all plants may not get sick, it all depends on immunity. Nevertheless, it is better to keep all "newcomers" in the collection in quarantine for at least two weeks.
- Use of contaminated soil. The fungus is able to stay in the ground for a long time under a variety of conditions. If a diseased plant grew in a pot, it is better not to use this land for planting. It is highly likely that the infection will spread to the new "tenant". In extreme cases, you can use heat treatment of the soil (heating in the oven, microwave), or spill the earth with special chemical compounds.
Signs of the onset of the disease
Rot can affect both the roots and leaves of a flower. It is worth considering that there can be several types of fungi-causative agents of diseases, but the symptomatic picture will be almost the same. The rotting root system ceases to function, the fungus spreads upward into the aerial part.
At the same time, the lower leaves become gray and watery, lose turgor. Sometimes brown weeping spots appear on the leaves, the base of the petioles at the stem dries out and turns black. Leaves curl inward, sag and die.
A black ring appears inside the stem, which grows over time. Gradually, the infection affects the entire plant up to the crown. The socket dies.
How to save a violet
Noticing the appearance of rot, the plant must be urgently isolated from the rest. Often in various forums you can hear that fungal diseases cannot be cured, it is better to destroy a sick violet. It's not like that at all.
There are still chances, but the preservation of the plant will need to be fought.
The plant should be removed from the pot and the roots should be examined - all rotten and blackened ones should be cut off. It happens that the entire root system has already rotted by this time. In this case, you need to trim the bottom to healthy tissue and try to re-root. You can also root the remaining healthy leaves so as not to lose the plant if you cannot save it.
If only part of the roots has been removed, the violet should be transplanted into a new soil and the plant should be treated with any antifungal drug (for example, "Fitosporin" or "Fundazol"). It will be good to add crushed charcoal to the ground for disinfection (activated carbon tablets are quite suitable). When an improvement appears, such processing should be carried out systematically, according to the instructions.
It is imperative to monitor the moisture content - watering is needed only after the topsoil has dried. A diseased plant should not be stressed in the form of overheating or cooling.
Until all signs of the disease disappear, it is impossible to return the plants to the rest.
