Browallia

Family. Solanaceae.

Origin. Colombia.

Description. Browallia is a popular annual plant that is a small bush that blooms with blue, white or purple tubular flowers. The leaves are wide, spear-shaped, drooping, the flowers are axillary, on weak, lodging stems. Flowering is quite sparse, but lasts a very long time. At the right temperature it will bloom at any time of the year.

Height.  Up to 60 cm.

Care at home

Reproduction

Easy to grow from seed. Browallia is planted in spring or early summer. The planting material is sown in a moist peat mixture on the surface or covered with a very thin layer of soil. The seeds need light to germinate. Cover the tray with a plastic cap and put it in a warm place - 18 - 20 ° C, the shoots will appear in 8 - 14 days. Do not allow the temperature to drop below 10 ° C. Pinch the tops of young plants once or twice to get compact, bushy plants.

Care

Remove spent flowers promptly to prolong the flowering season. To give the plant a bushy appearance, the stems can be supported by branches, but you can also allow them to hang gracefully in a cascade. To maintain a compact shape, the tops of the stems should be pinched regularly. As a rule, it is difficult to keep the browallia in good condition until the next flowering, so the bush is thrown away immediately after it has finished flowering.

When it blooms 

Usually spring - summer, but there are winter-flowering varieties.

Diseases and pests 

The plant undergoes rotting when overwatered or stagnant water in the pan. Leaves turn yellow when the plant is too cold.

The most dangerous pests are aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects.

Temperature

Browallia does not like extreme heat, preferring temperatures up to 20° C.

Lighting

Requires protection from direct sunlight, as burns may appear on the leaves.

Soil

Light and well-drained soil with sufficient organic content and the addition of perlite and coarse river sand.

Fertilizer

Feed 2 times a month during the period of active growth.

Water browallia 

Prefers moist soil but can tolerate some drought. Water deeply during warmer months.

Spraying

Plants grown indoors during the summer should be misted regularly, especially in very warm weather.

Transfer 

Most often grown as an attractive flowering annual and does not require replanting.

Purpose

The abundance of flowers makes browallia a very popular ornamental flowering plant for enthusiasts with a refined taste. Long shoots hang elegantly over the edge of a pot or tub, and small purple or pink buds, about 1.5 cm in diameter, resemble many butterflies.

One of the nicest things about this species is that you can see flowering bushes all year round if you plant seeds at intervals throughout the year. When an adult browallia starts to look untidy, loses leaves, and stops blooming, you simply replace it with a new plant.

Note

Discard your browallia after flowering.

Varieties:

Browallia speciosa

An attractive flowering perennial up to 50 cm high, which is often grown as an annual plant, as young specimens bloom most profusely. The plant has erect, abundantly branched stems and oblong-lanceolate green leaves up to 8 cm long. Flowers are often single or collected in small inflorescences, lilac and purple, with a light center, appearing in the upper part of the stems, in the axils of the leaves. 

Browallia Bells Marine

A compact flowering plant up to 30 - 45 cm high with branched shoots covered with green, lanceolate, matte leaves on short petioles. The flowers are often solitary, terminal, purple, lavender or dark blue.