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Faster growing, almost continuous flowering and always elegant balsam are considered as one of the best indoor plants for students who learn for the most popular houseplants for students who have started to grow, almost continuously flowering and always well-dressed balsamine for the most popular houseplants for students who have prepared for balsamine. Bright impatiens-little lights, still pleasing our grandmothers, and today the desired residents of window sills, loggias and gardens. For simple care, they respond with the formation of new buds and glitter foliage.
But even this unpretentious plant sometimes falls prey to pests and pathogens of various diseases. What dangers threaten balsam flower? How to identify them, and if necessary, provide treatment for ornamental plants?
The most common cause of weakening of a green pet, its withering or cessation of growth is non-compliance with the required conditions of detention or lack of attention. In nature, balsams live in regions with a warm, fairly humid climate, where there are no sharp temperature drops and, especially, frosts.
The minimum temperature allowed for a balsam flower is 13 ° C, if the room or garden balsam is decorated with colorful foliage, the air should not be cooled below 15 ° C.The optimum temperature for flowering is 18–20 ° C.In a hotter room, the flowers fall off faster, and the formation of new buds slows down. In addition, other serious problems are inevitable.
Knowingly balsam of old is called Vanka Mokry. Plants are not only extremely critical to the drying of the soil, but also like humid air.
Asking the question: “Why do balsam leaves fall?”, The florist should analyze what conditions the flower is in. Working heating devices affect both the room temperature and the humidity of the air. The lower it is, the stronger the evaporation of moisture from the leaves, and the balsam weakens faster. This also leads to frequent drying of the soil, especially during active growth.
As a result, flowering and growth of new shoots are slowed down, and the leaves, starting from the lower ones, turn yellow and fall off. This situation is often used by insects and mites.
Excessive decrease in air temperature is also an unfavorable factor. Balsam does not make even a short-term cooling, so the plants taken out to the garden or on the balcony from the second half of summer at night are better to clean the room.
Balsam diseases and their treatment
At low temperatures, the need for moisture decreases, so watering is sure to reduce. If this is not done, do not avoid the appearance of rot, the other, as in the photo, diseases and pests of balsam.
Among balsam diseases, the greatest harm to outdoor plants is caused by downy mildew.
A few years ago, a real epidemic of this disease struck balsamines in the USA.Contributed to the development of infection:
- cool wet weather;
- crowding of landings, in which moisture does not have time to evaporate from the ground surface;
- insufficient attention to the care of plants.
The first signs of disease caused by harmful fungi occur at temperatures below 16–18 ° C and 100% humidity. The causative agents of the disease with moisture penetrate into the leaf tissue, and within a couple of days the healthy balsam flower is transformed. First a whitish bloom appears on the back of the leaves, then they turn black and fall off.
New foliage becomes shallow, or growth stops altogether. As a result, only nonviable shoots remain from the blooming balsam. In order to prevent the death of plants during cold snap:
- reduces the frequency of irrigation;
- protects balsam from cold dew;
- take measures to ventilate the room.
At the first signs of the disease, all diseased balsams are removed, and the plants are treated with systemic fungicides without visible damage.
Balsamines are more likely to become victims of putrefactive bacteria, forcing them to grow in excessively moist soil.
An additional factor contributing to the spread of dangerous fungi and microorganisms is reduced air temperature. Under such conditions, plants need less moisture; their metabolic processes and growth slow down.
Rot affects stems in contact with the ground, as well as leaves and other parts of the plant. Infected sprout or leaf stalks turn brown, thin and die. The greatest attention to the disease of balsams and its treatment should be given if there are any traces of gili found on young specimens and only seedlings that gave roots.
As a preventive measure, cuttings prepared for rooting must be treated with a systemic fungicide, and then repeated processing is carried out during planting, not forgetting to irrigate the ground at the stem base well.
Insect pests, spider mites and balsam diseases
Balsam flower is not only moisture-loving, but also picky about lighting. With a lack of sunlight:
- shoots begin to stretch, becoming thinner;
- foliage growth slows;
- badly laid and disclosed bud.
Direct sunlight will not bring beauty and health to decorative culture either. Balsam flower quickly loses moisture, disrupts the natural course of metabolic processes, the plant inevitably weakens.
Similar symptoms can be seen with a lack of nutrients, when the plant has not been transplanted or fertilized for a long time. As well as long stay in dry air, it can attract to exhausted balsamine, as in the photo, diseases and pests.
The attack on balsamine thrips can be recognized by the characteristic deformation of young foliage at the tips of the shoots and the change in the appearance of the growing point. As the infection progresses, the appearance of balsam flowers also changes. The edges of the petals become dry, brown, and in the center of the corolla the culprits of the plant's disease are easily distinguishable.
Thrips are doubly dangerous, because they not only weaken the flower, disfigure it and prevent it from growing, the pest virus carries a mosaic virus, another balsam disease.
Younger specimens are more susceptible to thrips than adults. The earlier signs of the presence of pests are noticed, and the treatment of plants with insecticides is started, the higher the probability of curing and preserving the decorativeness of the crop.
The infected plants isolate and destroy damaged parts of the bush. Spraying is repeated several times, every 4 to 5 days, until the treatment does not cover insects at all stages of development.
Aphids, populating balsams, as well as thrips, contribute to the spread of various mosaic disease viruses on plants. It can manifest itself in the form of spots of different colors and shapes, gradually leading to drying and falling off of flowers and leaves.
It is almost impossible to cure the affected specimens, therefore they are destroyed and special attention is paid to preventive measures, that is, to the fight against insect vectors.
In addition to aphids and thrips, balsam is threatened by soil nematodes, whiteflies and all kinds of mites.
To get rid of sucking insects, use systemic insecticides or proven home remedies, such as herbal infusions. But ticks, as the most frequent "guests" on balsams, require a separate approach.
Among the pests of balsams and their diseases, the spider mite is the most annoying and dangerous enemy of decorative culture. Signs of its appearance are easy to notice if you carefully examine:
- interstitial;
- leaf stalks;
- rear sides of sheet plates.
In addition to the thinnest web and the smallest, up to 0.5 millimeter long yellowish mites, the owner of the balsam will notice that the plant has become sluggish, the leaves have lost their luster, the intensity of flowering has decreased markedly.
High temperature and low humidity contribute to the spread of spiderwebs and other species of mites. If you delay with the measures of struggle, the shoots, leaves and buds of balsam, populated with mites, will be covered with lifeless scab, the plant will weaken and may die.
Having noticed the presence of pests on the balsam flower, the seriously damaged parts of the plant are cut and the rest is treated with soapy water. It is best to use green soap or tar soap. The foam applied to the plant is washed off after 5–7 minutes, and a week later the procedure is repeated. If the degree of infection is high, do not avoid the use of acaricides, for example, Fitoverma, Vertimek and other drugs.
In addition to spider webs, other types of ticks parasitize on balsams. Cyclamen mite leads to deformation and cessation of the growth of young leaves, lateral buds and shoots in general. A plant lacking points of growth quickly dies. The same fate awaits cuttings, cut from an infected balsam flower. Therefore, in this case, it is important not only multiple treatment with an effective acaricide, but also a thorough inspection of the plants used for propagation.
Only compliance with agrotechnics and constant attention to flowering balsams will guarantee the health of the plants, their rapid growth and lush flowering both outside the house and on the window sill.
