Tunbergia enters the family acanthaceae. Its homeland is considered the tropics of Africa. There are about 200 species. The name of the plant was in honor of the Swedish naturalist Karl Peter Thunberg. The flower still has another name - "black-eyed suzane". I call it so because of the color of the middle of the flower - dark purple. Grow this plant both at home and in the garden.
Tunbergia - lianovidnoe or shrubby plant. Leaves are whole, heart-shaped or ovoid. There are also lobed opposite leaves. They reach up to 10 cm in length. Some plant species have jagged leaves. Tunbergia flowers reach up to 4 cm in diameter and are collected in inflorescences. Also, the plant has a different color of flowers, ranging from white to brown. It blooms from July to September, exuding a strong aroma. In its natural environment, the plant is considered to be perennial, but in our region it is annual and is more often used for landscaping. Tunbergia feels great at home and greenhouses. 
Planting Tunbergia seeds for seedlings
Tunbergia is an unpretentious plant, and if you decide to grow it at home, you will need to fulfill a few simple conditions for good flower development.
Optimal sowing time
You can begin to engage in seed breeding of tunbergia either at the end of winter (February) or at the beginning of spring (March).
Did you know? Often, the vine is used for alcohol and drug addiction, preparing tea with their leaves, which is called rank-jude. With it you can cope with hangover, as well as other harmful addictions.
How to prepare seeds for planting
Tunbergia seeds are characterized by poor germination, so they must first be soaked in the Epin growth stimulator. This will help them get up faster and better.
Soil: composition and fertilizer
The soil mixture needs to be made from leaf soil and sand with the addition of humus. Despite the fact that the seeds contain a certain supply of nutrients, they are still better to be fertilized with compost with the addition of sand and peat. Also, the soil should be loose, light and quickly pass moisture.
How to sow seeds
We recommend using ceramic flat or disposable peat pots for planting. They must have drainage holes. When you are going to sow tunbergia, pre-rinse the containers, and the day before sowing, you need to water the earth mixture.
First you need to plant the seeds in pots with peat to a depth of 1.5 cm and pour the soil. After that, the container must be covered with foil to create a greenhouse effect. So shoots will develop faster. Leave the seeds in such a container for 2-3 weeks. It is important to consider that the pots need to be aired to remove condensate.
Important! Watch for watering, as an excess of moisture can cause rotting of seedlings.
As soon as you notice the first shoots, the film can be removed. If there are a large number of sprouts, they all need to dive.
Seedling care
Seedlings should be placed on the windowsill, the windows of which face the western or eastern side, but it is important to make diffused light, as the plant crown can get burns from the direct rays of the sun. The best temperature for tunbergia in spring and summer should be up to 25 ° С. In the autumn it is better to adhere to 17 ° C. In the summer you need to water the plant often. Determine when you need to water the plant, you can on the top layer of earth mixture. Water should be soft defended water.
Important! Avoid stagnant water in the pan.
In hot weather, you need to add and spraying distilled water at room temperature. In the autumn it is better to reduce watering. It is necessary to fertilize a plant from spring to autumn. This should be done every 3 weeks, mineral fertilizers. When two leaves appear, shoots need to be thinned and dive. Strong plants should remain in the tank. When the tubergia seedlings grow to 15 cm, you need to nip the tops of the seedlings.
If you want to get a thick and powerful tunbergia, the seedlings need to be fertilized from the first pick once a week with fertilizers that contain nitrogen. If you want to receive plentiful and long blooming, we recommend not to fertilize seedlings.
Planting of seedlings of tunbergia in open ground
After you have planted the tunbergia on the seedlings, and from that time enough time has passed for the normal development of the plant, they can be transplanted into the open ground.
Did you know? Drugs that contain organic acids contained in tunbergia slow down the aging process, and patch up damaged DNA cells. It helps well in food poisoning, treatment of diabetes and other endocrine diseases.
Optimum landing time
Tunbergia must dive in mid-May, when the last spring frosts will pass. At this time, the seedlings will get stronger and be ready for a new place in the garden. It is best to plant tunbergia seedlings in open ground in spring or early summer.
Selection and preparation of the site for landing
Tunbergia should be a place without drafts and with good lighting, on the west, south or east side. The soil should be light and permeable. It must have enough nutrients and lime. Also, it should be well drained, neutral. The soil needs to be loosened and fertilized with humus or special means.
Correct fit
The distance between the beds should be no less than 20 cm, and between the holes - 45 cm. This is done so that the plant grows in breadth. Before landing, you need to install supports in the form of a grid. Liana will grow on it.
Then the seedlings of the climbing tunbury are planted. This should be done carefully so as not to damage the young plants. Planting depth - 1.5 cm. Then the plant should be sprinkled with earth and a little rammed.
After planting seedlings need to water the plants and cover around the soil with mulch. This will help get rid of annoying weeds. The first flowering you can see 100 days after pinching.
Garden Tunbergia Care
Tunbergia is an unpretentious plant, so if the planting is successful and the plant has taken root, you can start caring for it.
Did you know? Compresses from tunbergy leaf plates on the Malay Peninsula are made to cure skin problems: boils, cuts, ulcers.
All about watering
Tunbergia loves watering very much, but you need to follow him. During flowering, the earthen room should not dry out, as the leaves will begin to fall off, and the flower may be damaged by a spider mite. As soon as flowering is over, watering should be reduced. In the dry summer, you need to make not only watering the tunbergia, but also spraying in the evenings.
Features feeding
Obligatory top dressing is brought in the period of budding, but it is better not to be zealous. Such conditions will bring you lush flowering. During flowering, you need to make mineral fertilizers. They are added to irrigation water every week.
In spring and summer, every month you need to make liquid mineral fertilizers during active growth.
Important! If you "overfeed" the plant, the leaves will be gorgeous, and flowering will become scarce.
Flower pruning
Pruning is carried out in early spring or in February. You can also do this after flowering. In order for the plant to take the form of a bush, you need to pinch the tops.
Young plants need to be cut, and adults are better not to touch. You only need to remove weak shoots or too thick. You need to cut off at the very base and all the time to send in the direction you want.
Pruning young plants is needed for intensive growth, but this can reduce flowering.
Collecting and storing seeds
When the flowering of the tunbergia is over, seed boxes will appear in their place. They must be collected immediately before they are opened, for the seeds may crumble to the ground. It is better to open the boxes above the table covered with paper - the seeds will fall on it. Then they need to be dried and stored in cardboard boxes. The shelf life of seeds is 2 years.
How winbergia winters
If you grow tunbergia in an open area, it should be disposed of in the fall, as it will not survive the winter. If you grow a plant at home in a large pot, you need to prune the shoots.
Important! On the plant should be 5 buds.
Sections should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate. It is better to transfer the pot to a cool place where the temperature will be no higher than 15 ° C. From time to time you need to moisten the top layer of soil. The plant remains indoors until the end of spring. After that, it can be taken out on the balcony, but this should be done gradually so that the plant is accustomed to a different temperature. After this, the tunnel will start new buds and shoots, and will also begin to bloom earlier than the first time.The combination of tunbergia with other plants and its use in landscape design
Tunbergia is beautifully used in landscape design. TSo as the plant weaves quickly, the tunnel will adorn the arbor, the screen, the column and create a cozy green corner on the plot. Nearby we recommend to land ipomoea or asarin, as they harmoniously look on a vertical flowerbed. You can also grow tunbergia in pots. Shoots will hang down.
Did you know? Thunberg was well known even more than three thousand years ago. Its properties were used by the priests of ancient China, Malaysia, Thailand and Tibet. Carefully pounded leaves of tunbergia were used for heavy menstrual bleeding. Thai doctors used these drugs with strong heat or as an antidote against intoxication by any means.
How to deal with possible pests and diseases
Tunbergia is rarely affected by diseases, but among the parasites the spider mite, aphid, scale insect and whitefly harm the plant.
- Spider mite This parasite feeds on cell contents. You can see them. White dots and thin cobweb appear on the leaves. With a strong lesion leaves turn white, and the whole plant is covered with cobwebs. At the ends of the leaves and shoots, a mass of parasite bodies accumulates, which stirs.
Aphid. In spring, aphids settle on young shoots and on the underside of the crown. Aphids feed on fresh greens and destroy young leaves. Also aphids carries viruses that cause galls. It is they who can lead to the death of tunbergia. You can get rid of aphids with a pyrethrum-based insecticide.- Shchitovka. At the initial stage, it is very difficult to detect this pest. It is best to carry out prevention in advance. Adult flakes are easy to see. They look like spots on the leaves, trunks and shoots. A pad also appears on the leaves (sticky liquid).
- Whitefly. The parasites are small, but it is easy to notice them, as they are going to the "flock". Insects can be seen on the underside of the leaves. Larvae and adults feed on plant sap, and yellow spots appear at the site of the bite. They can lead to the death of the plant.
Aphid. In spring, aphids settle on young shoots and on the underside of the crown. Aphids feed on fresh greens and destroy young leaves. Also aphids carries viruses that cause galls. It is they who can lead to the death of tunbergia. You can get rid of aphids with a pyrethrum-based insecticide.
