| Life form | Shrub, tree |
| Family | Malvaceae |
| Origin | Tropical America, Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands, Brazil |
| Ease of cultivation | Easy with little difficulty growing. |
| The size | Up to 1 m. |
| Growth rate | Rapidly growing |
| Lifespan | Many years |
| Temperature | In summer: optimum 60,8-71,6 ° F, in winter not below + 59 ° F. |
| Humidity | It prefers high humidity – about 50%, needs daily spraying with soft water (water should not fall on flowers) or in a pallet with wet pebbles. At the same time, the plant can adapt to the conditions of more dry air. |
| Lighting | An ideally southern, western or eastern window, requires a bright, non-directional light. In the shade, the plant does not bloom or the buds that are formed fall off. |
| The soil | Well drained general-purpose soils. Purchased soil should be sufficiently airy, sand or perlite with peat should be added if it is very dense. It needs rich soil. Soil own preparation should be used: 1 part garden soil, 1 part coarse sand or perlite, 1 part of moist peat or humus (leaf earth) a little lime. Always use a pot with a hole. |
| Watering | The soil should dry a little between watering, should be watered abundantly every 3-4 days in summer so that the water leaked from the pan. Use warm soft water. In the winter, watering is limited, but do not allow the earth’s coma to dry completely. With insufficient watering, the leaves fade, but they easily restore the turgor after the plant is poured. With systematically dry soil, the leaves can begin to fly around. |
| Fertilizer | From April to October, at least once every 3-4 weeks, a liquid fertilizer is applied, diluted 2 times. During flowering in winter, you can also water once a month with fertilizer with an increased content of potassium and phosphorus. |
| Reproduction | In spring, semi-mature stalk cuttings with 3 nodes 7-10 cm long. Root in water or wet sand, peat or perlite. Requires a temperature of at least 77 ° F. Seed propagation is possible. Seeds are pre-soaked using stimulants. Germinate in a wet napkin. As soon as small sprouts appear (3 days later) they are planted in a mixture of sand and peat, covered with jar or film, placed on scattered light and germinated at a temperature of 66,2-75,2 ° F. Seeds can be immediately planted in a nutritious mixture. Germination occurs about 7 days later. |
| Bloom | The flowers are purple-violet, surrounded by dark pink or raspberry bracts. From the bracts there are blue stamens, similar to tongues. It blooms in the autumn-winter period: in September-May. |
| Transfer | Young plants (up to 5-6 years old) are transplanted every spring. The old times in 3-4 years. It is preferable to use pottery. |
| Features of care | Requires pruning and pricking in the spring, and pruning can be very strong. After pruning, the plant blooms after 2 months. When the roots begin to grow from the bottom of the pot, it’s time to transplant! If possible, preferably in the summer to keep on the street. |
| Difficulties | Subject to pests: mealy bugs, spider mites, whiteflies, yet it is much less affected by aphids. With a lack of light – stretching shoots, lack of flowering. In winter, when excessive watering in low temperature conditions, rotting of the root system is possible. When watering with hard, unstable water, yellowing of the leaves (chlorosis) is possible. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | Not poisonous |
