Thunbergia is valued for beautiful flowers, which can be of various shades, as well as for its winding nature. It can be left to crawl along the ground, hung in pots so that it hangs down graceful shoots, or let curl on a support. However, for open ground, it requires an annual transplant.
Ideal conditions for growing tunbergia in the house
The least labor-intensive cultivation of tunbergia at home. It is cultivated as a perennial plant that does not require particularly careful care.
Location and lighting
Deciding to grow such a plant at home, please note that it is very fond of light. Therefore, free for him the most bright and sunny window sill from the southeast or west side. It is too dark in the north, so additional lighting is required. If you decide to place the tunnels on the south window, in the summer during the hottest periods of the day (from 12 to 16 hours) she will need a shadow. Moreover, the direct rays of the sun are not as dangerous for the plant as the heating is too intense. In pritenennyh places the plant feels not comfortable and may not bloom. 
Did you know? Tunbergia has ovate or heart-shaped leaves with slight pubescence, which can reach 10 cm in length. Sometimes there are jagged edges of the leaves. The flowers are funnel-shaped, reaching 4 cm in diameter. As a rule, they are isolated on a long pedicle. They may be brown, orange, yellow, magenta, purple, violet, blue, cyan, white, red. Some of the types are very fragrant. Flowers appear in July, and the last of them fall in September. At its core, the plant is perennial, but in our climate it feels bad in the open field, so it is grown as an annual.
Temperature: summer-winter
For normal development and growth, the plant needs a temperature of about 20-24 ° C. In summer, in hot weather, observing such a temperature regime, tunbergia produces beautiful and juicy flowers. If it is grown as a perennial plant, then in winter, cut bushes should be placed in a cool place. The optimum temperature for tunbergia between October and February is 10–13 ° C.
Comprehensive care for the tubergia at home
Having determined the right place for the plant, it needs to provide proper care. Only in this case it will please you with beautiful flowers. Proper care involves timely and sufficient watering, fertilizing and loosening the soil. 
Important! In nature, the plant can reach 6 m in length. At home, it stretches to a maximum of 2.5 m, but such a length requires support. For example, on the balcony you can hang a fishing net, which the plant will cover with a green carpet. You can also use the traditional plastic ladder, stretched twine. But you can hang the pots and let the vines hang freely.
Watering: summer-winter
Watering plants should not cause difficulties. Moisturize the soil in moderation, not flooding, so as not to rot the roots. It is important that the soil inside the pot is always hydrated, but it has time to dry on top. During the flowering period, as well as during dry periods, watering increase.
In the hot season it is appropriate to spray tunbergia. It is necessary to carry out this procedure in the evenings, otherwise the plant will begin to crumble. In general, watering must adhere to the rule: In summer, the soil should always be moist, and in the cold season, dry out, but not dry. For example, at a temperature of about 10 ° C, it is enough to water tunbergia once or twice a month.
Air humidity
With insufficient humidity, the flowers of the tunbergia fall, so it is important to constantly monitor this environmental indicator, especially in the hot season. Very good plant responds to spraying. In the summer, this procedure can be performed once or twice a week. In addition, water will wash the dust from the plant, it will have a preventive effect against various pests. Therefore, the soil in the pot should be covered to prevent spores of fungi or insect eggs from falling into it.
Top dressing
During the budding period, watering is carried out with top dressing, after which top dressing is carried out once a month. In the spring and summer, every month the plant should receive liquid mineral fertilizers, but in moderation. Also, the measure must be followed when using nitrogenous fertilizers. If tunbergia does not bloom, but at the same time it has thick greens, the problem is in an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers.
Also in the spring-summer period it is worth feeding the plant every two weeks with liquid fertilizer for indoor ornamental flowering plants.
Pruning
From mid-summer to September, Tunbergia is actively blooming, but after that you should take pictures of all withered flowers. If the plant is taken out on the street, on returning to the house after flowering all the shoots must be cut off. Make sure that a few buds remain on the trimmed cuttings. From them in the spring will grow new shoots. Do not forget to process the slices with a solution of manganese or activated carbon. All winter the plant is also watered, but very little.
Important! Although the plant feels great in the house even in summer, it is better to send it outside in the hot period: on the balcony or under the shed from the leeward side. In winter, the plant requires quite cool conditions.
As you can see, tunbergia can be grown as a perennial plant. But many experts still recommend that every year throw away faded tubers. Having experienced profuse flowering, and then winter, the plant is very depleted and in the second year may not be so lush and bright. Since it is easily grown from seeds or cuttings, it makes no sense to risk.
Graft and ground
The composition of the soil for tunbergia should be nutritious, neutral, well-drained. When landing in open ground, it is recommended to dig up the area with lime in advance. For planting in a pot, drainage is placed on its bottom, and the soil in such composition is poured in from above: part of sand, part of humus and three parts of garden soil. The pot should not be too wide and deep. The soil should absorb moisture well and give it away just as well. Therefore, it is recommended to add a handful of pine bark and coconut substrate to the soil (for half a bucket of soil).
When planting tunbergia in open ground, make sure that the distance between the bushes is maintained approximately 30-45 cm. Set in advance the supports on which the plant will trail. Or consider the direction of its weaving on the ground. The liana blossoms approximately in one hundred days after pinching if it was grown up from seeds. Pinching is carried out in the spring when the weather is warm outside.
Breeding methods
The plant multiplies in two ways - cuttings and seeds. Each of them has its advantages and features.
Cuttings
Tunbergia cutting spend around mid-August. Cuttings are cut to a length of 10 cm. The cut sections are treated with phytohormones, and then immersed in a pot with slightly moistened soil. The soil should be composed of expanded clay and sand. The pot is wrapped in a plastic bag and kept at a temperature of about 20-22 ° C. In the winter it is placed in cooler conditions - about 10-12 ° C.
Seeds
To grow tunbergia from seeds, it is necessary to collect them in time. After flowering, in place of the inflorescences remain the fruit-boxes, which must be collected before they burst and the contents fall to the ground. After collecting, opening the boxes, the seeds are poured on paper and dried. They should also be stored in paper or cardboard for no more than two years. After this period, they lose their germination.
Did you know? Tunbergia is a plant belonging to the genus of the Acanthaceae flower family. The name comes from the surname of the Swedish naturalist Karl Peter Thunberg. There are about 200 different species, among which are both indoor and garden plants. In Europe, she is called "Black-eyed Susanna" for a dark purple peephole.
Sowing is carried out in February-March. It is not recommended to do this in open ground, as the plant is very thermophilic. Therefore, seeds are used for growing seedlings. Before sowing, seeds should be treated with "Fumar" or "Appin", and then poured into containers filled with moist soil. It should consist of a mixture of humus, sand and leafy earth in equal proportions. Seeds on top lightly sprinkled with earth and gently moisturize. Above, the pot is covered with glass or transparent film and placed on a bright window sill, where the direct rays of the sun do not fall.
During seed germination, the ground should be constantly moist. The ambient temperature should be approximately 22-24 ºC. If all these conditions are met, the first shoots will appear within a week. When they appear, you can remove the shelter.
If the seeds germinate densely, they can be thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots, and the extra sprouts swoop down. When the shoots are in height of 12-15 cm, they must be pinched. Then the plant will bush and grow thick cover. For this purpose, the seedlings are also fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizer. It should be carried out from the moment of pinching. But if it is important for you abundant flowering, such fertilizers should be abandoned altogether.
If there is no desire to subsequently dive the plant, it is possible to sow the tubergia in cups of peat with three seeds each.
Pests and diseases, how to deal with them
The most common pest plants are spider mites, whitefly and scythe. A little less attack on him aphid. Only insecticides can save them: "Aktellik", "Fitoverm". Tunbergiya process them four times with breaks in a week and a half. If you do not want to use chemicals, you can try a soap solution, but it does not always give the expected effect.
Of the diseases on the plant can be found mold on the stems and leaves. It appears, as a rule, due to excessive watering. Fungal diseases also occur. In this case, gently sharp and treated with a knife or scissors remove the damaged shoots or leaves, and cut sections are treated with activated charcoal or iodine. After that, the plant must be treated with any fungicide.
Tunbergia is a beautiful climbing plant that can decorate both a garden and an apartment, a balcony, a loggia. It is grown simply, does not require particularly careful care. But with the right location, watering and dressing gives bright and attractive flowers.
