Streptocarpus Polka-Dot Purple

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In the autumn reduce the amount you water and when the plant stops flowering stop feeding. Keep plants at a minimum of 10C. In March/April gradually start watering more often and commence feeding. Plants should be potted into a slightly larger pot each spring; if possible, use ½ or ¾ depth pots.

Plants should get several hours of indirect daylight – they may get direct early morning sun out of summer. Leaves are small, hard and yellowish, particularly near the centre of the plant, and few flowers –nitrogen deficiency To grow Cape Primrose varieties as houseplants use a soil consisting of potting mix and garden compost with gravel or perlite or both mixed in to facilitate drainage. I really love the Gesneriad family which includes things like Primulinas, Streptocarpus and Aeschynanthus,” shares Jane Perrone, a Houseplant Expert.pictures submitted by the hybridizers (when available). The underlined hybrid name links to the official description.

If your Streptocarpus is still wilting after a few days of sitting in moist soil, there could be an issue with its ability to update water. In this case, we recommend to save the specimen by taking leaf cuttings and placing them in water for 24hrs. After this period, discard any still-wilting/floppy leaves as these won't root and will soon die when potted up. For the rest of the leaves that have hardened again, follow our tips on leaf cuttings in the 'Propagation' section below to restart your plant from scratch. If possible, reduce the ambient temperature to around 12°C (54°F) over the autumn and winter to provide a proper dormancy. Introduce around two hours of off-peak sunshine thorough this period to avert the heightened chance of root rot and over-watering. This period of rest will allow more efficient foliar growth in the spring and summer, along with the heightened probability of generating blooms in the late spring. In their native habitats, Streptocarpus species often grow at the edge of and in forests, and also under the forest canopy where they thrive in shade in humid conditions. These plants require excellent drainage so also make sure that the container or pot has drainage holes.I will take cuttings before the winter sets in, as the plants are not frost hardy. In the meantime all I have to do is deadhead regularly and feed with a high potash fertiliser every fortnight. From 1929 Lawrence was helped to make thousands of pigment identifications by a biochemist, Rose Scott-Moncrieff, who had begun to look into the chemistry of flower colours in the plants under investigation at John Innes. Running some 500 miles from Cape Province through Natal to the Transvaal and forming the eastern scarp of the high central plateau of South Africa, is that great range of hills, the Drakensberg. The eastern slopes are furrowed with many narrow gorges, known as kloofs, which are often wooded and provide cool moist conditions for plant life… the kloofs are typically the home of those species of Streptocarpus from which the familiar garden hybrids have been developed” said, William Lawrence, who was working on the genetics of colour inheritance at the John Innes. Seeds are very small – sow them in spring or summer by simply scattering them on top of the soil, either in a seed tray or pot.