Water from either above or below when the compost becomes dry on the surface and to a depth of 1cm. When re-potting choose a pot only slightly bigger than the current one, about a thumb's width wider in diameter, or one 'pot size' larger if using old-fashioned clay pots. A wide shallow pot or half-pot is more suitable than a deep pot. Not an easy thing to achieve in your average living room but I think a large glass box and mister might work. The water needs to be a very specific PH and not chlorinated tap water or you would get rot, the air must be humid but freely circulating. Easy to produce in green houses with fans, lighting and misters but honestly not very good house plants. Yes, so tempting I was burnt any number of times when I lived in Europe. Who can resist. Streptocarpus fall into two distinct groups: those with stems, the Streptocarpellas, for example Streptocarpus saxorum, and the more commonly grown types with a rosette of leaves. It is from these rosette types that the modern hybrids have been bred. Many rosette species inhabit wooded ravines and valleys of the Drakensburg mountains of South Africa. The first to be introduced into this country was Streptocarpus rexii in 1826. This has bluish flowers with 7 deep purple lines in its throat; soon many other species followed and many crosses were made resulting in the earliest hybrids. Provide a humid, reliable environment by introducing a pebble tray . Never situate this plant within three metres of an operating heat source due to the dry air that may result in a poor show of flowers.

During winter do not water plants directly after filling a watering can from the tap as the water will be quite cold – fill water in the can or in some container a day in advance so that the plants can be watered with water at room temperature.

Advice on buying streptocarpus

Growing Streptocarpus from leaf sections is a great propagation method to try if you’re a beginner or for children,” shares Colin Skelly, a Master Horticulturist. I thought all Streptocarpus required mollycoddling until I stumbled upon Streptocarpus saxorum. In truth I didn’t know what I had stumbled upon for about three years as I couldn’t identify it at first. Every summer I would stay in a German castle on a business trip, and there the window boxes in the courtyard would be filled with a plant possessed of soft, felted, green leaves, bearing lilac flowers on long wiry stems. They had the appearance of little butterflies fluttering in a breeze. 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. Streptocarpus ‘Constant Nymph’ was only a by-product of Lawrence’s scientific journey of discovery but it launched a new horticultural industry. The garden strains in cultivation in Britain (known collectively as S. hybridus) developed from this mixed parentage. They are also sometimes known as ‘Cape primroses’, taking their name from Cape Province in South Africa.

When Lawrence was 16 years old, Bateson surprised him in the corridor with a gift of two volumes of Darwin’s book Variation in Animals and Plants under Domestication, and with this encouragement Lawrence began his self-education in genetics, then a new science in Britain of which Bateson was the leader. Fortunately, the John Innes Horticultural Institution was just half a mile away from Lawrence’s home and the Director, William Bateson, was persuaded to take him on as a ‘garden boy’ in 1913 after learning of his predicament. While the specimen is budding or in bloom, switch to a product high in potassium to prolong the duration of flowers. Good examples of this are a Dibley's Streptocarpus Food or a tomato-labelled feed. Revert to the original fertiliser once the final inflorescence elapses.In 2010 Dibley’s nursery in Denbighshire won Chelsea Flower Show’s coveted ‘Plant of the Year’ Award for its new Streptocarpus variety, ‘Harlequin blue’- the first flat-flowering, bicoloured Streptocarpus. A decade on, the variety was also named the ‘People’s Choice’ for ‘Plant of the Decade’ in this year’s virtual Chelsea awards. Lynne Dibley was inspired by the John Innes varieties and went on to breed her own totally different style of Streptocarpus – and success followed. Dibley’s released their first variety ‘Crystal Ice’ in 2000 which was awarded the RHS’s Award of Garden Merit in 2001. Allow the soil's top third to dry out in between waters, reducing this slightly in the autumn and winter. Over-watering during the dormancy period is a common issue that will result in compost mould and root rot.

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. Not known to be poisonouswhen consumed by pets and humans. If large quantities are eaten, it may result in vomiting, nausea and a loss of appetite. Then cut it crosswise into four sections or lengthwise on each side of the midrib into two. ‘Texas Hot Chili’ Scott-Moncrieff’s work is commemorated today for contributing significantly to the development of biochemical genetics: by the end of the 1930s she had clarified the basic biochemical nature of the action of genes involved in anthocyanin synthesis (one family of flower pigments), or as Lawrence put it “we were able to establish precisely what each gene did in chemical terms in controlling flower colour”. After potting-on only resume feeding when the roots have filled the pot (i.e.appear at the base of the pot)

Leaves may start to rot from the lower ends because of excessive watering, wrong type of soil, poor drainage, or any combination of these factors. Keep between 21-24°C (70-75°F) in a greenhouse or on a windowsill, ideally in a heated propagator. Germination cantake 10-14 days Leaves rotting at the base is most likely due to wet conditions, such as impeded drainage, over-watering, compost too heavily firmed or the base of the pot sitting in water accumulated in the bottom of the pot-holder. Remove the rotting leaves and allow to dry As a consequence they are so widely available that you should be able to find several varieties at your local garden centre or nursery. ‘Purple Panda’ Brown’s retirement in 1975 ended the breeding programme and this, together with John Innes’ overall policy of closing its ornamental plant work, removed the incentive for John Innes to market the new varieties through NSDO.