Now the cold weather has arrived, my attention has turned to my flowering indoor plants. Their blooms can be admired without having to venture out in the chilly winds. What a bonus!
I have a collection of African violets that bloom all year round if I remember to feed them regularly. The plants are easily portable so I can move them around the house as the angle of the sun changes during the seasons. It’s an important collection to me, mostly for emotional reasons, but that’s another story entirely.
A few months ago, I acquired a Streptocarpus plant, featuring white flowers with purple tracings. With a common name of Cape Primrose, it is in the gesneriad family, the same as Africa violets and has similar growing requirements. I’d been looking for one for a while but hadn’t found one in local nurseries until recently.
Streptocarpus need good filtered light or indirect light; no direct sun otherwise the foliage may scorch. They like the soil to dry out between watering and hate soggy soils. I fertilise mine with a weak mix of liquid African violet fertiliser each time I water. The plant has rewarded me with a mass of new flowers, so it seems to like the treatment.
I haven’t tried to propagate new plants yet (leaf cuttings is the preferred method) but will give it a go in the warmer months. Hopefully, that may result in a litter of baby plants to share.