Streptocarpus / streptocarpus

Refers to the family gesnerievyh. Homeland - South America.

General description: Streptocarpus is a decorative-flowering plant, similar to gloxinium.

The only species grown in room conditions is Streptocarpus hybrida (Streptocarpus hybridum). He owns a rosette of rough, strap-like sessile leaves or a single leaf with a purple-purple underside. Flowers funnel-shaped, up to 5 cm in diameter, snow-white, scarlet, purple or pink with distinct veins in the throat. Blooms all summer.

Recommendations for caring for the plant Streptocarpus:

Illumination : photophilous, shading is needed only in the summer noon.

Irrigation regime : Abundant during growth, moderate in winter. The soil must always be damp. He does not adore in any way the overflow, nor the drying out of the earth. To water with warm soft water.

Humidity : Likes high humidity, but does not like spraying. It is better to spray the atmosphere around the plant and arrange containers with water.

Temperature regime : In the summer up to 25 ° C. In winter 13-15 ° C, a minimum of 12 ° C.

Soil : Drainage is mandatory. You can add charcoal and brick chips.

Recommended soil mix: 2 elements of leaf land, 1 share of turf, 2 elements of humus and 1 share of sand.

During the growth period, it needs fertilizing once every two weeks with fertilizer for flowering plants.

Breeding : Seeds and crushing during transplantation.

Transplantation : In the spring, young plants annually, mature once in a couple of years. The root system is superficial, so the pot must be wide, but not deep at all.

Pests : It is affected by a spider mite (in a dry atmosphere, leaves and stems are cobwebby), thrips (grayish dots appear on the leaves), aphids (they form sticky excretions on shoot tips, buds).

The plant is allowed to help finish with a soap solution, warm washing and spraying with an actinic (1-2 ml per liter of water).

Streptocarpus - streptocarpus