(Streptocarpus) Cape primrose

Streptocarpus are easy to cultivate in a well-lit spot in the house.

Common name:  Cape primrose
Botanical name:  Streptocarpus
Group:  Houseplant
Flowering time:  Spring to autumn
Planting time:  Any season
Height and spread:  30cm (1ft) by 45cm (18in)
Aspect: Bright filtered or indirect light 
Hardiness:  Frost tender

Difficulty Easy: to moderate

Streptocarpus stomandrus

Spring/Summer
Keep in good light but do not expose to hot sun; an east or west facing windowsill is ideal
Plants in the greenhouse or conservatory will need some shade and good ventilation
Water regularly from March onwards. Plants can be watered from above or below, but don’t allow the pot to sit in water
Feed at two weekly intervals. Use a high potash plant feed at half strength from March to September or a specialist streptocarpus food
Remove dead flower stalks at their base

Autmn/Winter

• Move to a south facing windowsill for maximum light, but move further away from the window at night if it gets very cold next to the window
• Keep at normal room temperatures with a minimum of 7-10°C (45-50°F)
• Plants in the glasshouse should be kept at a minimum of 5°C (40°F)
• Stop feeding and only water when the compost is dry, plants may rot if the compost is too wet
• Some leaves may naturally die back and can be removed
• Crystal series plants may continue flowering so keep them in a very well-lit spot and continue feeding with quarter strength plant food
• Potting-on

Streptocarpus 'Dale's Scarlet Macaw'

Plants can be potted-on if necessary in spring, using a specialist houseplant or multi-purpose compost
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.
After potting-on only resume feeding when the roots have filled the pot (i.e. appear at the base of the pot) 
In dry heated rooms that lack humidity, stand pots on a saucer of grit or expanded clay granules which is kept moist to increase humidity

Streptocarpus propagation 

Propagation

• Leaf cuttings
• Leaf cuttings are taken in spring or early summer choose healthy younger leaves from the centre of the plant
• Cut across the leaf at 2in (5cm) intervals to give several sections; leaves can also be cut in half along the mid-rib
• Fill a seed tray with a mix of equal parts peat free compost and perlite
• Place the basal end in the compost about 1in (2.5cm) deep
• Water well
• Place in good light in a propagator, ideally heated, or cover with a plastic bag
• New plantlets should develop in four to six weeks along the cut edges of the leaf segment
• Once they are well rooted pot on to individual 3.5in (10cm) pots
• Seed
• Sow seed on the surface of a seed tray or pot of fine-textured seed compost
• Do not cover, although to retain moisture cling film maybe used over the pot 
• Keep between 21-24°C (70-75°F) in a greenhouse or on a windowsill, ideally in a heated propagator. Germination can take 10-14 days
• Growth may be very slow at first 
• When seedlings are established and have a true leaf, pot into individual pots
• Feed with a balanced general-purpose liquid feed
• From a late spring sowing plants may flower in 16-20 weeks
• Division
• Clumps of older plants can be pulled apart and divided when they are re-potted in the spring.