Strepto –what now?
Yes, the name of this plant is a mouth full and yes, its nickname, Streps, might remind you of a childhood illness. Name aside, I assure you that this is a wonderful plant!
Streptocarpus is part of the gesneriaceae family with its cousin, African Violet. Streptocarpus is commonly known as Cape Primrose, it’s not actually a primrose but has similar looking deep-green textured foliage. Streps are native to the mountains of South Africa and they are known to grow on the woodland floor.
I’m calling streptocarpus the cool cousin of the African Violet because they’re somewhat easier to care for and they’re simply covered in stemmy, showy flowers in all sorts of color combinations that blow African Violets out of the water! We’re carrying the GreenFuse line of Streptocarpus Ladyslippers®, and in addition to deep green, fuzzy and full foliage, the flowers are simply incredible.
Grape Ice
Talk about venation, these flowers are high contrast and high drama. The white with purple veining gives them almost a lacy effect.
Pink Yellow Cap
There is something so elegant about these flowers with their ruffled edging giving them an orchid-like feel. Typically, I’m not a fan of pink and yellow together but the combination is fetching on this strep.
Strawberry Ice
Similar pattern to Grape ice but with less white contrast. Strawberry pink base with splashes of white and deeper pink.
Deep Blue Vein
These are incredible in person! Deep, dark, and saturated with royal purple and dark purple veining – let’s call this one romantic goth and start a new flower genre.
Red Bicolor
Deep red tops with white and blush red bottoms that have that watercolor bleed look to them. Rather enchanting.
Thinking about their native habitat on the woodland floor gives you a clue that they are not fans of full sun, especially not in the peak summer months. Streps also want to dry out between watering – overwatering is the main route to failure with these beauties. They have few pest issues and they prefer a high potash fertilizer from spring to autumn. If kept happy with consistent light, these Ladyslippers® can flower 10 months out of the year!!
Streptocarpus Ladyslippers® make a great container plant, garden border plant, or best yet as a beloved indoor houseplant. They are propagated from tissue culture only making them clean and strong plants. They stay fairly tight and compact with a max height of 10″. For 2021 we’re offering them as rooted liners and finished flowering 1QT pots.