A Detailed Guide to Growing and Caring for Streptocarpus (Dolphin Flower)
Streptocarpus (Dolphin Flower) is native to South Africa and is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus Streptocarpus of the family Gesneriaceae. It has an elegant appearance and is easy to cultivate and propagate; with proper care, it blooms all year round. The flower stems of Streptocarpus are slender, and the flowers stretch out in all directions in countless poses. When the flowers are in full bloom, it is as if a group of little blue elves are happily having a party in midair, which is very interesting and spectacular!
Growth Habits of Streptocarpus
Streptocarpus is suited to a semi-shaded growing environment; a spot with shade and good ventilation is best. Choose a soil medium with good drainage for cultivation. In a warm climate it can bloom all year round, but spring and autumn are still the main flowering seasons. Although a semi-shaded environment is *** suitable for their growth, a moderate amount of sunlight is needed. It is *** best to choose a cool but bright environment, receiving scattered light through a curtain or gaps between leaves, and gentle direct sunlight in spring and autumn is also fine.
Because Streptocarpus is originally a plant of the mountainous areas of southern Africa, it likes a cool climate. In summer, when it is hot and muggy, pay attention to keeping it cool and ventilated, and *** best avoid direct sunlight. In winter, prevent cold damage from low temperatures below 10°C. Since it can be grown both indoors and outdoors, it is recommended to move it indoors to a bright, ventilated spot when it is too cold outdoors in winter and too hot outdoors in summer. Spring and autumn are the main growing and flowering periods; in addition to watering, fertilize regularly, while in winter and summer stop fertilizing, and in winter also reduce watering.
Spring and autumn are the main growing and flowering periods of Streptocarpus; in addition to watering, fertilize regularly, while in winter and summer stop fertilizing, and in winter also reduce watering. Streptocarpus survives very easily from stem cuttings, and stemless Streptocarpus species can be propagated by leaf cuttings using the thick-veined part of the leaf.
How to Grow Streptocarpus
Streptocarpus is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Gesneriaceae. Although it is a niche plant, many flower lovers still long for it. Compared with other kinds of flowers and plants, there is relatively little information on how to grow Streptocarpus; after all, it is niche. Some flower lovers have summarized their own growing experience based on their cultivation practice, which is more suitable for flower lovers to refer to than theoretical material.
Streptocarpus is very easy to grow. In Guangzhou, the flowering period of Streptocarpus is from November each year to May or June of the following year. Because Streptocarpus has thick leaves and its flowering branches extend outward, it is suitable for growing in hanging pots. Apart from winter, Streptocarpus does not like sunlight; even if it gets no direct sunlight all summer, it will not mind, because in Guangzhou it goes dormant in summer and can almost be ignored.
I chose a pipe pot, that is, a pot that can be tied to a thick water pipe, and placed it in a corner for care. This corner gets no sun in summer, and in winter it gets two or three hours of direct sunlight, which Streptocarpus likes very much.
Soil: Streptocarpus is not picky. I have tried garden soil, potting soil and that cheap peat soil, and it adapts to all of them very well. However, it does not like heavy, sticky soil, and its roots do not like an overly damp environment either, so everyone should try to choose potting soil for growing Streptocarpus, loose and breathable.
Fertilizer: I have never applied fertilizer. At most, during the one or two months of the flowering period, it gets a bit of topdressing such as blooming fertilizer along with other herbaceous flowers. It does not care at all, and fertilizing does not seem to have any special effect, because it already performs very well on its own.
Water: The Streptocarpus plant has a fairly high water content, so its water demand is not small. Try not to let it dry out, or it will curl its leaves and look listless. I do not like spraying water on plants, so I always water directly into the pot and try not to water the plant itself. The amount is not large, and it is really hard to say what the amount should be. Anyway, since the soil is breathable, everyone can just water freely.
Sunlight: Actually, as said earlier, it does not like fierce sunlight, especially in summer, when the leaves will be scorched, turn yellow and curl. Anyway, Streptocarpus that has been exposed to the sun is extremely ugly. Out of a year, it can go seven or eight months with no sunlight at all. In winter in Guangzhou, which it *** loves, which is also its growing season, a few hours of sun is no problem. Once you find yellow patches appearing on its leaves, you should move it out of the sunlight.