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Streptocarpus (Cape primrose) are easy to cultivate in a well-lit spot in the house.

African violets, formerly in their own botanical genus Saintpaulia are now included within Streptocarpus. However, their careis a little different from Cape primroses so see our page on African violets if you are growing these.

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

• 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

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.

Listed below is a selection from the huge range of cultivars available:

Streptocarpus ‘Harlequin Blue’ : (Chelsea plant of the year 2010) The first flat-flowering bi-colour streptocarpus, with yellow on the lower petals making a striking contrast to the baby-blue upper petals. A compact plant with masses of flowers.

Streptocarpus ‘Crystal Ice’ PBR : Produces white flowers with blue veining all year round.

Streptocarpus ‘Falling Stars’ AGM : Light blue, veined flowers with a white centre.

offer a range of both streptocarpus and African violets.

Find these streptocarpus and more on our 911±¬ÁÏ Find a Plant .

Leaves: most trouble is encountered with the foliage;

• Leaves rotting at the base is most likely due to wet conditions, such as impeded drainage, over-watering, compost too heavily firmed or the base of the pot sitting in water accumulated in the bottom of the pot-holder. Remove the rotting leaves and allow to dry
• Oversized leaves indicate poor light and/or excessive feeding
• Leaves may develop areas of brown or dead tissue leaf scorch due to too much exposure to sun
• Ends of leaves die back in autumn or winter. This is a natural condition. Simply trim them off. Sometimes in winter an abscission layer can form causing a line across the leaf where the tip will go yellow and die but the base will stay green
• Leaves wilting can be due to under-watering in which case water the plant, or over-watering in which case allow it to dry out. Wilting leaves can also be caused by vine weevil or root mealybug

Flowers: these are usually trouble-free.

When it comes to pests streptocarpus can suffer from aphids , glasshouse leafhopper , mealybug , tortrix moth, tarsonemid mites, sciarid flies and vine weevil . Diseases such as botrytis and powdery mildew are also an occasional problem.